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PHP Classes Use Case for Database Management in a Document Builder

Nowadays with tools like ReactNative, Expo, NextJS, and of course, ChatGPT it’s easier than ever to bring your app idea to life and get it published on the app store. I started working on my app In December 2022. It’s a MERNN app, so a React Native frontend, NodeJS / Express backend and MongoDB database. I just got it published on the App store a few days ago, so overall it took me 3 months. I also work a full-time job, and have many hobbies that keep me busy. I probably worked on the app for 5 hours or less per week on average. You can check out my app here: or https://thetrickbook.com/ https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-trick-book/id6446022788 Step 1: Become an Apple Developer e Register to become an apple developer her When I got to a stopping point in developing my app, using and , I thought exporting and publishing to the app store would be difficult. I had already paid the , luckily publishing the app with was incredibly easy. React Native Expo $100 fee to become an apple developer Expo’s EAS service Step 2: Double Check Meta Data EAS supplies an eas.json file to build your app for production. The information in your app.json is compiled into the info.plist meta file that IOS checks for these criteria. It’s important to make sure that if your app is using anything like Location or Camera access, that you provide a reason for this usage, for example my app used the Camera for the user’s ‘profile picture’. This reason should be in the app.json as well as in the function for requesting permission from the user. app.json "ios": {
      "supportsTablet": true,
      "bundleIdentifier": "com.thetrickbook.trickbook",
      "buildNumber": "1.0.3",
      "infoPlist": {
        "NSCameraUsageDescription": "This app uses the camera to access photos for a profile image."
      }
    }, requestPermission function const requestPermission = async () => {
        const {granted} = await ImagePicker.requestCameraPermissionsAsync();
        if(!granted) alert("We ask for camera permissions to enable access for you to choose a profile picture");
    } Step 3: Upload to App Store Connect When you build with EAS, it gives you a link to a .ipa file, this is your App’s ‘binary’ distribution file. This is what you need to upload to App Store Connect. The way this is done, is by downloading an app called . Use this to upload your binary to your App store connect account. Then you will be able to select your build in App store connect under the TestFlight tab. Transporter Step 4: Screenshots & Pricing You will also want to create screenshots for your app to be displayed in the app store. Here you can make some fun branding and highlight the features of your app. Refer here: for Apple’s specifications on screenshots. https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/reference/screenshot-specifications/ You will also be able to choose your pricing plan, here you can select a price for your app, use in-app purchases or just distribute for free. I chose the $0 price or free for my first app. There is other information like language, accessibility e.t.c. that you need to fill out. Step 5: Website, Privacy Policy & Support. After the screenshots you will see in App store connect that you need a website with a privacy policy link and a question & support page or form. For this step I created a project and use to launch the project to my domain. NextJS AWS Amplify In my NextJS project I created a page for which I used ChatGPT to help me generate. I also have a link there for Questions & Support with just a simple link to my email, no form or anything. I also utilized this website to build a simple landing page for my app. privacy policy Step 6: Submit your app Once you’ve done all these steps you are ready to submit your build for App Review. Once you submit your app it will usually take App Review around 3 days to get your app reviewed and get back to you. Step 7: Reiterate Success! Or, there’s something you need to fix. App Store review will get back to you whether your app is ready to sell or if there is something that needs to be revised. It took me 3 revisions to get my app approved. One of the bigger issues I had was my app required the user to create an account, the app store wanted a “use as a guest” option or an option to use a version of the app without an account. Also, if your app uses Accounts, you have to have the option for a user to permanently delete their account. That’s it! If you want to view the source code of my app, it’s on github here: https://github.com/wbaxterh/TrickBookFrontend Drop any questions in the comments section, and good luck submitting your app to the App Store! Also published here.

How to Publish On the App Store

With more and more digitalization, there are more requirements of mobile and mobile apps that we use in day-to-day life. The increase in mobile storage spaces raised to 256 GB, and it is sure to increase more as we meet customer needs, add new features, and support apps on different screen sizes. Based on the report, 74% of the world uses Android, and around 70% of users look for the app size before installing any app. And, to our surprise, look for the size of an app because they are worried about data cost and phone storage space? 70% of people in arising markets Since you are reading this article, there are two possibilities. Either you’re a normal user (reader) who faces this above problem - just like me or a hire Android app developer who has the power to not let users face this issue by just reducing an android app during the Android app development lifecycle. But, this article is all about how you can optimize or reduce your Android APK size during Android app development. Therefore, if you are a beginner or experienced android app developer, these techniques and ways will surely help you develop a normal and standard android application that will not require more space. Android App Size That Matters In this mobile-driven world, the popularity of mobile applications has been increasing immensely day by day. And because of this reason, it also increases the demand of app developers who develop Android and iOS-based applications for both platforms. But having a good experience in Android and iPhone app development, we have seen that not every Android or iOS application stands up to the mark and gets successful. In other words, we can say that not every smartphone user prefers every application. But you know why? What are the actual reasons behind this? Well, we have figured out that as per , if an app size is more than 150 MB, which was earlier 100 MB, the chances of its installation is going to be lowered by 30%. Also, for every 6 MB expansion in size, the install . As per the research, 65% of people would not install the app if they find out an app is too large. They will avoid such apps due to high consumption of internet data and also stored more space. the report by Google conversion rate could drop by 1% Now, Google has come up with a better solution. It has come up with Android App Bundle, and this allows you to install apps without even downloading essential elements which are anyway present in other apps on the Play Store, thus helps in decreasing size, almost by 35%, as believed by Google. So, now the question is, what if your android app requires more space? And you know, if your app occupies more space, then people would not prefer to download it at all. You can understand the fact that no user wants to go through the trouble after spending much data for just one app. So, now let’s have a look to reduce android app size or APK size during Android app development. 1. Use Android App Bundle to Reduce App Size When you have developed your android app and are ready to release your app, you have to choose between APK and Android App Bundle. The Android App Bundle will make Google play to create the APK with only those specific users that require features. Android App Bundle For a publishing format consisting of compiled code and resources of your app, Android App Bundle is used and delays APK generation and signing to Google Play. With Android App Bundles, the is 150 MB. The app bundle cannot be used with APK expansion files. compressed download size restriction 2. Use Proguard To reduce your app APK size, Proguard is likely one of the most useful tools. It will directly reduce the source code files to a minimum and can lower the APK file size up to 90%. Whenever using "Proguard, try to use all variants." Proguard helps avoid dispute at the generated APK or bundle if used in all the variants while developing. ProGuard renaming or removing any fields on these data classes is not what we can do as they have to match the serialized format. 3. Use Android Size Analyzer Plugin To considerably reduce the size of your Android App, the Android Studio plugin is your option. With the APK Analyzer, Android developers will accomplish the following: View the complete and comparative size of the APK. Know the composition of DEX files. Fast view of the final versions of files in the APK, such as the AndroidManifest.xml file. Conduct a side-by-side comparison of two APKs. 4. Image Optimization Higher resolution images are always the best and first choice for attracting users towards the website. Since the latest mobile device comes with a good camera resolution, the image size might as well be reduced by diluting the resolution. In case, you don’t want to lose your image quality, then you have to convert your .jpg or .png images to .webp. Utilizing images without reducing the size may affect the app quality. Rather than uploading or using the original image in your app, convert your .jpg and .png images to web format. For png files, you can also use tools like pngcrush or Zopflipng. For jpg files, you can use tools like packJPG and Guetzli. You can also use vector graphics as it makes an image simple and utilizes space. android {    
  defaultConfig {   
       vectorDrawables.useSupportLibrary true     
                }  
         } It is a fact that images can do wonders without static resources. At runtime, the framework is sufficient to draw such images dynamically. Besides, using the Vector Drawables objects is a great idea when small-sized apps are created. As these apps can survive in minimal space within the APK file and create pictures compliant with material design rules, using Vector Drawables is valuable. One should also take care about the tussle that could arise concerning CPU and RAM usage as complex objects. 5. Support for Specific Screen Densities To reduce the Android App Size, utilizing specific screen densities in the right way is another great option. There are a million Android-enabled devices with varied screen densities. Yet, we don't use entire screen densities and can eliminate which is not required. To destroy bundling all unused screen densities into your app, analyze to determine the % of users with devices that have speciﬁc densities. If this % ratio is insigniﬁcant, you have a reason to eliminate them and lighten your app size. 6. Removing Dead Code The size of the APK file is directly related to the load speed of your app, and the memory it occupies and the power it consumes. So, any unused or inappropriate code kept for the sake of keeping would only add to the junk. This is why the removal of dead code or code elimination is required for your app to stay active and energized all time, all day. This code removal will enhance the quality of source code and lower the need to maintain code size, thus manifesting a healthy app, overall. 7. Reuse Your Resource Reusing is really better and simpler than removal. It’s an amazing way to utilize your resources in various manners. It gives you a smooth scrolling performance. It can help you reduce the final size of your Android APK. You can eliminate those resources that are only a rotated equivalent of another resource. Suppose, you may have tactful resources to characterize varieties in an image pertaining to tints, shades and direction. However, you could utilize the same resources for other images. 8. Multiple APK Files Support Some APKs consist of content that gets downloaded but is barely ever utilized. For example, add-ons like additional languages are not always needed, however, are downloaded anyhow. This occupies the additional spaces in your storage and enlarges the app. However, this trouble has made the developer's mind working towards better solutions to download only certain parts of an app beneficial to the users. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to download a useful part of an APK. But to make it work nearer to these solutions, you can upload the app over the Google Play store via the Android App Bundle which allows Google to enable optimized APKs on the basis of device configuration. For this, you can divide one app into multiple APKs. After this, users can get only those APKs that are beneficial for them as per their device configuration. 9. Avoid Enumerations Enums are dubious. A single one can be easily added anywhere in the range from 1.0 to 1.4 KB to the classes.dex file of an application. These can consume a whole lot of high speed if there are complex frameworks or shared libraries. So, how can you overcome this problem? Well, with the use of ProGuard, you can convert the enums into integers and the end result is a reduced size app. Final Thoughts Well, these are just simple techniques that you can implement in your Android app during the Android app development phase. This will surely help you understand how you can reduce your app size or APK file and increase efficiency. Being an , these methods you should keep in your mind while developing an app. By reducing the app size, you are encouraging more people to download it on their smartphones. Android app developer First Published here

