WalkMe includes three modules:\n\nWalkMe Player™\nPlace all of your apps in one central place that your users can access in seconds! The player appears as a non-intrusive tab on the side of your screen

WalkMe

walkme

Authors:
(1) Renato P. dos Santos, CIAGE – Centre for Generative Artificial Intelligence in Cognition and Education. Table of Links Abstract and Introduction Materials And Methods Results and Analyses Prompts and generated texts Conceptualizing chemical reactions Deepening on understanding of chemical reactions Question about combustion Question about a graph of gases turning into water over time Question about the difference between atoms, molecules, and moles Deepening on the concept of mole Question about changing of state Question about an animated representation of water molecules undergoing phase changes Question about plasma, a state of matter Question about chemical bondings Question about illustration of chemical bonds Question about the essence of the type of chemical bonding Further analysis Conclusions Limitations of the study and possible future studies Author Contributions, Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgements, and References Materials And Methods This study aimed to assess the efficacy of GenAIbots, including ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard, and Claude, as tools to augment Chemistry learning when characterised as agents-to-think-with. Chemistry students can harness the capabilities of GenAIbots in diverse ways to elevate their academic journey. They can pose complex questions to obtain thorough explanations on difficult subjects, leverage the bot as a supplemental aid for challenging areas, or seek visual aids—including images, graphs, simulations, or even interactive games—to enhance their understanding of chemical concepts. Additionally, they can seek clarity on laboratory protocols or engage in interactive discussions to solidify their understanding. In this article, we specifically hone in on GenAIbots' utility as agents-to-think-with, virtual intelligent tutors addressing students' doubts, rectifying misconceptions, and providing in-depth insights into complex concepts. Our focus also centres on the primary challenges encountered by Chemistry students, as highlighted by Timilsena et al. (2022), encompassing chemical reactions, chemical equilibrium, phase changes, gases, stoichiometry, atoms and molecules, acids and bases, and covalent bonding. We undertook a comprehensive single case study, aligning with Yin's (2011) guidelines, to evaluate and contrast the performance of ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard, and Claude. In analysing the responses of these AI systems, we adopted the Content Analysis methodology according to Bardin (1977) to delve into participants' experiences and viewpoints. This method offers insightful observations on student interactions with these GenAIbots. Prompting, the process of giving instructions, is crucial in interacting with language models. The process of meticulously precise, well-crafted sentences that elicit meaningful and valuable responses, or prompt-crafting, as Mishra et al. (2023) call it, is crucial for ensuring deep iterative reflections and engagements with GenAIbots as agents-to-think-with. Mollick (2023) offers a comprehensive guide to prompting, complete with detailed annotations and expanded examples. Two illustrative examples of prompt, crafted by ChatGPT itself, is presented below. The second one adds the intention of fostering profound iterative reflections and engagement in chemistry learning: Please provide a clear and comprehensible explanation of the various types of chemical bonding (ionic, covalent, and hydrogen), covering the theoretical concepts behind them and offering real-world examples suitable for an undergraduate student’s understanding. In the realm of chemistry, the concept of chemical bonding can be intricate, blending both theoretical principles and real-world applications. Walk me through the nuances of covalent, ionic, and hydrogen bonds. Additionally, challenge me with thought-provoking questions and analogies that can help solidify my understanding and encourage further exploration. The initial prompt in the upcoming dialogue, refined through a series of AI experiments, serves as another example of engaging in a meaningful conversation with the GenAIbot rather than asking isolated questions that might merely yield standard textbook responses. Nevertheless, while this initial prompt serves to 'set the stage' for the dialogue, the subsequent interactions with the simulated student are more straightforward and devoid of any elaborate prompting. This design reflects a typical student's approach: they may lack expertise in crafting detailed prompts and simply seek answers to their chemistry doubts. The dialogue intends to capture this organic flow of inquiry rather than a meticulously structured question sequence. GenAIbots can maintain context within a particular session, drawing upon and building on topics or responses discussed earlier. Even if a user returns to a previously accessed session that has not been deleted, the chatbot can still recall and refer to past interactions from that session. This continuity lets users pick up right where they left off, facilitating a more seamless and cohesive conversation. However, it's crucial to understand that this retention is exclusive to the individual session and doesn't transfer to separate chat sessions, ensuring user privacy and data security. Dunlop et al. (2020) highlight the absence of philosophical dialogue in Chemistry Education and propose its integration into Higher Education. GenAIbots like ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard, and Claude can facilitate Socratic-like, philosophical dialogues, encouraging user reflection, critical thinking and a deeper understanding of Chemistry's principles, assumptions, and ethical implications. GenAIbots can bridge the gap between theory and practice by promoting meaningful discussions and providing a holistic educational experience. Using GenAIbots as agents-to-think-with is new and innovative. Consequently, finding teachers willing to incorporate it into their classrooms for experimental purposes has been challenging. Due to this, the investigation did not involve real students. Instead, the researcher, acting as a STEM teacher at a Brazilian university, assumed the role of a student (identified as P1) in the interaction sessions. Empathy was incorporated into the research methodology to enable the researchers to act like students and understand their perspectives. Four sessions were held, each emulating the learning experiences of Chemistry students using ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard, or Claude and focusing on their main difficulties, as discussed above. After the initial prompt to engage in a meaningful conversation with the GenAIbot and characterise the agents intervening in the dialogue, a simulated student begins in the dialogues with the widely recognised difficulty of balancing chemical reactions. The discussion then evolves in a somewhat unstructured order, where the response to the previous one inspires each new question. Data collection involved GenAIbot interaction logs, which recorded the participant's prompts and responses, and reflective journals maintained by the participant. These materials were later analysed to identify recurring themes and patterns, shedding light on the perceived impact of GenAIbots as an agent-to-think-with in Chemistry learning. From the initial readings of the participant's prompts and responses and reflective journals, the following seven categories of analysis emerged: 1. Instructional Strategies: o Methods used by AI to impart knowledge. 2. Engagement & Interactivity: o Prompting critical thinking and further exploration. o Asking questions, inviting responses, and encouraging deeper dives. 3. Use of Analogy & Comparative Illustrations: o Using parallels, metaphors, and real-world examples to explain concepts. 4. Reinforcement & Feedback: o Recognizing and affirming user input. o Correcting or building upon user understanding. o Reiteration of essential concepts. 5. Detail Depth & Content Recommendation: o The extent of detail provided, whether it's concise or expansive. o Suggesting additional learning materials and providing relevant content. 