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joecial-distancing · 3 years

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July Roundup

Lifestyle:

I’ve been getting back into running this summer. It’s been about 4 years since I’ve done any serious running, and I have been made painfully aware of the differences in my body at age 29 compared to 25. My knees hurt more, I need to attend to stretching much more seriously than I used to. I’m coming at the task with better self-knowledge than last time, though; I know how far and how fast I’ve been capable of pushing, and I find an enormous amount of comfort and strength from that familiarity.

I’ve also been applying to jobs, a process which started as nauseatingly daunting, but has gradually settled into just a regular chore of the week (ideally chore of the day, if I’m to keep up with new years resolutions). Getting a resume mushed into a satisfying shape has felt nice, as has getting together a form cover letter that I know hasn’t hurt my chances of getting my foot in doors. Annoyance Boxes checked off, and the rest is getting familiar with the rest of the grind. Interviews have been and will be the same process.

Games:

I’ve also been playing a lot of Sekiro. I’ve always “liked” Fromsoft games, but it’s been rare that I’ve been able to justify the time investment. There’s an appeal in the structure, endless chances to bash myself against a problem until it clicks, being able to run drills when stuck or inadequate (and there is a hook in the inadequacy; nothing frustrates me more than being unable to Just figure out a solution, or requiring too much time to get there. I have a tense relationship with time and deadline pressure. Impatience is one of my greatest vices). So with school finished, I’m diving into this as a treat to myself. The systems are fun, and the camera is so fucking awful that I get unreasonably angry about it. One thing I always do with these games that I think is anathema to a lot of their fans is to spoil myself on what I’m up against. In dark souls I would always have open area maps, rather than try to navigate the combat and exploration simultaneously. It put my mind at ease, I didn’t like the discomfort of the tension of untriggered surprise. And with Sekiro, I know roughly the zones I’m up against, I’m not above watching videos of the boss fights to learn the proper counters etc. No shame, no honor, that’s not what I get out of these games, really.

As with running, so with jobsearch, so with Sekiro, the method is diligence, the appeal is the pleasure of feeling my improvement over time. There is nothing more exciting to me than casually accomplishing something that I know would have annihilated me only a short time ago. I can finish 2 miles in 20 minutes, I want to get it down to 15. This also means the videogame tends to lose out on the priorities list—if I’m wanting to dedicate myself to practice, there’s almost always a different outlet that’d be better outcomes in the long run

very 8 of pentacles mood overall, lately.

Books:

I’m almost done with Pynchon’s Against the Day, which had taken up all of my Reading attention span this month. Unless it does something in the final 8% to lose me hard, it’ll probably clock in as my 2nd favorite of his stuff, behind Gravity’s Rainbow. Anarchism as expressed against American mining companies, European empires, and the Mexican state; searches for a lost paradise city; warfare between schools of mathematics; the nature of Light. At face value, it feels closest to Gravity’s Rainbow and Mason & Dixon, compared to the rest of his work (I know there’s a lot of subtext and referencing going over my head with all of these in terms of both history and literature; I noticed a lot of reviews of AtD focused about the variety of genre style work that he’s pulling from in certain sections, nearly all of which is lost on me. It has, however, been very fun to me that I’m able to keep up with the mathematic academia infighting depicted in this). There’s a “fairy tales coming to life” quality to all three, if instead of Grimms’ stories it’s historical models of the world: Supersonic rockets wreck the flow of pavlovian cause & effect, the destruction of natural landscape in the course of linear surveying becomes a direct conduit for a massive influx of evil energy, quaternion mathematics casting time as real and space as imaginary allow a yogi to contort himself out of sight and into the imaginary plane. The aether is experimentally disproven in the beginning of Against the Day’s timeline, which doesn’t stop holdout engineers and mystics from working wonders with it.

It feels like there’s about as much going on in here as GR, but where GR is claustrophobically overstuffed (which is also part of the reason it’s a better book) and Mason & Dixon gets kind of plodding, the material here is given space to breathe, without losing momentum. It probably helps that the characters in this are a.) numerous, and b.) unusually solid as far as Pynchon goes.

It’s also got many great examples of something else I really like about Pynchon, which is that he is willing to commit 110% to incredibly stupid jokes. There’s an Elmer Fudd reference in here that completely knocked me on my ass.

Viz:

Watched the Bo Burnham netflix, which was mostly pretty good, though I’m completely out of patience for ostentations self-awareness or fake debate where the ~comedian~ who’s concerned about being ~white privileged mannn~ feels guilty he might be ~taking up space~, doesn’t know that he ~deserrrrves it~... out of patience because I already know what he did with that guilt (if genuine) — he didn’t scrap the project, he released the fucking thing anyway. What am I to do with this, Bo Burnham? Would you like my permission? Would you like an “it’s ok dude” from people of marginalized groups within your audience? Why am I watching along for a decision you’ve quite literally already made? I don’t trust displays of vulnerability before an audience of this size.

Also watched through I Think You Should Leave, which... sure it’s funny, and also very effective at making me uncomfortable, which is clearly what it’s aiming to do, but. I don’t really get why it’s got such a strong cultural draw within the online spheres I’m normally checked into. Saw some discourse about how the quotability is somehow distinct from regular memeing, which, alright get over yourselves jesus christ.

speaking of flavors of the month, watched 50 shades and lmao. I’ve been told by a trusted source the books are worse which is hilarious.

also speaking of flavors of the [century], S.O. and I have been doing a rewatch of pre-MCU comic book movies, which has been some fascinating anthropology. It meant, though, that we had to sit through howard the duck, an absolutely wretched film. Other highlights so far: willem dafoe power rangers acting, the soundtrack on affleck daredevil (incl a fuckin choice Evanescence exercise montage), Blade & Blade II still hold up.

We’ve also made it to the final season of pre-reboot xfiles. Duchovny’s mostly gone from this last season, replaced largely by robert patrick of T1000 fame, who is a better actor but a worse character, dude’s basically just A Cop. The writing’s weirdly probably better than the last couple Duchovny seasons, but the show doesn’t work without him — his bad acting was the main thing keeping things together, the tone’s all off now.

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multifandom-stranger · 4 years

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Rain With a Chance of Sweet Drops

Genre: Soulmate au, fluff

A/n: Hiiii a small story to keep y’all fed. I’ve been so so lazy and feel awful about it. I suggest you listen to these while reading: Sanctuary by Joji, I’m closing my eyes by potsu, A while by a[way], and Cutie by haroinfather. Or this playlist that has those songs and more.

I wonder why it is what it is? Why an umbrella? Seems so dumb and common. You thought to yourself as you sat inside the small coffee shop across from your friend Haechan. It’s raining today so... maybe today is the day...

“-llooo? Earth to Y/n! You really have a talents for zoning out, you know?” You finally gain back full focus on your bestie after a hand was practically shoved into your face. “Stop thinking about it too much.”

“About what?” You scratched at the back of your neck timidly as you ended the very particular train of thought you were on completely.

“Your partner. Your staring at your mark so what else could you be thinking about.” Haechan smirked and leaned down to take a sip from his iced Americano with a mischievous grin.

You lived in a world of everyone having their heart on their sleeve. Literally. Everyone was born with a small mark on their wrist, similar to a birthmark that developed into a select few images, letters, symbols, etc. Once you met your special someone there’s supposedly and instant sense of attraction wether you know you share the mark or not. The symbol ties into how you meet or fall in love. When you meet them and gain a connection the color of it will appear. Some people have hearts, a meaningful word, or even a specific place. But you were left to ponder over a stupid umbrella seemingly tattooed on your wrist.

“I can’t help it! How are you not curious about finding ‘the one’?” You looked down at the simple shape of a cartoonish umbrella once again before glancing over to Haechan’s wrist, adorned with a triangle, ish shape. It was all black. Rather odd really. Most people could tell what their mark was but he was at a loss. You couldn’t imagine how he felt.

“Honestly, I couldn’t care less. Isn’t the whole point of it to be fate and all? Trying to think about it logically makes no sense at all.” Plucking his drink swiftly from the table with one hand at the top he leaned back and eyed you with it almost up to his mouth again. “Just let things take their course Y/n. It’s more fun that way.”

“I guess your right. Thanks man.” The hesitance was still slightly present in your voice but nonetheless he had a point.

“Wanna hangs out with me and a group of friends this weekend? Small dorm party. Only cool kids allowed. You in?” His eyebrow quirked up curiously as his tone raised for the question.

A party sounded like something you needed at this point, even if you gut feeling was that it spelled trouble. Just like your bestie said, you needed to ease up and live a little. “Screw it, I’ll be there. What time?”

“It’s at the Nu Chi Tau frat house. I’ll pick you up at 8:30.” He leaned over the table suddenly, farting all up in your face with a stern look. After a second that seemed to pass ever so slowly he spoke out again. “You better not flake on me!”

“I won’t, I won’t I promise!”

