Socialive

socialive

Launching a successful Software as a Service (SaaS) product can be daunting. The competitive landscape and the various complexities of product development, marketing, and customer acquisition can feel overwhelming. This article provides a roadmap to guide you through the product lifecycle from generating innovative ideas and connecting with supportive communities to choosing the tech stacks, launching the product, and mastering effective marketing strategies. Even more so, I've curated 8 resources for each step to help you overcome common challenges in product development. Each tool is carefully selected to enhance your capabilities and inspire you as you embark on your SaaS journey. Whether you're starting a new project or refining an existing one, I hope this article will help you create a standout product that resonates with your target audience! 1. Getting Ideas 💡 Generating an idea is the first and most crucial step in the SaaS product lifecycle. A great idea should solve a real issue for the target audience, but indie hackers often struggle to find a problem where demand and growth potential exist. ➡️ Startup Ideas AI This resource lists innovative startup ideas based on current market trends. It saves indie hackers from getting stuck in the ideation phase with fresh ideas and new perspectives that they can review and decide upon. Key features: Startup ideas to solve real-world problems.


Offers ideas based on your preferred niches.


Each idea comes with information about market fit, audience, and challenges. 👉 https://startupideasai.com Pricing: Free 2. Finding Communities 🔎 After having an idea of the product, you should look to validate it through communities with people thinking similarly. This step is often overlooked and many indie hackers face a hard time finding and engaging niche communities for feedback and support. ➡️ The Hive Index A directory of online communities on various topics, which helps founders find relevant groups to share and learn from. Indie hackers may use these niche communities to test the idea, recruit some early adopters, and build a supportive network. Key features: A comprehensive directory of various online communities.


Ability to filter communities by platform: Discord, Reddit, Slack, etc.


Communities are sorted into topics like tech, marketing, design, and others. 👉 https://thehiveindex.com/topics Pricing: Free 3. Design Inspiration 🎨 Design plays a key role in creating a user-friendly and visually appealing SaaS product. Indie hackers often struggle with finding modern, intuitive designs to enhance the user experience, which is vital for engagement and retention. ➡️ SaaSPO This platform provides curated design inspiration specifically for SaaS products. It highlights trending designs and innovative user interfaces across the SaaS industry. By offering a collection of creative designs, it helps indie hackers get some source of inspiration for prototyping their own user interfaces. Key features: Showcases creative and modern design templates.


Provides screenshots for both web and mobile versions.


Features categories like landing pages, pricing, contact, etc to filter content. 👉 https://saaspo.com Pricing: Free 4. Planning the Tech Stack 🧑‍💻 Choosing an appropriate tech stack is fundamental to developing a scalable and maintainable SaaS product for the long term. Many indie hackers face difficulties picking the best tools and technologies that align with their project requirements. ➡️ Indie Hacker Stacks This tool provides real-world examples of tech stacks used by successful indie hackers. It lists the technologies and tools they used to build their SaaS products. Indie Hacker Stacks helps founders streamline their development process by offering proven and tested tech stack combinations. Key features: Discover tech stacks used by indie hackers to build successful products.


See what tools fellow entrepreneurs recommend and are most popular.


Share your own tech stack and get visibility within the community. 👉 https://indiehackerstacks.com Pricing: Free 5. Build and Ship Faster ⚡ Using boilerplates can significantly accelerate the development process. They enable indie hackers to save time, allowing them to focus on business logic and create unique features that differentiate their product in the market. ➡️ BuildKits BuildKits offers a variety of code boilerplates tailored for different types of tech stacks. This tool streamlines the development process, enabling indie hackers to quickly set up their applications and reduce initial coding and redundant stuff. Key features: Provides ready-made code boilerplates to accelerate development.


Projects are highly customizable to fit different needs and languages.


Focuses on helping developers save time by using pre-built setups. 👉 https://buildkits.dev Pricing: Free 6. Product Launch 🚀 Choosing the right launch sites is vital to maximize visibility and reach the target audience. Many indie hackers struggle to find suitable platforms to promote their products, leading to missed opportunities for user feedback and initial traction. ➡️ AI Directories AI Directories offers to manually submit your product on a curated list of launch sites specifically focused on AI and tech products to increase your startup traffic. This tool helps indie hackers list their startups, increasing their chances of gaining visibility and attracting early adopters. Key features: Offers to publish your product on 200+ sites.


Allows you to build backlinks from high DR sites to boost SEO.


Detailed information on the domain ratings, monthly visitors, pricing, etc. 👉 https://aidirectori.es Pricing: Paid 7. Post-launch Marketing 📰 Studying marketing examples is vital for understanding effective strategies and tactics within the product lifecycle. Analyzing successful campaigns helps indie hackers identify what resonates with their audience and refine their marketing efforts accordingly. ➡️ Marketing Examples This tool provides real-world marketing examples to help indie hackers craft successful campaigns based on proven real-life strategies. With these examples, founders can learn how to market their SaaS effectively and stand out from the competition. Key features: Case studies and examples from real businesses.


Visuals and short descriptions make the examples quick to understand.


Offers ideas and inspiration to enhance your own marketing efforts. 👉 https://marketingexamples.com Pricing: Free 8. Sales and Conversion 💰 Effective copywriting is crucial in attracting and converting users. Many indie hackers struggle with writing compelling content that drives engagement, making it essential to learn from successful examples in the field. ➡️ Copywriting Examples This resource provides a collection of high-performing copywriting examples from successful SaaS products and campaigns. By studying these examples, indie hackers can refine their own copy to improve conversion rates and engage users more effectively. Key features: Focused examples of effective marketing copy.


Breakdowns of why certain campaigns worked well.


Covers various industries and platforms, including email, social media, and ads. 👉 https://marketingexamples.com/inspiration Pricing: Free Did you like the resources? Here is more 👇 Join 6000+ others to receive the best DEV resources, tools, productivity tips, and career growth advice I discover by subscribing to my newsletter! Also, connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and GitHub! Writing has always been my passion and it gives me pleasure to help and inspire people. If you want to get featured or partner up, feel free to get in touch! Launching a successful Software as a Service (SaaS) product can be daunting. The competitive landscape and the various complexities of product development, marketing, and customer acquisition can feel overwhelming. This article provides a roadmap to guide you through the product lifecycle from generating innovative ideas and connecting with supportive communities to choosing the tech stacks, launching the product, and mastering effective marketing strategies. Even more so, I've curated 8 resources for each step to help you overcome common challenges in product development. Each tool is carefully selected to enhance your capabilities and inspire you as you embark on your SaaS journey. Whether you're starting a new project or refining an existing one, I hope this article will help you create a standout product that resonates with your target audience! 1. Getting Ideas 💡 Getting Ideas 💡 Generating an idea is the first and most crucial step in the SaaS product lifecycle. A great idea should solve a real issue for the target audience, but indie hackers often struggle to find a problem where demand and growth potential exist. ➡️ Startup Ideas AI Startup Ideas AI This resource lists innovative startup ideas based on current market trends. It saves indie hackers from getting stuck in the ideation phase with fresh ideas and new perspectives that they can review and decide upon. Key features: Key features: Startup ideas to solve real-world problems. Offers ideas based on your preferred niches. Each idea comes with information about market fit, audience, and challenges. Startup ideas to solve real-world problems. Startup ideas to solve real-world problems. Offers ideas based on your preferred niches. Offers ideas based on your preferred niches. Each idea comes with information about market fit, audience, and challenges. Each idea comes with information about market fit, audience, and challenges. 👉 https://startupideasai.com https://startupideasai.com Pricing: Free 2. Finding Communities 🔎 Finding Communities 🔎 After having an idea of the product, you should look to validate it through communities with people thinking similarly. This step is often overlooked and many indie hackers face a hard time finding and engaging niche communities for feedback and support. ➡️ The Hive Index The Hive Index A directory of online communities on various topics, which helps founders find relevant groups to share and learn from. Indie hackers may use these niche communities to test the idea, recruit some early adopters, and build a supportive network. Key features: Key features: A comprehensive directory of various online communities. Ability to filter communities by platform: Discord, Reddit, Slack, etc. Communities are sorted into topics like tech, marketing, design, and others. A comprehensive directory of various online communities. A comprehensive directory of various online communities. Ability to filter communities by platform: Discord, Reddit, Slack, etc. Ability to filter communities by platform: Discord, Reddit, Slack, etc. Communities are sorted into topics like tech, marketing, design, and others. Communities are sorted into topics like tech, marketing, design, and others. 👉 https://thehiveindex.com/topics https://thehiveindex.com/topics Pricing: Free 3. Design Inspiration 🎨 Design Inspiration 🎨 Design plays a key role in creating a user-friendly and visually appealing SaaS product. Indie hackers often struggle with finding modern, intuitive designs to enhance the user experience, which is vital for engagement and retention. ➡️ SaaSPO SaaSPO This platform provides curated design inspiration specifically for SaaS products. It highlights trending designs and innovative user interfaces across the SaaS industry. By offering a collection of creative designs, it helps indie hackers get some source of inspiration for prototyping their own user interfaces. Key features: Key features: Showcases creative and modern design templates. Provides screenshots for both web and mobile versions. Features categories like landing pages, pricing, contact, etc to filter content. Showcases creative and modern design templates. Showcases creative and modern design templates. Provides screenshots for both web and mobile versions. Provides screenshots for both web and mobile versions. Features categories like landing pages, pricing, contact, etc to filter content. Features categories like landing pages, pricing, contact, etc to filter content. 👉 https://saaspo.com https://saaspo.com Pricing: Free 4. Planning the Tech Stack 🧑‍💻 Planning the Tech Stack 🧑‍💻 Choosing an appropriate tech stack is fundamental to developing a scalable and maintainable SaaS product for the long term. Many indie hackers face difficulties picking the best tools and technologies that align with their project requirements. ➡️ Indie Hacker Stacks Indie Hacker Stacks This tool provides real-world examples of tech stacks used by successful indie hackers. It lists the technologies and tools they used to build their SaaS products. Indie Hacker Stacks helps founders streamline their development process by offering proven and tested tech stack combinations. Key features: Key features: Discover tech stacks used by indie hackers to build successful products. See what tools fellow entrepreneurs recommend and are most popular. Share your own tech stack and get visibility within the community. Discover tech stacks used by indie hackers to build successful products. Discover tech stacks used by indie hackers to build successful products. See what tools fellow entrepreneurs recommend and are most popular. See what tools fellow entrepreneurs recommend and are most popular. Share your own tech stack and get visibility within the community. Share your own tech stack and get visibility within the community. 👉 https://indiehackerstacks.com https://indiehackerstacks.com Pricing: Free 5. Build and Ship Faster ⚡ Build and Ship Faster ⚡ Using boilerplates can significantly accelerate the development process. They enable indie hackers to save time, allowing them to focus on business logic and create unique features that differentiate their product in the market. ➡️ BuildKits BuildKits BuildKits offers a variety of code boilerplates tailored for different types of tech stacks. This tool streamlines the development process, enabling indie hackers to quickly set up their applications and reduce initial coding and redundant stuff. Key features: Key features: Provides ready-made code boilerplates to accelerate development. Projects are highly customizable to fit different needs and languages. Focuses on helping developers save time by using pre-built setups. Provides ready-made code boilerplates to accelerate development. Provides ready-made code boilerplates to accelerate development. Projects are highly customizable to fit different needs and languages. Projects are highly customizable to fit different needs and languages. Focuses on helping developers save time by using pre-built setups. Focuses on helping developers save time by using pre-built setups. 👉 https://buildkits.dev https://buildkits.dev Pricing: Free 6. Product Launch 🚀 Product Launch 🚀 Choosing the right launch sites is vital to maximize visibility and reach the target audience. Many indie hackers struggle to find suitable platforms to promote their products, leading to missed opportunities for user feedback and initial traction. ➡️ AI Directories AI Directories AI Directories offers to manually submit your product on a curated list of launch sites specifically focused on AI and tech products to increase your startup traffic. This tool helps indie hackers list their startups, increasing their chances of gaining visibility and attracting early adopters. Key features: Key features: Offers to publish your product on 200+ sites. Allows you to build backlinks from high DR sites to boost SEO. Detailed information on the domain ratings, monthly visitors, pricing, etc. Offers to publish your product on 200+ sites. Offers to publish your product on 200+ sites. Allows you to build backlinks from high DR sites to boost SEO. Allows you to build backlinks from high DR sites to boost SEO. Detailed information on the domain ratings, monthly visitors, pricing, etc. Detailed information on the domain ratings, monthly visitors, pricing, etc. 👉 https://aidirectori.es https://aidirectori.es Pricing: Paid 7. Post-launch Marketing 📰 Post-launch Marketing 📰 Studying marketing examples is vital for understanding effective strategies and tactics within the product lifecycle. Analyzing successful campaigns helps indie hackers identify what resonates with their audience and refine their marketing efforts accordingly. ➡️ Marketing Examples Marketing Examples This tool provides real-world marketing examples to help indie hackers craft successful campaigns based on proven real-life strategies. With these examples, founders can learn how to market their SaaS effectively and stand out from the competition. Key features: Key features: Case studies and examples from real businesses. Visuals and short descriptions make the examples quick to understand. Offers ideas and inspiration to enhance your own marketing efforts. Case studies and examples from real businesses. Case studies and examples from real businesses. Visuals and short descriptions make the examples quick to understand. Visuals and short descriptions make the examples quick to understand. Offers ideas and inspiration to enhance your own marketing efforts. Offers ideas and inspiration to enhance your own marketing efforts. 👉 https://marketingexamples.com https://marketingexamples.com Pricing: Free 8. Sales and Conversion 💰 Sales and Conversion 💰 Effective copywriting is crucial in attracting and converting users. Many indie hackers struggle with writing compelling content that drives engagement, making it essential to learn from successful examples in the field. ➡️ Copywriting Examples Copywriting Examples This resource provides a collection of high-performing copywriting examples from successful SaaS products and campaigns. By studying these examples, indie hackers can refine their own copy to improve conversion rates and engage users more effectively. Key features: Key features: Focused examples of effective marketing copy. Breakdowns of why certain campaigns worked well. Covers various industries and platforms, including email, social media, and ads. Focused examples of effective marketing copy. Focused examples of effective marketing copy. Breakdowns of why certain campaigns worked well. Breakdowns of why certain campaigns worked well. Covers various industries and platforms, including email, social media, and ads. Covers various industries and platforms, including email, social media, and ads. 👉 https://marketingexamples.com/inspiration https://marketingexamples.com/inspiration Pricing: Free Did you like the resources? Here is more 👇 Did you like the resources? Here is more 👇 Join 6000+ others to receive the best DEV resources, tools, productivity tips, and career growth advice I discover by subscribing to my newsletter ! my newsletter my newsletter Also, connect with me on Twitter , LinkedIn , and GitHub ! Twitter Twitter LinkedIn LinkedIn GitHub GitHub Writing has always been my passion and it gives me pleasure to help and inspire people. If you want to get featured or partner up, feel free to get in touch ! get in touch get in touch

8 Web Directories That SaaS Builders and Indie Hackers Need To Check Out 🤑🚀

In today's fast-paced digital world, finding the most productive tools to streamline your workflow can be overwhelming. With countless options available, it's challenging to identify which applications truly enhance efficiency and collaboration. In this article, I've curated a list of 17 top-tier tools for various professional needs from graphic editor suites and wireframing tools to scheduling apps, collaborative platforms, and project management solutions. You'll discover practical solutions to optimize your workflow, improve your productivity, and navigate the ever-evolving landscape of web development. Each resource will include a direct link, a description, and an image preview. 1. Fotor Fotor is your all-in-one photo editing and design platform. It simplifies your workflow with powerful AI tools and a user-friendly interface. It helps streamline your design process, allowing for quick and professional-quality graphic creation without extensive design skills. Some of the best features include: Background Remover: Remove backgrounds from any image with a single click.


