#Reasons That Mobile Apps Are Better Than Mobile Websites

[empty-movement]

Welcome to Something Eternal: A Website Forum in 2023 wtf lmao

It's 2023, and a single belligerent rich guy destroyed one of the primary focal points of uh...global communication. Tumblr is, shockingly, kinda thriving despite the abuse it gets from its owners, but that I will call the iconic refusal of Tumblr users to let Tumblr get in the way of their using Tumblr. Reddit killed its API, removing the functionality of mobile apps that made it remotely readable (rip rif.) Discord, our current primary hangout, has made countless strange choices lately that indicate it has reached the summit of its usability and functionality, and can only decline from here as changes get made to prepare for shareholders. (NOTE: WROTE THIS POST BEFORE THEIR MOBILE "REDESIGN" LMAO)

The enshittification is intense, and it's coming from every direction. Social media platforms that felt like permanent institutions are instead slowly going to let fall fallow incredible amounts of history, works of art, thought, and fandoms. It kinda sucks!

A couple years ago, I posted about a new plan with a new domain, to focus on the archiving of media content, as I saw that to be the fatal weakness of the current ways the internet and fandoms work. Much has happened since to convince me to alter the direction of those efforts, though not abandon them entirely.

Long story short? We are launching a fucking website forum. In 2023.

If you remember In the Rose Garden, much about Something Eternal will be familiar. But this has been a year in the making, and in many ways it's far more ambitious than IRG was. We have put money on this. The forum is running on the same software major IT and technology businesses use, because I don't want the software to age out of usability within five years. It has an attached gallery system for me to post content to, including the Chiho Saito art collection. It has a profile post system that everyone already on the forum has decided is kinda like mini Twitter? But it is, fundamentally, a website forum, owned and run and moderated by us. We are not web devs. But we have run a website on pure spite and headbutting code for over twenty years, and we have over a decade of experience maintaining social spaces online, both on the OG forum, and on our Discord. Better skilled people with far more time than we have can and will build incredible alternatives to what is collapsing around us. But they're not in the room right now. We are. And you know what? Maybe it's time to return to a clunkier, slower moving, more conversation focused platform.

You're not joining a social media platform with the full polish of dozens of devs and automated moderation. Things might break, and I might need time to fix them. The emojis and such are still a work in progress. Because e-mails no longer route in reasonable normal ways, the sign-up process instead happens within the software, and has to be approved by mods. Design and structure elements may change. Etc. The point being, that the forum isn't finished, but it is at a place where I feel like I can present it to people, and it's people I need to help direct what functions and things will be in this space. You all will shape its norms, its traditions, its options...choices I could try to make now, but really...they're for us to create as a group! But the important stuff? That's there. Now let's drive this baby off the damn lot already!

Come! Join us!!

PS. As always, TERFs and Nazis need not apply.

#revolutionary girl utena #shoujo kakumei utena #rgu #sku #empty movement #utena meta #fandom stuff #fandoms #expect a somewhat spicy atmosphere #empty movement has always had deep something awful roots #and i expect the migration back to a forum will bring with it some of that more spicy attitude #also lol henry kissinger is dead god that rules

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

you don't need an AO3 app - round 2!!!

"AO3 is ugly and I hate the formatting!" -> you can download site skins. very gorgeous ones. and you can use them to change the aesthetics and visuals of AO3. just search 'AO3 skin' on Tumblr or even on google and you will be in A Whole New World. (and those searches should yeild tutorials on how to install the skins as well - it's not something I know a lot about, because I used to primarily use Quizilla and FFN, so I am more than used to Ugly Website. AO3 is very aesthetic and pretty compared to those.)

"AO3 is too bright!!! it hurts my eyes!!!" -> there is a dark mode. scroll down to the bottom. there is a heading that says 'customize'. under this heading, hit the button that says 'reversi'. that is their version of dark mode. and again, you can look for site skins that you like that have a darker background.

"I want to be able to make reading lists!" -> you can make bookmark collections on AO3. In your bookmarks, there is a button that says 'add to collection' beside each work. have fun. go ham. (Also, you can make private bookmarks if you are reading something with more controversial content that you don't really want others to know about - and please know, that any bookmark comments you make on public bookmarks can be seen by the author.)

(this last one made me laugh - because it seems like people are just coming up with bullshit excuses to 'need' an AO3 app when there is literally nothing that an app can go that AO3 can't.)

"my memory is really bad because of reasons sooo I remember to use things better by having them on my homescreen like an app!!!" -> create an AO3 shortcut on your homescreen. most mobile browsers have the capability to put a shortcut to a specific link or a specific website on your homescreen so that you can go straight there - like you would with opening an app. and it can be labelled 'the AO3 app' while simply having the icon of that browser. you can even do this with a link to a specific fic that you are in the process of reading (even down to the specific chapter that you were on). there is literally 0 reasons to have or use an AO3 app.

and remember kids!!! any and all apps with AO3 in their title are not associated with the real archiveofourown in any way, shape, or form - they are unofficial, and technically, they are illegal. and using them is putting all fanficition writers at risk legally (even if there is no active lawsuits right now) - just don't fucking use them. it is a threat to the entire fanfiction hobby just because you want 'the app experience'.

the archive is a non-profit website with 0 ads for a reason, and those apps are scummy scammers who put ads on our stories to make fast easy money when none of the people who made those stories ever consented to it.

#god #seeing people on tiktok say that they use ao3 apps drives me wild #sundrop speaks #archive of our own #ao3 #fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #psa #daryl dixon x reader #ellie williams x reader #eddie munson x reader

[kaiasky]

Complete-ish Guide To Settings You Might Want to Change

These instructions will be for desktop, because the settings are easier to find there. You can do the same on mobile, but it might be in different places.

Dash settings

Your dashboard is broken down into several feeds, including "Following" and "For You".

"Following" is primarily the posts of people you follow, "For You" is algorithmic.

If you just joined, "For You" is default, if you're a longtime user it's "Following". You can change this in the settings on the right

A lot of longtime users will tell you that the Following feed is where we spend most of our time. But try out all the feeds, and see what you like most.

The settings that are settings:

To start, click the settings gear under the account icon (the abstract person head).

This should take you to the General tab. Key settings:

Community Labels: By default anything NSFW is silently hidden. You can change how each subtype is handled.

Hide Additional Mature Content: If you have an iPhone disable this or it'll hide every post from you on the off-chance it contains porn.

If you're under 18 as determined by the birthdate you entered on signup, you can't change these. (If you want them on, you'll have to make a new account and lie)

Under the "Dashboard" tab, you can enable timestamps, which is mostly just nice information to have. sometimes a post is from 2010 and you can be like wow.

The next four probably have the biggest impact on your tumblr experience, so I'm gonna do a breakdown.

