#just thought that the more unique videos have a higher chance of being someones favorite

[precambrianhottopic]

if you havent seen any of the videos on this list GO AND WATCH THEM!!!!!!! THEYRE ALL SO GOOD!!!! also reblog if you want to orrrr dont :)

[xxsycamore]

Hello! Im just a reader of yours! I was wondering who are your favorite guys across the Ikemen games! Thxs for writing 🥰

Oh my god, thank YOU for the lovely question! A very difficult one, actually!

I'll put it under the cut because I have a feeling I might get lost in thoughts here!😅💗 For anyone who doesn't feel like reading, just scroll down to see a tier list of my top 20.

---- For Ikevamp as well as my overall fave, I think it's clear who is it... Napoleon is veeery ahead of everyone else to the point where stating who my number 2 is, is impossible - just because, it means he will be directly after Napoleon 😬😬 Very unfair! But alas, monsieur de wahaha is something else. He's proven himself as a fave over and over again and now he is deeply entangled into everything I do - and I wouldn't have it any other way! This post is not about him so I won't go on but I definitely can. I just love him! A lot!

The rest of the Ikevamp guys are all on the same level, with Theo, Sebas and Leonardo a little higher. Arthur is not my type personally however he is somewhat of a muse to me as ever since 2019 writing him always comes easy! I might have a playlist or two for him.

---- For IkeRev, I feel maybe the most attached to the characters there as a whole. I always think of Ray as my overall fave here, he is everything I love about in a character put together.

Then we have Fenrir, whom I think the most about! Like the stray daydreaming of - would Fenrir sing in the shower, would Fenrir love this, would Fenrir do that - not to talk about how everytime I see a video of someone doing some silly crazy stuff and me and my best friend always go "oh it's fenrir". He is also the one I have the most playlists about and I'm always on the hunt for more songs. He just has a strong presence that fits in in many things I do!

Then we have Seth, whom in the past year I've been veeery down bad for 😳😳 He climbed up my favorites ladder and I view him as a comfort character! He is the one I strive the most about getting cards and stories in-game. I can reread his route over and over again just to see more of him! I can't get enough of Sethie 🥺🥺 Let's say there is a story event (like the one right now), I would play in this order: Seth -> Fenrir -> Ray

---- For IkePri, I'm sure I haven't seen enough of the game to form any lasting opinions as I still feel like I don't know everyone all that well. Leon is without a doubt my number one here, I've been so eager for the game to come out just because of him. I saw him on that character preview in April 2020 and I instantly knew he was the one. And not just because of my poster boy syndrome, I love all the things he is unique for, just a very warm feeling coming from him which I appreciate in a character.

Despite that I catch myself thinking more about Jin in the past few months - I don't know what's about him, but I even requested one of my writer friends, @chaosangel767 a story about him and I only do that for Napoleon. So it has to mean something. For maybe every one of the rest I've had these small periods of hyperfixating about, Ikepri characters are just so lovable for their complexly constructed personalities. And their looks. 🤭

---- Next up, IkeSen... I'm just wondering who my next mistake will be and the chances of it being an Ikesen character is huge. I have so much yet to explore about the charas here! I've only played three routes, none of which is Nobunaga, but he is at the very top of my list. Almost frustrating to say this! I swear it has nothing about the fact that he is yet another poster boy, after all he really is different from the rest of them. I feel like if I read his route, I'll get too much in love with him. So I play this game with myself where I see how many routes I can read before I absolutely must go for his.

---- And lastly, MidCin. I left it for the end because it's the one I'm most unsure about. Am I going to say Alyn? Probably. All the media I've consumed across the years and when I hear knight I still think about him first. King Byron, I could easily spend the rest of my life with. Nico is veeeery special to me as he is the one character I was very unprepared to fall for. I felt less than neutral about him at first and by the time I was halfway into his route I viewed him as maybe the one most similar to me. His love story with MC is just beautiful.

Then we have...this... gestures to Leo... I spent money this past January 23th. For Leo Crawford birthday story. My whole midcin avatar is decorated with his items! I have the eyes that wink and a little heart pops up with the letter L in it. I have the banner, the both routes special stuff, the pet, the bedroom, everything. I'm all about his personality and I miss him maybe the most...

----------------------

Phew, and that's it. As you can see I'm so, so, so inlove with a lot of characters across the ikemen games I can barely contain my love for them! It often doesn't translate all the way into my writing, so I can have many works for a character I feel pretty neutral about and vice versa. I used this ask to talk a little more about them instead of just listing them down because it would make sense why I rarely mention some of them. My love for these characters really just comes from my experiences with them - while reading their routes, or the concepts that I come up with for them. Despite being a writer I'm terrible at explaining what I like about a certain thing, for sure I love Napoleon for his personality traits but I'd rather put attention on what emotions he makes me experience - and that goes for the rest of them as well. I focus on what characters get my thoughts and emotions going and bond with them through that. I hope that makes sense! I'm sorry if I bored you anon, I used your ask to make clear of all of this because I really haven't figured out my faves until now, haha! I had fun with this ask! Thanks once again for it! 💗💗💗💓💓💓

----

Here is all of this put together, or at least my top 20, according to the character sorter that you can find here. Ahhh this feels really unfair to some, I really like everyone :((

[byeoltoyuki]

A PLACE ONLY WE KNOW ⇾ LEE TAEMIN ⎡drabble⎦

↳Pairing : You x Taemin

Genre : Fluff / drabble

Words: +2k

Summary : Two years later and still going strong

original story here

                                                     ❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎

"Shit. Shit. Shit." You cursed in frustration.

You had spent the past two hours making sure you hadn’t forgotten anything while packing, your clothes, presents you got for your friends and family, and yet, you noticed quite quickly that there was something missing. Something you couldn’t leave without, as in your very much needed passport.

You weren’t a completely clumsy person (though some would highly disagree) which ended with you having it on you every day of your life, safely in your wallet, so it came to you as a surprise when you checked your wallet and to not find it. When did you even find time to use it except for the day you came to Korea? Weird.

You sat on the floor of Taemin’s room, thinking deeply, trying to remember if you had unconsciously taken it out of your wallet but more you thought about it and less it made sense which only brought a very unwelcome stress. You didn’t want to panic, not like you were supposed to go back home tomorrow, and you certainly didn’t want to panic after looking everywhere. And by everything you meant everywhere. Bag, suitcase, desk, hall, among Taemin’s clothes. You went even as far as to check under your pillow (because who knows), under the bed, but the passport was nowhere to be found.

"Shit." You repeated with a long groan.

You couldn’t believe your luck (or in this case the lack of it). You had been staying in Korea for the past two weeks. Two weeks of pure happiness, fun and love, therefore a huge part of you refused to believe that this kind of situation would ruin it for you.

Moving from the floor to the bed, you let yourself fall on it, grabbing a cushion to muffle a scream.

You were doomed, you had to face the truth.

You closed your eyes to calm yourself down; Taemin’s scent reaching your nose and soothing you instantly. No, you refused to let panic and fear win over you. Not now at least.

Ever since you started dating Taemin (and you still had to check from time to time that you weren’t dreaming) many good things happened in your life. You didn’t chose the easiest and definitely not the safest relationship but Taemin proved you long ago that it was worth it.

Taemin happened to be the sweetest boyfriend you could have ever dreamt of. He was sweet, funny, gentle, a tiny bit pervert when he was in his mood, but most importantly he was patient. He took his time with making sure that you were at ease with him and his crazy world. Which you were. Every single day he would send you messages, pictures if he saw something that reminded him of you, called you whenever he could and even when he couldn’t he would send a video messages. His efforts weren’t vain. Two years later and you were still going strong.

Being in a long-distance relationship with Taemin was good but being with him all day long and all night long felt like heaven. Every day of your stay were filled with unknown and excitement. Even after two years, he still managed to bring you to places you had never been.

And yet, you had to admit that your favorite moments with him were the long night walks whenever it was at a park or a walk by the river.

Flashback Day 2

"Damn. I think I will never get tired of Korean BBQ." You patted your belly, satisfied with how full you felt.

Taemin chuckled beside you, wrapped an arm over your shoulders and pulled you against him, surprising you one more time by how carefree he was. You wondered for a moment if he didn't care the world to find out about your relationship or if he simply knew this area was safe. Either way, you wrapped an arm around his waist and let him lead you wherever he wanted, as long as you were together.

"Now I know I can buy you with food." He joked which earned him a poke to the side and a laugh from you because he was damn right, he could definitely buy you with food (especially if it was Korean bbq).

"Where are we going?"

"I don't feel like going home yet." He admitted and glanced your way to see your reaction - you raised a brow at him waiting for what exactly he had on mind. "There is a place I like to go whenever I want to be alone and clear my mind. It feels just right to bring you there."

"Oh." You nodded. "Lead the way my captain."

And you weren't disappointed. Taemin brought you to a park that seemed to be close to his place (and you congratulated yourself for recognizing the area). At this hour of the night, it was almost empty, just some people walking their dogs and minding their own business. The place was absolutely beautiful, trees, flowers and a maze of canals which made the place perfect for a walk or a run (you wished you knew about this place earlier so you could have your morning run here).

You slipped from Taemin’s embrace and went ahead of him, spreading your arms widely you swirling around, inhaling the sweet scent and the fresh summer air that filled your lungs, you were breathing happiness. Taemin stood and watched you with a fond smile on his face. It was a nice moment to capture. He took quickly his phone from his pocket and while you were still too busy having your own fun, he didn’t hesitate to take a picture.

"Did you just take a picture?" You stopped and put your hands on your hips, feigning being upset when in fact you just wanted to launch yourself at him and see the result.

"Maybe." He hummed, "Want to see?"

"Of course I want!"

"Nope. I don’t think I want to share it." He stuck his tongue out and put the phone over his chest, protecting it from your upcoming attack.

"What." You deadpanned, "Taemin!"

"Y/N!" He mimicked your voice.

You huffed and walked slowly but surely with him, frowning and trying to look as threatening as possible (which meant you looked as threatening as a puppy). You wanted to see the picture and Taemin wouldn’t certainly be able to stop you.

"Show me."

"Nope."

Without warning you launched yourself at him, grabbing his shoulders tightly to throw him off, but Taemin had seen you coming and before you could even lay a finger on his phone he had raised his arm in the air making it for you impossible to grab it.

"Oh come on!" You groaned in your attempt to snatch the phone from his hand which happened to be almost impossible. Taemin was taller than you and way stronger, no matter how willful you were. You jumped on place, steadying yourself by holding his other arm, but every time you thought you would reach it, he would raise his arm higher.

"You little-" But your words were cut short by a a sudden attack from Taemin. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you in a swift strong move against him. You barely had time to register what was going on, that his plump lips were on yours. A peck at first, just to shut you up - he smirked, smug, before bringing his hand with his phone behind your head and pulling you for  another kiss.

How were you supposed to fight that? (The photo happened to be one that he printed for his wall of memories).

Back to present

You smiled at the memory, not feeling so down any longer.

"Come on, Y/N. You can do it."

You jumped from the bed and decided that you would check one more time your suitcase just in case. But before you could even reach the suitcase, you bumped into a pair of trainers that Taemin had offered you. You took them from the floor and smiled to yourself. It was probably one of the most precious gifts Taemin had ever given you. From outside, you could think it was just a simple pair of trainers and yet they were unique. Taemin had them customized just for you. And him. Because what could be sweeter than matching shoes?

Exactly. Nothing.

The trainers were white with baby pink flowers recovering half of the space. But the particularity of those shoes were on the back, it had your initials along with his.

Staring at the shoes, you realized that ever since you started packing, someone else stayed way too calm. You frowned and glanced at the opened door.

"It couldn’t be, could it?" You asked yourself before realizing that it definitely could.

You put the trainers back on the floor and walked to the other room. Taemin heard you coming but didn’t move, pretending (and you saw it by how his hand twitched on his lap) to be absorbed with whatever show was on TV.

Oh so you want to play coy with me, baby. It was tempting to scoff but you bit on your lips right on time. Instead, you approached the couch from behind and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, resting your head in the crook of his neck.

"Hey babe, what are you watching? Looks boring." You half whispered and planted a gentle kiss right above his ear making him shiver at the feeling. Ha.

Taemin inhaled sharply before finding his voice to answer. "It’s not as boring as you think."

"Hmm, is that so?" You hummed not really caring about the show. You got around the couch only to straddle his laps, smiling wickedly at him. "Have you seen by any chance my passport?"

Taemin blinked once, twice and instead of giving you a proper answer (too scared his voice would give him away) he only shook his head.

"Now that’s odd. I looked everywhere." You remarked. "Well, almost everywhere."

There was indeed a place you hadn’t looked yet. A place or more like someone. You put your hands on his shoulders to steady yourself as you shifted on his laps, grinding lightly and making him groan and flinch under you. Two could play this game and you certainly had no intention on losing.

"I haven’t searched you yet, mister." You announced him, smiling sweetly at him.

Taemin gulped nervously and tried to shift under you and failed miserably as you had the upper hand. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

You leaned closer to him, brushing your lips against his cheek and moving to his ear. "You’re sure?"

"Ye-yeah."

"Now that’s a lie." You bit on his lobe.

Taemin’s hands found your hips, giving it a strong squeeze. "Dammit."

"Ha!" You almost screamed in victory and put some space between you. "Got ya!"

"But Y/N, I don’t want you to leave." He whined in defeat, refusing to give you back your passport.

"Aw, come on. You know I don’t have the choice. We’ll meet again soon."

"I know." He sighed, "I know. But it doesn’t make it easier."

Your face softened at his confession. You couldn’t stop yourself from cupping his face and pecking his lips. Of course you understood his feelings, you felt the same way. Every time you had to leave, it would tear your heart apart. Every time making it harder and harder and you knew that eventually you would need to discuss your relationship to find a way. But not now. You weren’t ready.

"We’ll find a way." You promised him

"Promise?"

"Yes." And you sealed the promise with a kiss.

                                                    ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Maybe you were a little optimistic when you told Taemin that you would be fine by yourself back at your place. You weren’t. Far from it even. The moment, your plane landed back to your country, you realized just how hard it was for you to go back to your normal life where Taemin wouldn’t be around, when you wouldn’t wake up or fall asleep by his side. You refused to cry, but your heart was silently crying for you.

When you opened the door to your flat, you never felt it as empty as now. Everything was on its place just like you had left it two weeks ago, but now you weren’t too happy about it. With a long sigh, you pushed your suitcase inside, closed the door and took a deep breath. You’ll be fine. It’s just the first three days, and you’ll be fine. But you weren’t sure this time it would be enough to recover.

You got rid of your jacket and stepped deeper inside your flat, going straight for the windows to open them to welcome the sun inside. Except you never reached for your windows. No, your attention was somewhere else: your dining table that was empty when you left two weeks ago was now filled with probably more than hundred of red roses.

"What the-"

You rubbed your tired eyes, wondering for a second if they were playing you a trick but no, the flowers were still there, shining brightly and spreading an amazing scent all around the place. On top of one of the bouquet laid a note that you hurried to read.

