#like. so many websites with really useful tools. or just showing information. or that are just kind of fun and interesting

[yousaytomato]

Tumblr really is one of the last defenders of the: "ooopsy wooooopsy~ looks wike we had a wittle accident 👉👈🥺" style of error message

[rebeccathenaturalist]

The most salient point to me in all this is that he used an unnamed ID app to try to figure out what mushrooms he found because he thought "Man those look good." The app misidentified the mushrooms as edible puffballs, but in reality they were destroying angels (Amanita ocreata). One is enough to kill an adult, and this person ate four of them. He's very, very lucky to be alive.

This is far from the first time someone put their entire faith in a single app to tell them what mushroom they were looking at, and then they paid the price with their health. You're going to hear me say this again and again: never, ever, ever use an app as your only tool for identifying anything, especially if you're planning to eat it. An app can be useful in conjunction with other tools like books, websites, online foraging groups, etc. But apps are frequently wrong, and are not the easy answer many people seem to want them to be.

(Rant about foraging below the cut.)

This right here is why I spend a decent amount of time in my foraging classes trying to scare the hell out of my students. I want them to understand the risks, not just as a brief aside, but as anecdotes I've collected from the news over the years like this one. I have had more than one person say afterward "Wow, I had a really romanticized view of foraging, and now I'm going to be more careful." That's a clue to me that I've done my job.

It's why my classes are SO focused on identification skills and tools to make you a more informed and careful forager. I am not going to just spend a bunch of time showing you slides of all sorts of edible species, with a little bit of information on how to identify and collect them tucked in before or after. Yes, we do look at some beginner-friendly species near the end of the class, but if all you want to get out of a foraging class is names and pictures of edible plants or fungi, that's what field guides are for. I spend the bulk of the time doing my absolute best to make sure people are PREPARED to go out and use their observational and critical thinking skills when assessing a new-to-them species, to include making use of many different types of resource, not just a single app.

I have literally had people complain that we spent too much time on "boring" stuff, and not enough on the edible species themselves---aaaaaand I don't care. My goal is to try as hard as I can to make sure incidents like the article above don't happen in the first place, which is going to take more than a couple of hours of looking at pretty pictures of mushrooms. Sure, sometimes all you get is a night of bad indigestion, but if you get one of the really nasty species full of amatoxins, you can die. Or end up with permanent liver and/or kidney damage. Or need an organ transplant.

And yes, as I said, you will get information on some species that I think are relatively beginner-friendly because they're distinctive AND they don't have any really serious poisonous lookalikes. But puffballs aren't on that list, and this article is a perfect example of why.

[donniesexceptionalmind]

I've been researching about autism in girls, (I'm trying to figure out if I have it) and after some research, I've come to a few conclusions-

-I don't fully relate to too many of the 'symptoms' emotionally, like being upset to schedule changes, (Which normally I'm fine with) or not understanding social cues too well (Which I can pretty much) and meltdowns, (Which i don't think I've ever had)

-I do relate to a few other symptoms, such as stimming, (I'm a huge stimmer) sensitivity to texture, (I get really sensitive when it comes to food- Like, I hate things like oatmeal, jell-o, yogurt, pudding, and hummus.)

-Some of the other things practically define me, like masking, or selective muting, or being socially awkward in general, along with anixiety.

Do you know of any really mild forms of autism, or forms that match what I've said...?

Greetings, Anon!

First: Autism is a spectrum, so your experience differs & won't be the exact same as the experience from other autistics. You might not experience some of the 'stereotyped symptoms' or they show up in different ways, which you won't identify as autistic traits if you don't have much knowledge about it. /g

Second: Be aware that you can have a sensory processing disorder or sensory processing issues without being autistic. (!) Also, stimming is a behaviour that everyone does. The frequency & intensity differs.

It is also possible that you mask your traits so well that you are not aware of your autistic traits. This is not uncommon for late diagnosed or late identified autistic people.

Here is one great resource for you, which is the website 'embrace autism'. You can find a lot of tests & information on there, as well as information about masking & camouflaging.

Masking, sometimes called camouflaging, is the conscious or unconscious adjustment & suppression of natural tendencies to "fit in" with social and cultural expectations.

Here is also a scientific article about The Female Autism Phenotype and Camouflaging .

The Female Autism Phenotype theory (FAP) asserts that autistic women & female-presenting individuals possess the same core traits as autistic males but manifest them differently (Kopp & Gillberg, 1992).

Although initially published in 1992, FAP has only gained traction in the last decade & has since revealed numerous gender differences in autism presentation.

Studies show that autistic women & female-presenting people have better social awareness, are more likely to engage in reciprocal conversation, have more social motivation for friendships, participate in more group activities, use more nonverbal gestures & pragmatic language, have fewer repetitive/restrictive behaviors & have more friends than autistic men & male-presenting individuals.

But, again, it is a spectrum.

There is also the Broader Autism Phenotype.

Individuals with the BAP traits have symptoms of autism, just on a milder scale. These traits typically do not greatly interfere with an individual's quality of life & are not enough to trigger a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

It is possible that you relate to this phenotype as well!

Third: due to a historically incomplete description of autism (lacking the female, trans, non-binary… perspectives) & therefore, biased diagnostic & assessment tools, professionals have been predisposed to consider mental health issues in females as stand-alone conditions instead of co-occurring with autism.

You're absolutely welcome in this community if you relate to our experiences! 💜✨️

[minimalist-language-learning]

My language learning journey

Hi! I'm Anja, a language learner and manga artist from Germany. This is my first post here, so I think I should start with some information about myself:

I speak: German (native), English

I'm currently learning: Japanese

Paused languages: French, Russian

Other hobbies and interests:

creating manga (you can find my artist accounts here)

reading manga (mainly shonen)

nature

video games (e.g. Assassin‘s Creed Origins / Valhalla, Ghost of Tsushima, Cyberpunk 2077, Control)

reading different kinds of books

history & archaeology (especially ancient egypt)

For those who are interested, here is a summary of my ups and downs as a language learner:

How I improved my English unintentionally

English is not my native language (I'm sure I make mistakes ^^;). I learned the basics at school which means: vocab lists, grammar rules and exercises, listen to English spoken by non-native speakers (teacher and classmates) and only sometimes by native speakers (audio CD). I had no access to novels, websites or other interesting things in English. And I was fine with that. At that time, English was only a subject in school.

After graduating, I became interested in Japanese. I found some german online forums where other learners of Japanese shared their experiences. Unfortunately, most of the users were very narrow-minded. They persisted, that their way of learning is the only "right" way. I never liked black-or-white-thinking and so I left these forums.

I've found a more open-minded forum and some blogs. These were in English, but I came across many different ideas and methods. It was a bit difficult at first because I never read "real" English before. But I concentrated so much on the content, that everything else became secondary. 

At this time, the new episodes of my favorite TV show weren't available in German. So I watched them in English even though I had nearly no experience with listening to native speakers. There were things I couldn't understand, but I didn't care. I was able to watch this show quite comfortably which was all I wanted — reaching a high level in English was not my goal, after all.

Watching my favourite show, reading articles about interesting topics or reading novels in English were never learning activities to me. The purpose was to learn something other than English or to simply enjoy the content. The language was only a tool, not a study object. 

