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Howdy,  HackerNoon fam! Welcome to the second winners’ announcement for the #bitcoin writing contest presented by HackerNoon and Roostock. Since the contest kicked off in May, we’ve published over 130 #bitcoin stories, racking up more than 7 days of reading time. Round 1 wrapped up on July 31st, with 5 talented HackerNoon authors rewarded for their standout contributions. King of the kill was @nikku876 who took home $2000 for his winning entry, How to Build DApp on Rootstock with Next.js, Typescript, and Solidity. His advice for future contributors? ‘Build a useful project with Rootstock and document your process clearly—that’s it.’ Check out the full list of finalists and winners here. The second round of the contest wrapped up on September 30th. All submissions received before 11:59 PM EST on that date were considered in the voting round. We received 46 entries, which we narrowed down to 20 finalists. Let's meet them! Are you reading about the #bitcoin writing contest for the first time?
Not to worry—there is still 1 more round and 5 more winners to be announced. Enter now!
Submission Timeline:

Round 3: October 1 — November 30, 2024 [11:59 PM EST] The #bitcoin Writing Contest: Round 2 Finalists Daniel Jeffries Tried To Predict Bitcoin’s Future in 2017: How We Can Learn From It by @eduardoprospero Bitcoin, Recession-Proof? by @sipping How to Build a Telegram Bot That Queries Rootstock Data Using Rootstock RPC API  by @ileolami The Great Hijacking of the Bitcoin Revolution Has Begun by @ssaurel Bitcoin: How The King Kong of Currency Is Shifting Power To The People by @hacker3798415 Bitcoin Is The Hulk by @maken8 The Exclusivist Syndrome: Why Crypto Projects Don't Last by @web3tales Constant Product Automated Market Maker: On Rootstock by @nikku876 RootStock - First Impression Through The Eyes Of A Front-end Developer And A Web 3 Layman by @tomaszs How to Create a Decentralized Marketplace for Agricultural Products on the Rootstock (RSK) by @induction Bitcoin 2050: $52 Million Dream or $0 Nightmare? by @binarybard The Fed Finally Cut Rates. What's Next? by @ilinskii When Bitcoin Was Eleven Cents by @nebojsaneshatodorovic Bitcoin and Fractional Reserve: An Off-Chain Possibility? by @javiermateos Bitcoin’s Centralization Threat: How Financial Giants and Coinbase Risk Undermining the Revolution by @ssaurel Bitcoin Sucks! Let's Make It Attractive by @sipping Anti-Bitcoin: What Does BTC Need to Be to Actually Replace Fiat? by @cryptowizard The Revenge of Blue-Collars: Death to Bitcoin, Long Live Dollars by @nebojsaneshatodorovic Bitcoin and Politics: The First Sin of Bitcoin by @okerekeinno6 A Vision in the Code: Has Bitcoin Lost Its Guiding Road? by @emmanuelaj These stories explore key aspects of the Bitcoin ecosystem, ranging from its technical underpinnings to its economic implications. Whether you're interested in Bitcoin’s evolution or learning how to build on it, these writers have you covered. Be sure to check them out and follow them on HackerNoon. After a thorough review by HackerNoon’s editors, we’re excited to share the top 3 entries for Round 2 of the #bitcoin writing contest, along with bonus prizes for 2 additional writers! The Winners Are… 3rd Place 🏆 https://hackernoon.com/daniel-jeffries-tried-to-predict-bitcoins-future-in-2017-how-we-can-learn-from-it?embedable=true The world, in its infinite wisdom, divided Bitcoin and so-called Altcoins from the very beginning. The two names, the two categories, are not there by happenstance. The divide describes two radically different worldviews. Bitcoin wants to fix the money, and thus fix the world. The other cryptocurrencies are basically businesses; their objective is to make money. Congratulations @eduardoprospero, you’ve won $1000 2nd Place 🏆 https://hackernoon.com/how-to-build-a-telegram-bot-that-queries-rootstock-data-using-rootstock-rpc-api?embedable=true Learn how to build a Telegram bot that retrieves data from Rootstock using the Rootstock API. You'll need Node.js installed on your device and a working knowledge of JavaScript. Congratulations @ileolami, you’ve won $1500 1st Place 🏆 https://hackernoon.com/rootstock-first-impression-through-the-eyes-of-a-front-end-developer-and-a-web-3-layman?embedable=true Rootstock is the first and longest-lasting Bitcoin sidechain. It is the only layer 2 solution that combines the security of Bitcoin's proof of work with Ethereum's smart contract capabilities. The platform is open-source, EVM-compatible, and secured by over 60% of Bitcoin’s hashing power. Congratulations tomaszs, you’ve won $2000! Give it up for our winners! Now for the Bonus Prizes https://hackernoon.com/bitcoin-is-the-hulk?embedable=true Don't beat up Bitcoin (Hulk). You will make it stronger... Or maybe, beat it up. Test its limits. Make it stronger. Especially if you are an AI developer or a Quantum Computer scientist. Congratulations @maken8, you’ve won $650. https://hackernoon.com/why-crypto-projects-dont-last?embedable=true Almost two decades after Satoshi Nakamoto’s brilliant sketch of what a decentralized system should be and Vitalik’s improvement, decentralization still seems achievable only in theory. Satoshi would probably be beaming with doubts right now. Backdoor deals are carried out in "decentralized climes" like Eigen Layer to enrich employees with $5 million worth of clients’ tokens as “thank you” fees. And every day on Twitter, there's a debate about whether Zk rollups can save the world or if L2s are efficient or if we need L3s, L4s, and many more layers—like lasagna. Congratulations @web3tales, you’ve won $650. Congratulations once again to all our winners. Thank you for your hard work! How to Claim Your HackerNoon Writing Contest Prize Contact yes-reply@hackernoon.com and sidra@hackernoon.com from the email address linked to your winning HackerNoon account.
We will validate your claim and share a form requesting your details for reward distribution.
You’ll receive your winnings in 2-4 weeks after completing the form. Note: You must contact us within 60 days of the winners’ announcement to claim your reward. Ready to be a winner? We’ve got plenty of contests waiting for you!