~•Time Skip•~

You currently are sitting at the doorstep of this stupid frat house, abandoned by your friend and no ride home. You venue well could walk but there was one complication to that plan. Rain. Horrible, intense rain. People inside were using it as and excuse to keep the party going but you’d shyer you real quick as soon as the one person you really knew (Haechan) ditched you to leave with someone. Wasn’t his style really, so it really has you confused and alone. Trying to push your pity party along and over to the side you focused on the splash and plop of the heavily falling water from the heavens. The house had and overhang for you to chill on, godsent in your opinion, where you started to pace about and pray that the rain stopped soon.

“Have fun lover boy!!” You whipped you head around to see the door fly open and someone get shoved out onto the porch harshly. Before you knew it a small click, barely audible over the thrumming of the rain was heard. The lock you had presumed. Still slightly scared from the uproar you were left to stare at the strange boy who now was sitting there in his knocked over position hand over his forehead. He looked hella stressed out as he rubbed at it and then munched his nose with a sigh. One thing worth mentioning was what you swore was a red hue to his cheeks and even ears, yet you still couldn’t make out his face from you stance. Wait, this dude just took a pretty good tumble. Shit, do something you loser! “Uh, hey are you okay? You landed on your hands pretty hard to catch your fall there.” You approached him cautiously as he got up, still looking down as he brushed his knees off with his hands a bit.

And then he looked up with a smile. As dumb and cliche as it is, time moved slower for a moment. This mystery boy was both the cutest and most handsome person you’d ever seen. How both worked you had no idea but here he was, living proof it was possible. His eyes were almond shaped and had a certain twinkle, his slightly pouty lips upturned into a playful grin, and his jawline was both rounded and pronounced at the same time. He sure was a looker. Staring! You’re staring at him! You yelled internally as his slightly pinkish cheeks were now accompanied by yours and you looked down to his knees that peeked out of his ripped blue jeans. No scratches there, good.

“Yeah, I’m all good I think. Jerks though it would be funny to lock me out, but at least I’m not alone.” He had lifted his hands in a casual shrug type of gesture when you saw that he had a nasty scrape on his palm, just like you had suspected. Without quite thinking you reached out and grabbed his hand to look at the damage.

“You did get a cut. Aw, I looks bad too. One sec,” while cupping his hand above yours the other reached into your back pocket to fumble for a bandaid. You were quite the clutz so you always had them on hand.

While you took your moment to retrieve the remedy, the boy was left to stare down at your hands meeting. Yours was so warm, especially in contrast with the cool dew seemingly spreading through the air from the rain. It was so gentle as well. You barely held his hand at all and yet it was effecting him so much. But most importantly he saw your wrist. That’s all he needed to be brave enough that when you handed him the bandaid he look your other hand as well.

“Hey, I’m Na Jaemin. It’s really nice to meet you and all but I think you need to take a look at something.” He have you that childish smile once again and you could just feel your heart tense up for some reason. It was so precious. That plus the added bonus of the simple yet sweet contact from your hands holding slightly was enough to leave you a bit flustered. You were to shy to look at exactly what he was getting at.

“What do you mean? Look where?” He simply chuckled and let you other hand with the bandaid still in it go slowly, as if he didn’t want to have his hand leave that spot.

“Ah! Ow... Ya know, my other hand really hurts too. Could you maybe put the bandage on for me?” His voice had a certain sing song quality to it joined by a rather obvious tone of whining. He sounded like a little kid trying to get something without saying just what it is to trick their mother. It was oddly charming in it’s own way even if it was whining.

“Um, sure. Are you sure you don’t need to go back inside? We can knock-“

“No!!” He paused and cleared his throat a bit to regain composure. “I mean, it’s fine I’m sure. Thanks though.” Kinda awkward as well. Cute. You were surprised at the boldness of your own thoughts. You undid the packaging on the bandaid and placed one sticky side with care over his skin to line it up over the wound. As you ever so gently slid your finger over it to stick the other side you froze in place with shock.

Umbrella.....CODE RED! This is not a drill, I repeate this is not a drill. We have an umbrella mark on the wrist! You looked back and forth a million times, eyes flicking over the two marks again and again as Jaemin chucked at how cute you were. As you continued your antics you thought to yourself, Not like they’ve changed colors yet. I-I mean I have seen someone else with an umbrella but nothing happened.

“You’re pressing into my cut a bit cutie.” He chopped up after staring down at you as if he had found a precious diamond in the rough. He was starting to get the whole ‘instant attraction’ thing. He didn’t even have your name yet and he felt like he could just spend the rest of his life with you from then on. It was both weird and comforting in it’s own way.

You jumped back a little and rubbed at the back of your neck. It was a nervous habit, but you don’t particularly feel nervous. It was more calm, but still had your heart racing. It was a promising sign in the least. “I-I’m Y/n. It’s nice to meet you Jaemin.” You looked back up to him and finally returned his smile with your own. You hadn’t felt so genuinely happy or smiled to full-heartedly in what felt like forever. You were starting to hope this boy was the one because well, he was so sweet and kind and funny and playful.... and you just met him!

“Glad I can put a beautiful name to the face now. Nice to need you too.” He sighed and looked down to see the mark on his wrist still filled in pitch black. Brushing aside the thought that it was odd he took a seat at the steps, next to where you had been before and patted next to his spot. “So what brought you out here?”

You plopped down next to him happily and sighed as you wrapped your arms around your knees and rested your head atop them. “Got ditched my the only person I knew at the party. Not really my kind of scene if I have no one to hang with so I just wanted to go home and go to bed buuut,”

“But the rain right?” You both giggles at how he finished your sentence with perfect timing.

“Yeah, the rain.” You looked over to Jaemin to be met by his charming gaze. There was a comfortable beat of bliss in that moment before you leaned back with a smile. “Now I have someone to hang with at least.” As you slid your hand back you felt something brush against it. It was kinda cold and felt odd. You looked over your shoulder to see a small red umbrella left there on the deck.

“Jaemin, look! An umbrella...” as the last word left your mouth the syllables slowed as you realized this really could be it. Hell, if this isn’t a sign I don’t know what is. You picked the umbrella up with a grin and a small laugh. “Looks like we lucked out!”

“Yeah, I think we did.” Another wave of a comfortable moment of sweet silence and adorning eyes passed over the two of you again before he snapped out of it and took the red thing from your hand in a flash. “You live on campus, right? I can walk you home if you’d like. It’s late and all so,” He let out a small hum before going back on his thoughts. “Actually, non-negotiable. I’m walking you home.”

You let an audible “Huh?” that had him chuckling at you once again. He opened the umbrella up and tipped I out into the rain before looking back to you with a smile. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. It’s not too far.” You took a few eager and bouncy steps to meet him under the umbrella with another full fledged smile spread out across your face. “Thank you Jaemin.”

You two set off for the maybe two minute walk tops happy with small chatter and lots of laughter and smiles. You were tempted to get closer, but shoulders brushing and all was just toooo cliche. It’s just too much this is fine for now. Unbeknownst to you Jaemin saw you shoulder getting dropped on and was having none of it. Without hesitation he wrapped his free arm around your shoulder and gave you that heart melting look once again. “You can’t just be all quiet about small stuff like that when there’s a much better solution like this” He nudged you closer playfully and you decided to be bold and lean into his shoulder a bit.

“Okay, I promise I’ll keep it in mind for the future Mr. Gentlemen.” You took your turn to nudge into him with a laugh and relish in the moment. Things just felt so natural and comfortable with Jaemin already. This had to be the real deal.

“Here it is.” You said with much dismay. You didn’t want your time with Jaemin to end. Especially without knowing how to talk again or meet with him. You both faced each other under the tiny shield of the umbrella, the calming taps against both the roof of your dorm and the ground adding to the moment. “Thanks again Jaemin but um-“

“One sec. Gotta check something.” He pulled your wrist up gently with his own that had the mark to show a now brilliant red umbrella upon both your wrists. Once again, Jaemin didn’t need anymore confirmation. Without any reservation he pulled you in for a kiss. It was as if the sound of pattering rain had dulled, the slight cold had disappeared, and everything was right. He pulled away, keeping it short and sweet yet full of passion and feelings. You were left to reach up to your lips with a small smile before beaming up and him and leaning in to steal another small kiss, this time placed upon his cheek.

“Hey soulmate, I’m Na Jaemin. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

#guess what his shirt is made of?#BoYfRiEnD MaTeRiAl #nct #nct dream #na jaemin #jaemin #jaemin fluff #nct soulmate au #jaemin soulmate au #jaemin x reader #fluffy-wuffy my dude

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whumpallday · 4 years

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Whumpee’s-R-Us VS Whumpee Barn: First Impressions

So, this post was inspired by @shameless-whumper‘s Unboxing and @my-whumpy-little-heart’s Defective. We always hear about the rivalry between Whumpee’s-R-Us and Whumpee Barn, but why not end the argument once and for all?