How to Cut Down the Size of Android Apps During Development

Since Bitcoin launched, thousands of others have been brought into existence. Globally, a market cap of cryptocurrencies within the first three months of 2020 is ranging from around $81 to $195 billion, with BTC price ranging from around $4,100 to $10,457, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin still accounts for around 65% of the total market. Earlier in 2020, Bitcoin, the world’s first and oldest cryptocurrency, turned eleven. Since Bitcoin launched, thousands of others have been brought into existence. Globally, a market cap of cryptocurrencies within the first three months of 2020 is ranging from around $81 to $195 billion, with BTC price ranging from around $4,100 to $10,457, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin still accounts for around 65% of the total market. A whole micro-industry has emerged around cryptocurrencies. More mainstream investors than ever include these as an investment asset class, albeit one considered higher risk than others. With the right strategy, cryptocurrency trading can prove lucrative and one way to boost a portfolio with short and long-term trades. The Future of Cryptocurrency for Investors? As with any new investment asset class, cryptocurrency has experienced ups and downs. Many investors and traders still see it as too high risk. Surely crypto trading needs to be performed with necessary caution and enough level of education in this sphere. Now governments and financial regulators are talking about regulating these currencies more closely; in China, India, Japan, South Korea, and many other countries. In the U.S., the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) started to bring cryptocurrency exchanges up to the same level of scrutiny as money transfer agencies, in 2013. York’s Department of Financial Services took further action to ensure exchanges aren't being used for money laundering and financial fraud. Other moves are potentially afoot to make them more mainstream. There is even speculation that “that crypto will be floated on the Nasdaq, which would further add credibility to blockchain and its uses as an alternative to conventional currencies,” according to Investopedia. Harvard University Professor of Economics and Public Policy Kenneth Rogoff, a crypto advocate, believes that the total “market capitalization of cryptocurrencies could explode over the next five years, rising to $5-10 [trillion].” However, that is only likely if mainstream and institutional investors put more into crypto, which is more likely to happen if a number of factors come into play. Could Crypto Become Mainstream? To answer this question, we need to remember the reason cryptocurrencies were established. People wanted a way of moving money, and even exploring new business opportunities, without excessive regulatory oversight and the guiding. Traditional financial institutions have taken an interest in cryptocurrency. However, it does result in a fundamental flaw, as far as investors and banks are concerned. In 2019 Facebook announced cryptocurrency named Libra, which is planned to be backed by financial assets, and its launch is planned to be in 2020. Facebook considers it will become a global cryptocurrency for many people, especially those in developing countries who have limited access to financial services. Since its announcement, Libra has faced criticism and opposition from central banks, and is facing various legal challenges. The impact of Libra on the cryptocurrency market can be assessed after its final implementation. Traditional investment vehicles, whether stocks and shares, funds, insurance, reinsurance, and dozens of other options, need to go through rigorous compliance procedures. One of the fundamental elements of this is the almost universal Know Your Customer (KYC) rule, as a safeguard against money laundering and financial crime. How can cryptocurrencies have this when the premise is that the owners of any coin or token are meant to be anonymous? In the long-term, this is a surmountable challenge that exchanges and regulators can solve, and will solve, if crypto is to become a mainstream investment asset class. Extra layers of security are needed. And as a form of self-regulation, this is one way to reduce the impact of bad actors and those who would undermine everyone’s financial safety. Another challenge is fragmentation. There are dozens of exchanges on the market. Some are built on more traditional web-based platforms, whereas others are built on Blockchain platforms. Some of them have the same tools and functionality. Some of them work the same way, so if crypto traders figure it out on one platform, they aren't necessarily going to take the time to work out how to use another. With this market fragmentation, it can put crypto traders off. Is there a long, or even short-term, solution? Introducing Cryptocurrency Arbitrage to Crypto Exchange Platforms One solution, that has been floating for a while is the development of a verified exchange traded fund (ETF). An ETF could potentially make it easier for more people to consider cryptocurrency trading, providing the demand was there, and it was promoted the right way. Another solution is to bring together crypto exchanges. Instead of fragmentation, give traders the ability to use arbitrage to benefit from price fluctuations and differences between exchanges. In the same way that traders can between fiat exchanges, or currencies. In crypto, every movement makes a difference, and because prices change rapidly, there are a lot of gains that could be made if crypto traders had the right tools at their disposal. Another way traders benefit on traditional exchanges is the ability, using a range of built-in and third-party apps, to share ideas and collaborate. One way crypto traders can benefit from arbitrage between exchanges, and using multiple exchanges on one platform, is with Torex.One. Torex.One Cryptocurrency Trading Platform Torex.One crypto trading platform has developed a set of crypto trading tools than can make crypto trading easier and informative. More crypto trading tools are planned to be released within 2020. With Torex, crypto traders can benefit from trading on multiple exchanges, using cryptocurrency arbitrage, trading multiple currencies, and benefiting from a diverse range of cryptocurrency trading tools, such as API-trading (with possibility to simultaneously place Stop Loss and Take Profit orders; implement Trailing Stop algorithm), price checker tool, Telegram-based price notification tool, cryptocurrency arbitrage tool (analyzes the liquidity of order books on multiple crypto exchanges and searches for windows), with some more crypto trading tools to be released. crypto arbitrage With the web version of the Torex platform already operational, crypto traders are able to trade across 6 exchanges so far (Binance, Bitfinex, Bittrex, Huobi, KuCoin and Poloniex) with 17 more to come in 2020. By the end of 2020 Torex.One plans to release a fully functional mobile trading app. To date all developed features are available at no cost. You are welcome to create a crypto trading account with . Torex When it comes to getting more retail and institutional investors and traders onboard, with a view that crypto is handled the same as other asset classes, it needs to be as simple as possible. Simplicity and security are important for dealing with cryptoexchanges and cryptocurrencies, which is why one crypto trading platform that engages with as many as possible, with a suite of convenient and easy-to-use trading tools, is the way forward for mainstream investors and traders.

