#featured snippets statistics

[theactivemedia]

Mastering Featured Snippets for Better SEO Results

Uncover the key to better search visibility with a featured snippet audit and maximize your SEO impact.

[lastplanetart]

✨💫🪐 MCYT Platonic Heros - Round 1 Piece

“We’re Linked! You can’t choose another friend to win with.”

✨ a lil’ more info!

So… I am taking part in the lovely event by @mcyt-platonic-heros ! My piece is based off Double Life (Life Series), featuring… Mr BDoubleo100!!

This piece was planned with, and the design is based on an AU by the same person, @silkwingbutterfly !! Their Creature of Sonaria AU is really interesting, both visually and the snippets discussed. They’re absolitely lovely, and worth a follow!

The second half of this piece (that’s right, I said second!) will be completed by @rosegoldorigins !! I can’t wait for everyone to see what they have in store for this round!!

🪐 statistics? more info?

Program used for this piece: Procreate

Time spent on this piece (not inc planning, character design etc): 7 Hours 20 Minutes

What I watched whilst drawing: REPO VODS, HC videos, Gamers Outreach (partially live, partially VODS)

Tears spent: Zero. Zilch. Nada. None.

✨💫🪐 last planet… out!

[mariacallous]

Elon Musk has pledged that the work of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, would be “maximally transparent.” DOGE’s website is proof of that, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, and now White House adviser, has repeatedly said. There, the group maintains a list of slashed grants and budgets, a running tally of its work.

But in recent weeks, The New York Times reported that DOGE has not only posted major mistakes to the website—crediting DOGE, for example, with saving $8 billion when the contract canceled was for $8 million and had already paid out $2.5 million—but also worked to obfuscate those mistakes after the fact, deleting identifying details about DOGE’s cuts from the website, and later even from its code, that made them easy for the public to verify and track.

For road-safety researchers who have been following Musk for years, the modus operandi feels familiar. DOGE “put out some numbers, they didn’t smell good, they switched things around,” alleges Noah Goodall, an independent transportation researcher. “That screamed Tesla. You get the feeling they’re not really interested in the truth.”

For nearly a decade, Goodall and others have been tracking Tesla’s public releases on its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features, advanced driver-assistance systems designed to make driving less stressful and more safe. Over the years, researchers claim, Tesla has released safety statistics without proper context; promoted numbers that are impossible for outside experts to verify; touted favorable safety statistics that were later proved misleading; and even changed already-released safety statistics retroactively. The numbers have been so inconsistent that Tesla Full Self-Driving fans have taken to crowdsourcing performance data themselves.

Instead of public data releases, “what we have is these little snippets that, when researchers look into them in context, seem really suspicious,” alleges Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor and engineer who studies autonomous vehicles at the University of South Carolina.

Government-Aided Whoopsie

Tesla’s first and most public number mix-up came in 2018, when it released its first Autopilot safety figures after the first known death of a driver using Autopilot. Immediately, researchers noted that while the numbers seemed to show that drivers using Autopilot were much less likely to crash than other Americans on the road, the figures lacked critical context.

At the time, Autopilot combined adaptive cruise control, which maintains a set distance between the Tesla and the vehicle in front of it, and steering assistance, which keeps the car centered between lane markings. But the comparison didn’t control for type of car (luxury vehicles, the only kind Tesla made at the time, are less likely to crash than others), the person driving the car (Tesla owners were more likely to be affluent and older, and thus less likely to crash), or the types of roads where Teslas were driving (Autopilot operated only on divided highways, but crashes are more likely to occur on rural roads, and especially connector and local ones).

The confusion didn’t stop there. In response to the fatal Autopilot crash, Tesla did hand over some safety numbers to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the nation’s road safety regulator. Using those figures, the NHTSA published a report indicating that Autopilot led to a 40 percent reduction in crashes. Tesla promoted the favorable statistic, even citing it when, in 2018, another person died while using Autopilot.

But by spring of 2018, the NHTSA had copped to the number being off. The agency did not wholly evaluate the effectiveness of the technology in comparison to Teslas not using the feature—using, for example, air bag deployment as an inexact proxy for crash rates. (The airbags did not deploy in the 2018 Autopilot death.)

Because Tesla does not release Autopilot or Full Self-Driving safety data to independent, third-party researchers, it’s difficult to tell exactly how safe the features are. (Independent crash tests by the NHTSA and other auto regulators have found that Tesla cars are very safe, but these don’t evaluate driver assistance tech.) Researchers contrast this approach with the self-driving vehicle developer Waymo, which often publishes peer-reviewed papers on its technology’s performance.

Still, the unknown safety numbers did not prevent Musk from criticizing anyone who questioned Autopilot’s safety record. “It's really incredibly irresponsible of any journalists with integrity to write an article that would lead people to believe that autonomy is less safe,” he said in 2018, around the time the NHTSA figure publicly fell apart. “Because people might actually turn it off, and then die.”

Number Questions

More recently, Tesla has continued to shift its Autopilot safety figures, leading to further questions about its methods. Without explanation, the automaker stopped putting out quarterly Autopilot safety reports in the fall of 2022. Then, in January 2023, it revised all of its safety numbers.

Tesla said it had belatedly discovered that it had erroneously included in its crash numbers events where no airbags nor active restraints were deployed and that it had found that some events were counted more than once. Now, instead of dividing its crash rates into three categories, "Autopilot engaged,” “without Autopilot but with our active safety features,” and “without Autopilot and without our active safety features,” it would report just two: with and without Autopilot. It applied those new categories, retroactively, to its old safety numbers and said it would use them going forward.

That discrepancy allowed Goodall, the researcher, to peer more closely into the specifics of Tesla’s crash reporting. He noticed something in the data. He expected the “without Autopilot” number to just be an average of the two old “without Auptilot” categories. It wasn’t. Instead, the new figure looked much more like the old “without Autopilot and without our active safety features” number. That’s weird, he thought. It’s not easy—or, according to studies that also include other car makes, common—for drivers to turn off all their active safety features, which include lane departure and forward collision warnings and automatic emergency braking.