TW: Dehumanization, mild physical abuse.

“Hey guys, welcome back!” A blue head of hair pops up on-screen, smiling at the camera. “It’s Starr here, from This-Or-That, where we compare to see what really works!” The camera cuts to another angle, highlighting her short haircut. “Sooooo, over the past couple weeks, we’ve had a new trend take the internet by STORM. Box Boys!!” A couple pictures of advertised Box Boys show up to the left of her face as she holds up her hand, pre-choreographed to look like she’s holding them. “Yep! These little cuties have been all over the place, so naturally I was dying to do a video about them!”

“However, you know me and you guys know I can’t do something without comparing to see what’s good, and what’s better!” The camera angle changes again, this time showing her as she sits at her desk, talking with her hands. “So here’s the dealio guys. I talked with Whumpee’s-R-Us and Whumpee Barn, the two main companies that I’ve heard about. They were both super helpful and they each agreed to send me one, so I could take it to the test, and see whose product was actually better!”

Starr leans in, cupping a hand to her mouth like she’s telling a secret. “Don’t tell them, but I think they both just wanted to show each other up.” She laughs, and pulls away. “So, I’m way excited for this, so let’s get right into the video! But before we do, don’t forget to like and subscribe, and hit the little bell so you get notified on all my updates!” She winks, and then the camera changes again.

The camera switches to a full-studio view, showing the white backdrop and a couple of shelves. In the center of the camera is a bar-stool, and sitting to either side are two big boxes. Starr walks on camera from the left, and sits down on the bar stool smiling.

“So guys, I know you’re all so excited to get to the unboxing, I know I can’t wait! Unfortunately, you guys know the drill.” She looks to the left and the camera slides to a familiar thumbnail, with the words Website and Customer Service Review on a blue speckled background. Her fingers come from the right, pushing that away and revealing a close up of her on the camera.

“So, first impressions of each website." The camera shows the Whumpee's-R-Us website as it scrolls down the page. "Whumpee's-R-Us had a really great layout, it was easy to find everything I wanted, and their customer service was eager to answer any questions I had. Their website was also really modern, with tons of examples of Box Boys."

The view switches to the Whumpee Barn website. "Whumpee Barn's website was a bit harder to look through, and there definitely weren't as many options. The website had a more rural look to it, a bit more rustic. But I guess that's what you get when barn is part of the title, eh?" She laughs, then continues.

"I ended up going random for both my boys, there were just so many options!" The camera switches back to Starr, smiling into the center. "But back to business. For websites, I give Whumpee's-R-Us a 5-Starr rating, because of the clean, sleek look, and it was really easy to navigate." A small counter pops up on the bottom of the screen, with five little pictures of her face, all of them colored in.

"I'm giving Whumpee Barn a 4-Starr rating. It was really good, but it could be a bit more up-to-date on the current styles and trends.” She flips her hair, revealing a purple layer underneath the blue. “Okay! Now it’s time to start on the unboxing, which I’m excited for, and I know all of you are too!!”

The camera cuts to a full-room view again, with Starr standing between the two boxes. She waves. “So we’re about to open the boxes, and I couldn’t decide which one to open first, so I flipped a coin and we’re opening the W-R-Us first!” She claps her hands, and walks around one of the boxes, labeled Whumpees-R-Us. She grabs some scissors and starts opening the box, grabbing the instructions.

“Okay guys, here are the instructions for the W-R-Us Box Boy. It says to start with water, and then...” She squints. “Percussive impact with the palm or back of hand.” She smiles at the camera and shrugs. “I’m sure we’ll figure it out!”

She removes the rest of the packing, then shoots the camera a big smile and it zooms in. “Guys!!! Look at him! He’s so cute!!!” She pulls up a thin, pale and blindfolded boy, dotted with freckles and with a mess of bright red hair. She grabs a water bottle and undoes it, gently holding it up to his lips. “Hydrate him, remember? Probably hasn’t had any water for a while.”

The boy barely reacts to being pulled up, but as the water is put to his lips, he starts drinking. Quickly, like it was going to be taken away. Starr lets him drink as much as he wants, until the bottle runs dry. She turns to the camera with wide eyes. “Wow! Sure was thirsty! Okay! Onto step two. Percussive Impact.”

She gently taps his cheek with her hand, increasing the pressure as he doesn’t respond. She looks towards the camera and shrugs, then slaps his cheek, making his head turn from the impact. After the slap, his head turns back towards Starr hesitantly, as if looking for her.

Starr smiles, then takes off his blindfold revealing bright green eyes. They look wildly around the room, trying to take it all in. She squeals a bit. “Awwwww.... He’s even cuter!!” She takes his face in her hands, smiling up at him. “Aren’t you the cutest thing ever?” His eyes go to her, and the corner of his mouth twitches up in a hesitant, almost smile.

Starr drops his face, leaving him in the box as she stands up and goes over to the Whumpee Barn box. “Okay! So we’ve done one, and he’s adorable, let’s see how the other one compares!” She smiles widely, walking to the other box and starting to open it up.

She pauses as she brings up these instructions, on a booklet. “Wow! This is quite the user manual! W-R-Us had one of those too, but it wasn’t as big.” She starts flipping through it. “Hmm... User warranty, disclaimer, etc and legal stuff... Ooo! Found it! Opening the product. Step one: Remove packaging from Product.” She takes off the top layer of bubble wrap, revealing the back of someone kneeling in the box.

“Step two. Use collar to bring product to kneeling position. Hmm, this is new, the W-R-Us one didn’t come with a collar, they just came with a blindfold.” She shrugs, grinning at the camera and grabs the collar around the boy’s neck, yanking him up. The boy flinches at her touch, but comes up, kneeling upright and breathing heavily.

“Oooo! He’s a cutie too!” She turns his head towards the camera, showing off an olive toned skin, with brown wavy hair. His jaw is clenched, and the blindfold doesn’t conceal a frown on his face.

“Next they say to give him water too, so here goes!” She holds the water to his lips and he pulls back at first, then realizes what it is and starts drinking. His lips are slightly chapped.

“Okay! Now we can take the blindfold off so here goes. Let’s see how this guy compares to the other!” Starr reaches for the blindfold, untying it and not being too gentle. The blindfold comes off, and she turns his face towards the camera. Blue eyes stare back, eyebrows furrowed and a glare on his face. Starr doesn’t seem to notice, turning his face back to her.

“Another cutie!!! Honestly guys, I’ve got the real haul right here!” She stands up, looking between the two boys sitting in the boxes. “I’m gonna cut to review, and we’ll do the rest of the unboxing in another video!” She waves, and the camera cuts to her, sitting at the desk again.

She snaps her fingers, and a tally board comes up on-screen, with two sections. One with W-R-Us and one with W-Barn.

“Soooo, First-Impressions-Tally! You all know how this works! Since this is a multi-video review, we’ll keep track of the tally’s and the one with the most at the end is the winner! This test will go on for three months, so I’ll try to give them out sparingly.” She winks into the camera, referencing her love of showering the coveted “tally-marks” in previous videos.

“So, right off the bat I noticed that both W-R-Us and W-Barn tried to keep quality high, and sent adorable boys. That gets them both a tally mark.” A line appears in each box, and a picture of both of the boys pops up. The redhead, looking into the camera with hunched shoulders and a bit of a hesitant look, and the blue-eyed boy, sitting up straight and glaring into the camera. The pictures shrink and move to the bottom right of the screen.

“However, I did notice that the W-Barn Box Boy is going to need a bit more training. I definitely did not like the way he was looking at me. So that’ll give one tally to W-R-Us." The tally appears in the corner, in a little sparkle of glitter.

Starr flips her hair, showing the purple underneath. “That’s about it for the initial review, I’ll be uploading more content and reviews soon, so make sure to hit the notifications bell if you want to see more W-R-Us vs W-Barn!”

She leans back, and the two pictures of the box boys come back up, filling the screen.

“I’m so excited to finally have my box boys, but I’m so sure it’ll be totally worth the wait! This video is getting a bit on the long side, but I’m just dying to know! What do you think I should name them? I’ve got two, and I wanna hear all your suggestions! So, leave a comment in the comment section down below, and I’ll announce names in my next video!”

The pictures disappear, and the camera focuses back in on her face. “As always, this isn’t possible without you guys and I love you all to bits! Don’t forget to like and subscribe, and click to get notified of all my new uploads! We’ll see you next time, on This Or That!”

Next one here.

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ryderjude8 · 3 years

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Floorboard installation- how to do it?

It's hardly better than a new floor to add space to life and beauty. However, purchasing high-quality goods and hiring experts can be expensive. Your own floors are installed here (the DIY method). Although it may seem to be a difficult task at first glance, it's better than you think. It's around half a job, and you're going to have fun in the process. What you need to know is to figure out a new floorboard design to make it simpler for you.

