Being an influencer has very quickly become one of the most appealing career paths for many young people. We are constantly bombarded with images of how lavish a life those who dedicate themselves to social media get to live. The freedom to work wherever they want. The ability to produce content that appeals to them. And the adoration of their millions of followers.

But have you ever wondered exactly how influencers make their money? Because it isn’t always as simple as you might think. There are a huge number of methods that an influencer can use to earn a living. And a savvy influencer will utilize as many different methods as possible.

Followers As Currency

The main factor in how much money an influencer can earn is directly tied into the number of followers they have. In our social media driven age, followers have become equivalent to currency when it comes to negotiation and securing deals with potential partners. Someone with a substantial amount of followers is going to be worth a lot of money to different businesses.

TikTok and Instagram followers are arguably the most valuable at the moment. Since these are the two platforms that garner the most attention from the younger generations. X, formerly Twitter, has become quite controversial in recent years. And, as such, the value attributed to having a large number of followers on X has steadily declined.

Followers and views can directly lead to financial gain on sites like YouTube. People can monetize their videos by allowing YouTube to place ads on them. Then, for every person that watches an ad on their video, they will earn a small amount of money. The amount per view isn’t substantial. But with a large enough audience a YouTuber could make a lot of money.

Brand Deals

This is the method through which influencers often make a significant amount of their money. As we said before, an influencer with a high follower count is extremely valuable to different businesses. If every one of their posts is viewed by millions of people, that is huge advertising potential for the right company.

More often than not businesses will approach influencers who they believe are best suited to their brand. They will then pay them to feature their products in their content. This could be through direct advertising, as we often see in YouTube videos. Or it could be more subtle like a fashion influencer using a specific brand of makeup in all their videos.

Brand deals have the potential to be extremely lucrative. Especially if an influencer can secure a deal with a huge brand. Up and coming influencers often secure brand deals with smaller companies. This almost symbiotic relationship has potential to be hugely beneficial to both parties. As the influencer’s popularity grows the brand receives increased exposure. So it is in the best interest of the brand to do everything they can to help the influencer succeed.

It isn’t uncommon for successful influencers to have deals with multiple brands. But this does tend to become quite tricky. Most companies will ask that an influencer not work with other companies that they are in direct competition with. But it isn’t uncommon for brands to enter bidding wars to secure a partnership with popular influencers.

Subscription Packages

A large number of influencers have started creating subscription packages on sites like Patreon or Fansly. These sites allow content creators to offer up tiered subscription deals with different rewards for each tier. Usually they offer behind the scenes videos, sneak previews of upcoming content, direct messaging with fans, and sometimes even the chance for fans to be in upcoming videos.

This system has been extremely popular in recent years as it allows influencers to earn a living without having to force advertisements on their fans. And the general public has responded well to this approach. People are becoming increasingly frustrated with how prevalent advertisements have become in our modern society.

Twitch streamers also make a significant amount of their money from subscriptions. ‘Subs,’ as they are called on Twitch, grant viewers specific perks related to the streamers they subscribe to. Often in the form of special emotes, access to exclusive streams, or access to a private Discord server.

Twitch also has a donation system. Allowing viewers to donate money directly to a streamer. This has become one of the primary methods by which steamers make a living. They will often incentivise viewers to donate by running competitions, giveaways, or hosting special gaming events for top donors.

Social media has quickly become one of the most important and effective tools in any marketing campaign. No matter what it is you’re trying to sell, be it a product or a service, if you aren’t using social media then you aren’t going to make as many sales as possible. Potentially you run the risk of going out of business too. Social media has become that essential to the marketing world.

But the one downside to social media becoming so synonymous with marketing is that it has become a highly competitive environment. Customers are growing savvy to different marketing ploys. So businesses need to up their creative game if they want to have a chance of making sales through social media.

Social media is a tool. And, like any tool, you need to understand how to use it properly. This guide will offer you some creative ways to boost your sales through social media. It is advisable to utilize as many different social media platforms as possible. Primarily Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook though.

