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Law Roach Talks ‘OMG Fashun!’ and Zendaya’s Met Gala Look

Law Roach revealed that Zendaya’s dress for the Met Gala hasn’t even been made yet. The event is in a couple days, so most people would be stressing right now, but these two always seem to make it work.

Law Roach Says Zendaya’s Met Gala Dress Isn’t Made Yet

Zendaya will serve as co-chair for the 2024 Met Gala, her first time attending the annual fashion event in five years

Law Roach reveals Zendaya’s Met Gala dress hasn’t been made yet | The Independent

&quot;We&#x27;re at a place now where we just want to see the fashion,&quot; Giuliana Rancic says, looking back on her career covering red carpet style at E!

Giuliana Rancic Reflects on Zendaya's 'Incredible' Career and How Fashion Reporting Has Evolved (Exclusive)

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The Man Who Never Says No to Zendaya

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Welcome to the awesome world of AI, where chatting with a computer program like ChatGPT isn't just cool; it's like unlocking a superpower! As we zoom through 2024, there's this super trendy skill everyone's talking about: prompt engineering. Sounds fancy, right? But it's basically about getting really good at asking ChatGPT questions in a way that gets you the best answers. It's like knowing the secret handshake to make your best buddy in solving problems, doing homework, or just exploring crazy ideas. AI So, what's the big deal with a "prompt"? Think of it as your opening line when texting someone. But here, your "someone" is ChatGPT, a super-smart AI. In the old days of AI, you'd ask your question, and whatever the AI answered, you'd roll with it. But with prompts, it's a whole new ball game. You get to jazz up your questions, tweak them, and turn ChatGPT into more of a chat partner than a know-it-all machine. It's like moving from being a solo player to being part of a team where you're in the game, calling the shots. And here's where it gets epic: This article isn't just a bunch of tips; it's your secret playbook to becoming an AI whisperer. We're diving into 10 mind-blowing tips that'll take your ChatGPT chats from "meh" to "whoa"! You'll learn how to craft your prompts to not just get answers but to spark a conversation, uncover insights, and maybe even outsmart the AI (in a friendly way, of course). So, are you ready to level up your AI chat game and make every prompt you send a stepping stone to something amazing? Buckle up because we're about to dive into a world where your words wield the power to shape the future of AI chats. Let's get this adventure started! 1. Keep it Short and Sweet When you're chatting with AI like ChatGPT, remember that it's not about manners; it's about getting straight to the point. You don't need to dress up your questions with "please," "thank you," or "could you." Just ask directly, and you'll get the info you need without the extra fluff. Examples: No: I was wondering if you could possibly tell me what the capital of France is? Yes: What is the capital of France? No: Could you please provide me with some information on how photosynthesis works, if it's not too much trouble? Yes: How does photosynthesis work? No: I would be really grateful if you could explain the Pythagorean theorem to me. Yes: Explain the Pythagorean theorem. No: If you don't mind, could you list the main characters in "Romeo and Juliet" for me? Yes: List the main characters in "Romeo and Juliet." No: I'd appreciate it if you could kindly tell me the steps involved in the water cycle, please. Yes: What are the steps in the water cycle? By cutting out the extra words, you make your prompts more efficient and easier for the AI to understand. This way, you're more likely to get the quick, clear answers you're looking for. 2. Tackle It Step-by-Step When you're dealing with tricky questions or complex problems, don't try to tackle everything at once. Break it down into smaller, easier pieces, and take it one step at a time. This approach makes it simpler for both you and the AI to handle, leading to clearer answers. Examples: Complex Task: Solve the equation 3x^2 - 12x + 9 = 0. Step 1: What is the value of a, b, and c in the equation 3x^2 - 12x + 9 = 0? Step 2: Calculate the discriminant of the equation using the values of a, b, and c. Step 3: Use the discriminant to determine if the equation has real, one, or two solutions. Step 4: Find the roots of the equation using the quadratic formula. Complex Task: Explain the process of cellular respiration. Step 1: What is cellular respiration? Step 2: Describe the first stage of cellular respiration and where it occurs. Step 3: Explain the Krebs cycle. Step 4: Detail the electron transport chain and its role in cellular respiration. Step 5: Summarize how ATP is produced in cellular respiration. Complex Task: Write a program to check if a number is prime. Step 1: Define what a prime number is. Step 2: Write a function to check if a number is divisible by any number other than 1 and itself. Step 3: Implement a loop to test the number against all possible divisors. Step 4: Provide a final check to determine if the number is prime based on the loop's findings. Complex Task: Plan a week-long trip to Paris. Step 1: What are the must-visit attractions in Paris? Step 2: Recommend accommodations in central Paris. Step 3: Suggest a daily itinerary for a 7-day trip. Step 4: Provide a list of French phrases useful for tourists. Step 5: What are the transportation options within Paris? Complex Task: Explain the theory of evolution by natural selection. Step 1: Who proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection? Step 2: Define natural selection. Step 3: Describe how variations in species occur. Step 4: Explain how these variations affect survival and reproduction. Step 5: Summarize the impact of natural selection on the evolution of species over time. By breaking down complex tasks into a sequence of simpler prompts, you can navigate through complicated topics with ease, making your interaction with the AI more productive and insightful. 3. Know Your Audience Tailoring your prompts to fit the audience you're aiming for can make a world of difference. Whether you're explaining something to a total newbie or diving deep with an expert, adjusting your questions helps ensure the answers hit the right note. Examples: Task: Explain the internet to someone from the 19th century. Prompt: Describe how the internet allows instant communication across the globe as if explaining to someone from the 1800s. Task: Discuss the impact of quantum computing on encryption, intended for high school students. Prompt: Explain how quantum computing could change the way we keep information safe online, in a way that a high schooler could understand. Task: Describe the concept of black holes to children. Prompt: Imagine you're telling a story to a group of 8-year-olds. How would you explain a black hole in space? 4. Learn by Example Using examples in your prompts, also known as few-shot prompting, can be super effective. It's like showing a picture instead of just describing it – it makes things clearer and helps the AI understand exactly what you're looking for. Examples: Task: Convert temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit. Prompt: Example 1: Convert 0°C to Fahrenheit. (Response: 32°F) Example 2: Convert 100°C to Fahrenheit. (Response: 212°F) Now, convert 25°C to Fahrenheit. Task: Simplify fractions to their lowest terms. Prompt: Example 1: Simplify the fraction 4/8. (Response: 1/2) Example 2: Simplify the fraction 6/9. (Response: 2/3) Now, simplify the fraction 10/15. Specifying the exact format of model output in JSON can be quite useful when you want to seamlessly integrate the model's results into your applications or workflows. 