Photo Enhancer: Increase image resolution and make photos look awesome.


AI Image Generator: Make beautiful AI images and art from text prompts.


AI Headshot Generator: Create professional and realistic profile pictures.


AI Video Generator: Craft compelling AI-generated videos for any project. Visit Fotor, and elevate your visual content creation today! Perfect for designers, artists, and anyone who wants to bring their creative visions to life! Thanks to the Fotor team for collaborating with me on this article! 2. Superlist Superlist is a powerful task management tool designed to enhance team productivity by organizing tasks, setting priorities, and tracking progress in real-time. It simplifies workflow management and boosts efficiency by keeping everyone aligned and focused on their goals. 3. Dub Dub is the open-source link management infrastructure for modern marketing teams. It has powerful features such as advanced analytics, branded links, QR codes, personalization and self-hosting options, team collaboration, and more. 4. Glitter Glitter lets you turn any process into a step-by-step guide in seconds. It turns your voice and mouse clicks into a beautifully written guide with screenshots and text that you can easily edit and share with others. 5. Boom Boom is an app that makes meetings and presentations more engaging, productive, and fun wherever you use video. Express yourself with branded overlays, titles, and logos, design what people see when your camera is off, use camera presets for every occasion, and much more. 6. Marker Marker is a bug-tracking tool that enables teams to capture and report website bugs directly from their browser. It streamlines the feedback process by integrating with project management tools, allowing for quicker identification and resolution of issues. 7. Komodo Komodo is a screen recording and sharing tool that allows users to create high-quality video tutorials and presentations effortlessly. It enhances workflow by simplifying the process of creating instructional content, making it easier to share knowledge and collaborate. 8. TidyCal TidyCal is a scheduling application designed to streamline the process of booking meetings and appointments. It improves workflow by eliminating the back-and-forth of scheduling, allowing for quick and easy calendar management that saves time and reduces stress. 9. Shots Shots is a versatile tool designed for generating mockups and frames. It helps streamline the design process by providing an easy way to create, customize, and present visual content, enhancing efficiency in product design and presentation tasks. 10. Excalidraw Excalidraw is an online whiteboard tool that allows users to create hand-drawn diagrams and sketches. It boosts workflow by offering a collaborative space for brainstorming and visualizing ideas, making conveying concepts and planning projects easier. 11. Miro Miro is a digital whiteboard platform for team collaboration, enabling users to create diagrams, mind maps, and project plans. It enhances workflow by providing a versatile real-time collaboration space, helping teams visualize, discuss, and organize their ideas effectively. 12. Height Height is a management tool that integrates task tracking and workflow automation. It improves workflow by offering a comprehensive solution to manage projects, assign tasks, and monitor progress, ensuring that teams stay organized. 13. Whimsical Whimsical is a collaborative online tool that provides flowcharts, wireframes, mind maps, and sticky notes to help teams visualize ideas and workflows. It enhances productivity by offering an intuitive platform for brainstorming, planning, and engagingly organizing thoughts. 14. Wondercraft Wondercraft is an AI-powered platform that allows users to create realistic audio content using text input. It improves workflow by automating the production of high-quality audio content, saving time and resources for content creators and marketers. 15. Rizzle Rizzle is a short-form video creation platform that enables users to produce and share engaging videos effortlessly. It boosts workflow by providing easy-to-use utilities for video editing, making it ideal for social media managers and content creators. 16. Pitch Pitch is a presentation software that combines design and collaboration features to help teams create stunning presentations. It enhances workflow by providing templates, real-time collaboration, and intuitive design tools, making it easier to produce professional presentations. 17. Tally Tally is an online form-building tool that simplifies the creation of surveys, feedback forms, and other data collection instruments. It streamlines workflow by offering a user-friendly interface and robust features that facilitate quick and efficient form creation and data analysis. Writing has always been my passion and it gives me pleasure to help and inspire people. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! Make sure to receive the best resources, tools, productivity tips, and career growth tips I discover by subscribing to my newsletter! Also, connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and GitHub! Also, published here. In today's fast-paced digital world, finding the most productive tools to streamline your workflow can be overwhelming. With countless options available, it's challenging to identify which applications truly enhance efficiency and collaboration. In this article, I've curated a list of 17 top-tier tools for various professional needs from graphic editor suites and wireframing tools to scheduling apps, collaborative platforms, and project management solutions. You'll discover practical solutions to optimize your workflow, improve your productivity, and navigate the ever-evolving landscape of web development. Each resource will include a direct link, a description, and an image preview. 1. Fotor Fotor Fotor is your all-in-one photo editing and design platform. It simplifies your workflow with powerful AI tools and a user-friendly interface. It helps streamline your design process, allowing for quick and professional-quality graphic creation without extensive design skills. Some of the best features include: Some of the best features include: Background Remover: Remove backgrounds from any image with a single click. Photo Enhancer: Increase image resolution and make photos look awesome. AI Image Generator: Make beautiful AI images and art from text prompts. AI Headshot Generator: Create professional and realistic profile pictures. AI Video Generator: Craft compelling AI-generated videos for any project. Background Remover: Remove backgrounds from any image with a single click. Background Remover: Remove backgrounds from any image with a single click. Photo Enhancer: Increase image resolution and make photos look awesome. Photo Enhancer: Increase image resolution and make photos look awesome. AI Image Generator: Make beautiful AI images and art from text prompts. AI Image Generator: Make beautiful AI images and art from text prompts. AI Headshot Generator: Create professional and realistic profile pictures. AI Headshot Generator: Create professional and realistic profile pictures. AI Video Generator: Craft compelling AI-generated videos for any project. AI Video Generator: Craft compelling AI-generated videos for any project. Visit Fotor , and elevate your visual content creation today! Perfect for designers, artists, and anyone who wants to bring their creative visions to life! Fotor Thanks to the Fotor team for collaborating with me on this article! 2. Superlist Superlist Superlist is a powerful task management tool designed to enhance team productivity by organizing tasks, setting priorities, and tracking progress in real-time. It simplifies workflow management and boosts efficiency by keeping everyone aligned and focused on their goals. 3. Dub Dub Dub is the open-source link management infrastructure for modern marketing teams. It has powerful features such as advanced analytics, branded links, QR codes, personalization and self-hosting options, team collaboration, and more. 4. Glitter Glitter Glitter lets you turn any process into a step-by-step guide in seconds. It turns your voice and mouse clicks into a beautifully written guide with screenshots and text that you can easily edit and share with others. 5. Boom Boom Boom is an app that makes meetings and presentations more engaging, productive, and fun wherever you use video. Express yourself with branded overlays, titles, and logos, design what people see when your camera is off, use camera presets for every occasion, and much more. 6. Marker Marker Marker is a bug-tracking tool that enables teams to capture and report website bugs directly from their browser. It streamlines the feedback process by integrating with project management tools, allowing for quicker identification and resolution of issues. 7. Komodo Komodo Komodo is a screen recording and sharing tool that allows users to create high-quality video tutorials and presentations effortlessly. It enhances workflow by simplifying the process of creating instructional content, making it easier to share knowledge and collaborate. 8. TidyCal TidyCal TidyCal is a scheduling application designed to streamline the process of booking meetings and appointments. It improves workflow by eliminating the back-and-forth of scheduling, allowing for quick and easy calendar management that saves time and reduces stress. 9. Shots Shots Shots is a versatile tool designed for generating mockups and frames. It helps streamline the design process by providing an easy way to create, customize, and present visual content, enhancing efficiency in product design and presentation tasks. 10. Excalidraw Excalidraw Excalidraw is an online whiteboard tool that allows users to create hand-drawn diagrams and sketches. It boosts workflow by offering a collaborative space for brainstorming and visualizing ideas, making conveying concepts and planning projects easier. 11. Miro Miro Miro is a digital whiteboard platform for team collaboration, enabling users to create diagrams, mind maps, and project plans. It enhances workflow by providing a versatile real-time collaboration space, helping teams visualize, discuss, and organize their ideas effectively. 12. Height Height Height is a management tool that integrates task tracking and workflow automation. It improves workflow by offering a comprehensive solution to manage projects, assign tasks, and monitor progress, ensuring that teams stay organized. 13. Whimsical Whimsical Whimsical is a collaborative online tool that provides flowcharts, wireframes, mind maps, and sticky notes to help teams visualize ideas and workflows. It enhances productivity by offering an intuitive platform for brainstorming, planning, and engagingly organizing thoughts. 14. Wondercraft Wondercraft Wondercraft is an AI-powered platform that allows users to create realistic audio content using text input. It improves workflow by automating the production of high-quality audio content, saving time and resources for content creators and marketers. 15. Rizzle Rizzle Rizzle is a short-form video creation platform that enables users to produce and share engaging videos effortlessly. It boosts workflow by providing easy-to-use utilities for video editing, making it ideal for social media managers and content creators. 16. Pitch Pitch Pitch is a presentation software that combines design and collaboration features to help teams create stunning presentations. It enhances workflow by providing templates, real-time collaboration, and intuitive design tools, making it easier to produce professional presentations. 17. Tally Tally Tally is an online form-building tool that simplifies the creation of surveys, feedback forms, and other data collection instruments. It streamlines workflow by offering a user-friendly interface and robust features that facilitate quick and efficient form creation and data analysis. Writing has always been my passion and it gives me pleasure to help and inspire people. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! Make sure to receive the best resources, tools, productivity tips, and career growth tips I discover by subscribing to my newsletter ! my newsletter Also, connect with me on Twitter , LinkedIn , and GitHub ! Twitter LinkedIn GitHub Also, published here . here

How to Improve Your Workflow by 10X: 17 Essential Apps

কিভাবে 10X দ্বারা আপনার কর্মপ্রবাহ উন্নত করবেন: 17টি প্রয়োজনীয় অ্যাপ

So verbessern Sie Ihren Workflow um das Zehnfache: 17 unverzichtbare Apps

Cómo mejorar su flujo de trabajo 10 veces: 17 aplicaciones esenciales

Comment améliorer votre flux de travail par 10 : 17 applications essentielles

अपने वर्कफ़्लो को 10 गुना बेहतर कैसे बनाएं: 17 ज़रूरी ऐप्स

ワークフローを10倍に向上させる方法: 必須アプリ17選

작업 흐름을 10배 향상하는 방법: 17가지 필수 앱

Como melhorar seu fluxo de trabalho em 10 vezes: 17 aplicativos essenciais

Как улучшить ваш рабочий процесс в 10 раз: 17 основных приложений

İş Akışınızı 10 Kat Nasıl İyileştirirsiniz: 17 Temel Uygulama

Cách cải thiện quy trình làm việc của bạn lên gấp 10 lần: 17 ứng dụng cần thiết

如何将您的工作流程提高 10 倍：17 个必备应用程序

Artificial Intelligence tools can significantly enhance productivity by automating routine tasks, optimizing workflows, and providing insightful analytics. However, with the overwhelming number of AI tools available, finding the most effective ones can be challenging and time-consuming. To solve this issue I decided to curate a list of the 16 best AI web apps, that you can use in your daily workflow to deliver maximum productivity and efficiency. Each tool will include a direct link, a description, and an image preview. 1. Zoviz AI Logo Maker Create stunning, professional logos in minutes without any design experience. Focus on your business while Zoviz AI handles your branding needs! Zoviz uses AI to generate professional logos tailored to your brand's identity. Some of the key features include: AI-Powered Design: Generate unique logos instantly using advanced AI algorithms.


Customizable Templates: Access a wide variety of templates tailored to different industries.


High-Resolution Downloads: Obtain high-quality logos suitable for both digital and print use.


Branding Tools: Enhance your brand with matching business cards, social media kits, and more.


