Stord

stord

I was wrong. 18 months ago, I launched @storyarb to be the best content agency for founders & executives. My vision was a $10,000,000/year ghostwriting business. SPOILER: we pivoted. But the future has never looked brighter. Today, storyarb is a B2B company's outsourced Head of Content Marketing. We help our partners create high-quality, niche content for their ICP, while driving scalable demand & pipeline. Keep reading (below) for the full story... I launched storyarb to be the best content agency for founders & executives. I saw the acceleration of short-form video agencies (viralcuts, clipt, shortzy), but felt like there were no businesses supporting execs on text-based social (twitter & linkedin). From my own experience (and that of other founder friends), I knew that Twitter/Linkedin could be a magnet of opportunity. From my own experience (and that of other founder friends), I knew that Twitter/Linkedin could be a magnet of opportunity. It’s how I’ve met amazing entrepreneurs like @RomeenSheth , @jspujji , @alexisohanian.
It’s how I’ve gotten 8-figures worth of advertisers at @MorningBrew.
And it’s how I’ve worked through business ideas, company challenges, & thoughts on where the world is going. At the same time, I knew most founders didn’t have the chops or the time to create great content, solo on social. Which led to a literal shower thought. What if I pair founders with world-class strategists & copywriters. A strategist would pull unique insights from the founder & help set their social strategy. A copywriter would translate ideas into sharp content. Seems logical, right? Personal brand is a nice-to-have, not a need-to-have for founders. The result was 5-6 months of smooth sailing with a client followed by the gutpunch… “Can we catch up?” Churn for exec social became unpalatable. It was driven by: Founders becoming impatient & expecting results sooner.
Founders being pulled in 50 directions & lacking time for social content.
Founders feeling like their internet voice was slightly different from their real life voice. My cofounder, @AbbyMurray, and I knew that we had to get off the hamster wheel if we wanted to build a $10m biz. So we did two things: First, we asked ourselves: “What unfair advantages do we have as a business today?” “The best writers & strategists on the internet, period. We have better ideas & execution.” Second, we listened to our customers (and honestly, no one else). We reflected on past convos: A B2B HR Tech co asked if we could write their newsletter
An e-comm SaaS founder asked for help with e-books
A CMO wanted a company social revival We also interviewed the shit out of our customers. We asked them if they had any other content needs. We asked their marketing teams about their biggest current challenges. We asked “if you had access to world-class writers/content minds, how would you use them?” The answer (and our pivot) became clear. Founders kinda need content help. B2B companies reallyyyy need content help. Marketing teams are scrambling to stand out & grow their business today. Marketing costs are rising (adios cookies, bye zero interest rates, hello increased competition)
Product differentiation is narrowing (software + AI begets more software + AI)
Attribution has become religion, which forces marketers into a box of undifferentiated content
Most brands are living in a sea of sameness (groupthink + AI tooling)
Headcount is recalibrating (we no longer live in pre-COVID La La Land) Which means every marketer & every company is looking to stand out creatively & acquire customers cheaply & scalably. High-quality, high-value content that drives demand is one of the answers. But marketing orgs aren’t equipped to build & execute stand-out content strategies for 5 main reasons: They don’t know how to hire great content talent (copywriters, video creators, producers, strategists), because they’ve never had to do so.
They have marketers doing a lot of the content work, but are starting to realize it’s a completely different skill from most marketing responsibilities.
They have 1-2 team members creating content, but it feels flat & they have no idea what the hell to do now.
They do a poor job of tracking performance & connecting content to pipeline.
Content isn’t centralized...so it’s good in some places, fine in others, and f*cking atrocious elsewhere. Today, storyarb is your outsourced Head of Content Marketing, helping to resuscitate your company’s lifeless content (no matter which situation you’re in). It starts with us understanding the state of your content today. This includes a literal content colonoscopy up & down the org: Newsletters
Email marketing
Company social
Founder social
Ad creative
Website copy
Blog posts
Lead magnets
SOPs/technical docs
[FILL IN THE BLANK] Next, our strategists & writers work in lockstep to UNF*CK YOUR CONTENT by answering one crucial question: “What strategy (read: channels & ideas) will allow us to drive scalable customer demand without sacrificing the quality of our content?” That was the pivot. And it’s working in a big way. Series C tech startups to publicly traded multinationals trust us to be their Head of Content Marketing & we’re driving pipeline with high-quality, niche content built for our customers’ ICP. A few final notes as I reflect on the experience & journey building @storyarb alongside Abby over the last year. Pivots are basically inevitable. The odds that your day 1 product is your day 365 product is close to zero. It’s impossible to make perfect assumptions pre-launch & what’s most important is how you sift through info from your customers & make intuitive & informed decisions thereafter.


There is a business to build around founder social, it’s just not a recurring revenue agency. If I was to build a founder/exec social-only business again, it’d be a combo of courses (organized by platform & expertise), corporate workshops & paid community (accountability/engagement groups).


Building a great business is far more important than being right. As a first-time founder, you want to stay the course & protect your ego. As a second-time founder, you want to make adjustments & build a strong, dependable business.


