2023 has been an amazing year for farming sims thus far but there's one game that has been trying to influence the space. Join me as we uncover WHY Moonfrost , a free-to-play farming game is hiding it's NFT past....and let me tell you there's more than just "NFT" when it comes to the history of this game
š³ļøāā§ļø We're trying to raise $200,000 for LGBTQ+ youth programs before the end of the year! š³ļøāš Wanna help?
As they grow up in a world that wants to keep them down, LGBTQ+ youth are fighting to be themselves. But we believe young, queer people shouldnāt have to be "brave" just to exist.
By making a donation to support our programs, you're showing that you believe in the better world that we can create together.
Over the past couple years, the support we've gotten from some amazing donors has enabled us to support queer youth in SO many ways, like:
Granting LGBTQ+ students more than $1.2 million to imagine and their own create safe spaces in schools across the US and Canada through 50 States, 50 Grants.
Creating award-winning content seriesĀ educating LGBTQ+ youth on safe sex ed, inclusive terminology, careers in STEM, as well as tons more educational and mental health resources.
Handing LGBTQ+ youth the mic to advocate for themselvesĀ ā at national conferences, on our award-winning Twitch vodcastĀ Perfectly Queer, on social media, and in interviews with major news outlets...
...and so much more that you can see on itgetsbetter.org!
š£ If you believe in "better" the way we do and want to help us keep doing this work to uplift, empower, and connect LGBTQ+ youth around the world, you can make a donation here!
I been struggling with consistency since I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and of course people move on due to it. I'll keep going though thank you for support
Muppet fact of the day: One of the Muppet showās pilot episodes was called āThe Muppet Show: Sex and Violenceā, but the Muppets are owned by Disney now and Disney really doesnāt like the word āsexā so they insist on just calling it āthe Muppet Show Pilotā
anyway reblog this forbidden image of Jim Henson in front of the Sex and Violence title card to make Disney mad
Here at Tumblr, weāve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. Weāre publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblrās future.
The Diagnosis
In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience.Ā
Tumblrās competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content.Ā
To guarantee Tumblrās continued success, weāve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.
Our Guiding Principles
To enhance Tumblrās usability, we must address these core guiding principles.
Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.
Provide high-quality content with every app launch.
Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.
Retain and grow our creator base.
Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.
Improve the platformās performance, stability, and quality.
Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.
Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.
Tumblr has a ātop of the funnelā issue in converting non-users into engaged logged-in users. We also have not invested in industry standard SEO practices to ensure a robust top of the funnel. The referral traffic that we do get from external sources is dispersed across different pages with inconsistent user experiences, which results in a missed opportunity to convert these users into regular Tumblr users. For example, users from search engines often land on pages within the blog network and blog viewāwhere there isnāt much of a reason to sign up.Ā
We need to experiment with logged-out tumblr.com to ensure we are capturing the highest potential conversion rate for visitors into sign-ups and log-ins. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages. We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. Our current logged-out explore page does very little to help users understand āwhat is Tumblr.ā which is a missed opportunity to get people excited about joining the site.
Actions & Next Steps
Improving Tumblrās search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards.
Experiment with logged out tumblr.com to achieve the highest conversion rate for sign-ups and log-ins, explore ways for visitors to āgetā Tumblr and entice them to sign up.
Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.
We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to the userās diverse interests during each session. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault lies with the product.
The default position should always be that the user does not know how to navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure that when people search for content related to their interests, it is easily accessible without any confusing limitations or unexpected roadblocks in their journey.
Being a 15-year-old brand is tough because the brand carries the baggage of a personās preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts have to convey the value of Tumblr: it is a vibrant community with lots of untapped potential. We never want to leave the user believing that Tumblr is a place that is stale and not relevant.Ā
Actions & Next Steps
Deliver great content each time the app is opened.
Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are.Ā
Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds.Ā
Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.
Part of Tumblrās charm lies in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the clever remarks found within reblog chains and replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless.
Unfortunately, the current way that conversations work on Tumblr across replies and reblogs is confusing for new users. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the inability to easily follow threaded conversations make it difficult for users to join the conversation.
Actions & Next Steps
Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.
Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs.Ā
Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.
Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread.Ā
Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads.Ā
Explore the feasibility of removing duplicate reblogs within a userās Following feed.Ā
Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.
Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we havenāt always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing our creator base.Ā Ā
Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. We need to ensure that we have the expected creator tools and foster the rewarding feedback loops that keep creators around and enable them to thrive.
The lack of feedback stems from the outdated decision to only show content from followed blogs on the main dashboard feed (āFollowingā), perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform.
It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should never feel like a punishing experience.
Actions & Next Steps
Get creatorsā new content in front of people who are interested in it.Ā
Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.
Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral.
Expand ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts.
Principle 5: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.
Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase user engagement, improve user retention, and facilitate content discovery. Our strategy of reaching out to you, the user, should be well-coordinated across product, commercial, and marketing teams.
Our messaging strategy needs to be personalized and adapt to a userās shifting interests. Our messages should keep users in the know on the latest activity in their community, as well as keeping Tumblr top of mind as the place to go for witty takes and remixes of the latest shows and real-life events.Ā Ā
Most importantly, our messages should be thoughtful and should never come across as spammy.Ā Ā
Actions & Next Steps
Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.
Address the issue of notifications getting too noisy; throttle, collapse or mute notifications where necessary.Ā Ā
Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages.Ā
Test what the right daily push notification limit is.Ā
Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.
Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.
