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5,000 |
The Colorless
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So whisper monochrome, it’s like a prayer
you couldn’t bear to raise lest God insist
on stripping even more, your breath laid bare
without the heart or muscle to resist
the days still destined: manic moments pass,
a zoetrope of chemicals that burn
your neurons into ash and bones to glass,
a fate from which no spirit could return —
if spirit still you have. It dies away,
even a perfect light will atrophy
where darkness doubles down, the dimming day
will crack at last — and even Heaven flees,
the color bleeding out — and eyes go blind;
you stumble for a miracle to find.
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https://medium.com/sonnetry/the-colorless-71cb18147d68
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['Zach J. Payne']
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2020-09-11 23:02:19.712000+00:00
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['Poetry', 'Sonnet', 'Life', 'Wellness', 'Self']
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Title ColorlessContent whisper monochrome it’s like prayer couldn’t bear raise lest God insist stripping even breath laid bare without heart muscle resist day still destined manic moment pas zoetrope chemical burn neuron ash bone glass fate spirit could return — spirit still dy away even perfect light atrophy darkness double dimming day crack last — even Heaven flees color bleeding — eye go blind stumble miracle findTags Poetry Sonnet Life Wellness Self
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5,001 |
Mantenimiento de WordPress en piloto automático
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in In Fitness And In Health
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https://medium.com/blogging-y-blogs/mantenimiento-de-wordpress-en-piloto-autom%C3%A1tico-c9df27c77c64
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['Antonio Cambronero']
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2019-11-22 21:22:46.586000+00:00
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['WordPress', 'Marketing', 'Blogging', 'Bloguiland', 'Wpo']
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Title Mantenimiento de WordPress en piloto automáticoContent Fitness HealthTags WordPress Marketing Blogging Bloguiland Wpo
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5,002 |
When You Stop Expecting Others to be Perfect It Could Work Wonders
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When You Stop Expecting Others to be Perfect It Could Work Wonders
How giving the benefit of the doubt can help you have better relationships and achieve inner peace, according to science.
Photo by Fernando Brasil on Unsplash
Perfectionism is a double-edged sword. On one hand, striving to be perfect can help you become the best version of yourself. On the other, it can lead to some dysfunctional behavior that might be quite toxic:
You might end up attaching your sense of self-worth to how much you’ve accomplished.
If a project fails, you might start thinking, “I’m a failure”, instead of “This project failed.”
You might get so obsessed with accomplishing the perfect outcome, that you start procrastinating and might never even start.
Your need to be perfect might give you undue stress.
Your quest to be perfect in everything you do might lead to more harm than good. But have you ever considered how expecting other people in your life to be perfect can work out?
Most of the complaints we make daily revolve around unmet expectations: “Raj was supposed to call me but backed out at the last instant. I’m so disappointed in him.” “Shaina and I had plans for dinner but she canceled and I had to spend the night alone. I’ll never ask her for anything again.”
If these sound familiar, hold on for a moment and ask yourself: are you holding others to super high expectations? Sure, you aren’t perfect and you know it and have embraced your flaws. But are you judging your loved ones too harshly?
“We judge others according to our image of perfection as well, and naturally they fall short of our expectations.”
— Don Miguel Ruiz
This article shows how most of us tend to have unrealistic expectations from other people and how this quest for seeking perfection in others can harm our mental peace. You’ll also find some science-backed ways you can adopt to let go of the need for everyone else to be perfect for you to be happy. By the end of this article, you’ll be more open-minded towards being forgiving, relaxed, and at peace with yourself.
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https://medium.com/mind-cafe/when-you-stop-expecting-others-to-be-perfect-it-could-work-wonders-d429836b9ecc
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['Anangsha Alammyan']
|
2020-12-24 13:06:28.857000+00:00
|
['Self Improvement', 'Psychology', 'Ideas', 'Happiness', 'Relationships']
|
Title Stop Expecting Others Perfect Could Work WondersContent Stop Expecting Others Perfect Could Work Wonders giving benefit doubt help better relationship achieve inner peace according science Photo Fernando Brasil Unsplash Perfectionism doubleedged sword one hand striving perfect help become best version lead dysfunctional behavior might quite toxic might end attaching sense selfworth much you’ve accomplished project fails might start thinking “I’m failure” instead “This project failed” might get obsessed accomplishing perfect outcome start procrastinating might never even start need perfect might give undue stress quest perfect everything might lead harm good ever considered expecting people life perfect work complaint make daily revolve around unmet expectation “Raj supposed call backed last instant I’m disappointed him” “Shaina plan dinner canceled spend night alone I’ll never ask anything again” sound familiar hold moment ask holding others super high expectation Sure aren’t perfect know embraced flaw judging loved one harshly “We judge others according image perfection well naturally fall short expectations” — Miguel Ruiz article show u tend unrealistic expectation people quest seeking perfection others harm mental peace You’ll also find sciencebacked way adopt let go need everyone else perfect happy end article you’ll openminded towards forgiving relaxed peace yourselfTags Self Improvement Psychology Ideas Happiness Relationships
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5,003 |
How Smartphones Change Our Relationships
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Humans are social animals. We seek companionship and acceptance. The relationships we build are critical to our individual happiness and well-being. On the hierarchy of needs, Maslow puts “love and belonging” third, superseded only by basic physiological survival and general safety.
The way we fulfill this need is by sharing events, thoughts, feelings and ideas with one another. By opening ourselves up to others, we build the trust and common ground required for deep, reciprocal relationships.
This process of relationship building has played out since at least the dawn of recorded history, but technology is starting to shift this fundamental human activity.
I recently finished reading Enchanted Objects by David Rose, of the MIT Media Lab. The book was eye opening on many levels, but I was particularly struck by his points on a concept known as the “filter bubble”.
The filter bubble is the individual conscious space we each occupy. It is created by our unique perception of our surroundings. We all have a bubble. It comes part and parcel with life as a conscious being. Our bubble is shaped, over time, by the aggregate of our interactions with all the things around us.
While our personal bubble is unique, it also shares elements with the bubbles of other people in our lives. These common elements are the result of shared experiences. When we share an interaction with another person our filter bubbles overlap. These overlaps form the basis of our relationships.
Think of these overlaps as Venn diagrams. They are only partial and are never a complete mirror.
Take, for example, two friends together at a concert. They both have a similar physical experience. They hear the same music, experience the same basic smells, sights, sounds, atmosphere, and weather. They share the same jokes and discussions and overhear some of the same conversations. This is the overlap. The shared portion of the Venn diagram. But, each person also has their own inner monologue. Their own reactions to the physical experience. You’ve no doubt experienced the flood of memories and emotions that can come from hearing a piece of music or smelling a familiar smell. This inner experience is where the Venn diagram diverges.
Our circle on the Venn diagram represents our full experience of life, both shared and internal. But the overlaps are where we stitch ourselves together. This is where connection, community, family, friendship and love happen.
The deeper our relationship with someone the more we work to expand the overlapping segments of our filter bubbles. We talk about our feelings in the moment and tell stories about the memories an experience dredges up. We divulge more of our inner monologue.
This sharing strengthens our relationships, but it takes work. It requires presence and it often requires shared catalysts (i.e. the concert mentioned above).
This is where technology is changing things.
Smartphones are a persistent, personal window into a world outside of your current experience. The people you are with have no insight into what you are reading, watching or hearing. And even more, to interact with a smartphone requires attentive processing, which means your brain must be almost fully engaged. Mentally, the phone pulls you completely out of your current environment.
As such, the interactions that occur through your smartphone fall squarely on the divergent side of the Venn diagram. They are not shared, they are part of your inner experience.
The more time spent staring into your phone the less present you are in the moment, and the more the foundation of a shared experience shrinks. This means the divergent sides of the Venn diagram grow at the expense of the overlap. Even your inner monologue completely changes. You are no longer reacting to shared stimuli, you are reacting to something happening miles away in cyberspace that only you can see.
Take, once again, our two friends at the concert. If one is now spending time checking their phone, they are effectively eliminating the shared catalyst. They miss jokes and discussions. They don’t see events as they occur. Depending on the depth of interaction with the phone, they may even become oblivious to the music. From a sensory standpoint, they become functionally blind to their surroundings.
With every passing moment the two sides of the Venn diagram drift further and further apart. This disconnection chips away at the core of the shared experience. With less commonality in the physical experience, the work of sharing the inner experience becomes extremely challenging. It is difficult for the person on their phone to relay their feelings and thoughts because their friend is not privy to the other side of the interaction. Likewise, the friend engaged with the concert is unable share their thoughts and feelings because the other has missed the relevant pieces.
The smartphone dismantles all of the relationship building opportunities of the shared experience. Effectively, the two friends are alone together at a concert.
And the impact runs even deeper than that.
Almost all interactions on a smartphone are asynchronous. Take texting for example. You send a message out into cyberspace and wait for a response. In the time between sending the message and receiving a response there is no feedback. You are completely blind to the reaction of the message recipient. This of course differs from a face-to-face conversation, where, even if the verbal response is delayed, you still receive real-time feedback in the form of facial expressions and body language.
These non-verbal cues are part of the filter bubble overlap. They are physical insights into a person’s inner monologue. They improve your understanding of the person and help guide the conversation. Texting, social media and many other digital communication tools are devoid of this nuance. You’re left to interpret all of those cues from whatever digital response you receive. And the longer a response is delayed the more you start to infer things with no real context to support them.
Say a friend takes longer than normal to respond to a text message. Your mind attempts to fill in the gaps left by the lack of non-verbal cues and physical context. Maybe they are mad. Maybe your message offended them in some way. Maybe their phone is dead. Or maybe they are locked in a life or death struggle with a Grizzly bear. Unfortunately, in the asynchronous world of smartphone interactions there are a million reasons a response might be delayed, but you have no way of accurately reading the situation.
These asynchronous interactions create a weak filter bubble overlap. There is no shared physical context, as you are both in different locations, and all you are able to know about the inner context is what the other person chooses to divulge in their response.
Back to our concert goers, the net of all of this is that the person checking their phone at the concert is left with nothing but a set of weak connections. Their interactions through the phone are weak by nature, and in pursuing those, they have lost their opportunity for a strong connection with their friend who is physically with them at the show.
They have missed their chance to forge a deep connection with another person through shared experience. Which is the critical piece to addressing our need for love and belonging.
The more technology captures our attention, the more our shared experiences with others become weak and superficial. The Venn diagrams of our relationships overlap less and less. This change in our interactions is touching every aspect of our life. A recent study even found that 20% of young adults report using their smartphones during sex. That this is coinciding with a rise in loneliness, especially in young people, cannot be coincidental.
As screens become more and more personalized this filter bubble issue is only going to increase. Smartphones are just a middle step in personalizing our screen-based experiences. The next wave of screen technology, including personal heads-up displays like Google Glass and augmented reality, will eventually allow us to experience the entire world in a completely personal way of our own choosing. The possibilities are endless but they are also ripe with risk. How far could our filter bubbles diverge when every detail of our experience is personalized?
This is not to say that these technological advances are inherently bad. But it is to us to acknowledge that these issues exist and do the work to address them.
As designers, how might we change our design approaches in order to drive stronger human-to-human connections? How can we better leverage technology to enhancing shared experience and physical context instead of diminishing it?