Head over to contests.hackernoon.com to see what's up for grabs and maybe snag a spot on our next winners' list! Howdy,  HackerNoon fam! Welcome to the second winners’ announcement for the #bitcoin writing contest presented by HackerNoon and Roostock. Since the contest kicked off in May, we’ve published over 130 #bitcoin stories , racking up more than 7 days of reading time. Round 1 wrapped up on July 31st, with 5 talented HackerNoon authors rewarded for their standout contributions. King of the kill was @nikku876 who took home $2000 for his winning entry, How to Build DApp on Rootstock with Next.js, Typescript, and Solidity. His advice for future contributors? ‘Build a useful project with Rootstock and document your process clearly—that’s it.’ Check out the full list of finalists and winners here . #bitcoin stories How to Build DApp on Rootstock with Next.js, Typescript, and Solidity . How to Build DApp on Rootstock with Next.js, Typescript, and Solidity here The second round of the contest wrapped up on September 30th. All submissions received before 11:59 PM EST on that date were considered in the voting round. We received 46 entries, which we narrowed down to 20 finalists. Let's meet them! Are you reading about the #bitcoin writing contest for the first time? Not to worry—there is still 1 more round and 5 more winners to be announced. Enter now! Submission Timeline: Round 3: October 1 — November 30, 2024 [11:59 PM EST] Are you reading about the #bitcoin writing contest for the first time? Are you reading about the #bitcoin writing contest for the first time? Not to worry—there is still 1 more round and 5 more winners to be announced. Enter now! Enter now! Enter now! Enter now! Submission Timeline: Submission Timeline: Round 3: October 1 — November 30, 2024 [11:59 PM EST] Round 3: October 1 — November 30, 2024 [11:59 PM EST] The #bitcoin Writing Contest: Round 2 Finalists The #bitcoin Writing Contest: Round 2 Finalists Daniel Jeffries Tried To Predict Bitcoin’s Future in 2017: How We Can Learn From It by @eduardoprospero Daniel Jeffries Tried To Predict Bitcoin’s Future in 2017: How We Can Learn From It @eduardoprospero Bitcoin, Recession-Proof? by @sipping Bitcoin, Recession-Proof? @sipping How to Build a Telegram Bot That Queries Rootstock Data Using Rootstock RPC API by @ileolami How to Build a Telegram Bot That Queries Rootstock Data Using Rootstock RPC API @ileolami The Great Hijacking of the Bitcoin Revolution Has Begun by @ssaurel The Great Hijacking of the Bitcoin Revolution Has Begun @ssaurel Bitcoin: How The King Kong of Currency Is Shifting Power To The People by @hacker3798415 Bitcoin: How The King Kong of Currency Is Shifting Power To The People @hacker3798415 Bitcoin Is The Hulk by @maken8 Bitcoin Is The Hulk @maken8 The Exclusivist Syndrome: Why Crypto Projects Don't Last by @web3tales The Exclusivist Syndrome: Why Crypto Projects Don't Last @web3tales Constant Product Automated Market Maker: On Rootstock by @nikku876 Constant Product Automated Market Maker: On Rootstock @nikku876 RootStock - First Impression Through The Eyes Of A Front-end Developer And A Web 3 Layman by @tomaszs RootStock - First Impression Through The Eyes Of A Front-end Developer And A Web 3 Layman @tomaszs How to Create a Decentralized Marketplace for Agricultural Products on the Rootstock (RSK) by @induction How to Create a Decentralized Marketplace for Agricultural Products on the Rootstock (RSK) @induction Bitcoin 2050: $52 Million Dream or $0 Nightmare? by @binarybard Bitcoin 2050: $52 Million Dream or $0 Nightmare? @binarybard The Fed Finally Cut Rates. What's Next? by @ilinskii The Fed Finally Cut Rates. What's Next? @ilinskii When Bitcoin Was Eleven Cents by @nebojsaneshatodorovic When Bitcoin Was Eleven Cents @nebojsaneshatodorovic Bitcoin and Fractional Reserve: An Off-Chain Possibility? by @javiermateos Bitcoin and Fractional Reserve: An Off-Chain Possibility? @javiermateos Bitcoin’s Centralization Threat: How Financial Giants and Coinbase Risk Undermining the Revolution by @ssaurel Bitcoin’s Centralization Threat: How Financial Giants and Coinbase Risk Undermining the Revolution @ssaurel Bitcoin Sucks! Let's Make It Attractive by @sipping Bitcoin Sucks! Let's Make It Attractive @sipping Anti-Bitcoin: What Does BTC Need to Be to Actually Replace Fiat? by @cryptowizard Anti-Bitcoin: What Does BTC Need to Be to Actually Replace Fiat? @cryptowizard The Revenge of Blue-Collars: Death to Bitcoin, Long Live Dollars by @nebojsaneshatodorovic The Revenge of Blue-Collars: Death to Bitcoin, Long Live Dollars @nebojsaneshatodorovic Bitcoin and Politics: The First Sin of Bitcoin by @okerekeinno6 Bitcoin and Politics: The First Sin of Bitcoin @okerekeinno6 A Vision in the Code: Has Bitcoin Lost Its Guiding Road? by @emmanuelaj A Vision in the Code: Has Bitcoin Lost Its Guiding Road? @emmanuelaj These stories explore key aspects of the Bitcoin ecosystem, ranging from its technical underpinnings to its economic implications. Whether you're interested in Bitcoin’s evolution or learning how to build on it, these writers have you covered. Be sure to check them out and follow them on HackerNoon. These stories explore key aspects of the Bitcoin ecosystem, ranging from its technical underpinnings to its economic implications. Whether you're interested in Bitcoin’s evolution or learning how to build on it, these writers have you covered. Be sure to check them out and follow them on HackerNoon. After a thorough review by HackerNoon’s editors, we’re excited to share the top 3 entries for Round 2 of the #bitcoin writing contest, along with bonus prizes for 2 additional writers! After a thorough review by HackerNoon’s editors, we’re excited to share the top 3 entries for Round 2 of the #bitcoin writing contest , along with bonus prizes for 2 additional writers! top 3 entries for Round 2 of the #bitcoin writing contest bonus prizes for 2 additional writers! The Winners Are… 3rd Place 🏆 https://hackernoon.com/daniel-jeffries-tried-to-predict-bitcoins-future-in-2017-how-we-can-learn-from-it?