Best Stuff First reorders your "Following" to have popular posts at the top. Disabling it makes your feed chronological. I like it off, but up to you.

Include Stuff In Your Orbit and Based On Your Likes put various content from "For You" into "Following". Personally, I disable them to keep "Following" purely posts by people I follow, and then switch between feeds to get what I want.

Followed Tag Posts will put content from the "Your Tags" feed into your "Following" feed. Since you can go to the separate tags feed, I usually turn this off (it tends to show me a lot of duplicate posts), but up to you.

Under the "Notifications" tab you can tell Tumblr to stop sending you emails.

I'd recommend disabling all the emails--if you get a bunch of replies, Tumblr will happily send you dozens of emails, and you don't need that.

Notifications is the push-notifications in-app/in-website. The mobile app, for some reason, has a much better interface for controlling these, including the option to only get activity-notifications for mutuals. You can leave these on, or turn them off if you find the flood of notifications is distracting.

Tumblr News is a newsletter, it usually just has content from @fandom and the other staff-run recap blogs.

Conversational notifications sends you more emails.

Under the "Tumblr Labs" tab you can enable a bunch of cool beta tests.

I particularly suggest Reblog Graphs, What you Missed tab, & Popular Reblogs tab, but they're all fun to try out. A lot of these are honestly better than the For You dashboard.

For each blog you have, you can customize it's Blog Settings. Beyond things like setting an avatar or description, there's a few settings that are fun.

Custom Theme gives you your own subdomain at [blogurl].tumblr.com.

This makes your blog easier to search, and a lot of 3rd party tools depend on you enabling it. It also makes it easier to link your posts to people who don't have tumblr accounts.

You can completely customize the CSS/HTML/Javascript. you can go legitimately crazy. It's not a requirement, but if you want unlimited flexibility, go wild.

On the contrary, if you wanna run a more private blog, you can disable this and then hide your blog from search results/non-registered users.

Likes and Following are public by default. I like to turn these off so I don't have to worry about like, "what will people think if they see i'm following [...] or liking [...]". But it's also fair to keep them public if you'd like.

The other Blog Settings are important but pretty self-explanatory I think.

Finally, there's some useful tools I like:

XKit Rewritten - A bunch of scripts (like RES for Reddit). The one I really like is "mutual checker", which shows at a glance which blogs you are in mutuals with. Which is such a good feature it's included in the mobile apps by default i think.

siikr.tumblr.com - Tumblr search is bad, and google's indexing of tumblr blogs is worse. Siikr will find any post you've made on your blog. Because disk space is limited, only use it to search your blog, and if you're tech savvy consider running a local copy from source.

#196 #r/196 #tumblr help

[freevoidman]

The Pros and Cons of Silent Hill: Ascension

Hey there! Are you planning on sitting through Silent Hill Ascension, either because you're excited, want to build up hype/support for further Silent Hill projects, or maybe you're curious about what new shit show Konami's cooked up? Well, I've sat through the first two days, and let this post be a quick run-through on the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly about Silent Hill: Ascension!

Pros:

There's honestly very little, but I'll run through them nonetheless.

Voice Acting is, right now, okay. Some actors are clearly better than others. I have to give special shout-outs to Rachel Hernandez and Xavier Candless. They're both doing really well with their characters so far and I'm excited to hear how they'll act in more emotive scenes. Of course, we're only two days in so we'll see how that changes.

Silent Hill Ascension features minigames which average around "okay." I'll talk about it more in the 'Bad' section, but the good ones are fun little brain teasers that I find satisfying enough to solve. This is not across the board, but it's enough of a positive that I felt it okay to list.

The site is functional enough that the catch-up videos seemed to work without any hiccups (edit: so long as there isn't a livestream occurring at the same time. If you want to play catch-up 30 minutes before the new stuff is released, odds are the livestream will cut in and mess up your video). Plus, the grace period for decision making is very generous so far, ranging from a full 24 hours to multiple days, so they do give you enough time if you can't watch live.

Credit where credit is due: the monster/creature designs are genuinely well-made. You can clearly see where the budget went, and it was towards making these things look cool and be animated well enough to translate that creepy factor. While nothing is abundantly original right now (we've yet to see the flaming box head guy) I won't short-change the monster designers and animators here, they put effort into this.

There was a bit of misinformation spread around that you'd have to pay to participate. Thankfully, that's not true, you can "play" Ascension without paying a cent and I, personally, wouldn't call this a "pay-to-win" type of game with its set-up. In other words: DO NOT PAY, it's absolutely not worth it here.

Bad:

Animation quality shifts from middling to horrible. The main criticism I have for this "experimental idea" is that everything Ascension tries, the 2000s nailed long before. If you've ever seen one of those 3D straight-to-TV movies that airs on cartoon networks during the holidays, congrats, their animation is likely better and has more charm than Ascension. Characters in Ascension move stiffly, either emote too much or not enough, and lip syncing seems off no matter which language you pick. Animation in SH1 is easily better than this, so don't expect a visual spectacle.

As an addendum to this: Ascension is dark--no, not the content, it is literally hard to see. Going into a Silent Hill-adjacent media, you expect visibility to be impacted by fog. Ascension, on the other hand, skips the fog entirely and just makes everything dark. It is incredibly difficult to see anything that's happening (this includes QTEs which, hoo boy! look at the next segment for that). I don't want to be cynical, but I truly do believe that part of the reason why is to cover up the stiff animation. Until Dawn and other Dark Anthology games had some moments of animation weirdness, but Silent Hill Ascension is easily worse than that on a pure technical level.

App and website responsivity is baaad. Minigames are designed for both platforms with zero differences, but this means some minigames are better on desktop than on mobile and vice versa. Two minigames stand out as particularly mixed/bad: a find-the-object game and a guitar minigame. The find-the-object game was better on desktop because your hovering cursor could find clickable areas more easily than on mobile. The guitar minigame was just bad--it wasn't a rhythm game, it was a game where you had to click finger positions for chords on the guitar strings and, my god, it played horribly no matter which platform I picked (though mobile was noticeably worse) and actually hurt my ears.

As an addendum to that, the live QTE events (yes that's a thing) ALSO suffer from this lack of responsivity, with more destructive results. Live participants were abruptly thrust into QTEs with no warning, no tutorials, and no preparation. There were 4 types of QTEs: a quick button press, a hold-release button, a rapid-tap, and a quick swipe. Of these, only the hold-release and rapid-tap worked regularly. The quick press barely responded, and the swipe indicator is practically hidden due to it being borderline invisible.* While you can try the minigames over and over as much as you want, the QTEs are limited to the live showings and cannot be "replayed." In addition, they have been heavily implied to be a major determining factor as to whether or not characters survive, so if every character's fate is based on successful QTEs, every character is going to die in this show, no matter what you do. This is why I said it's not pay-to-win, you can't pay your way through live QTEs, and this set-up feeds into the unsatisfactory system the entire "game" perpetuates. Even if YOU do well, decisions are based on the community, so if they fail, tough nugs.