6. Personalization & Personable Touch: o Tailoring responses to individual needs. o Using emoticons, casual tones, or other elements for a more personalised feel. 7. Meta-discussion & Perspective Framing: o Addressing the broader relevance of concepts outside strict contexts. o Contextualizing abstract concepts using familiar frameworks. These categories will be used to comparatively analyse the answers of each GenAIbot to the individual participant’s questions below. This paper is available on arxiv under CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED license. Authors: (1) Renato P. dos Santos, CIAGE – Centre for Generative Artificial Intelligence in Cognition and Education. Authors: Authors: (1) Renato P. dos Santos, CIAGE – Centre for Generative Artificial Intelligence in Cognition and Education. Table of Links Abstract and Introduction Abstract and Introduction Materials And Methods Materials And Methods Results and Analyses Results and Analyses Prompts and generated texts Prompts and generated texts Conceptualizing chemical reactions Conceptualizing chemical reactions Deepening on understanding of chemical reactions Deepening on understanding of chemical reactions Question about combustion Question about combustion Question about a graph of gases turning into water over time Question about a graph of gases turning into water over time Question about the difference between atoms, molecules, and moles Question about the difference between atoms, molecules, and moles Deepening on the concept of mole Deepening on the concept of mole Question about changing of state Question about changing of state Question about an animated representation of water molecules undergoing phase changes Question about an animated representation of water molecules undergoing phase changes Question about plasma, a state of matter Question about plasma, a state of matter Question about chemical bondings Question about chemical bondings Question about illustration of chemical bonds Question about illustration of chemical bonds Question about the essence of the type of chemical bonding Question about the essence of the type of chemical bonding Further analysis Further analysis Conclusions Conclusions Limitations of the study and possible future studies Limitations of the study and possible future studies Author Contributions, Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgements, and References Author Contributions, Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgements, and References Materials And Methods This study aimed to assess the efficacy of GenAIbots, including ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard, and Claude, as tools to augment Chemistry learning when characterised as agents-to-think-with. Chemistry students can harness the capabilities of GenAIbots in diverse ways to elevate their academic journey. They can pose complex questions to obtain thorough explanations on difficult subjects, leverage the bot as a supplemental aid for challenging areas, or seek visual aids—including images, graphs, simulations, or even interactive games—to enhance their understanding of chemical concepts. Additionally, they can seek clarity on laboratory protocols or engage in interactive discussions to solidify their understanding. In this article, we specifically hone in on GenAIbots' utility as agents-to-think-with, virtual intelligent tutors addressing students' doubts, rectifying misconceptions, and providing in-depth insights into complex concepts. Our focus also centres on the primary challenges encountered by Chemistry students, as highlighted by Timilsena et al. (2022), encompassing chemical reactions, chemical equilibrium, phase changes, gases, stoichiometry, atoms and molecules, acids and bases, and covalent bonding. We undertook a comprehensive single case study, aligning with Yin's (2011) guidelines, to evaluate and contrast the performance of ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard, and Claude. In analysing the responses of these AI systems, we adopted the Content Analysis methodology according to Bardin (1977) to delve into participants' experiences and viewpoints. This method offers insightful observations on student interactions with these GenAIbots. Prompting, the process of giving instructions, is crucial in interacting with language models. The process of meticulously precise, well-crafted sentences that elicit meaningful and valuable responses, or prompt-crafting, as Mishra et al. (2023) call it, is crucial for ensuring deep iterative reflections and engagements with GenAIbots as agents-to-think-with. Mollick (2023) offers a comprehensive guide to prompting, complete with detailed annotations and expanded examples. Two illustrative examples of prompt, crafted by ChatGPT itself, is presented below. The second one adds the intention of fostering profound iterative reflections and engagement in chemistry learning: Please provide a clear and comprehensible explanation of the various types of chemical bonding (ionic, covalent, and hydrogen), covering the theoretical concepts behind them and offering real-world examples suitable for an undergraduate student’s understanding. Please provide a clear and comprehensible explanation of the various types of chemical bonding (ionic, covalent, and hydrogen), covering the theoretical concepts behind them and offering real-world examples suitable for an undergraduate student’s understanding. In the realm of chemistry, the concept of chemical bonding can be intricate, blending both theoretical principles and real-world applications. Walk me through the nuances of covalent, ionic, and hydrogen bonds. Additionally, challenge me with thought-provoking questions and analogies that can help solidify my understanding and encourage further exploration. In the realm of chemistry, the concept of chemical bonding can be intricate, blending both theoretical principles and real-world applications. Walk me through the nuances of covalent, ionic, and hydrogen bonds. Additionally, challenge me with thought-provoking questions and analogies that can help solidify my understanding and encourage further exploration. The initial prompt in the upcoming dialogue, refined through a series of AI experiments, serves as another example of engaging in a meaningful conversation with the GenAIbot rather than asking isolated questions that might merely yield standard textbook responses. Nevertheless, while this initial prompt serves to 'set the stage' for the dialogue, the subsequent interactions with the simulated student are more straightforward and devoid of any elaborate prompting. This design reflects a typical student's approach: they may lack expertise in crafting detailed prompts and simply seek answers to their chemistry doubts. The dialogue intends to capture this organic flow of inquiry rather than a meticulously structured question sequence. GenAIbots can maintain context within a particular session, drawing upon and building on topics or responses discussed earlier. Even if a user returns to a previously accessed session that has not been deleted, the chatbot can still recall and refer to past interactions from that session. This continuity lets users pick up right where they left off, facilitating a more seamless and cohesive conversation. However, it's crucial to understand that this retention is exclusive to the individual session and doesn't transfer to separate chat sessions, ensuring user privacy and data security. Dunlop et al. (2020) highlight the absence of philosophical dialogue in Chemistry Education and propose its integration into Higher Education. GenAIbots like ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard, and Claude can facilitate Socratic-like, philosophical dialogues, encouraging user reflection, critical thinking and a deeper understanding of Chemistry's principles, assumptions, and ethical implications. GenAIbots can bridge the gap between theory and practice by promoting meaningful discussions and providing a holistic educational experience. Using GenAIbots as agents-to-think-with is new and innovative. Consequently, finding teachers willing to incorporate it into their classrooms for experimental purposes has been challenging. Due to this, the investigation did not involve real students. Instead, the researcher, acting as a STEM teacher at a Brazilian university, assumed the role of a student (identified as P1) in the interaction sessions. Empathy was incorporated into the research methodology to enable the researchers to act like students and understand their perspectives. Four sessions were held, each emulating the learning experiences of Chemistry students using ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard, or Claude and focusing on their main difficulties, as discussed above. After the initial prompt to engage in a meaningful conversation with the GenAIbot and characterise the agents intervening in the dialogue, a simulated student begins in the dialogues with the widely recognised difficulty of balancing chemical reactions. The discussion then evolves in a somewhat unstructured order, where the response to the previous one inspires each new question. Data collection involved GenAIbot interaction logs, which recorded the participant's prompts and responses, and reflective journals maintained by the participant. These materials were later analysed to identify recurring themes and patterns, shedding light on the perceived impact of GenAIbots as an agent-to-think-with in Chemistry learning. From the initial readings of the participant's prompts and responses and reflective journals, the following seven categories of analysis emerged: 1. Instructional Strategies: 1. Instructional Strategies: o Methods used by AI to impart knowledge. 2. Engagement & Interactivity: 2. Engagement & Interactivity: o Prompting critical thinking and further exploration. o Asking questions, inviting responses, and encouraging deeper dives. 3. Use of Analogy & Comparative Illustrations: 3. Use of Analogy & Comparative Illustrations: o Using parallels, metaphors, and real-world examples to explain concepts. 4. Reinforcement & Feedback: 4. Reinforcement & Feedback: o Recognizing and affirming user input. o Correcting or building upon user understanding. o Reiteration of essential concepts. 5. Detail Depth & Content Recommendation: 5. Detail Depth & Content Recommendation: o The extent of detail provided, whether it's concise or expansive. o Suggesting additional learning materials and providing relevant content. 6. Personalization & Personable Touch: 6. Personalization & Personable Touch: o Tailoring responses to individual needs. o Using emoticons, casual tones, or other elements for a more personalised feel. 7. Meta-discussion & Perspective Framing: 7. Meta-discussion & Perspective Framing: o Addressing the broader relevance of concepts outside strict contexts. o Contextualizing abstract concepts using familiar frameworks. These categories will be used to comparatively analyse the answers of each GenAIbot to the individual participant’s questions below. This paper is available on arxiv under CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED license. This paper is available on arxiv under CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED license. available on arxiv

