#shares

[villa-kulla]

So in the end, Breaking Bad was about loving life at the expense of the people around you, and Better Call Saul is about loving the people around you at the expense of your life. 

god.

[itsuswatchingtheworld]

[yukisenshiwolf]

Did I quick sketch/ anatomy poses to try and get dad bods down since this character has one!

[mote-historie]

The Planet got Destroyed by Tom Toro.

"Yes, the planet got destroyed, but for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders."

Description: A man and 3 children sit around a fire in a scorched wasteland.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

(CNN) — Jack Latham was on a mission to photograph farms in Vietnam — not the country’s sprawling plantations or rice terraces but its “click farms.”

Last year, the British photographer spent a month in the capital Hanoi documenting some of the shadowy enterprises that help clients artificially boost online traffic and social media engagement in the hope of manipulating algorithms and user perceptions.

The resulting images, which feature in his new book “Beggar’s Honey,” provide rare insight into the workshops that hire low-paid workers to cultivate likes, comments and shares for businesses and individuals globally.

“When most people are on social media, they want nothing but attention — they’re begging for it,” Latham said in a phone interview, explaining his book’s title.

“With social media, our attention is a product for advertisers and marketers.”

In the 2000s, the growing popularity of social media sites — including Facebook and Twitter, now called X — created a new market for well-curated digital profiles, with companies and brands vying to maximize visibility and influence.

Though it is unclear when click farms began proliferating, tech experts warned about “virtual gang masters” operating them from low-income countries as early as 2007.

In the following decades, click farms exploded in number — particularly in Asia, where they can be found across India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, and beyond.

Regulations have often failed to keep pace: While some countries, like China, have attempted to crack down on operations (the China Advertising Association banned the use of click farms for commercial gain in 2020), they continue to flourish around the continent, especially in places where low labor and electricity costs make it affordable to power hundreds of devices simultaneously.

‘Like Silicon Valley startups’

Latham’s project took him to five click farms in Vietnam.

(The click farmers he hoped to photograph in Hong Kong “got cold feet,” he said, and pandemic-related travel restrictions dashed his plans to document the practice in mainland China).

On the outskirts of Hanoi, Latham visited workshops operating from residential properties and hotels.

Some had a traditional setup with hundreds of manually operated phones, while others used a newer, compact method called “box farming” — a phrase used by the click farmers Latham visited — where several phones, without screens and batteries, are wired together and linked to a computer interface.

Latham said one of the click farms he visited was a family-run business, though the others appeared more like a tech companies.

Most workers were in their 20s and 30s, he added.

“They all looked like Silicon Valley startups,” he said. “There was a tremendous amount of hardware … whole walls of phones.”

Some of Latham’s photos depict — albeit anonymously — workers tasked with harvesting clicks.

In one image, a man is seen stationed amid a sea of gadgets in what appears to be a lonely and monotonous task.

“It only takes one person to control large amounts of phones,” Latham said. “One person can very quickly (do the work of) 10,000. It’s both solitary and crowded.”

At the farms Lathan visited, individuals were usually in charge of a particular social media platforms.

For instance, one “farmer” would be responsible for mass posting and commenting on Facebook accounts, or setting up YouTube platforms where they post and watch videos on loop.

The photographer added that TikTok is now the most popular platform at the click farms he visited.

The click farmers Latham spoke to mostly advertised their services online for less than one cent per click, view or interaction.

And despite the fraudulent nature of their tasks, they seemed to treat it like just another job, the photographer said.

‘There was an understanding they were just providing a service,” he added. “There wasn’t a shadiness. What they’re offering is shortcuts.”

Deceptive perception

Across its 134 pages, “Beggar’s Honey” includes a collection of abstract photographs — some seductive, others contemplative — depicting videos that appeared on Latham’s TikTok feed.

He included them in the book to represent the kind of content he saw being boosted by click farms.

But many of his photos focus on the hardware used to manipulate social media —webs of wires, phones and computers.

“A lot of my work is about conspiracies,” Latham said. ” Trying to ‘document the machines used to spread disinformation’ is the tagline of the project. The bigger picture is often the thing we don’t see.”

