#online marketing ideas 2025

[newbusinessideas]

How to Start a Toy Store Business: A Complete Guide for Beginners

Turn playtime into profits! 🎲🧸 Learn how to start your own toy store business and bring smiles to little faces while building your dream venture. 🚀✨ #ToyStoreBusiness #Entrepreneurship

A toy store business is a place or shop in the market where people can buy toys and play materials for children. In today’s time, various types of toys are made all over the world.  By playing with toys, children acquire knowledge very quickly, the special thing is that toys can be used not only for entertainment but also for studying while playing. This is the reason, that today on many…

[justposting1]

33 NEW Business Ideas With $1M Potential in 2025

The online space has built a box around you, and told you to stick to boring, cookie-cutter business models (you will literally hate your work lol). So to re-ignite your creativity, let me give you 33 different industries and ideas you probably haven’t thought about. You’ve likely heard of every online business model under the sun by now. Whether it’s social media marketing agencies (SMMA),…

[artbyblastweave]

How do you think Worm (+ Ward) would change if Wildbow wrote it in the present day? Both in the sense of him having more writing experience and of him xeconstructing a different superhero landscape. (Also, him having even more planning/drafting time.)

Well, one answer is, "I don't think it would have been written-" Worm really got released in an incredible sweet spot where superhero stuff was ascendant in the mainstream but not yet culturally dominant, and written in reaction to a bunch of specific stylistic dysfunctions of early-2000s big-two comics that aren't necessarily gone but have certainly shifted their manifestations a bit. I don't think Worm would have taken off the way it did if he was trying to write it today, when we're like three layers deep into comic book movie ascendancy, backlash and re-ascendency.

But to engage in slightly better faith, my suspicion is that if written today the book would be, in every sense of the word, more online.

Movement-building by The Very Online is already of visible interest to Wildbow from, like, Twig onward (probably a consequence of the ways in which he, himself is Very Online). You see this to an extent in Ward as written, which in the Capricorn flashbacks in particular had interesting worldbuilding ideas about superheroic social media marketing that Worm didn't go into in the same way because it wasn't as big then. (This, incidentally, was one of several beats, in both the story and in the extraneous materials, where Wildbow backdated elements of the 2020s internet zeitgeist into a setting where the world ended in 2013, which is a very funny way to end up with an alternate history.) This would dovetail with the genre in the sense that whenever I stick my head back into what's going on with Big Two comics these days, I perceive the space to have gotten way, way more online in quite a few ways. Comics that feel written for people on twitter, by people on twitter, with an eye for incorporating whatever the hot-button activist issue is that week and the kind of panels and dialogue that blow up when cropped and reposted without context. Ecoterrorist Thor, inherently-thematically-confused ACAB street-levelers, Miles Morales trashing a landlord's car. You know what I'm gesturing at with this one if you follow Why-I-love-comics or any of the other excerpt aggregators.

This is more of a value-neutral judgement than I'm making it sound- When Al Ewing does this kind of thing, it's usually great, when Tom Taylor does it...I have less charitable thoughts on when Tom Taylor does it. But either way I often feel that there's a building tension between a need for these things to be socially conscious, progressive, left-leaning and so forth, and the inherent limits of how much a mass-market status-quo-bound serial publication can commit to being any of those things-the mealy-mouthedness of framing superheroes as change agents in a setting where nothing ever changes.

Given the extensive write-ups of activism-issue aligned capes in the Weaverdice docs, and given the direction his writing took with Pale and Claw in particular, I find it hard to imagine that Worm as written in 2025 wouldn't want to poke at those tensions. Very-online young-gun superheroes firebombing Walmarts and sticking their dicks in police actions, except there's no editorial reset button and that actually goes somewhere politically. Probably somewhere bad.

[simply-ivanka]

Who’s Afraid of Project 2025?

Democrats run against a think-tank paper that Trump disavows. Why?

Wall Street Journal

July 29, 2024

By The Editorial Board

Americans are learning more about Kamala Harris, as Democrats rush to anoint the Vice President’s candidacy after throwing President Biden overboard. Ms. Harris wasted no time saying she’s going to run hard against a policy paper that Donald Trump has disavowed—the supposedly nefarious agenda known as Project 2025. But who’s afraid of a think-tank white paper?

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” Ms. Harris tweeted shortly after President Biden dropped out. She’s picking up this ball from Mr. Biden, and her campaign website claims that Project 2025 would “strip away our freedoms” and “abolish checks and balances.”

