#as it had the advantage of also producing new content at the same time as the reruns of old shows and movies. but that really is sometjing

[broke-on-books]

Me trying to figure out how long it took to make Scooby Goes Hollywood for maximum emotional impact and getting nothing from Google

Do we think it took longer than three months

[softavasilva]

i’ve said this before and i’ll keep saying it—the mass-cancellation of wlw IPs right now is the new bury your gays: a pattern that affects wlw disproportionately even to other lgbtq stories and emblematic of the underlying mentality that our stories are not important. that they can just be thrown away.

it’s the same feeling i had in spring of 2016. wary of getting too attached to any wlw characters or storylines because we’d been conditioned over and over again to expect it to end in heartbreak.

i don’t know if warrior nun is the lexa of canceled series but at some point something’s gotta give. i just cancelled my netflix subscription and gave warrior nun as my reason, and i suggest everyone that wants this to change does the same and instead spend that money on a vpn subscription and torrent anything you don’t want to miss out on. same goes for prime.

enough is enough. we deserve to have our stories told in full.

‼️‼️ no bc they saw the result of what bury the gays trope did. it made the whole gay movement in which we just flocked onto another show bc of the sapphic couple. they saw this and they used it to their fucking advantage bc now they know we would watch anything even with the most little screentime of our reps. they saw that we would support and give money/time to that type of media.

in turn they also noted that we would move onto the next show with the same rep after the current one is no longer producing content. so they did what greedy fuckers do and used it as an excuse to make wlw centered media - to then cancelling it - to then making another show with said rep.

they give these series a dollar and a cent for production and no promo and in return they get millions from it. its their best investment yet. bc now they can cancel it with little to no financial lost and start a new one knowing they will get double the money they initially put in.

they never cared about continuity or consistnecy with their shows when it comes to wlw representation. NEVER. the fate of those shows was decided the moment s1 gets released so they can move onto their bigger shows.

i fear we always stood on low chances bc this is just their strategy. to use people seeking for representation and reeling them in only to dispose of that representation so they can start over again.

[leagueofgardens]

Assault Lily × Ludvico Private Girls' Academy: The Blade of Truth

For obvious reasons, I'm not writing the full title of the play.

Ever since The Gleam of Dawn had its run earlier this year, my opinion has been that it was the best individual one of the Assault Lily stage plays, but the Ludvico quartet (in their revival versions when those existed) are the best series. And though The Blade of Truth was by no means bad and a worthy finale to the series, my opinion hasn't changed.

Extensive spoilers for the play below. Don't click unless you want to be spoiled! (Also, I talk about death, so a content warning for that.)

The Blade of Truth is actually the only one of the Ludvico stage plays that I've watched the original 2019 performance of, because there was no alternative at the time I was first watching the series. It was… okay. Definitely rough compared to the revivals, but I wasn't sure how much of it was inherent and how much was because of the lower budget those plays were working with.

It turns out that at least a little of it was inherent, but I'll focus on what was good first.

BoT 2023 (I'll abbreviate it as that from now on) was excellently produced. Assault Lily's stage tradition of projecting video onto the stage came out crystal clear, for nearly the first time ever, and was used to great effect every scene it happened in.

Though the choreography wasn't quite as fancy as The Gleam of Dawn's, it was frequently impressive, and the playwright/director duo of Sakuragi Sayaka and Hayashi Shuuji elevated their trademark of simultaneous scenes to new heights by occasionally having important conversations take place on one half of the stage while battles occurred on the other.

The story was an improvement over the 2019 version with a variety of small changes to the script, and possibly also thanks to the years of extra experience the actresses and staff have. Asahi and Nagisa were adorable together, the flashback scenes with Kazane made her feel less like just Mirai #2, Ichika and Karen both got even cooler, Himari was a lot more likeable, and Nonoka's scenes were somehow even funnier.

In the back half, Professor Amamiya "installing" himself into Kosaka the same way various other characters have makes a lot more sense than the 2019 version's brain transplant. I feel really bad for Kosaka, since she seems to momentarily regain her original personality just before she dies… well, no one ever said Assault Lily stories have happy endings for everyone.

Also, Pius seems to have mostly recovered from whatever issue they had in 2022 where the stage cameras and microphones precipitously dropped in quality (maybe Bushiroad gave them loaners and took them back when they pulled out of the Assault Lily project?)

What wasn't so great? Well, it's an ongoing thing with the Ludvico series, but the plain-looking hairstyles/costumes and boring CHARMs are disappointing coming from the other stage plays. They provide the advantage that they avoid having the occasional ugly-as-sin wig (like Kasumiko's in The Gleam of Dawn,) but I wish the crew had at least used different shades of natural hair so the characters are easier to tell apart. I don't see why Yuko couldn't be a blonde and so forth.

In BoT 2023, a reasonable amount of characters have custom CHARMs (or at least less common ones like Kazane's Triglav,) but I'll be quite happy if I never see another Dainsleif Carbine or Gungnir Carbine again in my life.

I'm still not a fan of The Blade of Truth's plot, particularly the second half. I've always been disappointed by Assault Lily's dull villains and feel that Toda Kotohi is the only one, in any part of the media mix, who's genuinely a great character. A bunch of nuns and Kosaka-sensei repeatedly screaming "This is for the good of humanity!" haven't changed my mind on that.

The fights were really cool, and Makabe and Kosaka in particular have their moments, but I wish we knew more about what they were actually trying to accomplish instead of them just seeming crazy.

While Sakuragi may have felt she couldn't make a change that drastic to the script in a revival, I think Ichika should have died when Makabe shot her. It really undermined the impact of that moment when she was just fine later, and more broadly I feel that Assault Lily's aversion to allowing even a single Lily to die in the present clashes badly with how its strongest plotlines are based on the deaths of characters in the past, like Mirai.

If Yuria had died in the previous Ludvico play, that would be fine too. Just kill someone. Anyone!

I feel very edgy saying that, but I really believe AL tests the limits of our disbelief with how everything, all of a sudden, always turns out just fine for the Lilies. (Unless you're a teacher, in which case you have a 75% chance of dying horribly.)

Anyway. BoT 2023 is a solid play, not the best Assault Lily stage play and not the best Ludvico one either (I think that's probably Schwester's Secret), but well worth watching. Don't miss it… though it's a little late to say that now.

[akehoshimystar]

Chapter 7

Chef: One plate...?

Ito: By adjusting the assembly of dishes and the portion size of each item, we can keep the total cost and cooking time down to this bit.

We want our guests to enjoy the taste of the food at this venue.

Chef: Well, I understand what you're saying. But a course meal won’t be complete unless we start with appetizers and end with desserts.

To be honest, I'm not keen on it even if you ask me to only partially cooperate.

Ito: …….

Even the owner agreed. He said, “As long as the chef agrees, there's no problem.” About 10 minutes into our conversation, I found myself breaking out in a cold sweat as the chef kept a stern look on his face.

Chef: I guess my personal feelings mean nothing to you.

Ito: No... I mean, your opinion is very reasonable.

(...This is not going well.)

(As Kosaka-san said, the issue is not about advantage or disadvantage, but about "feelings".)

In this case, there’s a limit to what I can do since we have no trust for each other, not to mention, it's our first meeting.

Ito: (.….From my experience, it is possible to break through situations like this with enthusiasm, sincerity, and passion.)

(Unfortunately, I have a reputation for not being able to convey that kind of thing...!)

Yu: …….

Ito: (...And Nina-san isn't the type to be full of passion either. I guess.)

Chef: Also. They offer free samples at the bridal fair, but now people have to pay for a plate of the same items with even fewer of them.

Ito: It’s just as you said. And that made me wonder if I could consult you about that matter when we proceed with the “arrangement to a plate format.”

Chef: Here we go again with that consultation…

Yu: ……What matters here is that there’s a way to distinguish our food from the course meal that's handed out for free, and produce a sense of satisfaction beyond the amount you serve.

Chef: Huh?

Ito: (Nina-san...?)

Yu: Am I wrong?

Chef: N-Not really...? I guess not.

The chef seemed surprised that Nina-san, who had been silent the whole time, had joined the conversation. Nina-san then continued calmly.

Yu: With this one-plate format, you can include a main dish at its original quality, which you can’t do for the free course.