We talk about human-centered design and/or user-centered design, but are these ideas too individualized? Do they miss the larger design context? What would it mean to start thinking about humanity-centered design or community-centered design instead?
|
https://hairyelefante.medium.com/how-smartphones-change-our-relationships-2acedaa0b1d1
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['Jesse Weaver']
|
2018-08-06 21:24:06.963000+00:00
|
['Relationships', 'Design', 'UX Design', 'Technology', 'Tech']
|
Title Smartphones Change RelationshipsContent Humans social animal seek companionship acceptance relationship build critical individual happiness wellbeing hierarchy need Maslow put “love belonging” third superseded basic physiological survival general safety way fulfill need sharing event thought feeling idea one another opening others build trust common ground required deep reciprocal relationship process relationship building played since least dawn recorded history technology starting shift fundamental human activity recently finished reading Enchanted Objects David Rose MIT Media Lab book eye opening many level particularly struck point concept known “filter bubble” filter bubble individual conscious space occupy created unique perception surroundings bubble come part parcel life conscious bubble shaped time aggregate interaction thing around u personal bubble unique also share element bubble people life common element result shared experience share interaction another person filter bubble overlap overlap form basis relationship Think overlap Venn diagram partial never complete mirror Take example two friend together concert similar physical experience hear music experience basic smell sight sound atmosphere weather share joke discussion overhear conversation overlap shared portion Venn diagram person also inner monologue reaction physical experience You’ve doubt experienced flood memory emotion come hearing piece music smelling familiar smell inner experience Venn diagram diverges circle Venn diagram represents full experience life shared internal overlap stitch together connection community family friendship love happen deeper relationship someone work expand overlapping segment filter bubble talk feeling moment tell story memory experience dredge divulge inner monologue sharing strengthens relationship take work requires presence often requires shared catalyst ie concert mentioned technology changing thing Smartphones persistent personal window world outside current experience people insight reading watching hearing even interact smartphone requires attentive processing mean brain must almost fully engaged Mentally phone pull completely current environment interaction occur smartphone fall squarely divergent side Venn diagram shared part inner experience time spent staring phone le present moment foundation shared experience shrink mean divergent side Venn diagram grow expense overlap Even inner monologue completely change longer reacting shared stimulus reacting something happening mile away cyberspace see Take two friend concert one spending time checking phone effectively eliminating shared catalyst miss joke discussion don’t see event occur Depending depth interaction phone may even become oblivious music sensory standpoint become functionally blind surroundings every passing moment two side Venn diagram drift apart disconnection chip away core shared experience le commonality physical experience work sharing inner experience becomes extremely challenging difficult person phone relay feeling thought friend privy side interaction Likewise friend engaged concert unable share thought feeling missed relevant piece smartphone dismantles relationship building opportunity shared experience Effectively two friend alone together concert impact run even deeper Almost interaction smartphone asynchronous Take texting example send message cyberspace wait response time sending message receiving response feedback completely blind reaction message recipient course differs facetoface conversation even verbal response delayed still receive realtime feedback form facial expression body language nonverbal cue part filter bubble overlap physical insight person’s inner monologue improve understanding person help guide conversation Texting social medium many digital communication tool devoid nuance You’re left interpret cue whatever digital response receive longer response delayed start infer thing real context support Say friend take longer normal respond text message mind attempt fill gap left lack nonverbal cue physical context Maybe mad Maybe message offended way Maybe phone dead maybe locked life death struggle Grizzly bear Unfortunately asynchronous world smartphone interaction million reason response might delayed way accurately reading situation asynchronous interaction create weak filter bubble overlap shared physical context different location able know inner context person chooses divulge response Back concert goer net person checking phone concert left nothing set weak connection interaction phone weak nature pursuing lost opportunity strong connection friend physically show missed chance forge deep connection another person shared experience critical piece addressing need love belonging technology capture attention shared experience others become weak superficial Venn diagram relationship overlap le le change interaction touching every aspect life recent study even found 20 young adult report using smartphones sex coinciding rise loneliness especially young people cannot coincidental screen become personalized filter bubble issue going increase Smartphones middle step personalizing screenbased experience next wave screen technology including personal headsup display like Google Glass augmented reality eventually allow u experience entire world completely personal way choosing possibility endless also ripe risk far could filter bubble diverge every detail experience personalized say technological advance inherently bad u acknowledge issue exist work address designer might change design approach order drive stronger humantohuman connection better leverage technology enhancing shared experience physical context instead diminishing talk humancentered design andor usercentered design idea individualized miss larger design context would mean start thinking humanitycentered design communitycentered design insteadTags Relationships Design UX Design Technology Tech
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5,004 |
Q&A with Emily Ryan, Director of Product at Harvard Business Review
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Q&A with Emily Ryan, Director of Product at Harvard Business Review
This week, The Idea caught up with Emily to learn about her role, why HBR is experiencing the best subscription numbers it has ever seen, and how the publisher plans to build niche audiences. Subscribe to our newsletter on the business of media for more interviews and weekly news and analysis.
Tell me about your role at Harvard Business Review.
I am the director of product. I manage three product managers and one scrum master. We’re responsible for feature enhancements, maintenance, bug fixes, changes to the website, and off-platform products as well. We oversee products including our iOS and Android apps, a partnership with a company called News Over Audio to create audio versions of our article, and a significant number of newsletters.
How has HBR’s product teams evolved over the years?
We used to work in Kanban, which is a method of working that focuses on having a set number of “work in progress” items and “on deck” items. We realized, however, that this wasn’t working for us. We were working in a very waterfall way and had no idea when work would be done or when we could get help with design, analytics, or testing.
So, we transitioned to working in co-located, cross-functional scrum teams. Each one of my product managers is on a team with a scrum master, three to four developers, and a designer. We found that these small teams are much better at solving problems and coming up with solutions together.
We also have more insight into when things will be done through the structure that scrum provides us.
When reorganizing the structure of our product teams, we also made sure to align the teams around certain aspects of our business.
One of the teams, “The Core Team,” is focused on site architecture and maintenance. They are mostly innovating along architectural and structural lines. For instance, they recently built HBR’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). The other two teams are aligned along our business goals: encouraging people to consume our content, and eventually getting them to purchase our content. We built the “Consume” and “Buy” Teams to support these goals individually. The Consume team works closely with editorial stakeholders and goals, while The Buy team focuses on revenue opportunities with subscription marketing, e-commerce, and advertising.
This arrangement has been great because it allows product managers to 1) become in-depth subject matter experts in certain areas of the business and 2) narrow down the scope of the stakeholders that they’re working with. This set-up also allows our product teams to more easily prioritize editorial and business goals as they are not competing with each other.
HBR launched its good-better-best pricing model a year ago. Can you tell me about how this product was built?
Last January, we launched our first three-tier subscription product. Before that we only offered one subscription that included all access to the site, the print magazine, and access to our app. When we launched the three-tier subscription product, we introduced a digital-only subscription that was unlimited access to the site and the apps, a digital plus print subscription, and a premium subscription, which included some additional benefits like free eBooks every quarter, case studies and events. That project was enormous and required collaboration amongst all three teams.
The Consume team focused on editorial innovations that would strengthen the subscription offer, such as editor curated reading lists and case study bundles.
The Buy team focused on the mechanics of the conversion page, supporting account management, and all of the underlying structures that help us identify subscribers and manage paywalls. We used what is called “Scrum of Scrums” to ensure that all three product teams were aware of what the others were doing.
We also worked closely with our UX team. They took charge when it came to thinking about the paywall language: the call to action needed to differ based on what type of subscriber you were, anonymous, or registered.
The running joke for awhile was this one scene from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” where one of the characters is trying to figure out a mailroom conspiracy theory. The character has a bunch of papers up on the wall connected by strings and it was a mess. It kind of felt like that. We spent a really long time with the UX team parsing out all of the potential scenarios and pain points that users might encounter when coming across a paywall.
How has Covid-19 impacted HBR?
Recently, we’ve been publishing a lot of content on working from home, supporting employees, and answering all kinds of nebulous questions that come with the unprecedented situation we are in. Our editorial team has always focused on creating content that’s helpful and relevant to our audience. Now more than ever, I think they’re doing an amazing job of it. And, even though the content is free, it communicates to potential subscribers the value of our brand.
While we decided as a company that all of that coronavirus-related content should be free and in front of the wall, we are a business and, just like any other business, are really concerned about what this means for us and our ability to make money.
So, we also made the decision to reduce our wall. Previously, non-registered users could access three free articles and registered users could access six articles. When they ran out of articles, the user would be asked to subscribe. When we made our coronavirus coverage free, we reduced the wall from three to two articles for non-registered users and from six to four articles for registered users.
This combination of publishing relevant and timely content along with reducing the wall has led to the best subscription numbers we’ve ever seen.
We’ve also seen an unprecedented number of site visits: In March, we had 17.9 million unique visits, an all time high, bolstered by one of our coronavirus-related articles titled “The Discomfort You’re Feeling is Grief.”
This story actually came about when our editors were on a Slack call and asking each other how they’re doing. One person responded that this moment felt like grief and this inspired one of the editors to do some research and bring that piece together alongside grief expert David Kessler.
Was HBR considering to reduce its meter limit prior to the pandemic?
The reduction of the wall was always something that was out there. I think we weren’t ready to pull the lever to do it until we realized that this was a good opportunity for us and that we had to be a bit proactive and defensive in this moment.
What’s an interesting project that you’re currently working on?
We’ve been thinking a lot more about how to a lot build rabid, excited audiences around certain topics or issues. One project I’m working on now is thinking about how HBR can create memberships for different segments of our audience, specifically young professionals.
These are people who might be a little bit younger than who we would consider our typical audience. We currently have a student subscription, but we want to identify a voice, style and platforms that would be best suited for an audience of young professionals.
We have been able to successfully build some niche cohorts of audiences before. The example we keep going back to is our Women at Work podcast which started as an experiment and went really well. We were able to quickly build an engaged and excited audience. And, we ended up following up the success of the podcast with a focused newsletter and events.
What is the most interesting thing that you’ve seen from a media outlet other than your own?
With the young professionals project, I’ve been looking a lot at verticals like The Cut, The Lily, The Skimm, Smarter Living from The New York Times, among many others. I think the common thread between all these sub-brands is that they’re really daring to go deep in a certain area and they’ve given themselves space to create a new voice that caters to a specific audience. These verticals have such a distinct style and they’re unapologetic about it.
I’m also really interested in user generated content and how we might make more of that. The Wall Street Journal is revamping its newsletters and encouraging people to contribute more. And, now, with Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, the line between content consumer and content creator is so thin.
Rapid Fire
What is your first read in the morning?
Definitely my email, then usually The Boston Globe online.
What are you currently reading?
I’m part of a monthly book club and last month’s book was The Holdout by Graham Moore — I highly recommend it, especially for crime heads like me!
What job would you be doing if you weren’t in your current role?
I started out as an editor and would probably be doing that if I didn’t get into product management.