***

Sounds terrible, but is it? The 922-page document doesn’t lack for modesty, as a wish list of policy reforms that would touch every part of government from the Justice Department to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The project is led by the Heritage Foundation and melds the work of some 400 scholars and analysts from an eclectic mix of center-right groups. The project is also assembling a Rolodex of those who might work in a Trump Administration.

Most of the Democratic panic-mongering has focused on the project’s aim to rein in the administrative state. That includes civil service reform that would make it easier to remove some government workers, and potentially revisiting the independent status of agencies like the Federal Trade Commission.

The latter isn’t going to happen, but getting firmer presidential control over the bureaucracy would improve accountability. The federal government has become so vast that Presidents have difficulty even knowing what is going on in the executive branch. Americans don’t want to be ruled by a permanent governing class that doesn’t answer to voters.

Some items on this menu are also standard conservative fare. The document calls for an 18% corporate tax rate (now 21%), describing that levy as “the most damaging tax” in the U.S. system that falls heavily on workers. A mountain of economic literature backs that up. The blueprint suggests tying more welfare programs with work; de-regulating health insurance markets; expanding Medicare Advantage plans that seniors like; ending sugar subsidies; revving up U.S. energy production. That all sounds good to us.

Democrats are suggesting the project would gut Social Security, though in fact it bows to Mr. Trump’s preference not to touch the retirement program, which is headed for bankruptcy without reform. No project can profess to care about the rising national debt, as Heritage does, without fixing a program that was 22% of the federal budget in 2023.

At times the paper takes no position. For example: The blueprint features competing essays on trade policy. This is a tacit admission that for all the GOP’s ideological confusion on economics, many conservatives still understand that Mr. Trump’s 10% tariff is a terrible idea.

As for the politics, Mr. Trump recently said online that he knew “nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it.” That may be true. The chance that Mr. Trump has read any of it is remote to nil, and he doesn’t want to be tied to anyone’s ideas since he prizes maximum ideological flexibility.

The document mentions abortion nearly 200 times, but Mr. Trump wants to neutralize that issue. The project’s chief sponsor, Heritage president Kevin Roberts, also gave opponents a sword when he boasted of “a second American revolution” that would be peaceful “if the left allows it to be.” This won’t help Mr. Trump with the swing voters he needs to win re-election.

By our lights the project’s cultural overtones are also too dark and the agenda gives too little spotlight to the economic freedom and strong national defense that defined the think tank’s influence on Ronald Reagan in 1980.

***

But the left’s campaign against Project 2025 is reaching absurd decibels. You’d think Mr. Trump is a political mastermind hiding the secret plans he’ll implement with an army of shock troops marching in lockstep. If his first term is any guide, and it is the best we have, Mr. Trump will govern as a make-it-up-as-he-goes tactician rather than a strategist with a coherent policy guide. He’ll dodge and weave based on the news cycle and often based on whoever talks to him last.

Not much of the Project 2025 agenda is likely to happen, even if Republicans take the House and Senate. Democrats will block legislation with a filibuster. The bureaucracy will leak with abandon and oppose even the most minor reforms to the civil service. The press will revert to full resistance mode, and Mr. Trump’s staff will trip over their own ambitions.

Democrats know this, which is why they fear Trump II less than they claim. They’re targeting Project 2025 to distract from their own failed and unpopular policies.

[rkherman]

2024 Year End / New Year 2025

2024 was quite busy for me with my full-time job as layout supervisor on "Carl the Collector", as well as putting a lot of time into my personal projects. I focused on completing one piece of art at a time and did more cross stitch, both of which helped de-stress me and avoid burnout.

----------

Personal Art: I'm aiming to launch a 2025 2026 wall calendar, and I very optimistically thought I could finish all 12 illustrations this year. However. I quickly realized I didn't have enough time for that. I did complete 7/12 illustrations, pictured above (not all of them are drawn from scratch), which means I am on track for 2026.

Cross Stitch: Last year I experimented with some ideas for themed backgrounds to display enamel pins. This year I tried making a layered shadow box, which worked out really well! It's the Hollow Knight photo at the bottom. I have 4 more Hollow Knight themed shadow boxes on my to-do list, and I'm hoping to complete Nightmare King Grimm to submit as a prize for SGDQ 2025.

Art Markets: I didn't apply to as many art markets this year, but I did get accepted into some in the spring. Then I applied to 5 Christmas/holiday markets and didn't get into any of them. Just need to keep trying next year! I've decided to mainly focus on one-day markets in the spring and summer, and also a few winter holiday markets.