Crypto Arbitrage Exchanges Could Become the Future of Crypto Trading

Don’t eat anything for the next 18 hours. If you’re shocked at the absurdity of this suggestion and wouldn’t even wish it as a punishment for your worst enemy, then you probably haven’t heard of intermittent fasting. First, Some Context Intermittent fasting (I.F. for short), is not a diet, but a pattern of eating where you cycle between periods of fasting (most commonly 16 to 18 hours a day) and non-fasting. The protocol doesn’t dictate foods to eat, but rather you should eat them. While it has been around informally forever, I.F. came into the mainstream in 2016, after for his research on the role of autophagy (i.e. how cells break down and regenerate) in life longevity. which when Professor Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine You might ask “Why would anyone choose to do this, when food tastes ” There is increasingly in the scientific community that I.F. can reduce one’s risk of Type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases(e.g. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s), and cancer. Other studies have shown that I.F. can even improve various cognitive functions, all while having much higher compliance rates than traditional calorie-restrictive diets. so good? stronger evidence The following is a product analysis of , a free iOS and watchOS app that helps people track and thus better adhere to their intermittent fasting schedules. Zero I will explain why this app delivers a user experience, suggest how it can be further perfected, and offer potential monetisation mechanisms that will lead to a sustainable, world-positive business. delightful What is Zero? Zero was (founder of Digg) as a personal side project. It has just one main button that the user presses to toggle between the start and end of his fast. It records and displays the amount of time the user fasted on each day in the past week. created in 2016 by Kevin Rose Seriously? You’re going to write an entire product analysis on something that has basically the same functionality as the “Timer” tab in the default Clock app? Absolutely. In my opinion, the brilliance of a product is not simply about it does, but more importantly it does it. As a product manager, I also see enormous commercial potential for Zero as I.F. moves from the “early adopter” stage to the “early majority” (h/t ). what how Geoffrey Moore, Crossing the Chasm Zero’s interface on watchOS. Why I Love It It is no easy feat to get 70k+ App Store reviews with an average rating of 4.8/5. Most reviews contain some variation of “It just works. Exactly what I needed.” They’re by users writing to share their success stories (e.g. “lost the 15lbs I gained after back surgery”, “I feel so much better, VERY grateful!”) passionate So, why is Zero so popular? In my view, it is because Zero embodies two product development principles that I highly value: Know Your Customer (KYC) and Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS). 1. Zero intimately understands its users There is no such thing as the perfect product . Since product managers are always making trade-offs (e.g. a feature might be highly demanded by some users but loathed by others), it’s vital that they meticulously define who Zero is for. Based on the design and engineering decisions manifested in the app, I believe that the target customer personas they had in mind are: for everyone age 20 to 40, working professionals, living in coastal, health-conscious cities(e.g. New York, SF, LA, Seattle), OINK (One Income, No Kids) or DINK (because skipping meals might be unacceptable/inconvenient when raising kids) This general user profile can be segmented down to more specific sub-groups: Newly graduated from the“unconvinced”camp, don’t want to be bothered by intricacies, adopted I.F. as a preventive measure or for longevity. The “Rookie”: Similar to the “Rookie”, but is already ill and adopted I.F. based on physician’s recommendation, more likely to comply in the long-term because more “skin in the game.” The “Patient”: Deep into the quantified self rabbit hole, goes to extreme lengths to measure biometrics in order to optimise for physical or cognitive performance. The “Biohacker”: 2. Zero prioritises simplicity while still accomplishing the “job to be done” The above customer discovery might reveal to us that Zero’s core users: A) disproportionally value design (tech-savvy, 0 patience for unintuitive UX), and B) are willing to pay for it (high income, used to paying for subscription software). “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Navigation is simple and only takes the user to one of these 3 views. Zero’s simple, yet effective three-view design (“Setting”, “Home”, and “Science”) was no doubt a result of the first of these key insights. Upon opening the app, there is one obvious place for the user to click, that is the “Start/Stop Fasting” button. This enables the user to immediately fulfill the app’s main “job to be done” (h/t ). Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma The colour scheme of Zero also changes from orange to green to indicate whether the user is under or over his fasting goal. This is a best practice commonly found in the most well-designed apps (e.g. Robinhood’s interface changes from light to dark depending on whether the stock market is open). The “Settings” page has only 3 options that can be adjusted, which limits decision fatigue (surely much appreciated by “hangry” users). Finally, the “Export Data” feature is included, but not emphasised because Zero understands that it is only really relevant to the aforementioned, niche “Biohacker” persona. The design of Zero removes all unnecessary distractions and places its core use case at the forefront. Recommendations for Zero 3.0 Zero is currently on Version 2.4.7. This next section of my product analysis deals with a hypothetical: If I were the product manager tasked with delivering the next, much-anticipated release of the app, which features would I build and why? How do I take an already great product to the next level? First, I need a “North Star” (i.e. where am I going?). The user presets her goal for the how long she plans to fast (Zero recommends 16 hours to begin with). As such, how engaged users are with the app can be evaluated by a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) like “number of goal-surpassed days per user per month”, for instance. Every change I’d make needs to be in service of increasing this specific metric. Left-top: Photoshop, Left-bottom: Duke’s room reservation system, Right-bottom: iMessage, Right-top: where we’re taking Zero 3.0! Whenever I’m specifying requirements for a product, I constantly remind myself of I learned from Andrew Ofstad (CPO at Airtable). If we rate products along two dimensions, from simple to sophisticated functionality and from simple to complex user interface, we can place them in a 2x2 matrix. The products with simple functionality but complex UI are