Analyzing GenAIbots' Efficacy in Chemistry Education

274 Stories To Learn About Software

93 Stories To Learn About QA (Quality Assurance) 

184 Stories To Learn About Podcast

The Ultimate Guide to Product Experiments and How to Use Them

La guía definitiva para experimentos de productos y cómo usarlos

Le guide ultime des expériences de produits et comment les utiliser

उत्पाद प्रयोगों और उनका उपयोग कैसे करें के लिए अंतिम मार्गदर्शिका

製品実験とその使用方法に関する究極のガイド

O guia definitivo para experimentos de produtos e como usá-los

Hướng dẫn cơ bản về thử nghiệm sản phẩm và cách sử dụng chúng

产品实验及其使用方法的终极指南

341 Stories To Learn About Testing

310 Stories To Learn About Software Testing

The advent of Web 3.0 is transforming the digital realm by facilitating the development of decentralised applications, blockchain technology, and a more comprehensive and secure internet. As the current paradigm undergoes a shift, it is imperative to comprehend the potential ramifications and opportunities associated with investing in this transformative epoch. I am speaking with James Wo, the CEO and founder of the investment firm Digital Finance Group (DFG). We will delve into their insights on the most promising sectors within Web 3.0 for investment opportunities. Infrastructure projects, compliance, and financial attributes, projects with a solid user base, and quick commercialization are among the topics we explore. We also discuss how they evaluate potential investments, the due diligence process, and the metrics they use to assess the potential for high returns. What sectors within Web 3.0 do you find the most promising for investment opportunities, and why? Infrastructure projects, such as layer1, layer2, and various others, are critical in shaping the future of web3 applications. The imminent explosion in this digital landscape emphasizes the significance of robust infrastructure as the underlying protocol. As the demand for web3 applications grows, the valuation of infrastructure projects is expected to rise significantly, presenting opportunities for substantial growth. Compliance and financial attributes have become vital for projects in the current regulatory environment. With regulations maturing over time, compliance becomes essential for any project's future development and success. Moreover, projects with solid compliance measures can attract user growth and generate substantial value. These projects can establish a solid foundation for long-term sustainability and success by prioritizing compliance and leveraging their financial attributes. Among the various types of projects, those with a solid user base and the potential for quick commercialization stand out. This includes exchanges, wallets, and platforms that boast the largest user groups within the industry. A substantial user base provides a strong foundation for growth and market penetration. Additionally, the ability to swiftly commercialize these projects ensures rapid monetization and realizing their full potential. By capitalizing on their existing user base, these projects can capture significant market share and achieve sustainable success in a shorter timeframe. How do you evaluate potential investments in Web 3.0 projects? How do you assess their potential for high returns? The primary evaluation criteria consist of three key factors when making investment decisions. Firstly, the background of the founders and core team is thoroughly examined to assess their capabilities in delivering the product. Secondly, the project should exhibit significant technological or product innovation within a specific industry or niche rather than relying solely on hype. Lastly, the tokenomics of the project play a crucial role as a healthy token economy system determines the sustainability of the project's development. Could you walk me through a recent investment in a Web 3.0 project and explain why you chose to invest in that project? We funded Ledger a short time ago, the hardware wallet with the largest market share, and the hardware wallet maker has always had a good reputation and a stable user base, and after the FTX crash, users are increasingly aware of the security of crypto assets, and the hardware wallet is undoubtedly one of the best options. Ledger, as the leading project of wallet track, will also develop into the leading project of Web3 infrastructure. What trends or technological advancements in Web 3.0 will have the biggest impact on investment opportunities in the future? With the increasing prosperity of the web3 application ecosystem and the growing congestion of on-chain transactions, there is a rising demand for solutions that address scaling issues, such as scaling or roll-up. As a result, we made an investment in Shardeum, an innovative platform that improves upon Near's technology and offers new solutions to these challenges. In addition, Shardeum has already established a strong ecosystem, making it an attractive investment opportunity. The significance of financial compliance has been underscored by recent events like the FTX and other CeFi platforms' regulations. Licensed platforms not only hold greater value and vitality for the future, but they also have the advantage of gaining users' trust. How do you approach due diligence when considering investing in a Web 3.0 project? Due diligence is generally divided into business, finance, and legal parts, with different approaches for different project stages. Usually speaking, early-stage projects are based on interviews, while mid to late-stage and mature projects are based on information and data review. What metrics do you consider, and how do you verify a project's claims? We consider the team's background, development capability, whether the valuation is reasonable, and the rug pull possibility. In addition, the authenticity of a project is generally cross-checked from multiple perspectives, including the team's experience and capabilities, whether the project's business logic is self-consistent, and the development status of competing products. What is the potential impact of regulatory measures on investments in Web 3.0 in the future, and how might these measures influence one's future plans? I believe regulation will play an important role in the future of Web 3.0 investment, ensuring investor protection and market stability while fostering innovation. Regulatory clarity can create a stable environment, attracting a wider range of investors and driving mainstream adoption of Web 3.0 technologies. Compliance with regulations will impact investment considerations, especially for security tokens and projects in regulated industries, requiring thorough due diligence to mitigate compliance risks. Staying updated with regulatory developments is essential for an adaptable investment strategy that aligns with evolving compliance standards. Ultimately, a well-designed regulatory framework can instill investor confidence, promote innovation, and establish a sustainable and mature investment landscape in the Web 3.0 ecosystem. How important is a project's team and track record when investing in Web 3.0 projects? It is essential to have a good track record. Many early-stage projects are just a concept, so the team's past background and experience will most likely determine the ultimate success of the project. We believe that a solid and viable strategic plan and sound development, operational and marketing skills are the keys to success for web3 projects. For people who are interested in investing in Web 3.0 but are hesitant due to the perceived complexity of the technology and the financial environment, what recommendations do you have for newcomers? Web3's high investment risk is relatively high, so first of all, do not invest in projects you do not understand; there are the risks of rug pulls. Secondly, Web3 investment is different from stocks, foreign exchange, and another traditional trading; you must thoroughly assess their investment philosophy and risk tolerance level and finally need to master using some web3 tools, such as Metamask, Discord, and so on. Lastly, could you share any lessons learned or insights from your experience investing in Web 3.0 projects? To ensure survival during industry black swan events, it is recommended to avoid leveraging or lending investments. Instead, focus on investing in projects demonstrating stable fundamentals and long-term value, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Conducting thorough due diligence and research and establishing an investment philosophy based on informed decisions rather than superstitions or blindly following large projects or institutions is crucial.

