Seven Things That Cross Your Mind A Lot

Hello everyone! Yay! It's another day. Today was great. As I mentioned yesterday, today was a super chill day for me. I got to be completely free of anything to do. I got to wake up late (I actually woke up at like 7.30am because I have the most annoyingly accurate body clock ever). I got to chill out and watch Teen Wolf and A LOT of Youtube.

 I also got back to work on my Instagram account. So last week I updated my phone to iOS 8. I guess it's a great system but currently it's annoying the hell out of me because not all the apps have been optimised yet and so everything is so slow and freezy. Especially Kik. Now I've mentioned in my Instagram guides that Kik is an extremely extremely important part of gaining followers. So now, my Kik is slow, laggy and it blacks out and freezes all the time. Basically that combined with my busy schedule for the past few days has kept me from doing anything to gain followers.

So today, I told myself that I would be getting back to work on my account because I am super close to 10K and I honestly can't wait for Kik to get it's crap together to start work. So this morning I gained slightly over 200 followers and I got 9.4K. I'm so excited for 10K honestly. I have a huge blog post planned for that. I just can't believe how far I've gotten with Obsessedwithvamps. It's surreal.

Today I popped a bag of popcorn and watched Teen Wolf. I haven't done this in forever so it was really nice. Salty popcorn is my favourite snack by the way and this brand, which was a new one I tried, is absolutely fabulous. It was perfectly buttery and salty and was just perfectly crunchy enough. Usually my mom buys the pre-popped popcorn from the store and it's always kernel-y. You know what I mean. When you get those brown, unpopped kernel bits that get stuck in your teeth and are so annoying. But this one was just heavenly. Literal perfection. I totally recommend it. It's like 4 bucks or something for three bags. Also I just dedicated a full paragraph to my popcorn. Wow.

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So, 7 things that cross my mind a lot. In no particular order:

1) I actually would really love to settle down in Brighton even though I talk about New York a lot.

2) I wish I cared about things like make-up and fashion but I don't so. 

3) ZALFIE IS SO CUTE MY HEART IS CRYING.

4) I want to be creative and cool but I also want to sit around and watch Youtube all day. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL.

5) I wish I was Zoe Sugg. She is like my literal queen.

6) Why does Troye Sivan have to be gay?

7) What if one day I became a famous blogger?

And because my mind is very noisy, I shall include 3 more ;)

8) I want a Zalfie or Janya relationship one day.

9) I wish I had Zoe's metabolism. The girl practically eats pizza three times a day okay.

10) I wonder what it's like to have my own house. I think my future house will be very pretty and cute like Zoe's.

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How Do You Feel About Making A Friend Online

Today's topic was obvious the second I saw it. My alternative was to screenshot my desktop. I guess I could have talked about how I'm a neat freak when it comes to anything but my room. But there wasn't really much depth in that and it would have turned out very short. So I decided to do the topic of how I feel about making a friend online because it's so relatable to me and I suppose I can talk a lot about it if I want to.

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 So, if you've been following my blog, you would know that I have an Instagram fan page called obsessedwithvamps. I've talked  about hate I've gotten and I have an ongoing series called 'How To Create A Successful Instagram Fanpage', in which I use my own experiences on obsessedwithvamps to give advice to beginners. If you've read my latest post in that series, you would know that relationships are very important when it comes to an Instgram fan page. If you haven't seen that one, you can catch up here. I'll wait. Don't worry.

Okay? Are you all caught up? 

So basically on Instgram, I am constantly making new friends. Constantly meeting people from all corners of the world. Constantly interacting with different people. It's often very fun and exciting especially when we get into conversations about where they're from and what life is like where they live. I love learning about the different cultures, education systems and practices from around the world. It's a pretty awesome thing.

When you make a friend online, there's always a line that you draw. How much information are you comfortable sharing with this person? How do you know that they really are just a teenaged person who wants to talk? For me, because 99% of the people that KIK me are straight from Instagram, I can usually trust who they say they are. You pretty much never encounter a 60 year old perv with a Vampire Diaries fan page account on Instagram so in that way I feel pretty safe conversing with the people I come across on the Internet. I would say that my online friendships are pretty safe. 