Goodall calculated that even if Tesla drivers were going through the burdensome and complicated steps of turning off their EV’s safety features, they’d need to drive way more miles than other Tesla drivers to create a sensible baseline. The upshot: Goodall wonders if Tesla is allegedly making its non-Autopilot crash rate look higher than it is—and so the Autopilot crash rate allegedly looks much better by comparison.

The discrepancy is still puzzling to the researcher, who published a peer-reviewed note on the topic last summer. Tesla “put out this data that looks questionable on first glance—and then you look at it, and it is questionable,” he claims. “Instead of taking it down and acknowledging it, they change the numbers to something that is even weirder and flawed in a more complicated way. I feel like I’m doing their homework at this point.” The researcher calls for more transparency. So far, Tesla has not put out more specific safety figures.

Tesla, which disbanded its public relations team in 2021, did not reply to WIRED’s questions about the study or its other public safety data.

Direct Reports

Tesla is not a total outlier in the auto industry when it comes to clamming up about the performance of its advanced technology. Automakers are not required to make public many of their safety numbers. But where tech developers are required to submit public accounting on their crashes, Tesla is still less transparent than most. One prominent national data submission requirement, first instituted by the NHTSA in 2021, requires makers of both advanced driver assistance and automated driving tech to submit public data about its crashes. Tesla redacts nearly every detail about its Autopilot-related crashes in its public submissions.

“The specifics of all 2,819 crash reports have been redacted from publicly available data at Tesla's request,” says Philip Koopman, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University whose research includes self-driving-car safety. “No other company is so blatantly opaque about their crash data.”

The federal government likely has access to details on these crashes, but the public doesn’t. But even that is at risk. Late last year, Reuters reported that the crash-reporting requirement appeared to be a focus of the Trump transition team.

In many ways, Tesla—and perhaps DOGE—is distinctive. “Tesla also uniquely engages with the public and is such a cause célèbre that they don’t have to do their own marketing. I think that also entails some special responsibility. Lots of claims are made on behalf of Tesla,” says Walker Smith, the law professor. “I think it engages selectively and opportunistically and does not correct sufficiently.”

Proponents of DOGE, like those of Tesla, engage enthusiastically on Musk’s platform, X, applauded by Musk himself. The two entities have at least one other thing in common: ProPublica recently reported that there is a new employee at the US Department of Transportation—a former Tesla senior counsel.

[voxofthevoid]

2024 Fic Review

Tagged by @m34gs. Thank you, friend 💖

It's been a while since I've had the time and energy to tackle a tag game, but I really wanted to do this.

Statistics

My Top 5 Fics by Hits:

I'm assuming this is only for 2024, so going by how Ao3 sorts fics based on the year, we've got these:

the way it follows you home, the stories i never told: JJK, Gojou/Yuuji/Gojou time travel fix-it. Gojou Satoru and Itadori Yuuji travel back in time to avert an apocalyptic future. Sixteen-year-old Satoru has opinions about the whole thing.

(let me be clear) every version of the story ends with you being slaughtered: JJK, Gojou/Yuuji, canon-divergent kidnapping fic. Gojou Satoru kidnaps a teenager, supposedly for his own good.

there’s a lover in the story, but the story’s still the same: JJK, Gojou/Yuuji, de-aged Gojou. Shortly before the Goodwill Event, Yuuji finds that his teacher has de-aged to his seventeen-year-old self. He adapts a little too well.

baby blue, they paid you to take my youth and use it up: JJK, Gojou, Yuuji, role reversal omegaverse. Satoru’s in heat; it’s Yuuji’s problem somehow.

everything burned, as promised: JJK, Gojou/Yuuji, time travel fuck-it. Satoru goes north. Yuuji is a casualty.

My Most Bookmarked Fic:

It's the way it follows you home, the stories i never told by a significant margin.

How Many Words I Wrote in 2024:

540,076

There's a breakdown here.

Question Stuff

1. What was the most surprising thing about writing in 2024?

The fact that I not only conceived of and tackled but also actually finished my ten-year anniversary project. That was kind of insane, especially considering my preferred way of writing—which, these days, involves just writing one fic from start to end with no external factors considered. It was a fuckload of fun though!

2. What was the most enjoyable to write?

It was definitely bloodstains on the collar means just don't ask—a no-powers sukuita+goyuu AU featuring Sukuna as Yuuji's uncle and Gojou as his high school teacher. It was my first no-powers AU for JJK, and while that itself isn't an appealing factor, figuring out their dynamics in this context was incredibly fun and also helped me get a better understanding of the characters, especially Sukuna.

3. Which fic is the most underrated?

Hmmm, I don't know if I'd call any of them underrated, but going by the numbers in relation to my personal fondness, it'd be this is the wrong story.

The concept is one I'd wanted to tackle (but was wary of fucking up) for a while, so getting a finished product I was/am proud of feels pretty great. I'm also very fond of some of the ideas I've worked into the fic, as well as the imagery and metaphors used. That said, it's a fucky concept with graphic vore (erotic consensual cannibalism variety), so I'm not surprised that most people are giving it a wide berth. Those who did read it have been very lovely in their responses 💗

4. Which fic(s) had something "cut" or an idea that never happened?

The anniversary project eventually resulted in four ideas (goyuu sex ed ft. poor Megumi, the aforementioned vorey fic, teen Gojou and the PR in a love triangle with Yuuji, and the Higuruma/Yuuji fic) being struck off my larger list of plot bunnies/ideas to write.

5. Which fic(s) did you want to write but didn't get around to?

Well, the current count is 95! So fuck me, I guess.