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/daniel-jeffries-tried-to-predict-bitcoins-future-in-2017-how-we-can-learn-from-it?embedable=true The world, in its infinite wisdom, divided Bitcoin and so-called Altcoins from the very beginning. The two names, the two categories, are not there by happenstance. The divide describes two radically different worldviews. Bitcoin wants to fix the money, and thus fix the world. The other cryptocurrencies are basically businesses; their objective is to make money. The world, in its infinite wisdom, divided Bitcoin and so-called Altcoins from the very beginning. The two names, the two categories, are not there by happenstance. The divide describes two radically different worldviews. Bitcoin wants to fix the money, and thus fix the world. The other cryptocurrencies are basically businesses; their objective is to make money. Congratulations @eduardoprospero, you’ve won $1000 Congratulations @eduardoprospero, you’ve won $1000 Congratulations @eduardoprospero , you’ve won $1000 @eduardoprospero 2nd Place 🏆 https://hackernoon.com/how-to-build-a-telegram-bot-that-queries-rootstock-data-using-rootstock-rpc-api?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/how-to-build-a-telegram-bot-that-queries-rootstock-data-using-rootstock-rpc-api?embedable=true Learn how to build a Telegram bot that retrieves data from Rootstock using the Rootstock API. You'll need Node.js installed on your device and a working knowledge of JavaScript. Learn how to build a Telegram bot that retrieves data from Rootstock using the Rootstock API. You'll need Node.js installed on your device and a working knowledge of JavaScript. Congratulations @ileolami, you’ve won $1500 Congratulations @ileolami, you’ve won $1500 Congratulations @ileolami , you’ve won $1500 @ileolami 1st Place 🏆 https://hackernoon.com/rootstock-first-impression-through-the-eyes-of-a-front-end-developer-and-a-web-3-layman?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/rootstock-first-impression-through-the-eyes-of-a-front-end-developer-and-a-web-3-layman?embedable=true Rootstock is the first and longest-lasting Bitcoin sidechain. It is the only layer 2 solution that combines the security of Bitcoin's proof of work with Ethereum's smart contract capabilities. The platform is open-source, EVM-compatible, and secured by over 60% of Bitcoin’s hashing power. Rootstock is the first and longest-lasting Bitcoin sidechain. It is the only layer 2 solution that combines the security of Bitcoin's proof of work with Ethereum's smart contract capabilities. The platform is open-source, EVM-compatible, and secured by over 60% of Bitcoin’s hashing power. Congratulations tomaszs, you’ve won $2000! Congratulations tomaszs, you’ve won $2000! Congratulations tomaszs , you’ve won $2000! tomaszs Give it up for our winners! Give it up for our winners! Now for the Bonus Prizes https://hackernoon.com/bitcoin-is-the-hulk?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/bitcoin-is-the-hulk?embedable=true Don't beat up Bitcoin (Hulk). You will make it stronger... Or maybe, beat it up. Test its limits. Make it stronger. Especially if you are an AI developer or a Quantum Computer scientist. Don't beat up Bitcoin (Hulk). You will make it stronger... Or maybe, beat it up. Test its limits. Make it stronger. Especially if you are an AI developer or a Quantum Computer scientist. Congratulations @maken8, you’ve won $650. Congratulations @maken8, you’ve won $650. Congratulations @maken8 , you’ve won $650. @maken8 https://hackernoon.com/why-crypto-projects-dont-last?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/why-crypto-projects-dont-last?embedable=true Almost two decades after Satoshi Nakamoto’s brilliant sketch of what a decentralized system should be and Vitalik’s improvement, decentralization still seems achievable only in theory. Satoshi would probably be beaming with doubts right now. Backdoor deals are carried out in "decentralized climes" like Eigen Layer to enrich employees with $5 million worth of clients’ tokens as “thank you” fees. And every day on Twitter, there's a debate about whether Zk rollups can save the world or if L2s are efficient or if we need L3s, L4s, and many more layers—like lasagna. Almost two decades after Satoshi Nakamoto’s brilliant sketch of what a decentralized system should be and Vitalik’s improvement, decentralization still seems achievable only in theory. Satoshi would probably be beaming with doubts right now. Backdoor deals are carried out in "decentralized climes" like Eigen Layer to enrich employees with $5 million worth of clients’ tokens as “thank you” fees. And every day on Twitter, there's a debate about whether Zk rollups can save the world or if L2s are efficient or if we need L3s, L4s, and many more layers—like lasagna. Congratulations @web3tales, you’ve won $650. Congratulations @web3tales, you’ve won $650. Congratulations @web3tales , you’ve won $650. @web3tales Congratulations once again to all our winners. Thank you for your hard work! Congratulations once again to all our winners. Thank you for your hard work! How to Claim Your HackerNoon Writing Contest Prize Contact yes-reply@hackernoon.com and sidra@hackernoon.com from the email address linked to your winning HackerNoon account. We will validate your claim and share a form requesting your details for reward distribution. You’ll receive your winnings in 2-4 weeks after completing the form. Contact yes-reply@hackernoon.com and sidra@hackernoon.com from the email address linked to your winning HackerNoon account. yes-reply@hackernoon.com sidra@hackernoon.com We will validate your claim and share a form requesting your details for reward distribution. You’ll receive your winnings in 2-4 weeks after completing the form. Note: You must contact us within 60 days of the winners’ announcement to claim your reward. Note: You must contact us within 60 days of the winners’ announcement to claim your reward. Note: You must contact us within 60 days of the winners’ announcement to claim your reward. Ready to be a winner? Ready to be a winner? We’ve got plenty of contests waiting for you! Head over to contests.hackernoon.com to see what's up for grabs and maybe snag a spot on our next winners' list! We’ve got plenty of contests waiting for you! Head over to contests.hackernoon.com to see what's up for grabs and maybe snag a spot on our next winners' list! contests.hackernoon.com contests.hackernoon.com