"Hi babe. Surprise! I decided that there are two facts you needed to know. No, wait three.

1. I love you

2. My plane lands tomorrow.

3. I love you."

[noona-clock]

Study: Park Jaehyung

In which we dig deeper under the surface of our favorite KPOP idols.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the gifs used in this post. I am not an astrologer nor am I a professional psychologist. These are my opinions based on the research I have done personally/as a hobby. If you disagree with any of these statements, please do so respectfully.

-Admin B

Sun Sign: Virgo (Earth)

I have said this before, and I will say it again. Here. Very definitively and very proudly. I love Virgos. I have two favorite signs other than my own sun sign (Aquarius) - Virgo and Libra. My rising sign is Virgo, and my sister’s moon sign is Virgo, so I am surrounded by this lovely Earth sign in my everyday life. 

Virgos are known, probably first and foremost, for their organization. They love to get shit done. While Jae may not be the most organized Virgo (as we’ll see in his MBTI), he does know how to get shit done. He’s probably a better promoter of Day6 than most anyone else, and he will do what he can to get his band’s name out there. Virgos are also known to be dedicated and hard-working, so basically, Jae the Promoter is also Jae the Virgo.

In addition to being organized and dedicated and hard-working, Virgos also tend to be very witty. And... I mean, do I even have to point out that trait in Jae? He definitely has a way with words and hashtags, and if his tweets don’t make you laugh... I don’t know what to tell you. 

Virgos are ruled by Mercury, which is the planet of communication, so it all really makes sense. He’s great at communicating in just about any form - Twitter, YouTube/vlogs, as an MC, during concerts - so he can thank his Virgo placement for that! But another part of that is using words to be critical. I remember Bernard Park saying he can trust Jae to be honest and give him constructive criticism; I was totally not surprised to hear that because he’s a Virgo. (Remember, I said my sister is a Virgo moon, so I’m around this sign every day of my life! I know it pretty well!)

Each sign is ruled by a planet, but also by a specific body part. Virgos are ruled by the stomach/digestive system. Jae is lactose intolerant. Coincidence? Maybe, but it could also be because he’s a Virgo!

Moon Sign: Taurus (Earth)

Now, I find it very interesting that Jae is a double Earth sign. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was a Gemini moon ONE BIT, but a Taurus moon? I was a little surprised!

Let me talk about the ruling planet and body part of Taurus first because once I realized these, I was NOT surprised. The ruling planet is Venus which is the planet of beauty. The ruling body part is the throat. And... who has an amazingly beautiful singing voice? Yep. Jae. *wipes hands* I’m done here.

Just kidding, I’m not done. Taurus is like Virgo in that they’re known for being organized and dedicated, but they’re also a lot more patient, romantic, and they’re also a little more materialistic than Virgos. They really like to collect things, and they value luxury - they like to spend their money on good quality things. Jae has mentioned several times that he’s broke, but we all know he loves him some lobster. And he does have nice clothes, wouldn’t you say? He likes to wear Jordans and Timberlands and Nike, and while those aren’t necessarily luxury brands, they are to someone who’s broke!

I also want to touch on the romantic part of being a Taurus. To be quite honest, I don’t see Jae being that romantic as a boyfriend. But the first thing that popped into my head was the video of him introducing his instrument. He got super profound and - yes - romantic when he talked about the guitar. He’s not romantic in the traditional sense, but he’s got some romantic bones in that tall, lanky body.

Chinese Astrology: Water Monkey

Monkeys in the Chinese Zodiac, like in life, are known to be intelligent, observant, and hard-working people. They’re curious but also disciplined, especially when it comes to their career. I already discussed how Jae is very devoted to promoting Day6 in whatever way he can. And even though he’s known to have written the worst paper ever in one of his high school classes, he’s obviously very intelligent. 

Water Monkeys, specifically, are a little more sensitive than other Monkeys, though they do tend to hide their emotions. They’re also very original and tend to be innovative problem solvers. They will find ways to work around things instead actually working through them. I remember Jae saying once that he tends to really focus on finding the solution for a problem instead of getting bogged down in the problem itself, and that right there is his Water Monkey talking loud and clear.

Numerology: Life Path 9

In numerology, 9 is seen as the most evolved with the strongest vibrations because it’s basically all of the other numbers wrapped up together. Life path numbers are only single digit, so 9 is seen as kind of like the Top Dog? It’s the highest number possible when it comes to this sort of numerology, so it’s seen to be the oldest and wisest.

Those born with the life path number 9 are, in turn, seen to be old souls. They’re here to really develop spirituality, integrity, and wisdom in every aspect of our lives. 9s also possess a higher purpose to inspire others. I know most people only see Jae as a meme, but if you read through his Twitter, you will definitely see bouts of wisdom. He does seem like he’s pretty spiritual, and I, for one, would feel very comfortable going to him for advice about something.

Probably the most important piece of advice for a 9 is to go with the flow. Don’t get stuck in the past and learn to live in the present and embrace the future. Something I’ve really noticed about Jae is that he gets embarrassed by choices he’s made in the past (see: his reaction to anyone bringing up his KPOP Star days/looks/outfits). If I were to meet Jae and had the chance to tell him just one thing, I’m pretty sure I would tell him to just let go of the past. Own up to all the embarrassing shit and shrug it off. Or, better yet, laugh it off. And worry about the choices you’re making now - try not to make choices you’ll want to forget in the future.

MBTI: INTP

Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving

Jae is Introverted. Apparently. In two of the Every Day6 magazines, the members chose which types they THOUGHT they were before their ACTUAL types were revealed after being professionally tested. Jae typed himself as an E but his result turned out to be an I. It’s my belief that he’s definitely not extremely introverted. Most likely, the balance between I and E for him is pretty close. I do notice that he can be very quiet sometimes, though I do think he’s an outgoing introvert (who borders on being an extrovert). So, while I was surprised to see he typed as an I, I bet you it’s just by a little.

Jae is Intuitive. This means he’s able to see the big picture of situations and imagine the possibilities of the end result. He can think abstractly and doesn’t need to experience something in order to think about how it might turn out.

Jae is Thinking. He trusts his head over his heart, and he uses logic and reason to make decisions rather than what he wants/what he’s feeling. Like his introversion preference, I think Jae probably has a pretty good balance between Thinking/Feeling. When he typed himself, he chose both T and F, so this is kind of a clear sign he’s not totally Thinking. But seeing that he’s a Virgo sun, it’s not really surprising that he is a Thinking individual.

Jae is Perceiving. This preference tells us how he interacts with the outside world, and being a Perceiving individual means he goes with the flow. He’s more spontaneous, and he doesn’t mind living in a little bit of chaos. I was actually a bit surprised to see he was Perceiving, but I feel like this could be his Taurus moon coming through. A Taurus can definitely be organized, but it’s not their main focus like a Virgo.

The INTP is known as the Logician. They pride themselves on being inventive, creative, and having a unique perspective. They are enthusiastic and capable when it comes to spotting problems and coming up with solutions.

Other Studies: Park Sungjin, Kang Younghyun, Kim Wonpil, Yoon Dowoon

[headlesssamurai]

Has everyone asked you about Jupiter Ascending?

@godzillaapproved

Yo, I ought to apologize to you for taking hella long to properly respond to this. It’s holiday season over thisaway, sure, but I ain’t nearly vain enough to assume just anybody gets why that can suck up a dude’s time. Reckon I’m sure there’s tons of national celebrations all over the world I’d never know about otherwise. Bah, I say! Going out and socializing is one of the few things more overrated than all those shitty Apple products. But yeh, in my case it was less the celebratory spirit of holiday festivities and more a sudden spike in workload, so my mental energy was roughed up by that, plus I was doing a new workout at the same time. Thus, whatever free time I had left was spent obsessively hammering away at the Steam sale items I’d recently bought. It’s like a coping mechanism. Well, that and cheap wine anyhow.

Regardless, regardless—holy shit what an obnoxious fucking way for me to open this up—this Ask of yours came at an unusually coincidental time. A friend and I have been meeting up every weekend to watch like semi-recent crappy movies just as a way to enjoy a bad drink and a good laugh. She likes to laugh, and I like to drink, so it works out. After working our way through every Transformers film by Michael Bay, then Cameron’s Avatar, Terminator: Genisys, The Amazing Spider-mans, Spielberg’s Crystal Skull, Ready Player One, and some of the more abysmal DC films, our last escapade into nonsense was the estimably hilarious Gods of Egypt, which reminded me of one of those excremental quicktime-event video games. You know, like Detroit Becomes Human or some shit like that (Oh wait, is it Detroit Coming of the Humans? Meh).

As luck would have it, like, the day before you asked me about it, the next film at which I suggested we take a crack was the Wachowskis’ own Jupiter Ascending, which my friend had not seen at that time. Nor had I, since first viewing it in theaters.

>>SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU CARE ENOUGH TO, UH… YOU KNOW, CARE

I was intrigued to give this movie another go. It’s struck me that I’ve got an odd streak of pleasantly enjoying movies a lot of people can’t seem to stand, or which some people even hate with utter vileness on the verge of hunting down the producers with a roll of duct tape, power tools, jugs of petrol, and a matchbook. I’ve enjoyed, for instance, Hardcore Henry, Elysium, and Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion, all of which not one person I know in real life could offer a single word of kindness. After my first viewing of Jupiter Ascending, I was left to consider whether or not it was the sort of movie I should enjoy and allow others to hate and disparage, or if it just wasn’t that good. I recalled leaving the theater with a sort of “Hm” sound, and not much else. But given my history with rooting for an underdog, was I wrong? Is this movie actually good, or cool in some way? I couldn’t defy the sensation that I’d missed something.

The answer, it seems, is more complex than a simple yes or no. Then again, as Mason and Goat Han Solo often remind us, “there’s no nuance on the internet”, so even my assertion there about complexity may be in gross error.

For the unfamiliar, Jupiter Ascending is a science fiction tale with vibes of less-cliché aesthetic choices for its visuals, some cool references to UFO conspiracy theories, and aims at a more expansive universe that would no doubt have been further explored in sequels had this film been better received by audiences and critics. I’ll say outright, it’s a disappointment to me that we weren’t given the chance to see more films in this mythology, because there’s some really cool stuff going on in this weird, imaginative universe. The story centers upon the character of Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), an average working-class young woman in Chicago who is shocked to discover not only that aliens exist but that she happens to be the reincarnation of a galaxy owning empress, which entitles Jupiter to ownership of a large portion of the cosmos, the least part of which is Earth itself. But as the Aussies say, something’s a bit suss about the whole affair, and the wondrous glamour of this technologically advanced universe is concurrently party to a dark truth.

An immediately intriguing element of Jupiter Ascending is its attempt to set-up something which, while perhaps greatly inspired by a few other fictional works, is an original property, not a sequel, reboot, adaptation of an existing work, nor a spiritual successor to something else. Rather than merely being intrigued by this fact, I also respect it, because high-concept science fiction films aren’t something a studio likes to go for unless they have a preexisting audience, like adaptations of a book series or something. So it’s always bold when someone can cobble together the resources to really take a chance on something like this, even if it isn’t well received. After all that’s how films like The Matrix, The Terminator, Ridley Scott’s Alien, George Lucas’ Star Wars, and John McTiernan’s Predator come to be in the first place. Another example, I didn’t quite enjoy The Last Witch Hunter, but I recall respecting that film’s risk in its attempt at a new property for similar reasons.

Irrespective of your own personal tastes as a moviegoer and consumer of science fiction, it can’t be denied that the Wachowski’s are measurably talented filmmakers. Their doubtless skill at framing shots, blending effects with reality to present an integrated experience, and choreographing action sequences with such lethal precision it’s always incredible to watch; all of these things can’t be argued, and this attentiveness for the craft is all very present in Jupiter Ascending. Toward the beginning of the movie, there’s an aerial chase sequence that promptly accelerates into one of the most engaging, gripping action sequences in memory, heavily fantastical sci-fi elements intermixed with almost Fast and the Furious levels of insanity. The sense of gripping speed alone as two characters cling to the outer hull of a spacecraft was helplessly intense and left me quite keen to see what else the movie had to offer further down the line.

Additionally we have some awesome art design and stylistic choices regarding the look of this sci-fi universe, both the appearance of aliens and the design of their technology was familiar and unique at the same time. There are beings referred to as “Splices” which are intermixes of humans and various animals, giving some people bestial characteristics which are just weird enough to be cool to me without verging over the edge into absurd territory. There are cybernetic enhancements, gravity boots, phalanx style energy shields, neural synthetic wings, motherfucking jet-bikes of course and, though I never would have dreamed, motherfucking lizardmen! That blew me away, dude. Others may think it’s stupid, but lizardmen are one of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy creatures of all time, and they look so badass in this movie it was unbelievably awesome to realize I was actually seeing a proper lizardfolk on screen. With lizardmen and jet-bikes, Jupiter Ascending quickly marks two-out-of-five on my Generally Awesome Things I Like To See In Science Fiction list. It’s a real list, in my head, I swear.

The starship designs were inspired by art deco architecture in cities like Chicago, lending Jupiter’s cosmos a feeling more of Herbert’s Dune-iverse than something like Star Trek, which I appreciated since we don’t see that type of style quite as much. Top all that off with a fantastic score from Michael Giacchino and you’ve got some great tools to tell an awesome story.

So the thing is, it’s not just skin deep either, while the film does lean heavily on its visuals and action set-pieces, this is a genuinely interesting universe. Michael Bay’s Transformers, for instance, also has cool visuals, some passable action scenes, and dazzling special effects, but is it interesting? The answer is no. Because Bay’s movies, while briefly entertaining, are ultimately hollow. There aren’t any subdermal layers beneath the facade of spectacle. But in Jupiter Aescending there’s clearly something else going on, the touch of true filmmakers for one, yet also the potential for so much more. The groundwork, the craftsmanship and attentiveness is all here. It’s really what they choose to do, or not do, with that potential which ends up disappointing. Not, as in the case of Bay’s movies, the utter lack of potential for greatness from the start.

Though some fandom-card carrying ideologues may acerbically disagree, an acceptably comparable film whose potential for greatness was also mostly wasted for middle-of-the-road mediocrity is the recent Solo: A Star Wars Story, by Disney Interactive– I mean, by Disney behind the appropriated guise of Lucasfilm. Whatever else you think of that film, and while I agree from a mythological standpoint its very existence was in extremely poor taste, the talent, the production value, the mark of the craft was there. None of this was, however, capitalized upon to create anything truly profound. Jupiter Ascending’s unfortunate drawbacks are of a similar form.

I’d like to state emphatically however, I’m not trying to punish the film nor act as its apologist. Reckon I always end up saying this, but I am really just some dude. Sure, I read a lot of books and stuff, but that doesn’t appoint me some grand authority on the subject of fiction. These thoughts I try to convey in my write-ups are meant merely as opinions, framed in the form of investigating the quality of a film or game or whatever. To that end, I’m compelled to side with most folks in that, whatever else its got going for it, there’s some major deficiency holding back Jupiter Ascending from rising to a higher form of entertainment. So if the production values are high, where’s the casus belli all the angry critics are seeing here?