Or, if there is a new menu that you would like to serve in the future, you can use this chance to experiment.

Either way, distinguishing them is possible.

Chef: !

Ito: (...Woah.)

I felt an invisible change in the flow of conversation. Without rushing, I started talking so as not to miss this godsend chance.

Ito: Since the tastings at the fair are not profitable, the chefs are only able to serve a small amount of their pride and joy meat dish on the plate.

I heard from the owner that he feels frustrated and believes that the meat should be eaten while feeling its usual thickness.

If possible, he would like as many people as possible to try it in its original form.

Chef: The owner really said that…?

Ito: (...Riku-san and the rest of the department taught me the timing of presenting benefits.)

(“Don't miss the moment the other person looks at you”. This is probably what they mean.)

On the day of the event, we will conduct a visitor survey and share the results with you.

We will include multiple items related to your dishes, so please let us know your preferences regarding the content if you wish.

Yu: ………..

Chef: …….. I see.

Well, I'll think about it.

Ito: …..!

Thank you very much.

Chef: It's too early to bow your head. I haven’t agreed yet, whether putting the whole course on one plate will work or not is another matter.

It doesn't change the fact that I can't serve food that I'm not satisfied with. I've heard that you guys will do all the cooking on that day.

If you're going to serve it as an introduction to our cuisine, I need you to maintain a certain level of quality. Can you do that?

Ito: Well….

Yu: I'll borrow your kitchen for a bit.

Chef: Eh? Kitchen? ...Now?

Ito: We’ve already got permission from the owner.

Yu: I'm in charge of cooking, including preparation. Be it skill, finished product, or taste. Please check them.

If you still don’t find me trustworthy enough, just say so.

Chef: I see. It’s good that you’re making this simple.

Now, let's see what you can do.

Ito: (...That was incredible...)

Shortly after…… Nina-san stood in the kitchen and made a sample. Apparently, the chef was completely charmed by his skill. It's still hard to believe that the chef, who had such a grim expression on his face, sent us off with a smile and told us to do our best.

Ito: …………Nina-san. Thank you so much for today.

Yu: I just did what Kosaka told me to. Sit next to Yashiro and listen before having him check out my cooking skills.

Ito: It's not just that... If Nina-san hadn't been there, things wouldn’t have worked out.

Yu: ………

I guess so.

I wasn’t sure whether he really accepted my compliment or just wanted to avoid further conversation. After Nina-san's brief response, silence fell over the car.

Ito: (I'm still not used to event preparation after all, but...)

I realize that it's also a valuable opportunity to talk to people I don't usually have contact with during my regular work. Feeling this new sense of purpose, I squinted my eyes at the sunset that could be seen from the window.

After that, preparations for the dress-up event proceeded smoothly, and the meeting with Kyoka-san’s mother was completed without a hitch. It seems that the "mother-in-law”, Sumire-san, has taken a liking to Aizawa-kun, and that was truly a relief.

The wedding preparation is now in its final stage, and today we came to choose a dress.

Kyoka: ……

Ito: (Everything suits Kyoka-san perfectly, she’s very beautiful... But is it just me or does she seem a bit stiff? She’s kind of gloomy or maybe more like….. anxious?)

Should I ask the staff to bring you some other dresses?

There are many kinds here.

Kyoka: Oh, sure... Thank you.

Ito: .….If you have any concerns or worries, I can lend you an ear.

Kyoka: Eh?

Ito: It doesn't matter if it's something trivial other than the dress. I'll try to resolve it as best as I can.

Kyoka: .…..Thank you.

I know this is not something I should say to Yashiro-san, who has helped me so much...

We’ve already come this far, but I'm a bit worried about my mother.

Ito: .…..Worried?

Kyoka: My mother is truly happy about my “marriage”.

But I've been deceiving her. I realized this again when we met the other day.

I can't stop thinking about whether this is really okay.

Ito: …….

Kyoka: It's always like this for me. I can't say what I need to say when it matters.

Sugio-kun... My ex-boyfriend. That trait of mine is probably the cause of all this.

Ito: (Kyoka-san...)

I failed to find the words to say to the dejected Kyoka-san.

Ito: (Just what should I say?)

Kyoka: Umm...Yashiro-san.

Ito: ...Yes?

Kyoka: Actually, I…..

---Knock knock

Kyoka & Ito: !

Shinobu: Good work. Aizawa is back~

May I come in?

Kyoka: ......Oh! Yes, go ahead.

Ito: ………

While I was wondering what to do for a moment, Kyoka-san wiped her eyes and answered brightly. “It's okay, thank you very much for listening.” Kyoka-san lowered her voice before I got up and unlocked the door. I welcomed Aizawa-kun with hesitation.

Shinobu: I bought some drinks for you.

Ito: Thank you. I’ll have it.

Shinobu: Trying on clothes may be fun and all, but it takes a lot of energy. Let's take a break.

Kyoka: Thank you... Ah!?

Shinobu: Woah.

Ito: !

Kyoka-san's hand slipped. The cup that she failed to pick up fell and the lid came off, spilling coffee all over the table. To make matters worse, there was a bouquet there.

Kyoka: What should I do now? I'm really sorry!

Shinobu: It's okay, it's okay, that should be my line! I should have just left it there.

It didn’t get on Kyoka-san, right?

Kyoka: Uh, yeah. Ah, but the bouquet…

Ito: We have a spare, you don't have to worry.

Kyoka: I'm sorry...

Shinobu: That’s enough apologies. Look, I've already wiped it off! Nothing went wrong. Right, Yashiro-san?

Ito: Exactly as he said.

Kyoka: …….

Ito: I need to make a call. The spare bouquet order was handled by Sei-san, so I'll check with him.

Shinobu: Understood. I’ll take care of her here.

Ito: …….

(.….I couldn't follow up at all.)

(I wonder what she was about to say earlier... Her “it’s okay” didn’t sound okay at all.)

Sei: [Hello, this is Okiya. How can I help you?]

Ito: Hello. I want to talk about the bouquet…

Sei: Oh, what do we have here...?

Don't worry. The other bouquet is scheduled to be delivered to the office the day after tomorrow. 

It should arrive in time for the ceremony without any problems.

Ito: [That's good to hear... Thank you very much. If you hadn't reminded me about a backup at that time, we wouldn't have had it made in time.]

Sei: I'm glad I was of help. By the way...

Anything else you need?

Ito: [Eh?]

Sei: Fufu. You don't show it on your face, or should I say, your voice really can’t hide it... 

You sound like you're worried about something today, that’s what I gathered.

Ito: (My voice gave it away, huh.….I've never been told that, but really? Isn’t it just Sei-san’s special ability...?)

Sei: [That's why I was hoping that our conversation the other day would bear fruits and you would rely on me. Did I get it wrong?]

Ito: The other day... Ah.

“When you're working hard on something, actively choose to rely on those around you.”

I could still hear Sei-san’s voice that I was grateful to receive back then.

Ito: ...Just now. The client just told me that she was unsure whether it was okay to lie to her mother.

And I didn’t know how to respond at all.

Sei: […….]

Ito: I have been wondering about what the best response would have been. 

Sei: [A response to clear up her doubts?]

[You really are kind.]

Ito: I’m not sure if I can call this kindness.

The moment you start thinking about what the right answer is, I don't think it's pure consideration...

Sei: [I beg to differ. No matter what it is about, I think when someone thinks deeply about someone else and worries for them, it can be called kindness.]

[Your client's doubt is also the same.]

Ito: (…………Sei-san.)

Sei: She knows her mother best, that’s why she is in doubt. I don't think that is something to be taken lightly.

After all, this whole fake wedding is no more than a postponement of the problem, and a stopgap measure.

Ito: [Just a temporary solution, huh.....]

Sei: However, I don't think the request was made lightly, and even if the request is withdrawn, her mother's circumstances will not change.

That must have been difficult for her.

Ito: [I know…..]

Sei: But if she doesn't want you to worry for her….

Then, I think there's only one thing we at Aporia can do.

Ito: [One thing?]

Sei: Yes.

She, who has been anxious all this time, decided to lie. For her mother’s sake.

Do your best to provide a “temporary solution” that is necessary for her and her mother.

Ito: …….

Sei: [What is the real joy for her right now? Maybe you should check on her again.]

Ito: (Doing our best to provide a quick fix for someone. That's what Aporia's service is... I see. That's right.)

