D.Buzz is Hive's version* of Twitter. Posts on D.Buzz are called buzzes. Both apps impose a character limit on posts; D.Buzz allows 280 characters in the body. At the moment, I'm locked out of D.Buzz, so I have no idea how long my buzzes are when I use #Ecency. So I made a quick-and-dirty spreadsheet to count characters typed. Introducing the D.Buzz Character Count Post Form for buzzes (and tweets).
* = For now it remains D.Buzz. Later in 2022 #ProjectBLANK will launch, and that will be take microblogging on Hive to another level.
Cover Image made using HTML and CSS. Light edits made using MS Paint. Additional images made using Excel 2003, with edits made using MS Paint.
Introducing the D.Buzz Character Count Post Form
The D.Buzz Character Count Post Form is a simple stand-alone spreadsheet used for preparing buzzes for Hive's microblogging dApp D.Buzz. The spreadsheet has no connection at all to blockchain; it's just an example of how a spreadsheet can be used for blogging (in this case, microblogging).
Recently D.Buzz made character count for the buzz title separate from character count for the body of the buzz, so this form reflects that organization.
Features and Benefits of the D.Buzz Character Count Post Form
Both title and body areas of this form have the following features and benefits:
Built-in Character Count Formulas
The spredsheet counts the characters typed in either the title field or the body field. This means the buzzer or microblogger is free to compose the buzz and adjust the content as needed later.
Variable Limits for Title and Body
There was a time when D.Buzz posts has a 140-character limit. At some point, D.Buzz doubled the character limit to 280. For a long time the character limit for the buzz included the title. Recently the title acquired its own limit of 60 characters. For these reasons, the D.Buzz Character Count Post Form provides fields to enter the maximum numbers of characters for title and body. This means that if the dApp changes these settings again, people using this form can update the maximum values.
Dynamic Status Line for Character Counts
The status line changes color depending on the length of the title or body:
- Normal colors for a short title or body;
- Cautious red text when remaining character count reaches 5 for title or 10 for body;
- Loud yellow text on red background when title or post has extra characters.
Under normal circumstances, the visual cues should be enough to guide the buzzer during the composition of the buzz.
These dynamic staus lines calculate the number of characters remaining we don't have to. This means that we can focus on composing the buzz until its time to post, then we can adjust as needed to satisfy character limits.
What Made the D.Buzz Character Count Post Form Possible?
The following spreadsheet features made the D.Buzz Character Count Post Form possible:
- Named Ranges;
- Merged cells;
- Simple math;
- The
LEN()function on the spreadsheet; - Formula concatenating featuring
IF()functions for the dynamic status lines; - The
AND()function within Conditional Formatting settings for the dynamic status lines;
A future post will explain these features in greater detail. I mentioned them here to give an idea how Excel (or the spreadsheet program of your choice) can be used to simulate the basic data entry features of microblogging platforms such as D.Buzz and the upcoming #ProjectBLANK.
Just My Two Sats
Thanks to general front-ends such as #Ecency, it's possible to type buzzes for viewing in the D.Buzz dApp. Unfortunately, Ecency doesn't show a character count, so it's easy to go overboard while typing buzzes. Since I'm locked out of D.Buzz, I needed a tool to track my progress as I composed content for use in a buzz. So I made a quick-and-dirty spreadsheet I call the D.Buzz Character Count Post Form.
This form does the essentials: count characters typed, show characters remaining, and provide dynamic status lines to show if the buzzes stayed within character limits.
Behind the scenes are not only simple formulas and functions but also named ranges and Conditional Formatting. This aspect of the D.Buzz Character Count Post Form will be covered in a future post.
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| Sometimes I discover posts way after the initial earnings period. It's too late for me to upvote posts then, so to make up for the lost upvote I send a slice of PIZZA instead. My main focus is cryptocurrencies from a number of angles (educational, commentary, observations, even pop culture). A secondary focus is sharing my discoveries about the world of Hive Social. Most of my posts can be found at these two locations: ● LeoFinance : @magnacarta ● Proof of Brain : @magnacarta Follow me at this D.Buzz-only account : ● D.Buzz : https://blog.d.buzz/#/@magnacarta.buzz-- note the ".buzz" at the end! If you follow me at  , please follow me at this account as wellI expect 2022 to be the year I go from being crazy or weird to being eccentric. If that doesn't happen, then Festivus will last longer than I can stand. |