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https://medium.com/the-idea/q-a-with-emily-ryan-director-of-product-at-harvard-business-review-79259693b02
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['Tesnim Zekeria']
|
2020-04-28 19:57:52.132000+00:00
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['Subscriber Spotlight', 'Journalism', 'Media', 'Product', 'Harvard Business Review']
|
Title QA Emily Ryan Director Product Harvard Business ReviewContent QA Emily Ryan Director Product Harvard Business Review week Idea caught Emily learn role HBR experiencing best subscription number ever seen publisher plan build niche audience Subscribe newsletter business medium interview weekly news analysis Tell role Harvard Business Review director product manage three product manager one scrum master We’re responsible feature enhancement maintenance bug fix change website offplatform product well oversee product including iOS Android apps partnership company called News Audio create audio version article significant number newsletter HBR’s product team evolved year used work Kanban method working focus set number “work progress” item “on deck” item realized however wasn’t working u working waterfall way idea work would done could get help design analytics testing transitioned working colocated crossfunctional scrum team one product manager team scrum master three four developer designer found small team much better solving problem coming solution together also insight thing done structure scrum provides u reorganizing structure product team also made sure align team around certain aspect business One team “The Core Team” focused site architecture maintenance mostly innovating along architectural structural line instance recently built HBR’s Accelerated Mobile Pages AMP two team aligned along business goal encouraging people consume content eventually getting purchase content built “Consume” “Buy” Teams support goal individually Consume team work closely editorial stakeholder goal Buy team focus revenue opportunity subscription marketing ecommerce advertising arrangement great allows product manager 1 become indepth subject matter expert certain area business 2 narrow scope stakeholder they’re working setup also allows product team easily prioritize editorial business goal competing HBR launched goodbetterbest pricing model year ago tell product built Last January launched first threetier subscription product offered one subscription included access site print magazine access app launched threetier subscription product introduced digitalonly subscription unlimited access site apps digital plus print subscription premium subscription included additional benefit like free eBooks every quarter case study event project enormous required collaboration amongst three team Consume team focused editorial innovation would strengthen subscription offer editor curated reading list case study bundle Buy team focused mechanic conversion page supporting account management underlying structure help u identify subscriber manage paywalls used called “Scrum Scrums” ensure three product team aware others also worked closely UX team took charge came thinking paywall language call action needed differ based type subscriber anonymous registered running joke awhile one scene “It’s Always Sunny Philadelphia” one character trying figure mailroom conspiracy theory character bunch paper wall connected string mess kind felt like spent really long time UX team parsing potential scenario pain point user might encounter coming across paywall Covid19 impacted HBR Recently we’ve publishing lot content working home supporting employee answering kind nebulous question come unprecedented situation editorial team always focused creating content that’s helpful relevant audience ever think they’re amazing job even though content free communicates potential subscriber value brand decided company coronavirusrelated content free front wall business like business really concerned mean u ability make money also made decision reduce wall Previously nonregistered user could access three free article registered user could access six article ran article user would asked subscribe made coronavirus coverage free reduced wall three two article nonregistered user six four article registered user combination publishing relevant timely content along reducing wall led best subscription number we’ve ever seen We’ve also seen unprecedented number site visit March 179 million unique visit time high bolstered one coronavirusrelated article titled “The Discomfort You’re Feeling Grief” story actually came editor Slack call asking they’re One person responded moment felt like grief inspired one editor research bring piece together alongside grief expert David Kessler HBR considering reduce meter limit prior pandemic reduction wall always something think weren’t ready pull lever realized good opportunity u bit proactive defensive moment What’s interesting project you’re currently working We’ve thinking lot lot build rabid excited audience around certain topic issue One project I’m working thinking HBR create membership different segment audience specifically young professional people might little bit younger would consider typical audience currently student subscription want identify voice style platform would best suited audience young professional able successfully build niche cohort audience example keep going back Women Work podcast started experiment went really well able quickly build engaged excited audience ended following success podcast focused newsletter event interesting thing you’ve seen medium outlet young professional project I’ve looking lot vertical like Cut Lily Skimm Smarter Living New York Times among many others think common thread subbrands they’re really daring go deep certain area they’ve given space create new voice caters specific audience vertical distinct style they’re unapologetic I’m also really interested user generated content might make Wall Street Journal revamping newsletter encouraging people contribute Instagram YouTube TikTok line content consumer content creator thin Rapid Fire first read morning Definitely email usually Boston Globe online currently reading I’m part monthly book club last month’s book Holdout Graham Moore — highly recommend especially crime head like job would weren’t current role started editor would probably didn’t get product managementTags Subscriber Spotlight Journalism Media Product Harvard Business Review
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5,005 |
Design Interview Questions & Prep
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Over the past month, I have interviewed with about 30 companies for UI, UX, Product, Interaction Designer roles. So, that’s a lot of different questions based on the company and the person who was interviewing me.
50 Questions
I know that’s a lot of questions but I was asked at least 5–8 of these questions in each round. It was a mix of personal, design, business and behavioral questions.
All of these questions might not apply to you based on what role you’re applying for. Although, it definitely helps to be prepared for most of these questions.
Tell me about yourself. What do you know about our company and this role? What do you do in your current job? What does your current company do? How did you become a Designer? Why do you want to change your job? How did you find this role? Why do you want to join our company? How many people are in your team? Who do you report to? Tell me about a project you’re proud of. Where do you get design inspirations from? Do you follow any designers? How do you keep yourself updated with the latest design trends? Which company do you think does the best branding? How do you define UX design? What’s your favorite product or app and why? Which product’s design do you dislike and how would you change it? What design tools do you use? What design tools are you proficient in? Do you use whiteboard? Can you code? Have you faced any problems while working with developers? How do you solve it? What do you do when project managers or clients don’t like your design? Was there a scenario where you planned something for a client but something completely unexpected happened? How did you overcome it? How do you convey your ideas to project managers or other designers? Do you use any task management software? How do you hand over your designs to the developers? Do you like working with other designers? Do you have experience leading a team or conducting presentations? How do you handle critique on your designs? Do you like flat design? If so, why? Have you designed primarily with iOS or Material design guidelines? How do you decide what visualizations to use for a particular data? What design tools do you use for data visualizations? Find 10 flaws with this illustration (interviewer shows you a design). What do you do when you come up with a design but it doesn’t align with the research? Have you done usability testing? What do you think about collaborative work? Do you have experience with people working remote? Talk me through your design process. When do you know a design is complete? How do you stay organized or keep up with deadlines? Do you follow Agile scrum or Waterfall methodology? Do you design in Mac or Windows? What do you look for in an ideal boss? What do you do outside of work? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? How much compensation are you expecting? Do you have any questions?
Preparing for answers
I haven’t discussed the answers for these questions because they are based on many factors,
Your experience Your profile Company’s profile Posted job’s requirements Interviewer
So, before every interview, I would prepare with all of these,
When you’re asked a question, take a deep breath — think and recollect because you would have faced that situation in your life. It is not necessary to give an answer as soon as the question is asked. You’re not a robot! Get thorough with your resume and projects. It is very important to know what you have done in the past and what your expertise is in. More than often, you will be asked if you know anything about their company. And, you will definitely get bonus points for researching about the company — shows that you’re really interested in them. It is good to read up on the job requirements and responsibilities, so that you can align your answers based on what they are seeking. Go on LinkedIn and check who the interviewer is, to see if you have anything in common with him/her or to get an idea of their profile. This helps to know what type of questions you might expect.
What I do before an Interview
Of course, prepare for the interview. I read a lot about the company, role, myself, design articles., etc. I talk to myself or someone about what I would say when a certain question is asked. Practice practice practice! I always have some pointers written down, so I can quickly browse during the interview. Staying calm is the key to nailing any interview! So I do something that calms me down — like meditating. I go to a quiet room, so there is no disturbances during the interview. I have a glass of water next to me because sometimes I get parched while talking a lot during the interview. I have my laptop in front of me with the job posting open or to search something quickly or to even have my portfolio handy. I have my iPad to take down notes. I usually go to the restroom before so I don’t have to excuse myself during the interview. Pretty important! Just 5 mins before the interview, I try to listen to a song or watch a video that I like. This usually loosens me up.
What I felt worked during the interview
|
https://medium.com/sketch-app-sources/design-interview-questions-prep-d2e286a45e1d
|
['Pavithra Aravindan']
|
2017-12-12 01:20:59.244000+00:00
|
['UI', 'Design', 'Interview', 'Tech', 'UX']
|
Title Design Interview Questions PrepContent past month interviewed 30 company UI UX Product Interaction Designer role that’s lot different question based company person interviewing 50 Questions know that’s lot question asked least 5–8 question round mix personal design business behavioral question question might apply based role you’re applying Although definitely help prepared question Tell know company role current job current company become Designer want change job find role want join company many people team report Tell project you’re proud get design inspiration follow designer keep updated latest design trend company think best branding define UX design What’s favorite product app product’s design dislike would change design tool use design tool proficient use whiteboard code faced problem working developer solve project manager client don’t like design scenario planned something client something completely unexpected happened overcome convey idea project manager designer use task management software hand design developer like working designer experience leading team conducting presentation handle critique design like flat design designed primarily iOS Material design guideline decide visualization use particular data design tool use data visualization Find 10 flaw illustration interviewer show design come design doesn’t align research done usability testing think collaborative work experience people working remote Talk design process know design complete stay organized keep deadline follow Agile scrum Waterfall methodology design Mac Windows look ideal bos outside work see 5 year much compensation expecting question Preparing answer haven’t discussed answer question based many factor experience profile Company’s profile Posted job’s requirement Interviewer every interview would prepare you’re asked question take deep breath — think recollect would faced situation life necessary give answer soon question asked You’re robot Get thorough resume project important know done past expertise often asked know anything company definitely get bonus point researching company — show you’re really interested good read job requirement responsibility align answer based seeking Go LinkedIn check interviewer see anything common himher get idea profile help know type question might expect Interview course prepare interview read lot company role design article etc talk someone would say certain question asked Practice practice practice always pointer written quickly browse interview Staying calm key nailing interview something calm — like meditating go quiet room disturbance interview glass water next sometimes get parched talking lot interview laptop front job posting open search something quickly even portfolio handy iPad take note usually go restroom don’t excuse interview Pretty important 5 min interview try listen song watch video like usually loosens felt worked interviewTags UI Design Interview Tech UX
|
5,006 |
How to create a searchable log with Gatsby
|
Taking notes is key to remembering most things in our lives. How many times have you worked on a project, then three months later needed to get back in the code, and it took you hours to come back up to speed? If you had taken a few minutes to jot down some documentation, you could have cut to the chase.
Personally, I keep my notes all over the place — in notebooks, mostly, but also right here on this blog. Many times when I finish a large, difficult feature, I like to blog key elements of it so I can come back later and figure out how I did what I did. Plus, it might help someone else along the way. However, there are tons of things I learn every day that just slip away. I keep learning and re-learning them and that’s inefficient.
I recently wanted a way to quickly jot down things I learn throughout the day, or lessons I want to keep in mind. But that’s not enough — I also need to be able to search these logs so I can find exactly what I’m looking for right away. That’s exactly what I’m going to show you how to build today. This project, front-to-back, took me maybe an hour and a half.
Gatsby
This project is built using Gatsby, the wildly popular front-end framework for creating static websites. I’m going to skip all the sales pitch stuff and just jump into the code, but if you want to back up a step, I wrote a long blog post about why I love Gatsby so much. In short: it’s awesome if you know React, and probably worth learning anyway if you need a static site.
Step 1: Create a new Gatsby site using the beautiful “Julia” template
Assuming you’ve got the Gatsby CLI working, run this to pull the pared-down but beautifully laid-out Julia template:
gatsby new <site-name> https://github.com/niklasmtj/gatsby-starter-julia
Pop open the gatsby-config.js and swap out your details for “Julia Doe” under siteMeta . You’re halfway there.
Step 2: Add logging
Now we want to add some functionality to the site. In the content directory, add a markdown file or twenty. Nest them however you like. You’ll follow this format:
---
title: "Whatever title you want"
date: "2019-05-010"
draft: false
path: "/logs/some-slug-for-the-file"
tags: testing, documentation
---
# Monday, May 6, 2019
* Added documentation ....
