👏 slowclap

👏 slowclap

@slowclap.bsky.social

Come join a community of creators supporting each other where they already are! Decentralized, privacy respecting, and minimalist. Help rebuild the indie web by throwing pennies at people! Let’s make some noise 🎉

182 followers1.3K following1.3K posts

👏 slowclap reposted

Nicholas J. Collins
@me.nicholasjcollins.com.ap.brid.gy

Your skin bristles and Agora fades, replaced by a familiar tightness in your chest…

nicholasjcollins.comIonaThe bedsheets scratched at Iona's skin, raising faint red welts on her shoulder blades and the sides of her belly. Everything did that—irritated her, raised her skin. When she was younger she'd gone to a dermatologist. He'd called her sensitive. That had irritated her too. He'd been pointing at her skin when she said it, but she could hear it in his voice. It wasn't her skin that he thought was the problem. Once, in what felt like another life, she'd had a set of sheets that felt soft on her skin, like sleeping on a cloud, but Asteroid, her dog, had torn them apart. She'd named him that because he ruined everything. Replacing them would have cost money she didn't have, so she'd gone back to the cheap, scratchy stuff. Now she stared up at the ceiling, waiting out her alarm, in her hot, itchy, uncomfortable bed. Asteroid huffed and stretched, pushing her leg off the mattress. She sighed. "You know, most people have their dogs sleep on the floor," she said, pointing. Asteroid looked down at the floor and back at her and blinked. "Yeah, exactly." He huffed again and jumped toward her face, knocking the wind from her lungs and tickling her cheeks with his whiskers as he sniffed her ear. She felt her phone buzzing on the windowsill. "Alright, I'm up," she said, trying to forget that she'd been awake for several hours. _Scratchy bedsheets off, scratchy clothes on,_ she thought, pausing before she put on her shirt. She turned to the left and right in front of the mirror, noticing the way her skin sagged. Her eyes drew back toward the empty half of the bed. She smirked, pushing away whatever it was that she was feeling. Black polo, khaki skirt, yellow apron, feed Asteroid, lock the door. Up and out and gone before the sun had even peeked above the horizon. The car door slammed, jolting Iona's mind from its half-sleep haze. Her keys jingled against her side, then her wrist, then the steel frame of the door. The bolt sliding into place shook her palm with a satisfying thunk. She craned her arm into the dark and flipped a switch. The fluorescent lights buzzed, bathing the back room in unnaturally blue light. She pulled seven bananas from the freezer. They'd be brown mush before long, but it was summer, and everyone loved brown mush blended up with their artificial flavors and colors. She stacked those and all the premade pastries and plastic-wrapped microwavable breakfasts between her arm and her chin. Making her way to the boxes of oatmeal, she kicked one, just so, and it tumbled off the shelf and fell gently open. Empty. Her eyes darted to the schedule on the wall. "Sven," she whispered, with a loathing most would reserve for a sworn enemy. "Of course." With the bananas and breakfast burritos and everything else still pinched between her chin and forearm, she tried to squat down to open a new box. She dropped lower, and a banana shifted. She froze, then adjusted her chin, sliding it back into place. Grabbing the edges of the cardboard, she pulled, and . . . _It's that thick tape!_ she thought, her fingernail catching on the strings laced across it, which made it impossible to open. The tower of food tucked beneath her chin tumbled and clattered to the ground, leaving only a solitary bacon sandwich in her outstretched hand. "Sven," she repeated, this time louder than a whisper. The bells attached to the door jingled. Iona looked at the clock. _We don't open for another ten minutes, you asshole,_ she thought. "I'll be right out!" she said, forcing a smile across her face in the hopes it made her sound happier. She tossed the bananas and pastries in the trash, scooped up the individually wrapped meals and brought them out into the dimly lit café. Iona froze as soon as she saw that it was her. Smooth, jazzy saxophone filled the otherwise silent space between them. * * * The air was filled with the sounds of students on the common, muffled through the brick and mortar. The building wasn't old, but it was designed to look it. They thought it gave them prestige, being surrounded by books and leather and walnut. The board stared at her, hunched, mustached, pale skinned and spectacled. They remained silent, fixed in their decision regardless of what she said. It was quiet enough to hear the scratching of one of their pencils. Her body burned with fury. She took a breath and let her mind trace upward, through the clouds and atmosphere, pushing through to what lay beyond. She was no longer a person, on petty earth with its petty concerns. She was a micrometeorite, the size of a fist, drifting aimlessly through the endless void. Small enough to be completely invisible. Large enough to shift the cosmos. Galaxies illuminated before her, each containing multitudes. Stars, those forges of creation beaming out their light, burning, in a moment more than the sum creation of humanity. The spaces between them were vast enough to be incomprehensible. But there were so many. In each of them were planets, and on each of those planets innumerable mountains and valleys, each enough to be their own discovery, their own adventure. She drifted onward, mindless,infinitesimal. A shadow loomed above her, blotting out the sun. All of this was meaningless in the face of that scale. All Iona, and every other person in that room, would ever be was one tiny blip of light in the darkness. A single pixel illuminated for a fraction of a second, forming a fragment of a fragment of a frame of a picture. A grain of sand in a mandala, soon to be wiped away. None of it mattered, so why did it matter so much? * * * "Iona?" Nora said, and her voice landed on Iona's heart like an autumn breeze. There was confusion in it, which was earned, and a trace of judgement, also fair, but none of it diminished its warmth. "It's good to see you," she added, and she meant it. "It's good to see you too." Iona reached underneath her sleeve and scratched her upper arm. Neither of them spoke. In another life, they had known each other, tasted each other's lips and everything in between. They had loved like only the young can love, wild and with abandon, without the sense to protect their own hearts. Even then Iona had known that, to Nora, she was an academic fascination, something to be learned and experienced and set aside. Yet Iona had let herself fall completely, hurt ruinously. The part of her heart that still felt hope still hoped for Nora, and here she was, looking as radiant and beautiful as she remembered. Age only heightened the things about her body that made Iona's mouth water with anticipation and delight. "How have you been?" Nora asked, her eyes sad and curious. That she had stumbled upon Iona here, rather than anywhere anyone who knew her would have expected, answered the question well enough. "I—" Iona started. The bells attached to the door jingled. "Nora, what's going on? We need to get going. Look, see? I told you, they're not even open. We'll get some food at the airport, okay?" Nora looked back over her shoulder at Iona once again. She smiled a sad, friendly smile, and then she left. The smooth, jazzy saxophone played louder. Iona looked down at the individually wrapped sandwiches in her hands, only just now noticing how cold they were. She sighed and put them in the refrigerator under the display stand, then made her way back to the beaming fluorescent light of the back room and into the freezer, where she sat down on a half-empty box. She took a breath and let her mind trace upward, through the clouds and atmosphere, pushing through to what lay beyond. She was no longer a person, on petty earth with its petty concerns. She was a micrometeorite.
👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