Great talent creates great competencies. Great competencies create options. The only reason we’ve been able to evolve storyarb & crush it for our current clients is because the business was built on a foundation of exceptional talent. I hope this post made pivoting feel a little less like a failure to you. And if you’re a marketer, I hope this post made you feel like you don’t have to settle for mediocre content, while growing your business. I was wrong. 18 months ago, I launched @storyarb to be the best content agency for founders & executives. My vision was a $10,000,000/year ghostwriting business. @storyarb SPOILER: we pivoted. But the future has never looked brighter. Today, storyarb is a B2B company's outsourced Head of Content Marketing. We help our partners create high-quality, niche content for their ICP, while driving scalable demand & pipeline. Keep reading (below) for the full story... I launched storyarb to be the best content agency for founders & executives. I saw the acceleration of short-form video agencies (viralcuts, clipt, shortzy), but felt like there were no businesses supporting execs on text-based social (twitter & linkedin). From my own experience (and that of other founder friends), I knew that Twitter/Linkedin could be a magnet of opportunity. From my own experience (and that of other founder friends), I knew that Twitter/Linkedin could be a magnet of opportunity. It’s how I’ve met amazing entrepreneurs like @RomeenSheth , @jspujji , @alexisohanian. It’s how I’ve gotten 8-figures worth of advertisers at @MorningBrew. And it’s how I’ve worked through business ideas, company challenges, & thoughts on where the world is going. It’s how I’ve met amazing entrepreneurs like @RomeenSheth , @jspujji , @alexisohanian . @RomeenSheth @jspujji @alexisohanian It’s how I’ve gotten 8-figures worth of advertisers at @MorningBrew . @MorningBrew And it’s how I’ve worked through business ideas, company challenges, & thoughts on where the world is going. At the same time, I knew most founders didn’t have the chops or the time to create great content, solo on social. Which led to a literal shower thought. What if I pair founders with world-class strategists & copywriters. A strategist would pull unique insights from the founder & help set their social strategy. A copywriter would translate ideas into sharp content. Seems logical, right? Personal brand is a nice-to-have, not a need-to-have for founders. The result was 5-6 months of smooth sailing with a client followed by the gutpunch… “Can we catch up?” “Can we catch up?” Churn for exec social became unpalatable. It was driven by: Founders becoming impatient & expecting results sooner. Founders being pulled in 50 directions & lacking time for social content. Founders feeling like their internet voice was slightly different from their real life voice. Founders becoming impatient & expecting results sooner. Founders being pulled in 50 directions & lacking time for social content. Founders feeling like their internet voice was slightly different from their real life voice. My cofounder, @AbbyMurray , and I knew that we had to get off the hamster wheel if we wanted to build a $10m biz. So we did two things: @AbbyMurray First, we asked ourselves: “What unfair advantages do we have as a business today?” “The best writers & strategists on the internet, period. We have better ideas & execution.” Second, we listened to our customers (and honestly, no one else). We reflected on past convos: A B2B HR Tech co asked if we could write their newsletter An e-comm SaaS founder asked for help with e-books A CMO wanted a company social revival A B2B HR Tech co asked if we could write their newsletter An e-comm SaaS founder asked for help with e-books A CMO wanted a company social revival We also interviewed the shit out of our customers. We asked them if they had any other content needs. We asked their marketing teams about their biggest current challenges. We asked “if you had access to world-class writers/content minds, how would you use them?” The answer (and our pivot) became clear. Founders kinda need content help. B2B companies reallyyyy need content help. Marketing teams are scrambling to stand out & grow their business today. Marketing costs are rising (adios cookies, bye zero interest rates, hello increased competition) Product differentiation is narrowing (software + AI begets more software + AI) Attribution has become religion, which forces marketers into a box of undifferentiated content Most brands are living in a sea of sameness (groupthink + AI tooling) Headcount is recalibrating (we no longer live in pre-COVID La La Land) Marketing costs are rising (adios cookies, bye zero interest rates, hello increased competition) Product differentiation is narrowing (software + AI begets more software + AI) Attribution has become religion, which forces marketers into a box of undifferentiated content Most brands are living in a sea of sameness (groupthink + AI tooling) Headcount is recalibrating (we no longer live in pre-COVID La La Land) Which means every marketer & every company is looking to stand out creatively & acquire customers cheaply & scalably. High-quality, high-value content that drives demand is one of the answers. But marketing orgs aren’t equipped to build & execute stand-out content strategies for 5 main reasons: They don’t know how to hire great content talent (copywriters, video creators, producers, strategists), because they’ve never had to do so. They have marketers doing a lot of the content work, but are starting to realize it’s a completely different skill from most marketing responsibilities. They have 1-2 team members creating content, but it feels flat & they have no idea what the hell to do now. They do a poor job of tracking performance & connecting content to pipeline. Content isn’t centralized...so it’s good in some places, fine in others, and f*cking atrocious elsewhere. They don’t know how to hire great content talent (copywriters, video creators, producers, strategists), because they’ve never had to do so. They have marketers doing a lot of the content work, but are starting to realize it’s a completely different skill from most marketing responsibilities. They have 1-2 team members creating content, but it feels flat & they have no idea what the hell to do now. They do a poor job of tracking performance & connecting content to pipeline. Content isn’t centralized...so it’s good in some places, fine in others, and f*cking atrocious elsewhere. Today, storyarb is your outsourced Head of Content Marketing, helping to resuscitate your company’s lifeless content (no matter which situation you’re in). It starts with us understanding the state of your content today. This includes a literal content colonoscopy up & down the org: Newsletters Email marketing Company social Founder social Ad creative Website copy Blog posts Lead magnets SOPs/technical docs [FILL IN THE BLANK] Newsletters Email marketing Company social Founder social Ad creative Website copy Blog posts Lead magnets SOPs/technical docs [FILL IN THE BLANK] Next, our strategists & writers work in lockstep to UNF*CK YOUR CONTENT by answering one crucial question: “What strategy (read: channels & ideas) will allow us to drive scalable customer demand without sacrificing the quality of our content?” “What strategy (read: channels & ideas) will allow us to drive scalable customer demand without sacrificing the quality of our content?” That was the pivot. And it’s working in a big way. Series C tech startups to publicly traded multinationals trust us to be their Head of Content Marketing & we’re driving pipeline with high-quality, niche content built for our customers’ ICP. A few final notes as I reflect on the experience & journey building @storyarb alongside Abby over the last year. @storyarb Pivots are basically inevitable. The odds that your day 1 product is your day 365 product is close to zero. It’s impossible to make perfect assumptions pre-launch & what’s most important is how you sift through info from your customers & make intuitive & informed decisions thereafter. There is a business to build around founder social, it’s just not a recurring revenue agency. If I was to build a founder/exec social-only business again, it’d be a combo of courses (organized by platform & expertise), corporate workshops & paid community (accountability/engagement groups). Building a great business is far more important than being right. As a first-time founder, you want to stay the course & protect your ego. As a second-time founder, you want to make adjustments & build a strong, dependable business. Great talent creates great competencies. Great competencies create options. The only reason we’ve been able to evolve storyarb & crush it for our current clients is because the business was built on a foundation of exceptional talent. Pivots are basically inevitable. The odds that your day 1 product is your day 365 product is close to zero. It’s impossible to make perfect assumptions pre-launch & what’s most important is how you sift through info from your customers & make intuitive & informed decisions thereafter. Pivots are basically inevitable. The odds that your day 1 product is your day 365 product is close to zero. It’s impossible to make perfect assumptions pre-launch & what’s most important is how you sift through info from your customers & make intuitive & informed decisions thereafter. There is a business to build around founder social, it’s just not a recurring revenue agency. If I was to build a founder/exec social-only business again, it’d be a combo of courses (organized by platform & expertise), corporate workshops & paid community (accountability/engagement groups). There is a business to build around founder social, it’s just not a recurring revenue agency. If I was to build a founder/exec social-only business again, it’d be a combo of courses (organized by platform & expertise), corporate workshops & paid community (accountability/engagement groups). Building a great business is far more important than being right. As a first-time founder, you want to stay the course & protect your ego. As a second-time founder, you want to make adjustments & build a strong, dependable business. Building a great business is far more important than being right. As a first-time founder, you want to stay the course & protect your ego. As a second-time founder, you want to make adjustments & build a strong, dependable business. Great talent creates great competencies. Great competencies create options. The only reason we’ve been able to evolve storyarb & crush it for our current clients is because the business was built on a foundation of exceptional talent. Great talent creates great competencies. Great competencies create options. The only reason we’ve been able to evolve storyarb & crush it for our current clients is because the business was built on a foundation of exceptional talent. I hope this post made pivoting feel a little less like a failure to you. And if you’re a marketer, I hope this post made you feel like you don’t have to settle for mediocre content, while growing your business.

Why storyarb Pivoted From Ghostwriting for Founders to Producing Niche Content for Customers’ ICP

Proč storyarb přešel od Ghostwritingu pro zakladatele k vytváření specializovaného obsahu pro ICP zákazníků

Por qué Storyarb pasó de ser redactora fantasma para fundadores a producir contenido de nicho para el ICP de los clientes

Miksi storyarb siirtyi haamukirjoituksesta perustajille niche-sisällön tuottamiseen asiakkaiden ICP:lle

Mengapa storyarb Beralih Dari Ghostwriting untuk Pendiri ke Produksi Konten Niche untuk Pelanggan

storyarb が創業者向けのゴーストライター業務から顧客の ICP 向けニッチ コンテンツの制作に方向転換した理由

Storyarb가 창업자를 위한 고스트라이터에서 고객의 ICP를 위한 틈새 콘텐츠 제작으로 전환한 이유

Mpo na nini storyarb Pivoted De Ghostwriting mpo na ba Fondateurs mpo na kobimisa Niche Content mpo na Clients’ ICP

Nahoana ny storyarb no nivadika avy amin'ny Ghostwriting ho an'ny mpanorina mba hamokarana votoaty manokana ho an'ny ICP mpanjifa

Зошто storyarb се сврти од Ghostwriting за основачи до производство на ниша содржина за ICP на клиентите

किन स्टोरीआर्ब संस्थापकहरूको लागि भूतलेखनबाट ग्राहकहरूको आईसीपीको लागि आला सामग्री उत्पादन गर्न पिभोट गरियो

Чаро storyarb аз Ghostwriting барои муассисон ба истеҳсоли мундариҷаи нишеӣ барои ICP муштариён табдил ёфт

Чому storyarb перейшов від Ghostwriting для засновників до створення нішевого контенту для ICP клієнтів

The journey of self-discovery often leads us to confront uncomfortable truths about human relationships and personal worth. As we navigate the complexities of connection and identity, we must learn to balance caring for others with maintaining our own sense of self. Through my experiences, I've observed a common pattern that transcends gender and culture: the tendency to lose ourselves in the pursuit of approval and acceptance. This pattern often manifests in relationships where one person gradually diminishes their own dreams, aspirations, and well-being in an attempt to prove their worth through perpetual sacrifice. However, true connection—whether in friendship, romance, or professional relationships—flourishes not through self-abandonment but through mutual growth and respect. The most enduring bonds are forged between individuals who maintain their distinct identities while supporting each other's evolution. Consider the paradox of personal value: the more we compromise our core principles and abandon our path in an attempt to please others, the more we undermine the very qualities that make us worthy partners in any relationship. Our unique perspectives, ambitions, and boundaries aren't obstacles to meaningful connections—they're essential ingredients. I've learned that self-respect isn't selfishness; it's the foundation upon which all healthy relationships are built. When we maintain our personal standards, pursue our goals, and honor our boundaries, we demonstrate not just self-love but also respect for others. We show that we value authenticity over approval, substance over superficial acceptance. The path to genuine connection requires courage—the courage to stand firmly in our truth, to maintain our course even when faced with pressure to compromise, and to recognize that our worth isn't determined by how much we're willing to sacrifice but by how authentically we live our values. Real strength lies not in proving ourselves through endless sacrifice but in maintaining our integrity while remaining open to genuine connection. It's about understanding that true partnership enhances rather than diminishes each person's individual journey. As I continue to explore these themes, I'm reminded that the most profound relationships in my life have been those where both parties remained committed to their personal growth while supporting each other's evolution. These connections weren't built on dependency or sacrifice but on mutual respect, shared values, and a commitment to individual and collective growth. Moving forward, my focus remains on fostering connections that honor both individual sovereignty and collective growth. It's about creating spaces where authenticity is celebrated, boundaries are respected, and growth is mutual. This approach requires wisdom to distinguish between genuine giving and self-diminishing sacrifice, between healthy compromise and harmful concession. The journey toward authentic connection begins with self-respect and continues through the daily practice of honoring both our own truth and the autonomy of others. It's a path that demands courage, wisdom, and an unwavering commitment to personal integrity. As we walk this path, let us remember that our greatest gift to others is not our sacrifice but our authenticity. When we stand firmly in our truth while remaining open to meaningful connection, we create the foundation for relationships that enrich rather than diminish, that elevate rather than constrain. The road continues, and with each step, we learn to balance independence with interconnection, self-respect with genuine care for others. This is the essence of true relationship wisdom—not losing ourselves in others, but finding ourselves through authentic connection while maintaining our individual paths. Still, the journey continues... The journey of self-discovery often leads us to confront uncomfortable truths about human relationships and personal worth. As we navigate the complexities of connection and identity, we must learn to balance caring for others with maintaining our own sense of self. Through my experiences, I've observed a common pattern that transcends gender and culture: the tendency to lose ourselves in the pursuit of approval and acceptance. This pattern often manifests in relationships where one person gradually diminishes their own dreams, aspirations, and well-being in an attempt to prove their worth through perpetual sacrifice. However, true connection—whether in friendship, romance, or professional relationships—flourishes not through self-abandonment but through mutual growth and respect. The most enduring bonds are forged between individuals who maintain their distinct identities while supporting each other's evolution. Consider the paradox of personal value: the more we compromise our core principles and abandon our path in an attempt to please others, the more we undermine the very qualities that make us worthy partners in any relationship. Our unique perspectives, ambitions, and boundaries aren't obstacles to meaningful connections—they're essential ingredients. I've learned that self-respect isn't selfishness; it's the foundation upon which all healthy relationships are built. When we maintain our personal standards, pursue our goals, and honor our boundaries, we demonstrate not just self-love but also respect for others. We show that we value authenticity over approval, substance over superficial acceptance. The path to genuine connection requires courage—the courage to stand firmly in our truth, to maintain our course even when faced with pressure to compromise, and to recognize that our worth isn't determined by how much we're willing to sacrifice but by how authentically we live our values. Real strength lies not in proving ourselves through endless sacrifice but in maintaining our integrity while remaining open to genuine connection. It's about understanding that true partnership enhances rather than diminishes each person's individual journey. As I continue to explore these themes, I'm reminded that the most profound relationships in my life have been those where both parties remained committed to their personal growth while supporting each other's evolution. These connections weren't built on dependency or sacrifice but on mutual respect, shared values, and a commitment to individual and collective growth. Moving forward, my focus remains on fostering connections that honor both individual sovereignty and collective growth. It's about creating spaces where authenticity is celebrated, boundaries are respected, and growth is mutual. This approach requires wisdom to distinguish between genuine giving and self-diminishing sacrifice, between healthy compromise and harmful concession. The journey toward authentic connection begins with self-respect and continues through the daily practice of honoring both our own truth and the autonomy of others. It's a path that demands courage, wisdom, and an unwavering commitment to personal integrity. As we walk this path, let us remember that our greatest gift to others is not our sacrifice but our authenticity. When we stand firmly in our truth while remaining open to meaningful connection, we create the foundation for relationships that enrich rather than diminish, that elevate rather than constrain. The road continues, and with each step, we learn to balance independence with interconnection, self-respect with genuine care for others. This is the essence of true relationship wisdom—not losing ourselves in others, but finding ourselves through authentic connection while maintaining our individual paths. Still, the journey continues...