While doing this, I never thought "So many unknown words… I should use Anki to learn them". After learning the basics at school, I just started reading and listening and ignored most of the unknown and unimportant parts. Only when I felt that I really need to know a certain word I looked it up. These texts or videos weren’t study objects. After reading/watching them I moved on. Without realizing it, English became part of my life. 

Today, reading and listening to content in English feels natural to me. There are words I don’t know and I make mistakes, of course, but I'm fine with that.

The learning mindset is actually a learning barrier

In the case of Japanese, I always tried to understand as much as possible, looked up many words, put sentences into Anki and things like that, because many methods recommended that. I thought that otherwise my Japanese won't improve.

Ironically, even after so much hard work and after trying out so many methods and techniques my Japanese was by no means as good as my English.

I was stuck in a "learning mindset" which made it difficult to just enjoy the content as I did with English. I wasn't able to focus on the content. All I saw were unknown words and phrases. It was like a curse.

Don't get me wrong: Good advice is useful, of course! When I come across an interesting approach or tip I try it out to see if it works for me. But my mistake was to believe that I only had to follow someone else's way of learning from A to Z and I would get the same results in the end. It never worked this way.

That's why I encourage everyone not to follow blindly other methods and their creators. There is no right or wrong. Combine whatever works best for you and trust your own intuition. The most important thing is that you enjoy what you are doing.

Combining minimalism with language learning

After worrying so much about language learning, methods and my Japanese, I discovered minimalism and was completely fascinated. 

Generally, minimalists don't keep things that make them feel unhappy, that are no longer useful or causing distraction. It depends on the person, how their minimalist lifestyle looks like. And this is also true for language learning.

This mindset was a great inspiration for my current way of language learning. I only use Anki to review kanji, for example, because this works best for me. But whenever I use it for vocabulary/sentences, it feels so meaningless to me compared to reading a good book. I can't use Anki for vocabulary longer than a few weeks, but I feel always relaxed when I read a book in Japanese.

That's why I decided to just look up certain words, write them down and move on. Maybe other methods are more efficient, but I prefer learning words in their natural context. This is what I enjoy the most.

How my Japanese improved (finally)

For a long time, I felt like I hit a wall. My Japanese didn’t seem to improve. Then I focused on extensive reading and read several books in Japanese that were not too difficult at my current level (e.g. volume 1 - 4 of 『ハリー・ポッター』 and 『天気の子』 and other manga and light novels).

This helped me a lot to improve not only my reading speed but also my vocabulary. I had so much fun reading these books that I read between 20 and 40 pages a day (sometimes even a bit more on the weekend).  My listening comprehension stagnated for a long time but thanks to reading it now improves slowly but steady.

The more I understand the more I enjoy listening. Lots of reading helped me to increase my vocabulary and to get to the point at where I can process spoken Japanese much faster than before. 

It feels strange sometimes. For a long time, it was normal to me that I understand not more than single words or very common phrases. Listening felt like a waste of time. Now I can roughly follow the story of some audio books, for example. Even small improvements like this give me a big motivation boost!

Switching to extensive reading had also a positive effect on my self-confidence as a language learner. I’m more aware about what kind of content I need at my current level and choose my reading and listening material accordingly. I will read more and more difficult books to increase my vocabulary and to get used to more complex writing styles. It should be a bit challenging but not overwhelming.

Up to this point, I've read 78 books in Japanese so far. 27 of these were novels, light novels or non-fiction books; the rest were manga. According to 読書メーター, I've read around 18.242 pages in total. 

Now

It took me a long time but today I don't care so much about efficiency and speed anymore. I just want to enjoy what I'm doing. I have still a long way to go, of course. But even though I don't understand everything I enjoy reading in Japanese so much! And I hope to further improve my listening comprehension so that I can comfortably understand audio books and podcasts.

My main activity is still reading books and other content but I also do light grammar study now. In my experience, you don't need to memorize grammar rules but a good foundation is important to understand more complex content and to build correct sentences yourself. That's why I think that grammar is not your enemy but a useful tool.

Lots of text, sorry. ^^; I hope it was interesting to some of you.

Please note that I write about what works for me and share advice based on my own experiences. If you have a different opinion or if you use other methods, that's absolutely fine. Do whatever works for you.

From time to time, I'll write posts about my recent language learning activities and thoughts.

[tlkmh]

Is Blogging Still Relevant in This Age of Tiktok and Instagram?

Blogging has been really popular for many years and a lot believe that it will continue to grow. Still, with the current rise of social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, it begs us to question whether blogging is still relevant in today’s generation. I for one generally prefer posting a relatable picture to convey my feelings with a one-word caption or none and instantly, my friends get it, but hey, that’s just me.

Nowadays, people are more in favour of posting their pictures, videos, or experiences through social media apps with a more visual and interactive format than your typical traditional blogging websites like WordPress and Blogspot. Time and time again, social media platform has been constantly changing their layout, services, and such to what the owner likes to call ‘accommodate’ the users. Just take a look at X (Twitter), soon after Elon Musk took over, the app just started going downhill, nonetheless, people are still using it despite the rebranding and paywall.

Posting on social networking applications is akin to blogging in certain aspects. The difference is that unless users subscribe to the app's services, they cannot write a lengthy description, and even if they do post a long caption, some people will not care to read it; instead, they will focus on the photographs, videos, or even skip it. This shows our reading habits are changing. It means that most people are unlikely to read a blog from beginning to end. This type of person prefers to scan through the site and seek the information they require, ignoring the rest of the content.

Although blogging has lost its appeal among the younger gen, there are still some people who believe that blogging gives them joy and such cases, money. Blogging has become a reliable source where people like you and I will seek advice or any niche information. But it can't be all dependable unless, of course, they have credible sources and not from Wikipedia. According to a recent survey, about 77% of online users are still reading blogs (Adavelli, 2022) which gives hope for the blogging community. For some, blogging provides both flexibility and freedom of speech. The content itself can be anything of the sort. Ranging from politics to recipes and even fandom discourse. Other than that, blogging to some, allows for a more intimate connection between the writer and the reader. Readers may interact directly with the author, forming a community based on shared interests. Therefore, blogging became a digital diary to some. Moreover, businesses are using blogging as an efficient method to market their organization or product. According to a recent poll, about 48% of companies benefit from blogging as a content marketing tool. In other words, these companies can deliver value to their consumers by maintaining a blog.

Despite a steady rise in the number of people reading blogs, with the growing popularity of social media sites such as Instagram and TikTok, people now have more swift and creative methods to share their thoughts, experiences, and creativity with their friends. The most popular method of climbing the popularity ladder these days is creating a viral video or picture, with or without clickbait headlines or thumbnails, in the hopes of reaching a specific target group, if not everyone. On TikTok, there are countless videos of people attempting to get famous. Some even predict that social networking applications will ultimately put an end to blogging. Considering that with the growing presence of influencer culture, regular blogging may appear less attractive.

So, to answer the question, is blogging relevant nowadays? My answer is yes, it is still alive even though it is not that trendy among certain groups of people. But then again, it depends on whether the blog itself is interesting or not. All that matters for a blog to be useful is for the author to offer up-to-date information that people can depend on. Bloggers would have to cross the desert to look for an eye-catching title and a compelling story that makes the reader clench their teeth and anxiously wait for the next post.

