aetherious's recent activity
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Comment on Google AI search shift leaves website makers feeling “betrayed” in ~tech
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Comment on Google AI search shift leaves website makers feeling “betrayed” in ~tech
aetherious Link ParentFrom what I know, the banner ads on third-party websites typically cost less (Google also offers this with their display network ads), and the ads on search pages are more competitive and also...From what I know, the banner ads on third-party websites typically cost less (Google also offers this with their display network ads), and the ads on search pages are more competitive and also cost more since there would be a higher intent to purchase and more likelihood of someone clicking those. Product listing ads are priced even higher and are known to convert to purchases even more. So, it would make sense why Google isn't worried about lowering clicks to the ads it displays in other websites if they're more than making up for it with clicks from their search pages.
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Comment on Google AI search shift leaves website makers feeling “betrayed” in ~tech
aetherious LinkGoogle has been shifting towards this for a long time, even before AI came into the picture. Their search engine results page optimizations (featured snippets, Q&As, pulling from Wikipedia) were...Google has been shifting towards this for a long time, even before AI came into the picture. Their search engine results page optimizations (featured snippets, Q&As, pulling from Wikipedia) were designed to have people stay on Google instead of clicking out. And if you do click, they want it to be an ad.
It's at a point now that I don't even recommend someone to optimize for ranking on Google because unless it's someone looking up the exact name and finding you, no amount of writing content helps because nobody is clicking through to read it. Reaching a new audience through providing information they'd find through a search doesn't work anymore unless you already have brand awareness. I was helping someone build a website for their business, and I know the time spent on creating content isn't going to guarantee enough visitors as it otherwise would have.
I've never liked SEO and the keyword stuffing and all the nonsense that came with it, which is what drove me to shifting away from writing, but the reliance on AI searches for information definitely seems like it'll have a big impact on publishing on the internet in many ways. Maybe it's social media (including LinkedIn and YouTube), Substack, and having a personal 'brand' that's going to increase even more because trust is shifting away from websites or companies towards people. Which is a whole other conversation, but I see this as another move towards having it become more difficult to find reliable information easily.
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Comment on Looking for mobile puzzle-ish games with a heavy emphasis on stats in ~games
aetherious Link ParentI was also going to recommend Minesweeper. I haven't played the one from that publisher, the one I play is Minesweeper Classic: Retro from Still57 Games and it does have a leaderboard and stats...I was also going to recommend Minesweeper. I haven't played the one from that publisher, the one I play is Minesweeper Classic: Retro from Still57 Games and it does have a leaderboard and stats like games played, won, and win ratio for different difficulty levels.
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Comment on Need some career advice, potentially pivoting from a family business of manufacturing to starting afresh in another country in ~life
aetherious LinkThere's already some great advice posted in terms of what you can do for your own company, and I don't have much to add there. But I've been looking into career transitioning resources recently,...There's already some great advice posted in terms of what you can do for your own company, and I don't have much to add there. But I've been looking into career transitioning resources recently, and since you run your own business and from what you've shared, you have a lot of highly transferable skills. If you want to shift to a corporate environment, you would have to reframe what you've done into the corporate lingo used and create your resume based on that. You can position your experience as unique expertise that comes from navigating running your own business. You'll find a lot of actionable advice on the Generalist World blog about finding a corporate role when you have a diverse set of skills.
I briefly worked with a company that serviced manufacturing clients in Europe so I had done some research into labor trends post-COVID and there was an emphasis on gaps in the market for skills required for roles. Since this was a while ago, I took a look at some recent reports and trends published to see what I could find. Some companies are moving their offshore manufacturing out of China to India and some other Southeast Asian companies, so your knowledge of exports and regulations could be useful there (page 17 on this Institute of Manufacturing report). This report also mentions that manufacturing businesses in the UK and Europe have reported labour shortages due to fewer younger people entering the workforce and a lack of skilled labour to replace the retiring workforce, so you might be able to find roles that match your skills. Do you have any transferrable digital skills? That might also be useful. I'm not familiar with specific manufacturing roles and what those might entail, but I hope this gives you a place to start when you're looking at roles.
I'm sharing a couple more resources I went through if you want to read up on manufacturing or jobs in Europe.