At first, you need to take into consideration several stuff before installing a board if you follow the challenge and install them yourself:

· Notes for installation! Read it first. Many people obey the manufacturer's instructions and make expensive errors. In general, if the product fails to accompany the installation manual, you should get the product from the manufacturer site. Many successful installer videos to learn about the procedure can be viewed on YouTube.

· For the DIY loading process, flooring isn't an simple job. Include precision measurement and cutting, including the construction process of the simple floor types. Twice before a little home improvement DIY ventures, you can test and experiment. If you are still up to the challenge, you will learn more about board installation in the future. You can browse the web and read posts, or just watch videos.

Just choose floor of the best kind and think of your floor. The base is made of wood or concrete in most instances. In each case, the installation stage varies. Attentive floor planning. Only on one floor should most floor styles be installed. The floor output affects the overall efficiency of the unit directly..

· Purchase the proper equipment for installation. Most installation instructions include the resource list. You can save a lot of money by renting expensive facilities in a nearby rental store. Please do not worry if your product does not have a tool list, below is a shortlist of tools available for each floor shape.

Hardwood:

Sanding machine, if necessary, for the pencil and chalk line, floor fixtures, drills, hammer, nail, hardwood nailers, miters, jam saw 6 feet, cloth rags, paint tape, finished floor, sanding machine, if necessary.

Click laminate hardwood, vinyl and:

Spacers of 1/2 inch, hammer, tape-meast, pencils, adhesive, tap, laminate and jigsaw, when necessary.

Vinyl tiles:

Fitting, tread, knife, handsaw Fittings, pencil, drill, edge, saw knife, rubber, morter, etc. Fitting of tapes, knife.

To remove all sorts of dirt and skin you will need a broom and a vacuum cleaner. Do not forget to wear high-quality dust masks or respirable glasses and gloves before you start installing floorboards.

You can contact wood flooring specialists for an unforgettable experience. You can also visit our website -"unitingfloors.com"

#timber flooring specialists timber floor specialists flooring companies melbourne timber floor melbourne melbourne timber floors

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niyatijha-blog · 5 years

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Reasons why website isn’t bringing in customers

For a successful business one require an online presence, therefore many entrepreneurs and startup business owners get a website built or increasingly take a hands on challenge to build one themselves, because they would have been often told by having website they would get customers, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. And this article covers some of the core reasons for why this happens. It is well known fact that some websites succeed while others fail. And for that it is necessary to find out reasons “why they get fail in bringing new customers to their business.”

It is unspoken fact that a successfully running company doesn’t want the wrong audience visiting their website who won’t ever buy. If they have such audience they are wasting their time money getting the wrong website audience there. Ideally, they want their target audience (specific demographics who would benefit from their products or services) to visit their site.

So, any business is probably falling victim to some of these common online marketing faux pas:

Not sufficient in solving problems of their relevant audience:- “Most websites are written all-around how great their employees or team is, how they think about their team, and how well they are doing their business but they never focus on what problem they are able to solve for their relevant customers. One should have better skills & strategies for providing solutions. They have to keep in mind they should always be available to help their present & future customers. That’s the big challenge so, this way you can make your buyer as your hero & you could be their supportive ones always in their running business.

Focus on Results, not only features: - Sometimes creativity is only focused on features which they are providing not on outcome which should be accomplished after all the work done. Always tell your potential customers the reimbursement that your merchandise or services will do for them. For example “a drill’s features is not required for customer they just want a hole in the wall. So focus on the quality of the holes & how easy it was to create those holes… not the actual drill itself.”

Focus always should be on your potential &realistic customers not only on company itself: - Sometimes reasons behind not capable of attracting new customers attention is that your full spotlight is on your own branding. Your website is not bringing customers because it’s focus on company and its business not on your customers. Instead of focusing on what you do or what you sell or why you’re awesome, instead focus on why your customer should care. How do you help them? How do you shoulder their burdens? Ease their plan? Make their lives better/richer/smarter? That is the big story one can create.

The website isn’t mobile-friendly: - As it is well known fact that now a day people are browsing the internet on their phones. They don’t always use their computer. At any crowded place, public place all one are using their mobile. So, it’s important to make sure your website is mobile-friendly so that it can be comfortably viewed and navigated via different cell phones, tablets, and other devices. And one more thing is important is that what one might not know is that Google’s search engine algorithms punish websites that are not mobile-friendly, so that’s another reason to make your website mobile-friendly as soon as possible.

The website wasn’t professionally built: - any company faces many serious disadvantages if their website was not built by a professional agency or website developer. First, the site must have proper coding for good SEO like www.filiumenter.com/web4all/ , as well as properly-written metadata to also help drive traffic to the site when it comes up in search results. Thoughtful navigation and page layout are also extremely significant features for a high-converting websites, because readers must be able to find the information they’re looking for easily, and the website should take them on a brief, logical journey as they read the story of your business, what it sells and why people should buy from you. Having professional pictures, language and a color scheme that makes sense to the viewers are also critical in keeping the right people on your site.

The website’s content and its structure didn’t incorporate keywords: - Even if your website was built by a professional, if they didn’t include keywords or other SEO-critical features, then it’s like you paid to place an advertisement but didn’t include any contact information. Your website needs keywords so that people can find organically on search engines. Keywords not only need to be placed in the text on the website but especially in the website structure, meaning title tags, alt tags, metadata, etc.

Devoid of a functional inbound strategy:- If your business lacks an inbound marketing strategy, then your site definitely doesn’t get nearly as many website visitors and leads/customers as you would with one. A functional inbound strategy should incorporate landing pages, social media marketing, online PPC advertising, email marketing, and SEO components to drive the right types of people to the website and persuade them to become leads or customers.

There isn’t a blog or the website doesn’t get new content regularly: - If a blog is absent from companies site, they are doing their business a misfortune. Blogs help SEO and can be a key part of an inbound marketing strategy that helps bring new visitors as well as returning visitors to your website. A way to help your website’s SEO without a blog is to regularly update content on your website. Whether that’s adding pictures, changing keywords, altering headings, making new pages, adding videos or case studies- keeping your website fresh and regularly updating it will help attract web crawlers and ultimately move your site up in search results.

No call – to-actions: - Speaking of CTAs, your business website won’t have much luck without them. A website needs to lead visitors through the pages, but it also needs to tell people how to act. For example, on a product page, you should find a couple of pictures of the product, the name of the product, a product description, and a “buy” button or something similar. That is a CTA and they are necessary in order to make a website produce leads or customers. Additionally, your business’s social media posts, online advertisements, email blasts, etc. should all have CTAs that suggest people act a certain way that will ultimately promote your business.

Slow page speed: - when a webpage has a slow load time, it not only increases your bounce rate, it also hurts your SEO. It hurts the website’s SEO because site speed and page speed are looked at by algorithms, but furthermore, a slow page speed results in search engine spiders to crawl fewer pages, ultimately hurting the site’s ranking.

Not taking advantage of PPC (pay per click) ads: - You’re hurting your business if you’re not utilizing GOOGLE ads or social media ads. The most basic reason is that you should find where your audience goes online and place advertisements there. Since most people use Google and Social media, they make excellent advertising channels. The best part of these types of ads is that they are pay-per-click, which means that you are only paying for people to click through to your website- that’s a great deal. Google ads work through keywords and social media ads work through selective targeting. Think of this way: if you’re not reaching your customers through PPC ads, your competitors are.

Not utilizing retargeting ads: - Only approximately 2% of click-through visitors make a purchase on their first visit to a website. That’s because most internet traffic is browsing. However, there is a way to market to people when they are ready to buy: retargeting advertisements. These types of online ads remind people of your business when they are ready to purchase. This is a cost-effective online advertising method that increases conversion rates and should be a part of all online marketing strategies.

Not offering content in different forms of media: - Not everyone likes to read and not everyone is a visual learner. Different people figure out and hold on to information in different ways, so it’s beneficial to appeal to as many people as possible by providing content in different forms of media, such as videos, images, graphics, downloadable stat sheets, case studies, etc. By expanding the types of media available, you’re expanding the potential audience.

The home page sucks: - Think about the last time one click on a link and went to a homepage that was just plain awful. You most likely left the website and went to competitor’s site. There are a lot of reasons why the homepage is incredibly important. First of all, it shows that your business is alive and trustworthy. If homepage is not attractive and in older vision then most of the visitors leaves the website immediately because it looks it was abandoned or that the company is no longer in business. And no one is going to risk giving their money to a website like that. A website with modern design elements is imperative, along with homepage that briefly explains/services are important or unique and its benefits to the targeted audience.

No one checks website’s analytics: - If no one is looking at Google Analytics or even analytics within your CMS or CRM software, then how do you know if your website is performing well? How do you know what marketing or sales tactics are bringing people to the site or not; making them fill out the lead capture form or not? The answer is you don’t know. Analyzing your website’s analytical data is something that should be done at least once a month. Make sure, this is done by Google Analytics experience.