Online Shops: One of the biggest decisions I made this year was to open my own online shop. I technically already had INPRNT for large prints and Ko-fi for phone wallpapers, but I have now expanded my Ko-fi to also sell mini prints, stickers, and cross stitch keychains. The shop is closed right now because of the recent postal workers strike, but I will open it again in February. It's exciting to finally have my own shop so I won't just be relying on art markets for sales.

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I'm on a 2-week break from work right now, so there are more posts to come before the end of the year. Hope you all have a fun and restful holiday season!

[spacebabesuki]

I can’t believe that right now, at this very moment, I'm choosing an outfit for the author photo of my book. MY BOOK, omg...It all feels so surreal, I still can’t wrap my head around it. After 11 years of writing for strangers online—people who meant the world to me—I never thought I’d actually be capable of something like this. I wish my 12-year-old self, alone, with a face full of pimples, always looking for comfort in books and writing her little fanfics on a notes app, could know that one day we’d be able to pull this whole dream off.

I don’t even care if it’s not a success, if it doesn’t sell, or if only my dad buys it; I’m just so happy because it’s happening—it’s starting to happen, and I never thought it would. Even if it takes another 10 years, just being able to call myself a writer will be enough.

Only I know how many times I made vision boards while studying for a completely different career, convinced this dream wasn’t possible. How many days have I cried at work, watching my ideas get taken by older men? And that’s why I finally decided to stop crying and go after this for real. We never know what’s going to happen, and I’m terrified, but at the same time, I know this is just the start of something that could really surprise me.

I can’t believe I’ve already received the draft of the cover. This is all insane, and maybe—just maybe—I’m not as terrible a writer as I always thought. Crying right now, and as the overly emotional little girl I’ve always been, I know this is only the first of many happy tears.

This may sound silly, but dream on. Dream until your dreams come true 🤎༄˖°.🍂.ೃ࿔*:・ ☕🍂🧸 🍂☕️🍁 🤎🍂

This book couldn’t possibly be more me—it has all the things I love most (hellcheer vibes too, of course), and I’m so excited for people to read it. I just hope that the opening paragraph about the 2008 New York Stock Market crash doesn’t scare anyone away from diving into the wild ride these 700 pages are going to be, lol. <3

And maybe—just maybe—if I can find enough interested readers, we might even have an English version on Amazon down the line. <3 That’s why I’m working on building a community here too, sharing my writing more often and putting myself out there.

I put together a little mood board because I’m so excited for life and the coming months; I can’t wait for the fall of 2025 here in Brazil!!!

[beamiesbuddies]

💕Happy New Year from Beamie's Buddies!💕

Somehow it's 2025 now, the last year really went by!

It was a quieter year for me here outwardly, but there was a tonne of behind the scenes work I was able to accomplish this year. The Website has been a dream of mine forever and I finally got it running, with the online shop to open up soon. I never thought I'd be able to do it myself but I'm happy it exists now! I was also able to revamp my logos/marketing/stationary and order forms/process. All this means that in the years to come, my general process should be a lot more streamlined!

The biggest thing project-wise was the starting of my own original dolls in the fall...which I intended to show off and have for sale before the holiday season, but our postal service here in Canada went on a long strike, so I deemed it best to hold off until the new year. I also decided not to do Xmas commissions this year due to scheduling reasons, but it turned out to be for the better because of the strike!

Going forward, this is the plan for early 2025!

opening commissions for the late winter/early spring! (Early Jan)

posting my completed New Dolls (throughout Jan)

having those dolls for sale / debuting the new shop (late Jan/Early Feb)

working on more original dolls & commissions! (Feb +)

still toying with this idea, but Im thinking of making some Beamie's Buddies pins/buttons/stationary merch. might think about that into the spring/summer though!

Thank you all for sticking with me through all these years, and especially this year with the gaps between projects/info. I'm really happy to have gotten a lot of "business housecleaning" done in the background, which will hopefully mean I will have more mental energy for more/smoother output!

I hope you have gentle start to the new year, surrounded by lots of hugs-whether human, animal, or dolly!

~ Love, Beamie

[acourtofthought]

So I saw this online - and it appears SJM has spoken briefly about the next book. Thoughts on the final few sentences?

I think that it's going to be a long book is not very surprising for Sarah's writing as of late. It seems like her stories keep getting longer and longer (not that I'm complaining!) which makes sense when she's juggling multiple POVs as she did in SF (dual POV) or HOFAS.

If the book is Az / Gwyn I'm guessing she'd cover Gwyn's secret heritage, her powers, her discord with Merrill, Az's connection to TT, the Illyrians and whatever plots she comes up with in relation to time travel stuff and that gives her a lot to work with which would lead to a lengthy book.