5. Play the Role When you , you can actually ask it to play a role, like an expert in any field. This way, the AI adapts its answers to fit the part, giving you insights or explanations as if it were a pro in that area. chat with AI Examples: Task: Explain the importance of bees in the ecosystem. Prompt: If you were a biologist, how would you describe the role of bees in maintaining healthy ecosystems? Task: Discuss the latest trends in renewable energy. Prompt: As an environmental scientist, what are the cutting-edge developments in renewable energy sources? By assigning a specific role to the AI, like asking it to think like an economist or a scientist, you get responses that are tailored to that perspective, making complex topics more accessible and interesting. 6. Think Step by Step When tackling tasks, especially coding, it helps to break things down. By using leading phrases like "think step by step," you guide the process, making it easier to understand and execute. Examples: Task: Create a list of even numbers from 2 to 20. Prompt: Let's think step by step. Start by initializing an empty list. Then, use a loop to go through numbers 2 to 20. Inside the loop, check if a number is even. If it is, add it to the list. Task: Find the factorial of a number. Prompt: Think step by step. First, define a Python function that takes a number as an input. Initialize a variable for the result inside the function. Use a loop to multiply the numbers from 1 to the input number. Return the result. 7. Interactive Clarification Encouraging the AI to ask you questions for clarity ensures that the final output is tailored precisely to your needs. This interactive approach helps refine the details and requirements, making the AI's assistance more personalized and effective. Examples: Task: Plan a personalized diet. Prompt: From now on, I would like you to ask me questions about my dietary preferences, restrictions, and goals until you have enough information to suggest a customized meal plan. Task: Develop a study schedule. Prompt: Please ask me about my current study habits, subjects I'm focusing on, and my exam dates until you can draft a personalized study timetable for me. Step 2: Added clarification 8. Guide the Response Using output primers involves giving the AI a nudge on how to start its answer. It's like drawing the starting line for a race, showing the AI exactly where to begin, which can help ensure the response is structured just the way you want it. Examples: Task: Explain how photosynthesis works in plants. Prompt: Describe the process of photosynthesis in plants. Begin with: "Photosynthesis is a crucial process where plants convert..." Task: Summarize the plot of "Romeo and Juliet." Prompt: Provide a brief summary of "Romeo and Juliet." Start with: "Romeo and Juliet is a tragic tale of..." Task: Discuss the impacts of global warming. Prompt: Elaborate on the consequences of global warming on our planet. Initiate your explanation with: "Global warming leads to a variety of impacts, including..." Task: Outline the steps to bake a chocolate cake. Prompt: List the steps involved in baking a chocolate cake. Begin your instructions with: "To bake a chocolate cake, the first step is to..." Task: Describe the function of the heart in the human body. Prompt: Explain the role of the heart in the human circulatory system. Start your explanation with: "The heart is essential in the circulatory system as it..." By ending your prompt with the start of the desired response, you help set the tone and direction for the AI's reply, making it more likely that the information provided will align with your expectations. 9. Continue the Story Starting a text with specific words sets the stage for the AI to continue in the same style or theme. It's like passing the baton in a relay race; you give the AI a running start, and it keeps the momentum going. Examples: Task: Expand on a poetic verse about the ocean. Prompt: "The ocean's whispers to the moon create a melody of mysteries untold." I'm providing you with the beginning of a poem. Continue it, keeping the mystical and serene tone. Task: Continue a suspenseful short story. Prompt: "Under the cloak of night, she vanished into the shadowy alley, leaving no trace behind." I'm providing you with the start of a suspense story. Continue from here, maintaining the suspense and mystery. Task: Elaborate on a sci-fi setting. Prompt: "Beyond the stars, in a galaxy where time bends and reality shifts, lies the planet of Zentari." I'm providing you with the opening of a science fiction story. Expand on this universe, keeping the wonder and vastness of space exploration in mind. By specifying the beginning of the text, you guide the AI in the direction you want the narrative to go, ensuring consistency in tone, style, and theme as it unfolds the story or message. 10. Positive Instructions and Clear Tasks Crafting your prompts with positive commands and clear directives makes your requests straightforward and easy to follow. Using affirmative language and specifying tasks ensures that the AI understands exactly what you're asking for, leading to more focused and relevant responses. Examples: Affirmative Directives: Task: Explain the concept of supply and demand in economics. Prompt: Your task is to demystify the economic principle of supply and demand. You MUST use real-world examples to illustrate how they affect prices. Task: Discuss the benefits of regular exercise. Prompt: Your task is to outline the key benefits of maintaining a regular exercise routine. You MUST cover aspects such as physical health, mental well-being, and longevity. Incorporate "You will be penalized": Task: Write a summary of the novel "1984" by George Orwell. Prompt: Your task is to provide a concise summary of George Orwell's "1984," focusing on its dystopian themes and societal implications. You will be penalized for including spoilers or detailed plot points. Task: Provide tips for effective public speaking. Prompt: Your task is to offer five actionable tips for improving public speaking skills. You will be penalized for suggesting common clichés or unproven methods. As we wrap up this section, it's crucial to remember that the strategies we've explored are just the beginning. These ideas serve as a foundation, a launching pad for your own creativity and innovation in prompt crafting. The true magic happens when you start experimenting, mixing, and matching different techniques and tailoring them to fit your unique needs and objectives. So, take these concepts as your toolkit, but don't stop here. Challenge yourself to push the boundaries, to refine and develop your own prompt techniques. Your interactions with AI can become even more effective and insightful as you hone your skills and discover new ways to communicate your ideas and questions. The journey of mastering is ongoing, and every conversation with the AI is an opportunity to learn and improve. So go ahead, experiment, and see how far your curiosity and creativity can take you in this exciting world of AI communication. prompt engineering Conclusion Big thanks for sticking with me till the end of this article! It's been a wild ride through the world of AI and those quirky myths floating around. Heard the one about AI working faster for cash? Well, the folks behind the scenes claim they've fixed that - but hey, why not try it out for yourself? Drop your findings or any cool experiments in the comments; it's always fun to see what you come up with. And, just for kicks, imagine saying, "I'll give $300K for a better solution." Sounds crazy, right? But that's the spirit of diving deep into stuff like dynamic programming. It's all about finding smarter, slicker ways to solve problems. If you've got a neat trick up your sleeve, don't be shy - share it! If you dug this piece, don't be a stranger! Hit me up on . I've got more AI tales and insights coming your way. Who knows what we'll uncover next about how neural networks are changing the game? Stay tuned, and let's keep pushing the envelope together. Peace out! LinkedIn