References:

Adavelli, M. (2023, July 26). 29+ Important Blogging Statistics Every Blogger Should Know in 2023. techjury. Retrieved from https://techjury.net/blog/blogging-statistics/

Schaffer, N. (2023, August 16) Is Blogging Dead? You’re Reading This, Right? Here’s Why Blogging is NOT Dead! Neal Scaffer. Retrieved from https://nealschaffer.com/is-blogging-dead/#:~:text=In%20a%20word%2C%20no.,use%20a%20variety%20of%20techniques.

Reeve, E. (2016, February 17). The Secret Lives of Tumblr Teens. The New Republic. Retrieved from https://newrepublic.com/article/129002/secret-lives-tumblr-teens

Wijayarathne, M. (2023, May 20). Is Blogging Still Relevant? 5 Reasons Why the Answer is Yes! TalkBitz. Retrieved from https://talkbitz.com/is-blogging-still-relevant/#:~:text=Blogging%20is%20still%20relevant%20today,being%20an%20important%20marketing%20tool.

[dangersam]

More tutorial and scripting improvements

Hey everyone, it's been months since my last dev blog update! As you will hopefully have seen, I recently announced the coming release of GearBlocks into early access for November 9th.

A lot of my time lately was spent preparing for this announcement. The trailer video was the biggest chunk of this work: planning, building content in game (including many new built-in constructions!), capturing footage, and editing it all together. I also improved the Steam store page and website with new screenshots, gifs, blurb, presskit, etc.

Tutorial scenario

I recently took the game to a local indie meetup, and had a few people try out the tutorial scenario. It was really useful and informative to watch people play it in person. The feedback was somewhat sobering though, some found it too complicated and struggled with information overload!

So I made some changes to the tutorial to try and simplify the information presented to players, and added more code to handle edge cases where players were getting stuck.

I've also set up a new build configuration for a special demo build with just the tutorial scenario in it, which I'm planning to use for the Steam Next Fest (coming on October 9th).

Lua scripting

I've continued to improve the Lua scripting interfaces, exposing more properties and methods for manipulating parts and constructions, adding more tool interfaces, and more vector / quaternion math stuff.

Further improvements were made to some of the included script mods, including the builder tool extensions (now with the ability to set / snap the pivot position & orientation, change the manipulators to work in world or local space, etc.)

Kit building

For the trailer video I wanted to show time lapses of some constructions being built. I also want to try creating scenarios where the player follows instructions to build pre-designed blueprint constructions, a bit like building from a model kit.

So I implemented a feature I'm calling "kit building", to cater for both of these situations. Parts can now be assigned a stage index and constructions have an active stage that can be set (where any of their parts in higher stages than the active one are hidden).

I made a script mod tool for setting part stage indices, and previewing a construction's stages. I actually used this tool when capturing for the trailer, just manually advancing through the stages in order, revealing the parts.

I also prototyped a kit building scenario with a simple Lua script to allow the player to advance through a blueprint construction's stages, automatically spawning the parts they need to build that stage. This idea has potential I think, but will need work to make it more user friendly.

Minor demo update

I decided to release another quick demo update, out now with some fixes and other small tweaks:-

Minor UI improvements, including a new "getting started" window that shows some helpful pointers when launching into a new game.

Improved attachment locking undo / redo (single command for multiple attachments).

Bug fixes (including fixing the differential idler gear centre-of-mass again).

[thelonesgroup]

Creating Connections with Community Pages

As brokers and agents, we are all tied to our communities and there are so many great ways to get involved too. Some of you reading this today volunteer at shelters, support boys-and-girls clubs, are part of a Rotary Group or community lodge, or maybe you care for aging pets or are a member of a local activity group. These are all great things you can do in person that build your presence within the community and expand your sphere of contacts – and help you feel good too! But how do you illustrate connections to your community to people outside of it, like to someone who is relocating from another part of your state?

One of the things that websites (and social media) do for us is expand our presence and message further than they could ever reach without them – and today I want to focus on how you can demonstrate community connections in a way that isn’t just about you, but that gives your website visitor something of value too.

The Evolution of the Community Page

Since my company has been building real estate websites for nearly two decades, I have seen a lot of changes. Back in the early aughts (2003/2004) a community page was, at its best, a brief gazetteer. A paragraph or two, half-a-dozen photos maybe. Ambitious agents would include some market stats, but there wasn’t any automation to keep them current, so they quickly became dated and for many agents it was just too much to maintain data like that.

As time went on, pages got more interesting. Companies like TrendGraphix would create tools to let agents add self-updating market charts to their websites. Social media like Instagram would emerge and give agents a way to stream current photos from their account. A website with an MLS connection could even show current local listings. It was better, but there was a lot of room for improvement.

Today, thanks to the work of IDX companies, huge data brokering services like Atom Data and Home Junction, local review sites like Yelp, Google Maps, Great Schools, artificial intelligence, and more, community pages are easier than ever to create, maintain, and can provide impressive value to website visitors.

Local Maps

This is crucial. Many people don’t have a great sense of where a place is, so whether you are detailing a county or a local neighborhood, include a map. I love interactive maps that let me zoom-in-and-out. Extra points if that map can show me where local schools, parks, and shopping areas are. This is extremely useful for buyers who want to know where they will be able to make a quick grocery stop, to identify the school their children may attend, determine commuting times and so much more. When we build websites, we always include these features!

Market Information

No modern community page is complete without up-to-date market information. Buyers and sellers both appreciate this info. It helps you, the real estate agent, start the process of setting expectations even before you have met. It helps potential referring agents from out of the area identify potential neighborhoods (and you) as viable for their moving clients. Information about recent sales, average price, and home ownership rates are a great starting point. If you want to really provide something of value, offer the option of downloading a full market report. Our websites can generate these on demand, which is a great way to capture potential leads from your website, for a quick handout to mail, or to take to a listing presentation.

Community Description

Of course, every community page should have a description. These days, a short one is just fine since we are going to include a lot more visual info, but if you are talking about a small community then a little more detail can go a long way too. If you use AI to generate your community description, don’t forget to fact check it! We like to include some statistics in our community descriptions, but you have to be careful that they don’t go stale. To keep ours fresh, we use the same data sources that automatically update our market information.

Schools

For well over a decade, we have been able to include school information with websites and without undue effort. Great Schools has made this easy, whether you go-it-alone or have a professional build your website. It’s just as relevant as it has ever been and every great community page should have it.

Demographics

Buyers want to know if a community is the right fit for them. Sellers are curious how their community has changed. For you, the agent, having a reliable source of demographics makes for endless, easy content for sharing online, and adds something to your website that most other agents just don’t have at all.

Local Businesses

Beyond supporting local businesses, which can often use all the help they can get, showcasing local stores and services really integrates you into the community. Locals love seeing their favorite spots featured. Potential clients from further away can get a taste of what is available in your area and maybe even try something out on a visit. We connect our client’s real estate websites to Yelp’s services to showcase popular dining, bars and coffee shops, shopping centers, gyms and self-care, and pet care services.