If it's Elain and Lucien? I'd expect a super long book there as well. She's got powers to explore for both Elain and Lucien, probably the restoration of the Spring Court, the sisters finally mending their relationships in truth, the reveal of Lucien's secret heritage which means they'd be heading to Day, the stuff with Koschei and Beron, possibly some stuff with the LoA and Eris (at least Lucien and Eris mending their relationship and his reunion with his mother), freeing Vassa, hopefully getting the peace treaty signed.

As far as her idea of "soon"? I have no idea. Though with her mentioning the 10th Anniversary of ACOTAR the coming Spring, it does make me think they're going to go big in 2025. Lots of marketing for the series because of book 1's initial release date in 2015 and lots of marketing for the next book in the series. Coming in with my personal bias, I think Elain and Lucien's story would be absolutely perfect for it. The start of an Archeron's saga beginning in 2015 and all three sisters finally resolving their journey's in 2025 with the 10 year anniversary? The start of the series taking place in Spring in 2015 and the restoration of the Spring Court happening with Elucien's book in 2025, during the 10 year anniversary? I love it!

[heburnslit]

my reasoning for leaving again

tldr; After 365 days off social media and then 365 days on social media, I realize nothing is comparable to the former. However, I recognize the importance of having some sort of presence online that is both cathartic and intentional for my authorhood. Therefore, I am moving away from short-form video content to long-form content. I am no longer focused on growth or promotion. I just want to exist online with people who appreciate my writing.

These are just my initial thoughts. I'm sorry for the informal language and incomplete ideas.

CONTEXT

In 2023, I decided in the new year I would delete all social media accounts and heavily limit TV time (bed rotting).

I was feeling behind in life, honestly. I had just changed my major and switched schools in the middle of my degree plan. The political environment in Florida was on fire with conservative initiatives that were creating a university environment so wrought with conflict, passive aggression, and censorship that I saw no reason to continue. But my partner persuaded me to circle back to the roots of my passion: writing.

So, I went back to university for Creative Writing and English Literature in January of 2023. I wanted to remove all distractions in my life and focus solely on my writing and university.

My exact wording at the time was: "I want to get serious."

I wanted to be a serious writer, and I felt I couldn't do that by being glued to my phone. TikTok brain does not translate to the page. I set very strict rules for myself: 1 hour of Pinterest and YouTube per day and only one episode of a TV show in the evening.

Did it work? Was I locked in? Yeah, 100%. I read more books that year than I ever have in my life. I wrote more than I ever had in my life. And I was published for the first time that year.

As intended, I worked hard that year, but something else happened: I invested more in my IRL friendships. I talked to people in my classes and at my part-time job. I asked for people's phone number. I was no longer in a string of satellite friendships I sonar to via Instagram stories. If I wanted to talk to someone I had to reach out and have a one-on-one conversation that was not veiled by memes.

2025'S GRASS TOUCH

The conversations about TikTok have made me reflect heavily on my time offline compared to this year online. I find the ability of the government to remove an app for millions scary. I'm saddened to learn how political all of this has become. I can no longer stand by these apps and their censorship.

All of this has made me reflect on my current relationship with social media.

I don't think our main lives or friendships should exist solely online.

I don't have to be on every platform.

3. I have had an opportunity to see that short-form video content does not usually benefit me daily. It feels more like busy work to me, scrolling until I see something I want to watch... I'm forced to take in milliseconds of content I don't want to see or cloud my brain with information I don't need. Instead of searching for a topic I WANT to see (Pinterest & Tumblr).

4. I have found the social media marketing advice I received from other authors and even some of the advice I was given at university is simply not useful and/or does not apply anymore. There was so much importance put on building an online platform as an author in my creative writing courses. We had an alumni author come speak to my class one day and he said it was essential to success. But this advice lacks a foundation now that we have found out an administration can remove everything you've worked for. The publishing industry, writers, books, independent publishing, tangible zines, lit mags, etc will all exist even if our online author platforms are deleted. I find that to be most reassuring as I move forward. I want to focus on my IRL goals, my tangible writing goals... creating things that will last.

5. The time I feel I have wasted during this year creating short-form video content on an app that is taking a heavy turn to the right instead of working on my novel (my actual goal) makes me so sad. Creating an author platform on social media was a part of my graduation plan as a writer, and it feels a bit humiliating to be back at square one.

DESPITE this I feel positive about these changes. I'm HAPPY to be back on Tumblr, a place I made my home when I was a teenager. I am happy to be on a platform where I can make my words the focal point of my content. I'm EXCITED! I feel clear-headed and lucid.