The Long Road Home: A Story of Loss, Learning, and Renaissance - PART 3

দ্য লং রোড হোম: এ স্টোরি অফ লস, লার্নিং এবং রেনেসাঁ - পার্ট 3

El largo camino a casa: Una historia de pérdida, aprendizaje y renacimiento - PARTE 3

The Long Road Home: A Story of Loss, Learning, and Renaissance - 3. ZATIA

長い帰路: 喪失、学び、そして復興の物語 - パート 3

The Long Road Home: Uma história de perda, aprendizado e renascimento - PARTE 3

Wasi Karu Ñan: Chinkaymanta, Yachaymanta, Renacimientomanta Willakuy - 3 PARTE

Rruga e gjatë në shtëpi: Një histori e humbjes, mësimit dhe rilindjes - PJESA 3

Дуг пут кући: прича о губитку, учењу и ренесанси - 3. ДЕО

நீண்ட சாலை வீடு: இழப்பு, கற்றல் மற்றும் மறுமலர்ச்சியின் கதை - பகுதி 3

ነዊሕ መንገዲ ገዛ፡ ዛንታ ክሳራ፡ ትምህርትን ህዳሴን - 3ይ ክፋል

Uyga uzoq yo'l: Yo'qotish, o'rganish va Uyg'onish hikoyasi - 3-QISM

Ikhaya Lomgwaqo Omude: Indaba Yokulahlekelwa, Ukufunda, kanye Nokuvuselelwa Kabusha - INGXENYE 3

Freedom has long been humanity's most persistent pursuit, a flame that has illuminated civilizations, revolutions, and personal transformations. My own journey reflects this quest, marked by achievements, setbacks, and profound realizations about the true essence of freedom. Throughout my professional life, I’ve embraced a lifestyle that many would envy, enjoying the ability to work from anywhere at any time. This seemed like the ultimate expression of liberty. However, I’ve come to understand that external mobility does not equate to internal freedom. True sovereignty is far more nuanced and complex than mere geographical independence. One of the most painful lessons I’ve encountered is the danger of over-attachment. We often become enslaved not by external forces, but by our own desires, obsessions, and expectations. When something we deeply care about is suddenly taken away, we find ourselves vulnerable, our sense of self shattered. This, I realized, is not freedom; it is a bondage of the most insidious kind. True sovereignty lies in cultivating a sense of self that remains unbroken, regardless of external circumstances. It involves recognizing that our worth is not defined by what we own, but by our capacity to adapt, to rise, and to transform in the face of adversity. In my understanding, true freedom rests on three fundamental aspects of life. First is the sovereignty of time, which allows me to choose how I invest my most precious resource. Second is the sovereignty of location, granting me the freedom to shape my environment rather than being constrained by it. Lastly, there is the sovereignty of financial aspiration, empowering me to design my economic destiny without being limited by traditional constraints. To deepen my understanding of freedom, I have delved into historical narratives of civilizations and individuals who have pursued sovereignty. From the philosophical resistance of the Stoics to the revolutionary spirits of indigenous cultures, and from the intellectual rebellions of enlightenment thinkers to the economic pioneers of our modern era, each story offers valuable insights into the nature of true liberation. These historical journeys reveal that freedom is not a destination but a continuous process of learning, unlearning, and redefining our boundaries. Ironically, the path to sovereignty requires a profound understanding of what we can and cannot control. It demands a delicate balance between ambition and acceptance, between striving and surrendering. We must learn to hold our dreams lightly, pursuing them with passion but not desperation. Currently, my life’s trajectory is focused not on conquering external worlds but on exploring the intricate landscapes of human potential. It involves discovering how individuals can craft lives filled with meaning, impact, and genuine freedom. This journey is not solitary; it is a collective exploration. It is about connecting with fellow travelers who understand that true sovereignty is not about standing alone but about creating meaningful connections that amplify both individual and collective potential. As I navigate this path, I am guided by a simple yet profound understanding: freedom is not a state to be achieved but a continuous dance of adaptation, learning, and growth. And so, the journey continues... Freedom has long been humanity's most persistent pursuit, a flame that has illuminated civilizations, revolutions, and personal transformations. My own journey reflects this quest, marked by achievements, setbacks, and profound realizations about the true essence of freedom. Throughout my professional life, I’ve embraced a lifestyle that many would envy, enjoying the ability to work from anywhere at any time. This seemed like the ultimate expression of liberty. However, I’ve come to understand that external mobility does not equate to internal freedom. True sovereignty is far more nuanced and complex than mere geographical independence. One of the most painful lessons I’ve encountered is the danger of over-attachment. We often become enslaved not by external forces, but by our own desires, obsessions, and expectations. When something we deeply care about is suddenly taken away, we find ourselves vulnerable, our sense of self shattered. This, I realized, is not freedom; it is a bondage of the most insidious kind. True sovereignty lies in cultivating a sense of self that remains unbroken, regardless of external circumstances. It involves recognizing that our worth is not defined by what we own, but by our capacity to adapt, to rise, and to transform in the face of adversity. In my understanding, true freedom rests on three fundamental aspects of life. First is the sovereignty of time, which allows me to choose how I invest my most precious resource. Second is the sovereignty of location, granting me the freedom to shape my environment rather than being constrained by it. Lastly, there is the sovereignty of financial aspiration, empowering me to design my economic destiny without being limited by traditional constraints. To deepen my understanding of freedom, I have delved into historical narratives of civilizations and individuals who have pursued sovereignty. From the philosophical resistance of the Stoics to the revolutionary spirits of indigenous cultures, and from the intellectual rebellions of enlightenment thinkers to the economic pioneers of our modern era, each story offers valuable insights into the nature of true liberation. These historical journeys reveal that freedom is not a destination but a continuous process of learning, unlearning, and redefining our boundaries. Ironically, the path to sovereignty requires a profound understanding of what we can and cannot control. It demands a delicate balance between ambition and acceptance, between striving and surrendering. We must learn to hold our dreams lightly, pursuing them with passion but not desperation. Currently, my life’s trajectory is focused not on conquering external worlds but on exploring the intricate landscapes of human potential. It involves discovering how individuals can craft lives filled with meaning, impact, and genuine freedom. This journey is not solitary; it is a collective exploration. It is about connecting with fellow travelers who understand that true sovereignty is not about standing alone but about creating meaningful connections that amplify both individual and collective potential. As I navigate this path, I am guided by a simple yet profound understanding: freedom is not a state to be achieved but a continuous dance of adaptation, learning, and growth. And so, the journey continues...