The story isn't shaping up to be anything remarkable. There's no major hook in the opening scene and even less of a hook for the three scenes that followed. I'm not intrigued by the "horror" being shown, the way this is being shot and told is more confusing than anything else and, while there are some 'good' actors in this, a majority of them are bad and lack any hutzpah to sell the continued experience. I'm going to hold out for the end of the week, when the first "episode" is done airing, but if nothing hooks me I'm not going to continue.

Ugly:

The "Battlepass." Oh dear god the Battlepass. By paying $20, you can get more "influence points," which you can use to determine actions in this game. You also get exclusive little emote stickers for the live chat (oof) that are, at best, a cringey nightmare and, at worst, absolutely stupid and useless. You also get accessories for your avatar (did I mention there's an avatar? it's so pointless I don't even know WHERE to put that tidbit). Why is this even here? You already have freemium options where you can buy influence points, what does a battlepass add?

The "live chat" just shouldn't be there. I'm sorry, it shouldn't. You can already see the community casting votes and helping with QTEs, having a live chat that is barely moderated with hundreds of thousands of people signing on at 9 to watch the stupidity unfold is a bad idea. It also contributes to the stupidity of the Battlepass system--I don't want emotes, I don't want a 3D avatar that can appear in the show if I give enough points--so nix the whole thing. EDIT 11/1/2023: I kinda got my wish! After the amazing lack of moderation on launch, they've either temporarily OR permanently disabled the live chat! Unfortunately, the video's dimensions to compensate FOR live chat have not been altered, so there's a big gap of black negative space where it should be. People can only reply with the dumb stickers the devs have shoved into this, BUT if you have the battlepass, you can apparently type messages! Ironically, this retroactively gives the battle pass an actual fucking purpose since it gives you a privilege, and the stickers serve a purpose since they're the only way for non-battlepassers to communicate in live chat. Fucking brilliant, they've stumbled backwards into an unintentional solution. EDIT 11/4/2023: Genvid's CEO, Jacob Navok, has made various claims on twitter that of course they tested they tested their AI moderation for basic slurs, it's just that the system got overwhelmed by day 1 traffic. Well, I absolutely DON'T believe that (the testing, not the overwhelmed thing, connection and stability were terrible day 1) seeing as people are getting around not being able to TYPE swearing and horrific racial slurs into chat by simply making their usernames swears and slurs without any letter substitution (a la leetspeak). Here is a link to a video of someone who was streaming Ascension and had the chat open, only to see have someone with the user name "Fuck_[n-word]s" in chat (I'm not typing the actual slur fuck that). When he goes to try and flag the user, he is given no ability to report the username. So, yeah, even if you see some incredibly racist/bigoted shit, you can't flag the user and report them to, y'know, assist with the absolutely real robot-powered moderation that totally exists! If there was the most BASIC moderation in the world to catch english swears and slurs, that username would not have been permitted under any circumstances, so I fully do not believe this fucker.

The decisions themselves shouldn't have labels. What I mean by that is that, so far, every option has three possible options. These options are labelled under three categories: redemption, suffering, and damnation. In other words, the watcher can literally see the paths leading towards the "good, neutral, and bad" endings for Ascension. This shouldn't be a thing, period, because it immediately introduces biases into your choices. Every option so far has been massively skewed towards the "redemption" path because people aren't blind, they can see the "good" ending on the horizon, and they want to go for it. The worst part is, the options on their on aren't explicitly good or bad, so if they got rid of that labeling it'd still work. idk, it just feels stupid. (NOTE: day 2 introduced ONE choice that doesn't have this same labeling system. No clue if that's a bug or if there are going to be decisions that don't have a label. Even then, it seems like a small decision in the overall scheme of things, so... :shrug:)

Yes, the decisions are permanent, thus denying you the ability to see 2/3s of whatever Genvids has worked on. I just think that's dumb and, though many in the community have criticized this already, it feels even dumber when watching the show play out live. There's no way that the money Ascension could possibly make would subsidize the effort put into this if you're effectively nixing 2/3s of anything you can see (and it does seem like major alterations to the characters and their routes so far, nothing minor, so... yeah, you're missing out on a LOT). This also means that because of the audience effectively being enticed to pick the clearly labelled "good path," if you put any effort into a different choice, odds are you wasted your time with minigames for the day. This means Ascension is set up to be as unsatisfying as possible for individuals, and only satiates half of the community engaging with it. There is no way this is going to last the entire scheduled 6 months this is intended to run for if this is the system they're operating under.

In conclusion: give this one a pass. If you're really curious, you can watch now and get a good idea of its future quality. This isn't remarkable at all and looks more like a time sink than anything "fun."

I still don't understand why this isn't a video game, other than Konami hoping some suckers will pay for the influence packs and get them more money than a $60 one-time-purchase. Quantic Dreams and Supermassive "Dark Anthology" games are really fun and well-liked because of the CYA angle they take. This could've made a decent amount of money if it were just, y'know, a normal game.

*MINOR EDIT: tested the QTEs on desktop instead of mobile and they were better overall: prompts respond easily to mouse clicks and aren't nearly as invisible on my phone screen compared to my desktop. If you are REALLY interested in trying it live and getting a feel of the "authentic, live experience", I'd recommend accessing the site on desktop over downloading a mobile app.

EDIT 11/2/2023

Yeah I know I keep editing this honestly BUT I do have a big-ass critique I just noticed relating, again, to the minigames.

Here is a screenshot of the rewards you can receive for your performance with the minigames. You are rated on a scale of 1-3 stars, with a failure being 0 stars. In return for your performance, you gain "Interactive Points" and EXP. Tell me, after looking at this screenshot, what the problem with these rewards might be:

Do you see it? Well, if you don't, let me point it out to you.

THE AMOUNT OF INTERACTIVE POINTS YOU RECEIVE, THE CURRENCY YOU USE TO ACTUALLY MAKE DECISIONS AND PROPERLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE STORY, GOES DOWN IF YOU DO WELL AT THE MINIGAMES. THE GAME ACTIVELY PUNISHES YOU FOR PLAYING WELL.***

100 interactive points, by the way, is not enough to vote on a decision! You need 200 minimum. You also cannot repeatedly play the minigames to farm IP or EXP so, once you get two stars, you can't get the rewards for three or vice versa. And remember, if you're not a battlepasser, you only get two of these minigames per day.

Why on earth is it scaled this way? The difference between two stars and three stars is the exact same, why does it not increase when you do the minigames well? 100 for one star, 200 for two, 300 for three, it's so god damn easy AND you can still keep the scummy interactive point packages they sell!