I'm expecting a very select few to follow me on this platform from Instagram, and I am okay with that.

I am no longer focused on growth or building a platform to sell or promote my writing. But I am here on a public platform, creating content in case the right people want to keep up with my writing (and me?).

I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this long post that is informal and all over the place.

I love you. I hope you stay awhile <3

-Hannah

[simslegacy5083]

Today's (1/9/2025) Episode: Under The Knife

School started up again for Skye shortly after the Flea market, though xe ended up missing xir first day back.

“Normally I’m all for an excuse to get out of class” Elyse said as the teens walked ahead of xir parents through the front doors of Magnolia Medical Center to get checked in for Skye’s procedure “but not like this. Hospitals are the worst!”

“I know.” Skye agreed. This wasn’t xir first surgery, but it was the first one they’d had time to dwell on and their brain was a master at spinning up worst case scenarios “I keep having nightmares about something going horribly wrong. What if I get an infection, what if my wrist never heals right and I end up unable to do things like hold my camera FOREVER!?”

Elyse nodded “I read online about this sim who had a botched operation and was in chronic pain for the rest of her life!” Skye paled, immediately imagining how awful it would be if that happened to xem.

“Nothing like that is likely to happen Skye” Noemi interjected ���Those sort of outcomes are very rare, and the doctors here are very good.”

Noemi had apologized to Skye for losing her temper at the market, but ever since then Elyse had avoided coming to the house, which xe saw as entirely xir mothers' fault. Rather than soothing xir like normal Skye found xemself irritated by the intrusion “Nobody was talking to YOU Mom!” xe snapped “Come on Elyse, let’s go sit over there, away from sims who can’t keep their noses out of others conversations!”

As they walked away Noemi turned to Luigi, frustration shining in her eyes “I knew it was a bad idea to let her tag along! Those two have always been too much alike when it comes to their ability to imagine the worst possible outcomes. That’s the LAST thing Skye needs today!”

“Xe wanted her here.” Luigi reminded her “I think it says a lot that she was willing to come. She clearly hates this place, but she showed up to support xem anyway. I understand why you’re worried, but like I keep telling you, we have to let it play out. They clearly care about each other, and honestly things could be a lot worse than having our kid infatuated with a sim we’ve know her whole life whose parents are two of our closest friends.”

“I hear you, but…” Noemi began. Just then the person in front of them finished up, and the front desk clerk raised her head expectantly “next?” They stepped forward to get Skye checked in, momentarily putting a pin in their unfinished conversation.

“So, Elyse, how’s school?” Luigi asked, trying to think of something to engage her after Skye was wheeled away to the OR.

“School’s fine” she replied “But this place isn’t. I’ll be outside where it doesn’t smell like my parents' medicine cabinet. Text me when Skye is out safe?”

“Sure” he nodded, then turned back to his wife. “how you holding up?”

“Worried” she sighed “about the surgery and about our two little lovebirds. I know you mean well with the whole “let it play out” business, but you didn’t spend years in a loveless marriage like I did. I just want Skye to find what I found with you, but Elyse is giving me “first wife” vibes.”

“Unlike your first wife, Skye and Elyse have been best friends for years.” Luigi reminded her. “She may not be a perfect match, but that has to count for something. Anyway - they aren’t even officially dating! You’re sort of putting the doom cart before the horse a little bit, don’t you think?”

“They’re not officially dating yet, but Skye told me xe plans to ask her to go steady soon.” Noemi sighed: “Still, you’re not wrong. Its just so hard not to stress, especially now that xe’s mad at me about the Flea Market fight. We used to talk about everything and now all I get are sullen glares.”

“Xe’ll come around” Luigi soothed “Just keep being there for xem like you have been.” “You know…” she told him “for a self proclaimed “self absorbed plumhole” you’re pretty good at giving advice.”

“Even a broken clock is right twice a day” he laughed. “Now, let’s hit the cafeteria while we wait. We can even offer to bring Elyse a snack. Maybe a jumbo blueberry muffin is all it will take to turn your relationship with at least one sullen little teenling right back around!”

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[reimenaashelyee]

This is maybe not so important to announce but it's going to affect my online activity/webcomic updates, so here it is:

I am going back to school and pursuing a Masters in Arts Management until 2025

If you recall, I have spoken several times in my blog about my past life in academia, the quarter-life crisis that resulted from it (not the full story), and the occasional spasm of desiring institutional recognition.

I am willingly! voluntarily! going back through the gates of the ivory tower.