plain bad, forget them. Some products will sacrifice UI simplicity for added functionality (e.g. Photoshop, products here are often considered “pro” tools) while others will do the opposite (e.g. iMessage, does one thing really well). The pinnacle of product design lies in the remaining quadrant — sophisticated functionality underneath a simple UI. There are very few products out there that I’d confidently place here, but , , and are excellent examples. To elevate Zero into this Goldilocks zone, we must find ways to implement the following functionalities in unobtrusive ways. the product lesson Google Maps Airtable Notion 1. The low-hanging fruits I’ve identified the following 3 possible “low-hanging fruit” features (i.e. greatest value added to app per unit of development effort). These are, in my opinion, simply table stakes for consumer apps in 2019. Currently, the resources are simply web links that are opened up by an in-app browser. Zero could make this more aesthetically-pleasing by replacing text with images or graphics whenever possible. More visual layout of the “Science” page: The current layout of Zero’s science page is visually uninviting. ’s image-first approach would be better. Aaptiv Only the past seven days of fasting information is viewable. Historical data is maintained by Zero, but the only way to see it is to export as .csv file, which is not something either the “Rookie” or “Patient” personas would bother doing. Simple solution: a “See More” button at the bottom. Longer history viewable in-app: Make it easy to invite others to join Zero (text, email, or just a link). Referral link: 2. Implement Hook principles to minimise churn In his book “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products”, Nir Eyal reversed-engineered what makes social media apps addictive and distilled it down to a positive reinforcement cycle of Trigger (internal or external) → Action → Variable Reward → Investment. Take Instagram, for example, you might see a flattering selfie in your camera roll (trigger), post it on Instagram (action), get tiny dopamine hits when you see the likes count increase (variable reward), then pour more time into curating your profile (investment). The cycle then repeats with even greater “stickiness”. But Hook doesn’t have to be used for evil! Let’s apply the same framework to Zero: send push notification at your normal dinner end time (hopefully with repetition, this trigger will later be internalised to a habit of opening Zero after eating). Trigger (external): user opens app and clicks “Start Fasting” Action: This stage is the biggest challenge for Zero as the reward of I.F. is inherently long-term. One thing I might try is displaying a motivational affirmation or challenging the user to“buy-in” (we dislike disappointing ourselves after we’ve explicitly committed to something). Variable reward: , a “Life Coach” app designed by Duke professor Dan Ariely’s Behavioral Economics Lab, uses various behavioural psychology techniques to increase the user’s commitment. The Fabulous A simple text journal entry (e.g. asking “What did you eat? How do you feel?”) attached to the completion of each fast. Over time, user begins to see his qualitative health patterns, thus deriving even more value from Zero. Investment: 3. Lightly season with social & gamification In my experience, any good app can easily be ruined by excessive social and gamification. Therefore, I would add the following features judiciously: **Streaks:**A recognition of consecutive I.F. days with fun badges at milestones. Headspace’s streak interface and playful badges is an example of gamification done right. I often set up self-improvement group chats around building specific habits (e.g. waking up early, meditating, etc.) The same mechanism for social accountability fits right in with an app like Zero. Private support community support: So far we’ve covered design and tech, but what about business? . Source The Summit to Profitability “Stop wasting your time going to . The only summit you should be making is the Summit to Profitability.” Summit at Sea — Jason Calacanis, Angel Investor In 2018, it was announced that Zero , marking its end as Mr. Rose’s pet project. Here we’ll explore three potential business models and one strategic partnership that can justify the startup’s turn onto the venture fast track. closed a $1.2M in seed round : The most straight-forward path to generating revenue would be to keep the bare-bones feature set as is for the free version and to create a “Pro” tier with more advanced features such as food logging, educational content, and integration with wearable devices. Another incentive to upgrade can be new UI themes. While a purely cosmetic change may seem to some like a silly thing to pay for, we’ve previously established that this is in alignment with the values of Zero’s target users. is an app that has executed this angle well. Freemium Bear : Zero can sell directly to corporations by framing itself as an employee health and wellness benefit. In 2018, the total average per-employee cost for health insurance benefits (includes premiums and out-of-pocket costs for employees and dependents) (of which employers cover ~70%). If Zero can show that I.F. reduces the number of doctor’s visits or medication required by a non-trivial delta, they stand to offer a compelling value proposition. B2B2C was $14,156 : In a similar vein as above, FDA approval would pave the way for I.F. programs to be covered by health insurance. Zero should begin seeking Food and Drug Administration approval to become the first prescription fasting app for certain chronic illnesses (e.g. studies have shown that I.F. could make chemotherapy more effective with fewer side effects). Insurance coverage : In for the $1.2B meditation market, Zero may be an attractive acquisition target for both players as the integration of I.F. could help reposition them from meditation apps to all-in-one preventative healthcare solutions. M&A with leading health & wellness startup the battle between Headspace and Calm Final Thoughts The reason big new things sneak by incumbents is that the next big thing always starts out being dismissed as a“toy.” — Chris Dixon, a16z At first glance, Zero may have seemed too simple of a product to be worthwhile of a comprehensive design, tech, and business deep dive. By following my analysis, however, I hope you came away with an appreciation for the app’s design clarity and focus. With rising obesity rates, the increasing convenience of food delivery, and our sedentary lifestyles, it is no exaggeration to say that we are facing slow but deadly health crisis. By marrying technology with behavioural psychology, I truly believe that a future version of Zero can have an outsized impact on society and direct us all to lead healthier and happier lives. For this reason, Zero continues to hold a coveted spot on my phone’s home screen. Disclaimer: Always consult your doctor before trying intermittent fasting.