User-Friendly Interface: Enjoy an intuitive design experience with easy-to-use editing tools. Transform your brand identity with a stunning logo. Visit Zoviz AI Logo Maker, and create your perfect logo in minutes. Try it now, and see the difference! Thanks to the Zoviz team for collaborating with me on this article! 2. Remove.bg RemoveBG utilizes AI to automatically remove backgrounds from images, making the process quick and effortless. This tool is useful for creating clean and professional-looking visuals without the need for complex photo editing skills. 3. Unscreen Unscreen offers AI-driven background removal for videos, eliminating the need for green screens and manual editing. It enhances workflow efficiency by allowing users to create polished video content seamlessly. 4. ImgUpscaler ImgUpscaler uses AI to upscale images, enhancing their resolution and quality without losing detail. This tool is invaluable for improving image clarity and detail, which is essential for professional presentations and marketing materials. 5. Cleanup pictures Cleanup pictures employ AI to remove unwanted objects from images, making it easy to clean up photos. It simplifies the editing process, enabling users to produce cleaner and more focused visuals quickly. 6. LightX LightX offers advanced photo editing capabilities, including AI-powered background change features. This tool is perfect for creating professional images by allowing users to easily swap backgrounds and enhance their photos. 7. Vmake.ai VmakeAI offers AI-powered image outpainting, which extends images seamlessly beyond their original borders. This tool is ideal for enhancing visual creativity and producing captivating content without the need for advanced editing skills. 8. Remaker.ai RemakerAI provides a free face-swapping service using AI to swap faces in photos effortlessly. It will be useful for creating engaging and humorous visuals for social media, marketing, or entertainment purposes. 9. SnapEdit SnapEdit employs AI to remove text from images, making it easy to clean up visuals. This tool streamlines the editing process by quickly eliminating unwanted text, ensuring professional and polished results. 10. Wordtune Wordtune leverages AI to enhance writing by suggesting rephrasing, tone adjustments, and clarity improvements. It boosts productivity by helping users write more effectively and persuasively, making it invaluable for content creation and communication. 11. Unriddle Unriddle utilizes AI to analyze and explain complex data, offering clear and actionable insights. This tool improves workflow efficiency by simplifying data interpretation and aiding in better decision-making processes. 12. TTSMaker TTSMaker provides AI-driven text-to-speech conversion, transforming written text into natural-sounding speech. It enhances accessibility and productivity by allowing users to listen to content, making it easier to consume information on the go. 13. Podcastle Podcastle leverages AI to provide podcast recording, editing, and transcription services, simplifying the entire podcast production process. This tool is invaluable for content creators, offering high-quality audio enhancements and ease of use for efficient podcast management. 14. Podcast Enhance Adobe Podcast Enhance uses AI to improve audio quality by reducing noise and enhancing voice clarity. It boosts productivity for podcasters and audio professionals by delivering studio-quality sound without the need for complex editing skills. 15. Colormind Colormind utilizes AI to generate color palettes based on machine learning, providing aesthetically pleasing combinations. This tool is perfect for designers seeking inspiration and helps streamline the design process with instant, harmonious color suggestions. 16. TimeMaster TimeMaster employs AI to help manage and optimize your time, offering features like task prioritization and productivity tracking. This tool enhances workflow efficiency by providing insights and recommendations to maximize productivity and achieve better work-life balance. Writing has always been my passion, and it gives me pleasure to help and inspire people. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! Make sure to receive the best resources, tools, productivity tips, and career growth tips I discover by subscribing to my newsletter! Also, connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and GitHub! Also published here. Artificial Intelligence tools can significantly enhance productivity by automating routine tasks, optimizing workflows, and providing insightful analytics. However, with the overwhelming number of AI tools available, finding the most effective ones can be challenging and time-consuming. To solve this issue I decided to curate a list of the 16 best AI web apps, that you can use in your daily workflow to deliver maximum productivity and efficiency. Each tool will include a direct link, a description, and an image preview. 1. Zoviz AI Logo Maker Zoviz AI Logo Maker Create stunning, professional logos in minutes without any design experience. Focus on your business while Zoviz AI handles your branding needs! Zoviz uses AI to generate professional logos tailored to your brand's identity. Some of the key features include: AI-Powered Design: Generate unique logos instantly using advanced AI algorithms. Customizable Templates: Access a wide variety of templates tailored to different industries. High-Resolution Downloads: Obtain high-quality logos suitable for both digital and print use. Branding Tools: Enhance your brand with matching business cards, social media kits, and more. User-Friendly Interface: Enjoy an intuitive design experience with easy-to-use editing tools. AI-Powered Design: Generate unique logos instantly using advanced AI algorithms. AI-Powered Design : Generate unique logos instantly using advanced AI algorithms. AI-Powered Design Customizable Templates: Access a wide variety of templates tailored to different industries. Customizable Templates : Access a wide variety of templates tailored to different industries. Customizable Templates High-Resolution Downloads: Obtain high-quality logos suitable for both digital and print use. High-Resolution Downloads : Obtain high-quality logos suitable for both digital and print use. High-Resolution Downloads Branding Tools: Enhance your brand with matching business cards, social media kits, and more. Branding Tools : Enhance your brand with matching business cards, social media kits, and more. Branding Tools User-Friendly Interface: Enjoy an intuitive design experience with easy-to-use editing tools. User-Friendly Interface : Enjoy an intuitive design experience with easy-to-use editing tools. User-Friendly Interface Transform your brand identity with a stunning logo. Visit Zoviz AI Logo Maker , and create your perfect logo in minutes. Try it now, and see the difference! Zoviz AI Logo Maker Thanks to the Zoviz team for collaborating with me on this article! 2. Remove.bg Remove.bg RemoveBG utilizes AI to automatically remove backgrounds from images, making the process quick and effortless. This tool is useful for creating clean and professional-looking visuals without the need for complex photo editing skills. 3. Unscreen Unscreen Unscreen offers AI-driven background removal for videos, eliminating the need for green screens and manual editing. It enhances workflow efficiency by allowing users to create polished video content seamlessly. 4. ImgUpscaler ImgUpscaler ImgUpscaler uses AI to upscale images, enhancing their resolution and quality without losing detail. This tool is invaluable for improving image clarity and detail, which is essential for professional presentations and marketing materials. 5. Cleanup pictures Cleanup pictures Cleanup pictures employ AI to remove unwanted objects from images, making it easy to clean up photos. It simplifies the editing process, enabling users to produce cleaner and more focused visuals quickly. 6. LightX LightX LightX offers advanced photo editing capabilities, including AI-powered background change features. This tool is perfect for creating professional images by allowing users to easily swap backgrounds and enhance their photos. 7. Vmake.ai Vmake.ai VmakeAI offers AI-powered image outpainting, which extends images seamlessly beyond their original borders. This tool is ideal for enhancing visual creativity and producing captivating content without the need for advanced editing skills. 8. Remaker.ai Remaker.ai RemakerAI provides a free face-swapping service using AI to swap faces in photos effortlessly. It will be useful for creating engaging and humorous visuals for social media, marketing, or entertainment purposes. 9. SnapEdit SnapEdit SnapEdit employs AI to remove text from images, making it easy to clean up visuals. This tool streamlines the editing process by quickly eliminating unwanted text, ensuring professional and polished results. 10. Wordtune Wordtune Wordtune leverages AI to enhance writing by suggesting rephrasing, tone adjustments, and clarity improvements. It boosts productivity by helping users write more effectively and persuasively, making it invaluable for content creation and communication. 11. Unriddle Unriddle Unriddle utilizes AI to analyze and explain complex data, offering clear and actionable insights. This tool improves workflow efficiency by simplifying data interpretation and aiding in better decision-making processes. 12. TTSMaker TTSMaker TTSMaker provides AI-driven text-to-speech conversion, transforming written text into natural-sounding speech. It enhances accessibility and productivity by allowing users to listen to content, making it easier to consume information on the go. 13. Podcastle Podcastle Podcastle leverages AI to provide podcast recording, editing, and transcription services, simplifying the entire podcast production process. This tool is invaluable for content creators, offering high-quality audio enhancements and ease of use for efficient podcast management. 14. Podcast Enhance Podcast Enhance Adobe Podcast Enhance uses AI to improve audio quality by reducing noise and enhancing voice clarity. It boosts productivity for podcasters and audio professionals by delivering studio-quality sound without the need for complex editing skills. 15. Colormind Colormind Colormind utilizes AI to generate color palettes based on machine learning, providing aesthetically pleasing combinations. This tool is perfect for designers seeking inspiration and helps streamline the design process with instant, harmonious color suggestions. 16. TimeMaster TimeMaster TimeMaster employs AI to help manage and optimize your time, offering features like task prioritization and productivity tracking. This tool enhances workflow efficiency by providing insights and recommendations to maximize productivity and achieve better work-life balance. Writing has always been my passion, and it gives me pleasure to help and inspire people. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! Make sure to receive the best resources, tools, productivity tips, and career growth tips I discover by subscribing to my newsletter ! my newsletter my newsletter Also, connect with me on Twitter , LinkedIn , and GitHub ! Twitter Twitter LinkedIn LinkedIn GitHub GitHub Also published here . here

How to Boost Your Workflow With AI: 16 Killer Web Applications 🚀🔥

Photo Credit, recovered from stomach illness. In original publication of this interview, “ ,” this photo was rejected in favor of . In the spirit of additional context when republishing, we added the original image above, about two dozen contextual links, and embedded a fun video at the end. David Smooke David Smooke Founder & CEO at HackerNoon — Digital Publishing Evolution, AI Impact, Content Management Innovation, Community Growth, Future Visions a kinder, more professional headshot from AI Time Journal: 1. David, can you share the origin story of HackerNoon and what motivated you to create a platform focused on technology storytelling? Flor Laorga Hey, ! Thanks for having me. I’m . I started and run We publish technology stories and build publishing software. Before HackerNoon, I was managing 400+ contributing writers on the , which is now a tech unicorn. Back then, it was cumbersome to manage the writer accounts, content, and editorial review process through existing systems. Building for the contributing writers opened doors. When I started this company, I built many sites, most failed, and HackerNoon found the right mix of community, customers, and - just a cool place to spend time on the internet. Millions visit us every month for free to read our 100k+ stories across . By offering editing and distribution, many technology practitioners, writers, and companies find value in . AI Time Journal David Smooke HackerNoon. blog for SmartRecruiters thousands of tech topics publishing their stories with us 2. With HackerNoon’s commitment to keeping its library free of paywalls and popups, how do you navigate the challenge of generating revenue while maintaining an open-access philosophy? It’s a battle! Historically, we’ve 2x-ed revenue most years of the company’s existence, and our yearly revenue is in the low millions. Media is a brutal industry, and tech’s an up-and-down world where layoffs and profits seem to coincide with each gen ai launch or full moon. Our top source of revenue right now is . Companies like Brave, NVIDIA and AWS buy monthly ads on all stories within a category, like or . Our second and third sources of revenue are and . Business blogging is about getting more readers for blog posts owned by technology companies like , , , and . We leverage our publishing system and owned media channels to improve and further distribute their content. Quality technology blog posts require a lot of effort from talented people. The labor that goes into each post on a tech company’s main blog is worth thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars - companies work with HackerNoon to get those technology blog posts more readers. In terms of writing contests, companies award the authors of the best stores on a tag ( ), pay HackerNoon to run the contest, and ultimately, more technology content enters our library to serve the readers. The intention is to create discussion about a niche technology topic. ad placements by content relevancy programming data science business blogging writing contests MinIO Ockam Blockchain Oracle Summit BrightData like how Aptible awarded $18k to best #DevOps stories 3. As AI continues to evolve, how do you see it transforming the landscape of digital publishing, especially in terms of content creation and distribution? AI’s a massive wrench into productivity and authenticity. Every current job relying on a keyboard or a phone has/will have an AI assistant, and an AI will be on deck with you in whatever UX replaces the keyboard or the phone next. On the positive side, small capable teams can have greater extensions of themselves and their work. AI and AI agents can move portions of projects forward. For example, we introduced , and had to assign every story in our 100k+ library to one category. 100k human decisions would have taken a while, but a chatgpt spreadsheet plugin was able to assign each story a technology category very easily. On the negative side, there is spamflation everywhere. Why must the builders of our generation rush to make AI tools to spam instead of AI tools to assist? In 2022, one contributing writer, , made the case that . There is just so, so much content being generated by AI. It’s human-like, but it’s not human. Which brings me to authenticity. Who authored the content will become more important in the future as it indicates trust in a uniquely human way. technology categories Jeremy Hillpot 99.99% of all content would be AI-created by 2025 4. In your experience, what are the most effective strategies for managing and growing a small team of editors, developers, and startup individuals to produce high-quality technology content? We’re still small enough that everyone’s an individual contributor first, even the C-suite and board, which are both just me and . When you’re under 20 people, everyone has to carry their own weight. When it comes to managing a small remote team, reducing meetings is a good start. Editorial, sales, and product, each only have one internal meeting a week. This provides time to do the actual work and makes the meetings we do have will carry more importance. We do highly encourage one-off, project-focused, short meetings. Weekly product meetings are the longest and loaded with demos, recaps, and debates. But it connects the group, and designers have a full view into what developers are doing and vice versa. Staff happiness and sense of purpose, or lack thereof, will show in the little actions with our community. I work to create a company where a small team of elite contributors can thrive. Linh Dao Smooke 5. Could you discuss the development process of HackerNoon’s content management system and what makes it uniquely suited for technology professionals? At , we’ve built a lot of systems to create, edit, and distribute content at scale. Technologists spend a lot of their day on the keyboard (like I am now) and understand that documenting their journey and professional expertise will lead to more long-term success. Our CMS helps you create content with help from , , and . The CMS also integrates with our email and social media distribution engines, and for good measure. We live between social media where anyone can post and traditional media where staff content production drives content creation and consumption. There is a vibrant community of millions of technologists on HackerNoon. Plus, our CMS is built to seamlessly port content around the web. For example, with the HackerNoon CMS, we’ll be launching AI-specific publications in 2024, such as , , and more. HackerNoon templates AI a human editorial review backups up all content on the blockchain FewShot.Tech TextModels.Tech 6. How has HackerNoon leveraged AI to enhance its platform? and what lessons have you learned about AI's role in spam creation and prevention? HackerNoon uses AI and machine learning to improve grammar, , , and . Maybe Clippy was ahead of its time? Writers have and will continue to have smart AI assistants. AI can not and should not replace the writer, but it should and can assist the writer and editor throughout the publishing process. We are documenting our approach to editorial at . With the rise of LLMs, we’ve seen an influx of AI story spam submissions. Other blogging platforms are hosting so much of these types of machine generated stories right now. We are actively taking steps to not become a wasteland of AI’s musings. Because every story is reviewed before publication (with about half being rejected), I think our average story quality is higher than other blogging platforms. Every story submission automatically enters into plagiarism and AI writing detection. We highlight what sections are likely, possibly, and unlikely to be written by AI. It’s all about confidence levels. Ultimately, human editors make the final call in interpreting the machines’ reports. translate stories generate featured images suggest possible headlines EditingProtocol.com 7. Given your expertise in product management and editing, how do you balance innovation with user experience when introducing new features or updates to your platform? The core has to work for any new feature to matter. Our core is the blog post. We work to publish better blog posts and build for what comes before and what comes after the blog post. New functionalities cannot come at the expense of a delightful reading experience and a smooth publishing experience. It’s got to load quickly and the relevant ads have to surface at the right place for customers. There’s always more projects that could be done to improve the core. We also have been using more API driven journalism in order to gain more traffic. What I mean by that is aggregating relevant data and business information so that we can build pages that cover , , and . By connecting stories around the web to relevant companies, technologies and currencies, we can make HackerNoon a stronger destination for technology education and discovery. In terms of what to build next, we’ve built a simple product management system within Notion, where we detail product cards, weighing which user it would benefit, the expected input/output of the project, and then generally contributors choose their own projects. tech companies technologies currencies 8. As a leader, how do you foster a culture of creativity and innovation within your team, and what practices have you found most effective in motivating and inspiring your staff? The simplest way is to lead by example. I’m contributing to projects more than managing projects. The people who make this business happen are good people. If I want people to blog with HackerNoon, I need to blog with HackerNoon. almost 300 technology stories and this year, my goal is a post a week. Our staff is remote and around the world, we have people in Munich, Goa, Florida, Hanoi, Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Michigan, Lahore, Lagos, and of course where I live in Colorado. It’s a lot of different cultures. And a lot of different ideas. Everyone on the team started by applying via our , so one thing that unites us is reading and using HackerNoon before joining HackerNoon. Everyone also has stock in the company, that helps with buy-in and enthusiasm. We agree on metrics we want to move, but we might not agree on how to get there. It generally works best when contributors choose their own paths. I’ve published careers page 9. With your insights into the future of work and career advice, what guidance would you offer to professionals aiming to break into the rapidly changing tech industry? Make things! Apps, models, prototypes, blueprints, communities, whatever - just start making. Your first technology thing probably won’t be your best or your future, but if you make more things in tech they become less like just technology things and more like just essential everyday things.  In terms of breaking in, it’s a tough market in technology/media right now with mass layoffs & unpredictable demands. Having your own functioning project, app, site, academic paper, or even just a blog can set you apart from other candidates. I recommend looking to apply at companies that make technologies or products that you use and respect. Write short and simple cold emails that explain why you’d like to work together.  Take a step back and look at our daily lives - and what you think our daily lives might be in ten years - technology isn’t going anywhere. It’s becoming more ingrained. Closer to our eyes. I’d also add that getting into tech doesn’t necessarily mean staying in tech forever, but better understanding technology will help however your career grows. 10. How do you envision the role of digital publishers like HackerNoon in shaping public discourse and understanding of complex topics like cryptocurrency, AI, and blockchain technology? We normalize it. I learned about Bitcoin from a HackerNoon story submission. . The technology’s finally caught up; let’s talk about it. I learn a lot by reading what contributors think could be next. As many people on HackerNoon are publishing about what they’re building, we usually learn about newer technologies before they reach more mainstream learning destinations. is a great blogging example for how the people making the next internet are documenting and teaching others along the way. That author, , kept writing that . Meanwhile, we kept integrating our tech stack with more Web3 technologies. Fun Easter egg, you can read . Publishing platforms are still learning how to detail where and how and when AI contributed. We add an “ on all stories where AI assisted the writer. At Meta, I see they’re implementing a , I’ll be monitoring how that goes. Publishers should provide transparency to the reader when it comes to AI content creation. Hopefully, the internet can reach reasonable standards for accrediting AI. Milton Friedman’s been talking about the need for ecash since 1999 Learn Blockchain by Building One Daniel van Flymen blog post into a book the entire HackerNoon library via blockchain signatures here AI Assisted” emoji credibility indicator watermark checking and display system for all AI generated images 11. Finally, can you share a personal story or moment from your journey with HackerNoon that has been particularly meaningful or impactful to you? Well, it’s been a long road! Hard to pick just one. Recently, meeting Pham Minh Chinh, the Prime Minister of Vietnam, stands out. He invited . Was cool to see up close how a head of state walks, talks and listens to pitches about how the country could become a bigger player in the technology industry. Another one that comes to mind is when we launched with our own CMS, it was janky, it was pixelated, and it mostly worked but didn’t work in all the right spots. It was ours and it was beautiful. HackerNoon! I’ll leave with you this : Linh to be a technology consultant as the country forms its semiconductor strategy HackerNoon.com previously unpublished video of the moment we went live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdoh8z0NXzU&embedable=true