To puzzle that out, we ought first to determine by what criterion a truly good story is shaped. In that regard it’s likely the wisest to begin by reckoning what sort of story we’re dealing with here. Most people are wont to jump straight to the whole Hero’s Journey every dickhead YouTube reviewer read about in some sparknotes book while using the shitter at Barnes & Noble. But Joseph Campbell’s mimetic architecture isn’t the only sort of story that exists, not even in science fiction. Consider, for instance, anything written by H.P. Lovecraft, Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain, Kubrick and Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Jonathan Glazer’s Under The Skin, Philip K. Dick’s various works, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker, Stanisław Lem’s Solaris, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, or Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. These stories, while very sci-fi in their scope and measure, are far more introspective, and very contemplative when contrasted against fiction of the more traditional heroic adventure genre. Hell, even Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers while appearing a mindless war movie on its surface is fundamentally a cautionary allegory. While conquering adversity is certainly a theme of its own within each of these stories, the breadth of that adversity’s effect on the narrative varies wildly, as well as the nature of adversity each character must face. Other heavier components, like displacement, post-humanism, philosophical allegory, are also usually present in such stories.

All of this likely seems a bit excessive to point out, but I promise it’ll get relevant later. But, uh… yeh. The next time some liberal arts asshat tries to tell you there’s only one real way a story can go, you can be safely justified in telling them to get bent. I mean read, yeh, tell them to read more shit, and watch more movies. That’d probably be more productive. But also tell them to get bent, the fuckers.

There can also, however, be stories that blend styles. The 2004 rebrand of Battlestar Galactica incorporates several philosophical elements, self-reflective, and meditative thematic ideas into its narrative of what would otherwise be a fairly standard science fiction conflict in outer space. The Wachowskis’ own The Matrix is a perfect example of a classic hero’s journey which also incorporates introspective themes into its lore, plot, and mythology, wherein the internal conflict of the protagonist is just as important as whatever external adversity he is meant to overcome. Where Battlestar Galactica 2004 uses its thematic material to craft a sci-fi adventure story, The Matrix uses a sci-fi adventure story to explore its thematic material. Seen in that light, I think the Wachowskis wanted Jupiter Ascending to have similar weight to its narrative, but they ended up recycling a sort of “human harvest” idea already seen in The Matrix (and arguably done in a more engaging way).

Jupiter Jones herself is a catalyst for an inter-familial conflict within a wealthy interstellar hierarchy. Though alien races do exist, the most dangerous aliens happen to be humans themselves, extraterrestrial humans of course. In Jupiter’s universe, it turns out that the wealthy and powerful have the ability to live forever (an idea also explored in the Neftlix adaptation Altered Carbon), but only by seeding countless worlds with humans, then harvesting these humans like crops and breaking these millions of people down into a sort of primordial youth serum by which the lives of the affluent may be extended.

Advanced genetics in Jupiter’s universe are the highest form of technology, and it is stated in all the cosmos the most sought-after resource is time. This is the reason these advanced humans out among the stars are able to splice human and animal genes, essentially creating entirely new races, and the reason why Jupiter herself is seen as a reincarnation of a woman who once owned countless stars and planets. Genes, to the wealthy and powerful, have a near spiritual significance. Jupiter is referred to as a Recurrence, a person who is long dead but whose gene-print inconceivably reappears in someone who is born centuries or even millennia later. This is seen as a near miracle, and thus is recognized by interstellar law as a legitimate reincarnation, giving this new person the same rights and privileges, and inheriting all the property previously held by the deceased person whose gene print they share.

And that’s where the conflict comes up. Jupiter is sought out by three siblings of the Abrasax family, one of the most elite and powerful families in the universe, of which she is the reincarnation of their mother and thus entitled to re-inherit all of their resources and capital which they currently control. The kids are Kalique (Tuppence Middleton), the well-to-do, but compassionate one, Titus (Douglas Booth), the more two-faced of the three who acts innocent but is clever as a viper, and Balem (Eddie Redmayne), the stereotypical villain of the piece who seems to have nervous ticks and an inability to raise his voice above a certain octave except in times of extreme stress. Of course, since Jupiter’s now meant to control everything they currently own, none of the three Abrasax kids can be fully trusted. Jupiter doesn’t have to face these three one-percenters alone however. She is accompanied by Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) an ex-soldier and wolf-splice, known as a Lycantant, who is hired by Titus to safely retrieve Jupiter from Earth before his siblings can get to her. Caine’s former commanding officer, a bee-splice known as Stinger (Sean Bean) also appears from time to time, as well as officers of the Aegis, an interstellar law enforcement agency.

If you are having a hard time following the characters here, it’s probably because there just isn’t much to any of the characters other than what I’ve already written about them. And therein lies the primary flaw with this film. The characters aren’t interesting, and the greater tragedy is that the characters are written to be uninteresting. Where a ton of care and attention went into crafting the look, feel and depth of the wider universe acting as the story’s setting, the characters within this story are criminally underwritten.

Earlier, I went to great lengths to illustrate the wealth of variety throughout genres of science fiction, just how many different types of stories we might get within this narrative framework. The purpose of explaining all of that to such a degree was meant to show you that not everything has to follow the same narrative flow. Sometimes stories can be more abstract, less character driven, less action heavy. In that regard, a story exemplar like Blade Runner doesn’t really need to have strongly written characters because the interpersonal aspects of its journey are less important than its atmospheric setting and stylistic momentum. The gravitas comes from a different place than in stories which are more character driven.

However, if a story does want to give us something more conventional, then it’s extremely important that the characters are strongly defined, well established and, even if not likable, at the very least interesting. Though a bit out of this wheelhouse, Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is notorious for featuring a dramatis personae of terribly vain, horrible sociopaths, but many of these characters are still written in a way that makes them interesting. Jupiter Ascending fashions itself as an epic space opera, a stylized adventure journey which goes from scrubbing toilets in Irving Park to rocketing through a wider spectacular galaxy. Within that story structure, the characters need to be given their proper attention, especially the protagonist. Only, this is not the case with this movie. In fact in Jupiter Ascending, the characters almost appear as afterthoughts, which is most unfortunate.

Despite being the protagonist’s love interest, Caine seems to have been given the most depth, as a literal lone-wolf personality, an orphan of a sort, a former soldier disgraced for an act of savagery, who longs to regain his military status as a Skyjacker, and was sprung from a prison called Deadland to rescue Jupiter from the clutches of filthy rich egomaniacs, a class of people he seems to utterly despise. Yet even Caine’s various portions of characterization are never fully explored, and he mostly serves as a vehicle to come dashing in and pluck Jupiter out of trouble over and over again. Secondary characters, other than Stinger (more on him later), are hardly there other than to function as a taxi service or exposition dump where appropriate, which is a shame since some of them have a great look but nothing else going on in the writing department to make them memorable. The Abrasax siblings are basically three different flavors of the same smug Soylent privilege, though Kalique seems to exist only to explain things for the benefit of the audience, and Balem seems to be accidentally memorable thanks to Eddie Redmayne’s unusual performance. Titus has some cool psychotic vibes with his underhanded motivations, slippery silver tongued bastard that he is, but even his role as the trickster doesn’t get its due in the end.

Stinger, Caine’s former commanding officer who is now an Aegis Marshal, is also written slightly deeper than even the Abrasax siblings. He took the fall for Caine’s misstep in the military, so he also lost his wings and was disgraced for it. Despite this, he is willing to help Caine and Jupiter throughout the story, and though begrudged he seems genuinely good at heart. Stinger’s point of interest however comes from his traits as a Splice between human and bee DNA. Yes, this leads to a funny line of dialogue, but there are some great examples of show-don’t-tell with Stinger, in that having bee instincts he seems superhumanly able to anticipate motion and react to it ridiculously quickly compared to most people. This ability gives him an edge in everything from fistfights to navigating massive fields of hunter-killer mines. This is hardly important to the plot, but I thought it was cool since it’s never stated outright, just displayed through his actions. Another example of a great idea that’s mostly left adrift.

Jupiter herself starts out as a typical protagonist for a Hero’s Journey. She’s a Jewish Russian immigrant who leads an unglamorous life cleaning bathrooms and tidying fancy homes for her family’s housekeeping service, apparently has bad luck with romance, and hardly ever has time to really do anything she enjoys. Typically, once these elements are presented, there will also be a revelation of something more intimate about the protagonist, her dreams and ambitions, something she longs to one day achieve, her hobbies or personality, perhaps a personal drawback or fear she wishes to overcome. But the most we get about Jupiter is that she wants to buy back a telescope which was once stolen from her astronomer father by the same thieves who murdered him (which we see early in the movie in an awkwardly directed scene). It’s not made clear if Jupiter herself has a genuine interest in astronomy, nor even what any of her interests happen to be.

This becomes a recurring problem throughout the film. Since no real internal conflict or personality of any kind is established for Jupiter, she isn’t led through any personal journey or self-exploration, nor anything which allows her to grow or evolve as the narrative opens up and accelerates. She’s basically just along for the ride, one of those wrong place wrong time sort of things. Her journey is entirely surface level, external forces dragging her around the stars without her having any real say in the matter nor agency of her own. She as very little idea of what she wants or who she is, from what we can tell, because we have no idea of those things either. Mila Kunis does a fine job with the material she’s given, but the material just isn’t much to run with, and if there is a drawback to her performance as an actress I promise in this case the fault is not with her.

The terrible lack of characterization hurts everything in the movie from its ethical conceits, plot momentum, all the way up to the romance subplot which only feels forced and lacking chemistry because the two leads aren’t properly written. They could have had chemistry, but its difficult for archetypes to interact without endowing them with personality. It’s a fundamental flaw from which all other flaws of the film stem because the personality, the character of the protagonist in this type of story is a fundamental element from which many other elements of the story stem.

Even towards the end, when Jupiter is forced into dangerous heroics and aggressive bravery it doesn’t feel like much of anything because for all we know she was brave all along, or maybe she wasn’t. We’re never given the chance to find out. Her larger moment of heroism comes not in a violent action of conquering the badguy (though she does beat him with a pipe later... in self-defense of course), but in refusing to compromise to Balem’s ultimatum, either resign her ownership of Earth or allow Balem to murder her family. It’s interesting to note that instead of rocking up and blowing his head off with a blaster, she just tells him to get fucked, which is a cool idea, non-violent protagonists are few and far between. Though the climax would have been far more satisfying had we gotten to know Jupiter much better before she gets to this point. Ultimately, the lack of strong characters make the progression of the movie feel awkward, and the denouement seems to come out of nowhere. It’s really too bad, since many facets of this film’s setup seemed to bear promise, and it’s more tragic than infuriating, leaving an audience with a countenance more in sorrow than in anger.

Like Jupiter herself, thematic elements are also only half-explored. The idea that genetics have advanced to such a point that life-regeneration has become a reality within this star-spanning civilization (albeit a reality exclusively available to the filthy, insanely wealthy) is an interesting idea, and there’s a lot of potential for the ethical quandaries related to that sort of technology, and what makes it possible. Yet little of this is given attention beyond the horror of Jupiter discovering the Abrasax family regularly kills billions of people for longevity and profit. Is their life-extending operation the only one out there? Or is it an industry? Are there black market dealers who develop and trade their own youth serum off the books? It’s all kind of muddy and little of it is given any explanation or nuance.

As we’ve established, Campbell’s hero’s journey isn’t the only way to go about a sci-fi story, but in Jupiter Ascending it’s like half-started without any of the follow-through, and the characters which should be the heart of the story are greatly lacking any depth. The film’s been compared to a Disney-style princess story, and even references Cinderella at one point, though it does seem to be aiming higher than this. Yet, the lackluster character writing and flat dialogue all make the story somewhat impotent, whatever its aim, leaving the movie looking like a majestically beautiful gild-feathered eagle, which just happens to be blind. Fun to look at, but has absolutely no idea where it’s going. I can’t articulate enough what a shame this all is, since there really are some cool ideas and sci-fi content here. I truly wish, as a sci-fi enthusiast, that Jupiter was truly able to ascend.

I’d recommend it as a fun romp through an intriguing galaxy, but it’s more useful as an example of how to get everything right with a movie, everything other than the thing that really holds it all together: a well-written protagonist. Still, I’m no intersectionalist, but it’s nice to see the girl get the guy at the end of the story, the way guy protagonists get to get the girl at the end of all their stories. That was a pleasant feeling, even if it wasn’t quite earned with everything come before it. Plus, you know; lizardmen, and jet-bikes. The Wachowskis are generally great at what they do though, just maybe have a tough time channeling it. Here’s hoping they can get back to us with something truly badass in future because the level of commitment to the craft seen in this movie is extraordinary, even if the reach exceeds the grasp in this particular case. 

                     侍    headless                                     

[pleasinglytherandom]

Soul Split Drabble #2 kinda sorta

Okay, some context here. In the manga, a month period happens before the gang goes to Egypt to send Atem off to rest. While driving home one day, I remembered this and had the random thought--”What were they doing in that period?” And for some reason, the first thing that popped into my head was the idea of this drabble. Realistically, the most I would do is reference this time period in story and come up with something relevant. But it definitely gives some good material and leeway to write with. I actually debated on writing this for a couple of weeks and finally decided “ to hell with it” and wrote this in 4 hours (with distractions) lmao. I figured this would still fit in the au, so eh. Why not? So...fair warning, this is absolutely raw and unedited, so ignore any mistakes. Because chances are I won’t go back and edit it on here lol. (I reference my past work a lot to see what mistakes I have made and try to better at it)