10 Tips to Take Your ChatGPT Prompts to the Next Level

আপনার ChatGPT প্রম্পটগুলিকে পরবর্তী স্তরে নিয়ে যাওয়ার জন্য 10 টি টিপস৷

10 Tipps, um Ihre ChatGPT-Eingabeaufforderungen auf die nächste Stufe zu bringen

Diez consejos para llevar tus indicaciones de ChatGPT al siguiente nivel

10 conseils pour faire passer vos invites ChatGPT au niveau supérieur

आपके चैटजीपीटी संकेतों को अगले स्तर पर ले जाने के लिए 10 युक्तियाँ

ChatGPT プロンプトを次のレベルに引き上げるための 10 のヒント

ChatGPT 프롬프트를 한 단계 더 발전시키기 위한 10가지 팁

10 dicas para levar suas solicitações do ChatGPT ao próximo nível

10 советов, которые помогут вывести запросы ChatGPT на новый уровень

ChatGPT İstemlerinizi Bir Sonraki Seviyeye Taşımak için 10 İpucu

10 mẹo để nâng lời nhắc trò chuyện của bạnGPT lên cấp độ tiếp theo

让您的 ChatGPT 提示更上一层楼的 10 个技巧

The Origin and Development of Prostitution

THE ENTERTAINMENT OF MR. DIRECK REACHES A CLIMAX

In this thread, we discuss the current living crises, facing most of the western world. As prices increase, wages have stagnated or at worst decreased. We analyse the impact of this living crises and its effect on our quality of life. slogging This Slogging thread by Jack Boreham and Mónica Freitas occurred in slogging's official #random channel, and has been edited for readability. Jack Boreham Feb 16, 2022, 8:47 AM In the UK, we face a living crisis, with prices going up and wages stagnating or even decreasing. Is money getting tighter for you? Are you seeing your quality of life dip? Jack Boreham Feb 16, 2022, 8:48 AM https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60390527 "The cost of living hit a fresh 30-year high last month as energy, fuel and food prices continued to soar and retailers reined in seasonal discounts. Prices surged by 5.5% in the 12 months to January, up from 5.4% in December, increasing the squeeze on household budgets. Inflation is now rising faster than wages and is expected to climb above 7% this year. The government said it was taking action but Labour urged it to do more. Inflation is the rate at which prices rise. If the cost of a bottle of milk was £1 and then rises by 5p, milk inflation is 5%. Why are prices rising so quickly? Since pandemic restrictions were eased last year, companies have faced higher wage, shipping and energy costs which they have passed on to customers. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said electricity bills were up 19% in the year to January and gas bills up by 28%." Mónica Freitas Feb 16, 2022, 11:25 AM Jack Boreham, I think this is a general issue. It's the same in Portugal. Wages are meager, and everything is overpriced. That's why it's so hard for young people to move out from their parent's house and all. Rents are higher than ever, asking for a bank loan is almost impossible unless you want a lifetime expense in interest, and buying a house is an unattainable dream. Jack Boreham Feb 17, 2022, 2:08 PM Mónica Freitas, exactly it's the same here. Would you say more young people live in the cities or say in the country? Mónica Freitas Feb 18, 2022, 11:13 AM Jack Boreham cities for sure or close to them. A big chunk of our population lives by the coast and that is where the busiest cities are. The countryside has been a bit forgotten but as rent prices in the cities rise, some people are moving back to the country. Jack Boreham Feb 21, 2022, 4:08 PM Mónica Freitas That's the same as in the UK. Currently, I live in the country as it's far too expensive to live in the city. Remote working makes all this cost less. In Portugal, are you seeing more people take up online work as a means to pay the way? Mónica Freitas Feb 22, 2022, 6:37 PM Jack Boreham I think there's more openness to remote working though I'm not sure if the numbers have increased. It's better to work for a company abroad or one in your country that pays more and does it from home than relocating and spending way more on rent and all. Mónica Freitas Feb 22, 2022, 6:38 PM I plan on keeping this lifestyle tbh! It makes a better living. How about you? Jack Boreham Feb 24, 2022, 4:58 PM Mónica Freitas same, although full-time remote positions exist, they are harder to come by than freelance ones and part-time. The problem is you have to start juggling positions. Which makes it tricky. Sometimes they also make you work weekends Mónica Freitas Feb 24, 2022, 6:07 PM Jack Boreham Oh I know. Remote can be awesome, but when you're juggling different remote jobs, it becomes harder to maintain your focus. You have to constantly switch your brain from job to job, from brand to brand. It takes a big of brain elasticity. I've been more successful finding remote positions abroad than in my own country. Jack Boreham Feb 25, 2022, 9:47 AM Mónica Freitas very true! In a dream world, what would be your ideal job? Mónica Freitas Mar 1, 2022, 9:27 PM Jack Boreham I'm very curious about event planning, especially big music and art festivals. How about you? Jack Boreham Mar 2, 2022, 1:04 PM Mónica Freitas interesting. I would definitely be an astronaut or secret agent Mónica Freitas Mar 2, 2022, 3:45 PM Jack Boreham are we counting "impossible" jobs? Then I want to be the next Zendaya: singer, actor, dancer, and model 😂

Energy, Fuel, and Food Prices Soar - Cost of Living Hits 30-Year High

HackerNoon Reporter: Please tell us briefly about your  background My career as a writer began in 2015 when I was still in college. I started writing clickbait articles for a company called TheRichest, which is owned by Valnet. IF you don't know who that is, they are a large media company that owns ScreenRant, GameRant, CBR, and more. THEY ARE HUGE That was my first ever paid freelance writing gig and I'm eternally grateful for all they taught me about SEO, formatting, using WordPress, finding topics, writing in an enticing way. They also taught me how to interact with editors as a writer. The money wasn't too bad itself. My best article got 1.8 million views in 30 days and scored me over $700 USD for one article. From that point on, I was hooked. And that feeling of prestige from getting millions of people to read my article is what fueled me to continue content writing, and eventually make it a full-time career. I wrote for , , , ZenMarket, , Towards Data Science, and eventually HackerNoon. Gaijinpot.com thegamer.com keengamer.com kgnuggets.com While doing all that, I decided to start my own blog which publishes content about anime, Japan travel, Japan life, manga, games, and more. jpbound.com In 2019, I started writing full-time for Lionbridge AI, a company that provides AI training data. This position truly helped me grow as a writer and now, a marketer. This position led me to start publishing on where I now work as the VP of Growth and the Gaming Editor. HackerNoon.com What university career/educational background prepared me for all this? LOL. I graduated with a BA in English - Creative Writing. What's your startup called? And in a sentence or two, what does it do? So it's weird for me to call it a startup, but I guess since I've gotten my first sponsor and technically this year am actually making money from this blog, I guess it is fair to call it that. As I mentioned above, it is called or Japan Bound and we publish articles about Japanese culture and pop culture. We publish a lot of anime content, as well as insights about living and traveling in Japan. jpbound.com My first ever blog was called and the idea was to compare 2 games and then let the readers vote on their picks and give their comments. It eventually failed, but I learned a lot about WordPress and managing a blog. So while the blog failed, it helped JPbound become more successful. gameversusgame.com What is the origin story? Well after my first blog failed, I realized there was too much competition with companies that had large teams and marketing budgets. My main advantage is my location: Tokyo, Japan. I can create content that other people can’t because of my life experience here, coupled with my marketing experience and SEO knowledge. Deciding to start a website about Japan culture, Japan travel, and Japan in general, meant I could use the blog as an outlet for writing almost anything I wanted. I just did it for fun for a year, but then started to get organic traffic and hundreds of regular daily visitors. I found article templates that worked and started hiring freelance writers. I used contacts from my past freelancing gigs in Japan to land a sponsor and here we are! If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing? Playing games and exploring virtual reality. TBH I still spend a lot of time doing that. I also study Japanese. At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your core metrics? For us as a publication, we measure success based on organic traffic, and how many organic keywords we rank for. For the sponsorship side of things, I measure success based on the number of impressions I can get for the sponsor and the number of click-throughs on their ads. What’s most exciting about your traction to date? I found a few low-hanging fruit keywords and took advantage of them to get my initial traffic push. However, the most exciting thing was realizing an anime review I wrote ranked above Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB. This is a huge deal because Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB are THE authorities for any film or television information and reviews. Their Domain Ratings are 4 - 5 times the strength of Japan Bound’s. It gave me a huge sense of pride and a sense of hope for the future of this blog. Good content is everything and I’m happy that Google sometimes feeds the little guy. What technologies are you currently most excited about, and most worried about? And why? 100% it is VR. Play Skyrim on PS4 and then play Skyrim VR on Steam through the Oculus Quest 2 and you'll understand why. But seriously, VR isn't just gonna change the face of gaming, it'll change education, real estate, virtual meetings, and more. I'm so excited for the future of this tech and the metaverse. But I'm worried about how much Facebook controls it. P.S. imagine seeing that dragon up close in 3d breathing fire in your face^ That is what VR can do for you What drew you to get published on HackerNoon? What do you like most about our platform? On HackerNoon, I write mostly about AI, virtual reality, gaming, and writing. What I love about HackerNoon is the recognition I get as a writer. Publishing on your own blog is great, but there is no 2 human rule with that. Publishing on HackerNoon gives you validity as a writer and it boosts your portfolio to be able to say that I write on this website that gets millions of views a month. What advice would you give to the 21-year-old version of yourself? I would have said invest in bitcoin.  But seriously, I'd say "have more confidence in yourself man and learn to appreciate what you already have because every chapter of your life is a gift and it has meaning. Of course, focus on your goals, but also enjoy the journey of getting there. Your life isn't just the milestones you reach, it's everything that happens in between". What is something surprising you've learned this year that your contemporaries would benefit from knowing? I've learned that there is a lot lost in translation on Slack and in emails. You can't convey tone well over text, so please try hard to convey tone well, add emojis, whatever it takes to make sure people understand what you're saying and don't take it the wrong way. But for life in general, I learned that it is important to separate, at least in some way, your work from your personal life, so that one doesn't harm the other. This is especially important if you're working remote 100%. You need to create boundaries for yourself and designate work time from non-work time. Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to vote for Japan Bound for Startup of the Year in Tokyo Want to nominate your own company for Startup of the Year ? Head to , search for your city, and nominate your heart out! startups.hackernoon.com