“We are actively taking steps to not become a wasteland of AI’s musings” says HackerNoon Founder/CEO

হ্যাকারনুন প্রতিষ্ঠাতা/সিইও বলেছেন, "আমরা সক্রিয়ভাবে পদক্ষেপ নিচ্ছি যাতে AI এর মিউজিং এর বর্জ্যভূমিতে পরিণত না হয়"

„Wir unternehmen aktiv Schritte, um nicht zu einem Ödland der KI-Gedanken zu werden“, sagt HackerNoon-Gründer/CEO

"Estamos tomando medidas activamente para no convertirnos en un páramo de las reflexiones de la IA", dice el fundador y director ejecutivo de HackerNoon

"Nous prenons activement des mesures pour ne pas devenir un désert de réflexions sur l'IA", déclare le fondateur et PDG de HackerNoon.

हैकरनून के संस्थापक/सीईओ कहते हैं, "हम एआई के विचारों की बंजर भूमि न बनने के लिए सक्रिय रूप से कदम उठा रहे हैं।"

「私たちは、AI の思索の荒野にならないよう、積極的に対策を講じています」と HackerNoon 創設者兼 CEO は語る

해커눈 창업자/CEO “AI 사색의 황무지가 되지 않기 위해 적극 나서고 있다”

“Estamos tomando medidas ativamente para não nos tornarmos um terreno baldio de reflexões de IA”, diz o fundador/CEO da HackerNoon

«Мы активно предпринимаем шаги, чтобы не стать пустошью размышлений ИИ», — говорит основатель/генеральный директор HackerNoon.

HackerNoon Kurucusu/CEO'su şöyle diyor: "Yapay zekanın düşüncelerinden oluşan bir çorak araziye dönüşmemek için aktif olarak adımlar atıyoruz"

Người sáng lập/CEO của HackerNoon cho biết: “Chúng tôi đang tích cực thực hiện các bước để không trở thành vùng đất hoang của những suy ngẫm về AI”.

HackerNoon 创始人/首席执行官表示：“我们正在积极采取措施，以免成为人工智能思考的荒原”