Still can’t tell if I made myself cry while writing this is or good not

Enjoy!

~~~~

Yugi and Jonouchi walked into an arcade one late afternoon. School was finally over for the day and they had no tests to study for. There was also no immediate concerns for them. Battle City has ended, Atem has retrieved his memories, and they have all the necessary items to send him back. The only thing that is to do is to make the trip to Egypt. In a fortunate way, making the money will take some time for the group to make this trip, so that meant more time to spend with Atem. The group all sat down and planned it out of how long it would take to create the funds for them to all go, and the answer they came to was a month. In that month, they all made plans to hang out whenever possible and split the time up as fairly as possible.

Today, it was Jonouchi's day. It has been a long while since either of the boys have played anything else that wasn't a card game. It has been a long time since they stepped inside an arcade in general. The changes were startling to both of them; nevertheless, it was a scene that was familiar to them. The sounds of buttons clicking and joysticks clacking, the sound effects of various video games going off from every corner of the room, and the ocassional whooping from some kid who beat a high score. Not likely Kaiba's high score, but a high score of some sort.

“Alright Yugi, where to first?” Jonouchi asked as he put a few yen into a machine. The machine dispensed a handful of coins and he pocketed them into his jeans. “Check out the newer games or go for ‘ol reliable?”

Their “ol reliable” was the typical beat 'em up games. They used to sit on the stools for hours, fighting each other with their favorite fighter. Sometimes they would even see who was the better Bruce Lee. Yugi would always win, but they had fun regardless. It was a simpler time.

“Let's go check out the newer games first,” Yugi answered as he retrieved his own set of coins. “But I also promised Other Me that he gets first play on whatever we decide to play.”

“That's cool and all, but no cheating! Don't help him on the controls or anything!”

“Ha ha, I can't promise anything Jonouchi-kun, we do share the same body after all. I can only promise I won't tell him anything myself.”

“Man, the one time I might be able to win at something and you can't even promise me you won't cheat...”

“Alright, alright, how about this? I promise on my honor I won't help Other Me or help him cheat as far  as me telling him is concerned. When it comes to my body and muscle memory, I can't help that.”

“Better.”

Despite their competitive bicker, they were smiling widely and laughing as they passed all of the machines. Any outsider wouldn't be able to tell anything was amiss in their lives. If one really looked hard enough, they could see the pain behind the glint in their eyes and grins. For the moment, they could forget the weight on their shoulders. They could have normalcy for a day.

That was all they really needed.

Yugi and Jonouchi looked side to side in the aisle of the games, noting which ones were new and which ones weren't. They rounded a corner and spotted a shiny pinball machine with bright colors and lights. It had a comical mascot dressed up in a princess dress and being carried away by some sort of monster on one half, the other half with another mascot dressed in a hero's outfit giving chase, a sword and shield in hand. They stared at it, attempting to make sense of the story the images told. A light layer of dust covered the glass, making it difficult to see the visuals clearly.

Yugi gave a pitiful smile and walked up to the machine and used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the dust away. Clearly it hasn't been used, but it was still taken care of to a certain degree. Jonouchi walked up behind him with curiousity, looking over his shoulder. Upon closer inspection, yellow letters was written to tell the player the point system and how many coins to insert per turn. At the top in between the mascots, bubbled characters was bolded with what the machine was called.

“ 'Save the Princess', huh?” Jonouchi read it out loud with minimal amusement.  He shrugged and leaned against the wall with one hand, looking back at Yugi. “Not very creative title. So you decided on this Yugi?”

“Yup,” Yugi nodded, a more genuine smile appearing on his face. “Every game deserves a play. What do you think, Other Me?” Yugi titled his head back and looked over his shoulder, the question directed to the spirit. Yugi smiled even more and laughed, then cradled the Puzzle in his hands and shuts his eyes, like he normally does to switch places with Atem.

Jonouchi couldn't see him, but he can feel his presence there. He used to not be able to tell, but after the Memory World escapade, Atem felt even more like of a separate entity that inhabited the Puzzle. He isn't entirely sure why, but he suspects that seeing him in his own body had something to do with it. Did it reaffirm the fact that he indeed was someone else? Is it because he emits the aura of a regal being rather than the aura of a different Yugi? Is it because he is confident of his own identity and it shows—or rather, oozes?

Jonouchi shook the questions out of his head and came back to the present, seeing Atem now standing there in Yugi's place. He jingles the coins in his hand while looking at the game, his eyes narrowed in contemplation. He looks at the contraption from side to side, pressing one of the buttons with his free hand, an eyebrow shooting up. He pulls on the knob that shoots the pinball out, then releases it. The thud from the action made him jolt in surprise, but his face turns into amazement right after.

“Are...are you trying to figure out the controls?” Jonouchi asks, trying to hold back a bit of a snicker. His mouth twists a bit from his effort, but a snort comes out of his nose. He knew that it would be amusing to watch him play more unique games, but his raw reactions could be compared to a kitten testing a new toy for the first time. To put it simply, he couldn't handle it.

“Yes, I am,” Atem mused for a bit more before inserting a coin in the slot, causing the game to come to life. He puts the rest of the currency in a pocket and rests his hand over the knob and pulls it back as far as it could go and releases, watching the pinball shoot out of the slide and bounces around. “Grandpa's shop has many games, but a pinball machine is not one of them, so I am not familiar with it or it's functions. Partner isn't that familiar with them either apparently.”

“All the better for me then! Makes the playing field more fair. I bet I'll beat your scores every time!” Jonouchi stands up straighter and watches closer, the pinball going from side to side on the board, sounds pinging when something is activated inside.

“Are you sure it's wise to make a bet like that Jonouchi?” Atem smirks, the competetive determination lighting up inside his violet eyes. He observes carefully, his fingers twitching at the sides on top of the triggers for the flippers.

“Wise? Who said anything about wise? I am making the bet because it'll be fun to test your skills at something you have never played!”

“If that is what you want, then that is what you will get.”

The pinball finally began to drop down into the middle of the board, then the bottom, and launched back up by the flipper. Fortunately for the King of Games, Yugi has above average timing and reflexes, and that is all he really needs for a simple game like this. His luck can cover the rest. The score board went higher and higher as Atem kept playing, the ball yet to drop to it's death.

Jonouchi clicked his tongue as he witnessed the score rack up higher gradually. He shook his head and crossed his arms, finding it hard to swallow that Atem can be good at something he has never touched. There was no possible way for him to find time to know these games existed, let alone practice. However, he couldn't bring himself to be mad. Atem was into it and enjoying himself, and Jonouchi was able to witness it for himself. It brought a smile to his lips, and that much he was grateful for.

“I would like to thank you, Jonouchi.” Atem said softly, the ball finally whizzing past the flippers, unable to be saved. His eyes look up to his friends', a gentleness that the blond was not used to seeing. “You and everyone else are working hard for my sake. Not only to help put me to peace, but to spend time with me and feel like a person of this time. To help me feel like I could belong on the last moments of being here with you. It makes me incredibly happy and honored that you all would do that for me. So, thank you.”

A lump jumped into Jonouchi's throat, and a burning sensation settled in the back. He swallowed hard to prevent any tears from coming, and he smiled sadly at the words. He knew they couldn't ignore the obvious, it was inevitable that it would come up. But, that was a part of their normal. The obvious was always there in front of them. They just ignored it.

If only they figured out what would happen sooner.

“I feel the same too, Atem.”

[adtargetio-blog]

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How can Rich Media Ads Help You?

  They provide advertisers with a lot of creative freedom, allowing them to think outside the box and explore fun and unique new avenues of advertising.

Another great benefit is that they work great with mobile ads, making their scope broader and their reach wider. Mobile rich media ads also beat static banner ads and desktop ads in both ad performance and viewability rates. Clearly, rich media ads have a longer-lasting impact on potential consumers than static banner ads or even desktop ads. Mobile rich media ads provide people with greater accessibility, and they can easily interact with these ads on the go. The sort of constant targeting provided by mobile rich advertising can help you in increasing your brand awareness dramatically, as well as giving people a fantastic user experience. What happens then? People associate that excellent user experience with your brand, making them all the more likely to seek out your products and services! Not only will your product have a high chance of standing out from the competition, but it will also allow you to put your creativity on display through a dynamic advertisement. Rich media ads are an accessible tool and can be an invaluable resource in your advertising arsenal. There are several websites you can use to build your own rich media advertisements, one of the most popular being Google Web Designer. You can find several guidelines about how exactly you can work on creating such interactive rich media ads.

The Types of Rich Media Ads

  Chances are you’ve probably encountered all three types at one point or another during your time on the internet.

In-page Ad:

  You’ve probably seen such ads several times scattered throughout a web page. In-page ads are the standard advertisements that appear on the web page, either in the middle of the page or one of the corners.

Out of Page Ad:

  These are the kinds of ads that pop up or open in an entirely different window in front of your web page. They’re supposed to stand out and divert the user’s attention to the ad, but they can easily come off as invasive, spammy and annoying, so it’s best to be careful with these.

In-stream Ad:

  Have you ever seen a YouTube video which featured some ad for a product that you’ve never heard of before? That’s what in-stream ads are. These ads play either before, after, or in the middle of a video. Yes, they can be annoying and invasive but are also a great way to get your point across. In many instances, you can stuff your main points within the first five seconds and grab the viewer’s attention before they have the chance to skip your ad.

The Difference Between Rich Media Ads and Other Ad Formats

  I have a question for you. With such a wide variety of innovative digital technologies that advertisers can take advantage of, would you rather have your ad be interactive and creative, or would you rather it be a dull, unmoving, static ad that displays just one piece of information? That’s what I thought. Static ads are just boring now. Rich media ads are a lot more appealing than regular ads. They’re a lot easier to manipulate and make attention-grabby without looking tacky or garish. The most apparent difference between rich media ads and other ad formats is this; people want to click on rich media ads. What are some of the other reasons interactive ads are different (and better) from other ad layouts? Here’s why.

Simplicity:

  Regular static ads are produced in a simple format and incorporate GIFS, flash images, 2D visuals, and JPEGs. Rich media ads are a lot more versatile, and you can incorporate audio/video aspects, making for a richer and more creative mode of advertising.

Size Difference:

  Static banner ads are usually much smaller in size than rich media ads (less than 200 KB), which means that they’re easier to handle and upload but at the cost of interactivity. Rich media ads are generally a lot bigger than 200 KB but provide a whole host of features that the alternative does not.

Technological Differences:

  Static banner ads use pretty standard technology and visuals. Rich media ads are a lot more compatible with different types of technologies, i.e., Java, JavaScript, and HTML5.

Quality:

  Static banner ads simply do not have the same quality of storytelling and the advanced features of rich media ads which make them so compelling and appealing to click on.

Interactivity:

  While static banner ads usually need to be clicked to be interacted with (after which the user is transferred to a landing page) rich media ads are interactive on their own and can convey a lot of information about your brand even before someone clicks on it.

Versatility:

  One of the more versatile features of rich media ads (unlike static ads) is that users can use the ads to play small, mini flash games, providing a great little boost to the interest levels of the user.

Ad Performance:

  Ad performance is one of the core elements advertisers need to consider. A static banner ad is only measurable using the Click Through Rate (CTR) metric. On the other hand, you can track user experience and engagement with rich media ads using multiple complex metrics.

Information:

  Rich media ads can provide a lot more information than the static ad. Where a static ad would display limited information, interactive ads host a lot more information and can provide more material related to your company to the users, another one of the big ways interactive ads are different from other ad layouts. By now, you should be able to see how much more advanced rich media ads are. It might be hard to admit. But the truth is that these ads are the stepping stones to gaining an interested consumer base that appreciates your creativity. These ads can provide a drastic amount of ROI and a great deal of engagement with potential consumers.

Rich Media Ad Formats

  Still not sold? You might change your mind when you hear about the versatility provided by the different formats of rich media ads.

Rich Media Banner Ads

  One of the most common formats, these ads usually appear above the fold (top front on web and mobile) and are a favorite of advertisers. With these ads, you get the chance of converting a boring old static banner into an engaging, eye-catching, interactive poster. The big benefit of this is that it decreases load time significantly and has high viewability.

Rich Media Interstitial Ads

  These ads are extremely hard to miss and grab a person’s attention dramatically; think full screen. They take up so much space that it makes them extremely hard to ignore. They’re functional on both web and mobile. Their significant benefit is that they are incredibly high on the viewability scale and have great recall value. The downside is its high load time.

Rich Media Slider Ads

  These ads are, as the name suggests, sliding ads, i.e., the ad moves (or slides) as the user interacts with it. These are usually placed at the bottom of the screen. Their significant benefit is that they are high on the CTR scale and less invasive than regular ads.

Rich Media Expandable Ads

  These ads expand to a fuller, bigger size when a user interacts or begins to interact with the ad. You might have seen it. You hover your cursor over an ad, and it opens up and expands. These ads are extremely compelling to look at, and interactive before the interaction even begins. They’re high in viewability and recall value, as well as being very eye-catching with a higher CPM. Their downside, however, is that they have a longer load time due to being so filled with multimedia.

Rich Media Push-down Ads

  Think of these ads as a drop-down menu. They appear as standard ads, and then once a user tries to interact with it by hovering their cursor or some other trigger, they push the rest of the ad downward. These ads are similar to expandable ads but are not the same thing. One of the benefits of these ads is high engagement and recall value. The downside is that, just like expandable ads, they have a high load time because of the high multimedia concentration. Now we know some of the ways interactive ads are different from other ad layouts, as well as some of the properties of rich media ads themselves. So what can we take away from this? Well, we know for a fact that the days of advertisers speaking at a person instead of to them are long gone. Today, digital advertisers need to be creative, flexible, and resourceful if their products are going to catch any steam in the rapidly growing competitive market. Rich media ads can provide you a versatile platform to do just that and so much more. source Read the full article

[trashyflowerrs-blog]

Best gift for men

We all have unique guys in our lives. It does not depend if it's a boyfriend, husband, father, brother, or friend. Probabilities are that when you're doing all your gift buying you want to buy the pleasant. Which is exactly why we determined to collect a number of the high-quality present for men. Each of those gifts we are handpicked with the aid of our authors based on their reputation amongst men. Whilst we have been researching a number of the goods in this newsletter we attempted to discover items that would be exceptional for a diffusion of different persona types. However there are not any one length fits all presents. Which is exactly why we compiled a listing. We hope you enjoy a number of our present pointers. We realize we loved locating them.

#10 wrist watches

In all likelihood one of the maximum traditional gift for men. In the end, guys are tough to buy. This gift idea is best for the guy who has all of it. Of course while purchasing for wrist watches you'll run into a few troubles. One of those problems is understanding the size of recipients list, and you just can't ask him immediately out. In any case, it'd deliver away your present concept. What I'd advocate doing is looking someone whose close to him.

About wrist watches, you'll virtually have a huge selection. You may pick out from dressmaker watches to less expensive watches. For the most part, i would actually check into a few designer put on that would healthy his underlying fashion. Of route, clothier watches do have quite a large fee tag on them. They could use variety from everywhere to loads to hundreds of greenbacks.

#9 PlayStation  3

Likely one of the fine items in this list. The ps three is perfect for all those guys who want to play video games out there. But even if they don't like the ps three nonetheless may make a wonderful present. The cause being is that it may flow films from Netflix. On the pinnacle of that, you may also use it as a DVD participant. Of route, it makes a better gaming console.