The #bitcoin Writing Contest by Rootstock and HackerNoon: Round 2 Results 🎉

Ο διαγωνισμός συγγραφής #bitcoin από τη Rootstock και το HackerNoon: Αποτελέσματα Γύρου 2 🎉

Concurso de redacción sobre #bitcoin de Rootstock y HackerNoon: resultados de la segunda ronda 🎉

مسابقه نوشتن #bitcoin توسط Rootstock و HackerNoon: نتایج دور دوم 🎉

Kontes Penulisan #bitcoin oleh Rootstock dan HackerNoon: Hasil Babak 2 🎉

Rootstock と HackerNoon による #bitcoin ライティング コンテスト: 第 2 ラウンドの結果 🎉

„Rootstock“ ir „HackerNoon“ #bitcoin rašymo konkursas: 2 turo rezultatai 🎉

De #bitcoin schrijfwedstrijd van Rootstock en HackerNoon: resultaten ronde 2 🎉

Concurso de Escrita #bitcoin da Rootstock e HackerNoon: Resultados da 2ª Rodada 🎉

Конкурс сочинений на тему #bitcoin от Rootstock и HackerNoon: результаты второго тура 🎉

Amarushanwa yo Kwandika #bitcoin by Rootstock na HackerNoon: Icyiciro cya 2 Ibisubizo 🎉

Konkursi i shkrimit të #bitcoin nga Rootstock dhe HackerNoon: Rezultatet e Raundit 2 🎉

Конкурс #bitcoin Writing Contest від Rootstock і HackerNoon: результати 2 раунду 🎉