Note that path needs to be unique for each file. I named mine by date (with each week getting one file) but obviously you can do anything you like.
Step 2A: follow the Gatsby documentation for creating pages from Markdown
I could reiterate, but the Gatsby documentation itself is incredibly straightforward and easy to follow. You’ll install the required plugins, configure them in gatsby-config.js , create a template for how your posts should look, and set up gatsby-node.js to build pages from your markdown files.
To steal a tip from somewhere else on the internet: if you head to a localhost page you know doesn’t take you anywhere (I prefer localhost:8000/garbage ), you can see all the available links for your page. It’s a quick way to check Gatsby has created all your markdown pages appropriately.
Keep it clean
I learned working on this project that you can assign multiple folders to get scanned by Gatsby’s file system plugin:
{
resolve: `gatsby-source-filesystem`,
options: {
name: `images`,
path: `${__dirname}/src/images`,
},
},
{
resolve: `gatsby-source-filesystem`,
options: {
name: `markdown-pages`,
path: `${__dirname}/src/content`,
},
},
So no problem if you are already using gatsby-source-filesystem to read, for instance, your image files. I also tested nesting, and Gatsby will grab anything in your content folder recursively — so you can go ahead and organize any way you like.
Good times! If you took that diversion to the Gatsby docs, you should now have a fully-functioning log system.
Step 3: Add search
Now the fun part. We’ll add the ability to search our logs using the Gatsby lunr elastic search plugin.
Configure
First, yarn add @gatsby-contrib/gatsby-plugin-elasticlunr-search , then we’ll add to gatsby-config.js :
{
resolve: `@gatsby-contrib/gatsby-plugin-elasticlunr-search`,
options: {
// Fields to index
fields: [`title`, `tags`, `html`],
resolvers: {
MarkdownRemark: {
title: node => node.frontmatter.title,
tags: node => node.frontmatter.tags,
path: node => node.frontmatter.path,
html: node => node.internal.content,
},
},
},
},
Note that I’ve added a field not included on the lunr docs: html . We’ll need this for full text search of the logs, rather than just searching by tags.
Add a search bar
Obviously yours can go anywhere. I put mine right on the index under my name.
The search bar component:
import React from "react"
import { graphql, StaticQuery } from "gatsby"
import Search from "./search"
export default () => {
return (
<StaticQuery
query={graphql`
query SearchIndexQuery {
siteSearchIndex {
index
}
}
`}
render={data => (
<Search searchIndex={data.siteSearchIndex.index}/>
)}
/>
)
}
Nothing much going on here — we’re just grabbing the search index from the elastic search data.
The search component, essentially copied directly from the lunr docs:
import React, { Component } from "react"
import { Index } from "elasticlunr"
import { Link } from "gatsby"
import styled from "@emotion/styled" export default class Search extends Component {
state = {
query: ``,
results: []
}
render() {
return (
<div>
<input type="text" value={this.state.query} onChange={this.search} />
<ul>
{this.state.results.map(page => (
<li key={page.id}>
<Link to={"/" + page.path}>{page.title}</Link>
{': ' + page.tags}
</li>
))}
</ul>
</div>
)
}
getOrCreateIndex = () => {
return this.index
? this.index
: // Create an elastic lunr index and hydrate with graphql query results
Index.load(this.props.searchIndex)
}
search = evt => {
const query = evt.target.value
this.index = this.getOrCreateIndex()
this.setState({
query,
// Query the index with search string to get an [] of IDs
results: this.index
.search(query, { expand: true })
// Map over each ID and return the full document
.map(({ ref }) => {
return this.index.documentStore.getDoc(ref)
}),
})
}
}
You build a search index, fetch results based on a partial string, hydrate those results based on what the index returns, then map over them to display.
And that is seriously it. Your markdown pages will be built when Gatsby build runs and your search will index the first time you try to search.
Step 4: Add security
I’m not putting any state secrets or env variables in these logs, but I would rather not have a potential employer stumble upon them, mostly because I want to be free to talk about my struggles or be very clear about what I don’t know. If I have to censor myself, it will affect the quality of my logs.
At the same time, I can’t be bothered with a login or anything too fancy. So I opted for the silliest, loosest, easiest security I could come up with: a basic localStorage token. If you have it, you see the logs, and if not, too bad. Here’s how that works.
In landing-bio.js and anywhere else I want to protect:
const isBrowser = () => typeof window !== "undefined"
const isAuthenticated = isBrowser() && window.localStorage.getItem('authenticated'); [...] {isAuthenticated ? <SearchBar /> : <div>You aren't Amber, so you don't get to read her logs.</div>}
I would never use this for actually-sensitive information, but it’s great for a tiny bit of peace of mind that my coworkers won’t be sneaking around my personal logs.
Note that the browser check (first line) is needed for this to pass tests on Netlify — it works fine without it otherwise.
Bonus: Deploy with Netlify
I talked about how much I love Netlify on my previous Gatsby blog post, and I still love them. It’s so dang easy to get your stuff right online.
All you’ll do is head over to Netlify, authorize them to access the Github where your logs are stored, and they will monitor Github and make new releases for you whenever you push to master. They will also create deploy previews when you make PRs! It’s really wonderful and I super-recommend them.
If you are going to create logs in markdown, I highly recommend a deploy system as easy as this one, and I don’t know of another that is as seamless.
|
https://medium.com/free-code-camp/how-to-create-a-searchable-log-with-gatsby-d624bf3a05af
|
['Amber Wilkie']
|
2019-05-16 17:23:45.594000+00:00
|
['React', 'Gatsbyjs', 'Tutorial', 'Web Development', 'Tech']
|
Title create searchable log GatsbyContent Taking note key remembering thing life many time worked project three month later needed get back code took hour come back speed taken minute jot documentation could cut chase Personally keep note place — notebook mostly also right blog Many time finish large difficult feature like blog key element come back later figure Plus might help someone else along way However ton thing learn every day slip away keep learning relearning that’s inefficient recently wanted way quickly jot thing learn throughout day lesson want keep mind that’s enough — also need able search log find exactly I’m looking right away That’s exactly I’m going show build today project fronttoback took maybe hour half Gatsby project built using Gatsby wildly popular frontend framework creating static website I’m going skip sale pitch stuff jump code want back step wrote long blog post love Gatsby much short it’s awesome know React probably worth learning anyway need static site Step 1 Create new Gatsby site using beautiful “Julia” template Assuming you’ve got Gatsby CLI working run pull pareddown beautifully laidout Julia template gatsby new sitename httpsgithubcomniklasmtjgatsbystarterjulia Pop open gatsbyconfigjs swap detail “Julia Doe” siteMeta You’re halfway Step 2 Add logging want add functionality site content directory add markdown file twenty Nest however like You’ll follow format title Whatever title want date 201905010 draft false path logssomeslugforthefile tag testing documentation Monday May 6 2019 Added documentation Note path need unique file named mine date week getting one file obviously anything like Step 2A follow Gatsby documentation creating page Markdown could reiterate Gatsby documentation incredibly straightforward easy follow You’ll install required plugins configure gatsbyconfigjs create template post look set gatsbynodejs build page markdown file steal tip somewhere else internet head localhost page know doesn’t take anywhere prefer localhost8000garbage see available link page It’s quick way check Gatsby created markdown page appropriately Keep clean learned working project assign multiple folder get scanned Gatsby’s file system plugin resolve gatsbysourcefilesystem option name image path dirnamesrcimages resolve gatsbysourcefilesystem option name markdownpages path dirnamesrccontent problem already using gatsbysourcefilesystem read instance image file also tested nesting Gatsby grab anything content folder recursively — go ahead organize way like Good time took diversion Gatsby doc fullyfunctioning log system Step 3 Add search fun part We’ll add ability search log using Gatsby lunr elastic search plugin Configure First yarn add gatsbycontribgatsbypluginelasticlunrsearch we’ll add gatsbyconfigjs resolve gatsbycontribgatsbypluginelasticlunrsearch option Fields index field title tag html resolvers MarkdownRemark title node nodefrontmattertitle tag node nodefrontmattertags path node nodefrontmatterpath html node nodeinternalcontent Note I’ve added field included lunr doc html We’ll need full text search log rather searching tag Add search bar Obviously go anywhere put mine right index name search bar component import React react import graphql StaticQuery gatsby import Search search export default return StaticQuery querygraphql query SearchIndexQuery siteSearchIndex index renderdata Search searchIndexdatasiteSearchIndexindex Nothing much going — we’re grabbing search index elastic search data search component essentially copied directly lunr doc import React Component react import Index elasticlunr import Link gatsby import styled emotionstyled export default class Search extends Component state query result render return div input typetext valuethisstatequery onChangethissearch ul thisstateresultsmappage li keypageid Link pagepathpagetitleLink pagetags li ul div getOrCreateIndex return thisindex thisindex Create elastic lunr index hydrate graphql query result IndexloadthispropssearchIndex search evt const query evttargetvalue thisindex thisgetOrCreateIndex thissetState query Query index search string get IDs result thisindex searchquery expand true Map ID return full document map ref return thisindexdocumentStoregetDocref build search index fetch result based partial string hydrate result based index return map display seriously markdown page built Gatsby build run search index first time try search Step 4 Add security I’m putting state secret env variable log would rather potential employer stumble upon mostly want free talk struggle clear don’t know censor affect quality log time can’t bothered login anything fancy opted silliest loosest easiest security could come basic localStorage token see log bad Here’s work landingbiojs anywhere else want protect const isBrowser typeof window undefined const isAuthenticated isBrowser windowlocalStoragegetItemauthenticated isAuthenticated SearchBar divYou arent Amber dont get read logsdiv would never use actuallysensitive information it’s great tiny bit peace mind coworkers won’t sneaking around personal log Note browser check first line needed pas test Netlify — work fine without otherwise Bonus Deploy Netlify talked much love Netlify previous Gatsby blog post still love It’s dang easy get stuff right online you’ll head Netlify authorize access Github log stored monitor Github make new release whenever push master also create deploy preview make PRs It’s really wonderful superrecommend going create log markdown highly recommend deploy system easy one don’t know another seamlessTags React Gatsbyjs Tutorial Web Development Tech
|
5,007 |
How Does It Feel When You Don’t Speak Up Against Racism?
|
How Does It Feel When You Don’t Speak Up Against Racism?
Speaking up against racism takes courage and sometimes as a black person, one doesn't. One just swallows the humiliation and hurt of racism to not cause a stir.
Photo by Wayne Lee-Sing on Unsplash
After close to 50 years on earth, you would think that I, a black woman, would be used to racism by now. It happens so frequently, I must have grown accustomed to it by now you must think. But the fact is, no, I am not.
One can never get used to the hurt and pain of racism. In fact, one almost never knows when racism will strike, and sometimes I must admit it takes me, by total surprise.
And that’s the really hard part about it — it’s emotionally jarring because you could be having a totally happy day, and boom, racism hits and brings you down. And I find that the older I get, the more mentally difficult it gets to come out of an incident of racism unscathed.
|
https://medium.com/illumination-curated/how-does-it-feel-when-you-dont-speak-up-against-racism-4558730dd846
|
['Rebecca Stevens A.']
|
2020-12-12 12:37:43.465000+00:00
|
['BlackLivesMatter', 'Racism', 'Interracial Relationships', 'Mental Health', 'Equality']
|
Title Feel Don’t Speak RacismContent Feel Don’t Speak Racism Speaking racism take courage sometimes black person one doesnt One swallow humiliation hurt racism cause stir Photo Wayne LeeSing Unsplash close 50 year earth would think black woman would used racism happens frequently must grown accustomed must think fact One never get used hurt pain racism fact one almost never know racism strike sometimes must admit take total surprise that’s really hard part — it’s emotionally jarring could totally happy day boom racism hit brings find older get mentally difficult get come incident racism unscathedTags BlackLivesMatter Racism Interracial Relationships Mental Health Equality
|
5,008 |
7 quick Figma tips
|
Originally published at marcandrew.me
In this article I’ve compiled a handful of quick, and easy tips to help speed up your design workflow when working in Figma.