In case you've by no means heard of the PlayStation  3 earlier than it's the third online game console produced through sony home leisure. The video game console is actually one of the extra popular gaming consoles in the marketplace. The reason we recommended the ps 3 is due to it's many famous gaming titles. For example a number of the amazing games available solely at the PlayStation  3 are final fantasy and gran Turismo. Of path there are a lot extra titles than that. The ones are simply multiple our favorites.

#8 iPhone

Out of all of the gifts on this list this one is my private favorite. The cause being is this present ultimately finally ends up deciding to buy itself. Essentially when you buy the phone you're additionally getting the many perks of being a apple consumer. A number of the ones perks encompass a community of builders devoted to growing programs for the iPhone. The iPhone has nearly ten instances as many builders as some other telephone in the marketplace.

In case you're not sure what meaning it's clean. Essentially for the iPhone human beings increase dozens of applications like video games, utilities, and spoofs. Some which are completely free. I recognize on my iPhone I downloaded an application that allowed me to study comedian books entirely freed from the fee. On top of that, i also downloaded an reader and some public area titles like Alice in wonderland.

#7 kindle

The kindle has been the nice promoting product on amazon for a long term on the writing of this article. This gift is the nice present for guys who want to examine. Of course, we are recommending for absolutely distinctive reasons. One of the many motives we just like the kindle is that it reduces call for pulp merchandise. Displacing some of the demand for deforestation and paper.

On top of that, the kindle also has many blessings for the patron. One of those consists of getting entry to the internet always without having to pay associated charges. Of path, this is only covered on choose models. Plus you may additionally have to get right of entry to dozens of titles at a fragment of the value of a paperback ebook. Now not best that you can convey a library with you anywhere you move. This is the last present idea for the one's men accessible who like their books.

#6 MacBook

If you could not tell, i'm a big fan of apple merchandise. One among the goods that I like the most is the MacBook. There are certainly numerous reasons for this. One of those many motives includes the truth that it would not have a number of the hassles of the traditional laptop. Although it does have an entire set of hassle. In my thoughts, i think the MacBook is a higher pc.

With regards to MacBook purchasing, you will get geared up to spend some cash. In spite of everything, macbooks are not cheap computers. Of path, if you're looking for one of the fine presents for men then it's truly well worth checking into them.

#five smartphone

If the man you are purchasing for needs a brand new phone, i would, in reality, propose replacing it with a telephone. Before you believe you studied that this present suggestion is going to feed you a fortune then think once more. Incredibly we were capable of discovering smartphones for less than $one hundred unlocked. Which means that they might not require a contract.

In case you're now not technically savvy, i'll explain what a smartphone is. It's a cellular smartphone that has improve computing abilities. A few smartphones are extraordinarily beneficial and include a diffusion of functions. It all relies upon on the telephone which you buy. If you be aware above we, in reality, encouraged one of the more famous clever phones on our listing.

#four xbox 360

The xbox 360 is the present day video game console created by microsoft. It's certainly my favored video game console. The cause being is that it has many of my preferred gaming titles like halo. Since i am a large halo fan then you definately realize i'd constantly propose an xbox. The component approximately shopping for an xbox 360 for a man is that it's lots like when he could buy a diamond ring for you. It truly is precisely how a lot an xbox approach to us men.

As for the price tag the xbox 360 may be quite steeply-priced. Chances are most of the people might not be interested in spending that lots on a gift. However we understand for the fact that you may in all likelihood discover a few terrific deals on used consoles. With your savings, you may additionally select up a few game titles. That manner he'll have a few video games he may want to play.

#3 porsche

There are just a few matters that men love. You are one in every of them, and the opposite is their cars. With regards to the first-rate present for guys we wanted a gift idea that might be over the pinnacle. Despite the fact that we know most men probably may not be expecting this sort of below the Christmas tree it is still a high-quality present idea. After all what man wouldn't need the latest Porsche.

When i was researching for this newsletter i desired to see exactly how a lot a porsche might set you returned. Commonly the beginning fee of a brand new porsche is round $forty,000. Which is ready $39,990 extra than most of the people need to spend. But if you win the lottery every time soon then you will recognize what to get.

#2 flat screen television

How a good deal time does your man spend in front of the tv? Exactly. For this gift thought we're going to endorse replacing that old piece of junk inside the living room with a nice high definition flat display screen tv. While doing all your buying, you'll have masses of television units to choose from. Some have a diffusion of various functions like the ability to play three-D video games.

This present idea will possibly set you to lower back a few bucks, and while we are saying some dollars, we suggest a pair hundred. Relying on the size of the tv that you buy. I did a few pricing for flat display screen televisions. One of the sets that I found was about 15 inches in duration and cost around $150. Wasn't that terrible of a deal in case you inquire from me.

#1-holiday package deal

The first-class gift for men that we ought to think of is a vacation bundle for 2. The cause this become our primary gift concept is straightforward. After spending at least eight hours an afternoon at paintings, men get tired. That is precisely why they're emotionally shut down. We get domestic overdue at night, and we're simply tired. Because of this, a vacation is the first-class present idea of all time.

There's nothing higher than seeing the arena. In my view, i might endorse taking a ride to Europe. It is an entirely one of a kind tradition. What I might propose is soaking inside the culture. Don't consume at locations that you can discover inside the U.S.A.. You want to live just like the Europeans live.

Check out nano jewelry for more information.

[bobbystompy]

The Slim Shady 20

Eminem’s “The Slim Shady LP” came out, I’m told, 20 years ago. Though the album is, in many ways, dated, homophobic, problematic, sexist, and just as differently offensive now as it equally was originally, it’s still extremely excellent. Instead of going too think piece-y, I wanted to write about my favorite bars.

While Eminem’s career definitely hit higher highs with latter releases, this is my favorite album in his catalogue. He was just as angry, but it was channeled; not distorted by fame or worn down by addiction or jaded by lawsuits or persevering through death of loved ones. This was 26-year-old Marshall, getting his head above water in time to start machine gunning expletives at the world around him.

And please remember, in his words, “If I’m talking too fast, it just means you’re listening too slow.”

20.

I wanted an album so rugged, nobody could touch it Spent a million a track and went over my budget (Oh, shit) Now, how in the fuck am I supposed to get out of debt? I can't rap anymore, I just murdered the alphabet

Immediate thesis statement.

19.

If I had a magic wand I'd make the world suck my dick without a condom on while I'm on the john

Really dislike this lyric, but it’s unflinching grossness hits every time.

18. 

I met a s*** and said, "What up? It's nice to meet ya I'd like to treat you to a Faygo and a slice of pizza”

This lyric does not exist going forward because any success carries you beyond it. Shades of “Exhibit C’s” masterful “When I was sleepin' on the train / Sleepin' on Meserole Ave out in the rain / Without even a single slice of pizza to my name” exactly 10 years later.

17.

This guy at White Castle asked for my autograph So I signed it, "Dear Dave, thanks for the support, asshole"

Doesn’t even rhyme; he hated his fans from the very beginning.

16. 

‘Cause I'm the one they can relate to and look up to better Tonight, I think I'll write my biggest fan a "fuck you" letter

Gave you every, immediate chance to get away.

15.

I'm freestylin' every verse that I spit 'Cause I don't even remember the words to my shit

Nah --  you’re way too meticulous, Shady.

14.

I'm not a player, just a ill rhyme sayer That'll spray a aerosol can up at the ozone layer

I like when his evil imagery turns half-baked adolescent; might as well brag about melting ants with your magnifying glass.

13.

Tell her you need a place to stay You'll be safe for days if you shave your legs with Renee's razor blades

Some fun internals; plus the part right before taught me what “gaffle” meant.

12.

I just remembered that I'm absent-minded Wait, I mean I've lost my mind, I can't find it

+

I used to be a loudmouth, remember me? (“Uh-uh”) I'm the one who burned your house down (“Oh”) Well, I'm out now (“Shit”)

Two of my favorite circular lines.

11.

Some people only see that I'm white, ignorin' skill 'Cause I stand out like a green hat with a orange bill But I don't get pissed, y'all don't even see through the mist How the fuck can I be white? I don't even exist

Had to address the elephant in the room.

10.

You beef with me, I'ma even the score equally Take you on Jerry Springer and beat your ass legally

Man with a plan.

9.

These are the results of a thousand electric volts, a neck with bolts Nurse, we're losin' him, check the pulse

Always a lab-created monster.

8.

I want to make songs all the fellas dub And murder every rich rapper that I'm jealous of So just remember, when I bomb your set Yo, I only cuss to make your mom upset

Cracked the code for us.

7.

Got b****** on my jock out in East Detroit 'Cause they think that I'm a motherfuckin' Beastie Boy So I told 'em I was Mike D They was like, "Gee, I don't know, he might be" I told 'em, "Meet me at Kid Rock's next concert I'll be standin' by the Loch Ness Monster"

This one checks many boxes: The D, local-yet-hilariously-dated celeb name check, misogyny, mythical creatures.

6.

But they love it when you make your business public So fuck it, I've got herpes while we on the subject And if I told you I had AIDS, y'all would play it 'Cause you stupid mothafuckas think I'm playin' when I say it Well, I do take pills, don't do speed Don't do crack, don't do coke, I do smoke weed Don't do smack, I do do shrooms, do drink beer I just wanna make a few things clear My baby mama's not dead, she's still alive and bitching And I don't have herpes, my dick's just itchin' It's not syphilis, and as for being AIDS-infested I don't know yet, I'm too scared to get tested

One of the only times he breaks the fourth wall.

5.

I hang with a bunch of hippies and wacky tobacco planters Who swallow lit roaches and light up like jack-o-lanterns Outsidaz, baby, and we suin' the courts 'Cause we dope as fuck and only get a ‘2′ in The Source

This was soon corrected.

4.

That's what I did, be smart, don't be a r***** You gonna take advice from somebody who slapped Dee Barnes? “What you say?” What's wrong? Didn't think I'd remember? “I'ma kill you, motherfucker” Uh-uh, temper, temper Mr. Dre, Mr. N.W.A, Mr. AK Comin' straight outta Compton, y'all better make way

Distilling Dre’s career -- warts and all -- into a flurry of knockout punches.

3.

I'll listen to your demo tape and act like I don't like it Six months later, you'll hear your lyrics on my shit ("That's my shit"!) People don't buy shit no more, they just dub it That's why I'm still broke and had the number-one club hit

Everything we’ve ever learned about Eminem has taught us he’s a tortured obsessive... yet this stretch feels effortlessly perfect. Plus, it gives us a clairvoyant outlook on the perils of massive-success-without-actually-making-money in the YouTube/streaming era.

2.

Me and Marcus Allen went over to see Nicole When we heard a knock at the door, must've been Ron Gold Jumped behind the door, put the orgy on hold Killed them both, then smeared blood on the white Bronco (We did it)

So offensive it almost laps itself back into normalcy. The unflinching “We did it” at the end is psychotic, horrible, and confident.

1.

 Fuck rap, I'm givin' it up, y'all, I'm sorry (”But Eminem, this is your record release party!”)

Tried to get out the game on his debut; Jay Electronica would be proud.

Honorable mentions...

I lay awake and strap myself in the bed With a bulletproof vest on and shoot myself in the head (Bang) I'm steamin' mad (Grr) And by the way, when you see my dad (Yeah?) Tell him that I slit his throat in this dream I had

There’s something casual about his fantasy murder of his father that really made the end stretch of this hit home. This is the closing of his final verse in “My Name Is”; he was never playing.

Man, ain't you ever seen that one movie “Kids”? No, but I seen the porno with Sun Doobiest

Em’s devil to Dre’s angel.

My palms were sweaty, and I started to shake at first Somethin' told me, "Try to fake a stomach ache, it works" I screamed, "Ow, my appendix feel like they could burst Teacher, teacher, quick, I need a naked nurse" "What's the matter?" "I don't know, my leg, it hurts" "Leg? I thought you said it was your tummy" "Oh, I mean it is, but I also got a bum knee" "Mr. Mathers, the fun and games are over And just for that stunt, you're gonna get some extra homework" "But don't you wanna give me after school detention?" "Nah, that bully wants to beat your ass and I'ma let him"

Even the teacher wanted him to get his.

Tired of bein' stared at Tired of wearin' the same damn Nike Air hat

Never had to worry about that after this.

* * *

Death section:

- I tried suicide once and I'll try it again That's why I write songs where I die at the end 

- The disaster with dreads, I'm bad enough to commit suicide And survive long enough to kill my soul after I'm dead

- The ill type, I stab myself with a steel spike While I blow my brain out just to see what it feels like 'Cause this is how I am in real life I don't want to just die a normal death, I wanna be killed twice

- And if you ever see a video for this shit I'll probably be dressed up like a mummy with my wrists slit

- (I'm Slim Shady) So come and kill me while my name's hot And shoot me 25 times in the same spot

* * *

I got a wardrobe with an orange robe I'm in the fourth row, signin' autographs at your show

Tries to be unique and boastful... falls apart and gets self-deprecating.

I take a breather and sigh, either I'm high or I'm nuts 'Cause if you ain't tiltin' this room, neither am I

I mean, someone was... right?

We drive around in million-dollar sports cars While little kids hide this tape from their parents like bad report cards

Eh.

If I had a million bucks, it wouldn't be enough Because I'd still be out robbin' armored trucks

Unquenched desire for chaos.

A lyricist without a clue, what year is this? Fuck a needle, here's a sword, body pierce with this

Always able to make a risky situation dicier.

Wait, what if there's an explanation for this shit? What, she tripped, fell, landed on his dick?

Solid one liner.

Drug sickness got me doin' some bugged twitches I'm withdrawin' from crack so bad, my blood itches

/eyes pop out

I don't speak, I float in the air, wrapped in a sheet I'm not a real person, I'm a ghost trapped in a beat

Super fun hip-hop imagery.

[suraj-singh1]

10 Ways Progressive Web Apps Will Replace Native Apps

Progressive web apps (PWAs) are poised to topple their native app, soon-to-be predecessors from their throne atop the best mobile app development strategies pyramid. In other words, move over native apps, your younger and better-looking sibling is taking over. That said, don’t start pulling your hair out if your business has already invested in the development of a native mobile app. Your money hasn’t gone to waste. There’s still significant value to gain from having a downloadable native app. Mobile apps, no matter the breed, are going to enter a hybrid period where consumers expect both a native app experience and a progressive web app.

The future beyond that period, however, points towards a PWA-dominated landscape. In this discussion, we’ll take a look at ten reasons why PWAs are better than native apps and create a better app-like experience for customers.

1. The World Is Increasingly Mobile

At first thought, this may seem like a win for the native app column, especially when you consider that 87% of an average user’s time on their mobile device is spent on native apps. But, we’re also hurtling towards app fatigue. App fatigue is caused by two things: 1. There are too many apps on the marketplace (over 1.5 million) 2. Most users have downloaded “enough” apps on their phone

As more and more people shifted to browsing and using their mobile devices, app developers slammed the marketplace with apps to meet this demand. Many users are reaching critical mass with the number of icons and apps that they’ll allow to populate their mobile devices’ home screens. Thus, it’s becoming incredibly difficult to convince customers to commit to downloading a new app and crowding their screens even more.

2. Search Algorithms Will Favor Mobile Soon

Towards the end of 2016, Google announced that it would shift its search engine indexing algorithms to mobile-first indexing. This change is predicted to occur in 2018 and will mean that Google will look for a company’s mobile website or experience before its desktop website. You’d be hard-pressed to find better evidence than that of a mobile future. For companies with PWAs, this change is huge because it means that your app-like experience will soon be discoverable by Google and other search engines. This is a luxury that even native apps won’t be able to compete with.

3. Fewer Clicks Means Easier Accessibility

Search engines are just one way for users to connect to your PWA. These web-based apps have always had a key benefit over native apps: accessibility. Think about how many steps are involved in downloading a native app to your mobile device. You have to access your device’s app market, search the app, download the app, accept permissions and so on. Each step is a chance that the would-be user decides it isn’t worth it. PWAs, on the other hand, is accessible the moment a user learns of its existence, by accessing the experience through a URL link.

4. Shareable

People like to share the latest “new” thing they’ve discovered, read about, bought, tasted, touched, etc. That’s why every social media platform ever to make it big as a share function and why there are options to share this blog post at the bottom of the page. People like to share apps too, but native apps’ lack of accessibility has made this difficult. You can’t just send someone a native app. You can only tell your closest friends to check it out; it is then on them to visit the app store and see for themselves what the app is all about.

PWAs are unique, compared to their native counterparts, because they can be accessed through a simple URL link. This means that sharing a PWA experience is as easy as linking someone to a news article.

