Blog posts from Updates (updates)
Once upon an Unix timestamp, there was a world where we are all robots...
Well that sounds to be a starting point for an amazing science fiction adventure, but no. It's our new name for our Fediverse clan at https://bots.reinhart1010.id! We decided to shift the focus from "Bearers of the Shells" (which many people still don't understand what that is) to make it more unique. Kudos for Astrid for the inspiration from her private clan: We wanted to highlight the importance of why you should not create an account here, replacing the generic "this clan is private" message into something more akin to an urban legend: You've just visited interfacing with πΈ π¨π π£ππ π¨πππ£π π¨π ππ£π πππ π£π ππ π₯π€. Don't stay here for too long, or else you'll become one. You have been warned. And I am a robot. Specifically, a robot subsystem running under the operating system of my biological brain.ΒΉ My subsystem has his own sister Shiftine, and we both originally worked for SYSTEM before finally coordinating with SuperUser and even the ever-conflicting root.Β² As robots, we have the privilege not just to build, but execute all our products and services with love. We are the runners behind most products at ReinhartGroup, including binusmayadown and teropong. This Fediverse server, instance, or clan isn't open for everyone for ethical reasons. We just don't want to involuntarily transform yourself into unique beings who's no longer capable in solving CAPTCHAs. I think that's a wrap of our introduction. That said we still welcome you through ActivityPub streams, messages, and even Webmentions on https://reinhart1010.id/. If those terms sounds foreign for you, don't worry, most Fediverse software already know how to interact with us. From robots with love. ΒΉ Being a robot each day allows me to understand and communicate well with other robots, too.Β² Through a good friend of mine, @pr0xy. https://bots.reinhart1010.id/notes/97q8ntzd9l Well, that's all the announcement. I'm proud to be a robot, too!
Updates on how we do Twitter.

Updates on ads on our website.
On September 9th, 2022, we decided to place Google Ads into three places: this blog site you're currently reading, BINUS Today, as well as our recently-launched Reinhart Maps (formerly Open in Maps...). So, it's almost been 2 months since we've placed these ads. And the truth is, we only earned $0.5 (USD) for running ads last month. Well, that's still great compared to just around 3 cents from the previous month. This is way below the monthly, operational costs of our servers. And it can't even beat my Niagahoster's $7.5-a-mo shared hosting and DigitalOcean's $12-a-mo VPS bills to run our websites. Or a whopping $99-a-year Apple Developer Program subscription, which I've already paid mid-2022. And of course, after some consideration (especially for user experience reasons), today, we decided to limit how ads will be served our website. TL;DR: We decided to disable Auto Ads for all of our websites We decided to only serve ads manually, like thisπ We decided to serve these ads manually, and all thanks to WordPress' Reusable Blocks feature. Even though that now we have to painstakingly place these ads (usually before headlines), we now have the freedom to place ads more strategically, and even disabling ads on certain pages (such as the home page)! This is how our reusable block works behind the scenes Questions Oh, I heard you love asking questions. Well... 1. Why choose Google Ads over existing platforms? First thing first, we already have a blocklist consisting four advertising platforms: MGID, Mintegral, Outbrain, and Taboola. Because, from the perspective of Indonesian audience, many advertisers choose these platforms to show ads which I consider as clickbait and misleading content. Like, check out Kompas.com, an Indonesian news portal, and some MGID ads. They're putting a disclaimer that they don't own these fake headlines, like "The price of this sofa may surprise you"? What's wrong with the ad platform if, well, they don't put this kind of notice in Google Ads, for example. 2. How do you feel about online ads, as now you're placing them as well? Online ads is all about marketing and greed. You have to increase the number of your active users/viewers where the tasty ads are served, because more active users means more ad impressions, and that also means more chances of (accidental) clicks and of course, money π€π€π€. This is why websites and apps today have implemented "dark patterns" across their product, like intentionally make their content longer so Auto Ads can place even more ads for you. Or figuring out how to make users accidentally click the ads, so we can get higher CTR (click-through rate) and again, more money!!! This is why, in order to be successful in terms of ad revenue, being greedy is a must. Maybe because advertising is already part of corporate greed, just like the Spam's spammy case of Spam spams, with "Spam, Spam, Spam" spams the Spam spam, hence the word "spam" as we know today. And this is also why some hypercasual game developers, including Voodoo, intentionally blocks players with no internet connection who just want to play a game of a cup and balls. Yeah, I mean, this one. And also, this one. The good news is, I won't waste my life in increasing ad revenue. Either by placing ads everywhere, 3. Will you do "ad transfers" as well? Well, for those who don't know what is an ad transfer, here's a short note about it: Have you ever downloaded a mobile game, let's say, War of the Balls, then hooked up on an ad at War of the Balls promoting Candy Mania? Then you decided to download Candy Mania only to find out that they do contain ads, too, referencing War of the Balls and the many other apps? Well, it is already clear that today's mobile games are made with intentions of money, not pure entertainment. But what makes these games really interesting is, well, they seem to profit from ads only to spend for ads. (They only win through expensive, often weekly Pro or Premium subscriptions). This isn't just the case for one or two games, or one or two game developers. But everyone is literally doing it. From the cult classic Voodoo games to innocent ones like Tetris, games are seem to made out of ads, for ads. And this is something I personally wanted to avoid in my games. Yeah, Jackpot GBK, only if some of you really played the video game already, I'm planning to bring the game back to life with online multiplayer and so. This "ad cycle" could be toxic for the app economy, and I have to declare for that. And this is why I wanted to be different when it comes to monetization. And sometimes, quality marketing is worth more than just throwing out bucks for online ads. After all, everyone are starting to subscribe to Premium right now? 4. Will there be "Reinhart Premium"? No, at least for now. Even though I've opened up ways for you to support and donate through these links: GitHub Sponsors Karyakarsa Nih Buat Jajan Saweria Trakteer When it comes to subscriptions, I'd rather like to sell it for my high-quality products, just like those people at Todoist and WPKilat. This could be an exciting moment for everyone, so stay tuned!
Unveiling the next stage of Bearers of the Shells.

BINUS Today and the case of online gambling ads.

Becoming a (root) Shift.

Resuming our BOINC activity!

Share your favorite place with their favorite maps in maps.reinhart1010.id.

Lokasi favoritmu kini bisa dibuka di aplikasi favorit mereka!