The stability and performance of our mobile apps have declined. There is a large backlog of production issues, with more bugs created than resolved over the last 300 days. If this continues, roughly one new unresolved production issue will be created every two days. Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Improving performance, stability, and quality will help us achieve sustainable operations for Tumblr.
Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.
Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users.Ā
Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs.
Conclusion
Our mission has always been to empower the worldās creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that prioritizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldnāt be more excited about our current strategy.
I wish they taught a class on what being a normal human is like
Like, the normal amount of pain is zero. The normal amount of wishing you werenāt ever born is zero. Food isnāt supposed to itch or hurt*. Going numb (any time outside sitting in one position too long) isnāt normal. Passing out isnāt normal. Normal people take like 10-20 minutes to fall asleep, and sleep like 6-9 hours. Youāre supposed to get one period a month, which is manageable with a few tampons or pads a day and lasts 3-6 days.
These are all things I had to find out later, like a moron.
(fibromyalgia, depression, allergies, cataplexy, narcolepsy, PCOS and endometriosis)
So many times Iāve realized something about my body is super messed up when Iām like āyou know how when X, Y?ā And all my friends are likeā¦no. I donāt experience X.
(image description: screenshot of a reply to this post from fiddlysticks that saysĀ āTook me up until very recently to learn headaches arenāt supposed to feel heavy and fuzzy, make you extra sensitive to light and sound, be debilitating, and last about 3 days lol)
(image description: screenshot of a reply to this post from raw-squid that saysĀ āAlso like period cramps arent supposed to literally wake you up, even with the strongest over the counter painkillers :) )
Some additions from my own experience:
-Crunchy foods like toast or pizza are apparently not supposed to cut up the inside of your mouth and make you bleed- thatās unusually fragile skin and might indicate a connective tissue disorder
-Wearing jeans or bulky jackets isnāt supposed to make you feel like youāre dying- thatās a sensory processing difference, more specifically tactile defensiveness
-Ribs are not supposed to dislocate when you laugh too hard (connective tissue disorder again)
-Waking up exhausted every single day isnāt supposed to happen- could be any number of underlying conditions
-Standing up is not supposed to cause your heart rate to skyrocket and you to get super dizzy- thatās dysautonomia, anemia, or something similar
-Constantly sitting like a pretzel as a teen or adult mean nothing, but if other people are baffled by how youāre comfortable in those positions, you might be hypermobile or neurodivergent or both!
-The normal amount of seeing double is almost none!Ā And even if youāve seen double your whole life, the eye doctor can still prescribe you glasses that fix it
-Have a fewĀ āfloatersā in your vision is normal, having constant showers of them that interfere with your vision is not
Basically, just because everyone in your family experiences something doesnāt mean itās normal, it might mean thereās something genetic going on and you should ask aĀ ācontrol groupā friend
⢠Food isnāt supposed to make your mouth itch. Thatās an allergy
⢠Coffee isnāt supposed to put you to sleep
⢠Your period is not supposed to be more painful than labor (found that out with child #2)
⢠Your friends do not hate you. Yes, even when theyāre too busy to answer your text. Thatās RSD
⢠100 and 1000 are not the same number. Most people donāt transpose numbers regularly. Most people do not find Algebra easier than arithmetic because variables mean less numbers to accidentally mix up. Thatās dyscalculia
⢠Lights in the distance should be round. If they stretch like stars have your eyes checked for astigmatism
Everyone always talked about halos and I didnāt realize until I saw a picture of normal vs astigmatism to realize how much it affects me. The points take up my whole field of vision, top to bottom.
most people cant hear the buzz/hum of large household appliances or lights being on, thats autism
if it takes you an hour or more to fall asleep on average thats probably either autism or adhd, but could be other stuff, if meds dont improve it go to a sleep specialist to see
some people simply do not have 24 hour circadian rhythms. if you find the time you are asleep vs awake every day slowly crawls forward until for some periods you are nocturnal and then after another while you are diurnal again, this is probably you
spicy food causes your mouth to be more sensitive to heat, so if youre feeling pain/discomfort thats not heat related while eating it youre probably allergic to something in the meal
if you find yourself wishing you could be a different gender you can just try that to see if you like it
most people can just do things. if you feel completely unable to do something even if you want/need to and have to trick yourself into it, thats executive dysfunction. could be adhd could be some other mental illness
if caffeine puts you to sleep thats also adhd
if you regularly completely forget the plots things you saw/read/played a year or more ago/have similar memory loss issues with other things in your life, that too is almost definitely adhd (but if your memory loss is more extensive there could be other factors too)
Going back to periods, but if you have bleeding so heavy it soaks at least one pad or tampon an hour for more than two hours at any point during your period, or if you ever pass clots during your period that are larger than a quarter, thatās not normal - itās menorrhagia and you should bring it up with your doctor, because it could be an indication that you have any number of medical conditions, ranging in severity from uterine polyps and hormone imbalances, all the way to bleeding disorders and cancer. āBut all the women in our family have heavy periodsā is not an excuse ā all the women in your family probably arenāt bleeding that much, and if they are, then all the women in your family might have a hereditary hormone problem or bleeding disorder.
if, in circumstances that cannot be explained by something like a stomach bug or a hangover, you canāt bring yourself to eat because food has Smells and Flavors and Textures, thatās sensory processing disorder. itās common with autism but also occurs with some other conditions.
if this happens regularly ā which means, often enough that youāre like āoh yeah thatās a Thing, thatās so relatableā right now ā thatās an eating disorder! itās actually a type of anorexia, and will mess up your physical health if not dealt with!
i was like. 45 when i found out iāve had an eating disorder my whole life. good times!