5. Usable Across More Platforms

The other detriment to native apps’ shareability is that not all apps function across different platforms. If your friend has an Apple device and you a Samsung, there isn’t a guarantee that they can get the same apps that you love on your Android-powered device because the language on their Apple devices is different. Native apps get their name because they require a native programming language. This restricts the types of devices that can “read” and allow the app to run.

Progressive web apps are unique because they don’t require any download or programming language to read. It is all web-based. Thus, not only can you easily share a PWA experience, but there’s a much higher guarantee that the recipient will be able to access the app-like website.

6. Minimal Storage Required

PWAs don’t require any sort of download; a user can access the entire experience right in their mobile web browser. Part of the app fatigue that many mobile users are facing is lack of storage. Between the apps we download, pictures/videos we take, documents we save and every other item taking up residency inside our mobile devices, we’re creating storage needs faster than the newest models of smartphones can keep up with. If a potential user has to decide between downloading your app or keeping photo #3,047 of their cat and an auto-tuned version of Beyonce’s Single Ladies saved on their device, it isn’t going to be a hard decision for them.

If you want to “download” a PWA, you can save a URL shortcut to your home screen. This functions exactly like any other icon for an app does on your home screen. When pushed, it accesses your favorite mobile browser and brings you to the URL of the PWA. Storing a URL link requires much less space than downloading an entire native app.

7. Faster Load Times

Once a native app has been installed on a mobile device, and the user has successfully committed to the whole download process, the waiting still isn’t over. The load time of native apps can range, based on the app’s size and robustness. Yet, any wait is a long wait, especially for something that you’ve already waited for to access and download. Again, progressive web apps have the edge; they load in about the time it takes to load a webpage, which with an average Internet connection is just a moment or two. For businesses, this means customers never have to wait to access your app experience.

8. Faster To Develop

Not only are PWAs easier and faster to locate and load, but they are also quicker to make. This makes them exceptional for one-off campaigns, new product releases or any other occasion where you need to bring an app to market very quickly. However, this perk does hint at the downside of PWAs; they lack the performance and number of robust features that native apps are capable of. While PWAs are more straightforward to develop, part of their ease of development is because they can’t handle a lot of the harder-to-code features that native apps can leverage.

9. Cheaper To Make, Easier To Maintain

The speed and ease at which a PWA can be developed means cheaper costs. This is excellent news for smaller businesses that have been kept out of the mobile development game because of the costs of creating a native app. Progressive web apps are also easier to maintain for both users and developers. Users don’t have to repeatedly update their app in order to get the latest features; updates are immediately applied to the web-based experience the moment the developers publish them. The developers of PWAs experience far less time to produce each update or provide general maintenance to the app.

10. PWAs Still Deliver A Lot Of Value

As mentioned earlier, PWAs do lack in one major category: performance. Native apps are capable of doing more and offering more than progressive web apps. That said, don’t count the more nimble PWA out of the count for features. First, PWAs already provide a lot: push notifications, app-based loyalty programs, location-based services and messages, even interactive games and other media. Second, PWA’s are relatively new; there are still significant developments underway and there’s plenty left to be discovered about the capabilities of web-based apps.

It isn’t hard to envision a future where the gap between PWAs and native apps, regarding performance, is much smaller than it is today. However, even if such a future is never actualized, most businesses can service all of their app needs inside a PWA environment.

Conclusions

If you’re a business that is looking to enter the mobile app space and you are trying to decide between developing a PWA or native apps, the answer is easy. PWAs have lots of value presently and far, far more to come in the future. Unless your app is going to house a lot of deep, sophisticated features, a native app simply isn’t worth it. Not only do they cost a lot of time and money to develop, but it is also becoming harder and harder to encourage downloads. As PWAs gain popularity, that difficulty is only going to rise. You can also easily develop and launch PWAs without coding with an app builder.

Simply put, PWAs are the next evolution of the app experience, and they will thrive where native apps have failed by being easier to access, share and produce, while still maintaining the same level of value that native app users have long enjoyed.

About the Author: Andrew Gazdecki is the founder and CEO of Bizness Apps, a company that helps small businesses build mobile solutions to compete with big brands. Their mobile app building platform makes it possible for everyone to create a mobile app for their business. When he isn’t helping small businesses, he is out surfing in the Pacific Ocean.

[collegetipsandadvics]

How to Get Accepted Into Your Dream School... Or At Least Try. And How To Wake Up From The Dream.

Many of us have one. That one school that has the prestige and it somehow encompasses everything or almost we want. Maybe it’s the perfect size, maybe it has the perfect major, maybe it’s got that gorgeous campus. If your dream school was like mine, it is also perfectly unattainable. As I mentioned before, I applied to 14 schools. 12 of them were considered likelies, some were arguably safeties. 2 of them were “reaches” and there was 1 I considered to be my dream school. Ever since I was a little kid, I was excited about this school; my mom had gone there, it was in my favorite city, it had a great program for my intended major, it had school spirit, and prestige. Like most people applying to their stretch schools though, I was rejected. At first I was upset, but after some time and a long talk with my mom, I realized that the school wasn’t perfect for me. As I went through my college journey, I got more and more excited about smaller schools that had access to a major city but weren’t necessarily IN a city. I realized that I’d probably flourish more in a smaller environment rather than a bigger one. In the end, I realized that I got caught up in the idea of the prestige more than actually wanting to be at that school. Eventually, I got past the heart break and I chose a school that I am more than excited to attend.

Just because I wasn’t accepted into my dream school, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen. I was accepted into my other reach school and I have friends who were accepted into their dream schools. Here are a few tips if you’re applying to yours:

1. Always do an interview if they are offered.

2. Get in contact with your admissions counselor right away. I have some sample emails under my “How To Get Into College... When You Can’t Visit” post. If your school offers any opportunities to meet your admissions counselor during the school day, definitely take advantage and definitely stay after and ask questions.

3. Try your best to visit. Depending on the school you’re interested in, you may have different options for when you can visit. There are department open houses, regular open houses, standard campus tours and information sessions, etc. I understand that tours can be annoying or open houses may be overwhelming, but if this is your dream school, try your absolute best to find an event you can make it to. The more interest you express, the better.

4. Most schools require some kind of supplemental essay for their application. Make sure this is absolutely perfect. Have an English teacher or guidance counselor look over it to make sure there are no errors and you clearly stated your points. This is most likely going to be held at a higher standard than your college essay. Also, make sure this essay is about THE SCHOOL. I know when I visited certain schools, especially ones in major cities, they stressed that while reading supplements, they don’t want to read about how much the applicant loves the surrounding area of the school. When you’re applying to a college in a major city, there are most likely going to be other schools in the area, so if your supplement consists of reasons why you love the surrounding area, you are not going to stand out. It’s beneficial to visit before writing your supplement, this way you can use specific details that you loved about the school.

5. If there’s an optional part of the application, it is not optional. Anytime you see an “optional supplement”, “optional resume submission”, or something of that nature, always do it. It shows that you are willing to put in the work to go the extra mile and you have a genuine interest in the school. Remember, treat this like the required supplement since this will be something the college will evaluate when they’re looking at your application.

6. If this is the only place you can really see yourself, definitely apply early decision (ED). Early decision is a binding commitment, meaning once you are accepted, you are required to attend. If this is the only school you want to attend, applying early decision is probably the right path for you. Many schools like to see the commitment that students put forth when they apply ED and some even have a certain number of spots reserved for students who apply ED. Depending on the school and the financial situation, I highly recommend talking to the school before applying ED.

If you were reject from your dream school or you want to avoid being heart broken, here are some tips for letting the dream go:

1. Do not focus on prestige. It can be tough, especially if you go to a school where other students value academics and going to a “name recognition” school. But please try to remember, your journey is not going to be the same as somebody else’s. Yes, there may be someone at your school who is accepted into your dream school when you weren’t, but that doesn’t make you any less valuable and it won’t hinder your success.

2. Remember, there are many schools that have similar attributes. Your dream school may seem unique and amazing to you right now, but I guarantee the schools you apply to will have similar opportunities to offer. Sometimes, other schools may offer better oppurtunities than the most prestigious ones you apply to. For example, with in the smaller schools I applied to, the study abroad programs and internships oppurtunities were equivalent, if not a little better than my dream school. More people were also able to take advanatage of them because it was a smaller school. The college experience is also going to be new and exciting, no matter where you decide to go. Whether it’s a big school or a small school, there are going to be new professors, people, parties, etc. There is also a lot of freedom and a chance to make your own experience. Your chances of having a positive college experience are not crushed solely because you weren’t accepted into your top school.

3. Do not internet stalk your dream school. I know for the school I applied to, I thought it was so fun to look up YouTubers who attended the school and watch “I was accepted!” videos, but in reality, it fed my excitement for a school I shouldn’t have been trying to get excited about. I did not have a big chance of getting into that school, so I should have been spending my energy else where. Instead of looking at pictures of people who attend your dream school, try to follow the schools you were accepted into. Better yet, focus on your school work and make your grades as perfect as possible for college. Even if you believe you will be accepted, do not get your hopes up and get overly excited about a school before you know you’re in.

4. If you’ve been rejected, please remember this quote, whether or not you are a religious person:

“God’s three answers to your prayers: 1. Yes 2. Not yet 3. I have something better”

In a religious context, the message is pretty obvious; God has a plan for all of us. When it comes to a dream school, God may say “yes”, he may say “not yet, you have to transfer”, or “nope, I know you will succeed at another school”. In a context with out religion, I interpreted this quote as the following: everyone has desires, but just because we want something, doesn’t mean we will get it. When we get rejected from a dream school, this may mean a new beginning. Our dream may be delayed until transferring, but we also may find something so much better. In the end, if we get a yes, a not yet, or a chance to find something better, we are going to be okay.

As always, I hope this posts helps you on your college journey. If you need any advice, have any questions, or if you were rejected from your dream school and could use a little support, I’m always here :)

[touristguidebuzz]

6 Tips for Shooting Awesome Vacation Videos

Today’s guest post shares a few tips for capturing awesome travel videos. We’ve hit the pause button on travel for the next few months (because of this), so over the coming weeks we will be sharing a couple of guest posts and stories from previous trips. If you’re planning a family vacation this winter, read this post about Common Family Travel Mistakes (and how to avoid them).

6 Tips for Shooting Awesome Vacation Videos

If you are looking for a handful of practical tips for shooting awesome vacation videos, you’ve landed on the right page. In this post, we’re sharing a few small tweaks coming from Cristian, a video editing engineer who makes living as a freelance videographer and video editor.

Alright, here we go…

Tip #1 — Tell a story

First and foremost, you want to take time to plan your video before you actually start the trip. Think about how you want it to look and feel. What style are you after? What story do you want to tell?

Ideally, you don’t want to only include a bunch of shots of your trip highlights. Instead, try to create a buildup which leads to the main shots of the location you are visiting.

To do that you will have to shot a lot of B-roll, such as, getting ready for the trip, commuting to the airport or preparing your gear for a hike or a dive, or whatever it is that you are doing.

Add in those shots in a creative way so they build up to the point where you unveil that epic view from the top of a mountain or the underwater shoot of a shipwreck sitting at the bottom of the sea.

Tip #2 — Film horizontally

If you’re using a smartphone to capture your travel video (which is totally fine since today’s high-end devices have awesome cameras), there’s a really quick and easy way to change the look and feel of your video.

Simply tilt the phone and start filming horizontally.

Even though this sounds like a no-brainer, the truth is that the majority of people record videos vertically or in portrait mode. I suppose this is because that’s how most of us hold our phones. But when you actually transfer your footage from your phone to your computer and start looking at those videos, you’ll see just a tiny little image with big black bars on the sides.

Kind of like this.

Instead of like this.

There’s no question about which one looks better, so remember to film horizontally from now on. Your footage will look more professional, it will fill up the whole screen and you can do so much more in post-production with horizontal videos.

Tip #3 — Don’t shake it

Speaking of smartphone videos, another issue with phone cameras is that a lot of the shots are shaky. Shaky footage is not pleasant to watch. It makes the video look amateurish and you can’t edit out shaky footage later on.

Nobody (or almost nobody) travels with a tripod on them, but there’s a quick fix to remove shakiness from handheld shots. By keeping your hands really close your body, with the elbows tucked in, the shoot will be much more stable. Use both hands when holding your phone or camera.

If you want to capture still videos – where the camera is not moving at all, but it captures the movement in the shoot instead – put it down on the bench, a car or anything else that would work for that particular scene. This will basically work like a tripod.

Tip #4 — Plan your shoots

Most people pull out their phone or camera and start pointing at everything around them as they go. Instead, put some thought into your shoot and have a plan. Take a few minutes to look around and decide what you would like to include in your video.

It helps to start by thinking about what you want the final piece to look like. What scenes would tell the best story? What landmarks do you want to include? Does it make sense to interview someone or have someone explain what you are looking at?

You want to have fun on your vacation, rather than being obsessed with filming everything, so if you plan your shoot ahead of time you can capture you footage and then put the camera away.

If you’re having trouble coming up with a theme or a style for your video, think about your favorite song or listen to the soundtrack that you want to use in your video. That should help set the right mood and visualize how the clip should look like.

Related – How to take better travel photos on your next big trip

Tip #5 — Film at the right time

This tip will make a world of difference and it’s so simple to implement.

As you know, lighting will greatly impact the way pictures and videos look. Everybody knows that cameras perform poor in darker shots, right? So it makes perfect sense to shoot at mid-day. Well, not really.

Super bright scenes will mess up with the sensor of most consumer cameras and you’ll get shots with blown-out colors that just look dull. There’s a think among videographers and photographers called the “golden hour”, used to define that moment which can be either early in the morning, either at dawn, when the sun is really close to the horizon line.

You know the time of the day when the sky looks like it’s on fire and the blend of light and shadows makes everything around look epic? That’s basically what “golden hour” means. And that’s when you want to shoot.

Your scenes will look so much better, guaranteed!

Tip #6 — Slow motion

Slow motion is huge! This will make a massive difference in your videos. If you can shoot in slow motion, then definitely give it a try. Most of the new smartphones have slow motion as a built-in feature.

If you are using a DSLR, see if you can find the 120 fps for super smooth slow motion shots. Or at least the 60 fps. You will probably need to lower the resolution, but as long as it’s at least 720p you should be fine.

Slow motion footage will add a more cinematic and emotional feel to your videos, so do experiment with it a little bit. It will grow on you.

Bonus Tips — Shooting with a GoPro Camera

The small size of GoPro cameras and their amazing video quality have transformed them into a must-have travel camera, rather than just an action camera. They are so much more convenient than a DSLR camera or mirrorless camera, for example.