My Tiny Blog Ranks Above Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB

Hey everyone! I'm sure many of you have spoken to me or seen my name poking around by now. My name is Limarc (lee-mark) Ambalina and I started my professional writing career in 2015 with Valnet, a HUGE media company that owns: Screenrant, Gamerant, CBR, The Gamer, Review This, and more. My most successful article received 1.8 million views in 1 month. 🎮 In 2016 I moved to Japan 🏯 to teach English and started freelance writing for and and eventually found a full-time content writing gig on a marketing team for . http://blog.gaijinpot.com http://keengamer.com https://lionbridge.ai/ During that time, I continued to write freelance and contribute to many publications including: , , and of course , all while maintaining my own blog about Japan on the side: . https://zenmarket.jp/en/ http://kdnuggets.com http://hackernoon.com http://jpbound.com Currently, I'm the VP of Growth at Hacker Noon and our Editor in charge of Gaming and AI. You can ask me anything about: ✍content writing 💰finding writing gigs 📰starting your own blog ✍Writing for Hacker Noon I'll be answering questions all week so don't be shy! Writing for Hacker Noon - what was the first story you wrote for Hacker Noon? anthony watson Mar 29, 2021, 9:06 PM anthony watson Great question. The article was this one about the difference between AR, VR, and MR and my answer has changed slightly from then until now: I was working content marketing for Lionbridge AI at the time and wanted to get a feel of the Hacker Noon platform and wrote about something I was passionate about. A couple weeks after that post a company called messaged me on LinkedIn referencing the post and asked me if I'd write about them. (showing the power of getting published on Hacker Noon). I still remember that article fondly because it led to my full-time position on Hacker Noon today! It's funny how one article can change the course of your life! Write everything with care. Limarc Ambalina Mar 29, 2021, 9:34 PM https://hackernoon.com/augmented-reality-vs-mixed-reality-vs-virtual-reality-ik8730gv https://hackernoon.com/telepresence-robots-are-the-future-for-remote-workers-an-interview-with-double-robotics-0t7b30iw How do you think one can land a technical content writing gig? Mar 29, 2021, 10:06 PM So here is how in a nutshell: 1. Choose a niche or niches and write quality content within it. Write a variety of content: news pieces, reviews, guides, opinion pieces, interviews 2. Get published on as many tech blogs/pubs as you can 3. Learn SEO and social media marketing/promotion 4. Constantly search for jobs via as many platforms as you can: LinkedIn, Glassdoor, local job boards, etc. 5. Apply and wait . I used to think finding jobs in writing is about knowing the right people, but it's not. It's about honing your craft, consistency, hard work, and constant searching. Luck comes to those who are prepared. I'd also recommend working on selling yourself and your skills well. Some writers can write but they can't talk about their value in an interview or even in a cover letter. Focus on accomplishments and numbers, not on your willingness to work hard. Limarc Ambalina Mar 30, 2021, 2:38 AM Rinse and repeat Limarc Ambalina it is tough to write in tech since the content is not quite as evergreen as one would like. anthony watson Mar 29, 2021, 10:20 PM anthony watson I'm not sure that is true. When I talk about evergreen content I do expect most pieces need to be updated yearly to stay relevant. The best python libraries in 2020 might not be the best in 2021. The dangers of deepfakes may have been a big deal in 2019 but maybe we will see advancements in 2021 that combat this threats. The fact that tech is changing makes it all the more interesting to write about and talk about. Limarc Ambalina Mar 30, 2021, 2:54 AM How have you optimized your routine to write more words per day? David Smooke Mar 30, 2021, 3:24 PM 💰finding writing gigs  I am curious about this. How does one scare up a full time income as a wordsmith? anthony watson Mar 30, 2021, 10:25 PM I must admit David Smooke with my new role I'm spending much more time editing than I am writing original content and I miss that part of my job for sure. At my peak when I was writing full-time and managing 4 other freelance writing gigs on the side, optimizing your routine is paramount to maintaining a high output and a healthy lifestyle. One major thing that increased my output while maintaining quality was creating templates for every article I wrote and following that template every time I wrote a similar article. A lot of my articles did well because they followed simple structures that provided people with a good user experience and ticked all the write on-page SEO boxes that allowed them to rank well on Google. One of my favorite gigs was writing anime listicles for a Japanese publication: Limarc Ambalina Mar 30, 2021, 10:38 PM You'll notice that they follow pretty much the same structure. Limarc Ambalina Mar 30, 2021, 10:38 PM anthony watson that's the million dollar question right. Making a living writing isn't easy. Once you get enough clients you could make a living freelancing alone, but that comes with a lot of headaches and requires you to manage yourself, your taxes, your invoices, etc. When I started, I was a full-time English teacher in Tokyo with 2-3 writing gigs on the side. If you want to find a stable writing job, you should build up a portfolio of articles in a niche you're interested in and then look for marketing content writing positions in that industry. Unsurprisingly (since we're having this discussion on Hacker Noon), tech is one where you'll see lots of money and good writers are in demand because writers bring in money. Articles bring in potential users, which become leads, and eventually paying customers. Limarc Ambalina Mar 30, 2021, 10:43 PM Limarc Ambalina My big problem is I will not write for money. I really only write ummm....because I might die if I do not. People come to me and ask me to write things and this is the ridiculous thing I have been saying. "I write what I WANT to write. I am not really for hire. I just write stuff because I want to write it and I believe it, so I am going to pass." Obviously not the purest capitalist response. I am really really struggling with it. I feel I am acting the fool. Why am I such a purist who won't write something I do not want to write for any amount of money? If I want to write it, I will. If I don't, NO AMOUNT of money has gotten me to do anything but write code. It is art for me. I do not want to prostitute it. I am a dummy:zany_face: anthony watson Mar 30, 2021, 11:20 PM Limarc Ambalina "Unsurprisingly (since we're having this discussion on Hacker Noon), tech is one where you'll see lots of money and good writers are in demand because writers bring in money. Articles bring in potential users, which become leads, and eventually paying customers." But I will write code for money. I will write some code for some money...💻💵😀 anthony watson Mar 30, 2021, 11:25 PM I know this is my AMA haha but I wanna ask you a question because that interests me. Why can you write code for money but not words? anthony watson Limarc Ambalina Mar 30, 2021, 11:56 PM Limarc Ambalina yeah...tough one🤔 I cannot write just ANY code. I have turned down many recruiters sending me to Boeing or Raytheon or...any of the big defense contractors. I have to KNOW the code is meant to make money. If all the code is meant to do is make money then I can write it. I am completely and utterly mercenary about it. A hired brain to solve your problems. Plus being a neo-luddite and all...bossing the machines is the kind of heady stuff which dreams are made of! LOL  SO yeah, I will boss that machine for you "mister rich dude" who cannot code, but don't tell me what to think!😀 anthony watson Mar 31, 2021, 12:08 AM Limarc Ambalina BTW - I was going to ask you if you thought it was a reasonable AMA -> "how a neo-luddite became a coder" anthony watson Mar 31, 2021, 12:11 AM Limarc Ambalina I just noticed one of the writing gigs you had was at the gaijinpot.  Does not gaijin mean round-eye? I used to refer to myself as a gaijin but then I thought it might be construed as racist to be calling out my round eyes. I don't know anymore. I stopped doing it.  So enlighten me. What does Gaijin REALLY mean? anthony watson Mar 31, 2021, 12:14 AM I think you should definitely host an AMA!! And I'm not fluent in Japanese but the gai in gaijin means outside or overseas and jin means person so I don't know where you got round eyes from?? Limarc Ambalina Mar 31, 2021, 12:20 AM Limarc Ambalina a Mormon coder who worked for me way back when and had done his mission in Japan. He spoke fluent Japanese. I was never sure if he was pulling my leg or not. He always liked to give this "pagan" a hard time, though it was always good-natured. anthony watson Mar 31, 2021, 12:34 AM Very straightforward question, what made you a writer and how do you define that drive that is to write? Muhammad Bilal Mar 31, 2021, 11:58 AM Great question Muhammad Bilal so from a young age I was always interested in media. I remember when we got our first computer I made my own desktop folder with my name on it and I thought it was super cool. I would save dragon ball z GIFs to my folder and even saving words in notepad was mindblowing to me. That passion for media or tech transferred to video games when my father bought me a PlayStation 1 when I was 6 years old and the games I played there began to foster my love for stories. Interestingly, I think a huge defining moment for me was in second grade. The teacher gave us the assignment of writing a short story. We were 6 and 7 year olds, so I don't know what she was expecting. But I took the assignment seriously. I went to the library and rented 8 children's books to get ideas from. That's where I discovered plagiarism. I thought "This is a good story. Why don't I just write this story down and read this to the class?" So that's what I did. And after I read my story aloud, for the first time in my life I heard applause for something I'd written and my teacher said "I think we have a future writer on our hands!". But when I sat down at my desk I felt guilt, because I knew the story wasn't mine 😔. I made a silent vow to myself that the next time I read something aloud to the class, it would be something I'd written 21 years later....And here we are! Limarc Ambalina Mar 31, 2021, 3:17 PM For me there are 2 drives to write: one is validation. I think I'm a decently vain person and I deal with that by getting validation through my writing. Secondly, and more importantly, is the drive to tell an important story or the drive to share something you think is important. I can point to many stories that changed my life. If one of my stories change someone else's life in a small or large way, that's enough for me. Limarc Ambalina Mar 31, 2021, 3:19 PM Limarc Ambalina I should add hackernoon's superpeer invite made me think more "creatively" about how to monetize what I write. I mean if I am going to write it anyway, then.💵 anthony watson Mar 31, 2021, 6:05 PM Monetization is a whole other huge topic. For someone as experienced as yourself, I'm sure there are ways you can monetize your own work. Limarc Ambalina Apr 1, 2021, 2:44 AM Limarc Ambalina but I was not thinking truly "creatively" until I thought about building out the superpeer profile. It triggered a deeper think about things anthony watson Apr 1, 2021, 1:58 PM Limarc Ambalina What's the connection between journalism and content writing? Is it true that you need to take journalism courses to be a good writer? shahmeer khan Apr 4, 2021, 6:41 PM So I have never taken a journalism course, and do not have a journalism degree. Thus, I may be the best one to ask this question But journalism is typically news, op-eds, investigative pieces. Content writing could include those topics, but more. Like if I'm writing guides on "How to Set Up Your WordPress Account" I don't think I'd call that journalism. But I would call it content writing. Do you need to take journalism courses to be a good writer? No. But I'm sure they would make you a better writer. I took creative writing courses and wrote mostly fiction during my college life, but those courses still helped me become a content writer and improved my reading and writing abilities. Limarc Ambalina Apr 5, 2021, 6:28 PM Lead image via: Florian Klauer on Unsplash

