Headway is an EdTech startup that creates microlearning products helping 50M+ users globally achieve self-growth goals

Headway

Three Core Principles for Avoiding Work Fatigue In the fast-paced modern world, productivity is considered crucial to success in personal and professional lives. A shows that being more productive is the most popular self-development goal in the US, the UK, and Australia. prioritizing productivity over happiness, health, and earning more money. recent survey Over 63% of Americans strive to be more productive, At the same time, the tech world is facing a quiet quitting trend and a burnout epidemic. Some employers respond by implementing various monitoring solutions and return-to-office mandates. However, all of these contribute to work fatigue and have the same strategic issue: our approach to productivity needs to be redefined. Below I suggest while nurturing emotional well-being in the workplace. shares the practices that helped our hybrid team at , overcome the challenges of the pandemic and wartime without a drop in productivity, eNPS, or employee retention. three core principles to help you maximize your team’s efficiency Mariana Boloban, Head of People and Career Expert , a Ukrainian EdTech startup Headway Determine priorities Prioritization may seem the most obvious solution to maximizing productivity, but it is not the easiest. While we understand that resources are limited, and we can’t simply do more, prioritization issues arise. People mistakenly approach minor tasks that bring quick results and satisfaction first, while comprehensive tasks, which are critical to success, remain unattended. A manager’s mission is to suggest an approach to help employees be on the same page while . You may choose a method that suits your team best. However, all of these are based on the critical principles suggested by Eisenhower’s Urgent-Important Matrix. The idea is that you skip the unnecessary, postpone the non-urgent, and delegate the least important stuff. setting priorities Each participant in the workflow must have a clear picture of how daily tasks contribute to business goals However, in most cases, the issue is not about prioritization as a tool. It is about of each employee and the company as a whole. Each participant in the workflow must have a clear picture of how daily tasks contribute to business goals. understanding the goals Make learning a part of your corporate culture Sustainable productivity is the chase for quality, not speed or quantity. Help your team identify Motivate them to devote time to education instead of spinning in a loop of minor tasks that take time and energy. While striving to do more often leads to exhaustion, aiming to improve the quality of skills will result in higher efficiency and overall satisfaction. Education also adds to the feeling of , which takes productivity to the next level and eradicates fatigue. personal development areas. self-actualization Even short learning sessions may significantly improve performance if efforts are consistent We often skip great educational opportunities, as the process is time-consuming. However, even short learning sessions may significantly improve performance if efforts are consistent. I always encourage my team to book while planning their week so education is not overhead but an essential task on the agenda. slots for learning Encourage taking breaks Employees often ignore the need to refresh as they strive to accomplish more. Both regular microbreaks throughout the day and days off work are crucial to nurturing productivity. The most widespread mistake is that high achievers only consider resting when they feel exhausted. Time off, however, is not a remedy for burnout but an essential component to prevent it. I ensure that every manager keeps abreast of their subordinates having Checking on the general well-being of each employee is an essential part of each weekly one-to-one. enough time to recharge. Time off is not a remedy for burnout but an essential component to prevent it Your team members will benefit more from an accidental day out of the office in the middle of the working week than a sabbatical taken to recover from accumulated stress. A similar approach works for microbreaks. Occasionally will help you develop new thoughts, complete daily tasks even faster, and feel satisfied with both the process and the results. switching your attention In the modern work environment chasing productivity at its expense is a disastrous mistake, resulting in decreased performance over the long run. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to productivity. These elements will help avoid work fatigue and detrimental outcomes of employee disengagement. However, consistent learning, improved prioritization, and regular breaks are the fundamentals of any corporate culture.

Why Do Most of Us Approach Productivity Incorrectly? 

Getting your first 100 users isn't easy. Here's how I do it with Reddit, where most people don’t care about your products and hate advertising Sitting in our office (a fancy word for our favorite coffee shop), I mumble, “I thought I would do A/B testing and analysis!?” Man, was I naive! Where do you find the data to do that when the only people who know about your app are four dudes you have hung out with since high school? After devouring almost everything I could about growth for early startups, I realized the solution: Do things that don’t scale. And the first channel: Reddit! “It’s gonna be an easy game.” I thought, 'It's going to be easy because I built my TikTok channel from 0 to 2x thousands of followers. I will have hundreds of sign-ups in just three days.” Right? Over the next few weeks, I immersed myself in Reddit, exploring every possible subreddit related to my industry (notetaking), and did two things: Write heartfelt posts about why I built my product, its features, and how it will help users.