Behind The Scenes

This has become an increasingly popular trend for businesses. Using social media as a way of giving a behind the scene look at how their business operates while also showing off the social environment that has developed between the staff. TikTok and Instagram are where you will see this happen the most.

The biggest advantage of posts like this is that it humanises your business. It reminds customers that they are dealing with real people. Not just a faceless business. Many companies have started hiring a social media manager. Their job is to produce this type of content, alongside curating the more official content.

Posts like this are also a great way to motivate your staff. Chances are they will all have some great ideas for a funny post. And you will quickly see your monthly Instagram likes skyrocket when making content like this. It can be useful to browse through TikTok to see what trends are hot at the moment. And have your staff recreate them.

Live Streams

Live streaming has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment on the internet. Twitch went from being a niche website used for people to show their games to their friends to becoming one of the primary video game entertainment platforms. Most major game companies now use Twitch to stream their Esports tournaments.

Nearly every social media platform has a built-in live streaming function. And you should use it as often as possible. This is ideal for independent business owners who are looking to sell more products. You can do a live auction. These are a great way to shift old stock while also generating a lot more hype for your business. And the live auction format tends to get people to spend more than they usually would.

Charity live streams are also a great way to increase your business’ popularity. Doing a fundraiser like a 24-hour gaming session or a challenge day and live streaming the whole thing will bring in a larger audience than you normally have. And doing charity work will encourage people to support your business too.

Live streams are also a great way to announce new products or services. Announcing something new with a normal video is fine. But, if you spend some time hyping up your announcement live stream, you are certain to generate a lot more hype. People like to feel involved in big occasions such as this.

Collaborations

This is a great way to bring in more sales. People always get excited by a collaboration. You see it all the time in the fashion industry. Companies like Nike make new sneakers themed around different movie or TV franchises. Or fast food restaurants teaming up with a gaming company to produce some game specific meals.

If you are selling a product that could work in a collaborative space then you should definitely consider this. And social media is the place to generate all the hype about this collaboration. The company you are teaming up with will, undoubtedly, have their own social media pages. So you should start working with them to produce content.

Not only will collaborating help both you and the other company increase your sales but it is also a great way to bring in more social media followers. You suddenly open yourself up to an entirely new fanbase. And this works both ways. Meaning a lot of companies are going to be willing to collaborate with you. So you should take every opportunity you can get.

Nowadays when we talk about art no matter if it’s video games or movies or even any other type of art the reality is that one of the most talked about subjects is artificial intelligence. While many companies are thinking that artificial intelligence is the future for their industry the reality is much different underground where many developers as well as filmmakers are starting to have issues with the proponents of artificially generated products in their industries. Video games are one of the industries that can still get away with using artificial intelligence in a way that is both ethical and essential. So, let’s look at what artificial intelligence means for the video game industry and how it can shape video games.

First and foremost, it’s very important to understand what artificial intelligence means for the video game industry. While a lot of the conversation around artificial intelligence currently is about algorithm-generating content the reality is that for the video game industry, artificial intelligence for many years meant the algorithm that controls the behaviors of non-playable characters in their games. This means that when we talk about video game AI in most cases, we are talking about our enemy’s behavior or our environment changes based on the player and the product. While it may seem like these two things are very different the reality is that when you come down to it AI in the traditional sense of the word for the video game industry and the new trend of AI boiled down to very similar concepts.

When we talk about artificial intelligence currently both in the video games industry and just generally the reality is that it is not true artificial intelligence as intended by the actual term. What we mean by this is that what we are currently calling artificial intelligence is very far from being actual sentient artificial intelligence. What this means is that artificial intelligence currently is nothing more than a marketing label used to make a very simple technology sound much more impressive than it is. The way artificial intelligence works both to generate NPC behaviors as well as generate images based on prompts is through the use of an algorithm.