The New Frontier: Investing in Web 3.0's Cutting-Edge Technology

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Ilusha Chapter VII. Ilusha The doctor came out of the room again, muffled in his fur coat and with his cap on his head. His face looked almost angry and disgusted, as though he were afraid of getting dirty. He cast a cursory glance round the passage, looking sternly at Alyosha and Kolya as he did so. Alyosha waved from the door to the coachman, and the carriage that had brought the doctor drove up. The captain darted out after the doctor, and, bowing apologetically, stopped him to get the last word. The poor fellow looked utterly crushed; there was a scared look in his eyes. “Your Excellency, your Excellency ... is it possible?” he began, but could not go on and clasped his hands in despair. Yet he still gazed imploringly at the doctor, as though a word from him might still change the poor boy’s fate. “I can’t help it, I am not God!” the doctor answered offhand, though with the customary impressiveness. “Doctor ... your Excellency ... and will it be soon, soon?” “You must be prepared for anything,” said the doctor in emphatic and incisive tones, and dropping his eyes, he was about to step out to the coach. “Your Excellency, for Christ’s sake!” the terror‐stricken captain stopped him again. “Your Excellency! but can nothing, absolutely nothing save him now?” “It’s not in my hands now,” said the doctor impatiently, “but h’m!...” he stopped suddenly. “If you could, for instance ... send ... your patient ... at once, without delay” (the words “at once, without delay,” the doctor uttered with an almost wrathful sternness that made the captain start) “to Syracuse, the change to the new be‐ne‐ficial climatic conditions might possibly effect—” “To Syracuse!” cried the captain, unable to grasp what was said. “Syracuse is in Sicily,” Kolya jerked out suddenly in explanation. The doctor looked at him. “Sicily! your Excellency,” faltered the captain, “but you’ve seen”—he spread out his hands, indicating his surroundings—“mamma and my family?” “N—no, Sicily is not the place for the family, the family should go to Caucasus in the early spring ... your daughter must go to the Caucasus, and your wife ... after a course of the waters in the Caucasus for her rheumatism ... must be sent straight to Paris to the mental specialist Lepelletier; I could give you a note to him, and then ... there might be a change—” “Doctor, doctor! But you see!” The captain flung wide his hands again despairingly, indicating the bare wooden walls of the passage. “Well, that’s not my business,” grinned the doctor. “I have only told you the answer of medical science to your question as to possible treatment. As for the rest, to my regret—” “Don’t be afraid, apothecary, my dog won’t bite you,” Kolya rapped out loudly, noticing the doctor’s rather uneasy glance at Perezvon, who was standing in the doorway. There was a wrathful note in Kolya’s voice. He used the word apothecary instead of doctor on purpose, and, as he explained afterwards, used it “to insult him.” “What’s that?” The doctor flung up his head, staring with surprise at Kolya. “Who’s this?” he addressed Alyosha, as though asking him to explain. “It’s Perezvon’s master, don’t worry about me,” Kolya said incisively again. “Perezvon?” repeated the doctor, perplexed. “He hears the bell, but where it is he cannot tell. Good‐by, we shall meet in Syracuse.” “Who’s this? Who’s this?” The doctor flew into a terrible rage. “He is a schoolboy, doctor, he is a mischievous boy; take no notice of him,” said Alyosha, frowning and speaking quickly. “Kolya, hold your tongue!” he cried to Krassotkin. “Take no notice of him, doctor,” he repeated, rather impatiently. “He wants a thrashing, a good thrashing!” The doctor stamped in a perfect fury. “And you know, apothecary, my Perezvon might bite!” said Kolya, turning pale, with quivering voice and flashing eyes. “Ici, Perezvon!” “Kolya, if you say another word, I’ll have nothing more to do with you,” Alyosha cried peremptorily. “There is only one man in the world who can command Nikolay Krassotkin—this is the man”; Kolya pointed to Alyosha. “I obey him, good‐ by!” He stepped forward, opened the door, and quickly went into the inner room. Perezvon flew after him. The doctor stood still for five seconds in amazement, looking at Alyosha; then, with a curse, he went out quickly to the carriage, repeating aloud, “This is ... this is ... I don’t know what it is!” The captain darted forward to help him into the carriage. Alyosha followed Kolya into the room. He was already by Ilusha’s bedside. The sick boy was holding his hand and calling for his father. A minute later the captain, too, came back. “Father, father, come ... we ...” Ilusha faltered in violent excitement, but apparently unable to go on, he flung his wasted arms round his father and Kolya, uniting them in one embrace, and hugging them as tightly as he could. The captain suddenly began to shake with dumb sobs, and Kolya’s lips and chin twitched. “Father, father! How sorry I am for you!” Ilusha moaned bitterly. “Ilusha ... darling ... the doctor said ... you would be all right ... we shall be happy ... the doctor ...” the captain began. “Ah, father! I know what the new doctor said to you about me.... I saw!” cried Ilusha, and again he hugged them both with all his strength, hiding his face on his father’s shoulder. “Father, don’t cry, and when I die get a good boy, another one ... choose one of them all, a good one, call him Ilusha and love him instead of me....” “Hush, old man, you’ll get well,” Krassotkin cried suddenly, in a voice that sounded angry. “But don’t ever forget me, father,” Ilusha went on, “come to my grave ... and, father, bury me by our big stone, where we used to go for our walk, and come to me there with Krassotkin in the evening ... and Perezvon ... I shall expect you.... Father, father!” His voice broke. They were all three silent, still embracing. Nina was crying quietly in her chair, and at last seeing them all crying, “mamma,” too, burst into tears. “Ilusha! Ilusha!” she exclaimed. Krassotkin suddenly released himself from Ilusha’s embrace. “Good‐by, old man, mother expects me back to dinner,” he said quickly. “What a pity I did not tell her! She will be dreadfully anxious.... But after dinner I’ll come back to you for the whole day, for the whole evening, and I’ll tell you all sorts of things, all sorts of things. And I’ll bring Perezvon, but now I will take him with me, because he will begin to howl when I am away and bother you. Good‐by!” And he ran out into the passage. He didn’t want to cry, but in the passage he burst into tears. Alyosha found him crying. “Kolya, you must be sure to keep your word and come, or he will be terribly disappointed,” Alyosha said emphatically. “I will! Oh, how I curse myself for not having come before!” muttered Kolya, crying, and no longer ashamed of it. At that moment the captain flew out of the room, and at once closed the door behind him. His face looked frenzied, his lips were trembling. He stood before the two and flung up his arms. “I don’t want a good boy! I don’t want another boy!” he muttered in a wild whisper, clenching his teeth. “If I forget thee, Jerusalem, may my tongue—” He broke off with a sob and sank on his knees before the wooden bench. Pressing his fists against his head, he began sobbing with absurd whimpering cries, doing his utmost that his cries should not be heard in the room. Kolya ran out into the street. “Good‐by, Karamazov? Will you come yourself?” he cried sharply and angrily to Alyosha. “I will certainly come in the evening.” “What was that he said about Jerusalem?... What did he mean by that?” “It’s from the Bible. ‘If I forget thee, Jerusalem,’ that is, if I forget all that is most precious to me, if I let anything take its place, then may—” “I understand, that’s enough! Mind you come! Ici, Perezvon!” he cried with positive ferocity to the dog, and with rapid strides he went home. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Fyodor Dostoyevsky (2009). The Brothers Karamazov. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/28054/pg28054-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

Syracuse is in Sicily

Organizations are constantly faced with a plethora of vendor apps in their daily operations. From Gmail, and Hubspot, to Salesforce, the amount of app and context switch every employee goes through to perform one single task is a common pain that’s often swept under the rug. Today, custom software is revolutionizing the way businesses operate with easy-to-use contextual tools and seamless adoptions that add features to existing apps instead of purchasing a completely different tool. On today’s episode of Startups On Demand, I am joined by , Co-Founder and CEO at , a cutting-edge tool that lets users build features into the apps they already use. We talked about Yaniv’s diverse career background, the launch of Ply, and why simplicity is key in building apps. Yaniv Tross Ply Omri: In your LinkedIn profile, there’s a tagline where you said Explain that to me. “you believe in humans and numbers, nothing else matters.” Yaniv: We work all day and everyone has their own beliefs. I just narrowed it down to the things that matter to me, which are people – in work, life, and friendship. I think that’s what also creates everything else, mainly about technology. People say – THEY is the main thing, not the thing that they built. And I’m a numbers guy – I analyze everything. It’s easier for me to see numbers. They speak to me, in a way. That’s the summary of how I see things. “they built that thing” Omri: You said that numbers jump out for you. How does that translate into what you’re doing in marketing and on the product side? Do you use a dashboard for the numbers to come to you? How does it work? Yaniv: A lot of dashboards. I think one of the challenges is having too many metrics. We measure a lot of things, but in a typical month or week, we just focus on a specific metric. For example, one of our metrics for a really long time is we want to get self-service right. Self-service is not a thing, you need a metric. And there are a lot of metrics you can have. But then we just chose one, and that was . So that’s one metric, it’s a percent. So that was the goal, and if it’s too vague, we drill down. the number of people who signed up; how many people who understood what we want from them; understand what the product does, have an idea, can build it, publish it, and use it Omri: You have a diverse career background, to say the least. Can you walk me through your experiences? Yaniv: I usually say I don’t have any background. I thought I wanted to be a comedian, and I did that for 2 to 3 years. And I’m not very good at it. It takes a while to understand that, and it’s not an easy thing! But it’s been an amazing experience, and one of the most teaching and frightening things is to tell jokes in front of a live audience until you’ve felt like telling a joke and hearing nothing from 100 people in a room. Until you feel that, it’s an experience, and you take it! I started Tross, and for a few months, we did advertising for nightclubs and restaurants. We also did Israel’s biggest brands like telecom companies and banks. But mostly, what we did was startups. In the first few years of the company, we were the marketing agency for startups – mostly for B2B, SaaS, and security companies. And in the last 3 or 4 years of the company, it was all about crowdfunding. Basically, the launch of B2C hardware brands. https://youtu.be/CtAEwELQosU?embedable=true Omri: So guys built Ply. Can you explain a little bit about the product? Yaniv: Sure. Ply, at its essence, is an internal feature builder. People are familiar with the concept of internal tooling. Most of our days, we spend in front of our computers. And software is built on how you work that makes organizations way more efficient, so we didn’t invent this concept. It used to be very expensive to build software. You need to have a 5,000-person support center in order to justify the budget for custom software. And then, it started with frameworks and computing, and everything just got really cheap. And the last move is the low-code/no-code apps and tools out there. And all of them are towards the holy grail of great custom software. Even a lot of organizations use or build a lot of custom software, either from scratch or based on these platforms. At the end of the day, most of the people’s time is spent on vendor apps. So you’re in front of Gmail, Salesforce, or Zendesk. To us, it makes more sense to customize those apps to make an impact. With Ply, users can build features into Gmail, Salesforce, Hubspot, etc. Users can build simple features or extremely complex features with all their business logic connected to their tools and internal databases. The first benefit is that it’s contextual. When you need to do something, you don’t have to go anywhere. Ply is contextual and it knows what you’re looking at. And the second benefit is adoption. When a medium or big company has a lot of internal tools, which is usually the case, they just grow and grow. And at some point, people don’t know what to use anymore. Or even if they do, they just don’t use it. With adoption, there’s nothing new to learn. When you can click a button, you can use Ply. Omri: How does your day look like? Yaniv: I think the magic of being productive is how I can be productive. I’m not really that neurotic. I’m not organized. I would not take on the responsibility to organize all of the tasks for a company. Some CEOs would do. My role is to do the best job I can to find the people who can do their job. I automate the things that I can, and build all the things that I need, but not overdo it. Also Published Here