Let me tell you a tale about an SEO expert who decided to dip his toes into the world of digital product development. It’s a journey filled with highs, lows, hopes, and failures that any startup entrepreneur faces. It’s about overcoming insurmountable odds, venturing into uncharted territories, trying new things, and finding solutions in tough situations. I’ve been in the SEO game since 2006, creating websites and earning from Google AdSense, affiliate programs, and contextual advertising. But in 2014, I thought it was time to step up my game. I ventured into selling heavy machinery, earning a commission on each sale. The plan was simple: build websites, promote them, set up ads, and send leads to the supplier. Unfortunately, a crisis hit, and sales plummeted to zero despite hundreds of leads. I funded everything myself, which meant my savings took a serious hit. At the time, I was living in Thailand, and I had to move into a $250-a-month bungalow. I was in a deep depression, barely sleeping, but that’s a story for another day. The SEO Breakup So there I was, completely disillusioned with SEO and working with external partners. The main issue: My lack of influence over the processes, not to mention a glaring absence of understanding in sales and market dynamics. I won’t lie, I was bitter. Bitter about my partners, the economic crisis, and the world at large. I had put in the effort, and achieved tangible results — better rankings, more traffic, increased inquiries — but what did I get in return? Zero income, all expenses. But of course, everyone needs to make a living, right? So, I went full throttle into freelancing, taking on anything and everything from SEO services to designing business cards. In eight months, I managed to scrape together $12,000, mainly from freelancing and some residual income from past projects. At that point, I expected to have about $8,000 in disposable income over the next six months. So, doing the math, I figured I had a neat $20,000 in the bank. It was time to find my niche. After some online research, I stumbled upon ThemeForest — a marketplace that sells website templates, WordPress themes, plugins, you name it. One theme caught my eye: 20,000 sales at $49 each. That’s a cool 100 grand! And there were many more like it on the marketplace. Back then, I wasn’t into deep market analysis; I didn’t think of consulting with ten guys in the field or writing to them via their marketplace profiles. Nope, I just plunged in headfirst, guns blazing. I decided to start a company and hire a team, confident of my success. What did I know about failure, right? The Team I thought I’d churn out a couple of products simultaneously, dedicating 1-2 months per product. So, I decided to hire a team right away. Up until that point I’d been a loner, doing everything myself and thought it was simple. But then I hired: Two designers – I got lucky with one. She turned out to be a gem and pretty much saved the project. Two front-end developers – both turned out to be underwhelming (or maybe the marketplace standards were just too high). A programmer – I went through four of them in just six months. One even had a drinking problem. And then there was me – a jack-of-all-trades. What were my skills? A bit of design, fairly strong front-end development skills, a strong work ethic, and discipline. Coding, however, was my Achilles’ heel. Sure, I could use ‘echo’ to output stuff and I was quick at finding code snippets, but overall, you could call me a script kiddie. Planning There was no real plan, just dollar signs in my eyes and an Excel sheet filled with ambitious numbers. I thought it’d be easy. After all, I’d seen plenty of businesses for whom I’d built websites and improved Google rankings. In short: I was a noob leading a team of noobs, with a designer as our only hope. The Results Let’s skip the gory details of this failure, all you need to know is that my team was floundering. I couldn’t train them properly, and I was clueless about the importance of training and detailed technical briefs. So, naturally, the team dwindled month by month, and the money was running dry. In the first month, our star designer created a stunning design for an SEO agency template. I loved it and decided to make it our first template. It was a lucky break since I was an SEO guy myself, squarely in the template’s target audience. I spent 14 hours a day coding the design. It took a whopping 210 hours to complete the HTML coding — a number I’ll never forget. And then came a big surprise: the HTML coding was useless! When we started creating the WordPress theme, we discovered that we needed to build pages on a page builder, as that’s what customers preferred. Talk about a curveball! By the end of the second month, the team was down to just me, the programmer, and the designer. We were grinding away at the WordPress template, while the designer was crafting designs for future templates. We spent about $12,000 in the first three months. Our money was dwindling, but there was still a ton of work left to do on the theme. Another two months flew by before we finally had a finished product at the end of the fifth month. It was a real gamble — no accounting records, just playing it by ear. The marketplace doesn’t just accept any product — they meticulously check for code quality, security, and design quality. It took about 20 days to get the first response from the moderator. As you can guess, there were loads of errors. We’d get a rejection with 5-10 issues, fix them, and resubmit for review. Each review took about 3 days. It was a never-ending cycle. A Young Startup’s Search for Shelter Thankfully, I had made some friends in Thailand, including a neighbor who was opening a fitness studio. She had rented a large house for a bunch of trainers — at times, five to nine trainers were living there simultaneously. Eventually, I asked if I could stay with them since I was down to my last $2,000. She put me up in the trainers’ house, but all the rooms were occupied, so I ended up sleeping on a mattress in the 12-square-meter hallway, right by the door. Don’t worry, no one stepped on me. It was quite a sight — me living like a cat on a mat at the entrance. I stayed with the trainers for about a month. Then, an opportunity came up — some friends were going snowboarding for a month and asked me to house-sit and watch their cat in exchange for free accommodation. Their apartment was located beneath a villa and was 70 square meters; it was filled with nice decor and a huge 1.5-meter TV. It was a culture shock for me — my living situation had drastically improved from a cat mat to “under-the-villa” luxury. But the continuous marketplace rejections were soul-crushing. I was living like a zombie — checking my phone in the morning for moderator emails, eating, and then heading to the beach to swim or walk. It was the only way to keep sane. The rejections kept piling up – 18 in total, each with 6 to 20 issues that needed fixing. It usually took 1-2 days to address these issues, followed by another 3-4 days of anxious waiting. I had no idea how many more errors they could possibly find. I felt like Sisyphus. The original plan was to create several templates, but the reality was grim: $20,000 had gone down the drain I was in a deep funk from nearly three months of constant rejections My life was as uncertain as a cat’s When Will This End? One morning, I woke up and lazily checked my notifications. I saw a message from the marketplace, but this time it didn’t start with the usual “Unfortunately, your…”. Instead, it read, “Congratulations! Your…”. I was so disillusioned by then that I just went through my morning routine mechanically. I finally got to my computer, opened the product page, and there it was – my first sale for $59. Of course, the marketplace took a 50% commission. ThemeForest has a progressive commission system – they start by taking 50% and then gradually reduce it to 30% as your sales volume increases. To reach that 30% threshold, I’d have to rack up sales of $75,000. I felt nothing seeing that first sale, so I just went to have breakfast. After some time lost on YouTube, I returned to my computer to find four sales. That’s when it hit me – I was running around the house, jumping, and yelling for joy. With these sales dynamics, I thought this was it – success! In the first month, I made $8,750, half of which went to the marketplace. I also knew that soon my template would drop from the first page of the marketplace, and sales would decline. Carefully observing other themes, I noticed that sales usually halve in the second month and stabilize thereabouts. But there was a glimmer of hope, a path to my fortune! The math was simple: over $2,000 a month from one product. Create 10 products, and that’s an easy $20,000 per month. The Setback Exhausted and craving a break, my friends and I took off to Bali for a month-long getaway. However, the fear of tarnishing my reputation and receiving negative reviews on the marketplace haunted me. So, every couple of hours, I found myself checking the support panel, and assisting clients religiously. Upon returning, I quickly created a second website template, this time for lawyers. It took about a month and passed moderation swiftly, but it was a sales disaster, barely making $200 a month. I thought it was just bad luck. After all, many templates were selling well in the market. Plus, my designer had accumulated 10 designs by then. So, I decided to hire more people. I borrowed $19,000 from a friend, agreeing to pay back $27,000 over two years with progressive monthly payments. This second attempt was slightly better. I hired: 3 front-end developers A new programmer The plan was to work on four templates simultaneously. I taught the team a bit and even did the front-end work for the fourth template. But trying to be both a manager and a front-end developer was a mistake. I was slow to respond to the team’s questions because it’s hard to constantly switch between tasks. As a result, both the team’s and my productivity suffered. We started in May but only managed to launch the first two templates in September. Honestly, I could have done 3-4 templates by myself over the summer. My main issue: I hate repetitive work. The first three templates were fine, but after that, it felt too routine. The fourth and last template was only accepted in the market right before the New Year. It was an epic journey. But sales were far worse than the first product, and I didn’t see any significant income growth. Moreover, I was repaying the loan throughout the second half of 2016 and all of 2017. Having to pay salaries and hoping to earn something for myself was a mental burden. You can see the 2016 earnings in the screenshot. There was growth from September, but I had the loan to pay off. And so, as you can imagine, I had to let go of my employees. 2017 was all about paying off debts. A New Chapter In 2017, I took a step back and tried to update unsold templates with second or third designs, but it didn’t help. I experimented with various types of advertising – AdWords, social media, blogs – but when you only make $40 clean per sale, it’s hard to turn a profit. Traffic in the US and English-speaking countries is too expensive. For half the year, I struggled to boost sales, then spent the latter half cheaply traveling around Asia, waiting for my debt to be paid off. There’s always a dip in December, but a spike in demand in January. In 2018, I decided to create another template for a proven niche – SEO agencies. It was a long and tedious process; I incorporated 20 designs, but it didn’t change the game. However, it did sell better than my other templates that were geared toward lawyers or fitness. A good designer was hard to find, so I ended up doing most of the designs myself. There was an initial surge in sales upon release in late spring but then became stagnant again. Eventually, I surrendered to working just two hours a day. I dabbled in various partnerships, and freelance work, and even tried launching my own WordPress site-building course. In 2019, I was all over the place – experimenting with partnerships and trying to get SEO clients. Nothing serious came out of it, although I have maintained one partnership, which is still evolving. Maybe It’ll Work After All? I don’t remember what inspired me, but at some point, I came up with a system for a conveyor belt-style template creation. I detailed it on paper and decided to seek investment. Winter was approaching. For over a month, I banged the drum – applying to startup incubators and talking to old clients I’d done SEO work for, as some had offered investments back in 2010. Eventually, two investors gave me $35,000. I packed my bags and flew to Thailand. I put together a new team: 2 average designers – should have hired one expensive one instead 3 front-end developers This time, I recorded hourly videos for the team daily, reviewing their work, pointing out mistakes, and giving recommendations like a caring grandfather. And you know what? It worked – we saw relatively fast results. However, the marketplace had significantly raised its design standards, and our templates were repeatedly rejected. Not with constructive feedback, but bluntly labeled “trash”. The challenge became consulting with top-notch designers to figure out what was wrong. I started getting pretty good at design myself, noticing even a 1-pixel misalignment. After six months, I got lucky and found a strong art director. He corrected all of our mistakes, and our first few templates were accepted. He raised our design quality immensely. During our best months, we were releasing five templates to the market, while the total market release was around 80-90 templates a month. I dreamt of capturing a market share and dominating the marketplace. But still, sales were challenging. However, with our design quality improving, I remained hopeful. COVID helped our sales. After three weeks of lockdown, it seemed everyone was launching online businesses and in need of website templates. We created 17 accepted products that year and had about 5 rejections. At the peak, we were making $6,500 a month, plus custom work through the support service, which totaled up to $7,500. But that was the peak. Our sales stopped growing, even with new products. This barely covered salaries for seven people, plus operational expenses. Though, I was drawing a decent salary and eating well. I decided to sell the project through Empire Flippers, without the team. This is the last screenshot I could find. I remember the figure being around $320,000 in sales, but apparently, I didn’t take a screenshot of that. The Exit I applied to Empire Flippers, filled out the P&L, and underwent an assessment. Along with the project, I promised to find someone to handle support and update the themes for $300 a month part-time, reducing costs. I received a maximum valuation of $210,000. Everything seemed set, but then I hit a roadblock – ThemeForest’s Terms of Service prohibited account sales! They informed me of this restriction, and the six-figure income from the sale slipped through my fingers. For six weeks, I corresponded with them, resorting to threats, pleas, blackmail, and every tactic under the sun to get permission to sell the account: Claimed discrimination Said I needed to pay off my mortgage or I’d be homeless Argued it was unfair they were appropriating my intellectual labor Pleaded that I needed the money for my family Promised to create a new account and upload new templates there I don’t know which argument worked, but they allowed it! Though they emphasized it was a “one-time exception”. Once I got the green light, Empire Flippers listed my lot. Silence reigned for nearly a month, then a potential buyer scheduled a video conference with me. He was a well-known figure in the Affiliate circles. We had a great chat, and an hour after the conference, the Empire manager called to say the buyer was interested. I was thrilled until the manager mentioned the buyer wanted to drop the valuation from $210,000 to $150,000. I was initially speechless with indignation, but then I remembered how in an American docu-series on Discovery Channel, people haggle. They start low, then gradually meet in the middle. I played the game and told them that anything less than $190,000 made no sense for me. The manager relayed this to the buyer, and we eventually settled on $180,000, which was beyond my expectations. I popped open champagne! Just like that, without flinching or giving in, I made an extra $30,000, though I could have easily caved to the buyer’s initial offer. The Real Earnings Success stories usually boast huge sums, but let me show you the real economics: Of the $300,000 on the screenshot, $108,564 went to marketplace commission and taxes. The remaining amount of under $200,000 covered salaries and the first loan. Of the $180,000 from the project sale, a large chunk went to Empire Flippers commission (15%), investor shares (7%), and employee bonuses (15%). In the end, I barely had enough to buy an apartment in the early construction stage, even having to borrow a bit from my sister. That was the outcome of five years. I paid myself a salary of about $2,000-$2,500 monthly and got a bonus from the project’s sale. Back to SEO After my stint as a product manager, I realized I didn’t want to deal with immeasurable data like design, which can’t be quantified or compared. So, I returned to my first love: SEO and data analytics. Together with a partner, I founded . We specialize in auctioning domains and PBN building services for SEO in highly competitive niches. MonsterPBN I dove back into SEO analytics, while my partner, a senior developer, automated processes, parsed, and processed large volumes of domains, from which we picked the best for reasonable prices. We promote both our and our clients’ projects in the US and European markets. If you need powerful domains or a turnkey PBN, come to us, and we’ll deliver quality as if it’s for ourselves. Lessons Learned What lessons did I take away? I learned to focus on quality, paying attention to every line and pixel. Management is a job in itself and should be done meticulously, not mixed with technical tasks. Devoting time to employee training and creating videos and protocols is essential for clarity and smooth processes. Investments are easier to find through connections than by applying to places like Y-Combinator, where there’s a half-year queue and often no response. Hiring employees who are genuinely interested in solving your problems is crucial for efficiency and aligned goals. Selling something with a 35-month ROI is like freeing yourself from business troubles for the next three years. It changes your life significantly. It’s crucial to seek qualified experts for advice right away. It will save you years and tens of thousands of dollars. It’s better to hire one expensive expert for a key position than two mid-level employees who need continuous training. You can’t achieve something big without top-notch specialists and employees. Never give up, even when you’re told something is impossible, or when faced with constant rejections. But then again, maybe quitting earlier would have been more profitable elsewhere. Now, what valuable lessons did you pick up from this story?

How I Made $480,000 Through Web Development and Returned to SEO

কিভাবে আমি ওয়েব ডেভেলপমেন্টের মাধ্যমে $480,000 তৈরি করেছি এবং SEO-তে ফিরে এসেছি

Wie ich durch Webentwicklung 480.000 US-Dollar verdiente und zu SEO zurückkehrte

Cómo gané $480,000 a través del desarrollo web y volví al SEO

Comment j'ai gagné 480 000 $ grâce au développement Web et je suis revenu au référencement

मैंने वेब विकास के माध्यम से $480,000 कैसे कमाए और एसईओ पर वापस लौट आया

私がウェブ開発で 48 万ドルを稼ぎ、SEO に戻った方法

웹 개발을 통해 $480,000를 벌고 SEO로 복귀한 방법

Como ganhei $ 480.000 com desenvolvimento web e voltei para SEO

Как я заработал 480 000 долларов на веб-разработке и вернулся в SEO

Web Geliştirme Yoluyla Nasıl 480.000 Dolar Kazandım ve SEO'ya Nasıl Döndüm?

Tôi đã kiếm được 480.000 đô la thông qua phát triển web như thế nào và quay trở lại SEO

我如何通过 Web 开发赚取 480,000 美元并重返 SEO

I’ve spent a decade plus distributing technology content around the web. At , we’ve built a lot of automated systems and spend a lot of marginal labor to acquire readers around the web. As a founder, I find myself constantly thinking about what others may consider miniscule details, like what pixels and links belong in our footer. Pictured above are 24 social networks currently featured in the HackerNoon sitewide footer. Also note, each and , please use them.  Below, I’ve provided some brief context about why each network matters and a link to HackerNoon’s presence on the network. HackerNoon icon is pixelated open sourced Twitter / X So much noise around this one, but it remains the most popular place in tech to make a public statement, and host to many of . Their recent API and billing changes make no sense, developers have no clue how to build with it or how much it will cost, but when it comes to media’s impact, follow the money. Yes the , but the owner went from not the richest man while choosing to spend much of his waking hours using and building this product. The power of this media to drive his other interests is remarkable. my favorite things said about HackerNoon valuation is down 71% to the richest man GitHub Code runs the world. Nothing says I’m a technology company like an active GitHub account. While GitHub is owned by Microsoft, it doesn’t stop Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), Amazon, Apple, NVIDIA and the like from hosting their most popular open source repos here. That says about all you need to know about how ingrained GitHub is to code hosting and technology distribution. Contributing to open source starts with GitHub. Youtube Youtube is the second most popular search engine. Got to be listed, and encourage your community to talk about you here. The most popular search engine is its parent company. Competition FTW! Just kidding, social networks are more about competition amongst its users than competition amongst the networks imho. Even for a company specializing in text distribution like us, hosting and distributing video content (like !) on Youtube is essential for technology communities and businesses. Web 2.5 Instagram The first three covered the hosting of text, code and video, so lets circle back to the social media king of images. Instagram is the most important social network for branding. People, including HackerNoon writers, still love sharing their personal and professional wins here. Plus, it has additional network effects as Instagram’s shown a preference to reuse / cross pollinate your network via whatever app they come up with next, i.e. . Threads Facebook While its average user seems to get older by the day, it indexes well in search, it still has and (after Google/email) it remains the most popular solution to create an account on another app. Many Americans in tech overlook Facebook as a customer and reader acquisition channel, but don’t underestimate how Facebook continues to dominate social network activity around the world, especially in developing nations. 3B+ monthly users Digg TBH, this one made my list due to nostalgia as much as performance. Digg was absolutely groundbreaking for proving that community curated news could effectively compete with corporation curated news. And I do think it’s worth splitting your social media efforts across the incumbent giants and smaller players. Our two namespaces ( & ) list on their primary explore page, and it’s under new ownership, we’ll see how it evolves. Blockchain HackerNoon Podcast RSS Feed Our podcast has gone through a number of iterations over the years, and imho everyone starting a podcast underestimates how much hard work goes into editing, distributing, scaling and running a quality podcast. But podcast RSS feeds get picked up by so many players and apps. At HackerNoon, we turn every text story into an audio file, redistribute those audio files by publishing the two top stories in each daily to our owned 20+ podcast feeds. technology category Text RSS Feed Long Live Really Simple Syndication!!! I DGAF that Google Reader is dead, a ton of the internet still relies on RSS. Plus, it has a compounding OG effect, as sites that get curated like Techmeme are the ones relying on RSS feeds. At HackerNoon, we have , an RSS feed for every tech tag ( ), an RSS feed for every contributing writer, and a bunch of custom RSS feeds built out for specific partners based on their formatting preferences. the main RSS feed example Google News Google News not only has hundreds of millions of monthly readers, but getting into Google News also means being curated in every product that uses Google News, such as new tab on Google Chrome, News tab on Google search, a bunch of places on Android phones, and a bunch of products building off the Google News API. The application process can be fickle, but they do wisely welcome niche publishers. Pinterest Thankfully, Pinterest embraces RSS, so the featured image on every HackerNoon story also automatically posts as a Pinterest post. Being in tech, we see less referral traffic from Pinterest than other industries and companies, like retail or Etsy for example. However, it is giving Google a run for its money when it comes to visual search performance. And as more of the HackerNoon community’s prompting , it’s created a . AI generated images nice AI image art board there Giphy Nothing says I work in tech like replying to your colleagues with GIFs. We’ve generated via uploading original GIFs on Giphy. It’s fun, but what value is the impression? Facebook briefly bought it before selling it at loss to Shutterstock in order to appease regulators. In terms of the network growing long term, a social media company probably would have better executed growth than a stock photography company, but for now, it remains the most popular GIF host. over one billion impressions Mastodon We haven’t really seen much traffic here, despite so many instances, it’s overall user count remains at only a couple million monthly actives. But I do love the underlying premise of content and subscriber portability that ActivityPub offers (what the Fediverse is built atop). So we think it’s a movement worth supporting, and will take a deeper look at how to integrate HackerNoon content into the Fediverse in 2024. Minds Minds, , i.e. turning its community into shareholders. It’s positioning a social network with a business model separated from surveillance capitalism. After amassing tens of thousands of followers, we’ve seen levelling engagement, but are hopeful to keep growing here as the social network grows towards mainstream. like HackerNoon rose up via equity crowdfunding Reddit Honestly, Reddit is a enigma. It has true frontpage of the internet vibes, and yet, its hosts some of the most toxic comments on the whole internet. The pros and cons of anonymous usernames. Most discussion about HackerNoon there happens outside our subreddit, and founder , so we’ll always monitor what’s going on in Reddit’s underbellies. Alexis Ohanian is a HackerNoon shareholder Golden Wikipedia’s deleted HackerNoon multiple times. It’s a impressively useful product, and a politically run site imho. I see Golden as a promising web3 hedge against Wikipedia’s monopoly of the digital encyclopedia. By combining wallet identity with fact checking of structured and unstructured data, I hope its incentive structure can lead to the creation of a trusted business encyclopedia. ProductHunt Digital products, digital launches! Anyone making digital products has come across ProductHunt launch days. The integrations with its parent company, Angellist / make for a deeper immersion in the startup ecosystem. Additionally, ProductHunt smartly switched it’s user homepage from the product launch to the companies themselves, making it stickier for companies to launch many products and aggregate it’s total reviews. WellFound Bloomberg If you’re not listed on Bloomberg, are you a notable business? The Bloomberg empire, from Terminal to its owned media on down, powers much of the business and financial world’s content and data inputs. It’s certainly worth pursuing if they will list your company and leadership team. I’m hopefully this can help validate our brand as journalists and customers run background on my company. Figma . Design, in the browser. They started as a tool (that we use and love internally at HackerNoon), and what followed was an ecosystem. The failed acquisition by Adobe is a great sign for the design community because as an independent company with more emerging competitive tools by the day, I think Figma will wisely steer into the design community as a competitive moat to its market share of the design industry. We’ll be hosting more design resources here in 2024. Adobe Newsbreak Newsbreak is the top independent local and niche news aggregator. We’ve had from Newsbreak. Unlike other news aggregators, Newsbreak walks a better line of not just stealing the content and putting their own call to actions where ads and content are, and instead, encouraging users to actually read the content on the publishers’ respective websites. 22M+ views npmjs Developers have a love/hate relationship with Javacript, but the reason they all have an opinion about is because the modern web relies on it. Part of our strategy in building a publishing platform, is splitting out what we build to manage and grow HackerNoon, into its own pieces of publishing software that others can use. Our first couple NPM packages are custom image uploader, custom rich text editor and original pixel icon library. ViewBlock . This ensures that HackerNoon and its contributing writers will have Web3 backups for all their stories. Viewblock is a third party block viewer where the user can see the text content of all HackerNoon stories in the actual blockchain signatures. In the unlikely event that HackerNoon is not accessible in your region, you could simply visit and start reading HackerNoon by clicking on any of the hashes. We backup our entire library on Arweave this wallet address HuggingFace Say it with me, GitHub for AI, GitHub for AI, GitHub for AI. We’ve been experimenting with AI models hosted on HuggingFace. As a publisher of , we plan to engage deeper with the AI community. HackerNoon’s releasing our first dataset there, the 7M+ most cited technology stories and blogs in 2022 and 2023 about the 3k+ most valuable tech companies, and later in the year, plan to host our own AI publishing model/s there. tens of thousands of AI blog posts Crunchbase Crunchbase solved its former parent company’s need for a startup database. Now as the internet’s most used startup database, it’s a much bigger business than TechCrunch itself. Very inspirational stuff for HackerNoon, a technical blogging platform with a burgeoning . Its API populates many other sites and applications, so keeping your business information up to date here keeps your business information up to date across a lot of the web. tech company database LinkedIn Linkedin, along with X, hosts the highest volume of . It’s a defacto professional network, and hundreds of contributing writers list their work on their LinkedIn profiles. As the internet increasing moves toward who wrote this as a measure for why I should trust or not trust it, LinkedIn’s emphasis on professional credentials, skills, and connections will continue to become more valuable. Additionally through LinkedIn publisher, collaborative articles, and AI assisted writing - post Microsoft acquisition it’s become a more prominent destination for hosting the professional status update. positive quotes about HackerNoon Are there any social networks we are missing and should be investing in? Let me know in the comments. Here is , and as a reminder, each and , please use them. the full list of social networks HackerNoon’s active-ish on icon is pixelated open sourced