Once you can trust an online friend, it becomes very fun. Often, you meet online friends while pursuing your own interests. So that means that you can find similar interests and it makes for the best conversations. This is often better then real life friends. With real life friends, you have so many different interests and you have to learn them and often they aren't specific. But with online friends, its very specific. 

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I think this has been a pretty long post. I still need to write yesterday's post. Yes, I didn't do it because I was really tired and I just wanted to read. I started reading Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother at 10.30pm last night and I only looked up when I finished the entire book 4 hours later at 2.30am. I love binge reading. So I've got to write yesterday's post and I also have to finish up my movie review for my CCA. Then I have to use up my Redbubble birthday vouchers from last year. They will be expiring in December so I've got to sort that out. See you yesterday ;)

Faceless Writer

Every time I post something on this blog, I feel like I'm giving away a part of myself. I'm allowing people to see a part of me and to share an opinion, feeling or experience with me.

 I only recently started this blog but I've already found a lot of joy in writing down the thoughts that often keep me up at night. In fact, the draft section of my page is full of half-written entries simply because I needed a place to pen things down.

I guess for a long time, I've enjoyed the facelessness of the internet. All the way from when I was 13 and put my first fan fiction up on the web, I've had an addiction so to speak. An addiction to allowing faceless people enjoy what I can offer up.

I never liked it when people I know read what I have to say because I guess it gave them an impression of me. If for some strange reason they actually enjoyed my writing, I would become that girl who blogged. Or the girl who writes fan fiction. Or the girl who is such a fangirl she would actually create a fandom account on Instagram. I never liked being thought of as that.

Yes I'm proud of what I have achieved. I will never forget the day I hit 1000 followers on Instagram. I will never forget the very first time someone told me that they had cried reading a story I wrote. I will never forget the people that begged me to continue writing my fan fiction because they truly loved what I was writing. These moments shaped me and made me into the writer and person I am today.

There is something amazing I guess when a complete stranger, who owes you absolutely nothing, decides to read what you wrote and decides that your writing is worthy of praise.

I don't even really know where I'm going with this post. It's just one of those nights I guess.

Till today, I don't know why anyone would care about what I have to say. I'm not Stephen King. I'm not famous. I'm not even remotely interesting. But here you go. My blog is about to hit 1000 views . I just hit 7k on Instagram.

I really like this place called the internet.

How To: Create An Instagram Fan Page {Part 3}

Welcome back to part 3 of my guide to creating an Instagram fan page. If you haven't seen the last two parts,

So in my last 2 posts, I taught you guys the basic Instagram acronyms and I gave you 3 tips for setting up what you will need. In this part, I will be helping you further as well as answering the questions I received on part 2.

1) Shoutouts 

I started @obsessedwithvamps from the ground up. Meaning at one point in my Instagram journey, I legit had 0 followers. It's hard to gain followers when you have like 10 followers because it's hard to find people who want to do shout outs with you. It's actually a cycle. The more followers you have, the more people with more followers want to do shout outs with you and you gain faster. (Did I just make sense? I don't even know omg)

Anyway, the key to overcoming this (and its something you should carry with you throughout your Instagram journey) is simply to do shout outs with people who have about the same number of followers that you do. If you have 10 followers, don't ask people with 1k and above to do shout outs with you. It's not fair to them and also the chances that you will get rejected is very high.

As you gain more followers, like if you have 6k, its okay to ask a person with 8 or 9k for shout outs. That's because its still considered a lot. 

(This was a question posted to me on part 2)

2) Editing Apps

I was asked in my last post to recommend good iPhone editing apps. I have always edited my photos on my phone and I am only just starting to learn how to use Photoshop CS6 to edit. So far I've only been able to teach myself how to make GIFs (lol)

I like to teach myself how to do things. I taught myself how to make GIFs on Photoshop. I taught myself how to use Final Cut Pro in a day (the basics at least). I taught myself how to edit on the iPhone and I'm working towards learning to edit on Photoshop CS6. So I really really can't stand it when people can't be bothered to learn things themselves. 

I absolutely hate it when people comment on my edits asking what apps I used to make it and what filters I used and what fonts I used. It annoys me so much. I always tell people in fact, that I don't give these things out. I'm a fan page. I'm not a 'How To Edit Page'.