6. Any WIPs that never got published?

Oh, so many. Considering just the ones finished and the ones published in 2024—

taking the flesh is the only virtue (posted in 2025)

i could keep your bed warm, otherwise i’m useless (unposted)

bloodstains on the collar means just don’t ask (unposted)

the brute fact of flesh awaiting our teeth (unposted)

7. Share a snippet from a WIP fic?

I'm only working on one fic at present (...been working on it for months at this point), and this is the latest bit:

The twitch of his own cock calls him out on the lie. It’s no distraction. Satoru feels every bit an animal as Yuuji, speared on cock and so tenderly brutalized. “That looks fun,” comes an unwanted interruption. “You gonna share?” Satoru wraps his limbs more firmly around Yuuji, sighing through the flare of hurt. “Keep your oversized paws to yourself.” A mean-sounding chuckle answers him, followed by its owner emerging from the undergrowth. Out of the corner of his eye, Satoru watches Tōji survey the scene, not missing how he lingers on their naked bodies with unwarranted intensity. At that angle, he can’t see the blood-wet marriage between Yuuji’s face and Satoru’s shoulder. That changes when Yuuji raises his head and snarls at Tōji.

8. Which fic was the one you were most excited to write?

I'm pretty sure that was (this is also part of the story) how the story changes, but man, after a four-chapter outline turned into a four-part 24-chapter fic, I was just glad for it to be over 🤣

9. Fic hopes for the New Year?

There are a number of ideas I'd like to tackle properly. But in general, I just want to keep writing for JJK the way I have been and enjoy the company of my fellow fans.

Tagging (no pressure) @tozettastone @cursedvibes @kairos-polaris @actualalligator @naamah-beherit @joeys-piano @rifle-yes and anyone else who wants to give it a go!

[tragedynoir]

— introducing 010: ORIGINS / FIRST ISSUE + [ link ]

a google doc template heavily inspired by comic books and visual novels! the comic panes provide a place for you to include visual snippets of your muse's interactions or inner thoughts, and can be customized through google drawings within google docs. it also provides plenty of space for your character lore! this template also comes with PSDs for you to edit your photos in this visual novel style. this premium template and a page-by-page preview can be found in the link above or in the source link.

features:

6 unique 8.5" x 11" pages with space for statistics, a few short and long sections, and plenty of space for pictures

comic panes whose text and image positions can be edited through google drawings

3 PSD templates for you to edit your images into the graphic novel style in the previews — one for settings, one for close-ups and one for the connections page

a connections/muses page that can be easily duplicated for more

terms of use:

you may edit to your heart’s desire. Change the colours, replace, add or remove elements and images etc.

you may remix pages with pages from my other templates.

you may not remove the credit from the templates.

you may not copy, sell or redistribute my templates whether wholesale, in part (i.e. taking out certain pages) or remixed (i.e. modified).

you will also receive an additional guide with images on how to use and edit google doc templates! the template itself should be straightforward to edit, but the google drawings might be a little finicky if you move things around too much. if you have any problems or issues, feel free to leave an ask or join our discord server and I'd be happy to help!

I hope you enjoy this template that I absolutely adore! likes + reblogs are always appreciated and go a long way in supporting me. ♡

[bookscandlesnbts]

Jikookery in the new Beyond the Story Doc

Don’t expect think pieces/summary posts from me on a regular basis because it’s only when I feel like I have something unique to say. I definitely agree with the majority of the opinions that I’ve read on the doc being sloppy timeline wise and not showing us much else new. This was in my drafts and I forgot about it, so I’m posting it.

But these last couple episodes were gems. And posed something interesting. I had seen the Jikook moments sprinkled on Twitter, but I had to wait to watch the episodes until I got off of work. In the context of the episodes, I think they mean sooo much more than how they can be perceived alone as snippets. Every other member besides Jin (who was with a non idol or celebrity friend group which warmed my heart so much honestly) was featured alone except Jikook. And I doubt all of them are truly alone as in they don’t have a significant other that they could have been seen relaxing with. And I think the answer is quite simple: because Jikook are always together and they have the power of plausible deniability because they are bandmates right?? That means they could never be together according to the court of homophobic public opinion and probably statistical data right??? I know everyone is freaking out about the date on the refrigerator when hunky bf JK cooks dinner at Mimi’s place but I think it’s actually very interesting that they chose that specific date to film them together. And it was the day before White Day too when they were also seen together. *sigh*

Maybe they thought it would be less weird for Jikook to be seen decompressing and hanging out right after a concert versus bringing a film crew in during their actual personal time that would expose them seeing each other outside of “work”. Jikook were very private too leading up to their companion enlistment. As much as JK went live even, we never saw the two of them together except for the minute where JK shows up on Jimin’s Face Documentary which was live, so I lied. I have no doubt that they saw each other all the time even if we didn’t see evidence of it. But that’s the point. They probably wanted to continue having their privacy. We don’t know what the date was when Jin with his friends but I would guess it probably wasn’t the day immediately after their last big concert in Korea. The other members I can’t say for sure but someone could probably analyze their hair or something and determine it was a later date. The point is that Jimin and Jungkook still wanted to be filmed hanging out together for the doc when none of the other members chose to film together. To me, that really speaks volumes to their bond and closeness.

[sunfl0w3rmoon]

snippet game post 100~ words of a wip thank you for tagging! @ecstarry

“How’s that for sober?” James bragged with his trademark grin adorning his face. 

Regulus schooled his features to nonchalance, shrugged, and said, “Only a non-sober person would try to prove their sobriety by doing something stupid.”

“Oh, come on,” James groaned, letting his head fall back so it looked like he was cursing the sky. “Regulus, don’t even deny you were impressed.”

“Whether or not I was impressed doesn’t coincide with how sober you are or aren’t.”

James shook his head. “You and your fucking science.”

“That’s statistics, actually,” Regulus remarked. “A class you should have taken, too.”

anyone who wants to: @velanavis @always-reading @starslovechasers @starchaserwrites @moutainrusing @shamelesswolfstarshipper @drowninkystar

[lixenn]

OCtober 2024 day 27: fear

For today I decided to write a little snippet featuring René and his anxiety since fear is pretty much part of his life 24/7.

TW: minor self harm and anxiety? attack (René is not having a great time 😔)

The trembling wouldn’t stop.

Five minutes and 45 seconds.

The breathing exercises didn’t help, distractions just made him miserable and there weren’t anymore nails left to bite at.

René might have a problem.

A small one. Barely a blib on other people’s radar. Not significant in any way but a problem nonetheless but that was nothing new.

6 minutes.

His hands were still shaking, he should probably. Just … stop, but he reached the point where tremors were on the last place of his priority list.