#WEB DEVELOPMENT

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seenashwrite · 6 years

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(see HERE for part one of answer)

Ah, mass appeal, that oft elusive lil' stinker. How to get it is one of those age-old questions for us creator-types. We want it, for personal reasons, for perhaps monetary reasons, and determining what constitutes it and how to tap into it and even if we should try to tap into it are all pickles.

No, not that type, those are fabulous. I mean sticky situations. The non-tempuraish bliss with delusion of "Hey, I'm doing great on my diet, 'cause it's a vegetable!" kind.

Spoiler Alert: I'm not going to tell you not to compare yourself to other people, of course you are, and in many ways this is a good thing, it's called having an ideal to which to aspire, except it shouldn't be rooted in popularity, the admiration should be for their work. . . . Thanks for your question!

I'm kidding, Dean, and you damn well know it. Bite me. And fetch me a whiskey. And some Death pickles. I got talkin’ to do.

Part Two: Water Chumming & How That Shark May Bite Your Ass, So Here’s A Bunch Of Other Stuff That Can Be Done From The Safety Of The Shore

C/P for convenience:

Is it worth trying to please the masses when we can't please ourselves? Am I poking the bear?

Let us recap from Part One:

We talked about how to get from a feeling of ineptitude to - at first - just mild trepidation when it comes time to hit "publish", and started delving into "but how to get there?" so that the path can lead on to an actual measure of confidence, which brings us to the second part of your question up there - which is, I find, a completely normal thought, stemming from exasperation, when it feels like you're surrounded by a ton of people who are having ungodly amounts of success, and it seems like the biggest mystery in the world. So it's natural to wonder: should I follow their lead? Try to do what they're doing?

Maybe - let's unpack that, dig into what that would entail, the pros-and-cons, what some alternatives may be.

Near the end of Pt. 1, we talked about not understanding why some stories/writers gain traction, while others don't, specifically regarding the quality of their stories. As facetious and jokey and snotty and funny as I made that "rant", and said how you could always use the SSDTs [Same Shit, Different Title] stories as a "How Not To Do It" guide, I also mentioned how they must be doing something right - and they are, the metrics we've got (hearts, notes, feedback, asks r/t stories, followers, reblogs) bear it out. It's right there. There's nothing to interpret. It's there. It's fact.

Not to mention, as much as I've tried to drill down on objective parameters for my rec list, to try and smoosh down subjectivity, both on my part and on the part of people who rec to me, there's still a pretty substantial margin of subjectivity. There just is - a story could be ridiculous in plot, could be littered with reprehensible grammar, could poorly represent Sam/Dean/etc., could have a shallow Y/N. Yet if something within the story, no matter how oblique, speaks to the heart of a reader? In the immortal words of Private Hudson:

Game. Over. They’re in. Case closed.

I also mentioned that little number in the corner, that overall snapshot of how much action a given story/that writer accumulated and pondered - does it indicate how great the story is? Also known as: Does that mean their story/their writing is better than mine?

Well. No. Not necessarily. I suspect that - and this would take a huge data mining mission on every single one of a given writer's high count stories to know - in part, some of the number represents a manifestation of a cult following. I'll save you the trouble of clicking the link:

"A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a work of culture. A film, book, musical artist, television series or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fanbase. A common component of cult followings is the emotional attachment the fans have to the object of the cult following, often identifying themselves and other fans as members of a community. Cult followings are also commonly associated with niche markets."

I've no idea why "musical artist" was the only human example they threw in there, because in my experience/observation over **cough** decades of life on the planet, I see cult followings for humans more than stuff, and public figures of other areas beyond music (actors, politics, etc.) just as much. There are men-I MEAN-people who will never be socially ostracized no matter how inappropriately they behave, no matter the amount of evidence, doesn't matter - their following will absolutely make preserving the (fake) image that person cultivated their hill to die on.

But we're getting negative, and where I'm going with "cult status" in our context isn't negative. The "cult" mentality aspect to which I refer is about loyalty of followers (specifically reader-followers) in general, and then further, the loyalty of that subset of reader-followers who were early readers. They adored "x" number of that writer's stories in the past, and even if the quality of newer stories has declined, they are still gonna hit that heart and reblog it and say it was great. Do they actually believe it? Some of them, to be sure. Do some of them have on cult following rose-colored glasses? Friggin' of course.

Like I said above the cut - I'm not going to tell you not to compare yourself to other people, of course you are, and in many ways this is a good thing, it's called having an ideal to which to aspire, except it shouldn't be rooted in popularity, the admiration should be for their work. But there's admiration owed to these writers for maintaining their follower base, regardless of whether those follower-readers aren't in the admiring-for-the-work mode. So while you can't admire them for their stories, because you think they blow, there is an ideal, a definite modelling to consider: what are some of these writers who are getting huge numbers doing to maintain what popularity they've accrued?

Let's pause here for a recap of what we know for sure:

1. You won't know if telling stories is legit in your wheelhouse or not until you start getting some feedback from readers, which is going to help get you out of Ineptitudeville;

2. Ideally, this would begin with an honest, straightforward editor who knows how to give constructive critique --> in the meantime, use The Nail's guiding standards to serve as an at-home editor til you feel ready to find such an editor;

3. You can't get feedback for your supplemental self-editing documents of "nailed it" and "Achilles' heels" unless you put yourself out there (which, hopefully chipping away at #1 will get you over the ineptitude hump and into a healthy trepidation territory so you can do);

4. There's potential modelling to be done by observing what the "popular" writers are doing outside of their stories to accrue/maintain followers, and trying to see what their loyal reader-followers see in stories you don't find very good.

Again - assuming you've gotten comfy enough to just feel a normal nervousness vs. ineptitude, it's on to getting an audience. So, what could it be? That these mega-number generators are doing? I think it's two things:

(A) They have broad exposure that brings others into the fold (B) There's more at work than just stories

But Nash, are you not paying attention? I don't have exposure, they've got a bazillionty followers - you may say.

Then let's get you some exposure that has nothing to do with follower counts, nothing *inherently* due to the potentially not-so-robust nature of your stories at present, things that just might get you more followers, hopefully turning a chunk of them into reader-followers somewhere along the way.

(A) Exposure that doesn't require "popularity":

1. SPN Fanfic Pond ---> 24/7/365 - join it and submit your stories - never know who'll see it - guaranteed reblog

2. SPN Hiatus Creations ---> specific dates - I don't think many people know that they include fics, since they mostly get submissions of art - weekly topics to choose from - join in, submit your stories - the folks behind it most always put a little comment in their tags, so be on lookout for your feedback doc - guaranteed reblog

3. SPN Family Birthdays ---> 24/7/365 - their kindness gets your name "out there" to more people, both the mods behind-the-scenes, as well as that blog's followers - guaranteed exposure - *mandatory* to reblog this with a thank you and at least one point of feedback about it to whomever created that birthday wish for you

4. Bingos: SPN Genre Bingo - SPN Fluff Bingo - SPN Kink Bingo - SPN Angst Bingo ---> specific dates - variety of topics - guaranteed reblog - good/decent potential reblog from others via their followers and those who follow the tags

5. Challenges from individuals ---> sporadic dates - variety of topics - follow people who you see hosting them, if they've hosted one they'll likely host more - hosts will typically reblog each fic (good chance with a touch of feedback), and/or put your "@" and link to your fic onto a master post - more popular the blog/higher follower count, the more exposure, so high reblog/new reader potential

6. Seasonal Celebrations ---> specific dates - Secret Valentines, secret Santas, etc. - do it and you're also probably making a friend, maybe gaining a new follower, maybe their followers will come visit your place because your assigned person reblogs what you did for them - moderate-to-high potential for reblog *

(*Should be a guarantee but some people are dicks; my Valentine didn't ever send me shit this year, not even an apology through the organizer, but you know what? I don't care. Legit. I made a friend through it, and really enjoyed making what I did for them.)

7. “Bangs” ---> sporadic dates - a.k.a. Mini-bangs / Big-bangs - focused on a topic/character - guaranteed reblog

8. Appreciation Days ---> specific dates - Angst, Smut, Fluff appreciation days - you can even submit already written fics/don't necessarily have to whip out something new - specific tags can draw readers - good/decent potential for reblogs

9. Prompts ---> 24/7/365 - imagines, those generic prompt blogs - follow some, keep an eye out for the interesting ones - challenge yourself to crank out one a week, short little 500-ish word blurbs - reblogs, maybe, who cares, this is serving to get you out of the funk and get used to posting your work; it's practice, and if it gets love, then great, if not, you still got stuff to put on a master post - and make a master post and get it in your profile so it's easily find-a-ble

10. Outside of Tumblr * ---> 24/7/365 - Fanfic.net and AO3 - join and put fic there and put your links somewhere on your blog - both have stats - both give opportunity for people to comment and to share direct links to their blogs, which is how this connects to the goal of visibility in the SPN fandom here - also a way to self-reblog your story in a “fresh” way/cuts down on repetition popping up on your followers’ dashes (i.e. - helps cushion the ol’ “Oh they’re posting this again?!” feeling)

[* Note: many of us have great distaste for Wattpad because it is a breeding ground for thieves - people will c/p stories from here and present them as their own, some trying to excuse it by “giving credit” in a blanket manner a la “found at Tumblr” or listing the “@” of the writer. The problem is, Wattpad’s method of reporting leaves much to be desired - like Instagram, they only seem to be interested if a published author takes issue. The only real way to call out these thieves is via an immense amount of pressure from the SPN Family commenting directly at their Wattpad page. My point? Your choice, but if you do join up and post there, proceed with caution.]