The reason why accounts don't give out apps, filters and fonts is simply because that is their unique style. Would an magician give away his trick? No. Why? Because that's what makes them unique and special. That is exactly the same for an editor.

There are a lot of editing apps out there in the app store. Millions in fact. I found the apps that I currently use mostly by trial and error. I like to download a whole lot of apps at one go and then go through them one by one, testing them and seeing if they are any good. Then I will delete the ones that aren't good or aren't what I want and keep the rest to use for my edits.

Bottom line: To find good editing apps and styles, trial and error plus a passion to learn is critical. 

3) Knowing Your Followers

What does it mean to know your followers? In fact, how do you know your followers? With 6300 followers, you can't expect me to know every single one of my followers. That's crazy. So what I mean with this point is to observe your follower trends. 

The first and most basic step to knowing your followers is knowing when they are mostly online. For me, I learnt that my followers are mostly active at about 10pm-1am (Singapore time: SGT). This means that if I post something during that window, I will be able to get the most likes. It's also why I do majority of my shout outs during that time. I found this out again, by trial and error. It's just something you will learn after having your account for some time. 

TIP: Everyone wants followers who are active 24/7. But that's obviously impossible. What you can do however is do shout outs during the whole day (THIS SHOULD ONLY BE DONE FOR A SHORT TIME LIKE 1 OR 2 DAYS). This will make sure that you have followers from different timezones and so you have active followers all through the day basically.

The second thing to do to know your followers is to know what kind of stuff they like. This is done by checking how many likes you get on a photo. If you get 300 likes on a cast photo, you know they like it. If you get 150 likes on an edit, you know they may not like it very much. 

While this should aid you in knowing what to post, always remember that it is ultimately your account and if you aren't comfortable posting something, even if your followers are crazy about it, don't post it.

Well that's all for part 3. Stay tuned for part 4 which will come out (as usual) when this post hits 100 views.

 If you have any questions you want answered, please COMMENT HERE. A lot of you have been directing your comments to my Instagram and while that's okay, it is easier for me if you comment directly here.

(P.S. Check out my other posts. They're just as good (I hope) There's even a TFIOS review up)

How To : Create A Successful Instagram Fan Page {Part 2}

Welcome back to to part 2 of my ongoing series, How To: Create a Successful Fan Page. If you haven't seen part 1 then I'm sorry but 

Go check out part 1 if you haven't basically. The link is here {http://twentythreeowls.blogspot.sg/2014/07/how-to-create-successful-instagram-fan.html}

In this edition, I will be talking about the popular (basic) acronyms that are used on Instagram and KIK. 

So let's get to it and I'll explain why it's important to know these things later.

SFS: 
Shoutout For Shoutout. This is exactly the same as a PFP (Post For Post). It's when someone KIKs you a shoutout picture and caption and you send yours and both people post it and leave it up for 10 minutes unless otherwise discussed.

Screenies:
This is similar to an SFS but it is not done on KIK. It is done on Instagram directly. You simply take a screenshot of the person's account or edits and post it saying 'Follow @obsessedwithvamps', for example. Again, you leave it up for 10 minutes.

Group Shoutouts/Shares (GS):
This is where your nice people skills come in. This is also the place where you meet friends and network with people. Basically in a GS, someone will say 'Drop names'. You then post something like this:
Cam 1 
Someone will then gather the names and put them in a list. Then, by the order of the names, you send your SFS picture and caption and everyone will post. Then the next person will go and likewise till everyone is done. This can be fun but sometimes, when you have people who are not active, it can take a long time and be very annoying. So make sure you have time to remain active in the GS before agreeing to be in it.

TIP: Try to be first or second. Sometimes GS's breakdown after one or two people go because of inactiveness. Try not to get last because sometimes people don't post. That said, don't go bat crazy if you do end up last. Just deal with it. Not everybody doesn't post. Also don't leave if you do end up last because it is 

Megas:
This is similar to a GS except when someone says 'Drop', you type your username like this:
@obsesedwithvamps 
Then someone will gather the names to put in a list. REMEMBER. If you are the one gathering, you have to send your username as well. Then you gather according to who dropped first. Don't shove your name on top simply because you gathered or because you are hosting. It's very rude. Then, someone will make a caption and someone else will post a mega picture. Then everyone posts and leaves it there for 10 minutes. Pretty simple.