Other Details

Slideshows or connecting an Instagram stream of local photos have huge visual value. Including a connection to your MLS where visitors can browse inventory is a must – yes, it’s not what brought them to your website, but they will stay longer and search engines love it too. It’s also important to have lots of opportunities for people to connect with you. Season your community page with these opportunities so that as your visitors look around it is easy for them to reach you with a question. If you are blogging about your area, include a section on your community page of recent blog posts. I would put blogs towards the bottom to give visitors something easy to move on to after they have engaged with your community info.

Closing Thoughts

If you have been reading through this and thinking, "I have no idea how I would even start to add some of these ideas," then stop thinking and take action by giving us a call, emailing us at solutions@thelonesgroup.com or by visiting us online and scheduling a free consult. For examples of actual community pages, try here, here, or here. Your community pages are a powerful, critical part of connecting with new clients online and illustrating your local connections and knowledge.

By Denise Lones CSP, M.I.R.M., CDEI - The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones, brings nearly three decades of experience in the real estate industry. With agent/broker coaching, expertise in branding, lead generation, strategic marketing, business analysis, new home project planning, product development, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.

[m---resources]

hi! when i try to download episodes from the mega folder it tells me that i have to pay to do that. do you know what i could do? <3

hi! yes, sadly mega has a free download limit of 5gb every 24h per ip-address, which is its main downside (i give you guys links with mega as a host because it's much harder for people to make nearly enough google drives for all of this, considering new google accounts now each need a verification via a real phone number. mega also has much better privacy protection in general)

about the download limit, there are a few things you can do: (below the cut because it got long)

1) download MEGAsync, mega's own cloud synchronisation tool, which you can find on their website here. this lets you save links and thereby queue the downloads, so you will not lose progress if you run out of download capacity for the day or shut down your computer in the middle of a download (like you would if you were downloading in the browser). also, whenever you have the programme open, it will automatically resume your download queue once your free account has capacity again. you do need to make a free account for this, but you can use a throwaway address like one from 10minutemail. just do not forget to note down the random e-mail address it gives you somewhere because you will still need to use it as your username anytime you log in.

2) use premium link generators. a premium link generator is a website that downloads any mega (or many other filehosters') links you give them through their own premium accounts on those hosting sites, then reuploads whatever it finds, and lets you download the file from their own website for free and at a high speed.

the link generator sites pay for those premium accounts with ads they show you, though, meaning you have to click through quite a few of them and several captchas to get your free link. for this, please make sure to have at least one adblocker (like adblock plus and ublock origin), and if you want to be cautious at least one antivirus plugin (like malwarebytes and avira), installed. there are some posts with good general privacy plugins floating about, i will add a link here if i find them again. when you click through the ~5-10 ads and captchas, there will be one page that will ask you to disable your adblocker - please only turn it off if you can't clear that site otherwise and turn it back on immediately after you have cleared that site. in general, also make sure to close any pop ups that open and pay attention to finding the correct continue/download buttons (though i've never really had fake ones, just mentioning it to be sure).

the only premium link generator that consistently works for me is uploadedpremiumlink.net. they give you an additional 5gb of downloads per day on mega if you are logged out, 10gb if you make an account. once again, you can use a throwaway mail address like from 10minutemail to make an account as long as you remember what your username and password is

3) use a vpn or some other way of changing your ip-adress. if you are not logged in, then the only way that mega determines that your 5gb are up is via your ip-address. if you can appear under another ip-address, it should give you a new 5gb of capacity, assuming somebody else hasn't also used that ip-address to download from mega in the same day. sadly, i can't really recommend you any free vpn services as i do not have any experience with any of them - but maybe others have some suggestions in the notes?

i hope this helps, at least a little bit! i also searched some reddit threads but couldn't verify any other options on there myself.

as always, please use any information i give you at your own discretion, and if anyone else has any suggestions, i'd love to hear them!!

[greenpanda-djg]

My issue with AI art.

Here's some things I've heard/read online from ai bros etc and here's what conclusions I came to. I have no idea how AI actually works same way as how I don't know how every intenational law of by heart. I've seen people who HAVE understanding of what it is from both sides the for and against.

But I'm one of those people who doesn't read the terms of service before I agree to acess my new iphone so- from the information and what others have said this is what I think.

Like crypto currency, nfts and pryamid schemes it reeks of scam,

Its easy to abuse. There is no safety nets for anyone involved and just seems as another fancier complicated way of saving an image of google and posting it on instagram for likes and follows.

"It's learning from Artists, not stealing."

Okay where is this LIST of artists that donated their artworks to the system? Where is the credit.

Instead of a # Ross/Draws or # Loish/ instead it only tags as the art style.

Because no one can OWN an art style instead of the artist used to generate this image its #pastel art. And no one can own an art style so its used as a ploy to AVOID criticism. To comes across as better to beg for forgivness than permission by using art style and being sneaky about it makes it come across as they are blatently stealing and plainly sorry they got caught not for the act. If you really care about artists you would credit the ones you stole to make a gross amalgamation of instead of reducing all that artists work and labour to an art style.

"Its an art tool."

Its too [how can I say] open world. There is a difference between posting your art on an account then deleting it later, but the program once an image is posted is open to everyone. Instead of being a tool like design doll, or making your own brushes on an art program its like anyone can invade and highjack it. Its not an indiviual program once its in the date because if you upload anything your are giving it permission to take that image and 'learn' from it. And with that- from the previous statment. Did any artist CONSENT to their art being put into this program? If I saved an image of Iyla kushinov and posted that in the AI even tho I am NOT that person does that not count as being unethical?

"Its public domain."

only artists seem to know this, and none artists have this entitlment that I've noticed. But there is a give or take system, If I upload on a website I trust there wont be too much abuse but I'm aware that yeah someone can save/take it but no matter what I know I can keep drawing or show the proof of my art in WIPS and concept stages. Me posting on a website it has its own contracts and agreement, in doing so by uploading making content getting engagment actually builds up revenue for the website as both consumer and creator its a give or take relationship. Even with artists online we learn from each other but understand the logical agreement to not 'steal' but take inspiration. I can look up ethan becker and study his work but maybe he can come across an art piece of mine and might copy the colour pallete. Its a beneficial enviorment where everyone is on the same page.

Even tho its public artists have a history of being protective of their work, no one likes art thiefs/reposters or tracers even to the point of calling people out and even cancelling bigger artists for tracing or straight up stealing.

Also if its public domain, then where does the line stop? Does that mean I can take AI art and take that as my own, its public domain? That means any ai art I like I can just save the image, change it slightly and take it as my own. Want to complain? its public domain.

"Its no different than reference." There is something called HUMAN ERROR. We make mistakes, even if we are looking at a reference hand eye coordination sometimes doesn't project this clearly. So many artists draw things that look nothing like what they had in their head but come up with something they ended up liking. We cant make a perfect copy, or even looking at references from the past, memories are a fickle thing and we misremember or think something looks one way or another.

I could think of a circle, then by drawing from memory create an oval. Then it progresses into a new shape intiarlly. Just by mistakes, by doing it wrong by accident.

Ai is designed as a computer, numbers and codes to do it as it is. There is no time for error or even experimentation. Halfway through a painting artists CHANGE their mind and change the colour, or experiemnt with brushes an ai wont do that. They would do what majority of other artists have created to make it look nice.

Ai is as limited in this, and without experimentation it just wont work.