Most of these tips are perfect for when you’re working with design systems or large design files, but they’re also equally suited to just general day, to day usage when working inside of Figma.
Some you may use already, but hopefully you may find the odd undiscovered gem in here too.
Let’s dive on in…
|
https://uxdesign.cc/7-quick-figma-tips-113849e21d63
|
['Marc Andrew']
|
2020-12-14 11:03:34.520000+00:00
|
['UI', 'Figma', 'Design', 'Web Development', 'Prototyping']
|
Title 7 quick Figma tipsContent Originally published marcandrewme article I’ve compiled handful quick easy tip help speed design workflow working Figma tip perfect you’re working design system large design file they’re also equally suited general day day usage working inside Figma may use already hopefully may find odd undiscovered gem Let’s dive in…Tags UI Figma Design Web Development Prototyping
|
5,009 |
Words of Poetry
|
Words of Poetry
Poetry
Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash
The sun rises,
as the moon sleeps
and stars hide behind an unassuming sky,
while a poet paints vigilant clouds paused
with strident syllables,
hoping for words to fall upon
deafened ears and opened hearts.
|
https://medium.com/scribe/words-of-poetry-cdbafc8e30b
|
['Connie Song']
|
2020-12-26 23:14:43.609000+00:00
|
['Readers', 'Writing', 'Poet', 'Poetry', 'Scribe']
|
Title Words PoetryContent Words Poetry Poetry Photo Jr Korpa Unsplash sun rise moon sleep star hide behind unassuming sky poet paint vigilant cloud paused strident syllable hoping word fall upon deafened ear opened heartsTags Readers Writing Poet Poetry Scribe
|
5,010 |
State Department Records Show Senate Republicans Knew About Russian Disinformation & Failed to Tell the Public — Again
|
Peer-Reviewed Politics
State Department Records Show Senate Republicans Knew About Russian Disinformation & Failed to Tell the Public — Again
US intelligence analysts picked up chatter last month that emails like those revealed yesterday by the NYPost would be leaked in October, having been stolen by the same GRU unit that hacked the DNC. One worry was Russia would mix in forgeries.
Foreign Influence and the Trump Administration | Karl Evers-Hillstrom on 5 Jun 2019
The Hunter Biden investigation that spent taxpayer dollars investigating known Russian disinformation, found nothing illegal and no new information on Hunter Biden. The timeline on it should also raise some flags. For a more full report on what about this investigation should raise red flags, you can read the follow-up and consider the pattern of behavior described below.
What they did find is more shocking in the context of yesterday’s New York Post, given the federal government knew about it.
The GOP Senate investigation gave the Russian disinformation on Hunter Biden credibility, or as Mitt Romney says it was a “political exercise.” Using the state against political opponents is the hallmark of Russian and Chinese regimes. That this furthering of disinformation and withholding of the truth is neither the first instance nor the only type of use of the federal government against an opponent should worry anyone who values democracy.
US intelligence analysts picked up chatter last month that emails like those revealed yesterday by the NYPost would be leaked in October, having been stolen by the same GRU unit that hacked the DNC. One worry was Russia would mix in forgeries.
Despite this, Americans were not warned just as they were not warned when we received reports early in the year that Russia would further the idea that Vice President Joseph Biden’s stutter was evidence of degenerative illness. For further information on that, see DHS Withheld Intelligence on Russian Disinformation. How it Happened is the real story.
|
https://e-rosalie.medium.com/state-dept-records-show-senate-gop-knew-of-disinformation-failed-to-warn-public-7a017f91dcc9
|
['E. Rosalie']
|
2020-10-15 16:45:34.128000+00:00
|
['Leadership', 'Election 2020', 'Politics', 'Govenrment', 'Psychology']
|
Title State Department Records Show Senate Republicans Knew Russian Disinformation Failed Tell Public — AgainContent PeerReviewed Politics State Department Records Show Senate Republicans Knew Russian Disinformation Failed Tell Public — US intelligence analyst picked chatter last month email like revealed yesterday NYPost would leaked October stolen GRU unit hacked DNC One worry Russia would mix forgery Foreign Influence Trump Administration Karl EversHillstrom 5 Jun 2019 Hunter Biden investigation spent taxpayer dollar investigating known Russian disinformation found nothing illegal new information Hunter Biden timeline also raise flag full report investigation raise red flag read followup consider pattern behavior described find shocking context yesterday’s New York Post given federal government knew GOP Senate investigation gave Russian disinformation Hunter Biden credibility Mitt Romney say “political exercise” Using state political opponent hallmark Russian Chinese regime furthering disinformation withholding truth neither first instance type use federal government opponent worry anyone value democracy US intelligence analyst picked chatter last month email like revealed yesterday NYPost would leaked October stolen GRU unit hacked DNC One worry Russia would mix forgery Despite Americans warned warned received report early year Russia would idea Vice President Joseph Biden’s stutter evidence degenerative illness information see DHS Withheld Intelligence Russian Disinformation Happened real storyTags Leadership Election 2020 Politics Govenrment Psychology
|
5,011 |
Extreme Learning Machines
|
Extreme Learning Machines I
Part I: Introduction: Why do we need ELM?
Around 2005, A novel machine learning approach was introduced by Guang-Bin Huang and a team of researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
This new proposed learning algorithm tends to reach the smallest training error, obtain the smallest norm of weights and the best generalization performance, and runs extremely fast, in order to differentiate it from the other popular SLFN learning algorithms, it is called the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM).
This method mainly addresses the issue of far slower training time of neural networks than required, the main reasons for which is that all the parameters of the networks are tuned iteratively by using such learning algorithms. These slow-gradient based learning algorithms are extensively used to train neural networks.
Important features of ELM Source
Before going into how ELM works and how is it so good, let’s see how gradient-based neural networks based off.
Demonstration of Gradient-based Neural networks
Below are the steps followed in a single-layered feedforward neural network in brief:
Step 1: Evaluate Wx + B
Step 2: Apply activation function g(Wx + B) and Compute output
Step 3: Calculate Loss
Step 4: Compute gradients (using delta rule)
Step 5: Repeat
This method of propagating forward and back involves a hefty number of calculations Also if the input size is large or if there are more layers/nodes, the training takes up a significant amount of time.
fig.1. 3-layered Neural Network
In the above example, we can see for a 4 node input we require W1 (20 parameters), W2 (53 parameters), and W3 (21 parameters), i.e. 94 parameters in total. And the parameters increase rapidly with the increasing input nodes.
Let’s take a real-life example of image classification of numbers with MNIST Dataset:
MNIST Example
This has a 28x28 input size i.e. 784 input nodes. For its architecture, let’s consider two layers with 128 nodes and 64 nodes, which are then classified into 10 classes. Then parameters will be:
First Layer (784, 128) = 100352 parameters
Second Layer (128, 64) = 8192 parameters
Output Layer (64, 10) = 640 parameters
This will give us a total of 109184 parameters. And the repeated adjustment of weights by backpropagation increases the training time by a lot.
And this just for a 28x28 image, consider training it for bigger input size with 10000’s of features. The training time just gets out of hand.
Conclusion:
In almost all practical learning algorithms of feedforward neural networks, the conventional backpropagation method requires all these weights to be adjusted at every back-prop step.
For most of the time, gradient-descent based strategies have been employed in varied learning algorithms of feedforward neural networks. However, it’s clear that gradient descent-based learning strategies square measure usually terribly slow because of improper learning steps or could simply converge to local minimums. And many iterative learning steps are needed by such learning algorithms so as to get higher learning performance.
This makes the training far slower than required, which has been a major bottleneck for various applications.
|
https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/extreme-learning-machines-82095ee198ce
|
['Prasad Kumkar']
|
2020-08-06 04:40:49.911000+00:00
|
['Machine Learning', 'Data Science', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Research', 'Computer Science']
|
Title Extreme Learning MachinesContent Extreme Learning Machines Part Introduction need ELM Around 2005 novel machine learning approach introduced GuangBin Huang team researcher Nanyang Technological University Singapore new proposed learning algorithm tends reach smallest training error obtain smallest norm weight best generalization performance run extremely fast order differentiate popular SLFN learning algorithm called Extreme Learning Machine ELM method mainly address issue far slower training time neural network required main reason parameter network tuned iteratively using learning algorithm slowgradient based learning algorithm extensively used train neural network Important feature ELM Source going ELM work good let’s see gradientbased neural network based Demonstration Gradientbased Neural network step followed singlelayered feedforward neural network brief Step 1 Evaluate Wx B Step 2 Apply activation function gWx B Compute output Step 3 Calculate Loss Step 4 Compute gradient using delta rule Step 5 Repeat method propagating forward back involves hefty number calculation Also input size large layersnodes training take significant amount time fig1 3layered Neural Network example see 4 node input require W1 20 parameter W2 53 parameter W3 21 parameter ie 94 parameter total parameter increase rapidly increasing input node Let’s take reallife example image classification number MNIST Dataset MNIST Example 28x28 input size ie 784 input node architecture let’s consider two layer 128 node 64 node classified 10 class parameter First Layer 784 128 100352 parameter Second Layer 128 64 8192 parameter Output Layer 64 10 640 parameter give u total 109184 parameter repeated adjustment weight backpropagation increase training time lot 28x28 image consider training bigger input size 10000’s feature training time get hand Conclusion almost practical learning algorithm feedforward neural network conventional backpropagation method requires weight adjusted every backprop step time gradientdescent based strategy employed varied learning algorithm feedforward neural network However it’s clear gradient descentbased learning strategy square measure usually terribly slow improper learning step could simply converge local minimum many iterative learning step needed learning algorithm get higher learning performance make training far slower required major bottleneck various applicationsTags Machine Learning Data Science Artificial Intelligence Research Computer Science
|
5,012 |
Hadoop Performance Evaluation by Benchmarking and Stress Testing with TeraSort and TestDFSIO
|
Evaluation
In this article, we will analyse different stats such as running time, performance, I/O rate, the throughput by running TestDFSIO and TeraSort Benchmark on Hadoop clusters.
The experimental cluster I used consists of 6 nodes. One of them is designed to serve as a master node and the other 5 nodes are designed to be slave nodes or core nodes. The master node manages the cluster and typically runs master components of distributed applications. Core nodes run the Data Node daemon to coordinate data storage as part of the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). I used AWS EMR to create the cluster. The hardware information of each node is as follows:
8 vCore
15 GiB memory
80 SSD GB storage
These configurations are of m3.xlarge instance type.
I ssh-ed into the master node to run the following benchmarks from the command line interface.
TestDFSIO
TestDFSIO benchmark is a read and write test for HDFS. It is helpful for tasks such as stress testing HDFS, to discover performance bottlenecks in your network, to shake out the hardware, OS and Hadoop setup of your cluster machines (particularly the NameNode and the DataNodes) and to give you a first impression of how fast your cluster is in terms of I/O.