If you dislike AI / LLMs, especially in creative contexts, I’m unaware of any Slowclap creator that’s sharing AI generated content, but if you want extra assurance, look for the 🫰 handcrafted icon. It’s an opt-in label that creators use to indicate maintain authorship over their work.

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

Also if you’re a creator and you handcraft the stuff you make and you haven’t added the handcrafted label, what are you waiting for? You’re making stuff yourself! That’s cool! Brag about it!

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

(If you subscribe from anywhere else you'll get all my fiction writing and associated updates instead which are fantastic to read but not especially informative re: slowclap)

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

I just want to take a second and elaborate on something I touched on in my most recent post. I haven’t been as active on BlueSky in the last few weeks, and while that’s correlated to a slight reduction in new creator accounts. New subscriber accounts more than doubled. That’s because of all of you.

👏 slowclap reposted

Val @ BOO! Goes the Bride (of Frankenstein)
@valwrites.ca

When we say this is why bsky is the place for creators, this is why. I know there's problems with staff, but damn. Nobody else is making it this easy to share things. Plus, now @slowclap.bsky.social is even easier to use!!!

Bluesky@bsky.app

v1.136 is live! Introducing: Profile links We want independent writers, artists, developers, and creators to be able to build and fund sustainable projects on Bluesky. Help your followers know how to support you by adding buttons for Patreon, Ko-fi, your newsletter or website, and more.

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

As far as I’m aware, this also only true if you’re lucky enough to get a batch payment or a supporter that pays extra to offset the fees. Patreon charges 8%-12% and the payment processor charges 30 cents plus 3%, meaning even direct payments can be as low as 55 cents!