.….Thank you. My mind is all sorted out now.

I'm not sure if I can say it well, but I'd like to talk a little bit more…

Ito: Aizawa-kun?

Shinobu: Oh, thank goodness you're nearby. Please come back. The fitting is canceled, and we have to be there right away.

Ito: ! Don’t tell me…,

Shinobu: Yes. Shizuka-san just contacted me….

Saying that he had confirmed the movement of the target.

Chapter 8

[blog-123456s-blog]

Best AI Tools for Graphic Design

AI Tools for Graphic Design: Revolutionizing Creativity and Efficiency

The graphic design industry is fast-growing, and by integrating creativity and technology into it, AI is a helpful friend for designers. As artificial intelligence has taken over a major part of our lives, it is natural that it is shifting toward graphic design. These tools are not only helping professional designers enhance their skills but are also helping people who have never designed anything before create great images. In today’s detailed article, we are going to discuss the area of AI Tools for Graphic design, how it works, its advantages, and some of the most crucial aspects that one must know about the same.

The Advent of AI in Graphic Design

Graphic design is commonly regarded as an area that requires constant evolution and new ideas. In the past, the so-called designers had to rely on talent and inspiration to put into practice things that they had in mind. However, the integration of AI in the creation of graphics in design has come up as a new factor that shapes this discipline. The use of AI in the design process can actually be regarded as the tools used to assist, improve, and even extend the length of the design process.

Benefits of Using AI Tools in Graphic Design

1. Enhanced Creativity

Creativity is another area that is best managed by AI tools, as the decision-making process is improved. It is due to such tools that a human designer may come up with options and designs that he or she might not have thought of. For instance, advanced applications in designing software can look at popular designs common in the market and suggest suitable colors, fonts, and layouts. This not only saves time for the client and the designers but also makes sure that the designs are modern and beautiful.

2. Increased Efficiency

Computer-aided design is the practical use of artificial intelligence in designing as it saves time by automatizing many functions. This in turn enables the designers to concentrate on the artistic part of their job without finding themselves overwhelmed by the many trivialities that arise in the process. For example, some activities such as transforming images, adjusting color depths, or generating several versions of a layout for various media, can be effectively managed by AI, hence rapidly increasing the overall speed of designs.

3. Cost-Effective

AI Tools for Graphic Design can help to minimize time and costs for the proper design offering such functions as an automated design and searching for necessary materials. This can be advantageous since companies, especially those that are new or those with a small capital cannot afford to hire many designers. AI-powered design tools are useful as they offer quality work like professional designers at a cheaper price.

4. Accessibility for Non-Designers

AI tools are bringing about graphic design to the general market and thus those who do not have a background in design. Thanks to simple and clear, interfaces and options these tools help even the less computer-literate person make beautiful graphics. As a result, we can observe the democratization of design which is rather helpful for small business owners, marketers, and content creators who need good-looking visuals, but don’t know how to deal with professional designers.

Key Features of AI Tools for Graphic Design

1. Design Generation

It is also possible to use AI tools to create design ideas on the basis of the parameters that can be entered by a user. For instance, you are blanking out on an idea or a new project that you want to start. For instance, if you type some specific words or descriptions about the design, the AI can produce several design themes for you.

2. Image Recognition and Editing

Modern AI environments include machine learning tools that are capable of image recognition. Therefore they are capable of finding certain aspects within an image and providing recommendations on how it can be altered in the process of editing. For instance, if you want to upload a photo, the AI will be able to analyze the objects, people, and background so you can justify the corrections or enhancements to be made. This is especially useful for some tasks like erasing backgrounds, changing the contrast, and other related operations.

3. Template Libraries

Most of the AI design tools that are available as applications or plugins have numerous templates that can be further modified. These templates can be accessed by the appropriate professionals and are available in various categories like social media, marketing, presentations, and others. Through these templates, it is possible for you to design new systems with good quality within the shortest time possible.

4. Style Transfer

The style transfer is one of the most interesting possible features that can be implemented through the help of AI and it is the process of one image using the style of another one but putting its own features on the second image. This can be particularly handy for developing emblematic and heavily graphical graphic design. For example, one may decide to employ a painting technique of a particular artwork, apply it to a photo, and come up with a whole new realm of artistry.

5. Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Some of the techniques used in designing some of these AI tools include natural language processing through which the tool can comprehend textual input from the user. This enables users to provide an overview of what they are looking for in terms of designs in simple language and the AI comes up with designs acceptable to the users. For instance, a user might set the task to something like ‘design a minimalist logo for a business firm operating in the technology industry’.

How to Use AI Tools for Graphic Design

Step 1: Choose the Right Tool - The first aspect, that will help to start using AI in graphic design, is to select the appropriate tool. There are, of course, a multitude of AI design tools, each having its navigational and functional features. There are numerous logo makers with artificial intelligence currently available on the market among which are Adobe Sensei, Canva, Fotor, as well as Designhill’s logo maker. Online social media monitoring and tracking tool If you want to track social media but do not have time for constant monitoring, you need to choose an appropriate tool, that meets requirements and cost estimations.

Step 2: Input Your Requirements - The next step that one will have to take after choosing a tool is presenting the specifications of the design. This may comprise uploading pictures or graphics, typing text, or choosing options including color, font, and style. This means that if you as the user are specific on the inputs that you give to the AI, then the results that you get will align with your expectations.

Step 3: Review and Customize - When using the AI to design a logo, check out the designs that are produced and choose the most appropriate ones. As with most designs, most AI tools that are used to create these designs offer further customizations. This is because there are specifics in color, fonts, and layouts that can be changed to meet the brands or the project outlook.

Read more

[spacedustpan]

The Watcher Issue

Damn. Like I'm so happy for them and I DO feel like it's the right choice and I'm going to coordinate with family that also likes watcher to share an account since we have different schedules and would be watching at different times anyway.

But like. I feel so bad for everyone.

And I'm tired of being subscribed to a bunch of different bullshit.

And that's not in any way Their fault.

And they're getting the brunt of people's hate specifically because we're all tired of being subscribed to a bunch of different shit. Which is sort of out of their control.

They have to work in the industry that they're in.

They can't just join with Dropout. Watcher is their own business with their own leadership and mission.

It looks like they've had help specifically from Dropout to build it though, because it looks almost exactly the same as Dropout from the preview images. Which is great imo and means that it should work well.

I know Watcher has to do this if they want to keep producing with the staff they have at the level of quality that they have been. And unlike other services like Netflix and Hulu they give a shit about their content and their employees.

I just hope that once everyone is done reeling from the bad part of the news that things will even out and people will enjoy it like they do Dropout.

I mean hell like they said they aren't policing account sharing so like...

For those that can: They've given the Green Light to Team Up with 1 or 2 buddies and split the $60 yearly subscription into a $30 or $20 fee for each of you and just Share The Account. And that's what I plan to take advantage of honestly. They said it was ok.

Also as a tip: Dropout and other smaller streaming services will tell you not to use a temporary visa gift card for the subscription but there's literally no way for them to tell so like. That's how I signed up for Dropout for a few months last year. Fake name fake email fake credit card that was actually a Visa Gift Card bought at the grocery store so that when the Free Trial and the funds on the gift card ran out it wouldn't keep charging me (didnt quite have enough for a year just for like 4 months).

It just put the streaming account on pause when the payment declined. Take that advice with a grain of salt though. 🤷‍♀️

But also like I'm hoping there's someone working furiously to back up whatever is on youtube because we really shouldn't have okder content suddenly put behind a paywall.

Idk if they plan to do that but just in case.

Edit: They apparently clarified all old content will still be on Youtube which is great! I personally still have a backlog to watch through so I'm glad it won't disappear.

(Still though you can never be sure. I mean fr look at all my favorite Vocaloid reposts with English subs disappearing left and right and the quality of old favorites being run through the garbage disposal. Preserve what's important to you!)

[ippnoida]

Digital Textiles in India – Bliss Impex in Gurgaon

One of the most striking things about visiting India is just how colorful everything is – from shopfronts and market stalls to the clothes that people wear out and about.

I wanted to get a better understanding of the Indian textile market and fortunately, Ekansh Jain, the owner of Bliss Impex, was happy to show me around his factory. The Bliss Impex name is already known to readers outside India, thanks to Durst’s marketing department announcing back in 2019 that the company had just bought four Durst Alpha textile printers.