TestDFSIO is designed in such a way that it will use 1 map task per file, i.e. it is a 1:1 mapping from files to map tasks. Splits are defined so that each map gets only one filename, which it creates ( -write ) or reads ( -read ).
The command to run a test :
hadoop jar hadoop-*test*.jar TestDFSIO -write|-read -nrFiles <no. of output files> -fileSize <size of one file>
TeraSort
TeraSort Benchmark is used to test both, MapReduce and HDFS by sorting some amount of data as quickly as possible in order to measure the capabilities of distributing and mapreducing files in cluster. This benchmark consists of 3 components:
TeraGen - generates random data
generates random data TeraSort - does the sorting using MapReduce
does the sorting using MapReduce TeraValidate - used to validate the output
TeraGen
To generate random data, the following command is used.
hadoop jar $HADOOP_HOME/hadoop-*examples*.jar teragen <number of 100-byte rows> <input dir>
Suppose you want to generate data of 10 GB, then the number of 100-byte rows will be 10⁷.
Explaination : 10 GB =10⁷ * 100 bytes = 10⁹ bytes
TeraSort
To sort the generated data, the following command is used.
hadoop jar $HADOOP_HOME/hadoop-*examples*.jar terasort <input dir> <output dir>
TeraValidate
To ensure the data was sorted correctly, the following command is used.
hadoop jar $HADOOP_HOME/hadoop-*examples*.jar teravalidate <output dir> <terasort-validate dir>
Challenges faced while running the benchmark
Since the instances I used were of m3.xlarge type, the memory and storage were limited. As a result, few challenges were faced while benchmarking.
After running each benchmark test, HDFS should be cleaned so that the next benchmark can be run without any storage issue.
No two benchmark tests should be run simultaneously so as to avoid memory issues.
Results
TestDFSIO
I ran a TestDFSIO read-write test for assessing Hadoop performance of the experimental cluster I created. This test was run on 5 files each of size 10 GB, 20 GB, 30 GB, 40 GB and 50 GB.
Following are the different stats extracted from the TestDFSIO benchmark.
Runtime
Runtime (TestDFSIO)
In the above figure, you can see that read operation is a bit faster than write operation. This is because disks such as HDD or SSD work like that only.
Throughput
Throughput (TestDFSIO)
In hadoop, the task is divided among different blocks, the processing is done parallel and independent to each other. So because of parallel processing, HDFS has good throughput.
I/O rate
I/O rate (TestDFSIO)
I/O rate is the speed with which the data transfer takes place between the hard disk drive and RAM.
TeraSort
I ran a TeraSort test for assessing Hadoop performance of the experimental cluster I created. This test was run on 5 files each of size 10 GB, 20 GB, 30 GB, 40 GB and 50 GB. First I used TeraGen to generate data to be sorted, then used TeraSort to sort the data and finally used TeraValidate to validate the sorted results.
Following are the different stats extracted from the TeraSort benchmark.
Runtime
Runtime (TeraSort)
Performance
Performance (TeraSort)
There are several interesting details which can be quantified from the above stats:
A larger amount of data to be sorted implies increasing the runtime, as could be expected a priori.
For intermediate size of data like 30 GB and 40 GB, cluster of 1 master and 5 slaves is ideal.
For large size of data, there is less gain with cluster of 1 master and 5 slaves.
|
https://medium.com/ymedialabs-innovation/hadoop-performance-evaluation-by-benchmarking-and-stress-testing-with-terasort-and-testdfsio-444b22c77db2
|
['Rahul Nayak']
|
2018-09-05 12:13:38.669000+00:00
|
['Big Data', 'Hadoop', 'Mapreduce', 'Terasort', 'Backend']
|
Title Hadoop Performance Evaluation Benchmarking Stress Testing TeraSort TestDFSIOContent Evaluation article analyse different stats running time performance IO rate throughput running TestDFSIO TeraSort Benchmark Hadoop cluster experimental cluster used consists 6 node One designed serve master node 5 node designed slave node core node master node manages cluster typically run master component distributed application Core node run Data Node daemon coordinate data storage part Hadoop Distributed File System HDFS used AWS EMR create cluster hardware information node follows 8 vCore 15 GiB memory 80 SSD GB storage configuration m3xlarge instance type sshed master node run following benchmark command line interface TestDFSIO TestDFSIO benchmark read write test HDFS helpful task stress testing HDFS discover performance bottleneck network shake hardware OS Hadoop setup cluster machine particularly NameNode DataNodes give first impression fast cluster term IO TestDFSIO designed way use 1 map task per file ie 11 mapping file map task Splits defined map get one filename creates write read read command run test hadoop jar hadooptestjar TestDFSIO writeread nrFiles output file fileSize size one file TeraSort TeraSort Benchmark used test MapReduce HDFS sorting amount data quickly possible order measure capability distributing mapreducing file cluster benchmark consists 3 component TeraGen generates random data generates random data TeraSort sorting using MapReduce sorting using MapReduce TeraValidate used validate output TeraGen generate random data following command used hadoop jar HADOOPHOMEhadoopexamplesjar teragen number 100byte row input dir Suppose want generate data 10 GB number 100byte row 10⁷ Explaination 10 GB 10⁷ 100 byte 10⁹ byte TeraSort sort generated data following command used hadoop jar HADOOPHOMEhadoopexamplesjar terasort input dir output dir TeraValidate ensure data sorted correctly following command used hadoop jar HADOOPHOMEhadoopexamplesjar teravalidate output dir terasortvalidate dir Challenges faced running benchmark Since instance used m3xlarge type memory storage limited result challenge faced benchmarking running benchmark test HDFS cleaned next benchmark run without storage issue two benchmark test run simultaneously avoid memory issue Results TestDFSIO ran TestDFSIO readwrite test assessing Hadoop performance experimental cluster created test run 5 file size 10 GB 20 GB 30 GB 40 GB 50 GB Following different stats extracted TestDFSIO benchmark Runtime Runtime TestDFSIO figure see read operation bit faster write operation disk HDD SSD work like Throughput Throughput TestDFSIO hadoop task divided among different block processing done parallel independent parallel processing HDFS good throughput IO rate IO rate TestDFSIO IO rate speed data transfer take place hard disk drive RAM TeraSort ran TeraSort test assessing Hadoop performance experimental cluster created test run 5 file size 10 GB 20 GB 30 GB 40 GB 50 GB First used TeraGen generate data sorted used TeraSort sort data finally used TeraValidate validate sorted result Following different stats extracted TeraSort benchmark Runtime Runtime TeraSort Performance Performance TeraSort several interesting detail quantified stats larger amount data sorted implies increasing runtime could expected priori intermediate size data like 30 GB 40 GB cluster 1 master 5 slave ideal large size data le gain cluster 1 master 5 slavesTags Big Data Hadoop Mapreduce Terasort Backend
|
5,013 |
How to Measure Execution Time in Python
|
Python Interface
Import
Add the following import declaration at the top of your Python file:
import timeit
timeit
We are going to replicate the same code snippet that we tested earlier using the timeit function. It accepts the following input parameters:
stmt — String containing the code snippets for your test case.
— String containing the code snippets for your test case. setup — Initial code that will be executed once.
— Initial code that will be executed once. timer — The timer instance. It is defaulted to time.perf_counter() , which returns a float.
— The timer instance. It is defaulted to , which returns a float. number — Number of executions to be carried out. The default value is 1,000,000.
— Number of executions to be carried out. The default value is 1,000,000. globals — Specifies a namespace in which to execute the code.
Most of the time, you will use just the stmt , setup , and number parameters. Append the following code in the Python file:
result = timeit.timeit("'-'.join([str(i) for i in range(100)])", number=20000)
Then, print out the result:
print(result)
You should see the following result when you run it. The time might differ based on the specifications of your machine:
0.4323697
repeat
Should there arise a need to repeat the same test multiple times, you can use the repeat function. It accepts the same parameters as timeit with an additional repeat parameter. The default value is five:
result = timeit.repeat("'-'.join([str(i) for i in range(100)])", number=20000) print(result)
You should see a list of floats with different decimals placed on your console when you run the Python file.
Function
If you are testing codes that are enclosed in a function, you can wrap the function in a multi-block string and pass it as an stmt input parameter. However, a better solution is to import it as a setup parameter. Let’s define the same code snippet inside a function:
def test():
return '-'.join([str(i) for i in range(100)])
The next step is to import it from the main definition:
if __name__ == '__main__':
result = timeit.timeit("test()", setup="from __main__ import test", number=20000) print(result)
You should get more or less the same execution time when you run it. One big issue with this solution is that you will have a hard time writing the import statement if multiple functions exist.
Globals
Another option is to set the globals namespace, which will cause the code to be executed within your current global namespace. This solution is a lot more convenient and does not affect any of your underlying code:
|
https://medium.com/better-programming/how-to-measure-execution-time-in-python-21004748535e
|
['Ng Wai Foong']
|
2020-05-06 14:19:02.480000+00:00
|
['Python3', 'Programming', 'Python', 'DevOps', 'Data Science']
|
Title Measure Execution Time PythonContent Python Interface Import Add following import declaration top Python file import timeit timeit going replicate code snippet tested earlier using timeit function accepts following input parameter stmt — String containing code snippet test case — String containing code snippet test case setup — Initial code executed — Initial code executed timer — timer instance defaulted timeperfcounter return float — timer instance defaulted return float number — Number execution carried default value 1000000 — Number execution carried default value 1000000 globals — Specifies namespace execute code time use stmt setup number parameter Append following code Python file result timeittimeitjoinstri range100 number20000 print result printresult see following result run time might differ based specification machine 04323697 repeat arise need repeat test multiple time use repeat function accepts parameter timeit additional repeat parameter default value five result timeitrepeatjoinstri range100 number20000 printresult see list float different decimal placed console run Python file Function testing code enclosed function wrap function multiblock string pas stmt input parameter However better solution import setup parameter Let’s define code snippet inside function def test return joinstri range100 next step import main definition name main result timeittimeittest setupfrom main import test number20000 printresult get le execution time run One big issue solution hard time writing import statement multiple function exist Globals Another option set globals namespace cause code executed within current global namespace solution lot convenient affect underlying codeTags Python3 Programming Python DevOps Data Science
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5,014 |
Shrink the Node_Modules Folder Size in Yarn(1.*) Project by Deduplicating Dependencies
|
We can reduce our node modules size by these actions:
find and remove all unused dependencies with depcheck.
deduplicate all the duplicated dependencies with yarn-deduplicate.
Step 1 — remove unused dependencies
first, we will install this tool:
npx depcheck
and then we will run it with this command(for advanced uses you can look on the docs):
depcheck
it will give you a list of all Unused dependencies, Unused Devdependencies, and Missing dependencies — for example:
Unused dependencies
* @aws-amplify/auth
* @fullcalendar/core
Unused devDependencies
* @babel/core
* @babel/plugin-transform-typescript
Missing dependencies
* serverless: ./serverless.yml
now you can remove those dependencies (only) with yarn remove (its a bad idea to remove it by simply delete the files or changing the package.json or yarn.lock manually — for a lot of reasons…):
yarn remove @aws-amplify/auth @fullcalendar/core @babel/core @babel/plugin-transform-typescript
and then run
yarn install
again, to update your node modules library.
in the docs there is this quote:
Depcheck just walks through all files and tries to find the dependencies according to some predefined rules. However, the predefined rules may not be enough or may even be wrong. There may be some cases in which a dependency is being used but is reported as unused, or dependency is not used but is reported as missing. These are false alert situations.
so — it’s possible to get a false alert and remove dependent that is in use — so its recommended to remove the unused dependencies one by one and make sure that your app is working properly after removing this dependency.