This post is unavailable.
👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

We also take fees, but once, no matter how many people you support. That’s not to say Patreon isn’t worthwhile, but on low $ tiers especially, people get a lot less than you’d expect!

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

Personally I think this guy should put his money where his mouth is and give that other guy 30K

Matt Darling@besttrousers.bsky.social

I don't think $30k is a life-changing amount of money. Median American born in 1980 will have $2m in income in their lifetime. It's a 1% increase in earnings.

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

Small update to slowclap this morning, mainly about communities! New Communities For: 📜 Poets! 💻 Developers! Also, in order to give people more flexibility I’ve increased the custom community count and moved the nsfw flag to links. Please update your communities and links accordingly!

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

FYI While I’m trying to avoid emphasizing applause amounts in share cards (any support is good support!) There is a design language for applause! 0-9 👐 (my avatar) 10-49: 🙌 50-99: raise the roof! 100-199: 💪 200-299: ✌️ 300-499: 👌 500-999: ✋ 1K-1999: ✊ 2K-2999: 🫶 3K-4999: 🖖 5K-9999: 🤙 10K+ ???

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

I hope all who this applies to add themselves to this list! And please consider subscribing! For $5 a month you could give each of these people .40, which is almost as much as they’d get from an individual $1 Patreon sub! Make your $5 count for $10 and support some great people!

This post is unavailable.

👏 slowclap reposted

Verati
@verati404.bsky.social

I'm excited for #slowclap to gain traction. Indie spaces really need a win, & there should be easy ways to support creatives making real, human-made art. ^_^

This post is unavailable.
👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

Last day you can take advantage of this promo! If you login to slowclap, click “share” next to your current goal and paste and post the cool new goal card here, your goal will be met! (Until I run out of applause) Speak up and take my 👏

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

Hoping some of you take advantage! It takes 30 seconds, and is a great way to let people know that the platform exists and that it’s a good way to support you, so it helps me too! Help me help you!

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

Platforms like this take awhile to build, especially when they’re built by one person, with no VC funding. I really appreciate all the early support and can’t wait to build this place into something incredible for all of you! Let’s support the indie web and prove collective appreciation works! 💪

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

Some people benefit from it, but does anyone making content actually enjoy the “subscribe to me for xyz” system? It creates a transactional relationship out of what should be a supportive one, puts obligations on creators that don’t scale, segments viewership, and forces you to compete with peers.

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

Reposting this with some context! If you login to slowclap you’ll see a section called “goals” it lists your current goal, which is generated based on how much applause you’ve received this month. Click “share” paste the link here (it will look something like below) Post and your goal will be met!

slowcl.appsupport slowclap on slowclap 👏with slowclap you can support hundreds of creators with a single subscription. Plans start at $5
👏 slowclap@slowclap.bsky.social

I’ve got some applause left to give this month so here’s the plan, until I’ve used all of it up. If you share your current goal card, you’ll meet it 💪 (tag me though)

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

I’ve got some applause left to give this month so here’s the plan, until I’ve used all of it up. If you share your current goal card, you’ll meet it 💪 (tag me though)

👏 slowclap reposted

Val @ BOO! Goes the Bride (of Frankenstein)
@valwrites.ca

Hey everybody, the recording for my marketing workshop from @flightsoffoundry.bsky.social is available! I had a great time talking, and just FYI this is not edited, but considering i talk the entire friggen time there's not much to edit!!! I do not take many breaths!!! Let me know any Qs you have!

patreon.comMarketing Mayhem workshop recording! | ValiantHi Everybody! I recently did a wonderful workshop about marketing when the algorithm just straight up hates you, and how i use memes, shitpo
👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

Today’s update is LIVE with: 🛡️four new themes 💪 better share cards for events 🚩 more fun goal messages 🪪 custom creator cards 👉 a share button right on your slowcl.app/account page that copies your applause page to the clipboard 🐞 bug fixes and improvements I’m going to take a nap 💤

👏 slowclap
@slowclap.bsky.social

This is a great deal and a great way to move over to the #indieweb! Support a dev that isn’t making vibecoded slop! Build your own audience! Laugh a little every time you realize you’re building your site with a tool called “bimbo” 💪

izzy curse-trel@iznaut.com

last call for discount bimbo