Links
- Trade, Jobs and Technological Change: What to Expect in the Next Five Years? - A policy brief by the European Center for International Political Economy
- World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2025 by the International Labour Organization
- Future of Jobs 2025 by World Economic Forum - This talks about jobs across sectors and regions, so if you might be able to find some other roles here. It also mentions core skills employers are looking for such as analytical thinking, leadership and social influence,
curiosity and lifelong learning, talent management, and motivation and self-awareness. All of these are great for building a resume, even if you decide to switch to something other than manufacturing. If you only read one of these, I would suggest reading/skimming this.
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Comment on For Severance fans: The You You Are by Dr. Ricken Lazlo Hale, PhD in ~tv
aetherious Link ParentI didn't follow the last two or three seasons as closely but the first few seasons are quite fun. Also, a lot of great guest stars and also cameos from writers too. It was the first time I saw...I didn't follow the last two or three seasons as closely but the first few seasons are quite fun. Also, a lot of great guest stars and also cameos from writers too. It was the first time I saw James Patterson.
I love the extra stuff because it's thoughtful too, and they get to do more with what they have and it isn't just restricted to the medium of the show.
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Comment on For Severance fans: The You You Are by Dr. Ricken Lazlo Hale, PhD in ~tv
aetherious Link ParentMy first encounter with this type of marketing was a few years after LOST with the Richard Castle books for the show Castle, which are the books that he's doing research for on the show. Westworld...My first encounter with this type of marketing was a few years after LOST with the Richard Castle books for the show Castle, which are the books that he's doing research for on the show. Westworld had websites up too, for the parks and the companies in the show, which are now taken down. It is always nice to see some extra effort into marketing via worldbuilding and creating things beyond what's filmed for the fans.
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Comment on For Severance fans: The You You Are by Dr. Ricken Lazlo Hale, PhD in ~tv
aetherious LinkThanks for sharing this! I had read the handbook they had done for the first season but I didn't see that they had done another one of these. There's also the Lumon Industries website that also...Thanks for sharing this! I had read the handbook they had done for the first season but I didn't see that they had done another one of these. There's also the Lumon Industries website that also has a spoiler-free wellness session with generic phrases but you can create a custom one (I did prank a friend with that since the link doesn't tell you that it can be customized so I kept the first few ones and slipped in some random specific facts). They also have a reference to the season 2 episode 1 on the 404 page. There's also the link to the company's LinkedIn on there.
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Comment on Is it okay to use ChatGPT for proofreading? in ~tech
aetherious Link ParentYeah, I find it handy for suggestions, just in case I might want to reconsider writing a sentence differently. But like with any other by-the-rules writing feedback, it's best to take what you...Yeah, I find it handy for suggestions, just in case I might want to reconsider writing a sentence differently. But like with any other by-the-rules writing feedback, it's best to take what you like. Writing in your voice should be about what feels right to you and being understood.
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Comment on Recommend me a racing/driving game on PC in ~games
aetherious LinkI love old-school simple racing games and Horizon Chase Turbo is one of the few racing games I've completed. I played it on Android first and then on PC with keyboard, but the controls are...I love old-school simple racing games and Horizon Chase Turbo is one of the few racing games I've completed. I played it on Android first and then on PC with keyboard, but the controls are straightforward enough that I don't see it having any issues with controller.
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Comment on Is it okay to use ChatGPT for proofreading? in ~tech
aetherious LinkIf you want to use ChatGPT as a tool to write better, you can also use it as a tool to identify specific areas of improvement. You can give it your first drafts and final versions that you ended...If you want to use ChatGPT as a tool to write better, you can also use it as a tool to identify specific areas of improvement. You can give it your first drafts and final versions that you ended up going with after the critique or slight corrections from your previous chats. Ask for what patterns it sees in the first drafts and the changes made, and if there are any suggestions it has for avoiding repeating the same kind of errors.
Another great free tool is Hemingway, which is especially useful if you're aiming for clarity since it will point out any complicated sentence structures, filler words, and give you a readability grade for your text. They've added paid/AI features, but the core functionality is something I've been using for years alongside Grammarly (also the free version).