(B) The stuff that's more than just writing:

1. Reblog interesting things that show who you are - fan art is a great start - shows your tastes and what you like - when feeling confident, host a challenge, as what you choose for the framework (one of mine, for instance, was using lines of dialogue from Archer) will also reflect what you like, what you're into - tag people you're friendly with and say something like "Even if you're not interesting in joining, signal boost, please??? [cute emoticon]"

2. Narrow down focus - if you're multi-fandom, drill down on your favorite - start by building up a solid following in that one fandom - keep a ratio of about 80% primary fandom, 20% to cover the others/personal/non-fandom stuff - use a "Not [fandom]" tag for that 20% so your followers can choose to opt-out - or if you can't manage this, do a side blog or two

3. Set your queue to pop stuff out (at minimum) 2 or 3 times/day - stuff it - start with CanonSPNgifs - keep your blog active - unless something you want to reblog is time-sensitive, chuck it to the queue - a wall of posts from the same person on the dash is off-putting - same for constant reblogs of your own stuff*

(* Which you should do, yes, but have an understanding of time zones, will ya? I swear some people are re-blogging for myriad time zones in Oz and Narnia, as well, I've no idea... I've digressed)

4. Send Asks to people like the "spread the love" stuff - if they post "Ask Me" things, send them one - reblog the answered ask and say what you think about their answer/at minimum say "thanks, this was great" - reblog those ask games posts for your followers so they ask you questions - get engaged

5. Respond to a good portion of the comments people leave for you, whether feedback or just funny things they said - specifically, feedback with reblog deserves reply of thank you, whether in the notes or a fresh post; see my blog for copious examples - make a post that says your tags are open/offer to tag folks - anytime your follower count jumps by, say, 5, reblog it - make an OMG!-type post every time your follower count increases by, say, 10 - you’re telling them you actually give a shit that they follow

6. Keep an eye out for folks (especially those who make rec lists, so always check out rec lists for who did it when you spot them) who have said it's okay to tag them - always tag them, even if they seldom reply/reblog/feature you on their list, as you never know

7. When you read stories by other writers that you love, reblog them *with some feedback* - do unto others, etc., etc. This is in huge headline size for a reason. Take the hint.

ETA - I chimed in and gave some tips since I composed this post, and it may be helpful for you/for people who are shy or intimidated or just not particularly comfortable verbalizing feelings.

...and here’s what I suggested:

If you want to get specific, say what your favorite thing/things is/are; in my mind that could go something like this:

I felt like I was right there with them in the ____ [setting]

I felt like I was right there during ____ [part of the plot]

I felt like I was watching an episode of the show

I could relate so much to ____ [character]

My favorite line(s) was/were ____

___ [character(s)] sounded just like they do on the show

___ [character(s)] acted just like they do on the show

And there’s also more generic things, such as:

This story really touched me, I needed something heartwarming!

This story cracked me up, I needed a good laugh!

This story made me smile, I needed some cheering up!

This story got me crying, I needed a good cry!

This story was really creative, I needed a change of pace!

And if you want to keep it really simple? This can apply to any story:

I enjoyed this more than I can say, thank you so much for writing it

Is full-on blind cult following an "ehhhh" thing? Yeah. But the basis of it, the true, legit loyalty part of it, is wonderful. You want that. The more readers know you, the more they'll feel comfortable interacting with you, and the greater their comfort, the more likely they'll give you feedback and, eventually, some constructive critique*

(*You gotta make it clear you're fine with critique, though, and don't dare say it if you're just gonna pitch a fit when you get some, however poorly phrased the critique may be; but that's another topic, for another day).

Great, Nash, you still haven't answered my question about pleasing the masses - you may say.

The answer is: that's a call you gotta make for yourself. To hopefully help, I'll tell you two stories about chumming the waters with (what seems to be) the standard wares that get a ton of followers/reader-followers.

Interestingly, I *just* this past week or so had a great discussion with someone (who I won't reveal, of course, because it was PM) on this very topic. You'd recognize their name, if not follow them/have read their stuff, they've got a healthy fanbase, etc., etc., etc. all that jazz. It would surprise you, is my point, to know that they've been pondering on their writing - specifically, the genre in which they feel entrenched. They accrued their popularity (I hate that word, but can't think of a better one) in a certain, ah, niche. You know the holy trifecta: angst, fluff, smut. One of those.

(I am not going to go down the road of how much I loathe the limitations of those, I know myself, this will turn trash fire and neglect you. But they are the cards we've been dealt, there's nothing to be done to change it, we must play our hands. #flames on the side of my face #haaaate #I'm done)

Anyway, they've sat here "x" year/years later and looked back at their pre-SPN fanfic foray (read: how they used to write/what they used to write), and are like - Where'd my voice go? Where'd my style go? Can I get it back? Sure I can get it back, but if I start being "me", what will my reader base do with that? Will they stick around and support me? Will they bail? etc., etc., etc. You get the idea. Reasonable thoughts, all.

I tell you this next bit because while what is going on with above writer is on the side of Got A Wide Reach, like I said in Pt. 1, I am presently on the other side, the Modest-in-Number, Large-in-Loyalty reader collective. And I *have* chummed the waters, though not entirely purposefully. And it didn't work... well, hasn't, I can't predict the future, could blow up tomorrow, but not likely. I suspect I know why. We'll get to that.

I say not entirely purposefully because I stumbled into Fluff and Smut, one of each. (There is a second fluff, but that doesn't count because it was tailored to a very specific person who gave very specific things to include for a Valentine swap thing.) The fluff was via a thing I did, and my dear friend nailed it, gave me three cringy words that were meant to hit the fluff bullseye, and I doubled down. You can see that here, should you care.

People fucking lost their shit. I repackaged it into its own post in case folks didn't like the snark in the one linked above/would rather reblog sans snark. People lost their shit, part deux. Flattering as hell. I appreciated it immensely, truly.

On the smut*, I lost a bet (I can't even recall what it was, maybe I mentioned it somewhere) with the friend that drew me into SPN because they were (are? yeah, still are) frustrated with the show and I needed a writing exercise and I had (at the start time) eleven years of source material, so hells yeah I said yes. The bet was for smut, and I said - Fine, but I can't not plot. Great, was the answer, but I had to typical it up, this was a punishment, after all. And typical, for me, means so much detail that it made brain cry. Copious detail works my nerves. Copious pondering works my nerves. Any one thing that’s too much will Work. My. Nerves. And I wrote it (it's five parts now, but part one and two was the orig piece and ended open), and said to friend "This won't get shit response" - "You wanna bet?" - me, the idiot: "Yup" - "If it does, you have to finish it out".

(*no link because I don’t know your age, and it’s set to sensitive)

People fucking lost their shit. On FF.net and AO3, that is. Not the numbers some people get, but holy hell. Hence, parts 3 through 5. Far as here, not so much the hit. But the people here who've liked it have REALLY liked it, so there's that, and it's flattering as hell, and I appreciate it immensely, truly.

And yet at the end of the day, hey guess what, say it with me now:

Now, for all my pseudo-fussing, I was cool with doing it, because at heart I'm wired to think about marketing, and I thought - Oooooh. This will bring people to the goods, the stuff I'm *really* proud of, and then and then and then....

Nope. Some yes, mostly nope. Most of my loyal roundtable were brought into the Nashooligan fold by other stories.

Here's why I think writer above got on the other side of the coin and I'm riding the edge - they went down the rabbit hole on a few, got mega results, and it fills the confidence tank, and why not wash-rinse-repeat? Humans are wired that way, we don't do things that we don't get something out of, it's normal. Thing is, they - as they see it - got lost a bit along the way. It worked, though, that squashing of their voice - "worked" in the sense that it drew the masses. Some people would be completely okay with this, would find it a reasonable trade-off; this writer isn't presently thinking so.

And back to me - I think the reason my smut and fluff didn't hit the stratosphere and draw in the masses (ergo, little motivation to do more) is because my style is still in there. The snark, the focus on accurate characterization, and like I say, I can't not plot. I didn't pullout the recipe, same ol' ingredients, mix up some standard shmoop/standard porn, flop it in the cupcake paper, bake it, then smear a thin layer of canned frosting - flavor: "Meh Plot" - around it. I made that junk from scratch, like I do all my other stories, and while I did use some of the same ingredients, I didn't go all-in. Notably, my evergreen stance that Y/N can die in a fire, ceiling optional, I ain't doing it.