I know there are a ton of travel bloggers using them and, if you’re reading this, there’s a pretty good chance you own a GoPro too. So, here’s how to get the most out of your GoPro when you’re traveling.

Carry the right accessories

If you want to get 100% out of your GoPro you need to use the right accessories.

As dumb as it may sound, the most important thing is to have enough power, so if you can, carry a few extra batteries with you. The newer models like the Hero 5 and Hero 6 tend to eat up the battery pretty fast, especially if you are using higher frame rates.

A GoPro selfie stick always comes in handy. The longer, the better. If you do a lot of underwater shooting get a floating wrist grip and maybe a red filter to improve the quality of the shoots.

Use the right settings

For videos, I always recommend sticking with 1080p at 60 frames per second. It works great every time.

If you’re after the slow-mo effect, crank up the shutter speed to 120 fps or even 240 fps if you have a Hero 6. Be careful though. High frame rates will result in grainy looking footage if the lighting is not good.

For pictures, use the highest possible resolution. If you’re into high-speed action sports, the Burst Mode or Time-lapse are great. Don’t overuse them though. You will run out of storage space fast.

Another thing you can play with is the field of view. It’s GoPro’s own way of zooming in and out.

The Superview and Wide modes will work great for 90% of the shoots, but if you want to get a more zoomed in shot of your subject without actually getting closer, use the Medium or Narrow settings. You can read more about how the GoPro Field of View setting works over here.

Try different perspectives

With the GoPros being so small you can literally place them anywhere.

And you want to experiment with that a lot. You can get unique shoots by putting your GoPro in a tree, in a hole in the ground or on the outside of the train by using a suction mount.

There’s no other camera that will allow you to use this kind of perspective, so make the most of it!

Bonus Tips — Shooting with a drone

Because there’s a big hype around drones these days, and you can buy one for much less than you could a few years ago, I’ve decided to include a quick list of tips for the drone owners out there as well.

ND Filter

The ND filter will be your best friend as a drone owner. Neutral density filters act like shades for your drone’s eyes. The reason you want to use these filters is that normally drone cameras have the tendency to overexpose, which results in jittery looking videos.

This is especially noticeable on the surface of the water or roofs tiles or any object with a rich texture.

You can optically correct this overexposure by putting a darker piece of glass over your camera’s lenses – which will be your ND filter. Depending on the particularities of the scene, you may need to use a darker or less dark filter. That’s why these often come in packs so you can pick the right one for the right moment.

Flat image style

Flat image style refers to a setting you can select from the menu of the camera, which basically turns off any artificial altering of the image. It will let you film without having the camera changing the colors, brightness, saturation and contrast.

This will result in a dull (kind of grey-ish) video, but it will give you more room to play around with the settings when you edit your video. You can bring out certain colors more and you can make the video more or less saturated. Play around with these settings to experiment with your video’s style and mood.

Color match

Lastly but not least, if you are going to combine shoots from different cameras in your final video, you will need to color match all of them so that everything looks the same. By default, videos coming from an iPhone will look different than the ones coming from a GoPro or drone.

You don’t want that to be noticeable in the final cut. All video editing software will allow you to color grade and match your videos.

Over to you

Hopefully these simple tips with help you improve your vacation videos. Keep in mind, these tips are guidelines, rather than strict rules. Get creative with your filming and remember to experiment and have fun!

Read next — Holiday gift ideas for the traveling family (or you!)

  6 Tips for Shooting Awesome Vacation Videos is a post from: Traveling Canucks

Related posts:

Coati Invasion in the Riviera Maya

When Travel Bloggers Get Scammed!

This year, make the most of your long weekends. Here’s how.

How to take better travel photos on your next big trip

[eelgibbortech-blog]

Customer Acquisition Strategies That Won’t Break the Bank

Getting new customers isn’t always cheap.

That’s one of the reasons why I tell businesses to focus on customer retention.

With that said, it’s impossible to retain customers if you can’t get them through your doors or to your website in the first place.

If you’re a new company without an existing customer base, you’ll need to come up with some creative ways to acquire new ones.

The problem is new businesses typically have a limited marketing budget.

They need sales to generate money for promotional content, but they can’t get any sales without those promotions.

It’s a paradox.

This goes for companies that may have been in business for a while but are struggling with their revenue streams.

Regardless of your situation, new customers can always help.

You don’t need to spend a fortune on customer acquisition.

Here’s a basic formula that shows how to calculate your acquisition cost:

If you want an even more accurate version of this formula, you can add additional costs besides sales and marketing. They may include:

wages

infrastructure

production

any other costs

That’s the true representation of how much it costs you to get a new customer.

Keeping this number low will give you a much higher return on investment.

The strategies I’m going to show you actually work.

I know this from personal experience.

These are the most inexpensive techniques to acquire lots of new customers.

Start by retargeting old customers

I know what you’re thinking.

If you’re focusing on existing customers, it’s retention, not acquisition—right?

Not exactly.

If you’ve been in business for a while and it’s been a year or two since a customer was active, I wouldn’t refer to that person as an existing customer.

Getting them back to your business is basically like getting a brand new customer.

Dig up any old information you have on this person:

email

phone number

address

Anything you have.

Reach out to them with a promotion to try to get their business back.

Here’s an example of an email campaign from Carter’s:

They give an old customer a reason to make another purchase and come back to their brand.

If you’ve recently made new improvements to your business, don’t be afraid to let old customers know.

Maybe the reason why they left in the first place was because they thought your company was outdated.

Share any information about your infrastructure that has improved the customer experience.

Do you have a new mobile application?

Have you renovated your brick and mortar location?

These are examples of things to promote when you contact these old leads.

Step up your presence on Instagram

To survive, you have to adapt to the times.

The days of using snail mail and local print advertisements to promote your business are slowly becoming a thing of the past.

Your business needs to have a digital presence.

Stay engaged with prospective customers via Instagram.

Over half of users on Instagram are active on a daily basis.

There are also 800 million active monthly users.

These numbers continue to rise each year.

The popularity of this platform isn’t going to phase out any time soon.

One of the reasons why I like to use Instagram is because it’s so inexpensive.

It doesn’t cost you anything to create a profile.

The only cost is your time.

Even if you’re paying someone to manage your social media accounts, it’s OK as long as they’re being productive.

Here’s what you need to do.

Work on getting more followers on your profile.

Realistically, not all your followers will become customers.

Don’t worry about converting all of them.

Let’s go through a scenario.

Start with a goal.

You want to gain 10,000 Instagram followers in the next month.

It’s a high number, but it’s attainable.

You’re aiming to convert 20% of your followers to customers.

That’s 2,000 new customers in just one month.

Don’t forget the best part: it didn’t cost you anything.

For those of you who think a 20% conversion is too high or unrealistic, think again.

Based on this generational data, it’s actually quite modest:

Internet users in the United States are likely to purchase something from a brand they follow on social media.

If you get more followers, you’ll get more customers.

You can improve your conversion chances if you’re managing your Instagram account properly.

Post pictures and videos of your products and services.

Get your followers involved as well.

Try to encourage them to post images of themselves using your products.

One of my favorite ways to do this is by featuring customer photos on your account.

When your followers see they can get recognition for their photos, it gives them some extra motivation to post pictures with your product.

Here’s an example from the Thule Instagram:

Now anyone who has one of Thule’s products knows they can be featured as well if they take a cool photo.

Getting customers to post photos on their personal accounts is a great brand awareness strategy.

You’ll get more followers and acquire more customers.

Again, this strategy is completely free.

Create more video content

Like I said earlier, you need to stick with the trends.

Video content is trending upward at record rates.

Across the globe, 52% of marketing experts say video has the highest return on investment compared to other marketing content.

That’s great news for you if you’re trying to keep acquisition costs low.

Doing something as simple as adding a video to your landing page can increase conversion rates by up to 80%.

One of the best parts about creating a video is that you can use the same one across all of your marketing channels.

I’ll go through some examples to show you what I mean.

Let’s say you created a video for your website.

You can also send it via email to your subscribers.

Not everyone on your subscriber list is a customer.

Some people may have provided you with their email addresses, but never actually bought anything.

Here’s a great opportunity for you to acquire those individuals.

Look at how Patagonia embedded a video in their email marketing campaign:

You can use the same strategy.

Don’t create a different video for each marketing channel—that’s a waste of time.

If the video is less than a minute long, you can even add it to your Instagram profile, which I discussed above.

Is your video longer than a minute? No problem.

Just include a specific clip from the video or make it into a top highlights clip.

All of this is much more cost effective than creating an entirely new video.

In addition to email and Instagram, add videos to your:

Homepage

Blog

YouTube channel

Facebook

Twitter

I know what you’re thinking.

How can this be a low-cost strategy if I need to hire a professional cameraman and crew to make a high quality video?

I’ve got good news for you: none of that is necessary.

In fact, the vast majority of businesses produce their video content in-house.

This helps keep costs low.

Just invest in a decent camera and microphone.

You don’t need anything too fancy.

There’s plenty of inexpensive or even free video editing software that you can get on your computer as well.

If you’re willing to pay for a video editing tool, you can try Moovly.

You can get a subscription for as little as $5 per month.

They even let you try the software free for the first 30 days to see whether you like the experience.

Some of you may have wanted to create videos in the past but didn’t know what kind of content to produce.

Remember, we’re trying to acquire customers here.

Your videos need to display your competitive advantage.

What makes your products or services better than something similar on the market?

Try starting with a video tutorial.

Go through a step-by-step process of how your product can solve a problem.

You can also create videos that demonstrate a product.

That’s not necessary for all products.

For example, if your company produces hats and headbands, I don’t think you need to teach potential customers how to put a hat on.

With that said, you can still come up with a creative video that shows what makes your product unique.

Dollar Shave Club uses this strategy with their promotional video content:

The video doesn’t teach you how to shave.

Instead, it walks prospective clients through the process of getting razors and other shaving products delivered to their front doors.

It’s an effective and low-cost strategy for customer acquisition.

Start running epic giveaways

If people aren’t buying your product, you need to come up with a clever way to get the product in their hands.

Give it to them free.

Let me clarify.

I’m not saying you should give away thousands of products.

But you can run monthly or even weekly promotions.

You can choose between:

A sweepstakes means you’re giving away something to a person picked at random.

It doesn’t require any skill, and there’s nothing someone can do to increase their chances of winning.

All the person can do is enter and hope for the best.

Contests require skill, and the winner is selected based on judgment.

I think contests are more effective.

It gets the participants more involved, which is great if you’re trying to acquire new customers.

Let’s say someone entered your contest but didn’t win.

They put lots of effort into their entry and were looking forward to getting the product.

Well, now they may be more inclined to make a purchase.

Here’s an example of what a conversion funnel looks like when you run a contest:

That’s what I love so much about this strategy.

First of all, it’s not going to cost you anything except for the cost of the product you’re giving away.

But it’s also a great way to build your email subscriber list.

In order to enter, make it a requirement for customers to provide you with their email addresses.

After all, how else will you be able to contact them if they win?

Now at the very least, you’ll be able to send them promotional emails.

If the contest didn’t entice them to make a purchase, your email marketing campaign can get the job done.

Remember earlier I said that if you get more followers on Instagram you could get more customers?

Well, the same concept applies here.

Additional subscribers on your email list can improve your conversions.

It’s an inexpensive way to acquire new customers.

Conclusion

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to spend a fortune on customer acquisition.

This holds true for startup companies as well as businesses that have been operating for years.

While customer retention should be a priority as well, you can’t keep a customer if you never got them on board in the first place.

That’s why I like to start with retargeting old customers.

You already have their contact information. If it’s been years since they last made a purchase, the additional revenue will have the same impact as the impact you would get from a new customer.

Instagram is one of my favorite social platforms for customer acquisition.

Since people are more likely to make a purchase from brands they follow on social media, focus on getting your follower numbers up.

You’ll be able to convert a percentage of those followers to customers.

Adding more video content to your promotional channels will help as well.

You can make these videos in-house, so it won’t be very expensive.

Contests and sweepstakes can increase brand awareness and get you some new customers.

These strategies will also help you get more email subscribers, so you can continue to market to those people and increase conversions.

What are some budget-friendly ways you’ve used to acquire new customers?

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[filipeteimuraz]

Customer Acquisition Strategies That Won’t Break the Bank

Getting new customers isn’t always cheap.

That’s one of the reasons why I tell businesses to focus on customer retention.

With that said, it’s impossible to retain customers if you can’t get them through your doors or to your website in the first place.

If you’re a new company without an existing customer base, you’ll need to come up with some creative ways to acquire new ones.

The problem is new businesses typically have a limited marketing budget.

They need sales to generate money for promotional content, but they can’t get any sales without those promotions.

It’s a paradox.

This goes for companies that may have been in business for a while but are struggling with their revenue streams.

Regardless of your situation, new customers can always help.

You don’t need to spend a fortune on customer acquisition.

Here’s a basic formula that shows how to calculate your acquisition cost:

If you want an even more accurate version of this formula, you can add additional costs besides sales and marketing. They may include:

wages

infrastructure

production

any other costs

That’s the true representation of how much it costs you to get a new customer.

Keeping this number low will give you a much higher return on investment.

The strategies I’m going to show you actually work.

I know this from personal experience.

These are the most inexpensive techniques to acquire lots of new customers.

Start by retargeting old customers

I know what you’re thinking.

If you’re focusing on existing customers, it’s retention, not acquisition—right?

Not exactly.

If you’ve been in business for a while and it’s been a year or two since a customer was active, I wouldn’t refer to that person as an existing customer.

Getting them back to your business is basically like getting a brand new customer.

Dig up any old information you have on this person:

email

phone number

address

Anything you have.

Reach out to them with a promotion to try to get their business back.

Here’s an example of an email campaign from Carter’s:

They give an old customer a reason to make another purchase and come back to their brand.

If you’ve recently made new improvements to your business, don’t be afraid to let old customers know.

Maybe the reason why they left in the first place was because they thought your company was outdated.

Share any information about your infrastructure that has improved the customer experience.

Do you have a new mobile application?

Have you renovated your brick and mortar location?

These are examples of things to promote when you contact these old leads.

Step up your presence on Instagram

To survive, you have to adapt to the times.

The days of using snail mail and local print advertisements to promote your business are slowly becoming a thing of the past.

Your business needs to have a digital presence.

Stay engaged with prospective customers via Instagram.

Over half of users on Instagram are active on a daily basis.

There are also 800 million active monthly users.

These numbers continue to rise each year.

The popularity of this platform isn’t going to phase out any time soon.

One of the reasons why I like to use Instagram is because it’s so inexpensive.

It doesn’t cost you anything to create a profile.

The only cost is your time.

Even if you’re paying someone to manage your social media accounts, it’s OK as long as they’re being productive.

Here’s what you need to do.

Work on getting more followers on your profile.

Realistically, not all your followers will become customers.

Don’t worry about converting all of them.