What this means is that through a lot of training, algorithms are trained to understand user behavior patterns. This is why for example when you play a video game if you use grenades or if you decide to shoot at an enemy behind cover they will have code that has been both prepared and engineered in a way that the algorithm that’s behind the artificial intelligence of the nonplayable enemy can recognize the player’s behavior and pick and choose among its catalog of own behaviors out to respond to those actions. It is the same thing when you decide to generate an image on a website where the algorithm will pick and choose pieces of images it was trained on to respond to your prompt.

One of the most useful a way that artificial intelligence is being implemented in video games is as a moderation tool for online video games. The way artificial intelligence works in this case is that basically what the developers will do is train the algorithm to recognize normal behaviors when it comes to players interacting with the video game and catalog them as normal interactions with the video game code. Then once the artificial intelligence is fully loaded with all these data it will be diploid online and flag every single behavior that is considered suspicious or outside of the realm of possibilities based on its training data. This is something that older versions of cheat prevention software are unable to do. This is why currently it is possible to cheat at Tarkov very easily while it is nigh impossible to do the same thing on Fortnite.

While there is a margin of error when it comes to pattern recognition algorithms the reality is that in most cases developers can then train data based on both normal behavior by excluding the suspicious yet legitimate interactions with the game and including data trained on how cheating software interacts with the video game. This is why in many cases video game companies can learn from cheating software by reverse engineering them and allowing their anti-cheat to learn to tear apart these new programs. This is why in many cases you will see people who develop cheat programs constantly update and create new programs to be able to constantly be ahead of the curve when it comes to beating the anti-cheat programs to the punch. For many people using AI in this way is probably one of the most productive ways it can be used. Many gamers hope to see technologies like this make the gaming environment safer and fairer for everyone.

Minecraft is one of the most popular and played sandbox games across the world, with gamers ranging from the young to the old. This game has always been about creativity and endless possibilities of changing the landscape. It offers you the opportunity to use your creativity to build complex structures as you explore huge landscapes while surviving the mobs. Hence, the game has something to offer everyone, whether new to gaming or experienced.

However, with the evolving technology, Minecraft has become even better, thanks to the use of artificial intelligence in gameplay. AI has now changed the way gamers pursue their goals in Minecraft, making the game more engaging, intelligent, and enjoyable than ever before. This article will highlight the impact of AI in Minecraft gameplay and briefly explain what it means for you as a player.

Smarter Mobs and NPCs

One of AI’s most beneficial impacts on Minecraft is the way it changed the behavior of the creatures and NPCs (non-playable characters). Before the introduction of intelligent technology, zombies, skeletons, creepers, and other mobs followed simple rules and patterns. That has now changed with AI, where these creatures have become wiser, more challenging, and harder to tell their next move.

For instance, you will encounter a zombie changing tactics as a result of gaining knowledge from its encounters with players. Hence, it changes its attack strategy each time you pose a challenge. Additionally, you will now find villagers able to handle more difficult engagements and offer better trades. Overall, AI has made the gaming world feel more lively, richer, and more challenging.

Creativity in Building

Building is the main activity when it comes to Minecraft, which has seen a whole new change with the development of AI possibilities. With the help of AI, you design and construct more complex and creative structures. This technology offers you suggestions on the best designs and eliminates the struggle of doing the same task repeatedly by automating them. Hence, you can easily construct a number of structures or landscapes based on your preferences.

For instance, if you want to build a castle, an AI will create an outline of your preferred structure, give you ideas of architectural styles, and even place the blocks. This will save you time and effort and help you complete your building goals faster, especially when working on a bigger project.

Ability to Customize

AI can analyze your gaming style and preferences to make the game match your experience. Whether you prefer building, exploring the landscape, or engaging in a fight, AI will automatically adjust the game to fit your level of difficulty, suggest things to do, or give you additional challenges. For example, if you are a fan of exploring the landscape, the game will generate more interesting landmarks and hidden treasures. And if you’re a builder, it might offer you with unique materials and blueprints.