Life in the Next 100 Years According to Jail-Broken Claude Sonnet 3.5

The Sea Lady by H. G. Wells, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . THE EPISODE OF THE VARIOUS JOURNALISTS THE EPISODE OF THE VARIOUS JOURNALISTS The remarkable thing is that the Buntings really carried out the programme Mrs. Bunting laid down. For a time at least they positively succeeded in converting the Sea Lady into a credible human invalid, in spite of the galaxy of witnesses to the lady’s landing and in spite of the severe internal dissensions that presently broke out. In spite, moreover, of the fact that one of the maids—they found out which only long after—told the whole story under vows to her very superior young man who told it next Sunday to a rising journalist who was sitting about on the Leas maturing a descriptive article. The rising journalist was incredulous. But he went about enquiring. In the end he thought it good enough to go upon. He found in several quarters a vague but sufficient rumour of a something; for the maid’s young man was a conversationalist when he had anything to say. [72] Finally the rising journalist went and sounded the people on the two chief Folkestone papers and found the thing had just got to them. They were inclined to pretend they hadn’t heard of it, after the fashion of local papers when confronted by the abnormal, but the atmosphere of enterprise that surrounded the rising journalist woke them up. He perceived he had done so and that he had no time to lose. So while they engaged in inventing representatives to enquire, he went off and telephoned to the Daily Gunfire and the New Paper. When they answered he was positive and earnest. He staked his reputation—the reputation of a rising journalist! [73] “I swear there’s something up,” he said. “Get in first—that’s all.” He had some reputation, I say—and he had staked it. The Daily Gunfire was sceptical but precise, and the New Paper sprang a headline “A Mermaid at last!” You might well have thought the thing was out after that, but it wasn’t. There are things one doesn’t believe even if they are printed in a halfpenny paper. To find the reporters hammering at their doors, so to speak, and fended off only for a time by a proposal that they should call again; to see their incredible secret glaringly in print, did indeed for a moment seem a hopeless exposure to both the Buntings and the Sea Lady. Already they could see the story spreading, could imagine the imminent rush of intimate enquiries, the tripod strides of a multitude of cameras, the crowds watching the windows, the horrors of a great publicity. All the Buntings and Mabel were aghast, simply aghast. Adeline was not so much aghast as excessively annoyed at this imminent and, so far as she was concerned, absolutely irrelevant publicity. “They will never dare—” she said, and “Consider how it affects Harry!” and at the earliest opportunity she retired to her own room. The others, with a certain disregard of her offence, sat around the Sea Lady’s couch—she had scarcely touched her breakfast—and canvassed the coming terror. [74] “They will put our photographs in the papers,” said the elder Miss Bunting. “Well, they won’t put mine in,” said her sister. “It’s horrid. I shall go right off now and have it taken again.” “They’ll interview the Ded!” “No, no,” said Mr. Bunting terrified. “Your mother——” [75] “It’s your place, my dear,” said Mrs. Bunting. “But the Ded—” said Fred. “I couldn’t,” said Mr. Bunting. “Well, some one’ll have to tell ’em anyhow,” said Mrs. Bunting. “You know, they will——” “But it isn’t at all what I wanted,” wailed the Sea Lady, with the Daily Gunfire in her hand. “Can’t it be stopped?” “You don’t know our journalists,” said Fred. The tact of my cousin Melville saved the situation. He had dabbled in journalism and talked with literary fellows like myself. And literary fellows like myself are apt at times to be very free and outspoken about the press. He heard of the Buntings’ shrinking terror of publicity as soon as he arrived, a perfect clamour—an almost exultant clamour indeed, of shrinking terror, and he caught the Sea Lady’s eye and took his line there and then. [76] “It’s not an occasion for sticking at trifles, Mrs. Bunting,” he said. “But I think we can save the situation all the same. You’re too hopeless. We must put our foot down at once; that’s all. Let see these reporter fellows and write to the London dailies. I think I can take a line that will settle them.” me “Eh?” said Fred. “I can take a line that will stop it, trust me.” “What, altogether?” “Altogether.” “How?” said Fred and Mrs. Bunting. “You’re not going to bribe them!” “Bribe!” said Mr. Bunting. “We’re not in France. You can’t bribe a British paper.” (A sort of subdued cheer went around from the assembled Buntings.) [77] “You leave it to me,” said Melville, in his element. And with earnestly expressed but not very confident wishes for his success, they did. He managed the thing admirably. “What’s this about a mermaid?” he demanded of the local journalists when they returned. They travelled together for company, being, so to speak, emergency journalists, compositors in their milder moments, and unaccustomed to these higher aspects of journalism. “What’s this about a mermaid?” repeated my cousin, while they waived precedence dumbly one to another. “I believe some one’s been letting you in,” said my cousin Melville. “Just imagine!—a mermaid!” “That’s what we thought,” said the younger of the two emergency journalists. “We knew it was some sort of hoax, you know. Only the New Paper giving it a headline——” [78] “I’m amazed even Banghurst—” said my cousin Melville. “It’s in the Daily Gunfire as well,” said the older of the two emergency journalists. “What’s one more or less of these ha’penny fever rags?” cried my cousin with a ringing scorn. “Surely you’re not going to take your Folkestone news from mere London papers.” “But how did the story come about?” began the older emergency journalist. “That’s not my affair.” The younger emergency journalist had an inspiration. He produced a note book from his breast pocket. “Perhaps, sir, you wouldn’t mind suggesting to us something we might say——” My cousin Melville complied. [79] II The rising young journalist who had first got wind of the business—who must not for a moment be confused with the two emergency journalists heretofore described—came to Banghurst next night in a state of strange exultation. “I’ve been through with it and I’ve seen her,” he panted. “I waited about outside and saw her taken into the carriage. I’ve talked to one of the maids—I got into the house under pretence of being a telephone man to see their telephone—I spotted the wire—and it’s a fact. A positive fact—she’s a mermaid with a tail—a proper mermaid’s tail. I’ve got here——” He displayed sheets. “Whaddyer talking about?” said Banghurst from his littered desk, eyeing the sheets with apprehensive animosity. [80] “The mermaid—there really a mermaid. At Folkestone.” is Banghurst turned away from him and pawed at his pen tray. “Whad if there is!” he said after a pause. “But it’s proved. That note you printed——” “That note I printed was a mistake if there’s anything of that sort going, young man.” Banghurst remained an obstinate expansion of back. “How?” “We don’t deal in mermaids here.” “But you’re not going to let it drop?” “I am.” “But there she is!” “Let her be.” He turned on the rising young journalist, and his massive face was unusually massive and his voice fine and full and fruity. “Do you think we’re going to make our public believe anything simply because it’s true? They know perfectly well what they are going to believe and what they aren’t going to believe, and they aren’t going to believe anything about mermaids—you bet your hat. I don’t care if the whole damned beach was littered with mermaids—not the whole damned beach! We’ve got our reputation to keep up. See?