For the past few years now, I’ve been slowly crabwalking towards an administrative, organisational, educational/resource-providing, leadership-type role in my areas of work (comics, writing, illustration, commercial art).

I hinted about somewhat being sick of the physical and emotional investment of comics-making trapping me to the same four-walls. The 2-ish years of hard commitment that each graphic novel demands is something that I don’t mind doing, especially for a story I truly believe in. However, I cannot keep doing this consecutively. For two years, I keep having visions of myself in my late-fifties asking me, now, if this is all worth it: to devote all this time to make comics that people like, but to not have a life lived? I am thinking of those mangaka who spend all their time breathing eating knowing only comics, and then suddenly, dying with not much to show except their impressive body of work. Did they see enough of the world? Did they eat enough good food? Have they discovered all their non-comics passions? I certainly don’t want my ghost to ask the same questions when she sees my body.

In a way I’ve sort of outgrown that shine of comics as a full-time job: ironically, in my success at producing audience/market-friendly work in exchange for financial support, I do not have time at all to pursue experimental, personal play and art that truly speaks to me. I’m also facing the reality that, as much as I enjoy working in traditional publishing, I am running out of ideas. I only have 2 to 3 more stories left in me for young adult/middle grade graphic novels. After that? I don’t know…

(Unless the new graphic novel imprints are suddenly hungry for adult work. Because, boy, do I have ten billion ideas.)

Anyway, the situation is that the majority of the graphic novel space in traditional publishing is still cashing in on the boom for middle-grade/young adult stories, with no long-sighted consideration for catering to those readers who will eventually, definitely grow up into adults. Meanwhile, I am running out of kids stories and am desperate to make bloody, complicated work (the kind of stuff I was already making pre-success and am still making), and to disentangle the actual act of creating from income-making. Not in the sense that I don’t want money at all from my comics; just that I don’t want comics to be my primary source of income anymore. And personally… I just want more time to live and be offline.

So this is the emotional aspect that’s been motivating my crabwalking. Still, if that was not a factor, this was always going to be the natural progression of my career anyway.

Like, considering that I began my career as co-founder of a regional comics network and my life-long practice of creating resources, it’s not that surprising. Even when I formally officialised my career in 2018 as a Traditionally Published, Professional Comics Creator in the Mid-list, I was also engaging in the administrative with my dayjob at Hiveworks, in addition to the aforementioned regional comics network UNNAMED, and now, the Cartoonist Cooperative. I continually make resources and facilitate them. The dayjob is expanding to include even larger responsibilities (it’s not really company-related, just a consulting thing we’re doing with a giant entity).

Clearly, the horizontal pivoting has gotten to the point where that aspect is becoming the majority of my practice, into something that I actually want to form the bulk of my career and the foundation of my 30s era. It’s happening at the same time as my desire to withdraw from the cycle of commercial production to focus on what I call studio/residency work aka sketching and making my webcomics.

So yeah, I’ve decided to formalise the other half of what I am already doing, since in this universe one can’t get a job in corporate/NGO/NPO art administration without a degree – despite years of experience and evidence of extremely specialised skills that don’t exist in a university course but are valuable on the ground (do they teach comics crowdfunding and webcomics marketing/production in tertiary?). And I do intend to go somewhat corporate, even if it’s as someone who runs a literary festival or artist residency. Because I actually find pleasure in doing all that admin juggling. I like helping artists pursue their practice. It engages a side of my brain that is understimulated since I stopped academia.

I went to the Orientation session on Thursday. It had been exactly 8 years since I last did an Orientation for school; I am no longer a wide-eyed doe so the entire time I was barrelling through the throngs of baby undergraduates and sitting through the talks with laser-focused practicality (putting aside the nice-sounding speeches for the actual hard facts of where stuff is and who to contact; though the speeches were quite thoughtful).

Anyway,

anyway…

This is a long-winded post to break the Jinx and say I am officially pursuing my Masters in Arts Management. Two years of this. Who knows what may happen?

Hopefully I will come out with better experiences this round, since this would be the first time that I chose a course not out of anxiety for the unknown, but because I very much know what I want based on experience actually working in industry.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Smith :: Las Vegas Sun

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 29, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 30, 2024

In December 2020, when the pandemic illustrated the extraordinary disadvantage created by the inability of those in low-income households to communicate online with schools and medical professionals, then-president Trump signed into law an emergency program to provide funding to make internet access affordable. In 2021, Congress turned that idea into the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and made it part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law). 