Technology's 24 Most Important Social Networks for Content Distribution 

বিষয়বস্তু বিতরণের জন্য প্রযুক্তির 24টি সবচেয়ে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ সামাজিক নেটওয়ার্ক

Die 24 wichtigsten sozialen Netzwerke der Technologie für die Verbreitung von Inhalten

Las 24 redes sociales más importantes de la tecnología para la distribución de contenidos

Les 24 réseaux sociaux les plus importants de la technologie pour la distribution de contenu

सामग्री वितरण के लिए प्रौद्योगिकी के 24 सबसे महत्वपूर्ण सामाजिक नेटवर्क

テクノロジーのコンテンツ配信にとって最も重要な 24 のソーシャル ネットワーク

콘텐츠 배포를 위한 기술의 가장 중요한 24가지 소셜 네트워크

As 24 redes sociais mais importantes da tecnologia para distribuição de conteúdo

24 наиболее важные социальные сети для распространения контента с точки зрения технологий

Teknolojinin İçerik Dağıtımı Açısından En Önemli 24 Sosyal Ağı

24 mạng xã hội quan trọng nhất về phân phối nội dung của công nghệ

技术领域 24 个最重要的内容分发社交网络

In an era marked by rapid digital transformation and evolving consumer behaviours, staying on top of industry trends is key for sales, marketing, and leadership professionals. Knowing what trends have sprouted today will give businesses a head start on where tomorrow’s big growth opportunities will be found. Today, I've condensed over 20 hours of research into three bite sized articles. So at the end, and if you found it insightful, please share with your network! In particular, we will review key highlights from three different sales and marketing reports, along with notable industry analysis that will provide you with clues on tomorrow’s digital landscape best-practices. HubSpot's "State of Marketing 2023" unveils the latest shifts in digital marketing, emphasizing the continued dominance of social media and the challenges faced by sales teams. Complementing this, Vidyard's "Video in Business Benchmark " and "The State of Sales and Virtual Selling " offer a deep dive into the transformative role of video in business communication, sales, and marketing. To close, I chose Vidyard's on the real estate sector, revealing how agents are pioneering video strategies to enhance engagement, foster genuine connections, and drive results. Together, these insights provide a comprehensive roadmap for professionals keen on harnessing the power of digital trends to elevate their strategies, outcomes, and profits. report Report Report customer research If this all sounds good, then let’s jump right into it! 13 Trends That Stand Out From HubSpot State of Marketing Report 2023 HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report for 2023 survey includes 1,200+ B2B and B2C marketing professionals and the company has been a great resource over the past few years - one I often come back to for sharpening skills and updates. 34% of marketers selected “paid advertising” as the most overstated marketing tactic Despite the emergence of new platforms, Facebook remains the most leveraged social media platform, with 64% of marketers utilizing it in 2022. Instagram (58%), YouTube (57%), and X/Twitter follow closely (43%), highlighting the continued importance of these platforms in marketing strategies. Interestingly, TikTok, a relatively newer platform, has quickly risen to prominence, used by 42% of marketers and LinkedIn (33%). Social Media Dominance When it comes to ROI, Facebook leads the pack at 22%. However, platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are not far behind, each offering a 16% ROI. This underscores the growing importance of visual content, particularly short-form videos, in driving engagement and conversions. We’ll discuss this in much more detail in the next 3 sections. Return on Investment (ROI) HubSpot users observed several significant shifts were in 2022. Changing Benchmarks: Web traffic saw a decline of 6% compared to 2021. Email open rates dropped by 12%, indicating potential email fatigue among consumers. Growing use of AI in email marketing will no doubt increase this negative trend for many in 2023. However we’ll go over how smart marketers are increasing email open rates with video in the next section. On a positive note from the benchmark report, HubSpot’s users saw web conversions increased by 11%, and inbound leads grew by 6.66%, suggesting that while traffic might be decreasing, the quality of leads is improving. Mobile marketing doesn’t just mean a mobile friendly website anymore, but mobile messaging with SMS, Messenger, WhatsApp and other platforms saw 40% of respondents emphasizing their effectiveness. It's clear that mobile-first strategies are no longer optional but essential. Mobile Marketing With 71% of consumers open to using messaging apps for customer assistance and 24% of marketers integrating them into their marketing plans, it's evident that direct communication channels are gaining traction. The Power of Messaging Apps Salespeople face increasing challenges, from getting responses from prospects (40%) to securing appointments (38%) and closing deals is getting harder (30%). Engaging multiple decision-makers has increased (28%) and capturing attention are also growing concerns, highlighting the need for more personalized and targeted marketing and sales strategies. Challenges in Sales Short-form video content ROI, such as TikTok, Reels, and YouTube shorts, has emerged as the top marketing trend, according to a whopping 33% of respondents. Of those already doing shoft-form content, 90% of these marketers are planning to increase or maintain their investment in this format, it's evident that short-form video is here to stay. The Rise & Rise of Short-form Video Content Video continues to reign supreme as the most popular and effective media format for the fourth consecutive year. However, other content forms like images, blogs, case studies, customer testimonials, and podcasts also play a crucial role in a holistic marketing strategy. Content is Still King The future looks optimistic, with 92% of marketers expecting their budgets to either remain consistent or increase in 2023. Budgeting and Investment 34% of marketers selected “paid advertising” as the most overstated marketing tactic and 28% have already began reducing their advertising budget to fund more content marketing. Content remains a pivotal tool for businesses, with findings such as: of marketers say video content is the most important. said infographics were, followed by saying ebooks and whitepapers. Content Marketing Insights 16% 14% 3% of marketers support 2 to 4 roles and buyer personas with dedicated content. 52% of buyers viewed between 3 to 5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep. 47% of B2B marketers use content marketing strategies. 89% of B2B buyers are now seeking out content with input from industry leaders. 96% of top businesses are using content marketing to drive sales. 91% of marketers now use interactive content. Examples include calculators, quizzes, ebooks, videos, and animated infographics. 33% of CMOs view custom content as the future of marketing. 78% of highly effective organizations have someone in charge of content strategy. 86% of businesses worldwide intend to spend more on content creation. 56% of organizations are now using inbound marketing as their primary approach. 73% A significant of marketers lacking a consistent content strategy, indicating a potential area for improvement. 70% SEO remains a top priority for 61% of marketers, emphasizing its continued relevance. SEO 47% of marketers stated that they are planning to use SEO in their marketing efforts. Social Media of marketers use social media for market research. 76% of people say they use Facebook for professional purposes. 74% of marketers are adding YouTube to their marketing plan. 48% of marketers are adding Instagram to their marketing plan. 39% of marketers are adding Facebook video to their marketing plan in 2023. 46% Platforms like LinkedIn are growing in prominence in B2B marketing, with 45% of marketers identifying it as the best network for their needs. While the report touches upon various aspects of sales and marketing, the underlying theme is the growing influence of AI. From content creation to predictive analytics, AI's potential to revolutionize the industry is undeniable. The Role of AI in Marketing Last week I shared which is worth reading further, for those interested. 50 AI stats that highlight marketing’s transformation So as businesses continue to integrate AI-driven tools and strategies, the future of marketing looks more personalized, efficient, interactive and data-driven. Earlier this month I documented that make good on the promise that AI is already giving marketers more hours in the day. 28 innovative AI marketing strategies and applications Next, we’ll go into more detail about how video is changing sales and marketing across the board in 2023 and beyond. Digital Mastery 2023, Part 2: New Benchmarks For Video In Business

Digital Mastery 2023, Part 1: Shifting Preferences and Behaviour Online

ডিজিটাল মাস্টারি 2023, পার্ট 1: অনলাইনে পছন্দ এবং আচরণ পরিবর্তন করা

Digital Mastery 2023, Teil 1: Präferenzen und Verhalten im Internet ändern

Dominio digital 2023, parte 1: Cambio de preferencias y comportamiento en línea

Maîtrise numérique 2023, partie 1 : changements de préférences et de comportements en ligne