How Zero Wins: Product Analysis of the Fasting Tracker

My journey from being a musician, waiting tables and babysitting to becoming a developer. You always have a choice and sacrifice is necessary. All I had to do was give a piano lesson on this day, and I ended up receiving a lesson of my own. Wednesday, May 17, 2017. After our lesson, we started to make small talk that somehow led to me telling him about my other sources of income (working at a restaurant on the weekends, teaching piano, gigging, and babysitting on weekdays). My student then suggested an idea that shined a light on a path I never thought I’d take. “You should look into coding,” he said. “You never know…maybe, you’ll like it.” He himself is a software engineer who graduated from a coding intensive program known as a coding bootcamp (App Academy to be precise). Coding bootcamps are accelerated programs for people looking to change careers, even if, like me, they have never seen a line of code in their life. My student gave me a list of coding bootcamps to research, along with free resources to start coding. On my two-hour commute back home, I immediately started looking up some schools. Some that came up were , , , and the . App Academy Fullstack Academy Hack Reactor Flatiron School One school stood out above the rest, , and I decided to research heavily into the school. After reading multiple reviews online and speaking with a graduate through LinkedIn, stood out in terms of having high standards, consistent job placements for their graduates and a friendly culture. Fullstack Academy Fullstack Academy At our next lesson, my student offered to exchange piano lessons for coding lessons. I enthusiastically agreed and was asked to complete the Ruby course through . For the next six weeks, I spent a few hours every night studying and practicing Ruby, the main language that was being taught at and the first coding school that I would apply to. Codecademy App Academy Well, what about ? Due to the deferred tuition model at App Academy (at the time), it became more feasible for me to attend rather than . A week later, I found out about the Web Development Fellowship (WDF) program at , which was partnered with the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline and was offering full-scholarships for eligible New Yorkers. After submitting an application, I was sent ’s ‘JavaScript Jumpstart’ course with a deadline to complete their online coding assessment. Fullstack Academy App Academy Fullstack Academy Fullstack Academy Fullstack Academy I was nervous. JavaScript was completely new to me. “You can apply the same logic you learned in Ruby to JavaScript.” my student said. “I’ll help you. Finish the JavaScript course on by next week. Come prepared with any questions.” Codecademy Next week came rather quickly. By this time, I have moved on to App Academy’s second online coding assessment and was already committed. I continued to study more Ruby before taking the exam decided to take App Academy’s second online coding assessment on the upcoming Sunday. Deadlines were approaching. I studied and practiced harder than I practiced playing piano. On Sunday, I took App Academy’s second coding assessment. It took me the entire two hours. Out of the three questions provided, I was only able to solve one. At this point, I was feeling hopeless until an email arrived in my inbox from that I was eligible for their WDF program. They sent me an email with a link to their coding assessment. Having studied JavaScript through and ’s JavaScript JumpStart course, I took the assessment the next day but in Ruby, only because I felt more comfortable with it than with JavaScript. Fullstack Academy Codecademy Fullstack Academy Out of the six questions provided by Fullstack Academy’s online assessment, I was only able to solve one, again. At this point, I’ve never felt more depressed and dissatisfied with my performance. I had an opportunity of a lifetime — a full scholarship to my first coding school of choice — and I messed it up. The path that was lit before was suddenly growing darker. During my commute to my piano student, I started to think about coding even more. all of these thoughts contaminated my mind. After our lesson, my student asked me if I received an email from App Academy or Fullstack Academy. “No. Not yet.” I replied. “So you don’t know yet,” he answered. “You need to believe in yourself more. Rather than looking for people who actually solved these problems, they look at how you solve them. How you think. Let me know what they say.” If I had more time, if I had studied more, if I was smarter, if I was better, if I was able to focus harder … A few days later, App Academy sent me an acceptance letter. I yelled louder than a heavy metal singer. I was ready to complete their prep-work and accept until, Fullstack Academy emailed me saying that I was accepted into their WDF Program and had to go through their one-month bootcamp prep course, which did not guarantee me a spot in their actual immersive program. They were taking on less than 40% of the applicants who went through the bootcamp prep course. I still yelled louder then me yelling louder than a heavy metal singer singing the loudest heavy metal song. I was thrilled, excited and felt more determined to succeed than I have ever felt in my entire life. I decided to take the risk and go with . Fullstack Academy One week later, I was back. This time, it was the last piano lesson, I would ever give to him and the last coding lesson he would give me. Since then, I told myself I will never give-up, I will work harder than the previous day, I will overcome all obstacles and nothing will stand in my way. Six months later, I’m now into the last phase, the last six weeks of the Web Development Fellowship Software Immersive program at Fullstack Academy. I feel so lucky to be here, I am grateful for this opportunity, the friendships that I’ve created during this program, thankful for meeting my piano student, and with absolutely no regret that I took the chance to do this coding thing. Here’s a list of some of the things that intrigued me about coding: Is coding for you? It’s very similar to music. It’s a language just like any other. Creation & Creativity. I can create using code similar to creating music using sound. Stimulating. There’s something about working on a problem that you need to solve and figure out— like a puzzle. Math? You don’t need to be good at it but it certainly doesn’t hurt to be good at it!. Fulfilling. Solving real world problems with a keyboard, a mouse and my mind. If you thought about coding, I encourage you to try taking some courses through and working on some problems on . Let your curiosity be your guide and remember to enjoy the process of learning. Embrace the difficulties and struggle through the problems. You never know,…maybe you’ll like it. Codecademy Codewars

Let’s try this coding thing

There’s a new wave of reporting focused on the post app era. The Recode announces “ ”. Quartz points out how most users . Let me be very clear: . App Boom is Over never download any apps The App Boom is Not Over The reporting on this topic made me think of an imagined Yogi Berra quote. Nobody downloads apps anymore, it’s too crowded. -Yogi Berra (imaginary tweet) The $100 Billion Dollar, 20% CAGR Market Let’s start with facts. The real numbers are amazing — we are in an unprecedented era of growth when it comes to revenue from apps. Revenue is hard to manipulate since it ties back to financial filings by Google and Apple and needs to be audited. App revenue is growing and is expected to reach $100 Billion dollars by 2020. source: VentureBeat & App Annie Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics The news and editorial stories doing the rounds have many flaws. Take app downloads news as an example: it talks about how apps downloads have stalled by pointing out the numbers for top apps. In truth, the newer apps like Uber, AirBnB, Snapchat are all growing fast while, expectedly, most top apps that have been there for a while and have saturated the users like Facebook are not growing any more. To use this data, to point to the end of an app boom is somewhat misleading. Never Been a Better Time for Apps There has never been a better time to be an apps developer. Billions of users have access to cheap new smartphones, data plans are becoming available globally and the app store owners like Apple & Google are being more generous than ever. Apple is supporting lower fees on subscription revenue — going from 30% to 15% in year 2 onwards. As a SaaS guy, let me tell you this is an amazingly insightful decision by Apple — if most developers can be nudged to think subscriptions, in turn making consumers pay more per month, you end up with a very long term, sticky revenue base. Even more importantly this revenue is cheaper and results in a virtual lock in as consumers with more subscriptions are much less likely to switch ecosystems. Go forth and multiply. Your apps.

Go forth and multiply — your apps.