How to Write for Money: From Clickbait Listicles to Full-Time Gigs

These easy-to-follow tips will improve your output dramatically. 1. Remove Notifications 🔔 Check your phone after a couple of hours. Keep an eye on the app with the most notifications. Block them. Don't fear . FOMO Choose your shots. You are going to lose some content around. Deal with it. Watch . The Social Dilemma 2. Slice your time 🍕 Use blocks of time without interruptions (timeboxing). My favorite is . Pomodoro Technique If you come across new tasks write them down. Don't multitask. You cannot switch until time is up. 20 minutes it's a good slice. 3. Inbox = 0 📥 Keep your inbox ALWAYS empty. Unsubscribe to all irrelevant mails (most of the time is a just-one-click). Create filtering rules - out of the inbox. If you need to action on mails: (keep the list out, create a special folder). Inbox is not a To-do list. 4. Find your Flow 🕯️ Creative work happens on . flow state Takes some time to enter flow (about 15 mins). Takes one second to leave it and go to the queue again. Remove all external flow interruptions, notifications, noise. Control all internal stimulus. 5. Use 💭 Zenware Use simple software. Minimalistic tasks editors like and simple managing software like . writemonkey Trello Don't procrastinate gold plating your articles. 6. Close Your Browser Tabs 🔓 Manage to-do lists and items. Do not open multiple tabs. No operating system or web browser handles them very well. Neither you. Don't multitask.If something takes less than two minutes do it. Else add it to To-Do list. Web tabs are not to-do lists. 7. Find for everything 🏠 Homes Every object (real or virtual) should have a home. We can keep inboxes (or incoming places) for things a couple of days. We need brief processes to empty those inboxes. When emptying those inboxes we should define new 'homes' if necessary. 8. Keep a Daily Agenda 📅 Start each day with a short daily agenda. You can mix personal and work items or keep them in two separate lists. Plan for unplanned work. Revisit hourly to keep up. And close it at night. Never reuse it for the next day. Start from scratch. 9. Automate Repetitive Tasks 🤖 Find repeatable shortcuts. Automate repetitive tasks. It is a two sharp blade. Never automate when DOING a task. Automating is more enjoyable than doing (Procrastination). Automate only tasks made on daily basis. Don't automate infrequent things. 10. Avoid Unproductive Meetings 🤝 Schedule meetings for 25 or 50 minutes. So you can have time to switch. Meetings without agenda are useless. Avoid meetings with more than three people. The outcome of the meeting should be action items. Commitments must include: who / what / when 11. Avoid Multitasking 👨‍💼 Don’t multitask. Work on one task at a time. Multitasking is a myth, and trying to do it only splits your focus. Human Brain is monotask. Context Switching for neurons is too expensive, so you are thrashing most of the time. Focus -> Flow. 12. Avoid Voice Calls 📞 Voice Calls are interruptions. Interruptions are our worst enemy. Avoid unscheduled voice calls. If it is not urgent you can talk via messaging in an asynchronous way. If it is urgent, double check it is urgent. If you wanna talk, schedule! 13. Early in the Morning 🌤️ Eat the Frog Do the annoying tasks early in the morning. Plan for the day. Review everything accomplished the day before. 14. Don't reuse Daily to-do Lists ✔️ Start each day with a different one. With this method there's no carry over. Daily check yesterday's unfinished goals and evaluate if they deserve being on the new list. 15. Measure Objectives 📈 Set long term, middle term and short term goals. They should not be fuzzy. Set a realistic and measurable metric. If it is not measurable with exit condition it is not a goal. Keep track on them on a weekly basis. Change it if need it. 16. Don't Save for Later 🍓 Save for later is a myth. There are excellent apps like , , , etc. Pocket Inoreader Evernote But unless you consume the list often this will grow forever. Don't save content, consume it. Don't . Hoard I'm sure there are plenty of productivity tips I haven't mentioned here. Which ones work best for you? Update Article was a huge success! See part II Simple Tips to Boost Your Productivity in 2021 (Part 2) : https://medium.com/dev-genius/16-simple-tips-to-boost-your-productivity-x10-5977e2a00697 Also published on