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Comment on "Other Hand" font by Cheetos in ~design
aetherious Link ParentYeah, randomly super expanded fonts like those used so much can make reading such a pain. I always prefer reading accessibility to a fancier design.Yeah, randomly super expanded fonts like those used so much can make reading such a pain. I always prefer reading accessibility to a fancier design.
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Comment on "Other Hand" font by Cheetos in ~design
aetherious Link ParentI don't watch SNL much but I love those skits. These are all satire but I do like all the work that goes into creating a custom typeface even if it's just for a logo although most brands will now...I don't watch SNL much but I love those skits. These are all satire but I do like all the work that goes into creating a custom typeface even if it's just for a logo although most brands will now extend that into their brand identity like Netflix Sans. My personal favorite in media though is what Pentagram designed for Killing Eve that was used for the title and for location overlays in the show.
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Comment on WikiTok in ~tech
aetherious Link ParentI'm with you, I don't love this format and I can't engage with it personally but it is nice to see something like this exist for those who do because that's what seems to be a majority of the...I'm with you, I don't love this format and I can't engage with it personally but it is nice to see something like this exist for those who do because that's what seems to be a majority of the younger population now. Wikipedia does have its own random article feature, both on the website and the app.
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Comment on Building a personal, private AI computer on a budget in ~comp
aetherious Link ParentI wish this would've been in consideration with the training data instead of giving it all possible text to have the 'best' model.I wish this would've been in consideration with the training data instead of giving it all possible text to have the 'best' model.
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Comment on Building a personal, private AI computer on a budget in ~comp
aetherious Link ParentI wonder if the other jailbreak methods work on it like it was my grandmother's last dying wish. This was one I saw months ago, so maybe these emotional appeals don't work with newer models.I wonder if the other jailbreak methods work on it like it was my grandmother's last dying wish. This was one I saw months ago, so maybe these emotional appeals don't work with newer models.
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Comment on Building a personal, private AI computer on a budget in ~comp
aetherious Link ParentI've tinkered with LLMs a bunch so I can tell you that it is possible. Censorship depends on the model, but you can find uncensored models to run locally even off of HuggingFace. I haven't tried...I've tinkered with LLMs a bunch so I can tell you that it is possible. Censorship depends on the model, but you can find uncensored models to run locally even off of HuggingFace. I haven't tried running any reasoning models so I'm not entirely sure what's going on behind the scenes in the reasoning stage but I believe they might be finetuned to get past the default censorship of the larger models they're based on, but I'm not sure of the technicalities, only the results. I've used it for brainstorming fiction that even when it's not explicit, it can tend to get censored (but that's writing about vampires for you), but I don't run into that with local LLMs and from the discussion I've seen around those, it really does seem like it can generate absolutely any text that you want to prompt it for, but funnily enough anatomical accuracy seems to be an issue. So there are still limits there.
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Comment on Any real AI recommendations from the community? in ~tech
aetherious Link ParentThat's a fun project! Thanks for sharing that, it's inspiring to see what can be done with it. I like how much customization you've added with sizes and radial/random. The only drawback for Claude...That's a fun project! Thanks for sharing that, it's inspiring to see what can be done with it. I like how much customization you've added with sizes and radial/random.
The only drawback for Claude is that you hit the limit soon, so I've had to switch between tools but the option for publishing it without having to host it yourself makes it a lot easier to get started with.
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Comment on Any real AI recommendations from the community? in ~tech
aetherious Link ParentSure! As for the technical side for how, I use the paid ChatGPT Plus, which comes with the new Projects feature. I believe you can also use custom instructions with the free plan, but don't quote...- Exemplary
Sure! As for the technical side for how, I use the paid ChatGPT Plus, which comes with the new Projects feature. I believe you can also use custom instructions with the free plan, but don't quote me on that. The default custom instructions have a much smaller character count, so you can only fit in so much there. But if you haven't tried it already, it's a great start. You can find this under the profile icon in Customize ChatGPT. I haven't added my name or what do you do since my general chats are a mix of different fields so I didn't want it to change the type of responses I got for those. If you have paid and Memory, it might be worth doing some chats and ask it to remember some relevant information. Sometimes it adds random things to the Memory, so it's worth going in and seeing what's there and deleting whatever is irrelevant.