The Long Road Home: A Story of Loss, Learning, and Renaissance - PART 2

Die Langpad Huistoe: 'n Verhaal van verlies, leer en Renaissance - DEEL 2

Der lange Weg nach Hause: Eine Geschichte von Verlust, Lernen und Renaissance – TEIL 2

El largo camino a casa: Una historia de pérdida, aprendizaje y renacimiento - PARTE 2

הדרך הארוכה הביתה: סיפור על אובדן, למידה ורנסנס - חלק 2

長い帰路: 喪失、学び、そして復興の物語 - パート 2

The Long Road Home: Kisah Kehilangan, Pembelajaran dan Renaissance - BAHAGIAN 2

د لونګ سړک کور: د لاسه ورکولو کیسه، زده کړه، او بیا رغونه - 2 برخه

Wasi Karu Ñan: Chinkaymanta, Yachaymanta, Renacimientomanta Willakuy - 2 kaq PARTE

Dlhá cesta domov: Príbeh o strate, učení a renesancii - ČASŤ 2

Роҳи дароз ба хона: Қиссаи талафот, омӯзиш ва эҳё - ҚИСМИ 2

Uzyn ýol öýi: ossitirmek, öwrenmek we galkynyş hakda hekaýa - 2-nji BÖLÜM

The Long Road Home: A Story of Loss, Learning, and Renaissance - BAHAGI 2

While blockchains excel at computation and temporary data handling, they've historically struggled with managing large-scale data storage – a capability that traditional web servers have enjoyed for decades. Enter Bernie Blume and Xandeum, who are working to bridge this critical gap with an innovative solution that could catalyze what Blume calls blockchain's "Cambrian Explosion." In this exclusive interview, we explore how Xandeum's groundbreaking storage layer could revolutionize everything from DeFi to healthcare, potentially unleashing a new era of blockchain innovation. Ishan Pandey: Hi Bernie Blume, welcome to our 'Behind the Startup' series. Please tell us about yourself and the motivation behind building Xandeum? Bernie Blume: Hey, Ishan. I’ve been working on distributed systems and low-level, “close to the hardware” programming for decades, and through that background, I became a blockchain enthusiast in 2013. Over the years, I saw some parallels to Artificial Intelligence technology. AI had its first hype in the 80s, but couldn’t keep up with expectations, so many great minds left the field. It wasn’t until the 2000s, with the advent of Artificial Neural Networks, that AI finally experienced its Cambrian Explosion. I think someone needs to spark that Cambrian Explosion for blockchain as well, because, sadly, it hasn’t happened yet. And I didn’t see anyone working on it. So I started Xandeum. Ishan Pandey: Can you explain the core mission behind Xandeum and how it differs from other decentralized storage solutions on the market? Bernie Blume: The mission is to unleash the full potential of Web3. As of now, Web3 is stuck in a rut. Can you name a single successful web2 app that has been ported to web3 and is successful there? Everything has to be made “blockchain compatible” in web3, which, in essence, means removing the storage capabilities that every web2 server has had for ages. Today’s blockchains have their CPU (the EVM/SVM, etc.) as well as their RAM, which are the accounts. The Ethereum accounts or Solana accounts can only store limited amounts of data but are very close to the CPU and thus very fast. Centralized computers also have disks and file systems that make them versatile to serve all of today’s apps. The blockchain doesn’t have that disk equivalent today. That’s the missing link to get that blockchain Cambrian Explosion started. Ishan Pandey: In your view, how crucial are data ownership and privacy in the realm of data storage, especially in today's decentralized landscape? How does Xandeum ensure that users maintain full control over their data while protecting their privacy? Bernie Blume: Data ownership and privacy are absolutely crucial. Decentralization is key, and if you really get to the bottom of things, it’s the only reason blockchain technology exists. Decentralization is a huge step in the evolution of humanity. There have been trends, both on the micro and macro level, for eons, that humans strive to be more and more independent, and in control of their own destiny. That, in the grand scheme of things, is what blockchain, and specifically Web3, is all about. We must bring self-determination, self-custody, decentralization of control, and ownership, to the world of data as well, not just to coding. That’s what’s driving and keeping me up at night - building that storage layer for smart contracts, so that the story can go on. For Xandeum, it’s a huge distributed file system that lives on a set of pNodes, our (storage) provider nodes. These pNodes can be considered part of the smart contract chain, in our case Solana, since they are orchestrated and cryptographically supervised by our modified validator and RPC software. Data is paged into equal-sized pages, a concept borrowed from Unix memory management. The status of the pNodes is kept in the PNDB (pNode database) inside Solana accounts. The pages are encrypted and randomized so that no pNode operator has a chance to look into the data they are storing. The key to data ownership is in the Xandeum-enabled apps, which we call sedApps for storage-enabled dApps. These can request an app-specific level of redundancy, as well as control key management for the encryption. Only the user has the private key, just as with regular wallet accounts, and these are being used to optimally encrypt sensitive data. Ishan Pandey: What are the biggest challenges Xandeum has faced in developing its platform, and how have you addressed issues related to scalability and performance? Bernie Blume: The biggest challenge by far has been coming up with an architecture that can run  100% on the Solana chain. We started out with our architecture being our own L1, based on the Solana code base. We quickly figured out that being 100% Solana integrated would have tremendous advantages for us. We could then harness Solana’s momentum and developer base. However, it is not easy to design a solution that can utilize our storage layer on a mixed cluster of both vanilla Solana validators as well as Xandeum-aware validators. This was a big step for us. As for scalability and performance, as mentioned before, we address these by offloading the actual storage of data from validators to a separate but cryptographically connected network of storage provider nodes, dubbed pNodes. Ishan Pandey: As Web3 continues to grow, how do you see Xandeum playing a role in the broader adoption of decentralized technologies? What industries do you believe will benefit most from your solution? Bernie Blume: That is hard to say given the nature of our innovation, a scalable storage layer. When creating Ethereum, the first programmable blockchain, Vitalik Buterin was only speculating about possible use cases. We have a similar situation here, where suddenly smart contract blockchains become capable of storing vast amounts of data. I expect DeFi to profit from it, being able to store documents (like scanned credit reports) right in the smart contract. Insurance and medical applications need a lot of storage. But just porting all the variety of web2 apps, most of which use petabytes to store their customer data, will become possible. It will be that Cambrian Explosion that’s our north star. I can’t wait to see that happen; it’s going to be wonderful. Ishan Pandey: What is your vision for the future of decentralized data storage? How do you see Xandeum evolving in the next 3-5 years, both in terms of technology and market presence? Bernie Blume: The vision is that smart contracts can finally be like normal servers: Execute code (CPU), access “accounts” (RAM), and access storage (disk). Right now the whole company is focused on building the product, and once that important milestone is completed, the whole company will shift its focus in 2026. In 2025 we will focus on building and in 2026 we will focus on adoption. There will be Xandeum hackathons, grants, etc. to help spread the word among devs, i.e. among web3 entrepreneurs, that Xandeum will make their life so much easier, and make them aware they can build so much more versatile dapps, which we call sedApps – storage-enabled dApps. Looking into the next 3-5 years, I expect to see one of the fastest adoptions among devs that I have ever seen. Scalable, smart contract native storage is the missing link that will spark the Cambrian explosion in blockchain that AI saw with ANNs. That means we have all these sedApps, each paying Xandeum storage fees in addition to the regular Solana transaction fees. Ishan Pandey: What advice would you give to developers and startups looking to build decentralized applications or services in the current Web3 ecosystem? Bernie Blume: First imagine blockchain didn’t have today’s limitations; imagine you had all the power of traditional IT (including storage) at your disposal when designing your dApp. Then break it down to what can be done with today’s blockchain - you’ll find it’s quite a limited version of what you imagined in step 1. Then build your dApp on today’s blockchains but keep the timely advent of a scalable storage layer in mind. That way, you will put yourself in a pole position as soon as the race for building sedApps starts. Don’t forget to like and share the story! Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR While blockchains excel at computation and temporary data handling, they've historically struggled with managing large-scale data storage – a capability that traditional web servers have enjoyed for decades. Enter Bernie Blume and Xandeum, who are working to bridge this critical gap with an innovative solution that could catalyze what Blume calls blockchain's "Cambrian Explosion." In this exclusive interview, we explore how Xandeum's groundbreaking storage layer could revolutionize everything from DeFi to healthcare, potentially unleashing a new era of blockchain innovation. Ishan Pandey: Hi Bernie Blume, welcome to our 'Behind the Startup' series. Please tell us about yourself and the motivation behind building Xandeum? Ishan Pandey: Hi Bernie Blume, welcome to our 'Behind the Startup' series. Please tell us about yourself and the motivation behind building Xandeum? Ishan Pandey: Hi Bernie Blume, welcome to our 'Behind the Startup' series. Please tell us about yourself and the motivation behind building Xandeum? Bernie Blume: Hey, Ishan. I’ve been working on distributed systems and low-level, “close to the hardware” programming for decades, and through that background, I became a blockchain enthusiast in 2013. Over the years, I saw some parallels to Artificial Intelligence technology. Bernie Blume: AI had its first hype in the 80s, but couldn’t keep up with expectations, so many great minds left the field. It wasn’t until the 2000s, with the advent of Artificial Neural Networks, that AI finally experienced its Cambrian Explosion. I think someone needs to spark that Cambrian Explosion for blockchain as well, because, sadly, it hasn’t happened yet. And I didn’t see anyone working on it. So I started Xandeum. Ishan Pandey: Can you explain the core mission behind Xandeum and how it differs from other decentralized storage solutions on the market? Ishan Pandey: Can you explain the core mission behind Xandeum and how it differs from other decentralized storage solutions on the market? Ishan Pandey: Can you explain the core mission behind Xandeum and how it differs from other decentralized storage solutions on the market? Bernie Blume: The mission is to unleash the full potential of Web3. As of now, Web3 is stuck in a rut. Can you name a single successful web2 app that has been ported to web3 and is successful there? Everything has to be made “blockchain compatible” in web3, which, in essence, means removing the storage capabilities that every web2 server has had for ages. Bernie Blume: Today’s blockchains have their CPU (the EVM/SVM, etc.) as well as their RAM, which are the accounts. The Ethereum accounts or Solana accounts can only store limited amounts of data but are very close to the CPU and thus very fast. Centralized computers also have disks and file systems that make them versatile to serve all of today’s apps. The blockchain doesn’t have that disk equivalent today. That’s the missing link to get that blockchain Cambrian Explosion started. Ishan Pandey: In your view, how crucial are data ownership and privacy in the realm of data storage, especially in today's decentralized landscape? How does Xandeum ensure that users maintain full control over their data while protecting their privacy? Ishan Pandey: In your view, how crucial are data ownership and privacy in the realm of data storage, especially in today's decentralized landscape? How does Xandeum ensure that users maintain full control over their data while protecting their privacy? Ishan Pandey: In your view, how crucial are data ownership and privacy in the realm of data storage, especially in today's decentralized landscape? How does Xandeum ensure that users maintain full control over their data while protecting their privacy? Bernie Blume: Data ownership and privacy are absolutely crucial. Decentralization is key, and if you really get to the bottom of things, it’s the only reason blockchain technology exists. Decentralization is a huge step in the evolution of humanity. There have been trends, both on the micro and macro level, for eons, that humans strive to be more and more independent, and in control of their own destiny. That, in the grand scheme of things, is what blockchain, and specifically Web3, is all about. We must bring self-determination, self-custody, decentralization of control, and ownership, to the world of data as well, not just to coding. Bernie Blume: only data That’s what’s driving and keeping me up at night - building that storage layer for smart contracts, so that the story can go on. For Xandeum, it’s a huge distributed file system that lives on a set of pNodes, our (storage) provider nodes. These pNodes can be considered part of the smart contract chain, in our case Solana, since they are orchestrated and cryptographically supervised by our modified validator and RPC software. Data is paged into equal-sized pages, a concept borrowed from Unix memory management. The status of the pNodes is kept in the PNDB (pNode database) inside Solana accounts. The pages are encrypted and randomized so that no pNode operator has a chance to look into the data they are storing. The key to data ownership is in the Xandeum-enabled apps, which we call sedApps for storage-enabled dApps. These can request an app-specific level of redundancy, as well as control key management for the encryption. Only the user has the private key, just as with regular wallet accounts, and these are being used to optimally encrypt sensitive data. Ishan Pandey: What are the biggest challenges Xandeum has faced in developing its platform, and how have you addressed issues related to scalability and performance? Ishan Pandey: What are the biggest challenges Xandeum has faced in developing its platform, and how have you addressed issues related to scalability and performance? Ishan Pandey: What are the biggest challenges Xandeum has faced in developing its platform, and how have you addressed issues related to scalability and performance? Bernie Blume: The biggest challenge by far has been coming up with an architecture that can run  100% on the Solana chain. We started out with our architecture being our own L1, based on the Solana code base. We quickly figured out that being 100% Solana integrated would have tremendous advantages for us. We could then harness Solana’s momentum and developer base. However, it is not easy to design a solution that can utilize our storage layer on a mixed cluster of both vanilla Solana validators as well as Xandeum-aware validators. Bernie Blume: This was a big step for us. As for scalability and performance, as mentioned before, we address these by offloading the actual storage of data from validators to a separate but cryptographically connected network of storage provider nodes, dubbed pNodes. Ishan Pandey: As Web3 continues to grow, how do you see Xandeum playing a role in the broader adoption of decentralized technologies? What industries do you believe will benefit most from your solution? Ishan Pandey: As Web3 continues to grow, how do you see Xandeum playing a role in the broader adoption of decentralized technologies? What industries do you believe will benefit most from your solution? Ishan Pandey: As Web3 continues to grow, how do you see Xandeum playing a role in the broader adoption of decentralized technologies? What industries do you believe will benefit most from your solution? Bernie Blume: That is hard to say given the nature of our innovation, a scalable storage layer. When creating Ethereum, the first programmable blockchain, Vitalik Buterin was only speculating about possible use cases. We have a similar situation here, where suddenly smart contract blockchains become capable of storing vast amounts of data. I expect DeFi to profit from it, being able to store documents (like scanned credit reports) right in the smart contract. Insurance and medical applications need a lot of storage. Bernie Blume: But just porting all the variety of web2 apps, most of which use petabytes to store their customer data, will become possible. It will be that Cambrian Explosion that’s our north star. I can’t wait to see that happen; it’s going to be wonderful. Ishan Pandey: What is your vision for the future of decentralized data storage? How do you see Xandeum evolving in the next 3-5 years, both in terms of technology and market presence? Ishan Pandey: What is your vision for the future of decentralized data storage? How do you see Xandeum evolving in the next 3-5 years, both in terms of technology and market presence? Ishan Pandey: What is your vision for the future of decentralized data storage? How do you see Xandeum evolving in the next 3-5 years, both in terms of technology and market presence? Bernie Blume: The vision is that smart contracts can finally be like normal servers: Execute code (CPU), access “accounts” (RAM), and access storage (disk). Right now the whole company is focused on building the product, and once that important milestone is completed, the whole company will shift its focus in 2026. In 2025 we will focus on building and in 2026 we will focus on adoption. There will be Xandeum hackathons, grants, etc. to help spread the word among devs, i.e. among web3 entrepreneurs, that Xandeum will make their life so much easier, and make them aware they can build so much more versatile dapps, which we call sedApps – storage-enabled dApps. Bernie Blume: and Looking into the next 3-5 years, I expect to see one of the fastest adoptions among devs that I have ever seen. Scalable, smart contract native storage is the missing link that will spark the Cambrian explosion in blockchain that AI saw with ANNs. That means we have all these sedApps, each paying Xandeum storage fees in addition to the regular Solana transaction fees. Ishan Pandey: What advice would you give to developers and startups looking to build decentralized applications or services in the current Web3 ecosystem? Ishan Pandey: What advice would you give to developers and startups looking to build decentralized applications or services in the current Web3 ecosystem? Bernie Blume: First imagine blockchain didn’t have today’s limitations; imagine you had all the power of traditional IT (including storage) at your disposal when designing your dApp. Then break it down to what can be done with today’s blockchain - you’ll find it’s quite a limited version of what you imagined in step 1. Then build your dApp on today’s blockchains but keep the timely advent of a scalable storage layer in mind. That way, you will put yourself in a pole position as soon as the race for building sedApps starts. Bernie Blume: Don’t forget to like and share the story! Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program . HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR Vested Interest Disclosure: business blogging program business blogging program