The program has enabled 23 million American households to afford high-speed internet. Those benefiting from it are primarily military families, older Americans, and Black, Latino, and Indigenous households. In February, the Brookings Institution cited economics studies that said each dollar invested in the ACP increases the nation’s gross domestic product by $3.89 and that the program has led to increased employment and higher wages. It also cuts the costs of healthcare by replacing some in-person emergency room visits with telehealth.  

Slightly more of the money in the program goes to districts represented by Republicans than to those represented by Democrats, which might explain why 79% of voters want to continue the program: 96% of Democrats, 78% of Independents, and 62% of Republicans.

But the ACP is running out of money. Back in October 2023, President Joe Biden asked Congress to fund it until the end of 2024, and a bipartisan bill that would extend the program has been introduced in both chambers of Congress. Each remains in an appropriation committee. As of today, the House bill has 228 co-sponsors, the Senate bill has 5. 

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has said he supports the measure, but House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has not commented. Judd Legum pointed out in Popular Information today that the 2025 budget of the far-right Republican Study Committee (RSC) calls for allowing the ACP to expire, saying the RSC “stands against corporate welfare and government handouts that disincentivize prosperity.” More than four fifths of House Republicans belong to the RSC. 

The differences between the parties’ apparent positions on the ACP illustrates the difference in their political ideology. Republicans object to government investment in society and believe market forces should be left to operate without interference in order to promote prosperity. Democrats believe that economic prosperity comes from the hard work of ordinary people and that government investment in society clears the way for those people to succeed. 

Wealth growth for young Americans was stagnant for decades before the pandemic, but it has suddenly experienced a historic rise. In Axios, Emily Peck reported that household wealth for Americans under 40 has risen an astonishing 49% from where it was before the pandemic. Wealth doubled for those born between 1981 and 1996. This increase in household wealth comes in part from rising home prices and more financial assets, as well as less debt, which fell by $5,000 per household. Households of those under 35 have shown a 140% increase in median wealth in the same time period.

Brendan Duke and Christian E. Weller, the authors of the Center for American Progress study from which Peck’s information came, say this wealth growth is not tied to a few super-high earners, but rather reflects broad based improvement. “A simple reason for the strong wealth growth is that younger Americans are experiencing an especially low unemployment rate and especially strong wage growth,” Duke and Weller note, “making it easier for them to accumulate wealth.” 

In honor of National Small Business Week, Vice President Kamala Harris today launched an “economic opportunity tour” in Atlanta, where she highlighted the federal government’s $158 million investment in “The Stitch,” a project to reconnect midtown to downtown Atlanta. This project is an initial attempt to reconnect the communities that were severed by the construction of highways, often cutting minority or poor neighborhoods off from jobs and driving away businesses while saddling the neighborhoods with pollution. 

While some advocates wanted to use the $3.3 billion available from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to take down highways altogether, the administration has shied away from such a dramatic revision and has instead focused on creating new public green spaces, bike paths, access to public transportation, safety features, and so on, to link and improve neighborhoods. More than 40 states so far have received funding under this program. 

The administration says that projects like The Stitch will promote economic growth in neighborhoods that have borne the burden of past infrastructure projects. Today it touted the extraordinary growth of small businesses since Biden and Harris took office, noting that their economic agenda “has driven the first, second and third strongest years of new business application rates on record—and is on pace for the fourth—with Americans filing a record 17.2 million new business applications.” 

Small businesses owned by historically underserved populations “are growing at near-historic rates, with Black business ownership growing at the fastest pace in 30 years and Latino business ownership growing at the fastest pace in more than a decade,” the White House said. The administration has invested in small businesses, working to level the playing field between them and their larger counterparts by making capital and information available, while working to reform the tax code so that corporations pay as much in taxes as small businesses do.  

“Small businesses are the engines of the economy,” the White House said today. “As President Biden says, every time someone starts a new small business, it’s an act of hope and confidence in our economy.” 

In place of economic growth, Republicans have focused on whipping up supporters by insisting that Democrats are corrupt and are cheating to take over the government. Matt Gertz of Media Matters noted in February that “Fox News host Sean Hannity and his House Republican allies spent 2023 trying to manufacture an impeachable offense against President Joe Biden out of their fact-free obsession with the president’s son, Hunter.” At least 325 segments about Hunter Biden appeared on Hannity’s show in 2023; 220 had at least one false or misleading claim. The most frequent purveyor of that disinformation was Representative James Comer (R-KY), chair of the House Oversight Committee, who went onto the show 43 times to talk about the president’s son. 

The House impeachment inquiry was really designed to salt right-wing media channels with lies about the president and, in the end, turned up nothing other than witnesses who said President Biden was not involved in his son’s businesses. Then the Republicans’ key witness, Alexander Smirnov, was indicted for lying about the Bidens, and then he turned out to be in contact with Russian spies. 