I am not going to insist you read either of them, I'm just gonna ask you to trust me on this: I read quite a bit, and I've yet to see the ingredients of Reader Mommy Married To Dean Have A Baby Sam Has Dogs scenario mixed together like mine, and I've yet to see a Reader Insert Smut With Dean Smut With Sam Inferred Happy Ever After With Dean mixed together like mine.

Which, like I say, is what I suspect is probs the issue. I didn't get as far down the proverbial hole as my writer friend in terms of Typical'ing Up my stories. Could I un-ring that bell? Better put: could I start ringing bells? And I mean weekly, if not twice a week, quickie ones, throw in a lengthy once a month? Crank out the recipes? Plenty of templates to work from, after all. It would be hard for me in the sense of voice-squashing, but could be done.

So if I had to give you a vote on whether chumming the waters is a strategy to take, given those potential pros-and-cons, here's why I vote "no", both for myself, and for you, and others contemplating such.

It's partly that cautionary tale of my writer friend (and there's gotta be more feeling like her, there's just got to be), and mostly it's because of three writers I can think of off the top of my head. They're all quite talented, they consistently turn out solid, creative pieces that can be differentiated from the rest of the fodder floating around, and all three have substantial reader and/or follower bases. One has less than the other two, but nothing to sneeze at. The second - another person I've had great PMs with on the topic of wide appeal - attributes part of their success numbers-wise to specializing not in a niche genre, but due to specialty in a subset of the fandom (a specific, very popular 'ship).

The third, who has a *massive* reader and follower base, I can't get my head wrapped around, and I don't mean that in the sense of not understanding why people adore them, they deserve every bit of it. We'd have to dig deep into years of works and chart out the numbers (likes and reblogs and comments and followers - again, the only metrics we got) to see if there's a tipping point, but there's no magic bullet, so likely there'd be nothing in that data - or data from any highly successful writer around here - that's gonna reveal some secret. And this is the only writer I can think of that I'd really love to know a tipping point on, because: reason I can't get my head around it is because they don't do typical, ain't even in the ballpark of typical. Now, they do inject smut into much of their work, but plenty of other times it's just inferred. Consistently cheeky, if not snarky, if not balls-out-gut-bust funny. Consistently original, creative plots, even when it starts out purposefully trope-y, there's gonna be a slant on their take. I may not personally like everything they put out, I'm not saying they're perfect, but if we're trying to keep it objective vs. subjective, applied to The Nail framework? They're nailing it easily 80-90% of the time. I've actually got a soft moratorium on them, between stuff I find and noms I get on their stuff, I only include them sporadically on the list or else they'd be everywhere.

That gives me hope. Not-a-one of those three are cranking out stuff religiously on some frequent schedule, they write when the muse hits. Not-a-one of those three are following recipes. Not-a-one of those three are blanketing their voice.

And this goes back to the very first thing you said, about pleasing others when we can't please ourselves. Part of the reason you're not pleased is because on whatever level, your stuff isn't grabbing an audience, however big or small. I know it, because I've been there, as I've told you. The biggest part, though? It's because you know you can do better. Maybe you're cranking it out too fast. Maybe you're not fleshing out a character enough. Maybe you wished you'd taken another run at the plot before you published. I don't know, truly. But you're not digging the end result somehow. When you get there? To legit confidence? You're not going to care as much about pleasing others, you just won't. And that confidence is going to show in how you interact with others, little notes you make on gif sets when you reblog, things you say when you feedback others, all that stuff I said above.

People are attracted to confidence. It may intimidate them at first, they may linger on the periphery, but then once they see it's not arrogance or something, they'll be bees circling closer to the honey, because it... it... how to put... it rubs off. A kind've What Would "x" Do kind've thing. And most people will always welcome having more confidence, I mean, the real genuine confidence. We choose who are friends are - to be cheesy - not just because of who they are, but because of who we are when we’re with them. I think the younger we are, we get the wires crossed of "nastiness" and "straightforward". It's the difference between those folks, for instance, who snap and go all "You cum dumpster!" on Anons who word things poorly (I don't mean the ones who are vitriolic, I mean the ones who use less-than-elegant phrasing), vs. the folks who plainly reply something to the effect of "That's certainly something to consider. Thank you for your input". That they can’t discern the difference between a person dishing out hate - actual hate - and a misstep in phrasing speaks a lot to their confidence, that they’re taking a complete stranger’s words as such a personal affront.

I say all that to say: it's not about just the stories; the stories are a piece of a bigger puzzle. Personally, when I see folks being nasty in that manner? My knee-jerk thought is - They are so quick to lash out and write that stuff, and are so careless with their words, I bet their story-writing follows suit. And guess what? I have been 99.9% correct thus far. There's no OOMPHs in their stories: there's no brain-chewy, no heart-grabbing, no snort-giggles, no soul-touching. It's as typical as that comeback. It's lazy. It's easy. It's eye-rolling. It's expected.

Put another way: their lack of confidence in general is what is infesting other areas, in this instance, their stories. I wonder if - since you said “anything I’ve ever created” - that even if it was a slip-of-the-tongue, it may’ve been a meaningful one. If it’s the case, that there are other areas of life where you feel less-than-ideally-confident (a.k.a. - inept), I think you’re smart to start in this area, with fanfic, because as illustrated there’s lots you can do that’s in your control, that’s not dependent completely on others, and probably have some fun along the way, getting to know folks, getting encouragement, seeing your stuff get circulated, etc.

Do you keep a tiny notepad on you? Do that. Grab one from a dollar bin at Target or get you a Moleskine if you're feeling fancy, doesn't matter, but keep it on you, purse, backpack, jacket, wherever. I don't want you doing what I'm about to say on the notes in your phone, not yet. I want you to physically jot down by hand a word or two or five or whatever, about things you see/encounter, turns-of-phrase you hear, mannerisms you note in others - all that stuff - things that do please you. Those OOMPHs. And now you have some inspirational story points ready to go. Even if you aren’t able/feeling up to doing that other stuff above? This is an easy, small place to start.

Bottom line: this isn't happenstance.

It's not happenstance for the subpar writers, and it's not happenstance for the exceptional ones. This is work. Getting confidence is work. Style is a great deal inherent, true, but it can - and should be - honed, and will likely evolve in subtle ways as time goes on. Confidence and proficiency in a skill (like writing) are not automatic "things" that come with age, not even necessarily with experience. Dig in. Take some of the actions listed above. Start with the least stressful to you, then pick away at 'em as you get comfortable. If you're already doing some of those? Then, start again fresh mentally, as if you just today started doing them. Bump up your effort. Push yourself. See what happens. Get confident in the little things, and it will start to add up, overflow into the empty places.

Look at the pickle you’re in presently as an opportunity to alter your current methodology - I mean, we know whatever you’ve been doing isn’t working for you, right? So it can’t hurt. Batter it and deep fry it, tweaking the recipe as needed; it’s still you, but you’ve applied a well-thought-out, well-crafted extra tastiness to it. There’s people out there who will love it, and they’ll turn up.

See? 😉

#Dear Nash #NONNERS #Not Tyler Durden #I swear #Writing Tips #Writing Advice #Queueby Dooby Doo #Dad's on a blog post and #he hasn't been queued in a few days

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rebekas-posts · 3 years

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Customer Reviews Insights: How to Analyze a Buyer’s Sentiments for Amazon Products

In the last couple of decades, the revolution has come because of the internet in the shopping experiences. Having nearly everything accessible online, consumers need to just open the app, click a few times and that’s it! The product will reach their doorsteps!

Though, with hundreds of alternatives accessible in all categories, this can be an intimidating task to search all the options and choose the best option. Product reviews always prove to be differential when comes to making definitive decisions.

On the other side, user Amazon Data Scraping is similarly important for businesses to observe as well as predict trends, study consumer attitudes as well as create pursued action plans.

Since 2012, X-Byte Enterprise Crawling is gathering product reviews across an extensive range of product categories and e-commerce platforms to provide go-to solutions for all the data scraping services requirements.

Inspiration

Thanks to larger inventories, superior user experience as well as customer services, Amazon is always the leading retailer in a lot of countries. The majority of products are well-reviewed having many in tens of thousands.

Using the assistance of Machine Learning as well as Language Processing methods, we’ve examined lots and lots of Amazon user reviews. Our objective is to know consumer sentiments as well as help in improving decision-making.

Collecting Data

For the use case, we have collected reviews of the external monitoring from three top brands — Dell, LG, and HP— for Amazon’s US as well as UK’s web stores.