How Xandeum is Revolutionizing Blockchain Storage

Cómo Xandeum está revolucionando el almacenamiento en blockchain

Como Xandeum está a revolucionar o almacenamento Blockchain

כיצד Xandeum מחולל מהפכה באחסון בלוקצ'יין

ज़ैन्डियम किस तरह ब्लॉकचेन स्टोरेज में क्रांति ला रहा है

Xandeum がブロックチェーン ストレージに革命を起こす方法

របៀបដែល Xandeum កំពុងធ្វើបដិវត្តការផ្ទុក Blockchain

ວິທີການ Xandeum ແມ່ນການປະຕິວັດການເກັບຮັກສາ Blockchain

Kamoo Xandeum e Fetošago Polokelo ya Blockchain

Como o Xandeum está revolucionando o armazenamento em blockchain

Cum revoluționează Xandeum stocarea blockchain

Xandeum Blockchain ගබඩාව විප්ලවීය කරන ආකාරය

Як Xandeum революціонізує блокчейн-сховище

Life has a way of teaching its most profound lessons when we least expect them. During my recent travels, amidst the blur of work commitments and professional obligations, I received the kind of news that stops time – someone dear to me had passed away. In that moment of grief, a truth I had always known suddenly became crystal clear: our time here is metered, and none of us knows when our clock will stop ticking. This realization came during a period of intense personal challenge. I lost my phone with all visa card information, drivers license, with other important identification cards, more significantly, nearly lost my wife and family. For the first time in my life, I stood at the edge of losing everything that truly mattered. It was in this darkness that I discovered an unexpected truth – when you hit rock bottom, there's a strange comfort in knowing there's only one way left to go: up! Through this journey, I've learned that we often make the mistake of putting things on pedestals, whether it's success, relationships, or material possessions. The higher we place them, the more unreachable they become, and when we inevitably lose them, the fall is devastating. Instead, I've found wisdom in living a life that balances humility with honor, where knowing your worth doesn't mean forgetting your roots. In my professional life, this perspective has transformed how I approach my craft. I've discovered that true excellence isn't about grand declarations or promises – it's about mastering your art, through precision, passion, and consistent delivery. It's about fixing problems instead of just talking about them, letting your work silence the skeptics. While it's natural to feel pride and ego when you excel at what you do, these must be tempered with compassion and empathy. Success without humanity is hollow victory. The path forward hasn't been easy. There will always be more challenges, more obstacles, and more resistance when you pursue growth and change. But I've learned to focus on my destination rather than the distractions along the way. This journey has taught me the vital importance of investing in yourself – not just in skills and knowledge, but in understanding how to present your value to the world. Why limit yourself to local impact when you can reach for global influence? Perhaps most importantly, I've learned the value of building a network of like-minded individuals who share not just professional goals but core values. These aren't just colleagues or connections – they're fellow travelers on the path to excellence, people who prove their worth through actions rather than words. In their company, I've found both challenge and support, criticism and encouragement. This isn't just a story of recovery or comeback – it's about renaissance, about emerging from challenges with a clearer vision and stronger purpose. As I step into this new chapter as a sovereign renaissance professional, I carry these lessons close to my heart. Being your own greatest fan doesn't mean walking alone; it means believing in your potential while remaining open to growth and change. Time, that most precious and limited resource, has taught me that our legacy isn't built in grand moments but in daily choices and consistent actions. Every day presents a new opportunity to prove our worth, not through words, but through the precision and passion we bring to our craft. This is my new beginning. It's a journey marked not by titles or achievements, but by the wisdom gained from falling and rising, from losing and finding, from breaking and rebuilding. In the end, true sovereignty comes not from declaring our independence, but from recognizing our interdependence with those who share our commitment to excellence and humanity. The journey continues... Life has a way of teaching its most profound lessons when we least expect them. During my recent travels, amidst the blur of work commitments and professional obligations, I received the kind of news that stops time – someone dear to me had passed away. In that moment of grief, a truth I had always known suddenly became crystal clear: our time here is metered, and none of us knows when our clock will stop ticking. This realization came during a period of intense personal challenge. I lost my phone with all visa card information, drivers license, with other important identification cards, more significantly, nearly lost my wife and family. For the first time in my life, I stood at the edge of losing everything that truly mattered. It was in this darkness that I discovered an unexpected truth – when you hit rock bottom, there's a strange comfort in knowing there's only one way left to go: up! Through this journey, I've learned that we often make the mistake of putting things on pedestals, whether it's success, relationships, or material possessions. The higher we place them, the more unreachable they become, and when we inevitably lose them, the fall is devastating. Instead, I've found wisdom in living a life that balances humility with honor, where knowing your worth doesn't mean forgetting your roots. In my professional life, this perspective has transformed how I approach my craft. I've discovered that true excellence isn't about grand declarations or promises – it's about mastering your art, through precision, passion, and consistent delivery. It's about fixing problems instead of just talking about them, letting your work silence the skeptics. While it's natural to feel pride and ego when you excel at what you do, these must be tempered with compassion and empathy. Success without humanity is hollow victory. The path forward hasn't been easy. There will always be more challenges, more obstacles, and more resistance when you pursue growth and change. But I've learned to focus on my destination rather than the distractions along the way. This journey has taught me the vital importance of investing in yourself – not just in skills and knowledge, but in understanding how to present your value to the world. Why limit yourself to local impact when you can reach for global influence? Perhaps most importantly, I've learned the value of building a network of like-minded individuals who share not just professional goals but core values. These aren't just colleagues or connections – they're fellow travelers on the path to excellence, people who prove their worth through actions rather than words. In their company, I've found both challenge and support, criticism and encouragement. This isn't just a story of recovery or comeback – it's about renaissance, about emerging from challenges with a clearer vision and stronger purpose. As I step into this new chapter as a sovereign renaissance professional, I carry these lessons close to my heart. Being your own greatest fan doesn't mean walking alone; it means believing in your potential while remaining open to growth and change. Time, that most precious and limited resource, has taught me that our legacy isn't built in grand moments but in daily choices and consistent actions. Every day presents a new opportunity to prove our worth, not through words, but through the precision and passion we bring to our craft. This is my new beginning. It's a journey marked not by titles or achievements, but by the wisdom gained from falling and rising, from losing and finding, from breaking and rebuilding. In the end, true sovereignty comes not from declaring our independence, but from recognizing our interdependence with those who share our commitment to excellence and humanity. The journey continues...

The Long Road Home: A Story of Loss, Learning, and Renaissance - PART 1

Evə uzun yol: İtki, Öyrənmə və İntibah Hekayəsi - 1-ci HİSSƏ

El largo camino a casa: Una historia de pérdida, aprendizaje y renacimiento - PARTE 1

הדרך הארוכה הביתה: סיפור של אובדן, למידה ורנסנס - חלק 1

הדרך הארוכה הביתה: סיפור על אובדן, למידה ורנסנס - חלק 1

長い帰路: 喪失、学び、そして復興の物語 - パート 1

집으로 가는 긴 길: 상실, 학습, 르네상스의 이야기 - 1부

The Long Road Home: Tantaran'ny Fahaverezana, Fianarana ary Renaissance - FIZARANA 1

Długa droga do domu: historia straty, nauki i renesansu – CZĘŚĆ 1

د لونګ سړک کور: د لاسه ورکولو کیسه، زده کړه او بیا رغونه - لومړۍ برخه

දිගු මාවත නිවස: අහිමි වීම, ඉගෙනීම සහ පුනරුදයේ කතාවක් - 1 කොටස

The Long Road Home: A Story of Loss, Learning, and Renaissance - BAHAGI 1

漫漫回家路：失去、学习与重生的故事 - 第一部分

How to Build a Database From Scratch: Understanding LSM Trees and Storage Engines (Part 1)