Reply to comments as quickly as possible to build momentum and generate buzz. It seemed easy as I sat sipping my coffee and typing away. I had dozens of subreddits to explore and hours to spare. Plus, my product vision is superb – who wouldn’t want to try it? It was a no-brainer. Within a few hours, I had already posted dozens of posts and comments. I noticed that my Reddit notifications were blowing up – I must be doing a good job. Ha ha ha. “Uhmm, I don’t expect this” As I opened those notifications, I geared up to respond to the enthusiastic comments from my beloved early adopters. But, surprise, surprise, by being a dedicated “advertiser,” I found myself banned from some of the biggest relevant subreddits. Not only that, but I received a barrage of downvotes for what seemed like explicit advertising! “No worries,” I reassured myself, “it's just some outliers.” However, as days passed, it dawned on me: the outlier was me. With early responses branding me as a scam, I couldn’t help but smile wryly and wonder, “Why do I have to go through this? Is it even worth it when you receive so much criticism?” When hundreds of people are downvoting your every move, such thoughts inevitably arise. I contemplated shifting focus to another channel, convincing myself that Reddit simply didn’t align with my product— “Focus on the Channel Product Fit,” I said The Change But fortunately, I didn’t take that route. Instead, I resolved to make it work. I delved deeper into what resonated with Reddit and what didn’t. I realized that to succeed in this channel would take blood, sweat, and tears. I then opted for a more subtle approach: Write an added post; mention your product only when allowed to.
Instead of writing a post, find a post where people are looking for solutions that are relevant to you.
DM people looking for those tools And I was relentless. Every post, every person—I reached out to them all. Yes, I mean every single one. I still stored the hundreds of post links and the people I DM’d back then. It wasn’t a scalable approach, but it was what I needed to do to get the word out when I was just starting out. How to be good at this? I’m still learning, but the key is: Don’t explicitly advertise unless permitted.
When DM, instead of directly selling, ask about their problems to determine if your products are relevant.
Relevancy is crucial; seek out relevant individuals, subreddits, and posts.
How do I find them? I typed every relevant keyword in the chat and joined any relevant subs from the search. After putting in a lot of effort, I finally managed to make some headway for my product on Reddit. I accumulated hundreds of thousands of views, attracted initial users, and continue to receive a decent number of referrals from Reddit every day. So, there you have it – how I find customers via Reddit. Next up, LinkedIn – Hm, wait a second, was I just scolded? Getting your first 100 users isn't easy. Here's how I do it with Reddit, where most people don’t care about your products and hate advertising Sitting in our office (a fancy word for our favorite coffee shop), I mumble, “I thought I would do A/B testing and analysis!?” Man, was I naive! Where do you find the data to do that when the only people who know about your app are four dudes you have hung out with since high school? After devouring almost everything I could about growth for early startups, I realized the solution: Do things that don’t scale. And the first channel: Reddit! “It’s gonna be an easy game.” I thought, 'It's going to be easy because I built my TikTok channel from 0 to 2x thousands of followers. I will have hundreds of sign-ups in just three days.” Right? Over the next few weeks, I immersed myself in Reddit, exploring every possible subreddit related to my industry (notetaking), and did two things: Write heartfelt posts about why I built my product, its features, and how it will help users. Reply to comments as quickly as possible to build momentum and generate buzz. Write heartfelt posts about why I built my product, its features, and how it will help users. Write heartfelt posts about why I built my product, its features, and how it will help users. Write heartfelt posts Reply to comments as quickly as possible to build momentum and generate buzz. Reply to comments as quickly as possible to build momentum and generate buzz. Reply to comments It seemed easy as I sat sipping my coffee and typing away. I had dozens of subreddits to explore and hours to spare. Plus, my product vision is superb – who wouldn’t want to try it? It was a no-brainer. Within a few hours, I had already posted dozens of posts and comments. I noticed that my Reddit notifications were blowing up – I must be doing a good job. Ha ha ha. “Uhmm, I don’t expect this” As I opened those notifications, I geared up to respond to the enthusiastic comments from my beloved early adopters. But, surprise, surprise, by being a dedicated “advertiser,” I found myself banned from some of the biggest relevant subreddits. Not only that, but I received a barrage of downvotes for what seemed like explicit advertising! banned “No worries,” I reassured myself, “it's just some outliers.” However, as days passed, it dawned on me: the outlier was me. With early responses branding me as a scam, I couldn’t help but smile wryly and wonder, “Why do I have to go through this? Is it even worth it when you receive so much criticism?” When hundreds of people are downvoting your every move, such thoughts inevitably arise. I contemplated shifting focus to another channel, convincing myself that Reddit simply didn’t align with my product— “Focus on the Channel Product Fit,” I said The Change But fortunately, I didn’t take that route. Instead, I resolved to make it work. I delved deeper into what resonated with Reddit and what didn’t. I realized that to succeed in this channel would take blood, sweat, and tears. I then opted for a more subtle approach: subtle approach: Write an added post; mention your product only when allowed to. Instead of writing a post, find a post where people are looking for solutions that are relevant to you. DM people looking for those tools Write an added post; mention your product only when allowed to. Instead of writing a post, find a post where people are looking for solutions that are relevant to you. DM people looking for those tools And I was relentless. Every post, every person—I reached out to them all. Yes, I mean every single one. I still stored the hundreds of post links and the people I DM’d back then. It wasn’t a scalable approach, but it was what I needed to do to get the word out when I was just starting out. How to be good at this? I’m still learning, but the key is: How to be good at this? Don’t explicitly advertise unless permitted. When DM, instead of directly selling, ask about their problems to determine if your products are relevant. Relevancy is crucial; seek out relevant individuals, subreddits, and posts. How do I find them? I typed every relevant keyword in the chat and joined any relevant subs from the search. Don’t explicitly advertise unless permitted. When DM, instead of directly selling, ask about their problems to determine if your products are relevant. Relevancy is crucial; seek out relevant individuals, subreddits, and posts. How do I find them? I typed every relevant keyword in the chat and joined any relevant subs from the search. After putting in a lot of effort, I finally managed to make some headway for my product on Reddit. I accumulated hundreds of thousands of views, attracted initial users, and continue to receive a decent number of referrals from Reddit every day. So, there you have it – how I find customers via Reddit. Next up, LinkedIn – Hm, wait a second, was I just scolded? LinkedIn – Hm, wait a second, was I just scolded?

How Do You Acquire Customers as a Startup? Well, I Got My First 100 Via Reddit

আপনি কিভাবে একটি স্টার্টআপ হিসাবে গ্রাহকদের অর্জন করবেন? ঠিক আছে, আমি রেডডিটের মাধ্যমে আমার প্রথম 100 পেয়েছি

Wie gewinnt man als Startup Kunden? Meine ersten 100 habe ich über Reddit bekommen

¿Cómo se consiguen clientes como startup? Bueno, obtuve mis primeros 100 a través de Reddit

Comment acquérir des clients en tant que startup ? Eh bien, j'ai eu mes 100 premiers via Reddit

स्टार्टअप के तौर पर आप ग्राहक कैसे जुटाते हैं? खैर, मुझे रेडिट के ज़रिए अपने पहले 100 ग्राहक मिले

スタートアップとして顧客を獲得するにはどうすればいいでしょうか？私の場合、最初の100人の顧客はReddit経由で獲得しました

스타트업으로서 고객을 어떻게 확보하나요? 음, Reddit을 통해 처음으로 100개를 얻었습니다.