Top 16 Tips to Quickly Boost Your Productivity in 2021

Packages play a big role in the scene. How big and which packages?
 To find it out we took the data from the API and filtered out the
 Laravel packages. Laravel Packagist.org How did we identify the Laravel packages? By looking at . We 
classified a package as belonging to the Laravel ecosystem if , , or fields contained the string . 
We also considered it to be a package if it has or any of the subtree splits as a dependancy. And finally — the key in field is also a trigger. composer.json name description keywords type laravel Laravel laravel/framework illuminate/* laravel extra While these criteria do not guarantee a package to be Laravel-only, they do
 show that the package was made with Laravel in mind. The most popular packages By naively looking at the , 
we see quite a bit of unexciting results — core packages and packages with a 
plenty of uses outside Laravel projects. list of the most downloaded 
packages | Package                 | Monthly downloads |
|-------------------------|-------------------|
| nesbot/carbon           | |
| laravel/framework       | |
| laravel/tinker          | |
| fideloper/proxy         | |
| nunomaduro/collision    | |
| intervention/image      | |
| facade/ignition         | |
| facade/flare-client-php | |
| composer/installers     | |
| illuminate/support      | | 4084214 2987907 2455355 2376631 1510258 1099989 966800 934651 803222 756189 Perhaps a more interesting toplist would be one with these "false positives"
 removed. We manually filtered out the top 30 packages that are made for Laravel
 projects and are installed deliberately. We also loosely classified the purposes 
of those packages. |    | Package                            | Monthly | Total    | Purpose |
|----|------------------------------------|---------|----------|---------|
| | maatwebsite/excel                  | | | port    |
| | laravelcollective/html             | | | helper  |
| | barryvdh/laravel-ide-helper        | | | dev     |
| | barryvdh/laravel-debugbar          | | | dev     |
| | laravel/passport                   | | | auth    |
| | beyondcode/laravel-dump-server     | | | dev     |
| | sentry/sentry-laravel              | | | integ   |
| | laravel/ui                         | | | auth    |
| | barryvdh/laravel-cors              | | | helper  |
| | laravel/socialite                  | | | auth    |
| | laravel/slack-notification-channel | | | integ   |
| | tymon/jwt-auth                     | | | auth    |
| | barryvdh/laravel-dompdf            | | | port    |
| | laravel/helpers                    | | | helper  |
| | spatie/laravel-permission          | | | auth    |
| | laravel/horizon                    | | | integ   |
| | laravel/dusk                       | | | dev     |
| | laravel/nexmo-notification-channel | | | integ   |
| | laravel/telescope                  | | | dev     |
| | bugsnag/bugsnag-laravel            | | | dev     |
| | yajra/laravel-datatables-oracle    | | | integ   |
| | aws/aws-sdk-php-laravel            | | | integ   |
| | orchestra/testbench-core           | | | dev     |
| | orchestra/testbench                | | | dev     |
| | symplify/package-builder           | | | dev     |
| | laravel/scout                      | | | integ   |
| | barryvdh/laravel-snappy            | | | port    |
| | webpatser/laravel-uuid             | | | helper  |
| | spatie/laravel-medialibrary        | | | helper  |
| | spatie/laravel-activitylog         | | | dev     | 1 680466 17769696 2 678048 21785383 3 644297 18918427 4 625080 19404288 5 552633 10099903 6 530901 11035024 7 455879 8440070 8 433850 1599042 9 400920 10823255 10 394471 10166784 11 385921 7172937 12 359693 9107092 13 349572 8006731 14 337956 1692185 15 308453 5224001 16 304864 4599598 17 256261 4542482 18 238192 6080124 19 227966 2289576 20 223167 6544766 21 212985 5644721 22 212260 7070121 23 199780 1864659 24 195269 2279889 25 193661 1484783 26 177270 3391042 27 156741 3651684 28 153883 4774711 29 149290 2293823 30 148932 2387978 Explanation of purposes: — authentication and authorization auth — development and debugging tools dev — support and simplifaction of work helper — integration with other services integ — import and/or export in various forma port The development tools are most prevalent on this list followed by integration. We expeceted to see more of the packages at the very top, but it turns out that
 maatwebsite/excel and the tools by are more universally used. Spatie Barry vd. Heuvel Vendor overview In total there were 47337 Laravel packages identified from 23167 different developers. The distribution is quite even with lots and lots of small players. Half of packages (23668) were made by the top 3927 developers which is far more
 than would be if was obeyed here. 15042 of the developers have only
 one package published. Price's law If we sort package developers by number of packages, we get to see some quite
 unheard names. Here are the most prolific package developers along with the
 download numbers summed over their packages. |    | Developer                     | Count | Daily | Monthly | Total    |
|----|-------------------------------|-------|-------|---------|----------|
| | socialiteproviders            | | | | |
| | bantenprov                    | | | | |
| | spatie                        | | | | |
| | railken                       | | | | |
| | laravel-enso                  | | | | |
| | amethyst                      | | | | |
| | faustbrian                    | | | | |
| | artisanry                     | | | | |
| | sukohi                        | | | | |
| | anomaly                       | | | | |
| | sanatorium                    | | | | |
| | laravel-notification-channels | | | | |
| | hnhdigital-os                 | | | | |
| | arcanedev                     | | | | |
| | inetstudio                    | | | | |
| | larakit                       | | | | |
| | orchestra                     | | | | |
| | abuseio                       | | | | |
| | genealabs                     | | | | |
| | smorken                       | | | | | 1 159 10645 256409 5826725 2 132 0 5 3160 3 124 89124 2746665 43095685 4 119 0 11082 313129 5 95 1519 29456 879635 6 92 1232 8118 100819 7 85 152 2639 52698 8 78 129 1190 11938 9 75 58 1773 53805 10 59 198 6095 974489 11 59 0 0 20 12 54 3107 99536 1621420 13 54 38 1571 20304 14 53 3875 127702 3293360 15 53 241 3870 77009 16 49 1 410 18540 17 48 21569 544696 7606461 18 45 1 951 78289 19 43 3219 87234 1215349 20 41 36 985 14277 Apparently there are quite a few developers who make a lot of components and
 put them up without much advertisement. To see more of the better known names
 and how they compare, let us sort the list by total downloads. |    | Developer         | Count | Daily  | Monthly | Total     |
|----|-------------------|-------|--------|---------|-----------|
| | laravel           | | | | |
| | illuminate        | | | | |
| | nesbot            | | | | |
| | barryvdh          | | | | |
| | spatie            | | | | |
| | fideloper         | | | | |
| | intervention      | | | | |
| | composer          | | | | |
| | league            | | | | |
| | nunomaduro        | | | | |
| | laravelcollective | | | | |
| | maatwebsite       | | | | |
| | cocur             | | | | |
| | jenssegers        | | | | |
| | beyondcode        | | | | |
| | laracasts         | | | | |
| | graham-campbell   | | | | |
| | facade            | | | | |
| | yajra             | | | | |