For example, realistically, every artists is told anime art isn't 'real art' and not to use it. And yet its the most popular art style constintly used and even making its way into animation.

We were told to use red green blue. But artists use cmyk instead.

We were told that red and green are complimentary colours and yet we always pear red with Teal or blue and make purple.

Its not the same because like free guy, even if you add a ton of shit into the image that small 'code' is the source of an art piece that had no consent to being there and its unmovable and inchangable. No different that a diformed collage with too many fingers and chair legs.

"It doesnt Steal art jobs."

It doesn't steal, but it does change the market value. Art prices have dropped from $80.00 to twenty, the more quantity or easier it is to get something makes it harder to make a living as others will be forced to make their work cheaper to get commisions. Its going back on humane working and almost forces artists into unworkable enviorment to keep up with commisions keep it consistent and to be payed by the hour and enough money to earn a living. Its basic marketing 101 the more quantity the lower the value.

Its already used in conventions used in spaces when most artist sell their artworks/prints.

As well as video game developers are now using it as a shortcut to make art and even imply that human art is obsolete.

source:

Legal aka daylight robbery is what it is.

I know this might come across as wrong and not a complete comparison, but the awful condictions proffiting of labours of others work and taking all the gain without lifting a finger, makes it feel like artists are more like sweet shops. Getting pennies for doing all the work and getting NOTHING in return.

And the worst dangerous part.

The dangers of Ai, including Deep fakes, ai voices, proffiting of dead actors.

E.g Deep fake of robert downey and Tom holland in Back to the future.

From a glance you cant tell, with time AI will IMPROVE.

Look not to be a nutter, but with the way the internet is going this is a discussion to be had. With deep fakes, ai generated voices taking real photos and blending them together. It sounds fun and non-threating. But I can't help but think, with how...lax companies are when it comes to the porn industry and other really messed up stuff.

And the thought of so many kids on tik tok, their videos photos selphies then add onto ai generations to create certain types of content. Either to add their faces on a model or to change the face to make it harder for anyone to detect.

For example, if someone posts their girlfriend on only fans and profits of that video in revenge p/rn and other things happening, would the deep fakes make it harder to detect CP and other stuff will ai consider that and would people who are really detestable immedietly think of doing that?

I'm uncomfrotable talking about this, but giving that it IS a possibility - that there is no safety nets with AI, that it admits on the tik tok anime filter app it was taking your selfies and taking it without consent.

Source: Tik Tok app accused of data mining, stealing personal information.

Already the internet is a wild west of a landscape where so many things slip under the radar. Such as your email adress being taken and sold to the highest bidder and constantly recieving spam mail >.<

And the other best part, tampering with evidence. If improved you can get someon conviced of anything with an audio of a confession.

And last note.

Artistic expression, of freedom. Trying to monetise, and calling it a democracy that art is now reduced as less than human and we need to get "Real jobs." Makes you realise how much everyone looks down on artists.

But most art has mostly been used as a form of protest, expression, a call out, satire and something used as a tool to critic 'society' to reduce that feels like some dystopia type shit.

At the end of the day, I dont ai will work. There are TOO many holes in it and its too open a program. I'll admit that I agree its calling out artists for drawing the same anime picture over and over because if I can't tell its ai and all art looks the same, means that everyone IS pretty much being stagnent in artistic expression I'll admit as a whole art has gotten stagment and complacent in its style so to seperate from AI might actually make people go out there way to be indivdual.

I doubt AI wont have mistakes, would you watch a movie knowing a BOT wrote the script? I wouldn't.

Sure you can tick the right boxes but it wont hit the soul, its a quick fix but as time goes on you'll realise how lacking it is and it'll affect everyone in the long run. Take a look at movies, media, video games. Most have either gone on hiatus or not as good as they used to be, both from nostalgia but also the lack of stimuation that humans need to be ingaged is missing and makes everyone bored, and prone to being more annoyed for their time being wasted.

AI art sounds great, but like Onceler cutting all his trees down, the long term has too many issues that arent being addresed.

Already most AI bros and others overly complicate and make statments that make it seem as if they are just agreeing with anything for free art but dont realise that it deserves criticism.

And yes artists have had issues with AI and instead of listening to IMPROVE this so called 'art tool' just steam roll over artists and tell them to shut up and accept it. Is another reason why artists think AI sucks and anyone affiliated with it is just scum.

Sam does art generators VS copyright.

An artist DRAWING on a livestream had her progress stolen completed by an AI bro and THEY the Ai bro tried to accuse the artist of stealing their work.

Source

Heres is Loish opinion on AI art.

Now there are people who steal peoples work and 'finish it' with ai and take full credit. Its just more fires in this space first tracers, reposters and art thiefs NOW aI theifs who then accuse the artist of stealing. [How is AI postive when its filled with scumbags like this???]

Then an artist gets accused of being ai and is then told to CHANGE THE artstyle oh sure we'll accomodate the robot, we're hurting its feefees by stealing its unique artstlye.

The fact that AI was a TOOL TO HELP ARTISTS feels like a knife stabbed in the gut and then they have the nerve to say "Why are you upset? Stop bleeding your being dramatic."

But what else is worse is copyright.

As artists online, we have a protection of use to create fanart/fiction/videos without being sued by disney from drawing such characters. By strangling AI to protect OUR content can easily double back on use and make it diffuclt for us to make fanart/get engagment and might lose our space.

As of now the world is getting smaller and more cramped and its going to be difficult to navigate. But with the way people go on, and have no comprehensive thinking, we have to simplify and dumb things down and draw a line in the sand the right/wrong left or right.

I'm against AI it sucks. And anyone who has any other opinion is complacent and part of the problem. If that makes you angry your part of the problem. And dont bother talking to me my opinion wont change.

[fanfic-reading-challenge]

A little housekeeping...

So very sorry for the delay in replying to these @blissfullycamren02! It's been a bit hectic but I'm finishing getting my fandom-related legs under me again (probably just to fall flat on my face in 3 days or so). Some may not apply anymore, if you've figured out the answer since, but it's good for everyone to see the answers too!

ALSO THOUGH! I am in the works for getting an amazing banner made to carry this challenge going forward into future years; I don't plan on going anywhere! Could use some help but eh. And yes! There are new badges being made for the end of the year. I am just SO PSYCHED!

...and on to our questions! xD

.~oOo~.

Could April be switched around and be a fic based on a movie or tv show?

The exact text of the task is as follows: << Monthly Theme 04: In April, read a fic that fits the following theme of: Spring Renewal. Read a fic that is all about new growth --- coming out, healing, growing as a person, major and positive changes to a character's life, etc. >>

At least this year you can finish the monthly challenges even if the month has already come and gone (you just can't read for future months, though if you start reading a longfic, for example, and then finish it in the correct/matching voice, that works too! So yeah, if I'm pretty loosey-goosey with all that, you can 100% use your imagination like.... the fic takes place in Spring, it's in the immediate highs of the wizarding world after Voldepants dies, it's learning a new skill, trying out a new hobby, and you can never escape the never-ending spring cleaning. *shudders*

It could even be about an Alternate First Meeting! See, stretching my imagination. ;D

But if you need suggestions, you let me know ASAP!

.~oOo~.

I’m having a really hard time finding something to fit april in the monthly challenge I don’t know if it’s ok to ask you but do you know any.