In this AMA, we host the CEO of Pool Data, Shiv Malik. Shiv walks us through Pool Data and how it supports data unions in bringing value to the data economy. We also chat about the wider data economy. slogging This Slogging thread by Jack Boreham, Char736, Shiv Malik, Mónica Freitas, Melissa Brown, Sara Pinto, Cris Silva, Blocklawd, Jimmy L, Sonic3625, james Burrows and Gilbert Hill occurred in slogging's official #amas channel, and has been edited for readability. Jack Boreham Jul 13, 2022, 11:00 AM Hi, @channel, please join me in welcoming the CEO of Pool Data, Shiv Malik. Pool Data is a platform that seeks to redistribute power, value, and control in the data economy. Pool supports data unions by providing them with a marketplace and infrastructure to scale their organizations, meaning everyone can benefit from data sharing. You can ask the Shiv anything about: What is Pool Data? How did it come about? Who are the team members behind Pool? What’s their background? Why should we care about our personal data? What’s wrong with the data economy at the moment? What are data unions and how is Pool supporting them? How does this fit in with data buyers, brands, and what they’ve been doing with cookies etc? How are data unions related to Web3? What is your roadmap for the coming year? What is your vision for the future of data? Jack Boreham Jul 13, 2022, 11:01 AM Hi Shiv Malik a pleasure to have you with us. I hope you are prepared for these Qs 😁. To start off, can you tell our audience about your background and the birth of Pool Data? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:03 AM Sure thing! So I’ve got had a bit of a peripatetic career. I was an investigative journalist for many years for the Guardian working on economics issues and also terrorism. I am the author of a couple of books and the co-founder of a think tank. I started in Web3 in early 2017. First as a day trader and then I worked for Golem and then Streamr. Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:05 AM Since 2018 I’ve spent my time working to incubate and foster data unions, and building frameworks for them to utilise. I started Pool back last year to specifically concentrate on helping data unions get off the ground. and now Pool has a team of 14 people. Char736 Jul 13, 2022, 11:03 AM Shiv Malik. I'm interested by the idea of a data union what is it and how does pool worth with them? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:05 AM Great question. So a data union is basically a way of allowing people to share and monetize their data. They can be structured in a good many ways. Some of them are DAOs others are more like traditional cooperatives. Pool helps them in three ways. 1. A marketplace to sell the data. 2. An analytics solutions so all the data unions can work cooperatively to create amazing analytics for the world. 3. A data wallet to allow individuals to store their own data and also join other data unions. Mónica Freitas Jul 13, 2022, 11:05 AM Hi Shiv Malik! Great to have you with us. How does Pool work? And where did the idea for Pool come from? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:09 AM Mónica Freitas - the idea has long intellectual roots. Jaron Lanier, the author of Who Own the Future (great book by the way) was talking about them years ago. Glen Weyl is another great proponent of the idea. I started working on them in 2017 to make them a reality and now we count at least 90 data unions around the world monetizing all sorts of data from mobility to clickstream data to mobile sensor data and financial transaction data. Sara Pinto Jul 13, 2022, 11:05 AM Hey Shiv Malik, it's great to have you here with us! We see a lot of news about shared data. What can be benefits of data sharing? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:12 AM Sara Pinto I think the main benefit of data sharing is 1. the income you can derive from doing so as a collective (individually your data is worth very little, combined it is worth a fortune). We expect that to be around $150-200 a year. 2. People will get so much in terms of convenience and control by storing their own data in a vault. Imagine signing in with your wallet (i.e. signing in with ethereum) and being able to share your full data story with anyone, on your terms and under your full control. Cris Silva Jul 13, 2022, 11:06 AM Hello, Shiv Malik. Why did you decide to have your own token? What are the perks of that token for individuals and businesses? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:15 AM Cris Silva - Great question! So it’s turns out when you work as a cooperative you really need utility tokens to sort out certain common problems. And it’s not just governance we’re talking about her. For example, the revenue we expect to garner from our combined analytics will pull upon raw data from all the data unions in our ecosystem. Who is to say which data sets are the most valuable or not in a given query. The Token in this instance will really help us sort out who should get more revenue or not. Our token is also a discount token to allow DUs who really want to be invested in common success to get full value out of the platform. Blocklawd Jul 13, 2022, 11:10 AM Shiv Malik we here about data privacy issues all the time in the news, Facebook, etc. Where does Pool Data fit into all of this? What benefits does pool offer the average consumers? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:18 AM - privacy is massively important. But I think people can now see that Google, apple and even facebook are starting to co-opt the privacy space. They’re basically saying, ‘only we can protect user privacy’. That has meant that everyone else is locked out of the data economy and they will garner even more control over advertising and analytics and basically the world’s data. That has to stop. Especially since the economic future of everyone depends on ordinary people having control and leverage over the data they produce if they are going to have any control over AI. Also I think privacy tools have been great at stopping people from sharing information but not so great at allowing us to share on our terms, when we do want to. And humans are very pro-social beings. We want to share information, we just don’t want to be taken for a ride and we want to be able to say no when we chose. Melissa Brown Jul 13, 2022, 11:12 AM Shiv Malik what do you mean by storing data in a wallet. Is it like crypto Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:20 AM Melissa Brown - yes! That’s pretty much correct. Imagine a regular wallet but now you’ve also appended a data vault to it (we’re using Ceramic as the protocol). And now if you join a data union, you will also be able to copy and paste the same data you share with them into your own data vault. The read permission of the vault will be controlled by the same private key you use to send money. It’s pretty revolutionary. Sara Pinto Jul 13, 2022, 11:19 AM Shiv Malik storing our own data in a vault makes total sense. What are the issues revolving data? Regarding the economy and storing it Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:23 AM Sara Pinto so the idea of a personal data vault is pretty old. There’s an amazing paper written in Harvard Biz Review from 1999 for example. It’s the dream idea: everyone gets to port their data and store their own digital story. It solves a lot of KYC issues for example. The hard part has always been about where does the individual get that data from? If everyone stores random bits of data, that are basically an unstructured mess, how will anyone else be able to read that data in a programatic fashion?    That’s where data unions come in. They already produce well structured data. So it’s easy to store that stuff on IPFS (using Ceramic). Does that answer your question? Cris Silva Jul 13, 2022, 11:20 AM Shiv Malik, interesting. So, do you operate solely in a blockchain/web3-centric strategy? Or do you have options for the not-so-up-to-date web2 companies? 😂 👍 1 Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:25 AM Cris Silva - yeah - short version of this is that the data buyers are al in Web2 and all the data unions are already in Web3 or are moving (because they need scalable micropayments and only blockchain delivers this). So Pool has to act as a bridge between Web2 and Web3. Cris Silva Jul 13, 2022, 11:26 AM Shiv Malik, I bet there are very specific issues that arise when you have to bridge that web2 - web3 gap. What would you say are the biggest issues Pool faces? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:29 AM Cris Silva great question again! So I’d say, the monetary bridge is tricky but that’s why Data Union data products are priced in dollars, we accept payments in dollars, and then we pay out using Gnosis Chain in xDAI which is (as you guys I’m sure know) a dollar based stable coin. The other main issue will be getting major websites to allow people to sign in with Ethereum in the near future. But that’s why we are partnered with a very serious Web2 advertiser who totally believes in data walletts replacing the cookie. Of course greater adoption of the “sign in with Ethereum” protocol will also massively increase web3 adoption. Jack Boreham Jul 13, 2022, 11:22 AM Shiv Malik my goodness that's amazing. So how are you trying to educate people on the value your wallet brings them! It must be a challenge to make this mainstream, given all the Blockchain jargon haha. Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:27 AM Jack Boreham - great question! So the data wallet will be out next year for people to test. But for us the big moment is in March 2024 when everyone in Europe (450m people) will get a new legal right to port data from Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft (linkedin, Github etc), in real time, at the touch of the button. All you have to do is sign in and connect to a third party. That’s when we expect Data Unions to explode. And that’s when we will market our data Wallet - called Pocket - on a vast scale. Sonic3625 Jul 13, 2022, 11:29 AM Hi Shiv Malik! Would you say the current data economy is broken? How will pool compete with giants like meta who take our data for their own use? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:36 AM - totally, yes. It’s actually undergoing a HUGE crises. First there was GDPR, then data scandals shuttered companies like Cambridge Analytica and Jumpshot. Then Apple shut down 3rd party tracking of apps. And now cookies are being blocked by Chrome in 2023. So the old Surveillance data economy is finally defunct. Which is great news. BUT the big battle now is to find a replacement. Google basically is using privacy protection as a way to leverage even more economic control of advertising. Ordinary people will get almost nothing if they succeed. (And perhaps not even better privacy). Data Unions are a way that really fixes this. In fact the EU believes in the idea as well and is putting in €2bn to support them. Sonic3625 Jul 13, 2022, 11:29 AM Especially as they want to be THE Dominent meta player Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:38 AM To answer the second half  - people who store data in a data vault will actually have far more info about their digital story than Facebook would have on them. Combine clickstream data, or data from your car with fianncial transaction data and you’ve already got way more data than Facebook does. That’s how we outcompete everyone - working together to create much, much richer data. Sara Pinto Jul 13, 2022, 11:30 AM Shiv Malik yes it does! Thank you. So what having said that, what do you think it will be the future of data? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:39 AM Sara Pinto - the future of data - that’s easy! Data Unions! A world in which everyone has a controlling stake in the data economy. Where people have data dignity and agents representing them for all the hard stuff. That’s what I want! Melissa Brown Jul 13, 2022, 11:32 AM Shiv Malik what about the rest of the world, how will you market it to them? Mónica Freitas Jul 13, 2022, 11:34 AM Shiv Malik, I'm new to data unions. I assume they reassemble any other union/syndicate. So, in essence, a group of people working together to protect their data and how it's being used. Is this correct? What are the particularities that make data unions unique? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:43 AM Mónica Freitas - that’s right Monica! and my we should have called them “data syndicates”! They have functions of both a union (in that they negotiate better prices for you on your behalf and better terms of conditions for using your data). But they are also like cooperatives in that they share out revenue. There’s a basic explainer here btw: https://www.pooldata.io/blog/what-is-a-data-union 💚 1 Cris Silva Jul 13, 2022, 11:33 AM Shiv Malik, that's a great choice of a crypto coin - not as subject to fluctuations as others. Have you noticed an increase in crypto adoption from your web2 clients? Especially after collaborating with Pool? (I'm always curious to know about the impact companies have on the transformation of the web3 space) james Burrows Jul 13, 2022, 11:40 AM Shiv Malik, you've mentioned the EU putting two bn towards it, but how do you ensure that kind of money isn't wasted? How will you work with data unions to ensure their offerings are substantial and beneficial for users? Jack Boreham Jul 13, 2022, 11:43 AM Shiv Malik just out of curiosity do guys lobby governments for funding data unions? Cris Silva Jul 13, 2022, 11:45 AM Shiv Malik, that's very true. You're a relatively recent company. What has the growth curve been like? How many unions do you currently have? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:41 AM Cris Silva We think so too!Data buyers are still very reluctant to think about crypto. but anyone running a data union has realised that paying millions of people small amounts each day can only be done through a blockchain. “that’s a great choice of a crypto coin” - 🔥 1 Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:48 AM and Jack Boreham - I’ll take your questions toghether. So the funds right now are administered by the EU through the NGI programme, Horizon 2020 and others. (I don’t have all the links to hand). We work hard to chose good teams, great ideas and products with clear traction. In the end though it is the data buyers who tell us which of the products they find most interesting. We ran a catalyst programme for Data unions in the first half of the year to really tease all of this out with our major data buyer partners. Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:50 AM Cris Silva So it’s a small enough space at the moment that we pretty much have contacts with all the big data uninos. (Some have 250k-1m users now). We will work with the six best to get them onboarded to our data marketplace by the end of the year. The next stages are then working on the combined analytics platform and the data wallet, Pocket. The hard part is bringing them together to start with but I think we’ve overcome that hurdle! Mónica Freitas Jul 13, 2022, 11:46 AM Shiv Malik, oh, that's a great model. Do you work with already existing data unions, or do you help to create new ones too? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:51 AM Mónica Freitas - the ☝ should answer your question too I hope! Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:54 AM Jack Boreham - sorry I don’t think I quite answered your question - we haven’t yet applied for grants , but we did lobby for the ecosystem to get proper regulation, that wasn’t too stringent, and yes, the ecosystem funding to get it all going. Back at the start of the pandemic, in 2020 that’s mainly what I was doing - lobbying people in Brussels (along with a good amny others0 to help push through the Data Governance Act which means what they call “data intermediaries” (i.e. data unions) can be officially recognised and supported. That also means the data they sell will also have much more standing in a world where most data brokers are operating under the table because they don’t have real user consent to sell it. Gilbert Hill Jul 13, 2022, 11:53 AM EU Horizon program Data trust & sovereignty call for funding https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en https://www.ngi.eu/opencalls/#ngizeroentrust_opencall 🙏 2 james Burrows Jul 13, 2022, 11:53 AM Shiv Malik, can you talk about what data union platforms you at excited about? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:58 AM - So here are a list (I can’t pick faves!) of some great data unions. Some are Web2 others are Web3 as mentioned before. , , , , , and https://gener8ads.com/ https://cake.app/ https://unbanx.me/ https://dimo.zone/ https://www.ozone.ai/account https://swashapp.io/ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tech.solipay.consumer&hl=en_GB&gl=US 🙌 1 Sara Pinto Jul 13, 2022, 11:54 AM Shiv Malik you mentioned that data unions can help monetize data, and you mentioned some of the ways you can do it. Does Pool offers those 3 methods? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 11:54 AM Sara Pinto yes - we offer all three! Cris Silva Jul 13, 2022, 11:54 AM Shiv Malik, those are giant unions already. That gives you a pretty big pool of data to share. How do you manage to navigate the different data privacy regulations? Melissa Brown Jul 13, 2022, 11:55 AM Shiv Malik I would love to know what you guys think about the metaverse as a separate entity from web3, how will Pool fit in this? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 12:00 PM Melissa Brown - great question on the metaverse - in short you are not going to be able to traverse the metaverse without being able to store your digital identity and story. Pocket, our data wallet will be an absolutely central part of all of this. Mónica Freitas Jul 13, 2022, 11:56 AM Shiv Malik that does answer my question 😊 One of your highlights in the landmarks achieved as a company was establishing a company culture. What's your company culture? Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 12:00 PM Mónica Freitas - We’ve run out of time but I’ll try and answer this briefly! 💚 1 Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 12:01 PM I’d say it’s the people. We have an AMAZING team of real experts who are such a joy to work with. 🔥 1 Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 12:01 PM That’s the biggest landmark. If you can bring great people together - ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! Jack Boreham Jul 13, 2022, 12:01 PM We certainly have!! Thank you Shiv Malik for partaking in this AMA, fantastic answers and best of luck with pool!! Mónica Freitas Jul 13, 2022, 12:01 PM Shiv Malik Thank you! Gilbert Hill Jul 13, 2022, 12:01 PM Shiv Malik thanks! Shiv Malik Jul 13, 2022, 12:02 PM Thank you everyone for your brilliant questions and bearing with me as I typed as fast as possible! 💚 5 james Burrows Jul 13, 2022, 12:03 PM Thanks all!