| | tymon             | | | | | 1 39 364375 9832728 225867755 2 33 244509 7210832 197044965 3 1 179106 4084214 112631927 4 19 82289 2246578 63115434 5 124 89124 2746665 43095685 6 3 100748 2376631 41313378 7 7 46259 1260102 33891504 8 1 10603 803222 26065561 9 7 18996 731742 24433630 10 19 68333 1734552 23394056 11 6 32460 710099 23285426 12 6 27955 717140 18258360 13 1 19246 491761 16609476 14 15 24263 544700 16468485 15 29 14221 677724 12648233 16 11 10352 317232 12119703 17 36 11092 291114 10184667 18 5 67794 1915933 9860242 19 19 17794 446360 9792222 20 2 11437 359693 9107116 If one sorts this list by monthly dowloads instead, the picture is slightly different. |    | Developer         | Count | Daily  | Monthly | Total     |
|----|-------------------|-------|--------|---------|-----------|
| | laravel           | | | | |
| | illuminate        | | | | |
| | nesbot            | | | | |
| | spatie            | | | | |
| | fideloper         | | | | |
| | barryvdh          | | | | |
| | facade            | | | | |
| | nunomaduro        | | | | |
| | intervention      | | | | |
| | composer          | | | | | 1 39 364375 9832728 225867755 2 33 244509 7210832 197044965 3 1 179106 4084214 112631927 4 124 89124 2746665 43095685 5 3 100748 2376631 41313378 6 19 82289 2246578 63115434 7 5 67794 1915933 9860242 8 19 68333 1734552 23394056 9 7 46259 1260102 33891504 10 1 10603 803222 26065561 These distributions are extremely top heavy. Regardless if you order by daily,
 monthly or total downloads, more than half of all downloads go to top 6 package
 developers. For example, out of 5.65 million daily package downloads, 2.85 million
 are split among , , , , and . laravel illuminate nesbot spatie fideloper barryvdh We can use something a kin to to assess the depth of the scene.
 There are only 317 developers that get 317 or more daily downloads. 1118 vendors
 get 1118 or more monthly downloads and the same number is 3003 for total numbers. Hirsch index Licensing choices Our licensing overview is not very precise as various strings are used for the same
 license, for example , , , , even and many more for the same license. gpl-3.0 gpl 3.0 gpl3 gplv3 gnu general
 public license version 3 Luckily, the main conclusions are clear as the string is the license of 
37502 Laravel packages. 6304 packages are unlicensed, More than 500  
packages are licensed under each of Apache 2.0 and GPL 3.0. And there are also few hundred
 packages with BSD 2, BSD 3 and GPL 2.0. mit 79% of Laravel packages are MIT-licensed, 14% are unlicensed and the other
 licenses are each used in used in 2% of projects or less. This is probably in part
 influenced by Laravel which itself is MIT licensed. Among all of the packages
 the prevalence of the MIT license is considerably smaller — 60%. Outside Laravel The number of packages for different frameworks shows the involvment of the
 community in the development of the framework tools and how much they are 
willing to share their code with others. We also counted the abandoned packages
 and their percentage to see which communities are thriving and which are limping. |    | Framework     | Packages | Abandoned | Aband. % |
|----|---------------|----------|-----------|----------|
| | Laravel       | | | , %     |
| | Symfony       | | | , %     |
| | Yii           | | | , %     |
| | ZendFramework | | | , %    |
| | WordPress     | | | , %     |
| | Nette         | | | , %     |
| | CakePHP       | | | , %     |
| | Slim          | | | , %     |
| | Laminas       | | | , %     |
| | Phalcon       | | | , %     |
| | Codeigniter   | | | , %    |
| | Aura          | | | , %     |
| | Kohana        | | | , %    |
| | FuelPHP       | | | , %     |
| | PHPixie       | | | , %     | 1 47337 2618 5 5 2 39428 3362 8 5 3 15354 552 3 6 4 7459 790 10 6 5 6446 480 7 4 6 3460 342 9 9 7 2607 173 6 6 8 1411 64 4 5 9 811 17 2 0 10 726 40 5 5 11 663 91 13 7 12 450 32 7 1 13 341 43 12 6 14 148 12 8 1 15 73 1 1 4 On the other hand, the total download numbers are reflective of how much the 
packages are important in the development of everyday projects. Please keep in mind that these download numbers represent all of the packages related to a framework not just the core. It’s just like the number of packages listed above. The criteria for classifying a package as belonging to certain framework are . One package can belong to ecosystems of multiple frameworks. here |    | Framework     | Monthly   | Total      |
|----|---------------|-----------|------------|
| | Symfony       | | |
| | Laravel       | | |
| | ZendFramework | | |
| | Nette         | | |
| | Laminas       | | |
| | Yii           | | |
| | CakePHP       | | |
| | WordPress     | | |
| | Slim          | | |
| | FuelPHP       | | |
| | Codeigniter   | | |
| | Kohana        | | |
| | Aura          | | |
| | Phalcon       | | |
| | PHPixie       | | | 1 366029776 8945189030 2 56523199 1315681505 3 50789083 1460984224 4 14137793 295710951 5 9540512 134960483 6 5662063 200378585 7 4067892 112091915 8 3871828 96962490 9 2123558 46196613 10 930846 32043126 11 919926 30474042 12 912106 31918403 13 467771 18063339 14 137762 4322810 15 5353 572100 It should be noted that the top position doesn't mean Symfony projects download
 the most packages as some of the Symfony core is used by Laravel and many of the
 Symfony packages can also be used in Laravel projects. It is also noteworthy that Zend packages have almost as many monthly downloads
 as Laravel even though the project is no longer maintained. As a farewell we shall leave you with the list of most downloaded PHP packages overall. |    | Package                           | Monthly | Total     |
|----|-----------------------------------|---------|-----------|
| | symfony/polyfill-mbstring         | | |
| | psr/log                           | | |
| | symfony/polyfill-ctype            | | |
| | psr/container                     | | |
| | symfony/ | | |
| | guzzlehttp/guzzle                 | | |
| | symfony/finder                    | | |
| | psr/http-message                  | | |
| | guzzlehttp/promises               | | |
| | guzzlehttp/psr7                   | | |
| | doctrine/instantiator             | | |
| | symfony/process                   | | |
| | phpdocumentor/reflection-docblock | | |
| | monolog/monolog                   | | |
| | symfony/event-dispatcher          | | |
| | webmozart/assert                  | | |
| | doctrine/lexer                    | | |
| | ralouphie/getallheaders           | | |
| | doctrine/inflector                | | |
| | phpdocumentor/type-resolver       | | | 1 7943600 210645235 2 7768451 238663129 3 7284741 110601284 4 6847606 119345271 5 console 6713344 199367074 6 6607580 168514253 7 6486878 176261290 8 6384401 164860087 9 6372505 149984782 10 6350221 161806561 11 6199120 180684872 12 6167368 169254030 13 6140913 165150240 14 6109702 196673732 15 6098870 190433052 16 5905460 144395517 17 5895066 157678399 18 5861396 66293788 19 5743593 171588858 20 5706391 136101740 The data displayed in this article was compiled mainly by Gatis Šūpulnieks in April and 
May of 2020 as a part of his thesis "Laravel package development and usage". Relevant sources: Raw data https://github.com/Larzs/packagist-packages-data Related article by Jason McCreary https://jasonmccreary.me/articles/laravel-numbers/ Author of this article Juris Evertovskis Compiler of data Gatis Šūpulnieks The package made by Gatis https://github.com/GlaivePro/Invytr Our newest micropackage https://github.com/crudly/encrypted Our silliest and most popular package: https://github.com/GlaivePro/Hidevara Previously published at https://medium.com/@juris_9772/laravel-package-ecosystem-4afd53fad192