Answer: Let me know if you still need this answered after the above info and now that time has passed. :)

.~oOo~.

When you said Q, X, and Z can occur anywhere in the title what did you mean by that?

So, Q, X, and Z are pretty hard to find at the start of words in general, let alone written words. If you can find one, that's awesome! It can even be, say, the first letter of the second word in the made-up title: Truly qualitative Reasoning. But you can also just take a fic with a title such as, hm... Alexandria... and that would count for the X title requirement! Since the X appears anywhere in the title. You don't need all three letters in the title

.~oOo~.

Hi found a website that tells you how many words a book has and figured you could post the link for people who have a hard time figuring it out like I did the website is called how long to read

YES! What a wonderful resource. Here's a link to the lovely thing, and GoodReads has a great tool for how many pages your specific edition has. If you're in it for the books (98/100 for 2022 already!) but it's a nice place to keep track of things (some authors prefer their fanfiction not to appear there, however, but do with that information what you will (it doesn't copy the content, just the metadata of the fic/book. So... eh.) A tip, though: if you don't like the format of one site, try looking for the same fic on another site more amenable to your fancies!

~Juulna

[pixenite]

4 Reasons why Selling on Marketplace is Important for your Business

Remember those days when people had to visit stores to buy things? Well, times have changed! Today, more and more folks are shopping online. This means if you’re not selling your stuff online, you could be missing out on a huge chunk of customers. That’s where e-commerce comes in!

Marketplace is basically just a fancy way of saying “online selling.” Think of it as having your own virtual store, open 24/7, that anyone with an internet connection can visit. Pretty cool, right? Here’s why marketplace is a game-changer for businesses of all sizes:

1. Sell to Anyone, Anywhere:

Imagine customers from all over the world browsing your products — that’s the power of e-commerce! You’re no longer limited to people who live nearby your store. With a marketplace store, anyone with an internet connection can find you. This opens doors to entirely new markets and customers you might never have reached before.

Think about it: A physical store can only serve people who can visit it. But online, someone from across the country (or even the world!) can easily browse your selection from their couch. It’s super convenient for them, and a great way for you to expand your reach.

2. Boost Sales and Make More Money:

Marketplace lets you sell anytime, anywhere. No more closing up shop at night! This means more opportunities to make sales and grow your business. Plus,the marketplace offers all sorts of tools to help you sell more, like targeted ads, special offers, and features that encourage customers to buy more than they planned (it’s a good thing!).

3. Get to Know Your Customers Better:

Marketplace stores are like little treasure troves of information about your customers. By tracking how people interact with your brand, you can learn a lot about them. This info can be used to:

Offer better products: See what sells well and what doesn’t, so you can stock what people really want.

Target your ads better: Show your ads to the exact kind of people who are most likely to buy from you.

Make your website awesome: Find out what’s confusing or frustrating for customers and fix it, making their shopping experience smoother.

The more you know about your customers, the better you can serve them and keep them coming back for more.

4. Save Money and Time:

Running an online store can be cheaper than a physical one. There’s no rent to pay, no utilities, and you might not need as many employees. This frees up your cash to invest in other parts of your business. Plus, e-commerce platforms can automate a lot of tasks, like sending orders and keeping track of inventory. This saves you time and lets you focus on what matters most — growing your business!

Conclusion

In today’s world, selling on the marketplace is a must-have for most businesses. By selling online, you can reach more customers, make more sales, learn more about who you’re selling to, and save money on running your business. Pixenite can be your partner in marketplace success. Our team of experts can help you set up a great online store and reach your full sales potential. Contact us today to learn more!

FAQs:

Q: I already have a website, can I still benefit from e-commerce?

Absolutely! If your website doesn’t currently have an online store, you can easily add Marketplace functionality. An e-commerce marketing agency can help you integrate an online store

Q: I’m not sure how to choose an e-commerce marketing agency. What should I look for?

When choosing an Marketplace it’s important to consider several factors:

Experience: Look for an agency with a proven track record of success in the Marketplace. Ask for case studies or testimonials to see how they’ve helped other businesses achieve their goals.

Services Offered: Make sure the agency provides what you need, like website design, SEO, PPC ads, social media marketing, or email marketing.

Budget: Marketplace offer a variety of pricing models. Be upfront about your budget and choose an agency that offers services that align with your financial resources.

Communication Style: Choose an agency that is easy to communicate with and understands your business goals. You should feel comfortable asking questions and getting clear explanations of their strategies.

Q: How much does it cost to hire an e-commerce marketing agency?

The cost of hiring an Marketplace agency Services can vary depending on the size and scope of your project, the services you need, and the agency’s experience level. However, many agencies offer flexible pricing models, such as hourly rates, retainer fees, or performance-based pricing.

Article Source : https://medium.com/@pixenite/4-reasons-why-selling-on-marketplace-is-important-for-your-business-1b5e74e6e7aa

[arunsinghsucces]

Unleash the Power of On-Page SEO to give Your Website to New Heights.

In today's fast-moving digital world, having a great website is more than just looking good or working well. There are so many websites out there, all trying to get noticed. That's where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in, and one of the most important parts of SEO is on-page optimization. It's all about making sure your individual web pages are set up in the best way possible to attract attention from search engines.

On-page SEO means making your website pages better so they show up higher in search engine results and get more visitors. It's stuff you do on your own website, like using the right words and making your pages easy to read. Off-page stuff, like other websites linking to yours, is also important, but on-page SEO is something you can directly work on yourself to help your site do well in search engines.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to mastering on-page SEO and unlocking the full potential of your website:

Keyword Research: Your website will be better when you conduct keyword and phrase research related to your business brand. To find these, you can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs, etc.That help your website to highly rank on Google first page.

Content Optimization: Good content is really important for SEO. Make sure your content is good quality, useful, and interesting for your readers. Use your main words naturally in your titles, headings, and throughout your writing.

Title Tags and Meta Descriptions: Create easy-to-remember titles and descriptions for your web pages to increase clicks and attract more visitors. These titles and descriptions also inform search engines about your business, helping you attract more customers. Keep them short, clear, and include important keywords.

URL Structure: A clean and easy-to-use URL structure makes it better for people using your site and helps search engines understand the content of your pages. Keep important words in your web addresses and avoid using long, confusing combinations of letters and numbers.

Headers and Subheadings: Proper use of headers (H1, H2, H3, etc.) helps to improves readability and helps search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your content. Incorporate your target keywords naturally into your headers and subheadings.

Image Optimization: Using good images can make your website look better, but they also affect how well you show up in search engines. Optimize your images by using descriptive file names and alt text that includes relevant keywords to describe the images well.

Internal Linking: Linking to other pages within your website helps spread the importance of those pages and encourages visitors to check out more of your stuff. Put links to other pages that make sense in your writing to help people find their way around better and make your website more search engine friendly.

Mobile Optimization: Since most people use phones to go online, it's super important that your website works well on mobile. This means it should adjust to fit different screen sizes and load quickly. It's not just about making it easier for users, but also for search engines to find and rank your site.

Page Speed Optimization: Page speed is a important for ranking factor in search engine algorithms. Minimize loading times by optimizing images, leveraging browser caching, and reducing unnecessary scripts and plugins.