Comer has been quietly backing away from impeaching the president until today, when he popped back into the spotlight after news broke that Hunter Biden’s lawyer has threatened to sue the Fox News Channel (FNC) for “conspiracy and subsequent actions to defame Mr. Biden and paint him in a false light, the unlicensed commercial exploitation of his image, name, and likeness, and the unlawful publication of hacked intimate images of him.” His lawyer’s letter calls out FNC’s promotion of Smirnov’s false allegations. 

Last year, FNC paid almost $800 million to settle defamation claims made by Dominion Voting Systems after FNC hosts pushed the lie that Dominion machines had changed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. 

Legal pressure on companies lying for profit has proved successful. Two weeks ago, the far-right media channel One America News Network (OAN) settled a defamation lawsuit with the voting technology company Smartmatic. Today, OAN retracted a false story about former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, apparently made to discredit the testimony of Stormy Daniels about her sexual encounters with Trump. OAN suggested that it was Cohen rather than Trump who had a relationship with Daniels, and that Cohen had extorted Trump over the story.  

“OAN apologizes to Mr. Cohen for any harm the publication may have caused him,” the network wrote in a statement. “To be clear, no evidence suggests that Mr. Cohen and Ms. Daniels were having an affair and no evidence suggests that Mr. Cohen ‘cooked up’ the scheme to extort the Trump Organization before the 2016 election.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[vibeventurehub]

25 Passive Income Ideas to Build Wealth in 2025

Passive income is a game-changer for anyone looking to build wealth while freeing up their time. In 2025, technology and evolving market trends have opened up exciting opportunities to earn money with minimal ongoing effort. Here are 25 passive income ideas to help you grow your wealth:

1. Dividend Stocks

Invest in reliable dividend-paying companies to earn consistent income. Reinvest dividends to compound your returns over time.

2. Real Estate Crowdfunding

Join platforms like Fundrise or CrowdStreet to invest in real estate projects without the hassle of property management.

3. High-Yield Savings Accounts

Park your money in high-yield savings accounts or certificates of deposit (CDs) to earn guaranteed interest.

4. Rental Properties

Purchase rental properties and outsource property management to enjoy a steady cash flow.

5. Short-Term Rentals

Leverage platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo to rent out spare rooms or properties for extra income.

6. Peer-to-Peer Lending

Lend money through platforms like LendingClub and Prosper to earn interest on your investment.

7. Create an Online Course

Turn your expertise into an online course and sell it on platforms like Udemy or Teachable for recurring revenue.

8. Write an eBook

Publish an eBook on Amazon Kindle or similar platforms to earn royalties.

9. Affiliate Marketing

Promote products or services through a blog, YouTube channel, or social media and earn commissions for every sale.

10. Digital Products

Design and sell digital products such as templates, printables, or stock photos on Etsy or your website.

11. Print-on-Demand

Use platforms like Redbubble or Printful to sell custom-designed merchandise without inventory.

12. Mobile App Development

Create a useful app and monetize it through ads or subscription models.

13. Royalties from Creative Work

Earn royalties from music, photography, or artwork licensed for commercial use.

14. Dropshipping

Set up an eCommerce store and partner with suppliers to fulfill orders directly to customers.

15. Blogging

Start a niche blog, grow your audience, and monetize through ads, sponsorships, or affiliate links.

16. YouTube Channel

Create a YouTube channel around a specific niche and earn through ads, sponsorships, and memberships.

17. Automated Businesses

Use tools to automate online businesses, such as email marketing or subscription box services.

18. REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)

Invest in REITs to earn dividends from real estate holdings without owning property.

19. Invest in Index Funds

Index funds provide a simple way to earn passive income by mirroring the performance of stock market indexes.

20. License Software

Develop and license software or plugins that businesses and individuals can use.

21. Crypto Staking

Participate in crypto staking to earn rewards for holding and validating transactions on a blockchain network.

22. Automated Stock Trading

Leverage robo-advisors or algorithmic trading platforms to generate passive income from the stock market.

23. Create a Membership Site

Offer exclusive content or resources on a membership site for a recurring subscription fee.

24. Domain Flipping

Buy and sell domain names for a profit by identifying valuable online real estate.

25. Invest in AI Tools

Invest in AI-driven platforms or create AI-based products that solve real-world problems.

Getting Started

The key to success with passive income is to start with one or two ideas that align with your skills, interests, and resources. With dedication and consistency, you can build a diversified portfolio of passive income streams to secure your financial future.