Better Multiplayer Experience

Playing Minecraft with friends is one of the game’s most fun aspects. AI can enhance multiplayer experiences by improving server management, ensuring smoother gameplay, and creating more engaging cooperative and competitive scenarios.

For example, when playing Minecraft unblocked, AI can help balance teams in competitive modes. It can also create different events that respond to player actions, making multiplayer experiences more seamless and enjoyable. AI can also moderate chat and player behavior to ensure a positive and fair gaming environment.

Personalized Learning

If you are a beginner, learning the ins and outs of Minecraft can be challenging, but with the assistance of AI, you will find it easier to understand the game. AI will generate tutorials and guides that align with your level of skill, expertise, and speed of learning. Hence, rather than using rigid learning content, AI can suggest advice and tips as you play, helping you understand the game more quickly and easily.

These AI-generated lessons can be helpful for younger players or those who are first-timers to gaming, making Minecraft a preferred choice for them and expanding its popularity. By providing personalized guidance, AI also helps you become a more experienced and confident player.

Better Utilisation of Resources

How you utilize resources is an important aspect of Minecraft. Therefore, AI comes in to help you make this process more efficient and goal-oriented. AI comes with tools that can help you track your available materials, make smart use of them and even suggest the most efficient ways to gather more materials.

The AI assistant will keep a record of your resources and alert you when any material is depleted. It will also analyze and propose the most potential mining routes or farming techniques to meet your needs and goals.

Twitter, now known as X is a social media platform where people connect and share their thoughts and opinions. The platform has been in existence since 2006 and it has had a lot of global impacts.

The acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk sparked different reactions from its users around the world. Most people wonder what the fate of the company will be after the acquisition takes place. Well, it’s been more than a year since the acquisition took place, and while Twitter has never remained the same, and has lost quite a lot of money, it remains one of the top social media platforms.

While most of the changes made on Twitter are argued to be negatively or positively affecting the company and its users, one undeniable fact is that it now operates on some modern tech. These advancements are aimed at making the Twitter space more conducive and safe for its users.

Read on to learn more about the impact of modern tech on Twitter.

The Impact of Modern Tech on Twitter

As mentioned earlier, the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk has brought about many changes. In this article, we will focus on the technological changes in the new Twitter. Here are some of the impacts of Modern technologies on Twitter

Protection from harmful content

One of the key focuses of the new Twitter is to protect people and advertisers from harmful content among. Rather than going through the traditional method of removing harmful content or tweets and deactivating the culprits account, twitter uses a more advanced technology to handle the situation.

One way of handling this situation is by warning the user trying to make an offensive or controversial post. Some users may not be aware of the trouble their tweets can cause, sending them a warning will help them rethink the decision of making such posts. The purpose of having advanced technology for this context is to help guarantee the safety of both the users and the platform.

Twitter algorithm

Twitter uses modern day algorithm technology to learn about its users. The knowledge of these algorithms is derived from the users clicks and interactions on the platform. The purpose of the Twitter algorithm is to provide personalized recommendations to users. The good thing about this feature is that you can decide whether or not you want your algorithm results to be used as outputs.

A lot of Twitter users benefit from this feature, especially the influencers as it helps their posts to get engagement. If you are looking to optimize your tweets or posted content for twitter algorithms you can do so when you increase your social media presence on twitter and other platforms. The more popular you get, the faster your post gets engagement.

Clearing bots

Technology has a lot of positive impacts on our world today but it has its negative impacts too. Bot creation plays a part in the negative aspects of technology. A lot of hackers have mastered the act of creating bots and sadly, they use it to take advantage of people that fall prey to them.

Most people argue that to every problem, there is a solution. Well, this applies to this situation as Twitter is developing new ways to counter these bots and bot free platforms.