Let’s go through a scenario.

Start with a goal.

You want to gain 10,000 Instagram followers in the next month.

It’s a high number, but it’s attainable.

You’re aiming to convert 20% of your followers to customers.

That’s 2,000 new customers in just one month.

Don’t forget the best part: it didn’t cost you anything.

For those of you who think a 20% conversion is too high or unrealistic, think again.

Based on this generational data, it’s actually quite modest:

Internet users in the United States are likely to purchase something from a brand they follow on social media.

If you get more followers, you’ll get more customers.

You can improve your conversion chances if you’re managing your Instagram account properly.

Post pictures and videos of your products and services.

Get your followers involved as well.

Try to encourage them to post images of themselves using your products.

One of my favorite ways to do this is by featuring customer photos on your account.

When your followers see they can get recognition for their photos, it gives them some extra motivation to post pictures with your product.

Here’s an example from the Thule Instagram:

Now anyone who has one of Thule’s products knows they can be featured as well if they take a cool photo.

Getting customers to post photos on their personal accounts is a great brand awareness strategy.

You’ll get more followers and acquire more customers.

Again, this strategy is completely free.

Create more video content

Like I said earlier, you need to stick with the trends.

Video content is trending upward at record rates.

Across the globe, 52% of marketing experts say video has the highest return on investment compared to other marketing content.

That’s great news for you if you’re trying to keep acquisition costs low.

Doing something as simple as adding a video to your landing page can increase conversion rates by up to 80%.

One of the best parts about creating a video is that you can use the same one across all of your marketing channels.

I’ll go through some examples to show you what I mean.

Let’s say you created a video for your website.

You can also send it via email to your subscribers.

Not everyone on your subscriber list is a customer.

Some people may have provided you with their email addresses, but never actually bought anything.

Here’s a great opportunity for you to acquire those individuals.

Look at how Patagonia embedded a video in their email marketing campaign:

You can use the same strategy.

Don’t create a different video for each marketing channel—that’s a waste of time.

If the video is less than a minute long, you can even add it to your Instagram profile, which I discussed above.

Is your video longer than a minute? No problem.

Just include a specific clip from the video or make it into a top highlights clip.

All of this is much more cost effective than creating an entirely new video.

In addition to email and Instagram, add videos to your:

Homepage

Blog

YouTube channel

Facebook

Twitter

I know what you’re thinking.

How can this be a low-cost strategy if I need to hire a professional cameraman and crew to make a high quality video?

I’ve got good news for you: none of that is necessary.

In fact, the vast majority of businesses produce their video content in-house.

This helps keep costs low.

Just invest in a decent camera and microphone.

You don’t need anything too fancy.

There’s plenty of inexpensive or even free video editing software that you can get on your computer as well.

If you’re willing to pay for a video editing tool, you can try Moovly.

You can get a subscription for as little as $5 per month.

They even let you try the software free for the first 30 days to see whether you like the experience.

Some of you may have wanted to create videos in the past but didn’t know what kind of content to produce.

Remember, we’re trying to acquire customers here.

Your videos need to display your competitive advantage.

What makes your products or services better than something similar on the market?

Try starting with a video tutorial.

Go through a step-by-step process of how your product can solve a problem.

You can also create videos that demonstrate a product.

That’s not necessary for all products.

For example, if your company produces hats and headbands, I don’t think you need to teach potential customers how to put a hat on.

With that said, you can still come up with a creative video that shows what makes your product unique.

Dollar Shave Club uses this strategy with their promotional video content:

The video doesn’t teach you how to shave.

Instead, it walks prospective clients through the process of getting razors and other shaving products delivered to their front doors.

It’s an effective and low-cost strategy for customer acquisition.

Start running epic giveaways

If people aren’t buying your product, you need to come up with a clever way to get the product in their hands.

Give it to them free.

Let me clarify.

I’m not saying you should give away thousands of products.

But you can run monthly or even weekly promotions.

You can choose between:

sweepstakes

contests

A sweepstakes means you’re giving away something to a person picked at random.

It doesn’t require any skill, and there’s nothing someone can do to increase their chances of winning.

All the person can do is enter and hope for the best.

Contests require skill, and the winner is selected based on judgment.

I think contests are more effective.

It gets the participants more involved, which is great if you’re trying to acquire new customers.

Let’s say someone entered your contest but didn’t win.

They put lots of effort into their entry and were looking forward to getting the product.

Well, now they may be more inclined to make a purchase.

Here’s an example of what a conversion funnel looks like when you run a contest:

That’s what I love so much about this strategy.

First of all, it’s not going to cost you anything except for the cost of the product you’re giving away.

But it’s also a great way to build your email subscriber list.

In order to enter, make it a requirement for customers to provide you with their email addresses.

After all, how else will you be able to contact them if they win?

Now at the very least, you’ll be able to send them promotional emails.

If the contest didn’t entice them to make a purchase, your email marketing campaign can get the job done.

Remember earlier I said that if you get more followers on Instagram you could get more customers?

Well, the same concept applies here.

Additional subscribers on your email list can improve your conversions.

It’s an inexpensive way to acquire new customers.

Conclusion

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to spend a fortune on customer acquisition.

This holds true for startup companies as well as businesses that have been operating for years.

While customer retention should be a priority as well, you can’t keep a customer if you never got them on board in the first place.

That’s why I like to start with retargeting old customers.

You already have their contact information. If it’s been years since they last made a purchase, the additional revenue will have the same impact as the impact you would get from a new customer.

Instagram is one of my favorite social platforms for customer acquisition.

Since people are more likely to make a purchase from brands they follow on social media, focus on getting your follower numbers up.

You’ll be able to convert a percentage of those followers to customers.

Adding more video content to your promotional channels will help as well.

You can make these videos in-house, so it won’t be very expensive.

Contests and sweepstakes can increase brand awareness and get you some new customers.

These strategies will also help you get more email subscribers, so you can continue to market to those people and increase conversions.

What are some budget-friendly ways you’ve used to acquire new customers?

https://www.quicksprout.com/2017/12/01/customer-acquisition-strategies-that-wont-break-the-bank/ Read more here - http://review-and-bonuss.blogspot.com/2017/12/customer-acquisition-strategies-that.html

[skillsntalents]

Some people are born with a very strong competitive drive. Some people are not. If you are on either side, should you enter competitive swimming?  On this video I will share my point of view from both types, since I think I have a little bit of both and I have known both types of swimmers.  Competing is a very unique experience. Sometimes it can be the best feeling in the world and sometimes it is painful and disappointing. Either way, your first competition in the sport or your first in a long time can be nerve racking. You get to the pool not knowing what to expect and with a very strong feeling of making a fool of yourself. However, there is a big advantage to this. Since you are coming in fresh, there are no expectations. You really have a chance to enjoy and do your best. However, if you are not a competitive type you will not see the point of competing. Why would you? I'll give you a few reasons in a bit, but first let me talk to the competitive type swimmers. If you are the competitive type of person and you decide to compete on the sport, you will most surely be beaten by someone with more experience. This is good. It is painful but it is good. When someone is faster than you, you will have painful thoughts that can either tell you to quit the sport or go back an improve. The choice is yours. If you decide to go back and work harder, then losing just served you as a motivation. Every time I lost an event I would warm down and think about what went wrong, then I would try to quickly move and think about what I can do in practice to make sure it never happens again. This lesson to draw inspiration out of failure has made me improve in many aspects of life. Now, if you are not the competitive type, the hardest thing for you is to decide to compete. Two things might be holding you back. Maybe you don't like attracting too much attention to yourself or maybe you don't like the feeling of confrontation. There might be other reasons but I can tell you that in swimming, competing is not about asking for attention. While people might be looking at you, no one has higher expectations of you, than yourself. A swimming competition is about testing the limits of your mind and body. Competing can be sometimes confrontational and in some rare cases people's goal is to intimidate others, but most of the time it is about a few seconds of intense effort, sometimes not even seeing you rivals, followed by respect and appreciation. It is very common to make your main rivals your very best friends. Certainly most of my best friends have all competed against me. They are the ones who better understand what I have been through because they were in the same path, just in another lane.  Some of the best swimmers I have known are not competitive in nature, but they enjoy improving through constant hard work. The others are very competitive and have learned not to let their ego stand in their way. They have learn how to harness the power of competition into perseverance and diligence.  If you are a human being, I think you can learn a lot about yourself and in a swimming competition. You just need to learn to enjoy it.  Skills NT Shop: http://ift.tt/2tNYed4 Become our Patreon: http://ift.tt/2dKvE5F Instragram: http://ift.tt/2jpxZj5 Our favorite swim wear: Get 10% off with this code "SKILLSNT" http://bit.ly/pinkfishsuits Thanks for watching! Swim fast! by Skills NT

[jesicajparksuk]

How Do Instagram Stories Work

Simply stated, Instagram defines a story as, “a way of sharing photos and videos with your followers that disappear after 24 hours.” If you want to know exactly how Instagram Stories work and how to make them work for you, this is your blog post!

Every brand, blogger, influencer, and business is different, so what works for your Instagram Stories strategy may not work for someone else. Truth be told, when IG Stories first hit the scene, a great many influencers found it a bit absurb. Why, they would ask, would I want to showcase something for 24 hours and then poof… it’s gone? Maybe this very writer thought that to herself. This is a brave new world, folks, and there is a method to this madness. Keep reading, as we’re sharing tips on making Instagram Stories work in your favor by maximizing it to the fullest:

Why Do Instagram Stories Disappear After 24 Hours?

According to The Guardian, “Beyond the design of the app, there’s the unique culture that’s grown up around it. Nobody wants a sad profile of pictures that no one has liked.”

In other words, the concept of things being transitory and lasting for a brief time is on trend and showing no signs of slowing down. There’s only so much content a person can post and consume in 24 hours. FOMO is a very real condition. We live in a “want more, what’s new” culture and a 24-hour window is the new norm. We want to know what the dog in Japan is doing today, what the cat in California had for breakfast, and what the latest pet products are according to today’s modern pet influencers.

How to Maximize Instagram Stories

Know How to Add to Your Story:

Go to your Instagram Profile page and click on your icon.

Go to your main Instagram feed and click the camera icon.

Use Hashtags: When in the Instagram Stories feature, after you upload your content, click the stickers icon and hit “hashtag” or just type in the hashtag using the text icon. The end result is a tappable, searchable hashtag.

Tag Brands and People: Click on the text icon and type the handle of the brand or person. Instagram will generate a listing of Instagrammers who you might be trying to tag as you type. If you see an underline under the tagged name, then you know it is working.

Add Links to Your Instagram Stories: Verified business accounts are able to embed links into an Instagram story. Pet influencers can use this feature to maximize their Instagram Stories. Ideas include:

Promote a blog post

Go live and share stories from an in-person event (remember to hashtag it)

Share content

Share adoptable pets

Get on the radar of brands

Promote sponsored content

Go behind the velvet ropes and show your followers a slice of your day

NOTE: Always include a call to action (CTA) in your story so that followers know what you want them to do. Examples of a CTA on Instagram Stories include  “See More” or “Swipe up.”

Learn more about getting creative with a Call to Action.

Creative Ideas for Instagram Stories

How many pieces of content should you put in your Story? Between 7 and 12 is generally the sweet spot, but if you are at a live event, a few more are fine. You don’t want to bombard your audience with content overload. Quality over quantity is key.

Use non-vertical images with ease. Make your IG Stories vertical, even if they aren’t shot that way. Try the InShot app.

Think outside your images and try flatlays. Upload a flat lay, infuse your own typography/font/colors, and you’ve got the makings of a branded, on-point template. Using an app like Canva on mobile or desktop, you can create your own branding style.

Try a “Day in the Life” for a behind-the-scenes look. Maybe you do this once or twice a month and promote it on other social media platforms so your fans know where to find you.

Invite your followers to engage with you. No one likes a spammer who makes their feeds all about them them and more them. Make your audience feel connected and involved by running a poll, asking questions, or even getting feedback on future posts. “Today, I am blogging about cats who don’t use the litterbox. What cat health questions do you have? DM me and let me know!”

Save and repurpose the story on Facebook. Open the story, and click the three dots at the bottom right and a screen pops up with a variety of options. If you add it to your timeline feed, then your account’s privacy settings apply.

Working with a brand? Show the product in action on IG Stories. I recently did a post for Petmate that features my medium-sized dog and also my friend’s larger dog. We infused an Instagram Story from video into our blog post. If your video was not shot within the previous 24-hour time period, and you want to share it now on Instagram Stories, there are hacks. Keep reading.

Get Analytical with IG Stories

Instagrammers are able to see who viewed their story by swiping up when viewing their photo or video.

Instagram Business Accounts have access to a wealth of Instagram analytics by clicking the bars at the top right of your Instagram screen. If you want to be seen as a business, you are a business, you want the contact button in your profile, and you want access to basic analytics, yes. If you ever want to switch back to a regular profile, you can do so in Account Settings.

Alternatively, here are a few basic Instagram Analytics tools:

Social Bakers Free Instagram Report

Simply Measured Free Report up to 25K IG Users

Use Tools Wisely In Instagram Stories

When you share a photo or video to your story, you can use creative tools to help capture and edit them.

Tools on the bottom portion of the Instagram Story panel include:

LIVE: Go Live and show folks what you are up to or where you are. If you don’t want to publish a live IG Stories segment, then no need to do so.

Normal: Shoot in normal mode.

Boomerang: Sort of a forward and backward cute way to showcase video. I use this to show my dog in action.

Rewind: Backwards, in reverse. Try it.

Hands-Free: Perhaps this blogger’s favorite IG Stories tool, I go hands-free to shoot my IG videos.

Note: IG Stories segments are 15 seconds at this time, so string your storyline together. Here is a screen shot of those tools:

Is This a Millennial Thing?

According to HubSpot, “Chances of Stories catching on is much higher because it’s housed within the Instagram platform, and not the Facebook platform. The demographic overlap between Snapchat and Instagram makes it much more likely users will simply migrate their goofy stories to the other platform. But only if Instagram gets on the facial recognition game, and quickly. Millennials love that puppy filter.”

To that end, face filters are now a part of Instagram Stories. #justsayin

Uploading Hacks

How to Hack Instagram: How to add stories or videos to Instagram beyond the 24-hour window

Hack Part 2: According to The Verge, “Instagram Stories are meant for sharing of recent content, but there are several ways to post something older. There are two key apps that adjust the timestamp of an image or video automatically. If you are sending the file to yourself: Slack and WhatsApp do the job. I frequently bombard my sister with WhatsApp messages of random creations in order to renew the timestamp. If you don’t have either of those, other apps can also get around the 24-hour rule. Story Uploader is the best option.”

Don’t Stop Now

Now that you know how Instagram Stories works, how to maximize it to your advantage, check out these helpful related posts:

Creative Ways to Use Instagram Stories to Increase Blog Traffic

5 Popular Instagram Tips to Ignore

Your Turn

Do you use Instagram Stories? Do you like it? What is holding you back if not? Share in the comments below. BlogPaws is on Instagram. Follow us and we will follow back!

Carol Bryant is the Marketing and Social Media Manager for BlogPaws and runs her own dog blog, Fidose of Reality and its fundraising arm, Wigglebutt Warriors. When not busy playing with her Cocker Spaniel, Dexter, she stays far away from cooking. Her trademark is her mantra and is tattooed on her arm: My Heart Beats Dog.®

Images: Giulio_Fornasar/Shutterstock.com and nenetus/Shutterstock.com

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