Como você conquista clientes como uma startup? Bem, consegui meus primeiros 100 via Reddit

Как привлечь клиентов в стартапе? Ну, я получил свои первые 100 через Reddit

Bir Startup Olarak Müşterileri Nasıl Kazanırsınız? İlk 100'ümü Reddit'ten Aldım

Làm thế nào để bạn có được khách hàng khi mới khởi nghiệp? Chà, tôi đã đạt được 100 đô la đầu tiên thông qua Reddit

作为一家初创公司，你如何获取客户？好吧，我通过 Reddit 获得了我的第一个 100 个客户

Decoding Success: Case Studies of 3 Successful Tech Enterprises

A Glimpse Into the Past The concept of smart contracts predates the inception of blockchains, having been delineated by Nick Szabo in 1994. The first practical application emerged years later in 2015 with the Ethereum platform. Fundamentally, smart contracts automate contractual obligations and eliminate intermediaries. Smart contracts have found extensive applications in finance, overshadowing their potential to automate processes across various domains. Decentralized Applications (DApps) extend beyond financial tools; they merely scratch the surface. While the DeFi market has soared in complexity and success, other sectors lag behind significantly. Challenges Facing DApps in Non-Financial Sectors: Development complexity and cost Blockchain’s slow performance Lack of robust integration tools (wallets, infrastructure, etc.) Attempts at broader application have made little headway. The State of Gaming in Decentralization CryptoKitties marked the first step towards decentralized gaming, though it was largely controlled by its developers. Axie Infinity, despite its success, faced significant challenges, including a $615 million hack, due to its proprietary blockchain. Moreover, its gameplay mechanics are private, challenging its decentralized nature. Other projects like Gods Unchained and Heroes of Mavia also fall short of full decentralization. The current trend involves separating gameplay from asset ownership (NFTs for characters and items), with gameplay largely centralized. However such projects omit that mere ownership of NFTs does not provide “full control over assets.” Assets only have value thanks to gameplay mechanics, which are 100% under the control of developers. A popular term describing current projects is . GameFi Low decentralization and emphasis on play to earn. Examples: Axie Infinity Illuvium Splinterlands Pixels League of Kingdoms Gods Unchained Heroes of Mavia Seraph Decentralized Games Truly decentralized games are currently few and far between. Existing games can be divided into the following groups: Focus on the Blockchain Component The gameplay consists of a basic set of actions or resembles very basic game mechanics. The characteristic of such projects is that tokenomics are central, with gameplay tacked on top. It’s hard to call these fully-fledged games. Examples include CryptoKitties, DefiKingdoms, Crypto Raiders, and Neon District. Community-Developed Ecosystems The main project develops only basic assets while the community ecosystem develops games for these assets. This sounds cool and could achieve full decentralization. The problem is that games tend to be boring and often have centralized gameplay. This approach could lead to some good games, but any successful project within such an ecosystem is likely to outgrow it and become its own entity (as happened with DOTA evolving from a map for Warcraft 3 into a standalone game). Examples are Aavegotchi and Axie Infinity (planned). SDK for Simplified Game Development This route allows for significantly fewer resources to be spent on blockchain, and in theory, the gameplay should be more refined. This approach is very promising, but there is a risk that all games will look alike and be quite formulaic. Nonetheless, studios that invest efforts in developing an SDK based on their contracts have every chance to make a good game as a “showcase” for their engine (similar to Unreal Tournament from the web2 era). Examples include MUD SDK and Paima Studios SDK. Effort to Combine Forces Creating quality gameplay and laying the foundation for full decentralization. This approach requires prioritizing the creation of a gameplay process where blockchain serves as an advantage rather than a checkbox feature. This direction is the most promising but also the most challenging. Examples are Primodium and Sacra: Falling of Myrd. Why Do We Need Decentralization for Games? To break the current trend, it’s necessary to focus on the question, and convey this to the users. “Why does a game need to be decentralized at all?” The simple answer to this question is the same as “Why is Bitcoin needed?” Real Ownership of Assets True ownership of an asset means control over its value. Only by providing decentralized gameplay can you guarantee real ownership of the asset. Security Open source is not just a whim of crypto maximalists. Only open source allows for a real security audit and identification of vulnerabilities. Moreover, immutable (or DAO-controlled mutable) code guarantees the preservation of assets and the gameplay mechanics that give value to the game’s main assets. Economy Building a complex economy capable of handling significant assets requires unprecedented quality and security of code in the gaming industry. Fortunately, years of DeFi existence have accumulated best practices in this area. For a game built on smart contracts, it’s easy to imagine an economy operating billions. Excluding the influence of third parties, whether intentional or unintentional, ensures confidence in the stability of the in-game economic model. Resistance to Censorship I think almost every gamer has faced being banned for unclear reasons or even denied access to a game altogether. A decentralized game is protected from this as much as the blockchain it runs on is protected. Even in the presence of a centralized company that supports the game’s UI, the original client code will always be available, allowing the game to be launched locally. Community and Governance The openness of the product attracts a genuinely interested community around the project. The ability to contribute and manage key issues through voting creates incredible long-term support. Integration of Real Assets into the Game Economy A game can be seen as a small state. Like any other state, to ensure a stable economy, it can own assets of other states. This is fully relevant for decentralized games. It’s easy to imagine assets locked in a game generating passive income and creating additional value for the project. All of this can be summarized in one word: DeGame. Technical Implementation Currently, various blockchains have their smart contracts, but EVM and Solidity are the de facto industrial standards. It’s not just that 90% of all developments are written in Solidity, but also the infrastructure built around EVM networks. RPC providers, The Graph protocol for the backend part, Dune analytics dashboards, and other tools solve many problems that are difficult to compensate for with other tech stacks. But is it really possible to “squeeze” game logic into Solidity given that the size of contracts is limited to 24KB and the block time in most blockchains does not exceed 2 seconds? Yes, it’s more than feasible. There are many design patterns for writing complex logic, such as The Diamond Standard (EIP-2335) and the use of libraries along with the ERC-7201 standard. These approaches allow us to almost completely bypass the limitation on the size of the smart contract code. The gas limit per transaction imposes serious restrictions on the number of actions a player can take in one go. However, the use of packed data and standard gas optimization methods allow for even complex logic such as pathfinding on terrain and determining lines of sight within a single transaction. Blockchain enables unique gameplay mechanics for multiplayer. In a standard MMO game, solving the problem of lag with 1000+ players online is practically impossible, but here, the mechanism of competition for gas comes into play. Moreover, gas payments can be tied to in-game currency through ERC-4337. This means you can control the online servers with in-game mechanics (pay more in-game currency to participate in a castle siege with other players, for example). At this stage, it’s too early to talk about a fully decentralized game with real-time action gameplay. However, game genres with turn-based gameplay fit perfectly with the concept of block finalization. Essentially, technical limitations encourage the creation of new genre combinations, such as turn-based MMO RPGs. Over time, a specific blockchain will be created to process on-chain actions of players sufficient even for real-time shooters. L2/L3 blockchains, which can now be deployed in minutes through a UI, have proven themselves well in this regard. It’s more than realistic to imagine a situation where a blockchain game can create its own temporary L3 for a specific game session. The Future of DeGame As always, games present a real challenge to the entire IT industry, pushing it towards more efficient solutions. Not only is there a need to develop complex logic on smart contracts, but the blockchain must also be capable of processing a huge number of transactions. Fortunately, there are now many blockchains capable of achieving the necessary throughput. A sufficiently large project could even develop its own blockchain to handle transactions specific to the game. A decentralized server part for the game with its validators and consensus. However, in the early stages, a standard universal blockchain is more than enough for games without real-time action. And as experience shows, it’s better to focus on one thing, whether it’s the game itself or the infrastructure in the form of a fast blockchain. In the future, we will see many projects that implement gameplay on smart contracts and open a new era in the gaming industry. This revolution goes hand in hand with the evolution of all crypto projects, and it’s only a matter of time before the old game development is displaced by new approaches.