Clearing spams

Spams are popular on most social media platforms and have caused a lot of trouble for their users. Scammers use this method to scam unsuspecting victims. Having unwanted bots on a platform has almost the same consequences as getting spams. Twitter is developing advanced measures to get rid of spams.

Conclusion

One of the many things Elon Musk is known for is creating advanced technology. With this in mind, most people are expecting him to bring a lot of modern day tech to Twitter. So far, as expected, Elon has added some innovative ideas to the platforms and more advancements are still expected in the future.

Some people are of the opinion that Twitter was better off as it was, while others believe the platform is headed to a better space. In all, we just have to keep an open mind and hope for the best.

We have all had a lot of time on our hands over the last couple of years, which has left a lot of us feeling extremely bored. If you are someone that usually considers yourself to be quite creative, then you may have noticed that you have been in quite a rut recently, which is completely understandable given the circumstances. Many of us have spent the majority of the last year stuck in the same routine, which does not leave much room for our creativity to be able to flourish.

One of the best ways to get out of a creative rut is by trying out some new hobbies. Hobbies stimulate your brain, which means you will find it much easier to regain your creativity. Here is a look into some of the hobbies that have been proven to boost creativity.

Painting

A great way to indulge yourself in a bit of creativity is by painting. You can paint on essentially any scale you want, from small models, all the way to completely repainting your home. If you find that painting pictures or models isn’t for you, we recommend that you consider moving on to painting the walls within your house. This will give you the chance to find a creative outlet and it will also allow you to bring some new energy to your home. You can finally get rid of any of the drab walls in your house and if you make a mistake, you don’t need to worry as you can always contact contrastpainting in Perth, and they can ensure that your house is painted to the standard that you want.

Pottery

Pottery is a fantastic way to boost your creativity and can be done by pretty much anyone, regardless of skill set.  Pottery is an extremely rewarding hobby, as you take a pile of clay and make it into something beautiful and even usable. Being a potter is also an extremely impressive skill and if you find that you have a talent for it, you may be able to make it into a business that you can turn a bit of a profit from.

Working with clay has no limitations, so you can make classic pots or you can get really creative and focus on other projects. Something that is very popular right now is making miniature clay statues, which is very fun and surprisingly quite easy.

DIY

Something that you may have noticed is that during lockdown many people picked up DIY. If you are someone that spends a lot of time on social media, then you have seen people post their latest projects, which may have put you in the mood to try it out for yourself. You will be glad to know that there are thousands of pages dedicated to giving tips and examples of DIY projects, so if you can’t think of anything, there is bound to be something online that will inspire you.

DIY Jewellery

If you are interested in artistic hobbies, but you don’t like the idea of creating something without practical use, then you should look into DIY Jewellery. Making jewellery gives you the chance to really stretch your artistic muscles, all while having something you can use in your everyday life. This is a great hobby for those of you out there that have the habit of spending a lot of money on jewellery. By picking up this skill, you will be able to make your own, which will save you money and is much more sustainable.

Gaming has influenced many industries due to its popularity. Adding some significant gaming details to products or brands is known to drive traffic and in fact, boost sales.

One of the industries benefiting from the influence of gaming is the food industry. There are a lot of dishes out there that were inspired by popular games.

While some of these dishes are served in restaurants others will serve as cool home-cooked meals or side dishes for kids.

The popular video games that have served as inspirations to the food industry range from both the new advanced video games to some of the older ones.

These gaming-inspired dishes are either made in the form of characters, items or actual dishes from the games.

While creating a video game-inspired dish is often done for the benefits that come with it, we also need to acknowledge the high level of creativity of the person responsible for the creation of the dish.

We will be listing out some of these creative dishes below.