Ply CEO Yaniv Tross Explains the Art of Contextual Software

Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob and Milhelm Grimm, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . THE BREMEN TOWN-MUSICIANS THE BREMEN TOWN-MUSICIANS A certain man had a Donkey, which had carried the corn-sacks to the mill faithfully for many a long year; but his strength was going, and he was growing more and more unfit for work. Then his master began to consider how he might best save his keep; but the Donkey, seeing that no good wind was blowing, ran away and set out on the road to Bremen. “There,” he thought, “I can surely be town-musician.” When he had walked some distance, he found a Hound lying on the road, gasping like one who had run till he was tired. “What are you gasping so for, you big fellow?” asked the Donkey. “Ah,” replied the Hound, “as I am old, and daily grow weaker and no longer can hunt, my master wants to kill me. So I have taken to flight. But now how am I to earn my bread?” “I tell you what,” said the Donkey, “I am going to Bremen, and shall be town-musician there. Come with me and engage yourself also as a musician. I will play the lute, and you shall beat the kettledrum.” The Hound agreed, and on they went. Before long, they came to a Cat, sitting on the path, with a face like three rainy days! “Now then, old shaver, what has gone askew with you?” asked the Donkey. “Who can be merry when his neck is in danger?” answered the Cat. “Because I am now getting old, and my teeth are worn to stumps, and I prefer to sit by the fire and spin, rather than hunt about after mice, my mistress wants to drown me, so I have run away. But now good advice is scarce. Where am I to go?” “Come with us to Bremen. You understand night-music, so you can be a town-musician.” The Cat thought well of it, and went with them. After this the three fugitives came to a farmyard, where the Cock was sitting upon the gate, crowing with all his might. “Your crow goes through and through one,” said the Donkey. “What is the matter?” “I have been foretelling fine weather, because it is the day on which Our Lady washes the Christ-child’s little shirts, and wants to dry them,” said the Cock. “But guests are coming for Sunday, so the housewife has no pity, and has told the cook that she intends to eat me in the soup to-morrow. This evening I am to have my head cut off. Now I am crowing at full pitch while I can.” “Ah, but Red-Comb,” said the Donkey, “you had better come away with us. We are going to Bremen. You can find something better than death everywhere. You have a good voice, and if we make music together, it must have some quality!” The Cock agreed to this plan, and all four went on together. They could not, however, reach the city of Bremen in one day, and in the evening they came to a forest where they meant to pass the night. The Donkey and the Hound laid themselves down under a large tree. The Cat and the Cock settled themselves in the branches; but the Cock flew right to the top, where he was most safe. Before he went to sleep, he looked round on all the four sides, and thought he saw in the distance a little spark burning. So he called out to his companions that there must be a house not far off, for he saw a light. The Donkey said, “If so, we had better get up and go on, for the shelter here is bad.” The Hound thought that a few bones with some meat would do him good too! They made their way to the place where the light was, and soon saw it shine brighter and grow larger, until they came to a well-lighted robber’s house. The Donkey, as the biggest, went to the window and looked in. “What do you see, my Grey-Horse?” asked the Cock. “What do I see?” answered the Donkey; “a table covered with good things to eat and drink, and robbers sitting at it enjoying themselves.” “That would be the sort of thing for us,” said the Cock. “Yes, yes! ah, how I wish we were there!” said the Donkey. Then the animals took counsel together as to how they could drive away the robbers, and at last they thought of a plan. The Donkey was to place himself with his forefeet upon the window-ledge, the Hound was to jump on the Donkey’s back, the Cat was to climb upon the Hound, and lastly the Cock was to fly up and perch upon the head of the Cat. When this was done, at a given signal, they began to perform their music together. The Donkey brayed, the Hound barked, the Cat mewed, and the Cock crowed. Then they burst through the window into the room, so that the glass clattered! At this horrible din, the robbers sprang up, thinking no otherwise than that a ghost had come in, and fled in a great fright out into the forest. The four companions now sat down at the table, well content with what was left, and ate as if they were going to fast for a month. As soon as the four minstrels had done, they put out the light, and each sought for himself a sleeping-place according to his nature and to what suited him. The Donkey laid himself down upon some straw in the yard, the Hound behind the door, the Cat upon the hearth near the warm ashes, and the Cock perched himself upon a beam of the roof. Being tired with their long walk, they soon went to sleep. When it was past midnight, the robbers saw from afar that the light was no longer burning in their house, and all appeared quiet. The captain said, “We ought not to have let ourselves be frightened out of our wits;” and ordered one of them to go and examine the house. The messenger finding all still, went into the kitchen to light a candle, and, taking the glistening fiery eyes of the Cat for live coals, he held a lucifer-match to them to light it. But the Cat did not understand the joke, and flew in his face, spitting and scratching. He was dreadfully frightened, and ran to the back door, but the Dog, who lay there, sprang up and bit his leg. Then, as he ran across the yard by the straw-heap, the Donkey gave him a smart kick with his hind foot. The Cock, too, who had been awakened by the noise, and had become lively, cried down from the beam: “Kicker-ee-ricker-ee-ree!” Then the robber ran back as fast as he could to his captain, and said, “Ah, there is a horrible Witch sitting in the house, who spat on me and scratched my face with her long claws. By the door stands a man with a knife, who stabbed me in the leg. In the yard there lies a black monster, who beat me with a wooden club. And above, upon the roof, sits the judge, who called out: “‘Bring the rogue here to me!’ so I got away as well as I could.” After this the robbers did not trust themselves in the house again. But it suited the four musicians of Bremen so well that they did not care to leave it any more. And the mouth of him who last told this story, is still warm. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm (2016). Grimm's Fairy Tales. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022, https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/52521/pg52521-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

THE BREMEN TOWN-MUSICIANS

The inconvenience of salespeople’s approach to data capturing and CRM integration has long existed. And for decades, the traditional sales cycle and process model has been the norm that reps and leaders simply have to navigate through. But as B2B industries become more competitive in the digital age, the need to overhaul obsolete, manual practices has never been this urgent. On today’s episode of Startups On Demand, I am joined by Eldad Postan-Koren, CEO and Co-Founder of WinnAIl, a startup that builds an artificial intelligence-based personal assistant for salespeople. The company has been operating for less than a year, raised $17 million as an initial investment, and has 25 employees. Today, we share our thoughts on the glaring gaps in sales processes and cycles, the idea behind the inception of WinnAI, and an exclusive look at its product demo. Omri: Why did you start Winn AI? And can you walk me through its intentions? Eldad: The reason why I started WinnAI was to solve real problems. I think that the initial thought and initial motivation of any entrepreneur are to build things and make a big impact in the world. I think you must look for a must-have solution. Basically one of the most important things that I’m looking for is simplicity. – things should be simple. Simple problem = simple solution = simple price We are living in a time where we don’t have that much attention, hence things should be simple. The problem that we’re solving here is really well-known, yet isn’t proven – that’s taking notes and putting the data into the CRM. 99% of salespeople don’t like to do this, and it’s because they want to sell – they don’t like to track the selling. For sales leaders, we’re solving the lack of adherence to playbooks. First, we make sure that you’re covering the talking points or the playbook for each kind of conversation. Second, we make sure that the notes and the conversations are correlated to the right talking points in real-time. And if the conversation is done, the data is pushed to the CRM right away. https://youtu.be/BuXxKet3yIY?embedable=true {Product Demo} Eldad: As you can see, it captures the correct information needed and connects it with the right talking points. When the conversation is done, the end of the window pops up. And right away, it’s part of a new workflow: the conversation is done, take the notes, and put them in the CRM. We help you to adapt to this workflow. On the left side, you can see the transcript; in the middle, you can see the field of the CRM, and on the right side, you’re gonna see the object name for the integration. 4 minutes after the conversation is done, everything’s complete. Omri: I agree. And I think there are a lot of unique selling propositions here. First, is the playbook aspect. Having it on the screen makes the conversation convenient and less robotic. Secondly, is that it’s all hands-free and having it automatically integrated into the CRM. Now, can you elaborate on your product roadmap? Eldad: In the next couple of weeks, we’re adding the recap email feature. We are building the ability to support other video conferences. The idea is to serve the customer-facing people of the company, from SDRs to support, from different scenarios to different use cases. And we are pushing very hard to support different integrations. Omri: What kind of tech brands inspired you? Eldad: I would say two brands that resonate really well is a) Salesforce. I think they made a big revolution in the world of sales 25 years ago. I think it was a whole new different approach on how to gather the data and streamline the process, And b) from a B2C perspective, personal assistants like Alexa – it’s our inspiration on where we want to go. I think the combination of Salesforce’s innovation and Alexa’s capabilities is the goal of Winn AI – to be bold and tackle unsolved problems. This article was also published here.