Schema Markup: Schema markup provides search engines with additional context about your content, helping improve visibility in search results. Implement schema markup where applicable to enhance rich snippets and increase click-through rates.

In conclusion, It's really important to do on-page SEO well to make sure your website is seen and works well online. By following the earlier tips and staying updated on new developments in SEO, you can make sure your website does well and gets lots of visitors from search engines. Just remember, SEO is something you always need to keep working on to stay ahead.

[omeseo]

How Can You Engage Audiences in the Digital World through Online Marketing?

In today's online world, it's getting harder but also more important for businesses to grab people's attention. With so many companies online, you need to be different to get noticed by potential customers. Online marketing is key here. It's not enough just to be seen; you need to really connect with people. This means figuring out what they want and offering them something valuable that speaks to them. In this article, we'll explore the various strategies and techniques you can use to captivate and engage audiences through online marketing agency in Uk and other areas.

Understanding Your Audience

The first thing you need to do in digital marketing is really get to know your audience. Find out what they like, what issues they're facing, and how they like to get their information. Knowing these things lets you create marketing that they'll find interesting and useful, which means they'll be more likely to pay attention to what you have to say.

Social Media Engagement

Social media lets businesses connect with their audience in a friendly and personal way. By being active on social media, you can build a community for your brand. Answering comments, sharing content made by users, and talking with people can help make a strong bond with your audience.

Email Marketing

Even though social media and other ways to chat online are popular, email marketing is still a great way to keep people interested. Sending emails that are personalized and really useful can keep your audience paying attention for a long time. Breaking your audience into smaller groups so that the emails they get are exactly what they're interested in can make this even better.

SEO Strategies

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is really important to help people find your content when they're looking online for topics related to what you offer. An online marketing company in Birmingham or anywhere else can give you expert help to get your website noticed more online. By using the right keywords and making your website friendlier to search engines, you can get more people to visit your site and keep them interested.

Leveraging Technology

Using technology in an online marketing company in Birmingham and other areas makes it possible to create more personal and fun experiences. For instance, chatbots can give quick help and talk to users right away. Also, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) can give really cool and deep experiences that grab people's attention.

Analytics and Feedback

It's important to know how your audience uses your content so you can keep getting better. Using tools that analyze data can show you how people behave, what they like, and how they engage with your content. Also, asking your audience for their opinions can help you adjust your plans to serve them better.

Final words Engaging audiences in the digital world requires a blend of creativity, technology, and genuine connection. By understanding your audience, creating valuable content, optimizing for SEO, and leveraging the power of social media and email marketing, you can build meaningful relationships with your audience. Whether you're working with a Birmingham online marketing company or managing your efforts in-house, the key is to be authentic and consistent in your engagement strategies.

[translationwala]

English to Hindi Translation in the Digital Age: Connecting People and Ideas

The digital age has changed the way people talk to each other, reducing gaps and making it easier for people all over the world to meet. Language, on the other hand, still stands in the way of many people sharing their thoughts and feelings. This is where English to Hindi translation comes in. It is a very important way to connect the huge English-speaking population with the growing Hindi audience.

A World of Information at Your Fingertips

The internet has a huge amount of information, from groundbreaking science discoveries to works of art that are works of art themselves. It’s too bad that a lot of this material is only available in English. This is where translation comes in handy. We make it possible for people who speak Hindi to reach this wealth of information by converting websites, papers, and training materials from English to Hindi. Imagine that a student in a small town in India could read a translated study paper about the newest science findings. Or a new business owner learning about how to do business around the world through an online course that is translated. Translation opens up a lot of options and helps both the economy and people’s minds grow.

Bridging Cultural Divides

Language isn’t just words; it shows what a culture is really like. We can share stories, movies, and books by translating them from English to Hindi. This helps people from different cultures understand and interact with each other. English writing is very rich, and people who know Hindi can enjoy the works of Shakespeare, Austen, and Dickens. On the other hand, English users can learn more about Indian culture by reading adapted classics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata or new works by Hindi writers. This exchange between cultures breaks down stereotypes and builds understanding, which makes it easier for people from different backgrounds to connect more deeply.

The Rise of Machine Translation

The era of machine translation (MT) began with the rise of computers. Tools are always getting better and can translate text and even sounds almost instantly. MT isn’t perfect, but it has come a long way in the last few years. MT is a great tool for simple conversation and getting the main idea of what someone is saying.

But it’s important to keep in mind that MT isn’t a solution for real people. Human translators are still needed because of the subtleties of language, the need for correct versions that sound normal, and the need to take into account national context.

The Human Touch: Accuracy and Nuance

Even though machine translation is very useful, it has trouble with complicated languages. On the other hand, human interpreters know how to handle the nuances of language, cultural references, and idioms. They know what the words are supposed to mean and make sure that the translated text gets the same message across clearly and effectively.

A machine might translate a simple line like “good morning” word-for-word, but it wouldn’t capture the spirit of the welcome in Hindi. A person speaker would pick the right welcome based on the time of day and the social setting, making sure that the tone is natural and polite.

THE FUTURE OF ENGLISH TO HINDI TRANSLATION

Translation from English to Hindi has a bright future ahead of it. As the digital world grows and more people want information, there will be a greater need for versions that are correct and take into account different cultures. Machine translation will probably get better as AI and natural language processing get better. This will allow for more complex and context-aware readings. But the human touch will still be needed to make sure clarity and get to the heart of conversation.

In conclusion

In this modern age, English to Hindi Translation is very important. It helps people who don’t speak the same language get knowledge, share their cultures, and understand each other better. We can make the world more linked so that everyone, no matter what language they speak, can get the information and experiences they want by using both machine translation and the skills of human speakers.

Source: https://translationwala.wordpress.com/2024/04/02/english-to-hindi-translation-in-the-digital-age-connecting-people-and-ideas/

[accounting-training]

Essential Accounting Skills Employers Look for on a Resume

Counting accounting and keeping track of it is really important in the business world. If you want to get a good job doing this, your resume should talk about some essential skills. These skills show you're not just good at math but can also understand things well and talk to others easily. Let’s read some of the essential accounting skills employers are looking for while reading a resume.

Knowing Computer Things

Recruiters like it when you know how to use computer programs, like Excel or QuickBooks. Being able to handle accounting documents is a big plus.

Thinking and Understanding

Counting accounting is about more than just writing down numbers. Recruiters like it when you can look at accounting info and determine what it means. Understanding complex things is good.

Being Very Careful

Recruiters want to know you will make the right decisions with money. Being careful and making sure accounting records are correct is super important. Checking accounting or doing checks helps a lot.

Talking Clearly

You can be better with numbers; you must also explain things. Recruiters like it when you can talk about accounting details clearly. Whether it's in writing or speaking, being precise is essential.

Doing the Right Thing

People need to trust you with accounting. Recruiters look for someone who knows what's right and wrong. Making accounting and keeping it a secret is a big part of the job.

Always Learning

Accounting is constantly changing. Recruiters like it when you can learn new things. Having certifications like CPA or CMA shows you're serious about learning more.

Managing Time Well

Finishing accounting work on time is essential. Recruiters want someone who can do things on time and handle many jobs together. Being good with time is a great skill to show off.

Working Well with Others

Counting is not a one-person job. Recruiters like it when you can work with others, especially people from different parts of the company. Being friendly and explaining about accounting to others is helpful.