Click farms around the world are also used to amplify political messages and spread disinformation during elections.

In 2016, Cambodia’s then-prime minister Hun Sen was accused of buying Facebook friends and likes, which according to the BBC he denied, while shadowy operations in North Macedonia were found to have spread pro-Donald Trump posts and articles during that year’s US presidential election.

While researching, Latham said he found that algorithms — a topic of his previous book, “Latent Bloom” — often recommended videos that he said got increasingly “extreme” with each click.

“If you only digest a diet of that, it’s a matter of time you become diabetically conspiratorial,” he said.

“The spreading of disinformation is the worst thing. It happens in your pocket, not newspapers, and it’s terrifying that it’s tailored to your kind of neurosis.”

Hoping to raise awareness of the phenomenon and its dangers, Latham is planning to exhibit his own home version of a click farm — a small box with several phones attached to a computer interface — at the 2024 Images Vevey Festival in Switzerland.

He bought the gadget in Vietnam for the equivalent of about $1,000 and has occasionally experimented with it on his social media accounts.

On Instagram, Latham’s photos usually attract anywhere from a few dozen to couple hundred likes.

But when he deployed his personal click farm to announce his latest book, the post generated more than 6,600 likes.

The photographer wants people to realize that there’s more to what they see on social media — and that metrics aren’t a measurement of authenticity.

“When people are better equipped with knowledge of how things work, they can make more informed decisions,” he said.

“Beggar’s Honey,” co-published by Here Press and Images Vevey, is available now.

[synsick]

It's so sad that I post original photography and can't get a fuckin' like or reblog but I post someone else's work or some damn memes and MFers go wild with it. This happens on every damn platform I'm on. Wtf?!

[mansorus]

[offshoredreams]

Trying to make art fun for myself again:

This is how this ocean themed digital design I drew turned out on a mug. (I apologize that I can only seem to find the brighter, edited version of the design)

If you like this mug version and would like to purchase it, here's a direct link:

And here's the brighter edited version for anyone who likes more vibrant colours.

Being able to see what my designs look like on products is so much fun.🥰

If teenaged me could see me now; I feel like she'd be so happy and excited to know that I've made it to this stage and that I didn't end up giving up art for good. 💖

I really love drawing/creating nature scenes, but my all time favorite thing to do is put mushrooms in bizarre places in my artwork; like in an ocean setting for starters. 😆🌊🍄🍄🍄

That's all I've got for now.

Before I turn in for the night; I want to say that I really appreciate every one who gives my shop a look, reblogs, shares and any purchases-big and small- it's all so appreciated and it all helps so much!🥰🌻💛🌻💛🌻💛🌻

Take care and stay golden.💛

[buntsuki]

Update!!

Groot is doing wonderful! I am in an extremely tough spot though. We’re going to have to adjust his chemo medication because we can’t afford the ecg he needs for them to feel safe giving him the rest of his doses.

We’re honestly okay switching to the other medication as it’s supposed to be less stressful on his heart. While still being a strong treatment option. The quote for that is $3k for the rest of those doses, with 4 other doses of different types with it. We’re estimating about $5k total. Which we just don’t have at this point. We have been denied for personal loans, CareCredit Card, Scratch Pay, Wells Fargo. My fiancée was approved for a $300 loan at 26.90% interest from Sunbit, which obviously isn’t worth it. We’ve reached out to every foundation we’ve seen, I’ve sent in to weratedogs, Paws4, BowWow and a few other ones I can’t remember the names of at the moment. We’ve all joined numerous Facebook groups to share. We’ve even gotten to a point where last week we asked long time neighbor/family friends (who are very well off) for the possibility of a loan with a notary and payment plan, they read the message and ignored us…we’ve never asked them for money (until last week for a loan).