At that time, Jain said that he invested in the four Durst machines in order to expand the company. This has obviously worked as he bought two more printers, one each from Epson and EFI, at the start of this year, both of which were being installed when I was there in February of this year.

http://indianprinterpublisher.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BlissImpex_Reggiani_L1030251_WQ-web750cor.jpg

Three of the Durst Alpha 190s were set up with reactive inks and are still going strong, side by side. These have a print width of 190cm with a print resolution of up to 600 dpi. Jain was in the process of moving the fourth Durst machine, an Alpha 180, downstairs where it will become the first machine on a new production floor of the same size. This machine prints to transfer paper for dye sublimation to polyester.

Alongside the Alphas, a new Epson Monna Lisa 32000 was installed at the start of the year. This is fitted with 32 of Epson’s PrecisionCore printheads, which can produce up to 697 square meters an hour in a single pass at 300 x 600 dpi, or 423 square meters an hour in two passes at 600 x 600 dpi. It uses Epson’s Reactive Genesta inks. It’s available in 240cm and 340cm widths as well as the 180cm size installed at Bliss Impex.

Right at the end of the line was a brand new 32-head EFI Reggiani Power, for which they were still making the profiles. This can print to fabric at up to 1020 square meters an hour in a single pass at 600 x 300 dpi or up to four passes for 600 x 1200 dpi, which produces 295 square meters an hour. Again, Bliss Impex has opted for the 180cm size though Efi also offers 240 and 340cm widths.

There’s also an Atexco printer from China, which uses a camera for registration of double-sided prints to ensure the prints on the front and back line up. Bliss Impex uses the Atexco to produce a particularly nice effect of printing color on top of a material that’s already been embroidered.

Bliss Impex runs three shifts a day and Jain says that he only buys digital printers from vendors that have local service support. He says, “I always like to have a service team based here. Epson and EFI have their own team here. They will do the profiling and then they will leave one person to make sure that it runs.”

He adds, “Once the heads go, we recycle them. We have an agreement with the European companies so they take care of them. I would rather not run a faulty head but recycle it and get the right quality.”

http://indianprinterpublisher.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Web750corr.jpg

Besides the digital machines, Bliss Impex also operates a range of conventional rotary and flatbed textile printing machines, as well as a label printer and also has an export arm. Jain says, “I have really upset the market by dropping the prices right down but the advantage is that I’m not trying to compete with other digital printers. I’m competing with my rotary.”

He continues, “When I first thought of putting these digital printers together people thought I was mad because it’s hard to run one machine let alone several big machines. My thinking was that I never had to compete with the market as I always competed with my own rotary work. I wanted to be in the market for this technology as I thought it was the future.

“And with digital I am putting more work through than with the rotary machines and it’s all on the same floor. It’s clean and hygienic. It’s better working conditions for the employees. It’s all sustainable.”

He says that a lot of people have now moved into digital printing but adds, “I would challenge anyone to find better quality with digital.” For this reason, he is also cautious about the current trend in textile printing towards pigment inks. He says, “I’m still going for reactive. I think that pigment needs more research and needs to be more cost-effective to really compete because it doesn’t have the easy hand feel of the reactive.”

He continues, “I can see a lot of advantage in bringing lower consumption of water but we still need to wait another few years more for pigment to reach the cost and performance of reactive.” He adds, “The pigment ink costs are more than double and the consumption is triple.”

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Naturally, with so many printers, he has considered investing in a single-pass inkjet machine but doesn’t think the print quality is as good. He explains, “The reason I don’t want to use single pass is that with the multi-pass you can increase the colour intensity by increasing the number of passes. But I can’t control this with a single-pass printer.” He adds, “And in my case, I have many other people to look after where I need to satisfy their quality and their color. And with the single pass, I would have to stop the production for the whole line. So I would rather have the multi-pass machines. But I’m still contemplating the single-pass printers.”

Jain says that the Covid pandemic did slow down the company’s growth though the effects of the pandemic are now receding. He says that it changed the world, and left established players with equipment and software that needed to be updated, which is one reason for investing in the new Epson and EFI machines. He adds, “You need the quality. If you don’t have the quality you can’t find the right buyer.”

But he also says that after the pandemic people wanted to use more imaginative materials and were concerned about the environmental issues, particularly around water use. This worked in his favor since he was already using digital printing.

Overall, the company is expanding and has a German partner for exports to Europe. Print quality is key to the business despite also facing the same cost pressures that are common to India. But Jain is relaxed with the air of a man who has little to worry about. And given that he’s preparing a second production floor, there’s every chance that we will be hearing more from Bliss Impex as the company continues to build up its digital production capability.

You can find further details on this company from blissimpex.in.

First published on15th April 2024 in the Printing and Manufacturing Journal. Reprinted by permission. www.nessancleary.co.uk

[projectcubicle1]

The Dual Impact of AI on Accessible Education: A Look at Positive and Negative Impacts

The Dual Impact of AI on Accessible Education: A Look at Positive and Negative Impacts

AI made an enormous splash on the global community with the release of ChatGPT last November. For the past year, schools and employers alike have been scrambling to figure out how to handle the risk of accepting AI-generated work that has been passed off as the result of human effort. At the same time, schools are also trying to find ways to benefit from the proliferation of affordable and (relatively) high-quality artificial intelligence. Do the pros of artificial intelligence out weigh the cons when it comes to education? In this article, we look at the challenges AI is creating for schools. We also examine some of the ways students and educators can take advantage of artificial intelligence. Read on to learn more!

Negative Impacts

Most of the press around AI in education concerns its negative consequences. Many of these fears are justified— particularly considering how new generative AI is. In this section of the article, we take a close look at what could go wrong with introducing artificial intelligence to students.

AI Makes it Easy to Cheat

The most obvious and highly publicized fear concerning artificial intelligence is that it makes it very easy for students to cheat. Free programs like ChatGPT can generate hundreds of words within seconds. Some AI platforms can even create high-quality citations that mirror AP or other college-approved styles. While AI typically does not produce what your average college professor would consider “A-work,” a student may well decide that they are ok with settling for a slightly lower grade if it means saving themselves four hours in the library.

It’s Easy to Get Falsely Accused of Using AI

Earlier this year a college professor in Texas made national headlines after giving his entire class a failing grade. The reason? He’d used an online checker to test their final assignments for AI-generated content. Every single paper came back positive. Part of the problem is that the professor did not use a conventional approach to checking the work. He input his students’ papers into ChatGPT and asked the program if it had written them. ChatGPT apparently said yes. There are several issues with this— the biggest being that while ChatGPT generates AI text, it was not made to evaluate it. The other problem is deeper and harder to correct. Even programs deliberately designed to detect AI-written content are wildly inaccurate. This creates a two-fold problem. On the one hand, it is very easy to be wrongly accused. On the other hand, it also gives students who wish to cheat plausible deniability if their work is ever called into question.

AI Makes a Ton of Mistakes

It really does. ChatGPT is basically made of the internet. Using it is a little like having a conversation with Google. You will get interesting insights and decent information, but you’ll also come across borderline unhinged nonsense. Students wishing to use AI as a study aid run the risk of getting bad information. It’s also worth pointing out that most generative AI programs do not have access to real-time events. ChatGPT is currently about a year or so behind which leaves it incapable of interpreting or commenting on major world events.

The Good AI Can Do in Education

One thing AI is pretty ok at is helping people brainstorm. You can bounce ideas off a generative AI program and get reasonably well-thought-out replies. AI programs can also point you in the right direction when it comes to conducting further research, going so far as to generate links to high-authority websites in certain cases. AI can also be used as a way to make classroom learning more engaging. Studies show that students focus better when introduced to a wide range of learning tools. Teachers benefit as well—particularly in the form of data interpretation. AI programs make it easier to quickly derive actionable data insights, even when working with larger, obscure number sets. This makes it easier to implement highly targeted education strategies for each student in the room.

How Good is Generative AI?