Coze: A Love Story

Free Copy of Apache Iceberg the Definitive Guide
Free Apache Iceberg Crash Course
Iceberg Lakehouse Engineering Video Playlist In the first post of this series, we introduced the Apache Parquet file format and touched upon one of its key features—columnar storage. Now, we’ll take a deeper dive into what this columnar storage model is, how it works, and why it’s so efficient for big data analytics. Understanding Parquet's columnar architecture is key to leveraging its full potential in optimizing data storage and query performance. What is Columnar Storage? Columnar storage means that instead of storing rows of data together, the data for each column is stored separately. This might seem counterintuitive at first, but it has major benefits for certain types of workloads, particularly those where you’re analyzing or aggregating specific columns rather than accessing entire rows. In a row-based format like CSV or JSON, data is written and read one row at a time. Each row stores all fields together in sequence. On the other hand, in a columnar format like Parquet, all values for a single column are stored together. For instance, if you have a dataset with columns for Name, Age, and Salary, all the values for the Name column are stored in one block, all the values for the Age column are stored in another, and so on. Why is Columnar Storage Efficient? The efficiency of columnar storage becomes clear when we consider the type of operations typically performed on large datasets in analytics. Let’s break down the advantages. 1. Faster Query Performance Columnar storage shines when your queries focus on a subset of columns. For example, if you want to calculate the average salary of employees in a large dataset, Parquet allows you to scan just the Salary column without reading the entire dataset. In a row-based format, even though you're only interested in one column, the system has to read all the data in every row to retrieve the values for that column. This results in a lot of unnecessary I/O operations, slowing down query performance. With Parquet, only the columns you need are read, making queries significantly faster. 2. Better Compression Parquet's columnar structure also improves compression. Since similar data types are stored together, compression algorithms can be applied more effectively. For example, if a column contains repeated values or data that follows a consistent pattern (such as dates or integers), it can be compressed more efficiently. By grouping similar values together, columnar formats enable algorithms like dictionary encoding or run-length encoding to achieve high compression ratios. This leads to smaller file sizes, which means reduced storage costs and faster data transfers. 3. Efficient Aggregation Columnar storage is ideal for aggregation queries, such as calculating sums, averages, or counts. These types of operations often focus on specific columns. With Parquet, only the relevant columns need to be read into memory, which not only improves query speed but also reduces the overall resource usage. 4. Batch Processing and Parallelization Another benefit of Parquet’s columnar model is that it enables better parallel processing. Since columns are stored independently, data processing engines like Apache Spark can read different columns in parallel, further speeding up query execution. This makes Parquet a great fit for distributed computing environments, where parallelism is key to achieving high performance. How Parquet Organizes Data Understanding how Parquet organizes data internally can help you fine-tune how you store and query your datasets. Columns and Row Groups: Parquet organizes data into row groups, which contain chunks of column data. A row group contains all the data for a subset of rows, but the data for each column is stored separately. This allows for efficient I/O when reading subsets of rows or columns.
Pages: Within each column chunk, data is further divided into pages. Parquet uses pages to store column data more granularly, which helps optimize compression and read performance. Each page is typically a few megabytes in size, and Parquet stores statistics about the data in each page, making it easier to skip irrelevant pages during query execution. Use Cases for Columnar Storage Columnar storage formats like Parquet are most effective in the following scenarios: Analytics-Heavy Workloads: If your workload involves a lot of analytical queries (e.g., calculating averages, filtering by certain columns), columnar formats will provide significant performance gains.
Big Data Environments: Parquet is commonly used in distributed data environments where large datasets are stored in cloud data lakes (e.g., AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage). It works seamlessly with frameworks like Apache Spark and Presto, which are built to process data at scale.
Data Warehousing: When designing data warehouses, storing data in Parquet allows you to run complex analytical queries efficiently while reducing storage costs due to Parquet’s high compression. When Not to Use Columnar Storage While columnar storage offers significant advantages for read-heavy, analytical workloads, it may not be the best option for all use cases. For example, transactional systems that involve frequent, small updates to data (like an online store's transaction log) may perform better with row-based formats, which are optimized for write-heavy operations. In such cases, the overhead of reading and writing data in columnar format may outweigh its benefits. Conclusion Parquet’s columnar storage model is what makes it a powerful tool for big data analytics. By organizing data by columns, Parquet allows for faster query performance, better compression, and more efficient aggregation. It’s designed to excel in environments where read-heavy workloads dominate and when your queries often target specific columns rather than entire datasets. In the next blog post, we’ll dive deeper into the file structure of Parquet, exploring how data is organized into row groups, pages, and columns to optimize both storage and retrieval. Stay tuned for part 3: Parquet File Structure: Pages, Row Groups, and Columns. Free Copy of Apache Iceberg the Definitive Guide Free Apache Iceberg Crash Course Iceberg Lakehouse Engineering Video Playlist Free Copy of Apache Iceberg the Definitive Guide Free Copy of Apache Iceberg the Definitive Guide Free Apache Iceberg Crash Course Free Apache Iceberg Crash Course Iceberg Lakehouse Engineering Video Playlist Iceberg Lakehouse Engineering Video Playlist In the first post of this series, we introduced the Apache Parquet file format and touched upon one of its key features—columnar storage. Now, we’ll take a deeper dive into what this columnar storage model is, how it works, and why it’s so efficient for big data analytics. Understanding Parquet's columnar architecture is key to leveraging its full potential in optimizing data storage and query performance. What is Columnar Storage? Columnar storage means that instead of storing rows of data together, the data for each column is stored separately. This might seem counterintuitive at first, but it has major benefits for certain types of workloads, particularly those where you’re analyzing or aggregating specific columns rather than accessing entire rows. In a row-based format like CSV or JSON, data is written and read one row at a time. Each row stores all fields together in sequence. On the other hand, in a columnar format like Parquet, all values for a single column are stored together. For instance, if you have a dataset with columns for Name , Age , and Salary , all the values for the Name column are stored in one block, all the values for the Age column are stored in another, and so on. Name Age Salary Name Age Why is Columnar Storage Efficient? The efficiency of columnar storage becomes clear when we consider the type of operations typically performed on large datasets in analytics. Let’s break down the advantages. 1. Faster Query Performance Faster Query Performance Columnar storage shines when your queries focus on a subset of columns. For example, if you want to calculate the average salary of employees in a large dataset, Parquet allows you to scan just the Salary column without reading the entire dataset. Salary In a row-based format, even though you're only interested in one column, the system has to read all the data in every row to retrieve the values for that column. This results in a lot of unnecessary I/O operations, slowing down query performance. With Parquet, only the columns you need are read, making queries significantly faster. 2. Better Compression Better Compression Parquet's columnar structure also improves compression. Since similar data types are stored together, compression algorithms can be applied more effectively. For example, if a column contains repeated values or data that follows a consistent pattern (such as dates or integers), it can be compressed more efficiently. By grouping similar values together, columnar formats enable algorithms like dictionary encoding or run-length encoding to achieve high compression ratios. This leads to smaller file sizes, which means reduced storage costs and faster data transfers. dictionary encoding run-length encoding 3. Efficient Aggregation Efficient Aggregation Columnar storage is ideal for aggregation queries, such as calculating sums, averages, or counts. These types of operations often focus on specific columns. With Parquet, only the relevant columns need to be read into memory, which not only improves query speed but also reduces the overall resource usage. 4. Batch Processing and Parallelization Batch Processing and Parallelization Another benefit of Parquet’s columnar model is that it enables better parallel processing. Since columns are stored independently, data processing engines like Apache Spark can read different columns in parallel, further speeding up query execution. This makes Parquet a great fit for distributed computing environments, where parallelism is key to achieving high performance. How Parquet Organizes Data Understanding how Parquet organizes data internally can help you fine-tune how you store and query your datasets. Columns and Row Groups: Parquet organizes data into row groups, which contain chunks of column data. A row group contains all the data for a subset of rows, but the data for each column is stored separately. This allows for efficient I/O when reading subsets of rows or columns. Pages: Within each column chunk, data is further divided into pages. Parquet uses pages to store column data more granularly, which helps optimize compression and read performance. Each page is typically a few megabytes in size, and Parquet stores statistics about the data in each page, making it easier to skip irrelevant pages during query execution. Columns and Row Groups : Parquet organizes data into row groups , which contain chunks of column data. A row group contains all the data for a subset of rows, but the data for each column is stored separately. This allows for efficient I/O when reading subsets of rows or columns. Columns and Row Groups row groups Pages : Within each column chunk, data is further divided into pages . Parquet uses pages to store column data more granularly, which helps optimize compression and read performance. Each page is typically a few megabytes in size, and Parquet stores statistics about the data in each page, making it easier to skip irrelevant pages during query execution. Pages pages Use Cases for Columnar Storage Columnar storage formats like Parquet are most effective in the following scenarios: Analytics-Heavy Workloads: If your workload involves a lot of analytical queries (e.g., calculating averages, filtering by certain columns), columnar formats will provide significant performance gains. Big Data Environments: Parquet is commonly used in distributed data environments where large datasets are stored in cloud data lakes (e.g., AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage). It works seamlessly with frameworks like Apache Spark and Presto, which are built to process data at scale. Data Warehousing: When designing data warehouses, storing data in Parquet allows you to run complex analytical queries efficiently while reducing storage costs due to Parquet’s high compression. Analytics-Heavy Workloads : If your workload involves a lot of analytical queries (e.g., calculating averages, filtering by certain columns), columnar formats will provide significant performance gains. Analytics-Heavy Workloads Big Data Environments : Parquet is commonly used in distributed data environments where large datasets are stored in cloud data lakes (e.g., AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage). It works seamlessly with frameworks like Apache Spark and Presto, which are built to process data at scale. Big Data Environments Data Warehousing : When designing data warehouses, storing data in Parquet allows you to run complex analytical queries efficiently while reducing storage costs due to Parquet’s high compression. Data Warehousing When Not to Use Columnar Storage While columnar storage offers significant advantages for read-heavy, analytical workloads, it may not be the best option for all use cases. For example, transactional systems that involve frequent, small updates to data (like an online store's transaction log) may perform better with row-based formats, which are optimized for write-heavy operations. In such cases, the overhead of reading and writing data in columnar format may outweigh its benefits. transactional systems Conclusion Parquet’s columnar storage model is what makes it a powerful tool for big data analytics. By organizing data by columns, Parquet allows for faster query performance, better compression, and more efficient aggregation. It’s designed to excel in environments where read-heavy workloads dominate and when your queries often target specific columns rather than entire datasets. In the next blog post, we’ll dive deeper into the file structure of Parquet, exploring how data is organized into row groups, pages, and columns to optimize both storage and retrieval. file structure Stay tuned for part 3: Parquet File Structure: Pages, Row Groups, and Columns . Parquet File Structure: Pages, Row Groups, and Columns