On Raising $17M to Build AI Based Personal Assistants for Salespeople

How will the banks of tomorrow operate, look, grow and thrive in a budding fintech environment and increasingly globalised market? Sitting down with Twimbit founder and CEO Manoj Menon we learn about his vision for creating joyful research based on a user centric model. In a world where people are being bombarded with new information, providing an entertaining way to learn about disruptive technologies and stay abreast of the latest industry trends is no easy task. Twimbit is creating web3 research that is easy to consume by the general public. Partnering with Web3 companies like Unique Network, Twimbit is educating the masses about the larger benefits of blockchain technology. The research is designed to bring crypto and enterprise communities closer, giving businesses increased access to the opportunities crypto brings to enterprises. One of the challenges Twimbit presented to its network was to understand future use cases of NFTs in the banking sector. From simplifying claim issuance to strengthening security, the understanding of NFT applications was greatly enhanced with an emphasis on this form of community led research. Democratizing research is key Focusing on greater access to quality research to improve learning and development, Twimbit is taking a very contrasting approach as compared to research giants like Gartner and Frost and Sullivan. The users identify topics, the team at Twimbit identifies the contributors that can solve the problems posed by the users. The contributors can be internal or external. “To begin with, we currently have a little over 200 experts who have contributed to share their unique perspectives on various industry issues. The experts participate in discussions and or publish research papers to address the topics of interest to the users.” “Our mission at Twimbit is to help democratize research so that it can create a better learning environment for every individual on this planet,” says Menon. “We believe that the research industry has not kept pace with all the change that is happening around us. Take for example the way you and I consume content today in our personal lives. It is visual, social, collaborative and community led. This is unfortunately not how we consume research content today.” Routine jobs will be automated in the future Twimbit is quick to tackle the current issue with the way the content is being produced and consumed. “Now, people fall asleep when they look at research pieces, they don't consume it. The single biggest application of research, which is absolutely critical for everybody moving forward is learning and development. Because if you don't learn about your industry, you are at high risk of obsolescence. Our job is likely to be automated.” As automation becomes a feature of our everyday lives, critical thinking and creative use of our skills will keep us relevant to the jobs market that no longer requires skills for a great number of positions. “The big value is in applying contextual knowledge so that we can innovate business processes, make things better, and drive more value for the companies. So that's how the vision for Twimbit came about, can we help democratize the consumption of research for learning.” To satisfy the need for visually appealing, entertaining research that will help make content consumption easier Twimbit took a three-step approach. They made the platform accessible with a free version for everyone, and an affordable premium version that costs only $995 per year. They also knew that it wasn’t enough to keep the price down. Menon proceeded to walk me through a demonstration of the platform and I must admit the visuals are enticing and the navigation is easy and mobile-friendly. As Menon says, “almost like a social media platform for people to consume research.” Are decentralized social media platforms putting creators first? “We have quizzes, we have contests, we do a variety of things to help improve the overall consumption of the platform. So it's not just a one way of going and reading a piece of research report. You can come and participate in a small quiz for three minutes.” How does Twimbit decide on which research topics to cover? To begin with, they have focused on five distinct themes, biz., banking & financial services, telecoms, customer experience, disruptive technologies and digital transformation. “We said let's start with banking and telecoms because those two industries and then customer experience because it's such a big thing globally for every company. The fourth one is disruptive technologies. And that's where we are covering Web3, Blockchain, and NFTs. And the final one is digital transformation.” For the specifics within each of these subject areas, they centre the research content to focus on based around the user's needs. “If you feel that there's a particular insight that you wanted, and we haven't created it, you can come and say, Hey, I request for this insight. And then we work on it.” This bespoke research service is novel and provides valuable insights for users who are interested in consuming research. “ Our goal is to use that as a fabric, to build it around the customer and serve the customer needs, rather than somebody sitting and deciding what to produce next.” When reflecting on his experience in research firms Menon says that “despite producing all the research, despite people signing up for research, nobody shows up on their platforms to actually consume their research because it was not personalized to them.” At Twimbit, the whole experience is tailored around the end users. “So we learn about you. And you will see just like on Instagram, what do you like? We say insights that find you. As industries are changing and automation becomes more prolific across different industries, new skillsets and ways of thinking are required to keep up with the demands of tomorrow. “If you don't train your people, you will be stuck with all the inefficient people who don't who cannot meet the needs of tomorrow. And for individuals as well. If I do learn that, I will not grow I will be on a declining curve of my career.” Bringing the right people together to learn about Web3 Twimbit is working with Unique Network, a Web3 project focused on advanced NFT infrastructure and the future of NFT technology. “We believe in disruptive technologies, NFTs and blockchain. What we find is that while there is a lot of talk about NFTs, most of the conversations on NFTs are limited to art and games. Our clients are large enterprises. And we think that we need to bridge that chasm between the NFT enthusiast, and real business practitioners. So, that’s why we are working with Unique Network,” says Menon. He believes that true innovation will happen if these two ecosystems start converging. Twimbit can help to bring these two worlds together for greater learning and development. They are starting the conversations to explore the future of NFTs in banking. “If we can get 10 People from the universe of Unique, connected with 10 different banks, I think we would have made some progress.” In a very Web3 frame of mind, Menon truly believes in collaboration and putting the right pool of people together to have the right conversations. “The best way of learning and solving a problem is through collaboration. So if I can bring three or four people together to solve a problem, and they are from different fields, then I think we'll solve that. Most Nobel Prizes these days are not won by individuals. If you look, they won by teams, right? We're saying, we'll bring people together to solve problems. The individual expert may not be the answer to everything. But can we create the right pool of people to come together to have a conversation and then, and then build it up from there.” Also published . here