Our dataset has incorporated 12 products from the given three brands as well as the following data fields:

Product Details

Product Name

ASIN

Price

Brand

Reviews Details

Seller

Review Titles

Ratings

Complete Review Text

Review Date

Reviewer’s Name

Useful

Verified Purchase

After some rounds of the QA (deduplication, removing null records, etc.), our last dataset included 10,786 records from which the first review was given in December 2014.

Best Brands Sharing Similar Insights

Dell, LG, and HP are the three most reliable brands in the electronics and computer accessories industry. Because it is anticipated with the top brands, the highest ratings of 5.0 had maximum reviews of 7,168.

After analyzing the chart above, we can observe that these brands got the overall number of reviews as well as for every rating.

These three brands are also having related average ratings for the monitors at Amazon.

Depending on numbers, you can assume that all these brands have roughly a similar market stake on Scrape Amazon Product Data as well as are also equally popular. Potential buyers might further need drill-downs about review content to make the last decision.

Analyze the Best Reviewed Products

HP VH240a is the 23.8-inch Full HD Monitor, which was the maximum-reviewed product in the dataset having 3,559 reviews. So, we have chosen to do individual analysis. This monitor model is also having average ratings of 4.27.

~100% Certified Purchases

For the selected monitor, nearly all the product reviews were taken from the verified purchases to enforce the dataset quality for more analysis.

Quarterly Average Ratings over the Time

The initial review for the HP VH240a monitor was given in July 2017. This product has achieved the maximum quarterly average ratings of 4.40 in the Q4 of the year 2019.

The average ratings have been dropping since all-time highs that might be down for some factors like:

Better options either in the same competitor or a brand

New technologies in the hardware display panel with power management, picture quality, etc.

87% of the Customers are Happy!

With nearly two-third (2,352) reviewers providing that 5 stars, you can say that largely, customers were pleased with the purchase, and merely 12% of customers have given poor ratings of 1-2 stars.

Reviews at the Opposite Ends of Becoming More Useful

With Amazon, the registered can “like” the review to exhibit that they have found the detail useful. These “likes” counts are a very good indicator about the type of details that echoes with the potential customers as well as helps them in whether going with the products in question or discard them.

Depending on the review percentage, which was considered “helpful”, as given in the above chart, it is evident that the higher percentages of the users have found negative reviews to be the most useful during the buying procedure. This percentage was considered as:

Total reviews marked useful * 100 / Total reviews about those ratings

Although, while considering the real numbers of “likes”, reviews of two extravagances (ratings of 5.0 or 1.0) looked to be the most useful.

Length of the Reviews

Depending on our study, we have found that many users left reviews of comparable lengths for every rating — on average, about 350-400 words. This suggests that, despite the apparent product sentiments, customers like to be equally descriptive about the experiences in the reviews.

Having said it, there is a small increase in the lengths of average reviews with every rating.

Depending on the words ‘cloud generated’ for good reviews, consumers are usually “happy” with the “quality” of the purchase, having “sound”, “screen”, “speakers”, and “picture” often mentioned. Consumers also like the monitors for “office”, “home”, and “gaming” objectives, as well as are ready to “suggest” it to the contacts.

In contrast, dissatisfied customers look to be getting “issues” with “power”, “sound”, and “cable” as well as might “return” it.

Having “speakers” featuring importantly in both the review groups is the feature, which is differentiating the customers.

It was only an indication of the type of actionable analysis possible with quality data, which X-Byte Enterprise Crawling offers. Analysts can do more detailed sentimental analysis for scraping extra insights from in-house or competitive review data that can be essential in making well-versed product development judgments.

About X-Byte Enterprise Crawling

X-Byte Enterprise Crawling is a data acquisition company, specializing in the web scraping services of data from nearly all business sectors. Contact us with your requirements and we will surely provide the best solution to you!

For know more: https://www.xbyte.io/amazon-data-scraping.php

#Amazon Data Scraping #Scrape Amazon Product Data #Amazon Product Details #Pricing data scraping #Amazon Reviews Scraping #web scraping services #Amazon Price Intelligence

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su-eop · 7 years

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A Review of Lingodeer

I’m really excited to bring you guys another app review today!

Lingodeer is a brand new app that is designed by actual language teachers/native speakers for specifically learning the three main East Asian languages: Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. And it’s totally free! If you haven’t heard of them before, you can check them out here: https://www.lingodeer.com/

I’ve actually been wanting to review this app for a while, but the iOS version wasn’t available until just the other day (and I only own Apple devices!).

Disclaimer: At the time of writing this review, the (iOS version) app is currently build 1.0, so any of the following may or may not change going forward as updates are applied.

Unlike for my review of the Duolingo Korean course, I did not complete the entire available skill tree that Lingodeer’s app offers. I found going through the lessons that there wasn’t any need to complete the tree in the vain hopes that the course might magically get better. Lingodeer is very good right out of the gate.

Your first stop on the app is the “alphabet” section, as it should be. Like Duolingo, Lingodeer unfortunately uses a form of romanization to teach the letters (see my Duolingo review for an explanation about why that’s bad) but that’s where the similarities stop. Lingodeer presents the Hangul letters in an order that actually makes sense, and in a way where learners can understand they are actually using letters to build sounds and eventually, words. Also, stroke order! That was a delightful and welcome surprise, which will come in handy for users actually wanting to learn to write the letters properly.

Heading into the first set of lessons (the “Nationality” section of the above screenshot) the user is greeted with a list of the lessons contained in the section, and to the left side, a menu labeled “Learning Tips”. When I selected the first lesson, I was initially disappointed to see that the romanization followed me but I quickly found that there is a setting the user can toggle to switch between Hangul and romanization, Hangul only, and romanization only.

Jumping right into the lesson, the user begins learning words and grammar that are pertinent for beginners to know, which is again, something Duolingo fails at. Additionally, all the audio is voiced by a native Korean speaker, and the quality is very clear and easy to understand.

The exercises in the lessons are fairly standard for apps of this nature (match a picture to a word/sound, unscramble sentences, listen to a bit of audio and enter the answer, choose the word/grammar bit that doesn’t belong, etc) and are on the whole unremarkable. However there was a conspicuous lack of explanations about why the grammar works the way it does, why the lesson kept trying to drill -은/는 into my brain with no indication about why it was important... Until I accidentally brushed part of the screen with one of my fingers on my way to the “next” button and a small window popped up to explain the word and grammar I had unintentionally poked at! There is no indication on any of the exercises or lesson screens that the user can press the words or grammar points for tips, instead of just blindly clicking through the lesson and guessing.

Upon completing the first two lessons, I decided to check out the “Learning Tips” menu from the lesson selection screen, and found the in depth answers for all my previous questions and more were contained there. I feel like the app and users would benefit from somehow marking very clearly that this is the location to find all that information, instead of hiding it behind an ambiguous “tips” label, especially when the tips in the lessons themselves exist (invisible though they are). In my opinion this section should be required reading, especially as this app is directed towards total beginners, however even something like “grammar explanations” would be a big step up from “tips”. Putting an indicator somewhere on the lesson screen to draw attention to the fact tips are available there too would be a good idea as well.

The app also contains a review section, where the user can practice and review both vocabulary and grammar that they have covered in completed lessons, which negates the need for a separate SRS app at the very beginning stages of learning (though I do recommend it at higher levels).

And a bonus that does not pertain to the Korean section of the app itself: I encountered a bug while using the app and sent off a support email. I received a very prompt and polite response regarding it, and assurances they were working on fixing the issue. :) Lovely people over there at Lingodeer.

That all said, there are a couple things I don’t like about the app and it’s claims. First and foremost, there is no option to test out of skills or individual lessons. The app is designed for absolute beginners with no prior knowledge, yes, but being unable to test out of parts of the skill tree is discouraging for not-exactly-absolute-beginner users. Instead of having to spend the time to complete a whole bunch of lessons to get to one or two they might need, not-quite-newbies are better off just looking up the information online for a quicker answer.

Second, the listing on the app store claims that by using the app you will be at the “intermediate” level of knowledge, and the official website claims that if you complete all the lessons you will speak your target language. I find both of these claims laughable--the contents of the lessons will get the user to a mid-high beginner at best (late A2 on the CEFR scale) and the app doesn’t have any speaking exercises at all. Speaking recall can be very difficult if the learner is not actively practicing it. Remember: No one app, book series, website, or lesson set will be enough to get you anywhere near fluency alone.

But ultimately, the Lingodeer app is a very, very big step in the right direction and is everything Duolingo should have been but wasn’t. I would definitely recommend using Lingodeer along side a good set of grammar textbooks or when taking a class.

Check out the official Lingodeer site for links to the app/play store to give it a download! https://www.lingodeer.com/

Do you have another app or Korean learning source you want me to review? Send me an ask!

#korean #learn korean #korean language #korean grammar #study korean #langblr #studyblr #Korean langblr #korean studyblr #한국어 #한국어 공부 #한국어 배우기 #한국어배우기 #lingodeer #Soo reviews

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