The experiment failed again. Seven times. All of them gone to shit. He’d followed the protocol to the letter, replicated the entire process from the exact materials to the environmental conditions but still. No dice. Which made no logical sense because René knew it should have worked. He’d seen it with his own eyes, analysed the data and the results spoke for themselves, but one success meant nothing in science. Without statistics there’s no proof, no proof meant no conclusive result and no result was failure.

René was sick of failing.

Sick of experiments, sick of lab, sick of numbers that made no sense.

Sick. Sick. Sicksicksicksicksick.

The trembling stopped but only because he was gripping his hair too hard for there to be any room for further movement. The stinging pain was a slight relief against his spiralling thoughts, so he tugged, harsh. Once. Twice. His scalp burned and some hairs gave away to his grip. René let go, staring at the strawberry red strands woven between his fingers. His vision was obstructed by tears, partly from the pain but mostly result of frustration and being overwhelmed.

The urge to rip, scratch, bite bubbled up again, but René caught himself before he dove of the deep end.

I-

I need.

I need Cilmi.

Cilmi would fix it. Cilmi always fixed it. When anxiety crept up on him in the dark, when fear dragged him down and chained him to despair.

Cilmi will fix it.

Climbing to his feet was hard. Taking a step forward was harder and actually entering the hallway was nearly impossible but René managed. Somehow. He always managed. He needed to. Because his mind never left him alone, anxiety a constant companion ever since he’d been small and with time he learned to cope with his treacherous brain. But there were bad days and worse days and days where he could barely get out of bad without hyperventilating.

Today was bad but not …. the worst.

Because Cilmi was still there. As long as his best friend was still in reach, René could handle the trap falls of life.

The door to the library – oaken, heavy and still splattered with drops of blood – was a welcome sight to René’s tired eyes.

Nearly there.

The smell of books, a mixture of paper, ink and a smattering of dust, brought tears into his eyes again. It smelt like home. Safe.

René homed in on Cilmi, who had looked up from his book as soon as the silence of his sanctum had been disturbed by the squeaking of the door. His dark eyes catalogued everything, the wet cheeks, messy hair, trembling lip and blood crusted nails. No judgement, no disgust, no pity. Cilmi just registered everything that René’s appearance had to offer, came to a conclusion and carefully closed his book.

In a matter of seconds his friend stood before him, taking over his entire vision. A heavy hand dropped onto his hand, the weight familiar and unmistakable, the careful ruffle a stark contrast to his earlier pain.

Cilmi was always careful with him. Careful and kind.

And with the very same kindness he enveloped René in his Flames and ordered:

“Sleep.”

Reality fell away, making space for the bliss of unconsciousness and René let himself fall into a dreamless sleep.

Thanks.

[quotidian-oblivion]

Trick-or-treat!

ask box trick or treat

Hellooooooooo! 'Kay, so i posted a snippet from a wip here, so i think imma share an unpublished fic idea. I didn't pursue this one cuz it was fun thinking about it, but I didn't actually want to write it.

~

Jason Todd is a teacher at Gotham City High School, a school for kids who are from below-middle-class families or families in poverty. He teaches English. 

Before the analysis assignment, his class has to do, he decides to set up a formative assignment to get them warmed up on analysis. He teaches them basic English skills like literary techniques (metaphors, similes etc.) language features, stylistic features and all that. 

But. 

The catch is. 

The text isn't just any old text. It's fanfic. And some kids recognize it. The others are just confused as to why the teacher is on his knees, laughing while trying to explain and a few other kids are in hysterics too. Even some of the quiet kids and—the popular group of boys and one of the popular girls too? 

The whole class is in hysterics, but there is actual analysation happening. 

Jason hands out an *ahem* downloaded PDF copy of the, uh, story and the kids analyse that. 

Then Jason says at the end to submit their analysis to them then when he looks over them and gives it back, they'll have to copy and paste it in this little box for, uh, extra credit. And everyone wants extra credit of it's so easy so they do it.

Then he asks which of them liked the story, and most of the class raises their hands. The other kids weren't big readers and didn't really enjoy reading or just didn't like analysis and thought this was just some other story. But Jason tells the students who raised their hands to press kudo for, uh, statistical data. Thus, the author gets extra support.

~

Yeah, it was fun to think and giggle about at 1am, but not really write it all out lol

[chayscribbles]

chayscribbles’ monthly writing update ☆ june 2023

☆ STATISTICS.

words written: 13 022

projects worked on: Andromeda Rogue mostly but i've been swatting at Shiny New Ideas left and right with a tennis racket. also i thought about Gemini Heist really really hard and i think that counts for something

proudest accomplishment: AR1 draft 2 is done!!!!!!

books read: After Atlas by Emma Newman; Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson; Exit Strategy (Murderbot Diaries #4) by Martha Wells. all excellent reads. (sidenote two out of three of these books involve murder investigations and the third has murder in the title. i'm sensing a theme in my reading.)

☆ GENERAL COMMENTS.

i am still terrible at being consistent at writeblr-ing. i guess this is just my life now.

i'm debating using camp nano to actually hunker my ass down and get some writing done on gemini heist, but between work and apartment hunting and a possible move by the end of the month i don't know how feasible that's gonna be :') we'll see.

and no i'm not glossing over the fact that i have a finished second draft. i'm just saving my screaming for below the cut.

more specific wip-related comments + featured excerpt below.

☆ COMMENTS: ANDROMEDA ROGUE (draft 2)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(i wasn't kidding about the screaming.)

so this draft now sits at 85.7K, which is about 11.8K added from the first, and although it is still faaar from perfect it is definitely... better than the draft i finished 2 years ago. it's insane how much my writing has improved, between all the reading i've been doing and first drafting the two sequels of the trilogy.

that being said there still are a lot of things i know need to be fixed, but i'm at the point where if i try to fix them on my own i'll be stuck on them forever.

enter the betas!!! i'm planning on doing an ~official~ beta call next week but honestly if you're interested in beta-ing this book feel free to hmu right away!! ultimately i want to self-pub this thing (which is quite overwhelming to think about hhhhh) but one thing at a time :')

☆ FEATURED EXCERPT.

i really couldn't decide what snippet to post so this was admittedly chosen a bit at random lmao. this is from when the gang is approaching their destination for their expedition.