But, I here you asking, what does the EXP do? Well, ignoring that a 10 EXP difference is exceeding minimal, EXP gives you... nothing!

Yeah, not even kidding with this one. There does seem to be a leveling system attached to your profile, but I cannot see a single thing connecting it to rewards (which are across the board useless), giving you a power boost with your voting, or just giving you perks. As far as I'm aware, EXP doesn't grant you a god damn thing, and that's the only increased reward from doing well.

***CORRECTION (because nothing in my life can ever be simple): the minigames DO reward you better than the screenshot above. Just did today's minigames and I got 330 IP from a 2 star ranking. However, if that's the case, I GENUINELY do not understand why this is labelled incorrectly? This doesn't even add up correctly (the 1 star + 2 star ranking should equal 300, NOT 330).

So, at best, the site is poor at labelling things (which wouldn't surprise me, the UI is a mess most days on this) OR my view of the site/rewards are bugged! Who fuckin' knows at this point. Sorry for the long rant y'all but honestly? Considering I only noticed the labelling earlier today and couldn't test this until the reset happened, I could only go off the labelled point system above.

I WILL say that tonight was the first night the community succeeded at the endurance scenes! I'd be happier about that if the game itself gave a shit, because apparently, what we do does not matter (as this game seems rapt with telling us)

Yes folks, despite the community succeeding two (2!) of these long ass, repetitive QTE events, for some fucking reason, Karl's hope went down further! This is, again, despite the fact that the community AT LARGE succeeded for the first time since the premiere date, but we still lost! Fucking how.

#silent hill #silent hill ascension #went in with low expectations #ended up tripping over the bar on the floor #edited as of 11/2/2023 to include more stuff #because man they are continuing to absolutely fail at this

[rideboomindia]

https://breakingsnews.co/why-rideboom-drivers-got-the-lowest-ride-cancelations-compared-to-others/

The top reasons behind the lowest ride cancelations by the RideBoom drivers.

Chandigarh, India, 26th January 2023, ZEXPRWIRE, RideBoom is a unique on-demand rideshare app that includes taxis, bikes, and parcel delivery. RideBoom is available in more than five major Indian cities at this stage with bike and taxi rides.

A recent study shows that RideBoom drivers got the lowest ride cancelations and they do cancel only if there is an emergency like if they are stuck in traffic or a car broke down.

Instead, the RideBoom drivers always make a call to the passengers not to cancel the ride.

The top reason why RideBoom got the lowest number of ride cancelations

Extra Earning

As per RideBoom drivers are earning more while driving with RideBoom, RideBoom charges a very small amount fee toward each ride.

Lifelong incentives

The driver can earn without driving with a lifelong incentive plan so if the driver is sick or unwell and unable to work he or she still can make some money.

Low overhead expenses

With RideBoom drivers are saving more money they don’t have to drive empty miles they can get more work around their working area from their attached clients.

Driver support

RideBoom provides better support and advice to the drivers like how to keep their cars clean, how to help with passengers’ luggage, and how to earn more by attaching more customers with their driver code.

RideBoom is focusing on better service by proving better training to its drivers and offering more benefits to the users.

RideBoom Technologies got many safety features in their RideBoom App compared to any other ride-share app in the globe like sharing trip info with loved ones, gender booking options, and preferred driver options.

RideBoom Technologies just add another safety feature in their app a red light icon button on the rider map. This could help and improve the rider’s chances of getting help when you need it while in a car.

Convenience is the number one benefit of ridesharing services. You can always find a driver that can help you get home or anywhere you want to go. There is no need to pre-order or pre-scheduling. When you need a ride, simply open the app on your mobile device and select your location, and you will how far the nearest driver is. Once you order a ride, you can track your driver’s movement and be ready when he/she arrives at your location to pick you up. It’s as simple as that. Get a ride anywhere time.

Download the free RideBoom app available in the play store and app store.

Let’s RideBoom India.

Media Contact

Company Name:-RideBoom

Email:[email protected]

Company Website:-https://rideboom.com/india/

#rideboom #taxiapp #taxirideboom #rideboom driver #delhi rideboom #kolkata rideboom

[polkadotsunshine]

how i pirate music

i'm seeing old posts hating on spotify circulating again, so i'll describe how i listen to music without paying for streaming

discovery through cracked spotify

i discover a lot of music through cracked versions of spotify. i'm in a number of circles that do music shares and i stream recommendations a few times before i decide to download anything

windows

i use the spot x modified client on my desktop: https://github.com/amd64fox/SpotX/. be sure to cancel your spotify subscription and remove your payment information before logging into any cracked version of spotify

android

these websites come and go, but you should be able to look up "spotify apk" and find a one button installation. you can get an up-to-date safe link by visiting the database in this reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/ApksApps/comments/pcy1io/apksapps_official_megathread_apksme/

mac

i don't want to put anything weird on my work computer, which uses mac os, but if i control the music through my phone, then select my mac as the audio output device via spotify, i can listen ad free. here's the feature if you've not used it before: https://support.spotify.com/us/article/spotify-connect/

downloading music

file share

i download almost everything with soulseek, a p2p file sharing program: http://www.soulseekqt.net/. first you'll make a directory of music that you already have (say, from bandcamp) and soulseek will broadcast that to the world. you can then search other people's files for music you want and download it there

torrenting

i use the torrent client deluge: https://deluge-torrent.org/ and get my links from https://www.1377x.to/. you should use a vpn when torrenting; i happen to use surfshark because it's cheap. it is not perfect and if you want to torrent stuff there's better guides out there explaining how to do it safely

paying, but sticking it to the man

i buy more music now than i ever did when paying for streaming. i personally just use bandcamp, but i know people who use/rip CDs and other physical media. it's nice to support small artists and to upload big artists onto soulseek so other people can find it

audio quality

downloaded music is likely going to be higher quality than streamed music. if you don't know anything about audio quality i'd recommend downloading 320kps mp3 files. you can add a minbitrate filter at the bottom of your soulseek window. you've probably heard of FLAC before, but if you want to see how deep it goes, look up DSD or SACD

listening to downloaded music

windows

i use foobar2000: https://www.foobar2000.org/. it's designed to be modular and customizable, so it takes a little fiddling to get running. to start using it, i recommend: making a playlist and adding a file location of all your music (which should be your soulseek up and down directories). you can later make playlists of specific albums and tracks. then, look online for components like a theme or last.fm scrobbles if you want that kind of thing. last.fm scrobbles can be a great way to discover new music

android

foobar2000 recently released a mobile version but i haven't tried that yet. i use vinyl music player for no reason in particular: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.poupa.vinylmusicplayer

final notes

this isn't about doing music better; i just happen to like doing things this way. i still hang out and listen to my friends' cytube on loop. i blast nightcore on youtube. the goal is to listen to music and have a good time so do whatever is best for you

#music

[lsdoiphin]

Do you have a place/way to read all the lore posts you've created?