If you’ve ever played around with a free service like ChatGPT your first thought was probably, “Hmm. That’s pretty good.” Your second thought was most likely, “But not really good enough.” Many equate generative AI in its current form as being the equivalent of speaking with someone of slightly below-average intelligence. That fact sometimes gets obscured by the fact that the scope of its “knowledge” (so to speak) is so large. It can conjure paragraphs about thousands of different topics. However, if you start discussing a topic you know a lot about with a generative AI program, you will quickly discover that the depth of its understanding is actually very limited. As a novelty technology, that is fine. As an educational tool, it isn’t. No one really knows where AI is headed or how society should respond to it. This uncertainty is a source of significant discomfort for many— particularly those who feel that their livelihoods are under threat. All of that uncertainty is also bleeding into education in a way that is hard to act on. Most schools do have policies against AI-generated classwork. However, as previously stated, it is hard to prove that text was written by AI. Even using artificial intelligence as a research tool or study companion is questionable at this early stage. As the technology improves and expands that might change. For now, it seems best for schools and students to keep artificial intelligence at arm’s length.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the pros and cons of artificial intelligence are beside the point. AI is here and it isn’t going away. Schools should focus on channeling it productively the same way many hospitals and businesses are. As mentioned earlier, data processing is possibly the most valuable way to use AI in an academic setting. Hospitals are already observing this as informatics nurses use AI-powered technology to get highly tailored insights into local health issues. Educators may be able to take a similar approach toward identifying community-specific barriers to learning. Innovation always comes with pros and cons but history is ultimately made by people who figure out how to make new technology work for them. Read the full article

[sparkouttech]

Generative AI and Customer Service

Discover 3 ways generative AI will reinvent customer service. Learn more about the advancement of AI.

Today, customer service teams find themselves at a crossroads. Customer service employees have never had to deal with so many cases, and customers are frustrated by having to wait longer and longer.

Often, in order to get all their work done, employees resolve issues for multiple customers at the same time while waiting for data to load from the systems.

When an employee closes a service case, they sometimes enter some observations, but these are often lost in the ether and other employees end up solving similar problems from scratch, without knowing that their colleague had already solved them.

With nearly half of customers citing poor service as the main reason they switched brands last year, businesses are forced to find a better way.

Lately there has been a lot of buzz with the appearance of GPT Chat, a model of . help users create text, images and other unique content from written instructions, They are based on pre-trained large-scale language models that Bardand Anthropic developed by OpenAI. Chat GPT and other generative AI models, such as generative (AI)artificial intelligence

Software development services such as generative AI models will completely revolutionize customer service, helping businesses operate more efficiently, offer more empathetic responses to customer requests and resolve cases faster. 

Read more about what generative AI is and take a look at some of the ways this technology could revolutionize customer service. 

What is Generative AI 

Generative artificial intelligence, or Generative AI, is a field of artificial intelligence that focuses on the enterprise software development process capable of creating new data, such as images, texts, music and other types of content, autonomously.

Unlike the traditional approach to AI, which often involves classification or prediction based on existing data, generative AI aims to produce original information that has not been taken directly from a pre-existing data set.

The fundamental concept of generative AI revolves around the ability of a system to learn from existing examples and then generate similar but new results.

This is usually done by training on large data sets, in which the system learns the patterns and features present in the input data. After learning these patterns, the system is able to create new instances that share similar characteristics but can be unique and original.

 How generative AI works 

We have already seen the impact of AI on customer service. artificial intelligence give employees AI-powered capabilities, such as recommendation engines and answers to customer queries. clients and automatic case summaries.

But a lot has happened since then, with advances in various areas and new technologies launched on the market. With the help of generative AI innovation, we are on the verge of catapulting customer service operations to the next level of efficiency and personalization.

Generative AI and the evolution of customer service 

Using generative AI we will be able to automatically generate personalized responses that employees will be able to send to customers without delay, whether by email or by message.

We can also train the AI ​​with all the case observations entered by each employee of the company and automatically generate drafts of consultation articles ready to go through the human review stage, which will greatly reduce knowledge creation time and make it easier to update articles.

By improving the usefulness and quality of knowledge across the enterprise, portals and chatbots of self-service will be more beneficial, which will give employees more time to devote to solving complex problems and Build long-term relationships with customers.

Generative AI will also bring advantages in field service, both for service, marketing and sales teams, and for customers. Service workers will be able to save time in the field with automated reporting.

The AI-generated guides will help new employees and contractors quickly onboard the company and refresh their knowledge with fresh learning materials constantly. For their part, customers will be able to resolve common issues on their own with self-service or even faqs.

The current wave of generative models are very advanced, but in some cases they can produce biased and even harmful results, as well as fabricated data (called “fake news”). Therefore, in the immediate future, it will be important to involve human reviewers, whether they are customer service employees or subject matter experts.

Given the enormous opportunities and complications presented by generative AI, 

Also explained the potential of generative AI in enterprise technology (in English), and how to balance this transformative technology with reality and the risks.

But before you read the articles we mentioned, here are 3 ways in which generative AI is going to revolutionize customer service:

1. Super-powered chatbots 

By complementing the capabilities of generative AI, it will be possible to have chatbots that provide more intelligent and personalized automatic responses, and also deeply understand customer problems, anticipate them and act accordingly. In this way, better-founded answers will be given to various customer queries, which will contribute to increasing the first contact resolution rate. Because generative AI will leverage data from past resolutions to analyze emotions and conversation structure, customer service teams will be able to continually improve, spot trends, and accelerate training and deployment. bots update.

2. Automatic generation of reference articles 

Over time, we aim to use generative AI to create draft advisory articles based not just on case observations but also in Slack conversations, message history and Customer 360 data. The goal is to speed up the resolution process for employees and refer even more cases to the self-service system which will take pressure off call centers and employees.

3. Expediting the swarm of cases 

We have already noticed that many customer service teams work more effectively thanks to the technique of swarming of cases, which involves employees calling on experts from across the company to help resolve complex cases or larger incidents .

Imagine how much more efficiently they could work if what was learned in other swarms of cases could be transmitted and applied more widely.

We will use generative AI to recognize previous similar cases, identify company members who have the right skills to address the problem, and recommend solutions and communications with customers to streamline and even automate many aspects of the case swarm.

We are at the dawn of an exciting new era of AI that will completely transform customer service.

Guided by Sparkout Tech Solutions, a software development company with a long history of developing ethical products, businesses will be able to harness the power of generative AI to supercharge productivity, accelerate case resolution, and deepen customer relationships through more personalized and specific interactions.

[breakingarrows]

A Response to “Live Service Ruined Gaming” by NovemberHotel on YouTube.

I will preface this by saying that I am not writing this because I outright disagree or want to argue with or think NovemberHotel is wrong or dumb or anything like that. I am writing this because I watched the video a week or so ago and thought it made some good points and brought up some things I didn’t know about, but that I think it could be improved upon and made stronger in certain ways. I also believe that too often the “discourse” is really just people posting their opinions on Twitter or YouTube or whatever platform they choose without ever engaging in actual, real Conversation with other people, so here is my attempt to make a Conversation with this video as the subject.

“Players get a constant influx of content, and developers get a constant influx of money.”

I think the word usage of developers is a little dishonest here when it comes to who receives the majority of money a game makes, especially when comparing different studios and their owners/publishers. In this beginning montage we view gameplay footage from: Sea of Thieves, Overwatch 2, No Man’s Sky, Destiny 2, and Diablo IV. Beginning with the basic fact that, the people who are actually working day to day on these games are being paid a salary or an hourly rate regardless of the game’s monumental success or a significant failure. There might be a bonus based on the game’s launch or long term success, but you better hope it relies on a reachable goal, as we know games will sell well but fail to meet a metacritic average that allows a publisher and/or executive to walk away with all that money. This happened to Obsidian Entertainment and Fallout: New Vegas (a game you will be seeing pop up quite often in this video) in 2010 when Bethesda tied the bonus payment to a Metacritic score that Obsidian missed by just one decimal. Sea of Thieves comes from Rare, a Microsoft owned developer and you know Microsoft is funneling any and all financial success that game earns to its various executives such as Phil Spencer, the friendly common man who takes in more money in one year than you or I will ever see in our entire life. Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV are the latest from the Activision owned Blizzard, a company whose independence from its owner has only deteriorated more and more over time to where the two are pretty much indistinguishable from each other nowadays. I believe it was on a Giant Bomb podcast many years ago that they were discussing how Blizzard now is not the same as Blizzard in, say, 2009. The meaning being that Activison had more control over the direction Blizzard takes whereas beforehand Blizzard was free to continue operating as it had successfully for many years. No Man’s Sky is an independently produced game that has been shopped around to various publishers from Sony to 505 Games to Bandai Namco for its physical releases. Hello Games was infamously screwed over by Sony in their marketing of the game. For some, the amount of responsibility or fault between the two I’m sure will be debated forever. Also, in regards to No Man’s Sky appearances going forward, the game has only ever had a one time buy in with all updates and additions being free. Destiny 2 began life as an Activision product, no matter what independence Bungie attempts to trot out as part of their own pride. I do find that NovemberHotel’s comment about the Mental Health Resources tab on Bungie’s website despite them specifically creating a game that takes advantage of the mental state of players and used behavioral psychologist to help them incentivize people to buy into their game with both time and money is a great example of the bullshit corporate speaking to social issues but it only ever being empty words. For these developers who are owned by larger corporations, we all know Bobby Kotick is the one stuffing his pockets with your cosmetic purchase funds, not the engineer or animator or community manager you are yelling at on Twitter, Reddit, etc.