TIP: Try to get your name on top as much as you can without being rude or cheating. People sometimes like to follow the top person only. If you can't get on the top, try to put your name last because it's just as good as getting a top place.

Ultras:
This is pretty fun as long as you have active people and good coordination. These things don't happen often though because it takes 20 people and some people just don't want to deal with that 'ish. ANYWAY. An ultra is basically when you have two full KIK groups (so 20 people) and you have one person who is in both groups. Then, you drop your usernames, someone will gather it and the person that is in both groups will combine the names from both groups and then it will be like a mega but with 20 people. I've been in good and bad ones so be careful. If it looks like its falling apart, leave. Don't waste your time.

CWD:
This means 'Comment When Done'. Pretty self-explanatory. 



So that's it for part 2. It is super important to know these things because it is very annoying when you have someone asking you to explain it. You most likely think I'm being bitchy here. Let me explain. Majority of established fan pages have what they call SFS time. This is an allocated time when accounts will do a lot of SFS to gain followers. That means that it is highly likely that a person will be in 3-4 megas, one GS and a couple of SFSs all at once. It's hectic obviously and the last thing you need is someone asking questions. So don't be that someone. 

I hope you guys liked this post. Stay tuned for part 3 which will have more tips!

(P.S. Just a note, just like part 1, when this post hits 100 views, I will post part 3)

Ugly

For about a year and a half I have been the proud owner of a Vampire Diaries fan page on Instagram. It's called Obsessedwithvamps and as of today I have 5.5K+ followers. I love my account. I have made so many great friends through it and I have learnt and improved so much in my editing. I'm very proud of what I have achieved with Obsessedwithvamps.

I regularly check back with my followers to get their feedback on my account. I do this because I truly value what my followers think about my account and I do want to make my account better. I always aim to make my account better. Till today, all I have ever received has been positive feedback. People love my account and my edits. Besides the occasionally negative comment or fight, I have never received anything that was intentionally nasty (well except for the people that start fights with me).

Last night, I posted a shoutout for my brother. I promised a shoutout in return for following him which I do often and I usually return as many as I possibly can. After posting, I fell asleep. I woke up to a conversation on the picture saying that it was a scam and someone said that I was lame and that they thought I was better then that. Immediately I returned the shoutout. I tagged the person in the shoutout and replied to her saying that I do return shout outs and that I simply fell asleep. She replied an hour later saying, 'I didn't get a notification about a shout out. You're sneaky.' etc. I replied saying that I left her shoutout up for 10 minutes like I do for all shout outs and then took it down. It was there. Is it my fault that she didn't see? She didn't reply.

When I got back from school, I decided to make a video to clarify the fact that as far as possible, I try to not scam and to always return shout outs. I posted it and within minutes I had three people commenting. This is what these lovelies said:

I was so touched because I didn't ask them to comment anything nice. I simply posted a video. So I was really happy. And then, someone commented,

'Your ugly'. That was her exact comment (yes it was grammatically wrong). 

I saw it and immediately the fact that 3 people just called me pretty and perfect ceased to matter. All that mattered was this one comment. I instantly replied saying that she was being rude. A few minutes later, two followers jumped to my defence as well. The person didn't reply. I took down the video.

 I was hurt but I was having lunch and watching 'Revenge' at that time so I ignored it. Later that afternoon, after doing some school work, I was surfing the net and I just paused. I stopped and this person's comment came back to me. The word UGLY kept repeating in my mind for a minute or two. I realised that this person's comment had affected me quite a bit. 

I struggle a lot with how I see myself and how I feel about my body. I did not need this comment.

 I did not write this post because I wanted sympathy. One comment is nothing. I know that and I'm not going to cry myself to sleep because of it.

I wrote this post because of how easy it was for this person to pass a two word comment like that and how much  it upset me. Imagine 2 of these kinds of comments? 200? 2000?  That what cyber bully victims go through. I finally understand how someone can take their life based on cyber bullying. If that one comment hurt me enough for me to take time out of my day to reflect on it, imagine what a cyber bully victim goes through.

My point is to be careful what you say on the Internet. Don't pass nasty comments just for the sake of doing it. It hurts. It really does. It's so easy to post two words. It's also so easy to bring someone down.  "You're pretty", 'You're ugly". Be careful. Be kind.