The Future of Decentralized Gaming: A Comprehensive Outlook

Perhaps you’ve noticed that photos appearing on the news depicting war are being questioned much more frequently than before. In many instances, they’ve been identified as fakes by expert inspection, the consensus of a community of people, or tools such as fake photodetectors that analyze them. Whereas 2023 may be looked upon as the year where it became standard practice to question whether photos and, in many cases, videos and documents are real, 2024 is poised to be the year where it becomes standard practice to run every questionable photo, video, and document through AI systems to determine their authenticity. After years of experts warning about a potential scenario where deepfakes will have the power to skew reality, it only makes sense to ask a couple of questions: How did we so rapidly get into this situation? What can we do about it? GenAI Implications With the explosion of generative AI text tools such as ChatGPT in 2023, it was easy to lose track of text-to-photo offering, , making tremendous headway in the ability to create fake images. OpenAI’s Dall-E At the same time, many similar frameworks emerged from several vendors and open source, including , , , and , amongst many others. If your goal is to create fake photos, you no longer have to look very far. Stable Diffusion Midjourney Adobe Firefly Google Many of these frameworks have already undergone significant improvements in 2023 alone, and the outcome is very clear. The ability to generate fake or AI-altered photos is now in the hands of the masses, and the ability to generate fake videos and documents is also here and rapidly improving. So now that the proverbial cat has been let out of the bag, there are a number of efforts circulating to help resolve the issue of fakes, ranging from government policies and controls to standards to help identify fake photos, videos, and documents, to anti-AI frameworks you can begin using today. While government policies and controls may represent a valiant effort to save us from this impending doom, open-source frameworks tend to elude corporate-enforced controls, because they are not owned by any particular organization. Moreover, the effort would require governments from virtually all nations to act in tandem to help solve the problem that effectively has spread worldwide. Standards to identify fake photos are also a valiant effort to get the corporations developing generative AI to digitally watermark the photos and videos created, so, they can be identified as fakes. However, these corporations amount to the good actors of the potential information warfare that can ensue. What about the bad actors leveraging open source or finding ways to circumvent or remove the watermarking? The answer, if you haven’t guessed, is there is no way to get bad actors to play nice. That leaves anti-AI frameworks, or fake detectors, as the best available and most proactive tool, particularly for businesses who need to protect important data against the onslaught of fakes. Tools that identify what is real and what is fake are the best immediate defense, albeit there are a few caveats everyone should be aware of. Static tools will become obsolete very fast as a result of the advancement of generative AI technology. There needs to be constant improvement on the side of the detectors to keep up with the constantly improving fakes. While some may argue that this is a losing battle, it is the only battle for those who want to guard against fraud and potential reputation damage. The other caveat is that a detection framework needs to be analyzed rapidly and at scale to counter incoming threats. Thanks to GPU technology and cloud scale, this is all possible today. Ultimately, while a few choices are floating around how to thwart fakes, the best defense is a tangible strategy rather than hoping the problem goes away or that others resolve the problem for you. Those who take early action will benefit in the long term. Luckily, there are proactive steps you can take to protect yourself and your business against the growing threat of fakes.