Step 2- deduplicate all the duplicated dependencies
*** This part is relevant only if you use Yarn v1. Yarn v2 supports package deduplication natively and you don’t need to use this tool at all ***
the second step is to clean up yarn.lock by removing duplicates.
A duplicate package is when two dependencies are resolved to a different version, even when a single version matches the range specified in the dependencies.
if you “host” other npm packages that use different versions of heavy dependencies(material-ui, babel, jest, etc…) you can easily go to crazy node_modules folder size — that will affect developing, build and deploys times and performance.
you can check how much duplications you have with by running this command:
npm ls — parseable | xargs -L1 sh -c ‘basename $1’ dummy | sort | uniq -c | grep -v “^ *1 “ | sort -rn
to get the names of duplications with the numbers:
or by run:
yarn-deduplicate — list
and get the names and the versions:
you can also see the size of your node_modules and understand which packages make the noide_modules very big with this:
cd node_modules
du -h -d 2 | sort -h
you will get a list of all libraries and their size:
and it can help you to focus on the specific packages that you should focus on.
Why to use it(yarn say that they do it automatically but they don’t 😞)
Yarn documentation seems to suggest this package shouldn’t be necessary.
For example, in https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/cli/dedupe/, it says
The dedupe command isn’t necessary. yarn install will already dedupe.
This is, however, not exactly true. There are cases where yarn will not deduplicate existing packages. For example, this scenario:
Install libA. It depends on libB ^1.1.0. At this point, the latest version of libB is 1.1.2, so it gets installed as a transitive dependency in your repo
After a few days, install libC. It also depends on libB ^1.1.0. But this time, the latest libB version is 1.1.3.
In the above scenario, you’ll end up with [email protected] and [email protected] in your repo.
How to use:
in your root project folder run:
yarn add yarn-deduplicate -D; # local. this is best practice!
yarn yarn-deduplicate -s fewer yarn.lock;
yarn install # Don’t forget this step.
To understand better what the deduplication do,
I recommend to ensure your yarn.lock and package.json are committed, run the tool, examining the diff, and commit the changes!
you should see something like this in your yarn.lock:
as we can see in this example, yarn-dedupe changes change the yarn.lock and now these “@babel/helpers@⁷.7.4” will use version 7.10.4, and in the next time that we will yarn install
the @babel/helpers@⁷.7.4 will remove from our node_modules tree.
here is an example of a node_modules tree of an npm package of other teams that we host in our main app before and after deduplication:
and this is only a little part of the diff — so you can understand how it can shrink the size of the main node_modules.
there are a lot of options, strategies, and more details to learn in this tool — highly recommended to read the docs and this great article.
if your yarn.lock is very big and it’s possible deduplicate every package separately, you should do it with this command:
yarn yarn-deduplicate — packages <package1> <package2> <packageN>
it is possible that things can stop workes after this tool (you actually change dependencies of your dependencies) in some cases you would delete your node_modules library and install it again with:
rm -rf node_modules/ yarn install
anyway — don’t forget to yarn install after dedupe and make sure to test your app after using this tool and make sure everything will work as expected.
|
https://medium.com/swlh/how-to-shrink-the-size-of-node-modules-in-yarn-1-version-based-project-b47662e04ec2
|
['Erez Lieberman']
|
2020-10-12 08:46:01.253000+00:00
|
['React', 'Node Modules', 'Yarn']
|
Title Shrink NodeModules Folder Size Yarn1 Project Deduplicating DependenciesContent reduce node module size action find remove unused dependency depcheck deduplicate duplicated dependency yarndeduplicate Step 1 — remove unused dependency first install tool npx depcheck run commandfor advanced us look doc depcheck give list Unused dependency Unused Devdependencies Missing dependency — example Unused dependency awsamplifyauth fullcalendarcore Unused devDependencies babelcore babelplugintransformtypescript Missing dependency serverless serverlessyml remove dependency yarn remove bad idea remove simply delete file changing packagejson yarnlock manually — lot reasons… yarn remove awsamplifyauth fullcalendarcore babelcore babelplugintransformtypescript run yarn install update node module library doc quote Depcheck walk file try find dependency according predefined rule However predefined rule may enough may even wrong may case dependency used reported unused dependency used reported missing false alert situation — it’s possible get false alert remove dependent use — recommended remove unused dependency one one make sure app working properly removing dependency Step 2 deduplicate duplicated dependency part relevant use Yarn v1 Yarn v2 support package deduplication natively don’t need use tool second step clean yarnlock removing duplicate duplicate package two dependency resolved different version even single version match range specified dependency “host” npm package use different version heavy dependenciesmaterialui babel jest etc… easily go crazy nodemodules folder size — affect developing build deploys time performance check much duplication running command npm l — parseable xargs L1 sh c ‘basename 1’ dummy sort uniq c grep v “ 1 “ sort rn get name duplication number run yarndeduplicate — list get name version also see size nodemodules understand package make noidemodules big cd nodemodules du h 2 sort h get list library size help focus specific package focus use ityarn say automatically don’t 😞 Yarn documentation seems suggest package shouldn’t necessary example httpsclassicyarnpkgcomendocsclidedupe say dedupe command isn’t necessary yarn install already dedupe however exactly true case yarn deduplicate existing package example scenario Install libA depends libB 110 point latest version libB 112 get installed transitive dependency repo day install libC also depends libB 110 time latest libB version 113 scenario you’ll end libB112 libB113 repo use root project folder run yarn add yarndeduplicate local best practice yarn yarndeduplicate fewer yarnlock yarn install Don’t forget step understand better deduplication recommend ensure yarnlock packagejson committed run tool examining diff commit change see something like yarnlock see example yarndedupe change change yarnlock “babelhelpers⁷74” use version 7104 next time yarn install babelhelpers⁷74 remove nodemodules tree example nodemodules tree npm package team host main app deduplication little part diff — understand shrink size main nodemodules lot option strategy detail learn tool — highly recommended read doc great article yarnlock big it’s possible deduplicate every package separately command yarn yarndeduplicate — package package1 package2 packageN possible thing stop workes tool actually change dependency dependency case would delete nodemodules library install rm rf nodemodules yarn install anyway — don’t forget yarn install dedupe make sure test app using tool make sure everything work expectedTags React Node Modules Yarn
|
5,015 |
MARKET Protocol — Explain it like I’m Five
|
Bitcoin is often referred as “digital gold”. Gold, like silver and any other precious metals or agricultural goods, is a commodity. Commodities along with currencies, stocks, bonds, and real estate are types of primary financial instruments. To increase the flexibility and efficiency of the trading markets, finance professionals have developed secondary financial instruments called ‘derivatives’, with forwards, futures, options, and swaps being the most commonly traded. Derivatives have two main components, the base currency and the underlying asset. Users make or lose the base currency as the underlying asset moves. For example, the Crude Oil Futures at the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) trade in dollars (base currency) and derive their value from a price of crude oil per barrel (underlying asset).
In the cryptocurrency world, traders have only been able to exchange their digital assets from A to B in one-time or spot transactions for example, like Bitcoin to Ethereum. Blockchain technology is in the maturing process. Its participants should soon have better hedging and price discovery tools at disposal including derivatives. And since many future MARKET Protocol participants may never have been exposed to derivatives, the following example is provided to illustrate how one type of derivative, a futures contract, functions in the real world. Also given is an analogous use case in cryptocurrencies implemented using MARKET contracts to demonstrate their utility for risk management purposes.
Imagine you were a wheat producer and your biggest potential buyer is a flour mill. It would be essential for both parties to find ways to secure future positive cash flow in order to effectively plan and maintain their businesses. If you knew that you could sell a bushel of wheat for $4.5 in the future while current production costs were $3.5 per bushel, you might want to lock in a price of $4.5. If you did not, you risk a price decrease due to unpredictable factors from now until harvest (e.g. oversupply or other adverse market or weather conditions).
The mill holds the same risk but in the other direction, since the price in a few months might go up to $7 when it needs to re-supply. Therefore, it might be beneficial for both parties to enter into a contract that guarantees the delivery of wheat at a specified date and price in the future — in this case $4.5 per bushel. The type of contract just described (future delivery of an asset at a fixed price) is called a futures contract and it is a basic type of derivative. It’s called a derivative because it derives its value from something else — in this case the price of a bushel of wheat.
MARKET protocol contracts are also derivatives because they derive their value from something else, an underlying asset which can be on-chain (cryptocurrencies and tokens) or off-chain (stocks, bonds, indexes).
Translated into the world of cryptocurrencies, one could think of an Ether miner as a farmer and traders/investors/speculators as a mill. Similarly to agriculture production, there are several factors that need to be considered when assessing the profitability of mining a coin, e.g. the cost of electricity, the mining difficulty and the cost of hardware. Since MARKET protocol contracts can be customized by the creator, all of these risks could theoretically be hedged by creating the appropriate contract and finding a counterparty to take the other side of the trade. Therefore, if miners believe they can mine Ether profitably over some length of time in the future at a minimum guaranteed price, they may want to enter into a contract now to eliminate the risk of a future price decline in Ether.
Also, many cryptocurrency traders and miners might want to use their cryptocurrency to gain exposure to traditional market assets or cross chain currency pairs not currently available for trading on regular exchanges. For example, use your Ether to get exposure to Tesla stock. You would never have to sell Ether and open a brokerage account. It would be an excellent way to enable crypto/traditional assets relationships.
How about the ability to hold SALT lending token and partially get exposed to a possible Litecoin price surge without having to buy it (and without having to sell your SALT!)? As a novel price discovery tool for these types of relationships, MARKET contracts could help decrease the volatility of and make utility token valuations become more stable.
So we’ve just learned how MARKET protocol contracts share some similar properties to futures contracts. Yet there are some key differences and advantages to MARKET contracts over traditional futures. These include the ability to collateralize contracts using any ERC20 base token as well as the elimination of third party risk by implementing collateralization via smart contracts. Look forward to these being discussed in more depth in the future. To learn more, visit marketprotocol.io, read our whitepaper, and join the ongoing discussion on Telegram.