I do agree with the comment that customers are allowing this to happen more than they are not. This reminds me of the infamous Apex Legends “boycott” for August 2022’s season which ended with Apex having the largest new season playerbase of all time. Reddit is NOT representative of the majority of players. Sadly, yes, enough people are willing to pay and buy into these various live service games and that is why we keep seeing them happen despite the mounting failures.

In regards to live service meaning games now have “second chances” at life after launch I do think it is a double edged sword. I think games media can be too much of a forgiving optimist in terms of always having that saving grace of, “Well it could always get better, we’ll see!” which exempts them somehow from doing any real criticism of the game as it exists now. I know games are fluid with the advent of online consoles and patches but I also do agree that games that launch and are “not good,” do seem to get a pass in terms of, “well it could get better.” I do not agree however with the assertion that good reviews = good sales. Okami, Psychonauts, Bayonetta, and Beyond Good & Evil are some great games that were reviewed well but sold poorly. On the flip end, Homefront, Enter the Matrix, Resident Evil 6, Star Wars Battlefront II (2017), and Aliens: Colonial Marines reviewed poorly but were still commercial successes. Reviews don’t matter when it comes to sales. Also the image that first conjured up my interest in writing up a response was when he shows Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Final Fantasy VII, and Super Mario 64 as masterpieces developers were “forced” to put out due to the lack of post-launch updates. Except, Final Fantasy VII has a infamously bad translation that carried forward to even its release on PSN in 2009. Also, I have the obvious claim that these games are regarded as classics, yes, but don’t act like there aren’t any contemporary games that are regarded as classics upon their day one release: Disco Elysium, Breath of the Wild, and Elden Ring. Let’s not act like every game released in 1996 was a complete and perfect product. I do think it is very telling that he mentions, “But the convenience that comes with patching a game post launch, allows these studios to ship incomplete, buggy, imbalance, and outright broken games with the promise of live service support to address feedback on these issue and fix them later.” He will later go on to feature many clips of Fallout: New Vegas, implicitly as an example of a game done right. Fallout: New Vegas which was infamously criticized for being incomplete, buggy, imbalanced, and outright broken at launch! I was there! You probably were too! Don’t act like Fallout: New Vegas was held as the beacon of how to release a game in 2010 because we know it wasn’t!

I very much agree with live service games being a carrot on the stick in which you are strung along to always come back and buy into their store. I’ve never given into the instinct but I acknowledge it is there that I want to obtain everything that exists for a given game I’m playing, I want to have it “whole” and “complete” but live service games make this impossible on purpose in order to keep you playing and to keep you spending and it is not good for the players. These games being designed to specifically keep you occupied at all times and prey on the FOMO of content is insidious and gross, but again, I lay the blame at the feet of the publishers. I don’t think anyone at Arkane Austin wanted to make Redfall, I think Bethesda, their owner, saw the success of live service games and told Arkane to make one regardless of their own interests. I doubt Gotham Knights was the game WB Games Montréal wanted to make had they the freedom of choice. 

NovmeberHotel’s argument in favor of in-game currency unlocks and progression systems is pretty much the same that my response has been to things such as lootboxes and battle passes. In my argument though it is Halo: Reach in place of Call of Duty: Black Ops, but the results and principles are largely the same. Cosmetics existed within the game and could be added, but were unlocked via in-game challenges or by earning credits by playing which could then be spent on whatever cosmetic you had unlocked and desired at that time. Going from Halo: Reach to Halo 5, I no longer could reliably unlock a cosmetic I wanted, I had to gamble on lootboxes and hope it was included in whatever drop I received. This was a BAD change. I do, however, prefer the additional maps being automatically added in a large portion of online games instead of premium paid add-ons as it reliably keeps the playerbase shared instead of segmented, which can make contemporary matches in Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops difficult because not everyone owns all the maps, so they rarely, if ever, appear in matchmaking today. Also I acknowledge the reduction of overall content but I think this is largely to be blamed on the increased fidelity in games that the audience demands. Battleblock can afford total destruction because it is literally blocks of right angles, whereas Battlefield 2042 has to be the most modern shiny technically impressive graphical engine which therefore loses out on destructibility at the scale previously seen. These games are only getting more expensive to make as we race to the bottom in terms of fidelity with more and more people being required to render the textures at larger and larger resolutions at a consistent framerate. I do agree that modern games appear to revolve around profiting off of FOMO and whale players.

I do bemoan that single player games are now also introducing battle passes and microtransactions, Ubisoft being the primary offender in this regard. I will also always cheer on those who point out how hostile publishers are to modders and fan-created works that improve upon the original game. Modding, piracy, emulation, and all of their ilk are worthy of praise and support and have done more for the medium than pretty much all major publishers combined.

I’m not entirely sure if I believe Live Service is here to stay. I really hate that Sony has twelve live service games in production (whether the disappointing live service adaptation of Marathon remains to be seen) but I do think the amount of failures, specifically financial failures, will be something the decision makers will be taking into account as they continue to pile up. 

[novalabs]

Why a Brand Manager Needs a Social Media Calendar: 6 Reasons

One of the most crucial resources in every brand manager's toolset is a social media calendar. Think of it as a painter's brush or a blacksmith's hammer. Your effectiveness significantly rises as a result. To put it mildly, managing social media is an impossible endeavor. There isn't a day that goes by when you don't have panic attacks about what you could have done differently or a missed opportunity. A calendar eliminates all of those concerns. It makes it easier to handle several social media profiles.

A brand manager is in charge of numerous duties. He is supposed to be multitasking, and using a calendar only makes things more orderly for him. It simplifies the procedure and lifts some of your burdens, allowing you to focus on being creative. Here's why using a social media calendar is essential.

It encourages consistent posting.

No matter what your goal is, consistency in your posting is really important. Consistency is crucial, whether the goal is to boost interaction, likes, or subscribers. You cannot publish five posts every day and then disappear for a week. That does not appear to be an active brand on social media. To keep the audience interested in the brand, it must be regularly displayed on their news feed. This interaction encourages the platforms to display your posts to a bigger audience. Increased organic reach and more followers are also possible. To constantly post, use a calendar. You can schedule posts and make plans beforehand. The likelihood of a coverage gap dramatically decreases when you prepare your postings in advance.

By getting you organized, it helps you save time.

The ability to stay organized is one of the calendar's main advantages. It enables you to divide your work and manage several accounts at once with ease. It also helps you remember a thought you had while attempting to fall asleep at midnight. Daily publishing makes it simple to lose sight of the end result. You can alter a social media schedule to suit your requirements. You can schedule social media postings with its assistance and stop worrying about it. You may control audience involvement from one location with its assistance.

It keeps you from making errors.

You can verify your posts before they go live if you schedule them in advance. Along with copy editing, part of the job entails research and fact-checking. Your copies must be flawless and correctly referenced. You may double-check your posts' grammar and spelling using a social media calendar to see all of the upcoming ones. It enables you to determine whether the links and images you're utilizing are appropriate. It aids in avoiding errors when controlling interaction and posting. It also offers everything in one location so you can avoid publishing the same thing on many accounts or the same item that was posed a few days ago.

It brings to mind significant and timely events.