The 2024 Inundation of Fake Photos, Videos and Documents: And Why 2023 Was Just the Beginning

Acknowledgments This post continues my exploration of concepts and techniques related to both the way so-called “Jewish times” (zmanim) are calculated; as well as the techniques needed to use the – a library of functions that let you easily calculate Jewish times. PHP Zmanim library Once again, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to several folks – including Eliyahu Hershfeld, creator of the , Zachary Weixelbaum (owner of the PHP Zmanim library, a port of Kosher Java), Elyahu Jacobi (who built with those tools and patiently explained so many concepts to me), and Maor Neim, who offered explanations that turned theory into practice. Kosher Java library RoyZmanim.com Introduction , I explored both the foundational concepts of Jewish time calculations (zmanim) and also the initial steps needed to install and use PHP Zmanim. We got as far as calculating sunrise with that library. In my last post By itself, this isn’t particularly impressive. The fact is that with the same information (latitude, longitude, time zone, and a specific date) you can get the same information using PHP’s built-in functions. In this post, we’re going to get into the types of calculations you CAN’T get with built-in PHP tools, not only because they require some “interesting” time manipulations, but because there are so many ways to calculate the same religiously significant moment, based on various Rabbinic opinions and traditions. The Answer to Every Jewish Question Starts With “Well, It Depends…” Let me take a minute to unpack that idea in a little more detail. In the last post, I started to get into this idea: Dawn is the moment when light (but not the sun) is visible over the horizon. Unfortunately, whether or not there is or isn’t “light” is highly subjective, and therefore the way it’s come to be calculated ranges all over the map. Some traditions use a fixed number of clock minutes before sunrise or after sunset. Others will use astronomy to identify the time when the sun is below the horizon by a specific number of degrees. Others will use a formula, such as taking the amount of daylight (from sunrise to sunset), dividing that into 10 equal parts, and then subtracting that amount from sunrise or adding it to sunset. Still others will take the time the sun is below the horizon on an “equal” day (meaning the spring or fall equinox, when the amount of sunshine and darkness are exactly the same), calculate the difference (in clock minutes) between that time and sunrise, normalize those minutes against “seasonal minutes” (“sha’ot zmaniyot”) for the specific day in question, and finally subtract that amount from sunrise (or add THAT to sunset) for the day in question. One moment of the day, but a wide variety of ways to determine it. It may be hard for those outside of mainstream orthodox Judaism to understand and is definitely the subject of a completely different type of blog post, but the answer is to embrace the understanding that all of the calculations above (and many others) are capital-T “True.” Not just in a “well, it’s how I feel about it so it’s true to me” kind of way, but as being absolutely, factually, empirically true even when one method stands in opposition to another (or several others). Like I said, THAT is the topic of a completely different blog post. For now, I mention this to explain why, in creating the , Eliyahu Hershfeld took the route of enabling the ability to easily calculate times using ANY of those methods, rather than trying to espouse a single method and coding exclusively for that. Kosher Java library And ports – such as Zachary Weixelbaum’s – simply continue with that ideal. PHP Zmanim library Which brings us back to the nitty-gritty of using the PHP Zmanim library. Making Time Pretty , we left off with this snippet of code: In the last post <?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';
use PhpZmanim\Zmanim;
use PhpZmanim\Calendar\ComplexZmanimCalendar;
use PhpZmanim\Geo\GeoLocation;


# Set variables:
#41.4939407, -81.516709;
$locname = "Beit Knesset Chochmat Shlomo, Beachwood, OH";
$lat = 41.4939407;
$long = -81.516709;
$elev = 0;
$tz = 'America/New_York';