 All About Parquet Part 02 - Parquet's Columnar Storage Model

Why Web3 Projects Need Stories, Not Specs, to Win Over Users

PALO ALTO, United States, October 17th, 2024/Chainwire/--Mysten Labs, the web3 infrastructure company, today announced that following a successful Devnet, Walrus Protocol, a decentralized storage network, has launched its public Testnet. Walrus Protocol stores and delivers large data files, including rich media content, audio files, video, images, PDFs and more, from any web2 or web3-based source. These large files, known as blobs, are stored quickly and efficiently by Walrus, whose storage is resilient, scalable, programmable, and secure. Walrus’s public Testnet, and its Testnet token, WAL, are served by Sui as the coordination layer. Sui provides a dedicated management architecture for Walrus to store its global state and metadata offering speedy consensus, composability, and the opportunity to integrate storage into smart contracts on Sui. Walrus’s Testnet launch will include: API endpoints that support deletable blobs, meaning data can be deleted.
Dedicated Walrus explorer, allowing users to search data quickly and comprehensively, built by Stakestab Inc, maker of Suiscan & Blockberry API Platform.
Full tokenomics ecosystem for the Walrus token, WAL, including epoch management, staking and unstaking, and rewards, as well as the WAL token faucet for developers.
WAL staking app, developed by Mysten Labs. “As blockchain projects aim to become more decentralized, it has been apparent for quite some time that a decentralized storage network was needed for networks of all kinds, L1s and L2s, to support end-user applications with rich media and larger storage needs,” said George Danezis, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder at Mysten Labs. “Walrus Testnet going live is a pivotal moment in that journey. With Akord and Decrypt beginning the migration over to Walrus, we’ll begin to see that a decentralized storage network can be used to bring various applications to a mass audience.” Coinciding with the launch of Walrus’s public Testnet, Akord, a secure storage and collaboration platform, providing user-friendly, cost-effective, and decentralized storage solutions for any digital asset, announces its migration from Arweave to Walrus. Akord is set to migrate to Walrus within the next week. The move comes on the heels of Decrypt Media’s recent announcement of its plans to integrate with Walrus, making the publication the first media outlet to commit to storing media articles and video content on Walrus. "At Akord, our mission is to create a platform that empowers individuals and businesses with meaningful data ownership – the ability to secure data publicly and tokenize it, or store it privately with end-to-end encryption, controlling the keys and access," said Pascal Barry, CEO of Akord. "Migrating to Walrus allows us to offer our existing customers a more cost-effective, versatile and performant solution, as well as giving us the opportunity to realize our mission at a much larger scale.” Powered by a system that divides large data files into smaller fragments, referred to as ‘Red Stuff,’ Walrus distributes slivers of data files across various storage nodes. This process ensures that even if some pieces go missing, the whole of the data can still be reconstructed. This approach reduces the need for data redundancy, allowing the network to grow seamlessly while ensuring fast and reliable access to data. Walrus introduces advanced storage verification through proofs and attestations, incentivizing nodes to store slivers of each file. Instead of verifying individual files, Walrus assesses the entire storage node, significantly lowering the cost of proving data storage. Walrus, whose original contributor is Mysten Labs, launched on Devnet in June 2024. Its whitepaper was available as of September 2024, presented by Janet Wu, Head of Product, Platform, at Mysten Labs, at Sui’s Singapore Builder House Event. Walrus Mainnet is slated to launch in 2025. About Mysten Labs Mysten Labs is a team of leading distributed systems, programming languages, and cryptography experts whose founders were senior executives of Meta's Novi Research and lead architects of the Diem blockchain and Move programming language. The mission of Mysten Labs is to create foundational infrastructure for web3. Learn more: https://mystenlabs.com. About Walrus Walrus is a next-generation decentralized storage network for data and rich media content such as large text files, videos, images, and audio. Leveraging innovations in erasure coding, Walrus offers exceptional data availability and robustness with minimal replication overhead for cost efficiency. Powered by Sui as the coordination layer, Walrus scales to hundreds or thousands of networked decentralized storage nodes without compromising performance. Learn more: https://www.walrus.xyz/. About Akord The Akord platform is built on a digital vault protocol that offers file management, end-to-end encryption, file sharing, access control, minting and token gated access. The platform consists of an app, API, SDK and CLI with a strong focus on user and developer experience. Learn more: https://akord.com/ Contact Lexi Wangler Mysten Labs lexi.wangler@mystenlabs.com This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here. PALO ALTO, United States, October 17th, 2024/Chainwire/--Mysten Labs, the web3 infrastructure company, today announced that following a successful Devnet, Walrus Protocol, a decentralized storage network, has launched its public Testnet. Walrus Protocol stores and delivers large data files, including rich media content, audio files, video, images, PDFs and more, from any web2 or web3-based source. These large files, known as blobs, are stored quickly and efficiently by Walrus, whose storage is resilient, scalable, programmable, and secure. Walrus’s public Testnet, and its Testnet token, WAL, are served by Sui as the coordination layer. Sui provides a dedicated management architecture for Walrus to store its global state and metadata offering speedy consensus, composability, and the opportunity to integrate storage into smart contracts on Sui. Walrus’s Testnet launch will include: API endpoints that support deletable blobs, meaning data can be deleted. Dedicated Walrus explorer, allowing users to search data quickly and comprehensively, built by Stakestab Inc, maker of Suiscan & Blockberry API Platform. Full tokenomics ecosystem for the Walrus token, WAL, including epoch management, staking and unstaking, and rewards, as well as the WAL token faucet for developers. WAL staking app, developed by Mysten Labs. API endpoints that support deletable blobs, meaning data can be deleted. Dedicated Walrus explorer, allowing users to search data quickly and comprehensively, built by Stakestab Inc, maker of Suiscan & Blockberry API Platform. Full tokenomics ecosystem for the Walrus token, WAL, including epoch management, staking and unstaking, and rewards, as well as the WAL token faucet for developers. WAL staking app, developed by Mysten Labs. “As blockchain projects aim to become more decentralized, it has been apparent for quite some time that a decentralized storage network was needed for networks of all kinds, L1s and L2s, to support end-user applications with rich media and larger storage needs,” said George Danezis, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder at Mysten Labs. “Walrus Testnet going live is a pivotal moment in that journey. With Akord and Decrypt beginning the migration over to Walrus, we’ll begin to see that a decentralized storage network can be used to bring various applications to a mass audience.” “As blockchain projects aim to become more decentralized, it has been apparent for quite some time that a decentralized storage network was needed for networks of all kinds, L1s and L2s, to support end-user applications with rich media and larger storage needs,” said George Danezis, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder at Mysten Labs. “Walrus Testnet going live is a pivotal moment in that journey. With Akord and Decrypt beginning the migration over to Walrus, we’ll begin to see that a decentralized storage network can be used to bring various applications to a mass audience.” Coinciding with the launch of Walrus’s public Testnet, Akord, a secure storage and collaboration platform, providing user-friendly, cost-effective, and decentralized storage solutions for any digital asset, announces its migration from Arweave to Walrus. Akord is set to migrate to Walrus within the next week. The move comes on the heels of Decrypt Media’s recent announcement of its plans to integrate with Walrus, making the publication the first media outlet to commit to storing media articles and video content on Walrus. "At Akord, our mission is to create a platform that empowers individuals and businesses with meaningful data ownership – the ability to secure data publicly and tokenize it, or store it privately with end-to-end encryption, controlling the keys and access," said Pascal Barry, CEO of Akord. "Migrating to Walrus allows us to offer our existing customers a more cost-effective, versatile and performant solution, as well as giving us the opportunity to realize our mission at a much larger scale.” "At Akord, our mission is to create a platform that empowers individuals and businesses with meaningful data ownership – the ability to secure data publicly and tokenize it, or store it privately with end-to-end encryption, controlling the keys and access," said Pascal Barry, CEO of Akord. "Migrating to Walrus allows us to offer our existing customers a more cost-effective, versatile and performant solution, as well as giving us the opportunity to realize our mission at a much larger scale.” Powered by a system that divides large data files into smaller fragments, referred to as ‘ Red Stuff ,’ Walrus distributes slivers of data files across various storage nodes. This process ensures that even if some pieces go missing, the whole of the data can still be reconstructed. This approach reduces the need for data redundancy, allowing the network to grow seamlessly while ensuring fast and reliable access to data. Red Stuff Red Stuff Walrus introduces advanced storage verification through proofs and attestations, incentivizing nodes to store slivers of each file. Instead of verifying individual files, Walrus assesses the entire storage node, significantly lowering the cost of proving data storage. Walrus, whose original contributor is Mysten Labs, launched on Devnet in June 2024. Its whitepaper was available as of September 2024, presented by Janet Wu, Head of Product, Platform, at Mysten Labs, at Sui’s Singapore Builder House Event. Walrus Mainnet is slated to launch in 2025. whitepaper whitepaper presented presented About Mysten Labs Mysten Labs is a team of leading distributed systems, programming languages, and cryptography experts whose founders were senior executives of Meta's Novi Research and lead architects of the Diem blockchain and Move programming language. The mission of Mysten Labs is to create foundational infrastructure for web3. Learn more: https://mystenlabs.com . https://mystenlabs.com https://mystenlabs.com About Walrus Walrus is a next-generation decentralized storage network for data and rich media content such as large text files, videos, images, and audio. Leveraging innovations in erasure coding, Walrus offers exceptional data availability and robustness with minimal replication overhead for cost efficiency. Powered by Sui as the coordination layer, Walrus scales to hundreds or thousands of networked decentralized storage nodes without compromising performance. Learn more: https://www.walrus.xyz/ . https://www.walrus.xyz/ https://www.walrus.xyz/ About Akord The Akord platform is built on a digital vault protocol that offers file management, end-to-end encryption, file sharing, access control, minting and token gated access. The platform consists of an app, API, SDK and CLI with a strong focus on user and developer experience. Learn more: https://akord.com/ https://akord.com/ https://akord.com/ Contact Lexi Wangler Mysten Labs lexi.wangler@mystenlabs.com This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here. This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here . here here

Decentralized Storage Protocol Walrus Launches Public Testnet

Decentraliseret lagringsprotokol Walrus lancerer offentligt testnet

El protocolo de almacenamiento descentralizado Walrus lanza una red de prueba pública

Biltegiratze deszentralizatuko protokoloa Walrus-ek Testnet publikoa abiarazten du

Hajautettu tallennusprotokolla Walrus käynnistää julkisen testnetin

分散型ストレージプロトコル Walrus がパブリックテストネットを開始

Nandeha ny Testnet ho an'ny daholobe ny Walrus Protocol Fitahirizana Decentralized

विकेन्द्रीकृत भण्डारण प्रोटोकल वालरसले सार्वजनिक टेस्टनेट सुरु गर्यो

Decentralized Storage Protocol Walrus lanceert openbaar testnet

Descentralizado Waqaychay Protocolo Walrus Llaqtapaq Testnetta qallarichin

Децентрализованный протокол хранения данных Walrus запускает публичную тестовую сеть

Itifaki ya Hifadhi Iliyogatuliwa Walrus Azindua Testnet ya Umma

ڈی سینٹرلائزڈ سٹوریج پروٹوکول والرس نے پبلک ٹیسٹ نیٹ کا آغاز کیا۔

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