On the external display, Mohani loomed ahead, growing larger every second. The planet was almost entirely a deep blue, except for some white spots at its poles. It reminded Finneas of his final glimpse of Ghillairde when he was leaving it behind for the last time. For a disorienting second, it almost felt like he was returning to his birth planet. But soon, the ship was close enough to see the sandy outline of the continents. The blue wasn’t all ocean. Some of it was trees. He directed the ship towards the landing coordinates just as Petra arrived in the bridge, clutching several barf bags. “Good to see you’ve come prepared, Lacroye,” he commented. “You’re already looking green, and we haven’t even entered the atmosphere yet.” She grumbled something unintelligible in response as she took her place in the copilot’s chair.

one of my editing notes for draft 2 was to make Petra's starsickness worse😆

☆ TAGLISTS. let me know if you want to be added/removed to any of them.

general taglist:

@nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @onomatopiya @quilloftheclouds @ashen-crest @writeblrfantasy @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @extra-magichours @avi-why @lefttigerobservation @chazzawrites @bardolatrycore @innocentlymacabre

andromeda trilogy taglist:

@bebewrites @nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @onomatopiya @akindofmagictoo @quilloftheclouds @nora-theteawriter @ashen-crest @corpsepng @writeblrfantasy @toboldlywrite @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @cheerfulmelancholies @extra-magichours @writeouswriter @cilly-the-writer @lefttigerobservation @rose-bookblood @drowsy-quill @chazzawrites @cynic-and-chief @enchanted-lightning-aes @aesa @outpost51

[ihazyourkitty]

Just a friendly reminder that David Kirby, the journalist who authored Death At SeaWorld, essentially a companion book for Blackfish, an allegedly deep, dark, gripping expose of SeaWorld and the broader “captivity” industry…

….also published this in 2005:

If I have to explain to any of you why promoting junk science linking autism to vaccines is irresponsible, exploitative and offensive, then don’t even bother commenting. There is no link between vaccines and autism. This was known in 2005, but that didn’t stop Kirby from profiting off of the controversy. He did distance himself from this stance later in life…. and by distance, I mean he admitted that other genetic and environmental factors were more likely at play, but that we still shouldn’t rule out vaccines. Basically, he just moved the goalposts like many anti-vaccine quacks are wont to do. To date, I have yet to find any formal retraction of his position on vaccines and autism.

This isn’t an ad hominem. I have serious concerns about anyone’s ability to properly interpret science or facts when they also peddle in anti-vaccine nonsense. Frankly, the snippets I have read from Death At SeaWorld show frightening parallels with anti-vaccine rhetoric. -Oh no, the whales are being loaded with antibiotics!

-They’re living in water full of chemicals!

-Let’s take mortalities, injuries, and medical issues out of context for shock value!

-Providing incomplete, or misleading statistics, also without context

-Their lives are not natural! (And a general reliance on the naturalism fallacy)

-The whistleblower underdogs vs the big mean establishment trope

-Featuring so-called “experts” who make a living off of pushing this controversy

-Insinuating some great big conspiracy

I’m not saying that the anti-vaccine and anti-captivity movements are altogether synonymous in a literal, 1-to-1 sense. Obviously there is additional nuance here. I don’t know what correlation, if any, there is between someone being anti-captivity and anti-vaccine. I would certainly hope that most anti-cap people are not also anti-vaccine.

What I am saying, however, is that at least one key player in promoting Blackfish drew from the same rhetorical playbook, and that deserves some serious scrutiny. Pseudoscience and misinformation are prevalent online. Don’t fall victim to more of it.

In David Kirby’s case at least, it doesn’t demonstrate that he was good at uncovering truth and speaking truth to power— it demonstrated that he was good at telling a compelling story via misrepresenting facts.

[marketplussolutions]

Become a Featured Snippet Master: A Guide to Optimizing Your Content

A Guide to Optimizing Your Content

What are Featured Snippets?

What are the Different Types of Featured Snippets?

There are four main types of featured snippets: paragraph snippets, list snippets, table snippets, and video snippets.

· Paragraph Snippets: These are typically a few sentences long and appear in response to questions starting with “what is” or “who is.”

· List Snippets: These snippets are displayed in bullet points or a step-by-step format, commonly in response to “how to” questions.

· Table Snippets: Table snippets appear when users ask for comparisons, statistics, or similar data. They present the information in a tabular format for easy comparison.

· Video Snippets: These snippets feature video content, often from YouTube but not exclusively. They appear when users search for queries that are best answered with video content.

SEO Strategies for Featured Snippets

Ranking your page for featured snippets is challenging. But here is a list of SEO strategies to keep can help you achieve your goals:

· Identify Opportunities: Identify keyword opportunities. Look for keywords that are not very competitive and have fewer answers on Google.

· Structured Content: Structure your content by providing direct answers to questions and organize the headers (H2, H3, etc.) effectively within the content.

· Optimize Lists and Tables: For “how-to” articles, structure them into bullet points and numbered lists, and use tables when necessary.

· Schema Markup: Implement schema markup to inform search engines about the content and its structure.

· Visual Content: Include videos when relevant, and optimize titles and descriptions with keywords.

· Update Content: Google is less likely to suggest outdated information unless it is contextually relevant, so regularly update your content.

Conclusion:

That covers everything you need to know about featured snippets — finally revealed. By implementing these strategies, you can enhance your chances of ranking.