14 Most Creative Dishes Inspired By Popular Video Games

Here are some of the most creative dishes inspired by popular video games:

1. Super Mario Fire Flowers Appetizers
2. Bento Xbox
3. Angry Birds Sandwich
4. Minecraft Creeper-Crisp Rice Treat
5. Pac-Man Pizza
6. Zelda Fruit Salad
7. Mario Kart 8 Koopa Shell Cake Pops
8. Super Smash Bros Bento Box
9. 1UP Mushroom Burger
10. Pokeball Cakes
11. Pokemon Go strawberries
12. Mario Pizza Stuffed Biscuits
13. Kirby Macaroons
14. Twenty-Sided Dice Lollipop

Super Mario Fire Flowers Appetizers

If you are a Super Mario fan, you will fancy this dish. Super Mario Fire Flowers Appetizers is a lovely looking delicious snack. Cheese and vegetables were designed like the fire flower in Mario.

Bento Xbox

Bento Xbox was inspired by the Xbox gaming system. It was first popular in Japan and is now gradually spreading across North America. In this dish, rice is used to form an Xbox controller, this is indeed one of the top creative video game-inspired dishes

Angry Birds Sandwich

Angry Bird is one of the most recent games in the industry. It is well-known and loved by kids. If you are looking to get creative with dishes for your kids, you can try creating this angry bird sandwich.

Minecraft Creeper-Crisp Rice Treat

Minecraft is currently one of the most played games for gamers worldwide. This will not serve as a home-cooked dish, it will also be perfect for restaurants.

If you are a Minecraft fan, you will greatly appreciate the concept of this dish. These creepers in the game are represented by creepers-shaped crisp rice.

If you are looking to enjoy more of the Minecraft game, you can find a lot of Minecraft survival servers on some designated platforms.

Pac-Man Pizza

Pac-Man is an iconic game in the history of games, it was once one of the most played games during its time. A Pac-Man fan made a Pac-Man-inspired pizza and uploaded it online and it was fully appreciated by other fans.

Zelda Fruit Salad

Zelda Fruit Salad dish was inspired by the Zelda video game. The design of this particular dish is more complex when compared with others in this list. The dish was made by a fan of Zelda.

Mario Kart 8 Koopa Shell Cake Pops

This traditional cake pop was inspired by the Koopa shells that are always blocking the way in the game. The cake pops are designed exactly like the Koopa shells in Colorful designs and with spikes.

Super Smash Bros Bento Box

The Super Smash Bros Bento Box was inspired by some of the characters in the Nitendo game, Super Smash Bros. Bento Box dishes are known to stand out, and this particular dish is no exemption from others.

1UP Mushroom Burger

We have another Super Mario-inspired dish, the 1UP Mushroom Burger. The top of the burger is designed exactly like the ones in the game with cheese and food colouring. This burger is served in a restaurant and has been said to be delicious.

Pokeball Cakes

This Pokemon-inspired cake is a complete delight for kids. The outside of the cakes are designed like Pokeballs while the insides contain red velvet, vanilla, and plain cake icing.

Pokemon Go Strawberries

Pokemon has always been one of the favorites for kids. The game has been in existence for years and yet it has maintained its relevance. Pokemon Go Strawberry, like the game, is mainly for kids. The fruits are designed to look like the colour scheme of Pikachu and the Pokeball.

Mario Pizza Stuffed Biscuits

Super Mario is a favourite when it comes to making video game-inspired dishes. These pizza-stuffed biscuits were inspired by mushrooms in the Mario game that add to the size and life of Super Mario when gotten.

Kirby Macaroons

Kirby Macaroons was inspired by the old 90s game called Kirby. Kirby was successful during its time, and it is still popular with most gamers. Making Kirby-inspired macarons is very creative and it has a very appealing look.

Twenty-Sided Dice Lollipop

This was inspired by the popular Dungeons and Dragons game. Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy adventure game that has inspired many future games, due to its popularity. The twenty-sided dice lollipop inspiration was derived from the twenty-sided dice used in the game.

Conclusion

Gaming is one of the most successful industries worldwide and its popularity increases by the day. Creating dishes inspired by video games is sure to lead to a positive outcome.