So, a good resume talks about these critical accounting skills. It's not just about being good at math but also about understanding things, explaining them well, and working with others. Showing you have technical and people skills will make your resume stand out, and tell Recruiters you can help the business do well.

SpotGiraffe is designed for people in finance and accounting, making it an outstanding tool for those seeking jobs and employers looking for strategic hires. Whether you're exploring a new career path or searching for key team members, SpotGiraffe is a standout choice with its specially crafted platform.

What sets SpotGiraffe apart from typical job search websites is its comprehensive approach. It goes beyond simply displaying job ads – our career platform elevates your career journey. Navigating through job openings and essential information is a walk in the park, thanks to our user-friendly interface. This unique method significantly increases your chances of uncovering exciting opportunities in the fast-paced realm of finance and accounting.

[mamun258]

Summarize! Top UX/UI Design Trends for 2024

New or popular design trends may appear every year. So when the time enters 2024, what popular design trends are worthy of our HE Tuber attention? In this article, the author summarizes 6 popular design trends. Let’s take a look, maybe it can bring you some inspiration.

The first article at the beginning of the year, let’s talk about design trends.

There are new trends in the design world every year. These trends are not only beautiful, but also very vital and will be imitated by other designers. Whether you like it or not, there are some design trends that are both smart and practical. These trends can help you fit more information into limited space and make users feel more engaged.

Let us take a look at the hot design trends in 2024.

1. Bento Boxes design trends

In Japan, exquisite and practical bento boxes are an important part of dining culture. With clever compartments and exquisite packaging, they present delicious food in an orderly manner, allowing you to enjoy both visual and taste enjoyment.

Who invented the bento box for digital content, we may never know, but it's just as wonderful whether on a screen or with food in a bag.

"Bento Boxes" design is the latest trend popular on platforms such as Dribbble and Behance. It pushes "modular" design to new heights and attracts the pursuit of countless designers. In fact, "modular" design was first born in website dashboards, such as PayPal's sales and financial dashboards, Google Ads' analysis dashboards, and so on.

Remember Windows Phone and Lumia phones? The interface they used was actually an early attempt at lunchbox design. Later, Microsoft also applied this concept in the Windows 8 desktop Start menu.

Windows 8 start menu

Although the bento design was used throughout the industry, it was Apple’s involvement that really made it popular. Apple first applied it to the iPhone product introduction page, and then quickly expanded it to PPT and displays at Apple conferences.

(Caiyun’s note: Behind this trend, I think the user’s attention is further declining, and the focused design of content caters to this trend. On the other hand, good design always comes from life.)

Apple promotional poster

Bento has taken the design world by storm and is another design wave led by Apple. Not only professional designers, but also all walks of life favor Bento and apply it to many fields such as PPT, websites, and product releases.

The old bento design was like a unified puzzle, while the new bento design emphasizes the independent status of each grid, making each part no longer just a background board, but a stage with its own personality and function.

Unlike many other UI design trends, Bento is not just a beautiful layout style, but is constantly evolving to incorporate product demos, other unique layouts, and even new visual design concepts.

Like this:

Example of bento layout interaction

The above example comes from Diagram (https://diagram.com), which cleverly uses a bento grid to show the actual application scenarios of the tool and immerse users through an interactive experience. This design makes the tool more attractive and gives users clear expectations about its functionality.

Here I would like to share with you a treasure website, a website dedicated to collecting bento design trends! bento grids (https://bentogrids.com) is a treasure chest of inspiration for designers. It is full of all kinds of Bento grid cases. I simply can’t get enough! Both UI and graphic design can be used. The website creator is like a god. You must give it a thumbs up!

2. Spatial Design Trends

On June 5, 2023, technology and design enthusiasts around the world woke up and found that their entire information flow was flooded with Apple’s latest Vision Pro.

Image source — Apple.com

Apple Vision Pro detonated the technology circle in the summer of 2023. Space design has become a hot topic, and every designer is scrambling to learn space design skills . This craze has also spread to the AR/VR field, which has been dormant for a long time. Many AR/VR startups have emerged, and their technologies have received unprecedented attention, injecting strong impetus into the development of AR/VR.

Designers are the trendsetters in technological trends! From smart watches to foldable phones, they can always come up with new tricks to make technology products more amazing. Of course, our designers will not miss this new battlefield of space design, and we are ready to show off our talents!

(Caiyun's note: I have now joined this field and am continuing to learn. Last year, I wrote more than 10 design articles related to optical XR)

vision os UI screenshot

Space design is becoming easy with the launch of a popular designer tool called "Bezi". Bezi is similar to design tools like Figma and Spline, but adds 3D tools. Designers can use it to get involved in the field of spatial design, connect to full-featured AR/VR headsets, and create interactive spatial experiences.

Want to create a stunning AR/VR experience? UX designers have a big job on their shoulders! In addition to beautiful design, you also need to have a deep understanding of technology, put on a VR headset and enter the real scene to personally feel and test every detail.

This is a learning path full of challenges and surprises that will subvert your previous understanding of UX and gain unprecedented experience. Seize the moment, hone your UX skills, and welcome the arrival of the AR/VR era!

In addition to Apple's strong technical capabilities and financial investment, some companies not known for technology have also brought refreshing attempts in the glasses wearing experience.

Also targeting the smart glasses market, Ray-Ban's Meta Wayfarer seems to have learned from Google's lessons, avoiding the hurdles of mass production, adopting a more cautious strategy, and taking the first step into the smart wearable market.

Image source — RayBan

Don’t be fooled by the classic Ray-Ban appearance, the smart features hidden in the stylish frames allow you to easily store videos/images and live broadcast them directly on social media, bringing a new upgrade to the user experience. This may become the technology trend in 2025, let’s wait and see!

3. Everything can move

When a new skill becomes more accessible, it often spawns a new trend.

Part of our mission at LottieFiles is to make animation simple and easy to use. When I joined the company as an animation facilitator, I was already in awe of the animations they could easily add to any UI and any tool. Seeing such strong demand, they even launched a plug-in for Figma that can convert Figma animations into exportable Lottie JSON files.

LottieFiles plugin for Figma

No more struggling to learn After Effects! Lottie animation greatly lowers the threshold for animation creation. Any designer can easily get started and add smart animation effects at any time.

Nowadays, the login pages of major companies have become pleasing to the eye and full of interactivity, which is inseparable from people's pursuit of personalized experience.

Here is an example page:

Apple Watch Series 9 landing page—double-click scrolling effect

With the introduction of scroll animation, users will be fully focused on what you are presenting to them. No-code tools such as Webflow and Framer continue to innovate, allowing designers to achieve such animation functions without writing lengthy lines of code.

Animation seems to have reached its peak, and there are no more surprises? Fortunately, the technological world has never stopped exploring, and powerful tools are emerging one after another, making all imaginations a reality.

One such exciting trend is “animated buttons”. This new UI style integrates animation technology into buttons to give them more vitality. Buttons come in a variety of variations, from simple stroke animations to glowing stars inside on mouseover.

Image source learnframer

Like the first domino toppled, one designer's popular social media post can instantly trigger a chain reaction of other well-known designers joining in, sending the trend sweeping across the design world in a matter of seconds.