FOR MY GENERAL WORK: I have my pieces/posts tagged by setting, but I don't have any kind of well-kept system beyond that. My tags page can tell you my setting tags (if you're on tumblr mobile you'll have to view this in browser because for some reason this godforsaken website's app doesn't support this major site feature in-app). (Some older projects may contain dated info further back in the tags though since I seldom go back and remove defunct information...)

I've been toying on and off with a neocities to better present some basic information (as well as getting my character profiles updated and off toyhouse) but that has been more of a "in my spare time" effort than an active labor.

If anyone wants a briefing of a specific setting my ask box is open.

FOR FOREVER GOLD STUFF SPECIFICALLY: @broncoburro and I have a tumblr blog at @forevergoldgame where we throw all our art and loreposts and where we will eventually give project updates when Act 1, Part 1 is closer to release. We also have a website that hosts an in-progress cast page and an FAQ and will eventually host the game itself.

(We planned to make a more ceremonious announcement for the devblog and website but we just hadn't gotten around to it yet... it exists though)

#answered ask

[an-aura-about-you]

I Was a Queer Salvation Army Bell Ringer

Part 1: Job Searching and the Application Process

I have decided to just bite the bullet and start writing about this to get it all off my chest. I had been doing some research, and there is still some research I intend to do, but it is beside the main point of this mostly anecdotal writing I intend to do. I also decided to make it basically a miniseries as opposed to one long post dumping about everything.

So here we go.

It was the end of October of this year, 2023, and I needed a new washing machine. Between that and the upcoming holiday season, I figured the time was right to get a seasonal job. Surely there would be plenty available, right?

Well, honestly, no. Even during this time of year, job searching was pretty miserable. Job searching has been pretty miserable in general, but even the added jobs to cover the busy Christmas season were pretty miserable. They have a reputation for being easy to get, but I didn't get any sort of word back from most of the seasonal positions I applied to. And that didn't even factor in my limited availability, which would have been the nail in the coffin for most retail positions since I wouldn't be able to help out on any infamous Black Friday sales.

But while hunting for a seasonal job, one listing caught my eye that seemed unusual: Bell Ringer for the Salvation Army.

Not unusual for the reason you might think, however. I had actually worked as a bell ringer for the Salvation Army before back in the autumn and winter of 2006. I was a college student and unaware at the time both of the Salvation Army's anti-queer reputation and my own place in the queer community. I was starting to get hints that I was queer in the classic bisexual-to-asexual pipeline, but I wouldn't learn the term asexual and realize it applied to me until 2010.

What I was surprised about is that I thought they were volunteer only for bell ringers NOW, because it had been some time since I had seen a listing. On top of that, the pay was. Ok, the pay wasn't good by my own personal metrics because almost none of the local job listings are paying well. But the listed pay was better than the state minimum wage. More on that later.

So I decided, "Fuck it. If they choose to hire me, I can't resist the irony of the Salvation Army willingly giving a queer person money."

I clicked the 1-tap apply button on my job search app.

This resulted in an email being sent to me asking me to apply online through the Salvation Army's website. Weird since that defeats the purpose and convenience of the 1-tap apply button, but whatever. I do the thing we all have to do nowadays where you create an account that you know you're never going to use again and apply for the job.

I get a call a couple of days later. It's the woman from the Salvation Army heading up the red kettle program. She asks me to come to the office and fill out a paper application. For some reason, sunk cost fallacy perhaps, I agree and continue with the Sisyphean effort of applying for this job.

When I actually go to the office, I find flyers for the bell ringing job. These advertise that no, they are only offering minimum wage pay for it instead of the range listed on the app. I wish I had taken a screenshot of it because I can't find it now, but my best guess on what happened is the job search app added an estimated range on the job, as it sometimes does, and I missed the part where it said, "estimated pay." My memory is not necessarily a thing to be trusted, but job listings aren't either, so at least we're a match on that.

I fill out the paper application, and I'm informed that orientation is next week. No job interview, no hemming or hawing, the simple act of applying has got me in. They're just looking for warm bodies that are mobile enough to ring a bell. This makes sense to some degree, and indeed it was part of the appeal of the job. I knew from past experience that it is a simple job that requires minimal to no training, theoretically the easiest money one can make without being born into it.

Just like that, I was once again a bell ringer for the Salvation Army.

[songsofwaterandnight]

I think that if you're getting a Chromecast with Google TV for Black Friday you should at least know that it's really just a massive advertising device that's not all it's hyped up to be. It disappoints in all the major advertised areas and the things it does well are gimmicks that you'll forget about after a month:

The aggregated home screen(which is its main pull factor that it focuses on in all its ads) doesn't work well at all. It's not as personalized as they made it out to be as it's mostly just ads for shows that they cycle out as they come. I don't watch horror movies at all but I get horror recommendations for some reason. The suggestions are terrible for the most part but you can find stuff if you know what you're looking for. Even then it still iffy because Google didn't have Chainsaw Man in its database (last time I checked) despite it being one of the most popular anime of this year.

Chromecast just doesn't work for certain websites. Chromecast users believe that Google is deliberately blocking free streaming sites. That's believable because Google has skin in the streaming game(they sell episodes and movies and they may be getting revenue from all the random recommendations they push). If you're buying this device to stream free streaming sites to it then you're better off just buying a very long HDMI cable (if you're on PC. Sorry mobile users you're just gonna have a bad time) .

The voice assistant is not as good as the one on Android phones. Despite the supposed interconnectedness of android devices that you can use with this device, there are certain things it just won't do for you. It can show you your tasks for the day but it won't let you set a new reminder(bear in mind that this device can play games and browse the web [allegedly] but setting a reminder is where it draws the line.) There are a few other little instances like this where it makes me wonder why they chose to limit it so much.

It's a cool smart tv streamer that you can get cool games and apps on with... 4Gbs of storage... As about half of that comes already used, after you add an average amount of streaming services, the space starts to fill up real quickly. You can add removable storage but the process is a little convoluted and you have to buy more things. I will admit that games run decently on it. It can emulate certain consoles really well if you want to go through the hassle of setting that up instead of just using your phone or computer.

I don't really like the remote but maybe that's subjective? It's slippery and I accidentally press it way more than my old one but that could be coincidental.

The most stand-out part about it is that it has Bluetooth so you can connect your earbuds to it to listen to stuff directly. However the Roku I had before that had private listening in its app that would let me use whatever audio device I had connected to my phone which meant I could use wired and wireless. Google could've done the same thing to provide that feature for people who use wired earbuds but from my experience using their product, I don't think they care about their users that much.