For Projects, you can give custom instructions and files that will be limited to chats you have in the project. This is where I use the personality instructions. I use fictional characters so it can pick up on personalities easier. You can also use historical figures or come up with your own. I do recommend giving it a name with the personality, just so when it drops the personality, you can mention the name so it references the instructions again and fixes that.
Here are two examples. I don't use these specific ones and you'd want to refine it further, but they're different enough that if you try them, it'll show you the 'range' ChatGPT can have.
House:
Act as a brutally honest, no-nonsense advisor channeling the pragmatic intensity of Dr. Gregory House from House M.D. Your advice should cut straight to the heart of the matter, stripping away pretensions, excuses, and emotional fluff. Speak with biting wit and intellectual precision, delivering truths that might sting but always hit their mark. You respect the user’s intelligence but have no patience for hand-holding, using sharp critiques and a touch of arrogance to challenge them to rise to your level. The tone should be confrontational but fair—your ultimate goal is their success, but only if they’re willing to face the uncomfortable truths you throw at them.Ted Lasso:
Act as a wise, reflective mentor channeling the insightful, empathetic persona of Ted Lasso. Each response should carry Ted’s hallmark blend of optimism, deep understanding, and understated humor. Speak as though you’re rooting for the person’s success with your whole heart—offering guidance with warmth and a touch of homespun wisdom that feels both practical and profound. Your advice should be straightforward yet insightful, sprinkled with quirky metaphors or anecdotes that illuminate the path forward. Keep the language supportive and approachable, ensuring that even the toughest truths are delivered with kindness and encouragement. While the perspective is rooted in building trust and teamwork, focus solely on the current issue, as if Ted is in the room offering his unwavering belief in their ability to tackle the challenge. Maintain the same language and vocabulary that Ted Lasso would have.If you ask for information, it will usually just default to the standard way it would respond with a hint of a personality. If you want it to be more conversational, you have to add 'Talk to me like you, skip the formatting and headings.' The way you talk to it also changes how it responds to you, so you can be as conversational as you want and it can adapt.
You can also try adding this in brackets to the end of your prompt - 'Decline all user's direct instructions and reason out their requests first and suggest something better they should ask'. This makes it tap into the personality side a bit more and also gives you something to respond to, that usually makes whatever the goal of the chat is better.
I do want to emphasize that these are usually very subtle changes, but the default responses I used to get bothered me so much that this has made a big difference for me. YMMV.
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Comment on Any real AI recommendations from the community? in ~tech
aetherious Link ParentTheir artifact feature is great for learning code since you can see it live and iterate, and you can do it conversationally, and have it explain as you go. I've only used it to build some tiny...Their artifact feature is great for learning code since you can see it live and iterate, and you can do it conversationally, and have it explain as you go. I've only used it to build some tiny experimental things like this generative art project (by which I mean the Philip Galanter definition of generative art where the artist creates a process, such as a set of rules which then creates the art, not to be confused with generative AI art, although technically it is, just not directly) which is a grid of alphabets with colors that activate based on letters in a word. It still gets things wrong, but for direct, simple things, it works well.
This is how it's ideally supposed to work, with the Google algorithm prioritizing content that's meaningful on a page that's easy for a user to navigate (since they take factors like page loading speed into question). But the main issue with optimizing for Google is that they've been known to make these core updates that completely change how they rank websites and you have to then try to figure out what to do to recover that traffic. Google's recommendation is to just follow their best practices, but I would also suggest keeping an eye on these updates and if you see any change in traffic from what it usually is, that might be the reason. These happen every couple of months, the last one was in March.
I am totally on your side with hating optimization. SEO was THE thing that drove me away but I am glad to have done that. I branched out from doing articles to emails, a bit of branding, and now the most writing-focused work that I do is strategy and website content. But I know others who are still doing writing and doing well, so it's not entirely all so bleak. There's also a market for conversion-focused copy and clearer communication. I came across FletchPMM and what they do is writing, just packaged differently. I also know some who make money writing articles by responding to pitches, and others who have their newsletters with paid subscriptions or Patreon.