… Look here!—you don’t learn journalism as I hoped you’d do. It was you what brought in all that stuff about a discovery in chemistry——” [81] “It’s true.” “Ugh!” “I had it from a Fellow of the Royal Society——” “Stuff that the public won’t believe aren’t facts.” “I don’t care if you had it from—anybody. Stuff that the public won’t believe aren’t facts. Being true only makes ’em worse. They buy our paper to swallow it and it’s got to go down easy. When I printed you that note and headline I thought you was up to a lark. I thought you was on to a mixed bathing scandal or something of that sort—with juice in it. The sort of thing that understand. You know when you went down to Folkestone you were going to describe what Salisbury and all the rest of them wear upon the Leas. And start a discussion on the acclimatisation of the café. And all that. And then you get on to this (unprintable epithet) nonsense!” [82] all “But Lord Salisbury—he doesn’t go to Folkestone.” Banghurst shrugged his shoulders over a hopeless case. “What the deuce,” he said, addressing his inkpot in plaintive tones, “does matter?” that The young man reflected. He addressed Banghurst’s back after a pause. His voice had flattened a little. “I might go over this and do it up as a lark perhaps. Make it a comic dialogue sketch with a man who really believed in it—or something like that. It’s a beastly lot of copy to get slumped, you know.” [83] “Nohow,” said Banghurst. “Not in any shape. No! Why! They’d think it clever. They’d think you was making game of them. They hate things they think are clever!” The young man made as if to reply, but Banghurst’s back expressed quite clearly that the interview was at an end. “Nohow,” repeated Banghurst just when it seemed he had finished altogether. “I may take it to the Gunfire then?” Banghurst suggested an alternative. “Very well,” said the young man, heated, “the Gunfire it is.” But in that he was reckoning without the editor of the Gunfire. [84] III It must have been quite soon after that, that I myself heard the first mention of the mermaid, little recking that at last it would fall to me to write her history. I was on one of my rare visits to London, and Micklethwaite was giving me lunch at the Penwiper Club, certainly one of the best dozen literary clubs in London. I noted the rising young journalist at a table near the door, lunching alone. All about him tables were vacant, though the other parts of the room were crowded. He sat with his face towards the door, and he kept looking up whenever any one came in, as if he expected some one who never came. Once distinctly I saw him beckon to a man, but the man did not respond. “Look here, Micklethwaite,” I said, “why is everybody avoiding that man over there? I noticed just now in the smoking-room that he seemed to be trying to get into conversation with some one and that a kind of taboo——” [85] Micklethwaite stared over his fork. “Ra-ther,” he said. “But what’s he done?” “He’s a fool,” said Micklethwaite with his mouth full, evidently annoyed. “Ugh,” he said as soon as he was free to do so. I waited a little while. “What’s he done?” I ventured. Micklethwaite did not answer for a moment and crammed things into his mouth vindictively, bread and all sorts of things. Then leaning towards me in a confidential manner he made indignant noises which I could not clearly distinguish as words. “Oh!” I said, when he had done. “Yes,” said Micklethwaite. He swallowed and then poured himself wine—splashing the tablecloth. [86] “He had for an hour very nearly the other day.” me “Yes?” I said. “Silly fool,” said Micklethwaite. I was afraid it was all over, but luckily he gave me an opening again after gulping down his wine. “He leads you on to argue,” he said. “That——?” “That he can’t prove it.” “Yes?” “And then he shows you he can. Just showing off how damned ingenious he is.” I was a little confused. “Prove what?” I asked. “Haven’t I been telling you?” said Micklethwaite, growing very red. “About this confounded mermaid of his at Folkestone.” [87] “He says there is one?” “Yes, he does,” said Micklethwaite, going purple and staring at me very hard. He seemed to ask mutely whether I of all people proposed to turn on him and back up this infamous scoundrel. I thought for a moment he would have apoplexy, but happily he remembered his duty as my host. So he turned very suddenly on a meditative waiter for not removing our plates. “Had any golf lately?” I said to Micklethwaite, when the plates and the remains of the waiter had gone away. Golf always does Micklethwaite good except when he is actually playing. Then, I am told— If I were Mrs. Bunting I should break off and raise my eyebrows and both hands at this point, to indicate how golf acts on Micklethwaite when he is playing. I turned my mind to feigning an interest in golf—a game that in truth I despise and hate as I despise and hate nothing else in this world. Imagine a great fat creature like Micklethwaite, a creature who ought to wear a turban and a long black robe to hide his grossness, whacking a little white ball for miles and miles with a perfect surgery of instruments, whacking it either with a babyish solemnity or a childish rage as luck may have decided, whacking away while his country goes to the devil, and incidentally training an innocent-eyed little boy to swear and be a tip-hunting loafer. That’s golf! However, I controlled my all too facile sneer and talked of golf and the relative merits of golf links as I might talk to a child about buns or distract a puppy with the whisper of “rats,” and when at last I could look at the rising young journalist again our lunch had come to an end. [88] I saw that he was talking with a greater air of freedom than it is usual to display to club waiters, to the man who held his coat. The man looked incredulous but respectful, and was answering shortly but politely. [89] When we went out this little conversation was still going on. The waiter was holding the rising young journalist’s soft felt hat and the rising young journalist was fumbling in his coat pocket with a thick mass of papers. “It’s tremendous. I’ve got most of it here,” he was saying as we went by. “I don’t know if you’d care——” “I get very little time for reading, sir,” the waiter was replying. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. H. G. Wells (2011). The Sea Lady. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022, from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/35920/35920-h/35920-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