$getyear = 2024;
$getday = 20;
$getmonth = 12;
$testzmanim = Zmanim::create($getyear, $getmonth, $getday, $locname, $lat, $long, $elev, $tz);
$sunrise = $testzmanim->sunrise;
echo "$sunrise\n";
?> Which produced a result that looked something like this: 2024-12-20 07:48:52 It works, but it’s not what I’d want to see on a page when I’m just expecting a simple “7:48 am”. Which brings me to the next interesting insight for the PHP Zmanim library: You can format the output using another function, rather than hammering through PHP’s built-in options. You’ll still use the but getting what you want is easier. PHP time/date formatting codes Let’s say I want to only display the hour, minute, and am/pm for the sunrise output. I’d add a line like this: $sunrise = $zmanim->sunrise;
$sunrise = $sunrise->format('g:i a'); Which would look like this when printed on the screen: 7:48 am Getting Your First Actual real-time – Mincha Gedola The problem with using sunrise/sunset as an example is that PHP has built-in options to do the exact same thing. So, let’s look at getting a time that is more relevant to Jewish religious times: the earliest time for afternoon prayers (Mincha Gedola). Once again, it’s somewhat anti-climactic in that it’s a single command: $gedolah = $zmanim->minchaGedola; Which outputs a time like this: 2024-12-20 12:46:55 HOWEVER, as I mentioned earlier in this post, there are several ways to calculate this time. Here are all the methods supported by the PHP Zmanim library: minchaGedola: Returns a time of 6.5 halachic hours (shaos zmaniyos) after sunrise. minchaGedola30Minutes: Returns the time 30 standard (clock) minutes after the half-day calculation (chatzot). minchaGedola72Minutes: Calculates according to the Magen Avraham (Abraham Abele Gombiner, 1635-1682) with the day starting 72 minutes before sunrise and ending 72 minutes after sunset. minchaGedola16Point1Degrees: Calculated according to the Magen Avraham with the day starting and ending when the sun is 16.1 degrees below the horizon. minchaGedolaAhavatShalom: Calculated based on the opinion of as half a seasonal hour (shaah) after mid-day (chatzos) with seasonal minutes (shaos zmaniyos) calculated based on a day starting 72 minutes before sunrise and ending 13.5 minutes after sunset. Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Hillel minchaGedolaGreaterThan30: This is a convenience method that returns the later of the standard “minchaGedola” function or ‘minchaGedola30Minutes. In the winter when 1/2 of a seasonal hour (sha’ah) is less than 30 minutes, then minchaGedola30Minutes will be returned, otherwise, the regular minchaGedola will be returned. minchaGedolaAteretTorah: This method returns the time of according to the Magen Avraham with the day starting and ending when the sun is 16.1 degrees below the horizon. mincha ketana minchaGedolaBaalHatanya: This calculation is based on the opinion of the . Baal Hatanya minchaGedolaBaalHatanyaGreaterThan30: This is a convenience method that returns the later of either minchaGedolaBaalHatanya or minchaGedola30Minutes. In the winter when 1/2 of a seasonal hour (sha’ah) is less than 30 minutes, then minchaGedola30Minutes will be returned, otherwise minchaGedolaBaalHatanya will be returned. minchaGedolaGRAFixedLocalChatzos30Minutes: This method returns a time based on opinion. Rav Moshe Feinstein’s As you can see, there are a number of opinions. Determining which one you want/need to use is outside the scope of this blog post and will likely require some conversations with the users of the app or website, as well as a Rabbi. Or two. Or several. But the good news is that to use any of them, it’s as simple as: $gedolah = $zmanim->minchaGedola16Point1Degrees;
$gedolah = $gedolah->format('g:i a'); Getting Something Complicated – Nightfall (Tzais Hakochavim) Now that you’ve seen how we get one time, you should understand that even times that my previous post labeled as “complicated” aren’t that complicated. Furthermore, it should reinforce your understanding of just how powerful a tool like PHP Zmanim is because of what it enables you to do in such a short time. Calculating nightfall (tzais hakochavim) is as simple as the command $tzais = $zmanim->tzais; If there is any challenge at all, it’s the sheer number of variations to consider. I’m listing them here without explanation, just so you have a sense of how many there are. That’s right, there are 32 different options for calculating this one time. I list them here without detailed explanation simply to underscore my point: tzais tzais72 tzaisGeonim3Point7Degrees tzaisGeonim3Point8Degrees tzaisGeonim5Point95Degrees tzaisGeonim3Point65Degrees tzaisGeonim3Point676Degrees tzaisGeonim4Point61Degrees tzaisGeonim4Point37Degrees tzaisGeonim5Point88Degrees tzaisGeonim4Point8Degrees tzaisGeonim6Point45Degrees tzaisGeonim7Point083Degrees tzaisGeonim7Point67Degrees tzaisGeonim8Point5Degrees tzaisGeonim9Point3Degrees tzaisGeonim9Point75Degrees tzais60 tzaisAteretTorah tzais72Zmanis tzais90Zmanis tzais96Zmanis tzais90 tzais120 tzais120Zmanis tzais16Point1Degrees tzais26Degrees tzais18Degrees tzais19Point8Degrees tzais96 tzaisBaalHatanya tzais50 Time (and This Blog Series) Marches On Armed with the information in this post, you could probably make decent headway simply by looking through the main README on Zachary’s page itself, and selecting the best (for your purposes) calculations for: PHP Zmanim Sunrise and Sunset (no, do not sing ) That Song A “seasonal” hour (Sha’ah Zmanim) Dawn (alos hashachar) The earliest time to put on tallit and tefillin (misheyakir) The latest time to say Shema (sof zman kria shema) The latest time for morning prayers (sof zman tefillah) When Passover begins Halfway through the day (chatzos) The earliest time for afternoon prayers (mincha gedola) The “best” time for afternoon prayers (mincha ketana) The latest time for afternoon prayers (plag hamincha) The time to light Shabbat candles Dusk – the time between sunset and night (bain hashmashot) Night (tzais hakochavim) Halfway through the night (chatozs halayla) But there is still more to cover. In upcoming articles, I’ll talk about: Taking these standard times and adjusting them for synagogue specific needs (“Mincha starts 25 minutes before Shkia each day”). Using the PHP Zmanim library to display non-time calculations such as the weekly Torah Portion, Rosh Chodesh, and the Molad. Leveraging the build-in astronomy functions for time calculations that aren’t built into the library itself. I hope you’ll continue on this journey with me. As always if you have questions, comments, or kudos, please leave them in the comments.