Explaining Laravel Package Ecosystem

A growing number of top quality designers are turning away from contract work and towards their own personal projects (such as selling WordPress premium themes, for example). From skills-based products to online consulting, the world of design goes far beyond the field of Design itself; it extends into disciplines such as online retailing and marketing — two of the most lucrative forces on the web. Many designers have moved from working for clients and employers (often at a pay grade that isn’t quite as high as it deserves to be) to working for themselves. In the process, they’ve also created a range of enduring online properties, major e-commerce stores, and worthwhile online products. In this article, we will cover some tips you should keep in mind when venturing into e-commerce. Focus on a Niche and a High-Quality Product Unless your name happens to be Jeff Bezos, it’s fairly unlikely that selling anything and everything without a good profit margin is going to be successful. As a smaller online merchant, you need to focus on products that have higher margins — items that cater to a group of people who would be likely to purchase a wonderfully crafted product. For example, the 8 Faces magazine, a beautiful, custom-crafted magazine for and by designers, effectively focuses on a niche; as a result, the magazine is sold out in a matter of hours of being released. Test the Profitability of Your Product Before Launching There’s nothing worse than developing a product, creating a website and building out marketing tools only to find that your product just isn’t profitable. All that time and money wasted. But it’s one mistake that can easily be reversed using a simple test. With a small product viability testing budget, it’s fairly easy to see just how well your product could sell using paid advertising. Set up an account with Google AdWords, and create a variety of search ads to test your product’s hypothetical conversion rate. Of course, you should do this before your product is prepared in order to save money. Perhaps have a landing page that asks for a user’s email so that they can be notified once the product is available. It gives you an idea of how many people are engaged and interested in your product; enough that they want to stay tuned for its actual release date. This simple tactic can help you quickly and easily price your product before it’s even developed and ready to sell. Split Test and Optimize the User Interface By using some simple split testing tools such as Google Website Optimizer, you can track which of your e-commerce designs is most effective at converting visits into sales. Create a series of small changes in your pages — different button colors, headlines, or calls to action — and track them using one of several free conversion testing tools. Then, move forward with the most effective result. A variety of tools are available for this very purpose, with some being more robust and more complex than others. I like Visual Website Optimizer for its simplicity and speed — it’s literally the easiest tool out there for tracking click through rates and sales effectiveness. Other options include Google Website Optimizer, and a heat mapping tool called CrazyEgg, which can be used to assess on-page mouse movement. Usability and Results Should Drive Design, Not Aesthetics Is Amazon.com a beautiful website? Not notably, no. What about eBay or Newegg? Again, it’s a no. The design community is obsessed, and often for good reason, with smooth lines, pretty background colors, and perfectly spaced fonts. It’s a great obsession to have when building pretty websites is your goal, but the reality is that very few e-commerce site owners care about design on its own. What e-commerce websites do care about is effective design — design that compels visitors to buy products and complete web form submissions. Amazon, eBay, and thousands of other big e-commerce websites have used effective design to transform themselves into giant businesses. Use a Versatile E-Commerce Platform There’s a reason smaller businesses continually trump their larger competitors when it comes to sales value and profit margins. Not only are they more personally attentive with their customers, they are also more effective at making minute, ultra-quick changes to their business. E-commerce isn’t any different — smaller players constantly adapt to trends faster than their larger, more entrenched rivals. For this reason, it’s essential that you pick an e-commerce platform that’s flexible, easy to use, and built with adaptive changes in mind. I’ve had good experiences with Magento, although it’s not the best solution for everyone. Smaller e-commerce websites may work well in WordPress, although it certainly isn’t the ideal platform for larger websites that have hundreds of products on offer. Other options include OsCommerce, a great tool favored by the open source community, and Zen Cart, a simple option that’s generally better for beginners. Although ZenCart doesn’t offer its own payment processing options, it easily integrates with PayPal and other payment platforms. Hosted e-commerce like Big Cartel, Shopify, and SolidShops are also options to consider.

Tips for Creating an Excellent E-Commerce Website

A Rising Tide of SaaS Companies Providing Infrastructure For Today’s Fastest Growing Businesses By now, everyone has marveled at the meteoric rise of on-demand economy companies like Uber, Lyft, Airbnb and Slack. So much has been written about the factors that have propelled them to popularity — innovative tech tools, mobile technology, , rising consumer demand for immediate services and the increasing acceptance of people-to-people shared assets. the elasticity in expenses and pricing permitted by cloud computing Recently, though, more attention is being paid to the startups behind the startups. These are the growing cohort of sophisticated B2B tech companies that provide the support systems require to streamline operations and scale up to even greater heights. These “infrastructure” startups make on-demand economy platforms run efficiently and focus on their opportunities for growth. on-demand enterprises Though they may not get the same attention as the Ubers of the world, these B2B SaaS platforms enable new on-demand companies to move forward without reinventing the wheel every time. Consumers and providers see a sleekly designed app connecting customers and independent contractors, but underpinning the platforms is software that helps automate the infrastructure. In essence, the on-demand economy has spawned an entirely new ecosystem of ancillary tech companies providing services in categories including: Payments Community collaboration Human resources Integration services Customer support Training Focusing on the core This trend is similar to how companies emerged to supply parts to the auto industry. That allowed big auto brands to innovate by investing more resources in designers to create stunning design, in engineers to improve performance and in marketers to hone their message and build their audience. These investments were possible because the company no longer has to spend energy on basic parts that every car needs. Like in the auto industry, B2B SaaS platforms are enabling entrepreneurs with great ideas for on-demand companies to get up and running faster than ever because they don’t have to recreate all the core infrastructure tech from scratch. Additionally, like Airbnb and Uber can improve gross margins and profitability by beginning to outsource the legacy non-core systems they built before these offerings existed. Their success is nurturing the growth of the larger ecosystem of infrastructure providers. established on-demand companies Partnering with B2B SaaS companies for infrastructure makes perfect sense for on-demand startups. They are often founded on the idea that instead of a central corporate entity delivering produce products and services, the platform can facilitate the distribution of services or assets (like a home or car ride) between individuals in a decentralized fashion. So distributing activities that aren’t core to their value proposition works naturally in this environment. On-demand economy companies focus on developing a great platform to . Their resources are better utilized concentrating on that rather than building an infrastructure system, especially when there are so many tech solutions in the marketplace that can provide those services. connect consumers with the service The companies behind the on-demand economy Recently, a . The solutions provided by these companies touch on everything from background checks of contractors and HR administration to schedule management and route logistics for delivery services. CB Insights article detailed over 50 tech startups providing infrastructure support to on-demand economy companies Here are just a few examples: companies like and , which are doing for the on-demand economy what Paypal did for eBay by reducing friction for both the customer and provider sides of platforms. Payment processing Stripe Braintree companies like and , which reduce support costs by leveraging the engagement and knowledge of a company’s customer base. Community collaboration Lithium Jive-x softwares like and gives your team a single place to manage all of your HR needs — payroll, benefits, compliance, and more. Human Resources Bamboo HR Zenefits software like and , which help growing on-demand companies scale up finding the best-qualified candidates for their workforce. Recruiting and onboarding Fountain Intuit Workforce services like and Onfido, which reduce compliance and security risks, critical in business models that use large numbers of providers. Background check support Chekr software like and , which speed up applications and approvals so providers can out in the field and earning money. Document signing HelloSign Docusign services like , which help the first generation of digital-native and mobile-native companies automate their workflows. Integration Zapier companies like and , which give on-demand companies plug-and-play infrastructure for live chat, support, engagement, service and marketing. Community support Intercom Zendesk companies like , , , and Beeline, which power the delivery management, safety analytics, navigation, scheduling, dispatching, critical to many on-demand startups. Fleet optimization Onfleet Zendrive Routific Fleetmatics Partnering for success Our company, , a modern LMS for customer, partner and workforce training, recently worked with on-demand economy platform , an online food delivery service, to help optimize the onboarding process for their couriers. When we first met with Postmates, onboarding new couriers took a month, which was way too long of a lag time between the complicated application and first revenue-generating assignment. SchoolKeep Postmates By partnering with us to implement our B2B software, Postmates’ onboarding time for couriers was reduced to just one day. Required documents were collected while the couriers were simultaneously educated and guided through a frictionless onboarding process. All this was achieved without Postmates having to build the costly process flow themselves. Instead of spending valuable engineering resources on solving the problem, they leveraged a software optimized to support SaaS companies. This allowed them to focus on building new and improved features and on enhancing the experience for both couriers and consumers. The on-demand business model is a proven economic engine of the future, and it’s exciting to see these new B2B infrastructure platforms making it even easier and cheaper for entrepreneurs to bring their ideas for to fruition. on-demand services Next time you read about the on-demand economy giants, remember there’s also a growing ecosystem of infrastructure startups partnering with those enterprises to help them succeed. By reducing costs and freeing up resources for innovation, they let the Ubers of the world do what they do best — create outstanding user experiences for customers and providers and create businesses built to thrive for the long term. Summary A growing number of tech startups providing everything from HR administration and training to route logistics and marketing power are reducing costs and supporting the growth of today’s on-demand platforms. One of the main things fast growing companies are doing is utilizing training as a competitive advantage. To get started, check out . The Beginner’s Guide to Creating an Online Training Program

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