In the Front of a Galaxy of Witnesses

have been around for a while now. In the years between 2007 and 2008, early B2C attempts like ‘private sales’, subscription for books etc. were tried. None of them registered success and we don’t quite know the stories. Subscription boxes Between 2011 and 2012 Dollar Shave Club, Birchbox and BlueApron. launched and opened the floodgates for the subscription boxes boom to flourish. There’s a Dollar Shave Club or a Birchbox for every category right from menstrual supplies to marijuana. The basic subscription model is pretty rewarding (for the shoppers, that is!). Pick your favorite category, get a subscription, and be surprised every month with a handful of products from that category. It’s this category that we are tracking in the rest of the report. Another category which is ‘monthly replenishment’ which is familiarized by the likes of Amazon for replenishing grocery isn’t considered in this report. There’s been a buzz in the ‘subscription box’ ever since Unilever for $1 billion. That’s five times its annual revenue (~$200M projections for 2016, at the time of acquisition in mid-2016). industry acquired Dollar Shave Club Why was Dollar Shave Club a success? It skipped eCommerce-like valuation (typically 1–2x) to SaaS-like valuation (5x) and it was the first consumer brand exit with a subscription model around it. But, it’s not all roses in the subscription box land. Birchbox, one of the earliest subscription boxes has had two in 2016, a whimper of a fundraise of $15M in 2017 and is in talks with retailers including Walmart for a sale. So, what really is happening in the ‘subscription box’ world? Is it an era that never was? rounds of layoffs We set out on a quest to find out what exactly is going on in the subscription box commerce world. What did do? PipeCandy As the platform tracks over half a million eCommerce companies globally, we had the advantage of a large data set to plow into and discover subscription commerce companies with near-complete coverage. So, for the first time, we are able to tell just how many subscription commerce companies are out there. We then analyzed entries, funding, exits, closures across categories within the subscription box segment (excluding digital subscriptions) to shape our understanding of the segment. How did we do it? In order to get to the metrics, we relied on our in-house crawling and ML platform. We labeled a large set of companies as “subscription boxes” and “non-subscription boxes” using a combination of compiling lists of subscription boxes and a human validation of websites. This was passed as learning data to our data-science engine which uses NLP and an ensemble of ML algorithms to produce a “subscription box prediction model”. For any given website, this model reads a bunch of pages from the website and outputs a score that indicates if the website represents a “subscription box” business. For the technically curious, we use Apache Spark to deploy the model at scale on data of over a million websites and over 10 million web pages. The companies with high scores based on our model have been taken into account for this article. The growth of subscription box commerce The industry started taking off from 2010–11 (Dollar Shave Club, Birchbox, Ipsy) and companies continued to launch at a brisk pace until 2015. After that, the rate of the launch of subscription box companies started tapering. Since 2015, lesser and lesser subscription box companies have been launched each year. As of February 2018, there are close to 7000 subscription box companies in the world. Almost 70% of these companies are based out of the US. For the purpose of the report, we’ve taken a part of the universe for which most of the data is available and looked at various attributes like funding, category, sub-category, and more. Unlike eCommerce, where US’ might is questioned by China, in the case of subscription box segment, it’s the US that’s primarily driving the action. But, when you compare the number of subscription box companies to regular eCommerce companies, the former is a mere raindrop in the Pacific ocean. From our earlier report on the , where we peg the global eCommerce companies count to roughly over 1M (excluding China), we could conclude that subscription commerce is a rounding error. global eCommerce market size Category-wise growth and distribution The market is dominated by niche-products like coffee, tea, meal-kits, etc. and it accounts for close to 20% of the market. Selling anything from weekend experiences for couples to stationery to cannabis, Hobby as a section of the market contributes to over 15% of the market, About 13% of the companies sell beauty and grooming products to men, women and their pets. Surprisingly, the category that caters to women’s lifestyle and needs like period boxes, and hosiery & lingerie subscription boxes is bigger than the actual clothing and fashion category. Even the boxes that cater to kids like toys and books trump clothing and fashion. To summarize, subscription commerce companies focus on products and services that are supposed to satiate the craving for experiences & a sense of well-being. The customers are going to be fickle with discretionary purchases & the spending is more closely tied to economic cycles than categories like general merchandise. There is some clue here as to why you won’t see a lot of unicorns in the subscription space. If the boom cycle we witness in the US post the 2007–08 recession comes to an end, we’d see the impact on the subscription box category. According to , Food and beverage subscription boxes (Coffee, healthy snacks, meal-kits, etc.) saw a CAGR of 146.5%. Quid How are subscription commerce companies funded? We relied on public news sources to track funding announcements. While we have made effort to track funding in the non-US regions, these numbers may need further investigation to confirm global coverage. More than 80% of subscription box companies are bootstrapped. What’s more telling is just 2% of the companies started in the last 10 years in this space have been acquired or IPOed and just 4% of the companies raised growth equity in the last 10 years. Blue Apron, the lone IPO in this space in 2017 in the US, is also considered to have had among the worst performing IPOs of the year, while HelloFresh, their competitor from Germany has had a better run at the exchanges. Plated was acquired by Albertsons. From 2010–2017, the number of investments in this space and the amount invested has been a roller coaster. According to Quid’s on subscription box commerce, “The industry became quickly saturated between 2014–2015, with the largest tally of total investments and highest dollar amounts invested happening in those years.” article Although the number of investments from 2014–2016 hasn’t drastically changed, the amount invested has dipped post 2015. Reason being, the investors are becoming more cautious but want a foot in the door, because successful exits and IPOs haven’t happened beyond isolated cases. In and out We tracked each class of companies from 2010 onwards till 2017. Every cohort has had over 35% of the companies shut down since the start. Class of 2016 is an exception, with over 47%. While data shows that, only over 20% of the class of 2017 have shut down, it is hard to read too much into this number and consider it as a trend reversal. We started compiling the data from the end of January. So the status of not all companies’ of the class of 2017 would have been captured and the news about their status would not be in public domain yet. Typically we track shutdowns by domain redirects or traffic patterns. Such signals are lag indicators and would emerge in the coming quarters. In Conclusion Subscription commerce is a small trend within eCommerce and will remain niche. Trends like Amazon Fresh and acquisition of Plated by Albertsons point to ‘subscription’ becoming a feature within the broader eCommerce strategy. Public market and secondary exits are hard to come by and are limited to specific categories. By that extension, funding is hard to come by as well. Subscription box businesses are great for consumers but not great enough to retain their attention and spend.