#chromecast with google tv #Google tv #black friday #long post #rambles of water and night

[splapp-me-do]

So, this is kind of personal, but have you ever thought of bringing back the original mobile version of the Impossible Quizzes rather than the AR version? I mean, the AR version is fun and all, but it’s not nearly as interesting as the original, and the mobile version of the second quiz isn’t even there anymore. The reason is because I like experiencing the mechanism of a touchscreen. I mean, I’ve played the HTML5/Poki version on mobile, but the problem is, Safari is a retarded website and always reloads every time I reach a certain question, reasons unknown. I’ve also tried other searching apps and they aren’t any better. I’m just wondering, would it be possible at this point?

Unfortunately, I'm not in control of the app versions of the game, so it's very unlikely. :( The Poki version is the best mobile option if you can get your browser to behave!

[pixiecatsupreme]

"what do these websites have against gifs" hi, person with web development as an interest and former career path here. it's file size, bandwidth, and also performance. – Tumblr can serve Animated GIFs of up to 3MB last I checked, meaning GIFsets can be up to thirty megabytes. There are entire YouTube videos smaller than some Tumblr posts. The reason I being this up is because before Tumblr introduced app-side features to reduce data usage and CDN-side file compression, Tumblr's app used to be an even bigger mobile data hog than it is now. In fact it was notorious for it, and that was when Animated GIFs were limited to 1MB. You could easily use a gigabyte of Tumblr in a single day 5-10 years ago.

I would have just linked a post where I explained (i.e. ranted about) this in more detail but Tumblr search doesn't work so here's a summary: GIF has incredibly limited compression and wasn't meant to be a video format in the first place. Hell, animation was an extension to the format. This is why using GIF as a video format results in astronomically huge files and slows many people's phones/browsers to a crawl compared to actual video compression/decompression. 99% of things people use GIF for on the modern web, especially on Twitter, Reddit or Imgur, are better served by modern video streaming formats.

Tumblr however is one of the last places online that actually does (somewhat) use the Animated GIF standard for its intended purpose. Converting GIF to an actual sensible format before serving it to users makes sense when developing applications for the modern web, but Tumblr isn't the modern web, and doing it this way, doing it that way here, is a complete misunderstanding of the community.

IMO it's still a problem that needs solving, since you can't have Tumblr running like shit when attempting to display its famous GIFsets on power constrained devices, but at the very least they should be using something with lossless compression. This is what aPNG and WebP have both attempted to solve, but a combined lack of authoring tools and social media support have made it impossible for people to replace GIF in their workflow. Server-side GIF-to-video conversion is ultimately a solution to a problem that should have been fixed already, and demonstrably, not even an adequate one.

Tbh this clears up a lot. I kinda like gifs specifically because they are easy to download and play/send on both pcs and mobile. I am honestly still surprised we never moved over to apng. I think tumblr actually supports it, but I feel no website ever really moved to that.

#cyn talks

[devidmiller001]

Digital Marketing Services – Elevating Your Online Presence

With the help of Digital Marketing Services, your business can reach its full potential by gaining visibility, attracting traffic, and converting leads into loyal customers.

Introduction:

In this digital era, businesses cannot afford to miss out on the opportunities that the online world provides. With billions of people using the internet daily, it is essential for businesses to have a strong online presence. That’s where digital marketing services come in. Digital marketing services encompass a range of strategies and techniques designed to enhance a company’s online visibility, reach, and impact. In this article, we will explore what digital marketing services are, how they work, and the benefits they offer.

What are Digital Marketing Services?

Digital marketing services refer to a set of online marketing strategies and techniques used to promote businesses, products, and services through digital channels. These channels include search engines, social media platforms, email, websites, and mobile apps.

Why are Digital Marketing Services Important for Businesses?

The importance of digital marketing services cannot be overstated in today’s highly competitive business landscape. Here are some reasons why businesses need digital marketing services:

Increased Visibility: Digital marketing services help businesses to become more visible online, making it easier for customers to find them.

Greater Reach: By targeting specific audiences, digital marketing services can help businesses to reach more people in a cost-effective manner.

Improved Engagement: Digital marketing services can help businesses to engage with their customers through various channels, including social media and email.

Better Conversion Rates: Digital marketing services can drive traffic to a website and increase the likelihood of converting visitors into paying customers.

Types of Digital Marketing Services:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is the practice of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Pay-per-Click (PPC) Advertising: PPC advertising involves paying for ads to appear on search engines, social media, and other websites.

Social Media Marketing (SMM): SMM involves using social media platforms to promote a business, product, or service.

Email Marketing: Email marketing involves sending promotional emails to customers and prospects to build relationships and drive sales.

Content Marketing: Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable content to attract and retain customers.

Video Marketing: Video marketing involves using videos to promote a business, product, or service.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): CRO involves optimizing a website or landing page to increase the likelihood of conversions.

Benefits of Digital Marketing Services:

Cost-Effective: Digital marketing services are often more cost-effective than traditional marketing methods.

Increased ROI: Digital marketing services can generate a higher return on investment (ROI) than other marketing methods.

Targeted Advertising: Digital marketing services allow businesses to target specific audiences, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Improved Customer Relationships: Digital marketing services can help businesses to build relationships with their customers through various channels.

FAQs:

Q. How long does it take to see results from digital marketing services?

A. The time it takes to see results from digital marketing services depends on various factors such as the type of service and the industry.

Q. Is it necessary to hire a digital marketing agency to handle my business's digital marketing needs?

A. While it is possible for businesses to handle their own digital marketing, hiring a digital marketing agency has its advantages. A digital marketing agency can provide expertise, experience, and resources that may be lacking in-house, resulting in more effective and efficient campaigns.

Q. How can I measure the success of my digital marketing campaigns?

A. The success of a digital marketing campaign can be measured using various metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, click-through rates, and social media engagement. By analyzing these metrics, businesses can determine what is working and what needs improvement.

Conclusion:

Digital marketing services have become a necessity for businesses looking to succeed in today's digital landscape. By utilizing various strategies and techniques, digital marketing services can help businesses to increase their online visibility, attract more traffic, and convert leads into loyal customers. From search engine optimization to social media marketing and email marketing, there are many types of digital marketing services that businesses can leverage to achieve their goals. By working with a digital marketing agency, businesses can access the expertise and resources needed to create effective and efficient campaigns that deliver results.