[rainofaugustsith]

Statistics Meme

Thank you @shabre-legacy for the tag! No pressure at all tags: @tishinada @actualanxiousswampwitch

Rules: give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and finally the fic with the least words. (All of the ones that hit these benchmarks are my Lana/Viri fics; the Lucia/Rigel stories are, well, about a rare pair)

Most hits: An Open Affinity, which I adore, has 16,794 hits. This story is How Lana Met Viri, How Lana and Viri Figured Things Out, How Lana Lost Viri and how it all worked out.  https://archiveofourown.org/works/12143142

Second most kudos: The Eternal Wrath, which has 296 hits. I love this story, which features Viri and Lana dealing with the time period post-KOTET. I'm especially proud of how I dealt with the Machines of War (locked behind a raid in-game), with Viri discovering the buried Machines were fueling a lot of the galaxy's problem spots, like Oricon and the "forbidden land" on Tatooine. Viri also took on the abilities and energy of every Machine she defeated, which came to a critical mass when she faced Zildrogg.  https://archiveofourown.org/works/14255019

Third most comments: Sithy Snippets, a series of shorts mostly about Lana and Viri, has 29 comment threads.  https://archiveofourown.org/works/13790595

Fourth most bookmarks: Five Times, which is about Lana and Viri's rekindled romance and reunion against the backdrop of the events of KOTFE, has 21 bookmarks.  https://archiveofourown.org/works/12670263

Fifth most words: Commander and Advisor, which is a three-chapter fic set against KOTET chapter 2, where Viri goes missing in the jungles of Dromund Kaas and Lana frets about it, has 11,855 words.  https://archiveofourown.org/works/15377217

Fic with the fewest words:  Kiss: Celebratory, which is about the moment after Viri finishes her battle on the Eternal Throne and wakes up, has 506 words.  https://archiveofourown.org/works/13373940

And this isn't in the rules but I thought I'd add.

Fic that is the only one in its ship tag: Alas, none of mine meet that criterion. Lucia/Rigel (Warrior of Light) is a rare pair, but I'm not the only one who has written a fic with that pairing. 

[mymaleficaria]

mthedm ---> mymaleficaria

Hi gang! I've had this blog since high school, but somewhere in college it fell into disuse and disrepair. I've been itching to get back on here, as a space on the internet that's not...ya know *gestures at the Twitter-sized elephant in the room*. But I also wanted to go in with a fresh coat of paint and reintroduce myself to y'all, maybe even make some new friends (or enemies. That could be hot.) A lot has changed!

Wait, why do I follow you?

Statistically, you followed me because of Wolf 359! I was big into podcasts back in the day, WTNV, Wolf 359, all those. I also wrote some Wolf 359 fics and was semi-active on the discord. Still fondly remember the show and might reblog fanart once in awhile, but it's not the direction this blog's going to go, so feel free to unfollow if what up I'm to now isn't your jam.

What's this blog about now?

Wouldn't you like to know, weatherboy? Frankly, I'm ADHD as fuck, so that'll vary by the day, but I have a few fandoms (do we still say fandoms in the year of our lord 2023???) that I've been into lately.

Dimension 20: I started watching D20 a little less than a year ago, and it entirely took over my life. It's just a series that's so robustly funny, wonderfully told, and never fails to make me smile. I'm especially fond of ACOC and Fantasy High.

Dracula Daily: I'm in this shit for the long haul! I think Lucy and Mina should kiss, but that's neither here nor there.

Game of Thrones/HotD: This show ended in a trash fire, but it literally lives in my head rent free. The political intrigue, the drama. Ugh. I'm a targ girlie through and through, so I've been eating up HotD, though it's nowhere near as good imo. Am also currently reading the 1st ASOIAF book.

YA lit/Whatever I'm reading/watching: I've read almost 50 books this year so far, and am frankly, insane. Bonus points for queer reads! Not many people to talk about books to irl, so might ramble about them on here instead. Also watch a lot of random TV drama and some anime.

Writing: I'm a fanfic writer, and a fiction writer in general, so I'll post stuff about writing--complaints, story snippets, link to my fics, etc! Headcanons and all will be found here. I've also copyedited before, which is like writing but if you get even more nitpicky about it.

Personal/Whatever the hell I feel like/My D&D Games: Life happens and sometimes you want to scream into the void. Ramblings, jokes, whatever. I transed my gender in the past few years and sometimes I'm mad about it! I also just graduated college! Madness! I play a lot of TTRPGs, and I'm usually on brainrot for one of my characters at any given time.

Why's your new username that?

One of my favorite book series is The Scholomance by Naomi Novik, and in the series, Maleficaria are the horrifying monsters that threaten to kill the students every day, and what is tumblr if not a place full of vile, evil beings? Plus, it means you all can call me Mal.

Anything else?

Nope! Other than to feel free to drop me a line and say hello, especially if you want to scream about D20. I'm p alone in this brainrot irl, so I'm pretty much always down to talk about the Bad Kids... especially Adaine and Fabian. I'm also always down to take fic suggestions in my asks! This show genuinely lifts me up when I'm down, so sharing it with people is one of my favorite things.

My fics (shortlist):

In Sweetness, There is Violence: Angsty ACOC one-shot about if Ruby had made a different choice in the finale. Obligatory Caramelinda Caramelinda-ing.

the words i speak are wildfires: A HOTD one-shot I intended to be smut, that ended up instead being more like a romantic sapphic moment of healing between Alicent and Rhaenyra. What can I say? I like childhood friends to enemies to lovers.

Stay Stellar: An unfinished (and, very likely, discontinued) 15-chapter high school AU for Wolf 359 that I wrote with an old friend. Featuring some truly crazy shenanigans, a lot of embarrassing Kepcobi moments, and a surprising amount of theatre.

[ranidspace]

Splatoon websites and tools:

stat.ink: A statistics website where you can see global stats for things like challenges and big runs and almost all stats you can. You can contribute to the statistics using...

s3s: A python tool that runs in command line and catalogues all of your games that you play (it runs in the background as you play, or you can run it every <50 games). It uploads all of your data to stat ink so you can see your own stats for more than the past 50 games. The website even shows

Lean's Gear Seed Checker: Shows what you need to do to get the gear abilities you want, or how long until you get a thing you want in the shell out machine, or how long until you get something you want in the store. lots of other features, you can import the data you get using the --getseed argument in s3s. You can even use the config stuff to get the splatnet app on your desktop.

Splatoon 3 - Weapon and Gear Database: Nearly everything, code snippets, damage values, the way rewards work, if you're a nerd like me you'll love this site, but also theres basic data stuff too. check out all the tabs.