Putting Value back in the Data Economy with Pool Data CEO Shiv Malik

Devolviendo valor a la economía de datos con el CEO de Pool Data, Shiv Malik

Remettre de la valeur dans l'économie des données avec Shiv Malik, PDG de Pool Data

पूल डेटा के सीईओ शिव मलिक के साथ डेटा अर्थव्यवस्था में मूल्य वापस लाना

Pool Data の CEO である Shiv Malik がデータ エコノミーに価値を取り戻す

Recuperando valor na economia de dados com o CEO da Pool Data, Shiv Malik

Đưa giá trị trở lại nền kinh tế dữ liệu với Giám đốc điều hành của Pool Data Shiv Malik

与 Pool Data 首席执行官 Shiv Malik 一起为数据经济带来价值

The machines have been trying to learn to recognize and identify the photos they have seen for years. In 2013, it succeeded in reaching the human level. Machine learning systems have provided simple output from a complex input. It can detect almost all details of a photos and display users exactly want they want. On the other hand, sometimes these algorithms can be trapped. While machine learning algorithms can easily recognize an apple, if you put the same apple in a net bag, it doesn't understand what it is. Because this is an unexpected, unusual visual. In 2014, Ian Goodfellow and his colleagues at the University of Montreal in Canada developed a new machine learning system using game theory to turn this weakness into an advantage. The coolest idea in machine learning in the last 20 years. -Facebook's artificial intelligence research manager Do you know why it is so important? Machine learning systems have provided simple output from a complex input. For instance, you are uploading photos in social media which are inputs. The ML algortihms produces a simple output using its neural networks. After analyzing, it produces output from these photos by detecting objects in photo. So, when you search something on internet, machine can easily find the keyword by filtering tons of data with produced tags. The newly developed "Generative Adversarial Networks" can do the opposite. It can produce complex output from simple input. If you give the computer random numbers, it creates extremely complex and realistic photographs of human faces. So the machine not only learns, but also produces. They are learning by producing! There is a productive network and it starts to draw the picture immediately from random noise. But there is also another network which examines images created by the productive network. We can compare these two neural networks to the opponents in a game. There's a constant struggle between them. The producer's goal in this game is to trick the discriminator and to convince him that the image he produces is real. The aim of the discriminator is to extract as many fake images as possible by looking at real images. You can play with Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) in your browser by clicking link below: GAN Lab By competing against each other, they can train each other to make the random points a straight line or a circle. As you will notice, the computer requires thousands of experiments to learn such simple drawings. Imagine that you gave real human photographs instead of the above example line or circle. In 2014, when this system was developed, it produced a very low resolution with black and white colors. In last 5 years, the quality of photography that artificial intelligence can synthesize has gradually increased. In these 5 years, machine learning researchers both developed and started to apply GAN techniques in many different fields. For example, computers can now produce cartoon characters and anime characters. The PokeGAN project designs new Pokemon characters, looking at old characters. The CycleGAN project turns draft drawings into photographs. It can learn the styles of painters and turn photographs into paintings or satellite photographs into maps. The StackGAN project turns text into visual. For example, you write ”a little bird with a short beak, black and blue" and it produces such a bird image. It is not searching it but actually producing it. In fact, these birds do not exist. What caused to such great progress in such a short time? Because it's not just about the advancement of technology. Shows the amount of data generated on the Internet. Anything you notice? Since 2010, we are experiencing an explosion in the data we produce. This is one of the main reasons why GAN technique has been increasingly successful in machine learning since 2014. In the last 5 years, we have increased the number and variety of sample data by uploading the photos and videos we take to the internet and social media platforms. Well, how we are producing so much data? The reason is very simple. For instance, FaceApp that ages people's photo. Only one such application allows hundreds of millions of photos a week to be uploaded. Let's hope these are only used for machine learning. Because we accepted the terms and conditions without reading it to use the application , we give all the rights of those photographs to Yaroslav Goncharov who developed the application. FaceApp is just one of the applications that uses machine learning and GAN technique. Nowadays, producer neural networks perceive images as a set of styles. It can learn the pose, posture, hair, face shape, eyes, skin color of a person separately and produce new photos. A Style-Based Generator Architecture for Generative Adversarial Networks Before FaceApp, which was used by almost everyone, there was FakeApp that some people know. FakeApp can combine videos of celebrities with GAN techniques and make them do things they never did. Deepfake Videos In order to produce Deepfake videos, the machines need to learn again with the GAN technique. Although the examples in link are impressive, they are actually in the process of combining two existing images. A few months ago, with a technique developed in Samsung's artificial intelligence laboratories, it became possible to produce video from a single photo. Few-Shot Adversarial Learning of Realistic Neural Talking Head Models Normally, we said that a lot of data is needed in machine learning. It is enough to give the computer one visual to learn. The computer combines this with basic facial gestures to produce a simple video. Probably in the near future we will be able to produce automatic videos from the selfies we take with our mobile phone. Or we can turn on our camera and play a photo like a puppet with our own facial expression. That's all for now! Make sure you are following me on social media and if you find it useful please share with your friends. See you in next post soon Hackers! Reverse Python Stay Connected!

Learning by Producing: Generative Adversarial Networks

Media tried to trample us but only helped us reach out to 1,000,000 users and make money.

An independent creator’s guide to getting a quality icon for free. Wishlist+ current app icon Here is the logo that I made for my app Wishlist+. It was made by me, for free, without using any paid such as Photoshop or Sketch. It may not win any icon awards but it definatly doesn’t look out of place on a homescreen either. There are several key ingredients to making an icon like this for yourself: tools design Time I made the first draft of this icon in As you can see in this image the final icon only had a few more minutes of tweaks added on a month later. an hour and a half. Small refinements made in minutes Contrary to popular belief, I did not find this process time consuming. As long as you combine all of the right elements, the process is straightforward and short. Restraint Before you go looking for inspiration for your idea you need to set rules for yourself. I limited myself to basic shapes and color schemes. This is one of the biggest keys to making the design time so short. When you are just dealing with a bunch of rounded squares on one color gradient, you can not only create you icon quickly, you can rapidly make changes. Designing a mostly flat icon with simple shapes takes minutes rather than days. Inspiration At first, you will probably struggle to find an idea for your app. When I was stuck I looked at Apple’s system apps for inspiration. I was specifically inspired by the Apple News icon. Wishlist+ and the icon that inspired it If you are still struggling to find an idea for you app think of what physical metaphors you can use to represent your app. For example, my app is a wishlist so my icon is a list. The Apple News app contains news so the icon is a news paper. Tools The entire creation process took place in two web apps, and . All of the design was done for free in Designapp and that file was uploaded to MakeAppIcon, which generates all of the necessary icon files for iOS or Android. http://designapp.io/ https://makeappicon.com Both of these tools are 100% free to use. Designapp may not be the best design client, feel free to use Photoshop if you have it, but it lets you make app icons with our limited rules. You can many geometric shapes and color gradients, but I used one shape, the rounded square. designapp.io and the rounded square A note on icon designers I am in no way saying that what icon designers are doing is worthless or easily replaceable. Making a free icon in a web app does not replace professional work for people with enough money. However, if you want to make your icon yourself, for free, it is possible. It is probably preferrable for smaller companies/independant creatives as well. To conclude, if you are making your first app or need branding for a website, you do not have to pay $100s of dollars for a designer to do it for you. If you would rather spend a couple hours you can get a design exactly the way you want it for free. Thank you for reading my article, the app discussed is called Wishlist+ and it is available on the App Store here: https://itunes.apple.com/app/wishlist/id1229495537

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