Time Data Series: How to Work With PHP Zmanim

2024 promises to be a pivotal year for the crypto industry, with a series of significant events and trends poised to shape its future. From the highly anticipated Bitcoin halving to the rise of NFTs in gaming, the emergence of tokenized finance, and the growing adoption of crypto in Asia, this year is set to witness a surge of innovation and disruption. As I work with crypto and AI projects, each year, we compile a list of trends that we see on the market. And here’s a 2024 edition. This year is going to be a very interesting one! Also, you can check my . Top 10 AI Trends of 2024 And Now, Onto Key Trends to Watch in 2024: 1. Upcoming Bitcoin Halving Event: Preparing for the Next Chapter in Bitcoin's Journey The highly anticipated Bitcoin halving event is just around the corner, poised to shake up the market dynamics and redefine the future of this pioneering cryptocurrency. Scheduled for April 2024, this pre-programmed event will slice the block reward from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoins, ushering in a new era of scarcity and potential price surges. With the exact date yet to be determined, the countdown begins as Bitcoin enthusiasts brace themselves for an event that promises to slow down inflation and reshape the market landscape. 2. NFTs in Gaming: Unleashing the Power of True Ownership and Digital Economies The gaming industry is undergoing a seismic shift as NFTs emerge as the game-changers of the decade. Games like Nifty Island, built on Ethereum's robust network, are paving the way for a revolution in virtual economies. With NFTs, players can finally lay claim to their in-game assets, blurring the lines between the virtual and the real. As gaming transforms into a profession and a transparent ecosystem takes shape, NFTs are democratizing the industry and empowering gamers like never before. 3. NFT-based Brand Building: Pioneering the Web3 Revolution In 2024, NFT-based brand building is set to drive the adoption of Web3 as recognized brands embrace this groundbreaking technology. Companies, both established and emerging, are leveraging NFTs to tap into the decentralized value creation paradigm. By leveraging NFTs as assets, brands establish networks that connect holders to the brand and to each other, encouraging consumers to share and promote the brand organically. This innovative approach promises to reshape marketing strategies and strengthen customer engagement through tokenized brand experiences. 4. Tokenized Finance: Unlocking Efficiency and New Revenue Streams The financial world is undergoing a revolution thanks to the power of tokenization. By transforming traditional assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and carbon credits into digital tokens, tokenization is reshaping how institutions fund, trade, and manage financial assets. The benefits are clear: enhanced efficiency, reduced transaction costs, and the creation of novel revenue streams. As tokenization gains momentum, the future of finance and investment is being rewritten, signaling a seismic shift in the global economic landscape. 5. Real-world Asset Tokenization: Fueling DeFi's Meteoric Rise DeFi is on the brink of a major breakthrough fueled by the tokenization of real-world assets. From stocks to real estate and everything in between, the potential for tokenization to enhance liquidity, streamline transactions, and unlock new opportunities in DeFi protocols is immense. As the market braces for a potential 10x growth in specific sectors, the stage is set for a transformative journey that will redefine how we perceive and interact with traditional assets in the digital realm. 6. Crypto Adoption in Asia: Unleashing the Dragon’s Influence Asia has emerged as a pivotal player in the global cryptocurrency landscape, with countries such as China, South Korea, and Japan exerting substantial influence over crypto trends and technologies. Boasting a remarkable level of digital literacy and robust technological infrastructure, the region provides fertile ground for the adoption of cryptocurrencies. However, regulatory environments play a crucial role in shaping the pace and extent of crypto adoption across different Asian nations, making them key factors to monitor in the coming years. 7. Layer 2 Scaling Solutions: Unleashing Ethereum's Potential Ethereum, the backbone of decentralized applications, is on the cusp of a major scalability overhaul with the full deployment of Ethereum 2.0. Layer 2 scaling solutions like Optimistic Rollups and zk-Rollups are poised to take center stage, addressing the long-standing issues of congestion and high transaction costs. By improving scalability and enhancing user experiences, these groundbreaking solutions aim to overcome the limitations that have hindered broader blockchain adoption, propelling the Ethereum ecosystem into a new era of efficiency and usability. 8. AI Integration with Blockchain: Pioneering the Era of Intelligent Decentralization The convergence of AI and blockchain technology promises to revolutionize the Web 3 user experience. AI's integration into blockchain networks is enabling the creation of vast metaverses and driving significant advancements within the sector. Notably, AI-related tokens have exhibited robust performance, indicating growing public interest and technological advancements in the realm of artificial intelligence. The fusion of AI and blockchain holds tremendous potential for shaping the future of decentralized applications and transforming various industries. 9. Regulatory Developments: Toward a Balanced Framework After a year marked by conflicts between crypto companies and regulatory agencies such as the SEC and CFTC, 2024 is expected to bring greater dialogue and progress on the regulatory front. While a comprehensive regulatory regime may not be fully established before 2025, stakeholders anticipate significant headway in creating a balanced framework that fosters innovation while ensuring consumer protection and market integrity. Collaborative efforts between industry participants and regulators are crucial to navigating this evolving landscape responsibly. 10. Speculation on Crypto ETFs: Ethereum's Turn in the Spotlight Following the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, all eyes are now on the prospects of Ethereum's cryptocurrency, ether, securing its own exchange-traded fund (ETF). The price of ether experienced a surge as the market anticipated the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) potentially approving ETH ETFs. Decisions regarding spot ETH ETF applications are expected to be announced starting in May 2024. While some industry participants and analysts are optimistic about the approval of ETH ETFs, citing a 70% chance of approval by May, others maintain a more cautious stance, suggesting that the SEC may not greenlight spot Ethereum ETFs in the near future. The outcome of these deliberations will undoubtedly have substantial implications for the crypto industry and the broader financial market. As we embark on the journey into 2024, there is a metamorphic period that awaits for the crypto domain, brimming with transformative trends that will define its subsequent destiny. With the Bitcoin halving on the horizon, the rise of NFTs, and tokenized finance, this year holds the promise of upheaval and will witness a surge of innovation and disruption, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with blockchain technology. P.S. Check out my previous articles on AI at HackerNoon: Top 10 AI Trends of 2024: How AI Transforms Everything How to Build Your Personal GPTs: From Zero to AI Hero GPT-4 Turbo: The Most Monumental Update Since ChatGPT's Debut! Essential Insights from 'State of AI 2023' GPT-4V Unveiled: From Detecting Emotions to Ordering Food - You Won't Believe What Else It Can Do! ChatGPT Now Speaks, Listens, and Understands: All You Need to Know Fine-Tuning for GPT-3.5 Turbo: AI Game Changer The Rise of AI-Generated Films: Lights, Camera, Algorithm! NFT Marketing Guide - The Most Complete and Detailed Playbook 2023