डिजिटल महारत 2023, भाग 1: प्राथमिकताएँ और व्यवहार ऑनलाइन बदलना

Digital Mastery 2023、パート 1: 好みと行動をオンラインに変える

2023년 디지털 숙달, 1부: 온라인 선호도 및 행동 변화

Digital Mastery 2023, Parte 1: Mudança de preferências e comportamento online

Dijital Ustalık 2023, Bölüm 1: Çevrimiçi Tercihler ve Davranışların Değişmesi

Làm chủ kỹ thuật số 2023, Phần 1: Thay đổi sở thích và hành vi trực tuyến

掌握数字化 2023，第 1 部分：改变在线偏好和行为

I've been obsessed with business my whole life. I've always chased different entrepreneurial opportunities, from selling online products to offering physical ones. I've failed at most of them. There have been a few mild successes and some epic failures. But that's the good thing in business - your track record doesn't matter. What matters is that you can keep swinging until you find something that's worth doing long-term. If you're in it for the long haul, you'll eventually succeed, becoming a successful entrepreneur. In this article, we will go over the fifteen lessons I've learned from five different business ventures. By the end of it, you'll be well-equipped to start your own business. Without further ado, let's jump right in. Entrepreneurial Venture #1: Selling Weed (Epic Fail.) I've been listening to 90s hip hop for as long as I can remember. So it was no surprise that one of the first hustles I started was selling weed in my neighborhood. I did it for only three months, and I barely broke even. But I learned a lot. Here are the three key lessons: Lesson #1: Choose the right business model Selling weed in Bulgaria is not only risky, but it's also illegal and just plain stupid. If you get caught, you pay a fine, risk problems with the cops, and not mention potential encounters with organized crime. If you want to be a successful business owner, you need to work on something long-term. Otherwise, you won't get the results you want. Selling illegal drugs is a terrible business both in the short and long term. You risk so much for such a little reward. Lesson #2: Choose your business partner wisely One of the main reasons this failed was because of my "business partner" at the time. He took all of our weed (10–15g at the time) and smoked it in 1–2 days. While he is still a dear friend of mine (I'm writing this article from his kitchen), he can be a hothead and a little bit impulsive. I knew that prior to starting this venture with him but didn't realize that we were not a good partnership fit for the business. Lesson #3: Work ON the business, not IN the business We were out there selling the weed by ourselves, which makes this just another job. If we wanted to grow, we would need to find dealers and let them sell our product to the customers. That way, we can focus on building relationships and growing the business. Entrepreneurial Venture #2: Freelance Copywriting (Business Success) This is by far the most successful business venture that got me my first taste of entrepreneurial success. I reached $10k a month in sales, writing content for clients, but it was a long road to get there. Here are the three vital lessons I've learned: Lesson #4: To be a successful entrepreneur, you need to master positioning. In my early freelancing career, I struggled to find clients. I did everything for everybody, from writing emails for fitness influencers to creating landing pages for SaaS companies. It was too much. But the moment I focused on providing a specific solution in a clearly defined niche, the world opened up. I was able to reach my goal of hitting $10k a month goal in a few months. Lesson #5: Work with someone ahead of you There are some people who are great at what they do and don't need any mentorship. And there's everyone else. I'm in the majority here, so working alongside other great writers helped me improve massively, not only in my writing but also in the business. Lesson #6: Focus on building relationships Service-based businesses and all successful businesses, in general, are about relationships. Yes, you can do one-off gigs, but you can't depend on them for the long term. That's why building relationships is so important in the freelancing world. You can get referrals, clients, and even exciting job opportunities. Entrepreneurial Venture #3: Content marketing agency (Fail) I created my own content marketing agency for crypto content. Quickly, we got a few retainers, but only a few months later, we dissolved. Here's what I learned from that experience: Lesson #7: Build an engine that attracts clients I built almost all of our client base from direct/cold outreach. While this approach is fine to start an agency, it's not enough to grow and scale it. By creating an engine of free content online, you build your online assets like a Twitter or a Medium profile. Once established, these assets can do the work of attracting clients for you. Lesson #8: Don't offer too many things at once One of the reasons we failed was that we were offering too many things at once. We helped clients with their: SEO. SEO strategy. Content. Offering that many services early on was a mistake because it confused and distracted the prospects. Lesson #9: Deliver an instant win The problem with this type of offer is that the client doesn't get an instant win. SEO and content marketing, in general, are long-term games. But there's a thing called " ." buyer's remorse When a buyer purchases a product or a service, they see the money going out of their pocket, and they feel regret. They start wondering about the quality of your product and service. "Was it worth the money?" That's why delivering an instant win is crucial. It will ensure your clients are happy, combat their buyer's remorse, and set the tone in your business relationship. Entrepreneurial Venture #4: Drop Shipping (Epic Fail) One of the first business ideas I started pursuing in high school was drop shipping. I ordered some watches from China, got them delivered to my home, and started promoting them via FB ads. It failed miserably. I broke even a year and a half into the business. Lesson #10: Having a quality product is the best marketing The watches I was selling were complete trash. They were cheap, and the customers felt that. People didn't like them at all, which is why they were so hard to sell. If I had a better product, things could have been different. Lesson #11: Sell products at a premium I bought cheap watches and was selling them also at a low price. This attracted the wrong kind of customer. The kind of customer that's very demanding but doesn't have a lot of money. If I got higher quality watches and started selling them at a premium, I'd have attracted a higher quality clientele. Lesson #12: If you want to run or launch an e-commerce business, you need to master online ads In this business model, the presentation of the product is everything. So you need to learn how to advertise online on Google and Meta. Or hire someone to do it for you. Entrepreneurial Venture #5: Crypto Player One (Productive Failure) My most recent venture was a free daily newsletter on web3 gaming. It was short and simple, and I'm honestly very proud of the product I've created. I shut it down after 6 months, though, because my goalpost changed. I consider this the best failure I've ever had because it taught me so much. Here are the three key lessons: Lesson #13: Distribution is everything Things like newsletters and Only Fans accounts have no discoverability on their own. So you need to drive traffic to them to grow them. You need to master distribution. That stands true for any business opportunity you try to pursue. Creating a valuable product is essential. But putting that product in front of the right audience is even more important. Lesson #14: Do things that don't scale To grow the newsletter, I did everything you can imagine: Guest posting articles. Cold outreach. Social media posts. YT comments. Reaching out to influencers. This helped me grow the newsletter to a couple of hundred people. Lesson #15: Work on your product daily An online newsletter is a media business, and in a media business, your product is your media. So it makes sense to work on your product as long as you can. I started this newsletter as a daily free newsletter which forced me to write it 5–6 days a week. This practice allowed me to keep tinkering and improve the newsletter little by little until I found a format that got people excited. 5 Businesses and 15 Lessons Later, How Am I Building a Business Now? As you can see, I've failed a ton of times in pursuit of entrepreneurial success. But over time, I've developed some business acumen and plan to use it in my new business, which is a 3x-a-week free entrepreneur-printed newsletter. Here's how I'm building it: 1) Use the skills I've already acquired to create a valuable product As we have already established, an online newsletter is a media business where the product is the content itself. I'll use my writing skills and thrust for business knowledge to create a newsletter people want to read 3x a week. 2) Distribution, distribution, distribution. I'll be growing this newsletter through all channels initially. I know you're supposed to focus, but so far, I haven't found the right growth channel for the newsletter. Here are all the ways I'm planning to promote it initially: Write 30 articles in 30 days for popular Medium publications. 1 post a day on IG reels, YT shorts, Tik Tok. 1 post a week on different Facebook and Reddit groups. Once I find a channel that brings me consistent results, I'll stop everything else and double down on it. 3) Get to 10k subscribers with a 40–50% open rate and start monetizing. Once I hit 10k subscribers, which I plan to do by September, I'll start offering sponsorship slots to various companies. I'll keep my personal expenses to a minimum and just reinvest my profits into the business. You can use the same blueprint for launching your own business. It's simple: Brainstorm business ideas to find something you can do for the long term. Use your already existing skillset to build a valuable product. Show that product in front of the right audience. Monetize via ads or sell your own services. Reinvest and repeat. If you liked this post, you'd love my free 3x-a-week . newsletter

15 Lessons from 5 Different Business Ventures

Nowadays, the ability to switch between a light or a dark theme has become extremely popular on the internet. It has been a while since we began to see it on desktop applications, but now, we can also see it every day on most websites we use: Github, Stackoverflow, , etc. There are multiple ways to implement it, I’ll show you mine. Twitter Writing the themes It’s 2022, we survived the Coronavirus, and Internet Explorer is finally dead. I think it’s a good time to if you haven’t already (you can read if you are not familiar with them or if you don’t know what I’m talking about). start using CSS custom properties this fantastic post from Chris Coyier Even though I’ve started talking about two themes, I’m obviously talking about having . The key to creating those variants is to write every single color that appears on your theme in a custom property. In my case, I’ve started defining all the colors used in the light theme, which is the default I’ve chosen for the situation when we don’t know the user preference: a single CSS code with two variants body {
  --bg-color: #fff;
  --bg-color-secondary: #eee;
  --text-color: #303030;
  --text-color-secondary: #707070;
  --border-color: #eeeeee;
} Once we have the values for the light variant, we need to define the same properties for the dark one, and we will add them inside a media query. @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  body {
    --bg-color: #292639;
    --bg-color-secondary: #1b1928;
    --text-color: #ebeaf7;
    --text-color-secondary: #bebbd2;
    --border-color: #3a3650;
  }
} Now, we can just use those properties in our CSS. body {
  background: var(--bg-color);
  color: var(--text-color);
  /* ... */ 
}

.header {
  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border-color);
  /* ... */ 
}

.menu-item {
  color: var(--text-color-secondary);
  /* ... */ 
}

.button {
  background: var(--bg-color-secondary);
  border: 1px solid var(--border-color);
  /* ... */ 
}

/* ... */ Some UX considerations Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a UX designer. Anyway, I feel comfortable enough to give you some tips regarding UX on light/dark themes: . There are lots of dark colors apart from the , in fact, you can see that I’m not using black as a background color on this site. Light is not necessarily white either. There are a lot of places to get inspiration from; if you are not an expert in color theory either, review what other sites do or take some ideas from IDE themes. Dark is not black #000000 . I could be wrong, but shadows are always dark. Take into consideration where the colors are being used. You can use a different kind of shadow for each variant, maybe you will need them to be more intense (or with less transparency) in the dark theme, but they should be dark. There is no need to switch every color . Ensure that you don’t hardcode color codes in the or the properties of your SVG icons. Use in those properties and let the CSS cascade do its job. Base the color of the SVG icons on the content stroke fill currentColor . Not every single picture will play well with both themes. Test the images you choose for your content and select those that look fine with dark and light backgrounds. Sometimes that could be impossible, don’t worry, there are different ways to show multiple images to your users, for example: Keep an eye on content images <picture>
  <source srcset="image-dark.png" media="(prefers-color-scheme: dark)" />
  <source srcset="image-light.png" media="(prefers-color-scheme: light)" />
  <img src="image-light.png" />
</picture> Another option, which is the one I’ve chosen, is to apply a filter to the pictures in the dark mode, making them darker and with a higher contrast: @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  img {
    filter: brightness(0.9) contrast(1.1);
  }
} If you follow these steps, you will now have two versions of your theme. I know it is not always as simple as I described here, particularly if you are not creating your theme from scratch but adding a new variant to the existing one. , and don’t give up. Adapt these tips to your situation Letting the user switch At this point, we have assumed the user will always want to see your website with the color mode preference that we read in the media feature. That’s a big assumption. In my opinion, it’s a good starting point, but . prefers-color-scheme we will always let the user switch from light to dark or vice-versa The most common way to do it is to create a fancy switch, but any kind of button will do the job also. This article aims to show you how you can implement the functionality, and we won’t focus on the design of the switch. Anyway, you can for inspiration or take a look at the code of my own switch on this Codepen: search here https://codepen.io/artberri/pen/abYzjQR?embedable=true Once we have designed our switch or button, what we should do is implement the functionality with javascript. We will be able to do it with this simple code: // Get the button element
const btn = document.querySelector(".your-button-or-switch-class");
// Detect if user preference is dark
const prefersDarkScheme = window.matchMedia("(prefers-color-scheme: dark)");
// On button click
btn.addEventListener("click", function() {
  // Get users preference
  const userSystemPreference = prefersDarkScheme.matches ? "dark" : "light";
  // Choose the class that will be added or removed
  const toggleClass = userSystemPreference === "dark" ? "light" : "dark";
  // Add or remove the class on the <html> element
  document.documentElement.classList.toggle(toggleClass);
}); As you can see, we will add or remove the class to the element if the user prefers the light theme, and we will toggle the class in case their preferred option is dark. This won’t trigger any effect for now, but it will with this simple addition to our CSS: dark html light .dark body {
  --bg-color: #292639;
  --bg-color-secondary: #1b1928;
  --text-color: #ebeaf7;
  --text-color-secondary: #bebbd2;
  --border-color: #3a3650;
}

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  .light body {
    --bg-color: #fff;
    --bg-color-secondary: #eee;
    --text-color: #303030;
    --text-color-secondary: #707070;
    --border-color: #eeeeee;
  }
} With all this, our website will be loaded with the preferred theme of the user, and it will allow them to switch if they want. So, are we done here? Not yet. Storing user’s preference There is only one thing we lack; . I think the easiest way is to save it in the browser’s local storage and to do so, we need to modify the Javascript code I’d shown you previously. we need to store the user’s preferences to keep them between sessions or page navigation const btn = document.querySelector(".your-button-or-switch-class");
const prefersDarkScheme = window.matchMedia("(prefers-color-scheme: dark)");
btn.addEventListener("click", function() {
  const userSystemPreference = prefersDarkScheme.matches ? "dark" : "light";
  const toggleClass = userSystemPreference === "dark" ? "light" : "dark";
  document.documentElement.classList.toggle(toggleClass);

  // Obtain which is the user's current preference for our website
  const userCurrentPreference = document.documentElement.classList.contains(toggleClass)
    ? toggleClass
    : userSystemPreference;
  // Save it in local storage
  localStorage.setItem("mode", mode);
}); This little modification will get the current mode based on the class of the document (or its absence) and save it on local storage. Once the setting is saved, we need to ensure that we use it on every page load, and we will do that by executing this code in the of our webpage before loading any CSS: html <head> <script type="text/javascript">
  (function () {
      var userCurrentPreference = localStorage.getItem("mode");
      if (userCurrentPreference === "dark") document.documentElement.classList.toggle("dark");
      else if (userCurrentPreference === "light") document.documentElement.classList.toggle("light");
  })();
</script> Wondering why I’m asking you to add some synchronous Javascript code directly in the of your HTML? By adding this snippet asynchronously, or after the HTML and the CSS is loaded, you will run the risk of having a flash of incorrect theme color (this means that the wrong theme could be shown during some milliseconds). The overload of this code is worth in my opinion. Some people use a cookie-based solution to avoid this code, but it needs to be implemented server-side, which is not a possibility if you have a static-generated site like me. head I hope you enjoy reading; don’t forget to share it on your preferred social network if you do so. Also published here.