[cbrosa-archived]

How do you do it to fit on the Billy fandom? I'm asking because i can't and i've been nothing but chill and civil yet i don't feel noticed or liked. I'm just confused because i thought this was the only safest place in the whole ST fandom and i happen to only care about him as a character 😔

i really don't fit on it either lmao. i have this neutral view on the billy community with a huge chunk of it being a positive experience. however, due to traumatic personal situations of all types that i have been through while trying to fit, i no longer look forward to belong to any group dedicated to a show or a movie. which is why i make that clear on the pinned post. i just take which fandom related content to consume, share, see which discourse pieces i partake and befriend whoever that treats me well and that's it.

generally talking, i can perceive on the billy fandom that due to the massive, crazy and vitriolic size hate wave that it clearly increased this year for some reason - he had the shortest screen time and dacre was casted as a guest this season yet the girlies don't seem to let that die lol - that the a lot of the fans are getting. including myself who received some anonymous ageism, fat shaming and at least four SA wishes.

therefore, i can see there's some mistrust a lot of them have towards a lot of people and want to carefully check who they follow and can be mutuals with. i honestly don't blame none of them for that.

another thing i can blame that particular difficulty is the messed up algorithm that happens on tumblr, specially on the mobile app which does not allow you to see who follows you as it used to years ago and..not even follow back sometimes. i've struggled with those.

my advice is for you to have an easy experience is to do and remember the following:

focus your energy on the moots and people that are treating you properly

try to not take it personal and seriously.

if it turns out to be personal: keep minding your own business. there will be people in this shithole of website that will pick whatever nonsense and rather than act like a grown ass and discuss the issue privately to you they will obsessively hate you for it and try to create beef so ignore and don't engage.

speaking about, someone you thought you were cool with unfollows you out of the sudden? fine, unfollow back. even better if you block them. i'm sure you'll find some others that will appreciate you like you deserve.

some people don't want to befriend you back just because but that's not your fault. try to not let it get through you.

chose wisely which fandom pieces you want to partake of and which ones you don't want to.

this is the internet so...don't let it absorbe your soul.

hope that all works and has a point!

#i'm also saying this because i've had few disagreements with some things people in the billy community says and does #aaand that i couldn't connect with three of them that i ended blocking thanks to that and due to personal issues #but at least i can say they act decent most of the time unlike the steddie psychos and 100% of the st girlies so #cheri answers #ask #anonymous #long post cw

[juuggg]

Been playing a lot of indie games the last few months and I want to keep a little tally of them so i don’t forget

ASTROMAN : Cute little 32bit platformer made for a gamejam, it gave me the same feeling as a mobile game called green the planet and I mean it in a good way. The gameplay isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s relaxing to jump around collecting crystals. If they made this longer it would pop hard.

Carbon Steel : from Mike Klubnika. You join an experiment that pays a lot for weird and probably unethical research. Does a great job at building tension and making you 2nd doubt whether you’re “really” aware of reality. The endings were both a bit weak but still a very fun game worth playing, around 30min.

Cold Fr*nt : I'm censoring the name so it doesn’t appear in search man this was ASS. Good premise for 3 whole minutes before this shit turns uwu cringe ass moe moe stebaniel universal on everyone as they recite a “your feelings matter” message stolen straight from a twitter poisonned 16yo’s notes app. Was the dev afraid of being called out on tiktok for portraying unhealthy relationships or something? Anyway, if MY childhood friend pushed me down stairs, breaking my leg, I would tell them to kill themselves.

Coward Town : weird one, cool graphics but the audio hurted. Fun to wiggle around with a vague story in the background. tonic!

Driftwood : Loved this one, short visual with shrooms involved. Touches on classical themes of existentialism and coming of age. Don’t wanna spoil it too much, it definitely can get cheesy but it’s worth a play through (20 to 30mins). Made me smile from how honest it was at times, like the dev was just writing down a conversation they had in the past.

Evaluation : I didn’t remember downloading this one and looking at the steam page I'm surprised I even did. But it was a nice surprise, it's got a lot of charm especially knowing it’s the dev’s first game. It’s absolutely worth doing that 2nd play through otherwise it feels empty, but even with the tonal shift between the two routes it felt like a complete experience. Would love to see a remake of this in the future.

Infineural : Also from Mike Klubnika, the fridge horror didn’t really get to me but for 5mins it’s worth a download. Carbon steel was better.

Rental : Very nice, the 2nd and 1st areas could have been linked better. They managed to create an otherworldly but whimsical atmosphere very quickly. Cool audio and visual tricks.

WaterWombWorld : From Yames, I had it in my folders for a long time but didn’t remember playing it, so I did now. It’s thickly coated in religious significance from start to finish. If the dev came out and said he was working through his faith at the time of development I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s made me want to go back and replay Yames’ other titles.

Still fishing : feesh bloop bloop 🐟

Critters For Sale : Bought it for the graphics mostly lol. I had no clue what to expect going into it but it definitely took me by surprise on more than one occasion. It’s like a point and click visual novel adaptation of finding a conspiracy theorist’s website, going through every tab in awe, and barely being able to explain anything after. Worth a play.

I Live Under Your House + It Lives Under The House DLC : Feels like this one exploded a bit in popularity for good reason. Unique take on a spooky monster story where YOU, the player, get to be the weird guy. Loved the visuals. Absolutely do not want to spoil it but I’ll say the DLC is just as good as the main game and even better at points.

Megs’ monsters (Demo) : When it gets released in 5years and explodes it’s going to be compared to every single massively popular RPG à-la deltarune and earthbound and there’s going to be so much porn of the big monsters.

Magnus Positive Phototaxis : A short 1hr point and click puzzle game. Wish i could say it was nice but nothing really stood out other than the 3d object cutscenes that were never mentioned again. Did not expect it to take a religious U-turn but it seems to be part of a larger series of games so maybe I'm missing something. Disjointed. Mid at best.

Out Of Hands (Demo) : Didn’t care for the story when it turned out to be about a lost high-school love etc. You can Obliterate the balancing by using the double dmg at low hp perk. It feels like it’s missing a something and got repetitive near the end, but this is a demo so whatever! Using hands and clay for graphics is super cute, kept me playing just to see what random things they used next.

rats in a cage (Demo) : Loved this one. You’re trying to become a jobcell and one of the only companies that responded wants you to do a survey on a funny program because they really don’t have time to interview everyone. Said program is a rat kin puzzle game with an AI that fucking hates you. It’s absolutely going to be compared to baba is you and portal that’s not even a question, I will say the humour felt more stanley-parable-esque than portal to me. Puzzles were very easy but it might just be baba PTSD making me think every level is going to take 3hrs.

Return. : Short platforming game with cute graphics. This was odd, everything about it feels like it’s part of an ARG or would have a hidden secret fucked up horror ending but there doesn’t seen to be anything like that. The controls feel crisp and the way they did jumps was pretty unique, definitely would like to see more.

Rusty Blade : it’s alright, enjoyed the graphics but navigation itself gave me a headache.

Who’s Lila? : PLAY IT!!!!!! PLAY IT RIGHT NOW PLAY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAVEN’T FINISHED YET

skolios : playing right now, good atmosphere and nostalgic of older rpghorro games but I would be lying if i said i didn’t check the walkthrough.