How much would you regret not taking advantage of a festival? too enormous even to express with words. A social media calendar assists you in remembering not only holidays but also significant dates and world events that are pertinent to the audience that your brand is trying to reach. When you're mired in the daily cycle of generating content, it can be difficult to see something that is crucial to your company. You may stay current by using a calendar.

It helps in the improvement of your content

Social media's explosive expansion has also resulted in a sharp rise in post quality. The era of one-liners and basic backgrounds is over. Today, a committed staff is working hard to maximize the impact of each post. A social media calendar can assist you in properly managing your resources in this situation. When you are unrestricted, you can perform at your peak. It aids in upholding the voice and mission of a brand. The entire crew is given room to produce their best work. Creating excellent content has a lot of long-term benefits.

It helps to keep checks on stuff.

You may get a long-term perspective on a brand using a calendar. Everything is conveniently located and organized. It aids in monitoring the effectiveness and reactions to the posts. It aids in performance measurement so that it may be enhanced. Based on these data, you may design future content and guide the brand in the appropriate path. It is quite challenging to concentrate on the direction of the content as well as the brand's vision without a social media calendar. A calendar gives you concrete information that you can utilize to improve your brand and your social media posts.

To put it simply, social media calendars assist you in keeping your job well-organized. Brand managers would do well to automate tedious tasks and concentrate on the creative aspects. Due to the ability to prepare months in advance, it saves hundreds of man-hours every year. It is time well spent to give social media calendars a try. 

[squideo]

Advert Alchemy: The Location

In this series, Squideo is breaking down the eight key ingredients to turn your advertising content into gold! In the last edition of Advert Alchemy, we examined the importance of timing in creating the perfect marketing campaign. This week, we’re looking at the importance of your advert’s location.

The placement of your advert is crucial in getting it seen. And there are plenty of options. If you have the budget, you can spread your advert as widely as possible. With more restricted budgets, however, you need to consider which location will provide the most bang for your buck. 

A Place in the Sun

First, let’s examine five of the most popular advertising locations. 

01. The Talkies

Traditional advertising spots are found on television, cinemas and radio. Here an advert can be exposed to a large and diverse audience depending on the platform you select; alternatively you can use local stations to attract specific groups. 

On television and radio, where an audience is likely to repeatedly see or hear the same adverts, there is a risk of ad fatigue. After seeing the same advertisement, viewers can lose interest or become annoyed – which risks hurting their perception of your brand in the long run. 

To combat ad fatigue, some marketing strategies factor in alternative versions of adverts and space out their broadcasting time. Skittles have run numerous successful adverts in the past, but in 2021 their “Taste the Rainbow” campaign came with an unexpected twist. The protagonist of the advert opens a series of doors in their new home. One produces the Skittles rainbow. In another, a cougar claw appears. 

Yet, watch another version and the same door reveals a small man reading a book. The change catches viewers out, recapturing their attention and ensuring they pay attention during future airings in case there are other alternative versions to watch. 

02. Blue Screen

From the early days of SixDegrees, MSN and Myspace, to the current titans that are Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, social media platforms have become a growing presence in our lives. Advertisers took advantage of the popularity of these sites early on in their inception. 

The first digital advert on a website can be traced back to 1994 when A&T paid for a banner on what would become Wired.com. Facebook opened its platform up to advertisers in 2006, with YouTube following suit a year later. Twitter didn’t fall in line until 2010, however, and it is only within the past decade that regular advertisements on social media platforms has become commonplace. 

Social media can be a good location to garner engagement as your audience can directly respond. Disney has had great success with its #ShareYourEars campaign which raises money for the Make a Wish Foundation. It encourages the audience to share their own images with the platform, which means Disney isn’t only engaging people following them but also the people following their followers. 

03. Look Up

Whether static or digital, stationary or mobile, billboards have been a traditional marketing pitstop for almost two centuries. Also called hoardings, they’re big, they’re bold and they’re impossible to miss. 

Starting as intricately hand-painted signs, billboards would take craftspeople days to create; sometimes even longer. One of the world’s most famous landmarks – the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, USA – was originally introduced as a billboard to promote a new housing estate. 

Thanks to digital technology, billboards are easier for companies to access and cheaper to hire. There are fewer limitations that advertisers must contend with, even the size of the advert: in 2018, Ford set a Guinness World Record with the largest billboard at 56,672 square feet. 

Over the last few years, 3D animation has become a popular choice for brands looking to set their adverts apart. Piccadilly Circus in London is a particularly well-known spot for 3D ads, given the shape of its screen. Have a look at the billboard WhatsApp produced for this location in 2022. 

04. Paper Craft

Traditional paper marketing includes newspaper and magazine adverts, posters, leaflets and flyers. As printing techniques have evolved, advertisers have been able to produce some truly magnificent pieces of paper marketing.

Unlike billboards and videos, you’re not constrained by the amount of time people will spend looking at the advert. An audience can look at paper ads as long as they want, which means advertisers can invest in a lot more detail. 

This doesn’t only include a larger word count, it also means creating designs that require more attention to appreciate. Have a look at this unusual, limited-edition advert delivered by Ikea in 2018.

Receive a positive result and a discount voucher is revealed. It’s certainly an odd campaign to run but, given the expenses associated with purchasing new baby furniture, it garnered a lot of interest and gave Ikea an opportunity capture brand loyalty with new parents. 

5. Direct Mail

The best way to specifically target an audience is to contact them directly. Whether through snail mail or email, this is a great way to communicate news with existing clients. New products, updates, company shakeups… utilise your contact list. 

Email advertising has progressed a lot as this medium enables more and more customisation. Scheduling platforms also make specific targeting easier than it’s ever been, with statistics at the ready to ensure your content is performing. 

Embed images and videos, add animations, put your branding at the forefront with coloured backgrounds, custom fonts and consistent messaging. 

Grand Designs

The most memorable advertising campaigns took a large step outside the box. While some of these unusual strategies might not suit your brand or budget, read on for a shot of imagination. Could any of these be adapted or scaled down for your project? Let’s look at five of the most unusual advertising locations. 

01. Video Games

Companies have produced their own video games (Pepsiman by Pepsi) and featured their product in existing video games (Red Bull in Worms 3D). Not only do you put your brand out on an engaging platform, but your product will also become associated with fun!

02. Eggs

Yes, you read that right. CBS engraved a series of advertising taglines onto eggs. Think about it for a second and it makes sense. Lots of people buy eggs. Pluck one out the fridge for a fry up and what do you see? An advert. That’ll stick in your memory for sure! 

03. Statues

If you’ve been lucky enough to visit Spain, this might be old news. For those unlucky folks, however, it may surprise you to learn about the Osborne Bulls. There are 92 of these silhouettes located around Spain standing at either 7 or 14 metres tall. 

04. Outer Space

Propelled 20 miles above the Earth by a high altitude balloon, American company JP Aerospace sends logos and messages into space along with a camera to capture that special moment. Perfect for companies looking to create a truly unique marketing story! 

05. Manhole Covers

This common street furniture has been decorated before, by graffiti, street or commissioned artists. Japan is estimated to have 12,000 specially designed covers, including an entire Pokémon range. Companies have sponsored manhole covers to support neighbourhoods, but some have even commissioned custom designs to advertise their products.

Content Worth Gold

Get in touch with the Squideo team today to find out how we can improve your advertising strategy with video production, motion graphics, social media management and much more! 

[lucyhannahart]

Major Project Update 30/1/23 - 9/2/23

30/1/23

I had a varying level of success with my video interviews in Brighton. Many people approached me with enthusiasm, or responded kindly when I approached them to participate. Many onlookers stared at me, which I expected. In one instance, I had someone make a derogatory comment, stating that they 'wanted to talk about sex with me' in a manner that made me feel uneasy. Though this was uncomfortable, it definitely played into the idea that men see openness about sexuality as a means of taking advantage of people and thus proved a lot of the points I am aiming to make in this project.

Having conducted the video interviews, my next step was to edit my clips down into short form video content to upload as TikToks or Reels. I've had some difficulty with this as the most recent Premiere Pro update has moved a lot of tools around therefore reducing my ease of use.