Adding Light and Dark Modes, with a Toggle Switch, to Your Website

Boon, The Mind of the Race, The Wild Asses of the Devil, and The Last Trump by H. G. Wells, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . The Great Slump, the Revival of Letters, and the Garden by the Sea The Great Slump, the Revival of Letters, and the Garden by the Sea § 1 The story, as Boon planned it, was to begin with a spacious Introduction. We were to tell of the profound decadence of letters at the opening of the Twentieth Century and how a movement of revival began. A few notes in pencil of this opening do exist among the Remains, and to those I have referred. He read them over to me…. “‘We begin,’” he said, “‘in a minor key. The impetus of the Romantic movement we declare is exhausted; the Race Mind, not only of the English-speaking peoples but of the whole world, has come upon a period of lethargy. The Giants of the Victorian age——’” My eye discovered a familiar binding among the flower-pots. “You have been consulting the ‘Encyclopædia Britannica,’” I said. He admitted it without embarrassment. “I have prigged the whole thing from the last Victorian Edition—with some slight variations…. ‘The Giants of the Victorian age had passed. Men looked in vain for their successors. For a time there was an evident effort to fill the vacant thrones; for a time it seemed that the unstinted exertions of Miss Marie Corelli, Mr. Hall Caine, Mrs. Humphry Ward, and the friends of Mr. Stephen Phillips might go some way towards obliterating these magnificent gaps. And then, slowly but surely, it crept into men’s minds that the game was up——’” “You will alter that phrase?” I said. “Certainly. But it must serve now … ‘that, humanly speaking, it was impossible that anything, at once so large, so copious, so broadly and unhesitatingly popular, so nobly cumulative as the Great Victorian Reputations could ever exist again. The Race seemed threatened with intellectual barrenness; it had dropped its great blossoms, and stood amidst the pile of their wilting but still showy petals, budless and bare. It is curious to recall the public utterances upon literature that distinguished this desolate and melancholy time. It is a chorus of despair. There is in the comments of such admirable but ageing critics as still survived, of Mr. Gosse, for example, and the venerable Sir Sidney Colvin and Mr. Mumchance, an inevitable suggestion of widowhood; the judges, bishops, statesmen who are called to speak upon literature speak in the same reminiscent, inconsolable note as of a thing that is dead. Year after year one finds the speakers at the Dinner of the Royal Literary Fund admitting the impudence of their appeal. I remember at one of these festivities hearing the voice of Mr. Justice Gummidge break…. The strain, it is needless to say, found its echo in Dr. Tomlinson Keyhole; he confessed he never read anything that is less than thirty years old with the slightest enjoyment, and threw out the suggestion that nothing new should be published—at least for a considerable time—unless it was clearly shown to be posthumous…. “‘Except for a few irresistible volumes of facetiousness, the reading public very obediently followed the indications of authority in these matters, just as it had followed authority and sustained the Giants in the great Victorian days. It bought the long-neglected classics—anything was adjudged a classic that was out of copyright—it did its best to read them, to find a rare smack in their faded allusions, an immediate application for their forgotten topics. It made believe that architects were still like Mr. Pecksniff and schoolmasters like Squeers, that there were no different women from Jane Austen’s women, and that social wisdom ended in Ruskin’s fine disorder. But with the decay, of any intellectual observation of the present these past things had lost their vitality. A few resolute people maintained an artificial interest in them by participation in quotation-hunting competitions and the like, but the great bulk of the educated classes ceased presently to read anything whatever. The classics were still bought by habit, as people who have lost faith will still go to church; but it is only necessary to examine some surviving volume of this period to mark the coruscation of printer’s errors, the sheets bound in upside down or accidentally not inked in printing or transferred from some sister classic in the same series, to realize that these volumes were mere receipts for the tribute paid by the pockets of stupidity to the ancient prestige of thought…. “‘An air of completion rested upon the whole world of letters. A movement led by Professor Armstrong, the eminent educationist, had even gone some way towards banishing books from the schoolroom—their last refuge. People went about in the newly invented automobile and played open-air games; they diverted what attention they had once given to their minds to the more rational treatment of their stomachs. Reading became the last resort of those too sluggish or too poor to play games; one had recourse to it as a substitute for the ashes of more strenuous times in the earlier weeks of mourning for a near relative, and even the sale of classics began at last to decline. An altogether more satisfying and alluring occupation for the human intelligence was found in the game of Bridge. This was presently improved into Auction Bridge. Preparations were made for the erection of a richly decorative memorial in London to preserve the memory of Shakespeare, an English Taj Mahal; an Academy of uncreative literature was established under the Presidency of Lord Reay (who had never written anything at all), and it seemed but the matter of a few years before the goal of a complete and final mental quiet would be attained by the whole English-speaking community….’” § 2 “You know,” I said, “that doesn’t exactly represent——” “Hush!” said Boon. “It was but a resting phase! And at this point I part company with the ‘Encyclopædia.’” “But you didn’t get all that out of the ‘Encyclopædia’?” “Practically—yes. I may have rearranged it a little. The Encyclopædist is a most interesting and representative person. He takes up an almost eighteenth-century attitude, holds out hopes of a revival of Taste under an Academy, declares the interest of the great mass of men in literature is always ’empirical,’ regards the great Victorian boom in letters as quite abnormal, and seems to ignore what you would call that necessary element of vitalizing thought…. It’s just here that Hallery will have to dispute with him. We shall have to bring them together in our book somehow…. Into this impressive scene of decline and the ebb of all thinking comes this fanatic Hallery of ours, reciting with passionate conviction, ‘the thought of a nation is the life of a nation.’ You see our leading effect?” He paused. “We have to represent Hallery as a voice crying in the wilderness. We have to present him in a scene of infinite intellectual bleakness, with the thinnest scrub of second-rate books growing contemptibly, and patches of what the Encyclopædist calls tares—wind-wilted tares—about him. A mournful Encyclopædist like some lone bird circling in the empty air beneath the fading stars…. Well, something of that effect, anyhow! And then, you know, suddenly, mysteriously one grows aware of light, of something coming, of something definitely coming, of the dawn of a great Literary Revival….” “How does it come?” “Oh! In the promiscuous way of these things. The swing of the pendulum, it may be. Some eminent person gets bored at the prospect of repeating that rigmarole about the great Victorians and our present slackness for all the rest of his life, and takes a leaf from one of Hallery’s books. We might have something after the fashion of the Efficiency and Wake-up-England affair. Have you ever heard guinea-fowl at dawn?” “I’ve heard them at twilight. They say, ‘Come back. Come back.’ But what has that to do with——” “Nothing. There’s a movement, a stir, a twittering, and then a sudden promiscuous uproar, articles in the reviews, articles in the newspapers, paragraphs, letters, associations, societies, leagues. I imagine a very great personality indeed in the most extraordinary and unexpected way coming in….” (It was one of Boon’s less amiable habits to impute strange and uncanny enterprises, the sudden adoption of movements, manias, propagandas, adhesion to vegetarianism, socialism, the strangest eccentricities, to the British royal family.) “As a result Hallery finds himself perforce a person of importance. ‘The thought of a nation is the life of a nation,’ one hears it from royal lips; ‘a literature, a living soul, adequate to this vast empire,’ turns up in the speech of a statesman of the greatest literary pretensions. Arnold White responds to the new note. The Daily Express starts a Literary Revival on its magazine page and offers a prize. The Times follows suit. Reports of what is afoot reach social circles in New York…. The illumination passes with a dawnlike swiftness right across the broad expanse of British life, east and west flash together; the ladies’ papers and the motoring journals devote whole pages to ‘New Literature,’ and there is an enormous revival of Book Teas…. That sort of thing, you know—extensively.” § 3 “So much by way of prelude. Now picture to yourself the immediate setting of my conference. Just hand me that book by the ‘Encyclopædia.’” It was Mallock’s “New Republic.” He took it, turned a page or so, stuck a finger in it, and resumed. “It is in a narrow, ill-kept road by the seaside, Bliss. A long wall, plaster-faced, blotched and peeling, crested with uncivil glass against the lower orders, is pierced by cast-iron gates clumsily classical, and through the iron bars of these there is visible the deserted gatekeeper’s lodge, its cracked windows opaque with immemorial dirt, and a rich undergrowth of nettles beneath the rusty cypresses and stone-pines that border the carriage-way. An automobile throbs in the road; its occupants regard a board leaning all askew above the parapet, and hesitate to descend. On the board, which has been enriched by the attentions of the passing boy with innumerable radiant mud pellets, one reads with difficulty— “‘This be it, my dear Archer,’ says one of the occupants of the motor-car, and he rises, throws aside his furs, and reveals—the urbane presence of the Encyclopædist. He descends, and rings a clangorous bell…. Eh?” must “It’s the garden of the ‘New Republic’?” “Exactly. Revisited. It’s an astonishing thing. Do you know the date of the ‘New Republic’? The book’s nearly forty years old! About the time of Matthew Arnold’s ‘Friendship’s Garland,’ and since that time there’s been nothing like a systematic stocktaking of the English-speaking mind—until the Encyclopædist reported ‘no effects.’ And I propose to make this little party in the motor-car a sort of scratch expedition, under the impetus of the proposed Revival of Thought. They are prospecting for a Summer Congress, which is to go into the state of the republic of letters thoroughly. It isn’t perhaps quite Gosse’s style, but he has to be there—in a way he’s the official British man of letters—but we shall do what we can for him, we shall make him show a strong disposition towards protective ironies and confess himself not a little bothered at being dragged into the horrid business. And I think we must have George Moore, who has played uncle to so many movements and been so uniformly disappointed in his nephews. And William Archer, with that face of his which is so exactly like his mind, a remarkably fine face mysteriously marred by an expression of unscrupulous integrity. And lastly, Keyhole.” “Why Keyhole?” I asked. “Hallery has to murder some one. I’ve planned that—and who he murder but Keyhole?… And we have to hold the first meeting in Mallock’s garden to preserve the continuity of English thought. would “Very well! Then we invent a morose, elderly caretaker, greatly embittered at this irruption. He parleys for a time through the gate with all the loyalty of his class, mentions a number of discouraging defects, more particularly in the drainage, alleges the whole place is clammy, and only at Gosse’s clearly enunciated determination to enter produces the key.” Boon consulted his text. “Naturally one would give a chapter to the Villa by the Sea and Mallock generally. Our visitors explore. They visit one scene after another familiar to the good Mallockite; they descend ‘the broad flights of steps flanked by Gods and Goddesses’ that lead from one to another of the ‘long, straight terraces set with vases and Irish yews,’ and the yews, you know, have suffered from the want of water, the vases are empty, and ivy, under the benediction of our modest climate, has already veiled the classical freedom—the conscientious nudity, one might say—of the statuary. The laurels have either grown inordinately or perished, and the ‘busts of orators, poets, and philosophers’ ‘with Latin inscriptions,’ stand either bleakly exposed or else swallowed up, in a thicket. There is a pleasing struggle to translate the legends, and one gathers scholarship is not extinct in England. “The one oasis in a universal weediness is the pond about the ‘scaly Triton,’ which has been devoted to the culture of spring onions, a vegetable to which the aged custodian quite superfluously avows himself very ‘partial.’ The visitors return to the house, walk along its terrace, survey its shuttered front, and they spend some time going through its musty rooms. Dr. Keyhole distinguishes himself by the feverish eagerness of his curiosity about where Leslie slept and where was the boudoir of Mrs. Sinclair. He insists that a very sad and painful scandal about these two underlies the New Republic, and professes a thirsty desire to draw a veil over it as conspicuously as possible. The others drag him away to the summer dining-room, now a great brier tangle, where once Lady Grace so pleasantly dined her guests. The little arena about the fountain in a porphyry basin they do not find, but the garden study they peer into, and see its inkpot in the shape of a classical temple, just as Mr. Mallock has described it, and the windowless theatre, and, in addition, they find a small private gas-works that served it. The old man lets them in, and by the light of uplifted vestas they see the decaying, rat-disordered ruins of the scene before which Jenkinson who was Jowett, and Herbert who was Ruskin, preached. It is as like a gorge in the Indian Caucasus as need be. The Brocken act-drop above hangs low enough to show the toes of the young witch, still brightly pink…. “They go down to the beach, and the old man, with evil chuckles, recalls a hitherto unpublished anecdote of mixed bathing in the ’seventies, in which Mrs. Sinclair and a flushed and startled Dr. Jenkinson, Greek in thought rather than action, play the chief parts, and then they wade through a nettle-bed to that ‘small classical portico’ which leads to the locked enclosure containing the three tombs, with effigies after the fashion of Genoa Cemetery. But the key of the gate is lost, so that they cannot go in to examine them, and the weeds have hidden the figures altogether. “‘That’s a pity,’ some one remarks, ‘for it’s here, no doubt, that old Laurence lies, with his first mistress and his last—under these cypresses.’ “The aged custodian makes a derisive noise, and every one turns to him. “‘I gather you throw some doubt?’ the Encyclopædist begins in his urbane way. “‘Buried—under the cypresses—first mistress and last!’ The old man makes his manner invincibly suggestive of scornful merriment. “‘But isn’t it so?’ “‘Bless y’r ’art, ! Mr. Laurence—buried! Mr. Laurence worn’t never alive!’ no “‘But there was a Mr. Laurence?’ young “‘That was Mr. Mallup ’imself, that was! ’E was a great mistifier was Mr. Mallup, and sometimes ’e went about pretendin’ to be Mr. Laurence and sometimes he was Mr. Leslie, and sometimes——But there, you’d ’ardly believe. ’E got all this up—cypresses, chumes, everythink—out of ’is ’ed. Po’try. Why! ’Ere! Jest come along ’ere, gents!’ “He leads the way along a narrow privet alley that winds its surreptitious way towards an alcove. “‘Miss Merton,’ he says, flinging the door of this open. “‘The Roman Catholic young person?’ says Dr. Tomlinson Keyhole. “‘Quite right, sir,’ says the aged custodian. “They peer in. “Hanging from a peg the four visitors behold a pale blue dress cut in the fashion of the ’seventies, a copious ‘chignon’ of fair hair, large earrings, and on the marble bench a pair of open-work stockings and other articles of feminine apparel. A tall mirror hangs opposite these garments, and in a little recess convenient to the hand are the dusty and decaying materials for a hasty ‘make-up.’ “The old custodian watches the effect of this display upon the others with masked enjoyment. “‘You mean Miss Merton ?’ said the Encyclopædist, knitting his brows. painted “‘Mr. Mallup did,’ says the aged custodian. “‘You mean——?’ “‘Mr. Mallup was Miss Merton. ’E got up too. Parst ’er orf as a young lady, ’e did. Oh, ’e was a great mistifier was Mr. Mallup. None of the three of ’em wasn’t real people, really; he got ’em all up.’ ’er “‘She had sad-looking eyes, a delicate, proud mouth, and a worn, melancholy look,’ muses Mr. Archer. “‘And young Laurence was in love with her,’ adds the Encyclopædist…. “‘They was all Mr. Mallup,’ says the aged custodian. ‘Made up out of ’is ’ed. And the gents that pretended they was Mr. ’Uxley and Mr. Tyndall in disguise, one was Bill Smithers, the chemist’s assistant, and the other was the chap that used to write and print the Margate Advertiser before the noo papers come.’” About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. H. G. Wells (2011). Boon, The Mind of the Race, The Wild Asses of the Devil, and The Last Trump. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022, from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34962/34962-h/34962-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

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