Designing Research to Simplify the Benefits of Blockchain for Banking

Tech job interviews are awful. We all know it, but many of us don’t want to admit it. They are a complex beast because of the many facets that need to be considered to find the perfect candidate — coding exercises, take-home projects, and technical questions are all commonplace. However, we are making them worse than they need to be. Candidates often have to fight their way through the process, facing questions and problems that they have either never encountered before or are unlikely to ever see in a real-life situation. Given that report that finding qualified developers is their biggest recruitment challenge, why are we gearing the interviews against our candidates? 61% of HR professionals , has conducted countless interviews and believes there is a way to fix tech interviews for good. That way, companies can attract better candidates without making them jump through unnecessary hoops. Jason Truesdell, Principal Software Architect at IndustrialML I conducted my own interview with him to find out more: You aren't a big fan of the typical tech interview process. Why not? This is mainly because success or failure in the interview is often not well-correlated to success in the actual role. Objective-sounding criteria are often more capricious than they appear at first glance and can easily filter out excellent engineers, indicating who did the best interview prep more than anything else. How does the conversation in these tech interviews normally go in your experience? In many mature industries, job interviews are business conversations, a mutual discussion to discover the ways the employer's needs and the interviewee's experience and goals converge. When I've done software consulting, the conversations that lead to contracts are usually like that too. However, when it comes to full-time and agency temp software jobs, interviews are more like hazing rituals — alienating experiences that vaguely feel like alpha geek peacocking displays, built on an implicit assumption that a bunch of people are faking their way through the industry and must be exposed. Curiosity, tenacity, and persistence have been better predictors of success in most teams I've worked in—or hired for—rather than whiteboard coding exercises, credentials, or confidence. So I have optimized my interview process to identify those attributes. I also try to steer the conversation to the actual work we're doing and our business objectives, not a bunch of abstract problems. A good candidate will recognize the overlap between things they've worked on in the past and talk about how that context could help them make sense of the work in your organization. What are you trying to find out with your interview questions? I try to be as open-ended as possible while trying to get a sense of what makes a person tick. I mostly want candidates to talk about work they're proud of, especially when it wasn't a straight line to get it done. Talking about both the challenges and the easy bits, the missteps and the flashes of insight, the hallway conversations with coworkers, the research and technical spike tangents they might have taken, will give me a good sense of both their approach to problems and their experience. Most importantly, it also demonstrates communication skills. A person who can explain how something works will almost certainly have the capacity to do it. I can ask probing questions to improve my understanding of their solution, and this demonstrates their own proficiency. What kind of questions should one ask? In terms of technical questions, I might ask: "Walk me through the approach you took to solve a challenging technical problem." "What's your biggest frustration about your favorite programming language or framework?" "Tell me about a time that you had to build out a feature whose requirements were still ambiguous or incompletely specified." "Is there a skill you'd like to improve right now? How would you go about learning and developing it?" Then to find out about their approach to the everyday negotiations that are part of team software development: "Tell me about a time you had to convince your colleagues to go a particular direction they were resistant to." "What did you do to convince them?" "Did it work?" "What would you do differently if faced with the same situation again?" Do you have any interesting tricks to uncover a candidate’s knowledge on a particular topic? I've got experience in a lot of different programming languages and frameworks, so occasionally, I'll ask a candidate if they've ever experienced a problem that I've encountered in the past with the tooling they're most comfortable in, and then I'll probe them about their approach to solving those issues. I'm not going to ask trick questions or anything, but we can commiserate a bit in an average case, and sometimes I might even learn something. You brought up the idea of the “everyday negotiations” of a software team. What traits are you trying to identify with those questions? In the most effective teams I've worked in, people develop a theory of mind for their coworkers and try to explain things in terms of what that person thinks is crucial. It's pretty important to me to find people who are comfortable making a case for consequences rather than preferences. I need people to think in terms of the context of both the project as it exists, what its goals are, rooted in an understanding of the team's dynamics. It's hard to have a real discussion with people who mostly appeal to external authorities, or to use hand-wavy phrases like "best practices". It’s not foolproof, but asking questions about how someone has tried to sell their team on an idea, or even asking them to sell me on a specific architectural or tooling change, can shine a light on their approach to collaboration. How do you assess someone’s software design skills? I’m basically trying to gauge their ability to take an abstract problem and turn it into a defensible software design. In that case, I might ask a question about a closely-related domain to things that I am actually working on. When I worked on a product with some shipping logistics issues as a subdomain, I gave candidates a scenario, asking how they'd model a system for retrieving schedules and pricing for air couriers, ground-based freight, and private couriers, leading with examples of some of the scenarios the system would need to handle. What I'm really assessing in questions like this is the ability to listen, reflect on the problem, maybe quickly sketch a defensible solution, and then explain it. They could do this either by relying on the language of commonly known design patterns or with sufficient clarity that they were painting a reasonably clear picture even if they didn't know the names of those patterns. I want them to ask questions about aspects of the problem statement they find ambiguous and hopefully demonstrate at least an adequate degree of curiosity for the problems my team has to work on. Do you have any examples of your own experience of being the interviewee and what it uncovered? On one occasion, when being interviewed, I was asked how I'd design a system that had to communicate with external systems that limited direct network access but needed to transfer large amounts of data on-demand. I asked follow-up questions about the nature of the network boundaries and basically described two options—a "they call us" push model or a "we regularly check in with them" pull model. The interviewer was basically looking for an awareness of what the options were, and we drilled down on the details, and it mapped neatly to two actual subsystems that that company actually uses. Although I didn't know all of the constraints they had to solve, I presented a defensible set of options that demonstrated I was listening and had some idea of what realistic options were. Listening and communication skills are sufficiently predictive of application design skills in my experience that I don't need to ask candidates to write code. Ultimately, software design is an act of communication. I might write code on my own, but it's rarely an act done in isolation, as someone almost always needs to integrate with it.

How to Run a Tech Interview Without the Hazing

The Business of Death: Dealing with Loss and Grief

Quality Sense Podcast: Andrey Momot – The “Holy Trinity” of Software Quality

Robert E.G. Beens is the Co-Founder and CEO of Startpage , and a recognized privacy expert and advocate. At Startpage, Beens oversees operations, product development, technology, and finance. He is also a commercial airline pilot with Netherlands-based airline KLM. He earned his Master’s degree in Corporate, Social & Economic Dutch Law from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Have you thought about how powerful that information can be, when tied together and in the hands of someone else? Do you remember everything you’ve ever searched online? In 2005, of his search engine Ixquick and was horrified to learn how much personal data of users was being stored. Realizing the alarming privacy implications of collecting and storing so much personal information, Beens and his co-founder David Bodnick decided to drastically alter how the search engine processed user data. As a result, they founded Startpage in 2006 – the most private search engine to date. In this interview, Robert E.G. Beens, CEO and Co-founder of , shares how they created the world’s first and most private search engine. Robert E.G. Beens conducted a legal audit Startpage Interviewer: Hello Robert. The story of how Startpage was founded is also a recollection of your personal privacy tipping point. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? We were conducting a legal audit of our search engine Ixquick in 2005. I wanted to know exactly what information we were storing, as I was worried and fearful of what might happen if any personal data was ever leaked or hacked. What would the legal repercussions be? So I asked my Co-founder David to walk me through exactly what data we were storing and explain what we were doing with that information. It turned out to be a lot of data we had hardly ever used. Robert: Similar to most digital products, we were storing the exact time people were coming onto our site, the IP address, and the complete user agent -meaning that we also knew what browser, plugins, and platform someone was using. That was already quite identifying. And then, of course, we had the searches they typed in. But not only that, we were able to see what links people clicked on, how long they stayed away, and when they clicked back to our site. We were able to see every single search that was being typed in and we were able to tie all of the other data we collected to those search queries. I think most people wouldn’t mind a search engine having access to one or two of their searches because those alone aren’t telling. But having the whole set of searches someone has ever done and being able to connect those with other, personal information and put all of that in one basket, so to speak – that’s an entirely different story. Realizing the huge privacy consequences, I was horrified. I looked through some of these files and the searches that people had typed in – highly personal searches that others would have no business seeing – and that was my epiphany and the moment of realization: my gosh, this is terrible and extremely unethical! What happened after that? I realized that this was not in line with what we should be doing and that we needed to get rid of all the data we had stored so far. David and I had some discussions about it, as he is the CTO and comes from a very technical background, seeing the technical value in storing stuff.  But we agreed to delete all the data we had ever stored. Then, it took us a couple of months to revise the product to follow privacy by design and get the whole team on board. We had to re-think the entire system to set everything up in such a way that it wouldn’t register any data that was not necessary to perform the service we were offering and only for the shortest time possible. To really become a truly private search engine takes a lot of effort, and often the devil is in the details. Robert: So, privacy became your new business model? At the time, online privacy wasn’t really a topic that people seemed to care much about, because they hadn’t yet been exposed to the dangers a loss of privacy on the internet could entail. Initially, there was that feeling of ‘the internet is our friend’ and we all embraced it. We thought it was bringing only good to the world; freedom of information, strengthening our democracies, and bringing new possibilities for global communication. Nobody had a clue what these ‘free’ products we were all using had quietly been doing behind the scenes all along. Robert: Anyway, we felt really good about having incorporated privacy as a unique feature into our service and we also wanted to raise awareness of the privacy risks to the average internet user. That’s why we launched the world’s most private search engine in 2006 and started creating publicity for it. Time flies – that’s almost 15 years ago now. How did people respond to the concept of private search at the time? How did the user base grow? After our launch, we received some positive responses from interested journalists, mostly from Germany, because the German people have always been more interested in privacy than any other country that I know in the world. But that was it. Until two months later when the internet company AOL released a large amount of their user search requests to the public for research purposes. A database containing twenty million search keywords from over 650.000 users was published online. They hadn’t thought about the privacy aspects very well and had replaced IP addresses with unique numbers. As this revealed the total search history per person, journalists were quick to identify the first real people behind the searches. Of course, this created quite a public outrage and a lot of bad publicity for AOL at the time. Robert: Seeing this publicly available database and being able to search through it was a game-changer for search engine privacy awareness. Because you could type in a search keyword and you could see a number for every person who had typed in that specific query. When you clicked on that number you could see all of the searches that person had performed. Sometimes it was just funny queries that people had typed in but sometimes they were more serious. There were actually a couple of people who had typed in things like “how to kill my wife” for instance. Reviewing someone’s full search history tells you the personal story of their lives, their thoughts, beliefs, fears, and hopes. And at that moment, when I looked at that and tried some searches and clicked on the identifying numbers and I could see the whole search histories of people, only then did it really get to me how important it was what we were doing with our private search. And how extremely powerful the information you give away to your search engine is. Do you think people are aware of the differences between those advertising models? I think the “ads that follow you around” are one of the things that have created a lot of awareness when it comes to being tracked online. And that’s because it’s often the first thing people will notice. You see, the average internet user is not very technical. They don’t know much about Cookies, what an IP address consists of, or how a user agent works. But when you’re browsing online and you’re suddenly presented with an ad that refers to something you talked about on an entirely different platform hours earlier, that feels like a huge intrusion on your privacy and personal life.  And like with a lot of things, you have to see it happening in practice. Robert: We just covered a lot of ground and privacy tipping points from the past decade. Have you always been a private person, or was your attitude towards privacy protection shaped by what you learned over the years? I have always liked my own privacy. It probably has a lot to do with your upbringing and the family you grow up in too. I grew up in the woods and have never been a big city person. My parents raised us to value individual freedom in combination with having strong personal responsibilities. Essentially, I believe that every human being has the right to privacy and the right to be whoever they want to be and think whatever they want to think – until that point where you impact someone else’s freedom, of course. Freedom to search for information without being tracked or profiled is an important element of privacy, one that Startpage offers. So, individual freedom is something I have always felt very strongly about. People sometimes say “you were a visionary”, but I don’t buy that. It was just a coincidence that I ended up running a search engine, performed a legal audit, and then just happened to realize the far-reaching privacy consequences of gathering personal search data so early on in the game. Coincidence is influencing a lot of things in life… Looking into the future, which new features would you like Startpage to implement? What do you think are the most important ones so far? First of all, I think we are on the right path. One of our most important features is the Anonymous View, which goes far beyond the Incognito or Private modes that browsers offer. Those modes only work locally on your device, search engines can still see your browsing history and any website you visit can still see your IP address and other details. With Startpage’s Anonymous View, you can click on a search result and you are viewing the website that opens completely anonymously (through Startpage). No one will ever know you were on that site. Robert: We are also getting ready to release a new extension that blocks trackers, turns on an auto Do Not Track mode, and provides privacy scores for each site. In addition to private search. We have the best private search engine in the world, we just have to tout our own horn a little more to get more people to enjoy it. This article was originally published on Startpage's Privacy Please! blog.