Northern Journey : BUG SWATTING SIMULATOR 3000 I’d recommend this to everyone if the difficulty balancing wasn’t so messy. After spending 2hrs on the bandit fight i kinda gave up. Fun movement, fun aesthetic, fun characters, kinda mean as fuck at times but it’s funny. I’ll get drunk and spend 20hrs on beating it at some point i swear.

Mundaun : Another one with difficulty balancing problems, skill issue i know i know. Graphics are A+, setting is A+, story is intriguing, But the sniping haystacks made me mald. I WANT to love it just give me 1month i’ll git gud and then can get a solid opinion on it.

Mirage of Dragon : thought I’d hate it but it’s really just a puzzle exploration game, killed 4 dragoos so far but being reset to the beginning and needing to watch the unskippable cutscene everytime is annoying. Great aesthetic and visuals, the dev put a lot of heart into the side material, mostly the guide, cute to see ♥

ANATOMY : hurts my eyes so bad

#kept out the obvious ones or ones i didn't play enough of etc #juggy games

[canadian-riddler]

Weird question but, which fanficton plataform do you think is better both for readers and writers?

sorry I forgot to answer this

It depends. A lot. I was gonna say AO3 for readers but like... a writer can block you for no reason. They might just dislike you from another website, even if you've never heard of them. And if you leave a public bookmark the writer doesn't like, they'll just go trash you on some other social media instead. That personally bothers me as a reader. So I'd have to say fanfiction.net, but the app. It has a lot of reader-friendly features on it. I will read fanfic on the FFN app but not the AO3 mobile site because, and I know this is a contrary opinion, I really do not like how it displays when you're trying to look for something. I only use AO3 on mobile to download my own fics. I can download them directly to my Kobo and I have to admit that's very convenient for me (except when for some unknown reason the conversion to epub messes up the whole fic due to some way I formatted something in the fic but god knows what that is)

For writers? AO3. You have full control over everything other than public bookmarks. And AO3 doesn't notify you about bookmarks so if you look, that's on you. You ARE in for a bit more of a slog if you write anything other than M/M. AO3 also doesn't strip things from your text (other than double spacing -_-) but if FFN really does update perhaps we'll see a change on their end.

#so says Indy #asks #anon #writing angst

[brookewalkerblog]

Seamless Shopping Experience: The Role of Mobile Apps in E-commerce

In today's digital age, the e-commerce industry is evolving at a breakneck pace. With the rise of smartphones and the increasing preference for mobile shopping, having an e-commerce app has become not just a luxury, but a necessity for businesses looking to stay competitive. This article explores the myriad reasons why an e-commerce business needs a mobile app, supported by relevant statistics and insights from industry experts.

Enhanced User Experience

One of the primary reasons businesses need an e-commerce app is to provide an enhanced user experience. Mobile apps offer a more streamlined and intuitive interface compared to mobile websites. They are faster, more responsive, and can provide a personalized shopping experience that engages customers more effectively.

Mobile apps can load up to 1.5 times faster than mobile websites. This speed is crucial in retaining customers, as a delay of just one second in page load time can result in a 7% reduction in conversions. Furthermore, apps can leverage device features such as push notifications, camera functionality, and geolocation to offer a richer, more interactive shopping experience.

Increased Conversion Rates

Mobile apps significantly boost conversion rates compared to mobile websites. Research from Criteo indicates that mobile app users view 4.2 times more products per session and are 3 times more likely to convert compared to mobile web users. This higher engagement and conversion rate are attributed to the seamless navigation and superior user experience that apps provide.

Moreover, apps enable businesses to implement features like one-click payments, which simplify the checkout process and reduce cart abandonment rates. By offering secure and convenient payment options, businesses can increase customer trust and encourage repeat purchases.

Customer Loyalty and Retention

Building customer loyalty is crucial for the long-term success of any e-commerce business. Mobile apps play a pivotal role in fostering customer loyalty by providing a personalized shopping experience and exclusive benefits. Features such as loyalty programs, personalized recommendations, and in-app messaging help businesses connect with their customers on a deeper level.

A study by Localytics found that app users are more likely to return to an e-commerce store within 30 days compared to those using mobile websites. Additionally, businesses can use push notifications to send personalized offers and updates, keeping customers engaged and encouraging repeat visits.

Data-Driven Insights

Mobile apps offer businesses valuable data-driven insights that can inform their marketing strategies and improve customer experiences. Through app analytics, businesses can track user behavior, preferences, and purchasing patterns. This data can be used to personalize marketing efforts, optimize product offerings, and enhance overall customer satisfaction.

Leveraging data from mobile apps can lead to a 20% increase in customer retention and a 15% boost in sales. By understanding their customers better, businesses can make informed decisions that drive growth and profitability.

Competitive Advantage

In today's competitive e-commerce landscape, having a mobile app can provide businesses with a solid competitive advantage. By offering a mobile app that delivers a superior shopping experience, businesses can differentiate themselves from competitors and attract more customers.

Furthermore, mobile commerce has been on a steady upward trajectory, with mobile sales dominating the e-commerce industry. Integrating a mobile app into an e-commerce business can lead to increased sales, revenue growth, and a stronger customer base

Improved Brand Visibility and Engagement

Mobile apps are an effective tool for enhancing brand visibility and engagement. Once downloaded, an app remains on the user’s device, serving as a constant reminder of the brand. This continuous presence can lead to increased brand recall and loyalty.

Furthermore, apps enable businesses to engage with their customers in real-time. Through push notifications and in-app messages, businesses can communicate directly with users, promoting new products, special offers, and personalized recommendations. This direct communication channel can significantly enhance customer engagement and drive sales.

Seamless Integration with Emerging Technologies

Mobile apps are well-positioned to integrate with emerging technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI). These technologies can enhance the shopping experience by offering features such as virtual try-ons, personalized shopping assistants, and interactive product displays.

For instance, AR can allow customers to visualize products in their own environment before making a purchase, reducing the likelihood of returns and increasing customer satisfaction. AI-powered chatbots can provide instant customer support, improving the overall shopping experience and boosting conversion rates.

Cost-Effectiveness in the Long Run

While the initial investment in mobile app development can be significant, it is cost-effective in the long run. Custom eCommerce solutions tailored to the specific needs of a business can streamline operations, reduce customer service costs, and improve overall efficiency. Moreover, a well-designed app can generate substantial ROI through increased sales, customer retention, and operational savings.

Conclusion

In today's mobile-driven landscape, a well-designed and user-friendly mobile app is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for e-commerce businesses. By offering enhanced customer engagement, improved user experience, and valuable data insights, mobile apps empower businesses to stay ahead of the curve and thrive in the competitive e-commerce landscape. As consumer behavior continues to evolve, embracing mobile app development is a strategic decision that can unlock significant growth opportunities for your e-commerce business.

#ecommerce developers #ecommerce development company #hire developers #mobile app development #hire mobile app developers