How big is the global subscription box industry?

Recognizing good object-oriented code scales better, the truant officers at Sun Microsystems dictated that nothing in Java should roam the halls or hang out at the mall but should instead stay sealed in a class. Methods replaced functions. Fields replaced global variables. Java elevates object orientation to something of a fetish. Unfortunately Java’s structure seduces the unwary programmer into excessive abstraction. Between demanding a class for everything and enforcing all types at compile time, it encourages you to lay down layer after layer of formalism in class and interface declarations. You’re tempted, or perhaps worn down, to imagine the result a tasty baklava of order and adaptability. Every new abstraction layer is an asset, a joint at which you’ll be able to pivot your code in the future. Any one class you turn into two, you imagine vaguely, will pay off someday in better reusability or fewer bugs. Routinely hiding your fields behind getters and setters will give you degrees of freedom to change them out in the future. However, with those design principles, you’re heading for trouble. If you never meet an abstraction you don’t like, over time your logic will get atomized into a fine mist of tiny classes and methods, none of which individually does anything. You’ll find the code impossible to follow. Debugging it or even reading through it will involve pogo-sticking up and down 15 stack frames, over and over again, trying to understand the logic, until dizziness overcomes you and you forget why you started. Only project veterans will really understand how all the pieces fit together. Meanwhile the adaptability you envisioned will prove to be a mirage. The new features people ask for never seem to line up with the layers in your code. You can’t just swap this implementation for that one, you have to change six different modules at once and patch around some unfortunate external dependencies. And although you’re ready to reimplement employee.getEmployeeID() in an eyeblink, no one ever asks for that. Your code base will earn a reputation for being difficult to work with and impervious to refactoring, because any given class is pinned down, Gulliver-like, by an army of Lilliputian dependencies. You and your teammates will dread having to touch it and talk dreamily about the Big Rewrite you never seem to have time for. Are you suffering from Thousand Layer Syndrome today? Or showing early symptoms? Look around your code. Do you see 2- and 3-line methods by the screenful? Classes that hold data but don’t own any decisions, like a C struct? Interfaces with only one implementation? How about bewildering class names? If you can’t figure out what the ParameterInfoBuilderWrapper is supposed to do, or how it differs from the ParameterInfoBuilder, the disease may be advancing on you. But fear not. Even if you’re suffering an advanced case, your condition is treatable. First, forget about the Big Rewrite. A rewrite is a risky gambit that can take a lot longer than you think and make the rest of the company feel like your hostages in the meantime. And if your current version accreted too many layers, your next version will likely do the same, unless you and your team first master a better approach to design. So don’t wait for the Big Rewrite, start improving both your code and your team incrementally. Second, refresh your vision of what good health looks like. Remember that software is at its core procedural. Computers do this thing, then they do that thing, then sometimes some other thing. High-level languages and object-oriented design are fanfare and pageantry distracting from our fundamentally humble jobs: pecking out if-then statements. Procedural logic should therefore take center stage in your code. Good Java should resemble C. A method should have a clear, nontrivial job to do, and it should show its work. You should be able to read a method from top to bottom and understand how it does its job without chasing into implementations of 20 other methods. Likewise a class should have some meat on its bones and take on some real work. A well-considered class should own an interesting decision and the data needed to make it, not just one or the other. It should be easy to name, ideally with a noun that corresponds to something in the real world with a lifecycle of its own. If you’re struggling to think up a name that distinguishes this class from that, you’re probably rolling too many layers. And it should have a testable surface. Give the class a finite job to do, independent of its peers, and write tests to ensure it does it. Third, start an exercise routine. Extend your index finger in front of you, then bend it down on your Delete key, then bring it back up. Excellent. Do a single rep on every checkin. Flatten two two-line methods into one. Find a tiny class to delete. Scrap needless getters and setters. You’re not a Victorian lady covering her ankles; join those swinging Pythonistas and let your fields hang out. Put every interface and protected method to the test: “do we need multiple implementations of this today?” If voices in your head plead “but we might want to…,” remain calm and drive them away with the Extreme Programming chant: “It won’t be needed. It won’t be needed. It won’t be needed.” Future proof your code by making it short, clear, and well-tested, not by gambling on your clairvoyance. Finally, recruit your colleagues to the cause, because you’re all in this together. Challenge each other in code reviews. Could this method be named more clearly? Is it obvious what this class represents? Does this code serve today’s real use cases or tomorrow’s hypothetical ones? Will next summer’s intern understand this routine right away? Design is an art. You can read the advice in this sermon, then read a book that will tell you just the opposite. What’s important is to hone your own sense of craftsmanship. Read those books. Experiment. Debate. The investment will more than pay off in productivity gains and incrementally improving code. You’ll have your thousand layers down to a manageable few before you know it, you’ll enjoy your improved velocity, and you’ll be smiling down on a codebase you’re proud of. Originally published at www.quantcast.com on October 11, 2017.

Death by 1000 layers: the perils of over-abstraction in Java

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