Crypto's Next Chapter: 2024's Game-Changing Predictions

The tokenization of tangible assets, otherwise known as is one of the most promising trends in blockchain technology. The key reason why it is so is that it has the potential to unlock the future of finance. real-world assets(RWA), According to a popular analytics platform, the tokenized asset industry has reached a market capitalization of $700 million. RWA.xyz, From the US tokenizing its short-term treasuries and bank deposits to Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Development Funds signing a partnership agreement with Agile Dynamics Tech, the vast potential of blockchain technology to redefine global investment opportunities is indubitably present. In this article, we explore how the tokenization of real-world assets can usher in foreign direct investment(FDI). In the last two years, RWA has gone from a front-page newspaper story to a much bigger investment vehicle with RWA-focused companies like Stobox, Tokeny, Agile Dynamics Tech, etc, pushing its boundaries.  The growing popularity of RWA in the world of finance therefore underscores the importance of leveraging blockchain for economic growth. RWA: A Game Changer While some forward-looking nations are exploring the economic potential of the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), others might just be sleeping on a viable opportunity to allure and expedite foreign investments. But as the competition for foreign capital increases, real-world tokenization is bound to open up access to foreign direct investments, thereby accelerating economic growth and creating job opportunities. As it stands, not only is RWA tokenization attracting so much attention in the US Treasuries department, but it is also beginning to dominate the conversation in Africa’s largest economy, highlighting the growing importance of leveraging blockchain technology in the world. With Nigeria, a country known for its abundant natural resources, signing a Letter of Intent(LOI)a partnership agreement with Agile Dynamics Tech, a Dubai-based Web3 consulting firm, it is evident that the West African country is bound and determined to make headway in attracting foreign capital through the tokenization of tangible assets. This partnership agreement was signed at the Future Minerals Forum held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Nigeria was represented by the CEO of Solid Minerals Development Funds, Fatima Umaru Shinkafi. Understanding The Importance of Real World Asset(RWA) Tokenization At its core, real-world asset tokenization represents an investment vehicle backed by blockchain technology. It can be anything from real estate to gold deposits to tokenized bonds, and its fundamental criterion is that it must exist in physical form to be fractionalised, traded and stored on the blockchain. The following are some of the benefits accruing from the tokenization of tangible assets that exist in the physical world: Fractionalized Ownership Tokenization makes tangible assets more accessible. Through this means, fractional ownership of tokenized assets has become an avenue for investors to invest in a spectrum of assets and different industries as well as countries. Secure Ownership of Digital Assets Blockchain is the underlying technology of digital assets offering transparency and security. This enables investors to rely on the protection that its immutable ledger guarantees. Enhanced Liquidity The availability of liquidity and the ease of converting tangible assets makes tokenization all the more attractive, as the mechanism for liquidating or swiftly exchanging them exists on the blockchain. Cross-Border Accessibility One of the advantages of RWA tokenization is that it transcends borders. This tears down barriers to investing in other countries and it facilitates foreign direct investment(FDI)with unhindered access to foreign capital across the world. Regulation And Compliance As investors are particular about the safety of their holdings, RWA tokenization is often carried out in a manner that is consistent with the laws and directives of local agencies. Across the world, a growing number of crypto regulatory agencies like the FCA(Financial Conduct Authority), SEC, etc are charged with the mandate to protect investors against financial irresponsibility and recklessness. Foreign Market The growing presence of RWA tokenization is enabling investors across the world to have access to untapped markets, or emerging markets if you like. There are boundless economic opportunities that this facilitates. An example could be a US citizen securing investment opportunities in Nigeria’s tin industry by buying tokenized fractions of its assets. Lower Transaction Cost Investing in tokenized assets usually attracts a small amount of transaction fee, otherwise known as a gas fee. This effective mechanism removes third-party tendencies and enables investors to save on such expenses. Portfolio Diversification With access to fractionalised assets, investors across the globe are offered a unique opportunity to diversify their holdings across a spectrum of assets and in different parts of the world. Risk Management When you combine blockchain technology as an immutable ledger and treasury management with regulation, you will have a perfect recipe for efficient risk management. Tokenisation of RWA therefore encourages a routine check on the financial standing of digital assets companies and their scrutiny by regulating authorities worldwide. Conclusion There has always been a bullish outlook on the tokenization of real world-assets(RWA) with many observers touting it to be the next big thing in the world of finance. After all, countries like the US and Nigeria are making a little headway in attracting foreign capital through this means.  RWA tokenization offers a lot of investment opportunities for investors across the globe, and it opens up access to foreign direct investment(FDI), which can propel economic growth. My previous highlighted Nigeria’s growing interest in the tokenization of real-world assets(RWA). At the recently held Future Minerals Forum, the country was represented by Fatima Umaru Shinkafi, CEO of the Solid Minerals Development Funds, and a partnership agreement was signed between Nigeria and Agile Dynamics Tech, a Dubai-based Web3 consulting agency. write-up This article(Beyond The Stock Market: The Link Between Real World Assets And Foreign Direct Investment)was authored by Paul Lalovich partner at Agile Dynamics Tech. I hereby disclose that I was duly granted permission to edit and publish it on HackerNoon as an addition to the body of work on RWA.

Headway

makeheadway.com

-- employees

Since n.d.

COMPANY RANKING

HEADWAY

EVERGREEN INDEX #5301

Headway WIKI

Apply to get your Tech Company News Page live on HackerNoon.com today!

Headway

makeheadway.com

-- employees

Since n.d.

COMPANY RANKING

HEADWAY

EVERGREEN INDEX #5301

RELATED COMPANIESRANK

STORIES ABOUT HEADWAY

Headway WIKI

Apply to get your Tech Company News Page live on HackerNoon.com today!