So that’s it we’ve really exhausted what we can at this point. I’ve sold a few things but of course it’s not enough, the commissions have been super helpful though! Thank you so much! As well as thank you to everyone for sharing!! Shares help..I feel like we just need to get it into the right hands. Of course I’m still going to be doing commissions and selling what I can as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SO FOR ME:

I’ve had a super busy week, I apologize if I haven’t gotten back to anyone with comm updates yet! I’ve had an appointment almost everyday this week for my own medical issues. Then Groots chemo, and I was meant to have an important doctor appointment tomorrow, but it was rescheduled. There was a mass shooting about 45 minutes away from me, the suspect is still on the loose so businesses are locking doors, and rescheduling appointments. -My absolute condolences to the victims and I truly hope he’s found soon.

I had electro current therapy AlphaStim on Monday and it ACTUALLY HELPED MY CHRONIC PAIN! Like surreal, I can do a couple in office visits that my insurance will cover. There’s an at home one Quell that I think would be life changing for me, but it’s $150 up front for the band and 2 replacement packs. Then it’s $25-50 a month per replacement pack. Which i obviously can’t afford while emptying everything to my name out on chemotherapy. (I would rather be in pain than let Groot down).

I appreciate the kindness and support/understanding right now! It’s a really tough time, especially after the hospital blow, and now hearing about the medication stuff. Gofundme in bio and on my profile as always, no pressure to anyone! Times are hard all around and I don’t want anyone exerting themselves for me.

Thanks for reading! I’ll get back to everyone asap! I have tomorrow free now to hopefully get caught up.

[millionmovieproject]

Creators need follows. Creators need shares. If you like someone's work, help others enjoy it, too. Enjoy some of my pieces here.

[villa-kulla]

Some sad news. I just wanted to share that sadly my dear sweet cat Leo passed away the other month. It's been very difficult without him. I know I've been taking a break from tumblr for the past while, but since some of you guys were always fond of him on here, I thought I should let you know too. I always appreciated all your nice words about him, and was only too happy to show him off. As beautiful as he was, he was even more sweet. He was the cuddliest, funniest, most good-natured, charming, lovely little lion you could imagine, and he had all my love. I miss my little friend so much and am trying to remind myself that no cat could have been more loved. My beautiful former street cat with a wonky ear came so far and finished his life with a family that just adored him. I hope we gave him as much comfort as he gave us. Miss you, my sweetheart, and love you always🧡

[rethdis-love]

Down, down by the river...

[bernardlepson]

US stock trading sharing

As long as you have any investment questions, you can ask me and I can help you solve any investment problems. My confidence comes from the recognition of my abilities

[abhiloans]

How a Loan Against Shares Helped in Financial Planning

A Loan Against Shares (LAS) can be a valuable tool in financial planning. It allows you to access funds without selling your shares, which is useful if you believe the share price will increase in the future. LAS often comes with lower interest rates compared to personal loans or credit cards since the shares act as collateral, reducing the risk for the lender. Additionally, the interest paid on LAS is often tax-deductible, making it a tax-efficient way to access funds.

By using LAS, you can maintain your investment position in the stock market while meeting your financial needs, which can be particularly beneficial during market upswings. LAS typically offers flexible repayment options, allowing you to tailor the loan to your financial situation and cash flow. Overall, a Loan Against Shares can be a strategic tool in financial planning, providing liquidity, tax benefits, and flexibility while allowing you to maintain your investment positions.

[tenth-sentence]

Queen Catherine of Braganza bought shares in her husband Charles II's company, the Royal Adventurers Trading into Africa, founded in 1660 to kidnap and ship enslaved people from the continent.

"Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History" - Philippa Gregory

[druidicentropy]

'Ain Samiya goblet

In a tomb at Ain Samiya, close to present day Ramallah, Palestine, a silver cup from the Middle Bronze Age I (2300-2000 BC) was discovered. It is known as the "Ain Samiya Goblet." It shows a double-headed god planting crops with an animal body and holding parts of a dead serpent with two male figures. The scenes are said to show a draft of the Enuma Elish, the babylonian creation epic, and the victory of Marduk, the patron god of Babylon, over Tiamat. The goblet bears similarities to modern representations of the Babylonian captivity, such as the Khafaje plaque, and exhibits evident Mesopotamian influences on Proto-Canaanite culture.