Recently, whilst researching for this project, I came across a video in which ex-MEP Alex Phillips cited the new Sam Smith video for an increase in reports of sexual misconduct, also referring to David Carrick's presence in the Met police and the sexual crimes he committed during that period. This shocked me, as I believe there to be no correlation between somebody expressing their sexuality creatively through costuming, dance and other visual elements, and crimes that greatly impact and disturb others. This led me into creating another post for the BDTM Instagram which tackled the perception of lingerie, sexuality and how bigotry can misinform people.

2/2/3

On this day I had my usual seminar with Odella and was able to update her on my progress. She recommended looking into the relevance of BDTM in the fashion industry.

I believe the relevance that 'burn down the mansion' has within industry is championing the creation of fashion content that considers its' impact on those who view it. The movement we are pushing aims to change the way that fashion media is produced, valuing creativity and representation at its' core. This could affect the way in which many existing fashion brands and publications operate. From a business perspective, BDTM could be beneficial as it could help to encourage sales. If people feel represented rather than excluded, they are far more likely to buy from a brand, or at least have a positive view of it.

Another recommendation from Odella was to be more daring in the content I create. As part of this challenge, I want to utilise an older model in a BDTM campaign. Not only will this prove that diversity as at the heart of BDTM but it will also go directly against the standards set by the media - increasingly youthful people dressing in a provocative way. In order to get this process underway, I began brainstorming concepts and created a moodboard.

I specifically wanted to use an older woman in this photoshoot, because as women get older, the media tends to "forget" about them. Far more young models, actresses or people in non-media related fields are offered opportunities that their older counterparts are not given. This same phenomenon does not extend to men in the same way. I also believe that women of this age are discouraged from embracing their sexuality, so I want to encourage this to change in a raunchy, fun way.

My reasoning behind using Pamela Anderson as inspiration is because I see her as someone who had her identity stolen from her. Anderson was a victim of a sex tape leak in 1995, which caused her career to collapse and her reputation to be ruined. Though neither Anderson nor then-husband Tommy Lee consented for the tape to be distributed, they were forced the sign the rights to it away after a laborious legal battle. I felt as if utilising Pamela's likeness in a way that is powerful would be extremely effective.

Finding models for this is proving to be hard; at this point I have used Facebook groups, contacted my parents' friends and have had very little luck.

7/2/3

During this time period, I have been focusing on editing down the TikTok video. It's been a very lengthy process and I have been very slow to edit it, as I don't tend to create short-form content and am not used to having to edit down 2-3 minute long clips of people talking. Additionally, I wanted to make the video eye-catching in order to grab the attention of TikTok users, as this demographic are used to short, snappy videos. At this point, I am very close to finishing the video, and will probably just need another day to record a voiceover for the intro.

8/2/23

As I'm quite prone to anxiety, at this point I felt my stress mounting. The self-directed nature of this project caused me to panic as I've felt as if I'm not doing enough. Additionally the lack of following on BDTM's Instagram made me nervous about reaching the goal I had set for myself. I realised that uploading the TikTok/Reel I was making would most likely assist in growing my follower base, so I prioritised finishing it off.

9/2/23

I managed to finish the TikTok then showed it to Odella, Louis and Kitty, who all gave me really positive feedback. This boosted my confidence a lot as I was very nervous throughout the editing process and was convincing myself that the video wasn't goof enough. I was praised for my editing ability and my diverse array of interviewees. I was encouraged, for the next pieces of content I created, to try interviewing people in a different area.

I waited for a good moment to upload it, as TikTok's algorithm prioritises videos posted at certain times. I chose popular hashtags by looking at other creators' street interviews. I also uploaded it as a reel on Instagram.

I then ran into huge difficulty as my video got removed on TikTok for violating community guidelines. This meant I had to go back, censor certain words, then attempt to reupload.

Fortunately, the Instagram reel is fine, however I couldn’t upload the full 3.5 minute video as Instagram limits reels to 90 seconds.

My next endeavour for this project is to adjust the video for TikTok, then to create posters and stickers to put around London to gain a larger following for BDTM.

[abrahamparker0]

Translate Movies To Textual Content With Car Subtitle Generator

There are many approaches to translate videos to text, however perhaps the maximum honest alternative is with subtitles. Another alternative is overdubbing the audio. This approach preserves the original actors' voices, however doesn't require recording new audio. Irrespective of which method you select, you may probably gain from a expert video editor's understanding and software program equipment. There are also numerous software program applications that let you convert movies to textual content. Inqscribe is an awesome instance of a application which could robotically convert films to text. This program helps you to play the video, type the transcripts within the same window, or even insert time codes. Once the transcription is finished, it may be exported to pdf, phrase, or srt codecs.

Any other option is the usage of a web transcription service, which include kind studio. This application permits you to add any form of audio or video, and the transcription manner is automatic. After uploading, you can export the transcriptions in more than one document formats and ship the movies with their transcripts via electronic mail. Alternatively, you could embed them for your internet site or weblog to percentage them online. In addition to transcription offerings, there are some of programs that let you create subtitles for motion pictures. Those gear also assist you to edit the subtitles and captions and export them to pdf or srt formats. In contrast to many other services, these gear permit you to share subtitles with others while not having to create a notta account. Besides video subtitles, you can additionally use the subtitles generated by flixier to make your texts extra legible. For more information about spanish transcription services on Subtitles.love.

Those subtitles can be used in a variety of ways, from developing a meeting summary to sending them as emails. For a extra professional appearance, you may even upload them to youtube video descriptions. The usage of those tools can make your films extra enticing and more available to viewers. Other than being simpler to read, video transcriptions also can advantage individuals with special wishes. This software is mainly helpful for difficult-of-hearing viewers. Moreover, it may help content producers reach a international target audience. When you consider that eighty five% of video content material is consumed on mute, transcription offerings will help you attain a extensive target market. You could even use a video transcriber to improve your college students' understanding of the content.

This software program is straightforward to use, with easy interfaces and keyboard shortcuts for nearly every feature. It can manage essential media formats and is to be had in loose and paid editions. This software program can also carry out audio transcription. Any other advantage of the usage of a video-to-textual content software is that it enables you repurpose your video content. It gives search engines like google and yahoo context about your content material, making it simpler for them to locate your content. You could additionally upload a right title, a quick description, and metadata.

[nestndory]

Brave new world civ 5 discount

BRAVE NEW WORLD CIV 5 DISCOUNT INSTALL

BRAVE NEW WORLD CIV 5 DISCOUNT SERIES

New civs to play, new game mechanics, completely re-worked Cultural Victory option.

BRAVE NEW WORLD CIV 5 DISCOUNT INSTALL

Compete with Civilization V players all over the world or locally in LAN matches, mod the game in unprecedented ways, and install mods directly from an in-game community hub without ever leaving the game. So much content to explore and not only that! It presents a great single or multiplayer option!Ĭivilization V lacks nothing on graphics or gameplay, in fact it is topnotch! Multiplayer can be really fun specially if played with friends. Further, when you have G&K + BNW, you may opt to deactivate BNW. I play on king/emperor, but tactics transfer well down difficulties. Build more melee when you have tech advantage or a UU, but you will virtually always want 50+ percent of your army to be ranged. You can have a religion and still use BNW trade routes at the same time. Melee is inferior in civ5, its mostly for taking cities and hit/run with cavalry. Plus, those cartoony mobile phone graphics. I already had the base game and God's and Kings. The second major expansion pack for Sid Meiers Civilization V, Brave New World adds nine new civilizations and also overhauls the social policy system. I requested a refund and instead bought the Brave New World expansion of Civ5. Sid Meiers Civilization V: Brave New World. If you already have Gods and Kings and you want to buy BNW, then the two can be active at the same time. Couldn't even get through the tutorial it was so buggy. You pick the pace, map, civilization and everything. Originally posted by Gabb: The two DLC stack. Strategically planning out what to research, produce, where to attack or settle in is a crucial part of the game. Rule the World by establishing and leading a civilization from the dawn of man into the space age: Wage war, conduct diplomacy, discover new technologies, go head-on with some of history’s greatest leaders and build the most powerful empire the world has ever known. The upcoming Brave New World expansion is now available for pre-order for 26.99 (regularly 29.99). Play from the ancient era to modern day as the Flagship turn-based strategy game returns.

BRAVE NEW WORLD CIV 5 DISCOUNT SERIES

Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Brave New World is the second expansion pack for Civilization V  a 4X, strategy videogame in the Civilization series developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games.