Ikasumi: database of all the splatposts, if you have a twitter username, you can find all the posts from one person, in full quality.

Sendou.ink: A bunch of data for competitive stuff, but in specific you can see the effects that main/sub abilities affect weapons and movement and stuff. theres also an art tab, and you can advertise ur art there, and filter to people with open comissions :)

tumblr.com/search/splatoon the funny posts are here

add more sites and tools that you know about

[thehubops]

What is The Future of Voice Search in Digital Marketing?

From ordering groceries to finding the nearest coffee shop, our conversations with AI assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri are becoming increasingly commonplace, fundamentally altering the fabric of online discovery and purchase.

This isn't just about hands-free convenience; it's about a profound change in user behavior and a new frontier for digital marketers. Ignoring the rise of voice search is akin to ignoring the internet itself two decades ago. The question isn't if voice search will impact your digital marketing, but how deeply and how soon.

This guide will explore the multifaceted future of voice search in digital marketing, dissecting its impact, outlining essential optimization strategies, and peering into the ethical considerations that will shape its evolution.

Why Voice Search is Unstoppable ?

The statistics speak for themselves. The global voice commerce market is projected to reach an astounding $693.0 billion by 2034, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.5% from 2025. This explosive growth is fueled by several factors:

Ubiquitous Device Adoption: Smart speakers, smartphones, smart TVs, wearables, and even cars are increasingly voice-enabled, embedding voice assistants into every facet of our daily lives. By 2024, the number of digital voice assistants is projected to reach 8.4 billion, exceeding the global population.

Enhanced Accuracy and Natural Language Processing (NLP): Advances in AI and machine learning have dramatically improved voice recognition accuracy, making interactions smoother and more reliable. Voice assistants are now far better at understanding natural, conversational language, including nuances, accents, and dialects.

Convenience and Multitasking: Voice search offers unparalleled convenience. Users can search while cooking, driving, exercising, or performing other tasks, making it a hands-free, efficient way to access information and complete tasks.

Accessibility: Voice technology provides a vital bridge for individuals with disabilities, making digital information and services more accessible.

Generational Adoption: Younger demographics are particularly quick to adopt voice technology, signaling a future where voice interactions are the default for online engagement. 34% of shoppers aged 18-29 have made a purchase using a voice-activated device at least once.

This confluence of factors creates a powerful momentum that digital marketers simply cannot afford to ignore.

How Voice Search is Reshaping SEO ?

Voice search fundamentally differs from traditional text-based search, demanding a recalibration of SEO strategies. The key distinctions lie in how users formulate queries and what search engines prioritize in response:

Conversational and Natural Language Queries:

Text Search: "best pizza NYC"

Voice Search: "Hey Google, where can I find the best pizza in New York City right now?"

Implication for SEO: Marketers must shift from short, keyword-dense phrases to longer, more natural-sounding questions and conversational queries.

Emphasis on Long-Tail Keywords: Voice searches are inherently longer and more specific, making long-tail keywords crucial. These reflect the natural way people ask questions.

Local SEO Dominance: A significant portion of voice searches have local intent (e.g., "nearest coffee shop," "restaurants open now"). This amplifies the importance of accurate and optimized local business listings.

Featured Snippets and Position Zero: Voice assistants often pull answers directly from featured snippets (also known as "position zero" results) at the top of Google's search results. Securing this coveted spot becomes paramount for voice search visibility.

Direct Answers: Voice users expect quick, concise, and direct answers to their questions. Content needs to be structured to provide immediate, clear information.

Mobile-First Imperative: The vast majority of voice searches originate from mobile devices. This reinforces the need for highly mobile-friendly, fast-loading websites.

Essential Strategies for Voice Search Optimization

To thrive in the voice-first future, digital marketers must strategically adapt their approaches. Here are the core pillars of an effective voice search optimization strategy:

1. Embrace Conversational Content and Long-Tail Keywords

Think Like a Human: When developing content, imagine how a person would verbally ask a question related to your product or service.

Keyword Research for Voice:

Utilize tools like AnswerThePublic to identify common questions and conversational phrases related to your industry.

Analyze Google's "People Also Ask" (PAA) section for related questions and common user intents.

Look at your website's search console data to understand existing long-tail queries.

Integrate Naturally: Weave these conversational phrases and long-tail keywords naturally into your content, especially in headings, subheadings, and introductory paragraphs. Avoid keyword stuffing.

2. Optimize for Featured Snippets (Position Zero)

Direct Answers: Structure your content to directly answer common questions concisely, ideally within 29-41 words (the average length of voice search answers).

Q&A Format: Create dedicated FAQ pages or structure blog posts in a question-and-answer format.

Structured Data (Schema Markup):

Implement schema markup (e.g., FAQ schema, HowTo schema, LocalBusiness schema) to help search engines understand the context of your content. This makes it easier for voice assistants to extract information.

Use Google's Structured Data Markup Helper to guide you.

Bullet Points and Numbered Lists: These formats are easily digestible by search engines and voice assistants, increasing the likelihood of being chosen for a featured snippet.

3. Prioritize Local SEO

Google Business Profile Optimization:

Claim and thoroughly optimize your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business).

Ensure your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) are consistent across1 all online platforms (website, directories, social media).

Include accurate business hours, categories, services, and high-quality images.

"Near Me" Optimization: Incorporate "near me" language and location-specific keywords strategically into your content.

Local Landing Pages: If you have multiple physical locations, create optimized landing pages for each, detailing local services, contact information, and hours.

Review Management: Actively encourage and respond to customer reviews. A strong star rating and positive reviews significantly impact local voice search rankings (e.g., Siri often uses Yelp reviews).

4. Enhance Website Speed and Mobile Experience

Blazing Fast Load Times: Voice search results load quickly (average 4.6 seconds, 52% faster than typical web pages). Your website must be equally fast.

Compress images and videos.

Leverage browser caching.

Minimize server response time.

Reduce unnecessary scripts and code.

Mobile-First Design: Ensure your website is fully responsive and provides a seamless, intuitive experience on all mobile devices. Test extensively for mobile usability.