Privacy is a human right: An Interview with Startpage founder, Robert E.G. Beens

When there’s a lack of clarity about the future, often the business initiatives that drive value over longer periods of time can seem less important. Many business leaders fell into this trap over the course of 2020, de-emphasizing things like tech infrastructure overhauls, brand awareness-focused marketing efforts and yes, employee training. As flawed as they might have been, these priority shifts make sense. Unless it was a short-term must-do — like ensuring people were getting paid, on a remote basis during lockdowns, or securing immediate revenue for the business — tasks fell by the wayside in an effort to cope with an ever-shifting business landscape. keeping team members somewhat productive Many managers found it effectively impossible to feel any sort of confidence about what might happen in the following months, as governments applied a varied response to a global pandemic and consumer behavior altered erratically. It isn’t 2020 anymore So 2021, what’s changed? While there is an end in sight with vaccines, there are still challenges. For one, remote work has proven itself as worth keeping in the playbook, and two, most companies have accepted that they can’t continue thinking about short-term effects only. As McKinsey’s Mark Staples noted in his 2021 report of how COVID-19 , now “the priority is to re-energize organizations—to act rather than react. Even as the uncertainties of the COVID-19 crisis multiply, the goal must be to rebuild for the longer term.” would impact businesses Today, businesses need to find a way to reintroduce long-term projects in a way that makes sense, or they will suffer. While it’s easy to continue focusing on short-term gains, this kind of business myopia can stagnate your growth and increase your vulnerability to more sudden disruption, falling behind competitors who invested in their future earlier. While it’s at least somewhat possible to go back to old methods and systems, that might not be entirely possible given how long . And besides, this regrouping time is a great opportunity for businesses to look towards the future and implement new strategies. Here are four ways to do so. What does this mean for employee training in 2021? offices are likely to remain closed Refocus On Value Over Style Are your pre-pandemic training programs focused on appealing to tactical, visual, and text-based learners alike? Turns out, it’s a myth that everyone has a different learning style that must be met to unlock new skills. University of Wisconsin Psychology Professor in her TEDx Talk that “if you believe in learning styles, you’re actually wrong” because“ those preferences don’t actually enhance your learning when we test them in experimental conditions”. Tesia Marshik explained Instead of offering individuals diverse learning options, it makes much more sense to focus on the information that’s being learned, and present that information in the way that makes the most sense. In the case of learning new skills, the key is simply to make it interactive. Without interactivity, you risk losing people’s attention. Image Source This is good news; it’s also a more effective way for companies to offer the learning materials they offer. It’s not necessary to provide written, visual and lecture-based content for employee training. Instead, focus on building a repertoire of employee training in an interactive, engaging style. Employees will experience greater skill retention and will probably enjoy the training more, too. Prioritize the skills that drive benefits No matter what industry businesses operate in, it’s necessary to recognize that soft skills underpin all technical skills. The results of LinkedIn’s 2020 survey of the showed that , with 57% of respondents identifying it as a priority. Next was creative thinking and problem solving, followed by communication. most in-demand skills "leadership & management" was the most in-demand skill By focusing the training on skills that both the business and the employees will find valuable, employees gain higher job satisfaction and are more likely to remain with the company long-term. “More skills invariably improve both the quality and quantity of employees’ work,” notes WalkMe in their . “Yet training also increases employee engagement levels and reduces turnover.” guide to employee training Reconsider Your Own Motivations If you’re going to invest in offering employee training, it makes sense to ensure it’s worthwhile. Don’t treat it as a box to tick – instead, try to view it as a value-driving endeavour that empowers executives and their employees alike to boost job performance. Pamay Bassey, Kraft and Heinz’s Chief Learning Officer, . “First, seek out high impact learning experiences,” she says, “Second, commit to a learning practice. And, the third, encourage others to do the same. If managers and leaders commit to those three things every day, then they can transform a learning culture.” recommends a top-down approach Image Source Take a moment and reflect on what will motivate employees to complete the training.  This is also a great way to help your employees understand their development is your priority because you’re putting more emphasis on results rather than just completion. actually Embrace Remote Learning Of course, the difficulty with employee training in 2021 is that for many businesses, it will be remote by necessity. With remote learning, it’s harder to get people to pay attention – what’s to stop employees from cooking, doing laundry, and watching TV while they have a training seminar on a screen? Apty’s maintaining engagement and distractions at home as two of the top five remote work challenges, along with social isolation, lack of information, and not enough face-to-face contact. These challenges especially hold true in the case of employee training. Revanth Periyasamy identifies To avoid those pitfalls, it’s paramount that businesses demonstrate how committed they are to employee training. Part of this is tracking performance to ensure employees understand the benefit for themselves and the business, as mentioned in step three, but it’s also recommended to incentivize participation, with rewards for employees who successfully complete training. Employee Training as a New-Old Priority In 2021, there’s both a need and an opportunity for employee training. The need is to regroup and reprioritize it for your company. The opportunity is to take advantage of new approaches that make it less of a box to tick and more of an asset for both your employees and your company.

Stories, News & Mentions about WALKME

Walkme’s Stories on HackerNoon