Core Web Vitals: Optimize for Google's Core Web Vitals (Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, Cumulative Layout Shift) as these directly impact user experience and search rankings.

5. Understand User Intent and Personalization

Beyond Keywords: Voice search requires a deeper understanding of user intent – what is the user trying to achieve with their query?

Informational: "How do I bake a chocolate cake?"

Transactional: "Order my favorite pizza from Domino's."

Navigational: "Take me to the nearest gas station."

Commercial Investigation: "What are the best laptops for students?"

Tailored Content: Create content that aligns with these different intents. For transactional queries, ensure a smooth voice commerce experience. For informational, provide clear, comprehensive answers.

Leverage User Data (Ethically): While respecting privacy, brands can leverage anonymized user data to understand preferences and deliver more personalized voice responses and recommendations.

Voice Commerce and Beyond

The impact of voice search extends far beyond simple information retrieval. Voice commerce (v-commerce) is rapidly gaining traction, allowing consumers to make purchases directly through voice commands.

Streamlined Shopping: Imagine reordering frequently used items with a simple voice command or completing a transaction securely using voice-activated payments.

Subscription Management: Users can manage subscriptions and reorder items with ease.

Product Discovery: Voice assistants can recommend products based on past purchases, preferences, and real-time needs.

Challenges and Opportunities:

Trust and Security: Building consumer trust in voice-activated payments and data security is paramount.

Product Description Clarity: Product descriptions need to be concise and conversational, easily understood when read aloud.

Seamless Integration: Businesses need to integrate voice commerce into their existing e-commerce platforms.

Beyond v-commerce, the future holds:

Multimodal Search: The integration of voice with other forms of search (text, visual) will become more sophisticated. Users might ask a question aloud while simultaneously showing an image.

Predictive Analytics: AI will increasingly predict user needs and offer proactive solutions, anticipating queries before they're even spoken.

Conversational AI for Customer Service: Voice bots will become more human-like, handling complex customer service inquiries and providing personalized support.

Multilingual and Regional Optimization: As voice search expands globally, optimizing for various languages, dialects, and regional slang will be crucial.

Brand Voice and Personality: Brands will need to cultivate a distinct and consistent voice for their AI interactions, reflecting their brand persona.

Challenges and Ethical Considerations

While the opportunities are vast, the future of voice search also presents challenges and crucial ethical considerations:

Challenges:

Limited Data for Optimization: Voice search queries are often private and less trackable than text searches, making it harder to gather granular data for optimization and analysis.

Attribution and Analytics: Accurately attributing conversions and understanding the full customer journey with voice interactions can be complex.

Accuracy and Misinterpretation: Despite advancements, voice assistants can still misinterpret queries, leading to frustrated users.

Competition for Position Zero: The "winner-takes-all" nature of featured snippets means intense competition for top visibility.

Cost of Implementation: Developing sophisticated voice search and voice commerce capabilities can require significant investment.

Ethical Considerations:

Privacy and Data Security:

Always-on Listening: The constant listening required by voice assistants raises concerns about unintentional recording of private conversations.

Data Collection and Usage: Transparency is vital regarding what data is collected, how it's stored, and how it's used (e.g., for targeted advertising).

Consent: Clear and explicit user consent for data collection is essential.

Algorithmic Bias:

Training Data: If voice recognition models are trained on non-diverse datasets, they can perpetuate biases, struggling with certain accents, dialects, or demographic groups.

Fairness: Ensuring fairness in AI decision-making is critical to avoid discrimination.

Transparency and Accountability: Users need to understand how voice assistants work and who is accountable for errors or misuse of data.

Manipulation: The potential for subtle manipulation through voice assistant recommendations or preferential treatment of certain brands exists.

Accessibility and Inclusivity: While voice search aids accessibility, ensuring it is truly inclusive for all users, including those with varying speech patterns or disabilities, remains a focus.

Digital marketers and technology providers must proactively address these ethical concerns to build trust and foster widespread adoption of voice technologies. Transparent policies, robust security measures, and a commitment to unbiased AI development will be paramount.

Preparing for the Voice-First Future

The shift to voice search isn't a distant phenomenon; it's happening now. Here's a roadmap to ensure your digital marketing strategy is voice-ready:

Conduct a Voice Search Audit:

Analyze your current website content for conversational language and Q&A potential.

Assess your technical SEO for mobile-friendliness and site speed.

Check your Google Business Profile for accuracy and completeness.

Rethink Keyword Strategy:

Shift from traditional keywords to long-tail, conversational queries.

Focus on question-based keywords (who, what, where, when, why, how).

Utilize tools that help identify voice search queries.

Create Answer-Centric Content:

Develop content that directly answers common user questions concisely.

Prioritize creating FAQ pages and structuring content for featured snippets.

Use clear headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs.

Boost Local SEO Efforts:

Optimize your Google Business Profile diligently.

Ensure NAP consistency across all online listings.

Actively manage and respond to online reviews.

Prioritize Technical SEO and Mobile Optimization:

Invest in faster website loading speeds.

Ensure your site is fully responsive and mobile-friendly.

Implement schema markup to provide context to search engines.

Explore Voice Commerce Opportunities:

If applicable, consider how your products or services could be purchased via voice.

Investigate platforms and technologies that facilitate voice transactions.

Monitor and Adapt:

Regularly track voice search performance metrics (where available).

Analyze user behavior for voice interactions.

Stay informed about advancements in AI and voice technology.

Be agile and willing to adapt your strategies as the landscape evolves.

Conclusion

The future of digital marketing is undeniably conversational. Voice search is not merely a passing fad; it's a fundamental transformation in how consumers interact with the digital world. For digital marketers, this represents both a significant challenge and an unparalleled opportunity.

By understanding the nuances of voice queries, prioritizing conversational content, optimizing for local search and featured snippets, and embracing the technical underpinnings of a voice-first web, businesses can position themselves at the forefront of this exciting evolution.

The brands that speak the language of their customers, literally will be the ones that capture attention, build trust, and ultimately, drive success in the voice-powered future. The time to adapt is now, for the command economy of tomorrow will be spoken, not typed.