|
https://medium.com/market-protocol/market-protocol-explain-it-like-im-five-673312673b6e
|
['Lazar Jovanovic']
|
2018-05-18 20:18:18.208000+00:00
|
['Blockchain', 'Bitcoin', 'Ethereum', 'Startup', 'Cryptocurrency']
|
Title MARKET Protocol — Explain like I’m FiveContent Bitcoin often referred “digital gold” Gold like silver precious metal agricultural good commodity Commodities along currency stock bond real estate type primary financial instrument increase flexibility efficiency trading market finance professional developed secondary financial instrument called ‘derivatives’ forward future option swap commonly traded Derivatives two main component base currency underlying asset Users make lose base currency underlying asset move example Crude Oil Futures CME Chicago Mercantile Exchange trade dollar base currency derive value price crude oil per barrel underlying asset cryptocurrency world trader able exchange digital asset B onetime spot transaction example like Bitcoin Ethereum Blockchain technology maturing process participant soon better hedging price discovery tool disposal including derivative since many future MARKET Protocol participant may never exposed derivative following example provided illustrate one type derivative future contract function real world Also given analogous use case cryptocurrencies implemented using MARKET contract demonstrate utility risk management purpose Imagine wheat producer biggest potential buyer flour mill would essential party find way secure future positive cash flow order effectively plan maintain business knew could sell bushel wheat 45 future current production cost 35 per bushel might want lock price 45 risk price decrease due unpredictable factor harvest eg oversupply adverse market weather condition mill hold risk direction since price month might go 7 need resupply Therefore might beneficial party enter contract guarantee delivery wheat specified date price future — case 45 per bushel type contract described future delivery asset fixed price called future contract basic type derivative It’s called derivative derives value something else — case price bushel wheat MARKET protocol contract also derivative derive value something else underlying asset onchain cryptocurrencies token offchain stock bond index Translated world cryptocurrencies one could think Ether miner farmer tradersinvestorsspeculators mill Similarly agriculture production several factor need considered assessing profitability mining coin eg cost electricity mining difficulty cost hardware Since MARKET protocol contract customized creator risk could theoretically hedged creating appropriate contract finding counterparty take side trade Therefore miner believe mine Ether profitably length time future minimum guaranteed price may want enter contract eliminate risk future price decline Ether Also many cryptocurrency trader miner might want use cryptocurrency gain exposure traditional market asset cross chain currency pair currently available trading regular exchange example use Ether get exposure Tesla stock would never sell Ether open brokerage account would excellent way enable cryptotraditional asset relationship ability hold SALT lending token partially get exposed possible Litecoin price surge without buy without sell SALT novel price discovery tool type relationship MARKET contract could help decrease volatility make utility token valuation become stable we’ve learned MARKET protocol contract share similar property future contract Yet key difference advantage MARKET contract traditional future include ability collateralize contract using ERC20 base token well elimination third party risk implementing collateralization via smart contract Look forward discussed depth future learn visit marketprotocolio read whitepaper join ongoing discussion TelegramTags Blockchain Bitcoin Ethereum Startup Cryptocurrency
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5,016 |
Why You Should Spend Less Time Looking in the Mirror
|
For the past few months, I’ve tried everything to get rid of an unusual red rash that has placed its self on the top of my lip. Numerous visits to the doctor and several prescribed creams later, the rash is still there and I’m still annoyed. The latest hypothesis from my doctor is that it might be ‘Perioral Dermatitis’, so I’m slathering some antibiotic cream on it every day in the hope that I’m not amongst the unlucky few for whom this skin condition “may become chronic”.
If my rash does become a long-term issue, I’m going to have to learn to cope a lot better with the frustration I feel every morning when I look at myself in my bathroom mirror. The red, angry bumps jump out at me and give me the impression that it’s the only thing that people will see when they look at me. Once I’ve fixated on this unsightly rash for a few minutes, I begin to notice all the other flaws on my face — the dark bags that hang under my eyes, the brown stains on my teeth, and the oily pimples hiding in the creases of my nose. Needless to say, looking in the mirror hasn’t been an enjoyable process for me these past few months.
The thing is, despite what my mirror’s lead me to believe, numerous friends have told me that my rash is barely noticeable — they hadn’t even been aware of its presence until I drew their attention to it. Maybe they’re just being nice, but I’ve known my friends for too long for them to feel worried about offending my sensibilities. I’m inclined to think that my friends are right and that my mirror’s been misleading me — it hasn’t been giving me an accurate picture of the true me.
What a mirror can’t capture
My mum was diagnosed with a chronic eye-condition several years ago, a side-effect of which is that one her eyes droop shut slightly more than the other (it’s called ‘amblyopia’ apparently). My mum has mentioned this unfortunate consequence of her condition on numerous occasions, but I’d never noticed it, until the other day when we were both stood in front of the mirror by our front-door getting ready to leave the house and I looked at my mum, in the mirror, and there it was — one eye was shut slightly more than the other.
I’d never noticed my mum’s eye issue when I was looking at her face-to-face because my mum is more than just her eyes, or her face, or even her whole physical body. When I look at my mum, there are so many different factors that contribute to my perception of her — the mood she is in, the energy she is giving off, all my memories of her, what she says, maybe what she smells like — none of which I can see when I look at her reflection in a mirror.
When we look into a mirror, the reflection staring back at us is actually an incredibly simplistic and reductive portrayal of who we are. I know that the mirror by my front door can’t show me the kindness, love, and compassion that I see in my mum every day when I look at her, all I see in the mirror is her physicality and that’s not even half of the story.
Even on a physical level, it has been shown that a mirror doesn’t always provide us with an accurate depiction of that which is in front of it — the size, color, and proportions of what a mirror shows us can all be affected by the lighting that surrounds the mirror, our proximity to the mirror, and the size of the mirror itself. Given this evident inaccuracy, we shouldn’t feel the need to attach too much importance to what it shows us, for better or for worse. For all I know, my bathroom mirror could be making my irritating rash look a lot more unpleasant than it actually is — I like that thought, so I’ll stick with it.
|
https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/why-you-should-spend-less-time-looking-in-the-mirror-356253fb17ed
|
['Antony Pinol']
|
2020-07-30 12:14:28.415000+00:00
|
['Life Lessons', 'Mental Health', 'Self', 'Mirror', 'Self Help']
|
Title Spend Less Time Looking MirrorContent past month I’ve tried everything get rid unusual red rash placed self top lip Numerous visit doctor several prescribed cream later rash still I’m still annoyed latest hypothesis doctor might ‘Perioral Dermatitis’ I’m slathering antibiotic cream every day hope I’m amongst unlucky skin condition “may become chronic” rash become longterm issue I’m going learn cope lot better frustration feel every morning look bathroom mirror red angry bump jump give impression it’s thing people see look I’ve fixated unsightly rash minute begin notice flaw face — dark bag hang eye brown stain teeth oily pimple hiding crease nose Needless say looking mirror hasn’t enjoyable process past month thing despite mirror’s lead believe numerous friend told rash barely noticeable — hadn’t even aware presence drew attention Maybe they’re nice I’ve known friend long feel worried offending sensibility I’m inclined think friend right mirror’s misleading — hasn’t giving accurate picture true mirror can’t capture mum diagnosed chronic eyecondition several year ago sideeffect one eye droop shut slightly it’s called ‘amblyopia’ apparently mum mentioned unfortunate consequence condition numerous occasion I’d never noticed day stood front mirror frontdoor getting ready leave house looked mum mirror — one eye shut slightly I’d never noticed mum’s eye issue looking facetoface mum eye face even whole physical body look mum many different factor contribute perception — mood energy giving memory say maybe smell like — none see look reflection mirror look mirror reflection staring back u actually incredibly simplistic reductive portrayal know mirror front door can’t show kindness love compassion see mum every day look see mirror physicality that’s even half story Even physical level shown mirror doesn’t always provide u accurate depiction front — size color proportion mirror show u affected lighting surround mirror proximity mirror size mirror Given evident inaccuracy shouldn’t feel need attach much importance show u better worse know bathroom mirror could making irritating rash look lot unpleasant actually — like thought I’ll stick itTags Life Lessons Mental Health Self Mirror Self Help
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5,017 |
The Great Emoji Movie Challenge
|
The Great Emoji Movie Challenge
What else are you gonna do during your weeks (months) of COVID-19 social distancing?
With all this self-imposed social distancing (which is important and necessary) we have to keep ourselves amused somehow. My colleague passed over an emoji game which has been spreading in the UK, which I loved so much that I then decided to make my own!
One of the great things about playing (and making) this kind of emoji game is that it helps you think about visual language and how we communicate with signs. Sure, it’s fun, but it also helps you think about how you map information to representation and symbolism — which is something we do all the time in dataviz.
Below you’ll find 50 film titles as created by emoji. Some of these are deep cuts so it’s game on! I’ve added answers at the bottom of the post if you just gotta know.
Guess the film titles:
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https://medium.com/nightingale/the-great-emoji-movie-challenge-63162bda9014
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['Jason Forrest']
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2020-04-01 23:59:39.782000+00:00
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['Covid 19', 'Games', 'Emoji', 'Puzzle', 'Design']
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Title Great Emoji Movie ChallengeContent Great Emoji Movie Challenge else gonna week month COVID19 social distancing selfimposed social distancing important necessary keep amused somehow colleague passed emoji game spreading UK loved much decided make One great thing playing making kind emoji game help think visual language communicate sign Sure it’s fun also help think map information representation symbolism — something time dataviz you’ll find 50 film title created emoji deep cut it’s game I’ve added answer bottom post gotta know Guess film titlesTags Covid 19 Games Emoji Puzzle Design
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5,018 |
7 Truly Bizarre Books that Changed My Life
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#1: American Psycho- Bret Easton Ellis
American Psycho is a first-person account of Patrick Bateman, an investment banker/ serial killer. Apparently, it is so disturbing that Australia refuses to sell it to minors. The plot alternates between Bateman obsessing over designer clothing brands and violently murdering his coworkers.
How it Changed My Life: I loved reading when I was a kid, but like many tweens, I grew out of the habit in middle school. Teachers try (and usually fail) to rope teens into reading, because there is a huge disconnect between what teens are interested in and what teachers think they are interested in. When I was a teen, I. LOVED. SHOCK VALUE. My desire to read shocking things led me to this book, and I had to persevere through the lengthy descriptions of silk skinny ties to get to the heart racing scenes. American Psycho taught me the value of patience. And patience is the trait I needed to start reading again.
Strangest Passage: “I stare into a thin, web-like crack above the urinal’s handle and think to myself that if I were to disappear into that crack, say somehow miniaturize and slip into it, the odds are good that no one would notice I was gone. No… one… would… care. In fact some, if they noticed my absence, might feel an odd, indefinable sense of relief. This is true: the world is better off with some people gone. Our lives are not all interconnected. That theory is crock. Some people truly do not need to be here.”
Life Lesson: Developing new habits takes patience. (Always return video tapes on time.)
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https://medium.com/illumination/7-truly-bizarre-books-that-changed-my-life-4df25f752de3
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['Valerie King']
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2020-12-01 04:42:49.242000+00:00
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['Life Lessons', 'Life', 'Reading', 'Book Recommendations', 'Books']
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Title 7 Truly Bizarre Books Changed LifeContent 1 American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis American Psycho firstperson account Patrick Bateman investment banker serial killer Apparently disturbing Australia refuse sell minor plot alternate Bateman obsessing designer clothing brand violently murdering coworkers Changed Life loved reading kid like many tweens grew habit middle school Teachers try usually fail rope teen reading huge disconnect teen interested teacher think interested teen LOVED SHOCK VALUE desire read shocking thing led book persevere lengthy description silk skinny tie get heart racing scene American Psycho taught value patience patience trait needed start reading Strangest Passage “I stare thin weblike crack urinal’s handle think disappear crack say somehow miniaturize slip odds good one would notice gone No… one… would… care fact noticed absence might feel odd indefinable sense relief true world better people gone life interconnected theory crock people truly need here” Life Lesson Developing new habit take patience Always return video tape timeTags Life Lessons Life Reading Book Recommendations Books
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5,019 |
4 Easy Ways to Destroy Trust
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If time is our greatest commodity, trust is our most valuable currency. Time is something we cannot afford to waste, but trust is something we cannot afford to squander. When we have destroyed trust at work, the destruction may not stop there.
If our boss cannot trust us in the workplace, we have left them with limited options. They may end up micromanaging your performance because you have taken away their belief in your ability to handle your job. They may end up leaning in to develop you because they believe you have the capacity, but maybe they have overextended trust before it was merited. They may have to replace you if the damage has been to vital and the organization cannot survive the road to repair.
As a fellow leader, there is only so much they can do. The company has to continue, the organization has to move on.
That begs the question, what are things we do that destroy trust?
What if we are caught in habits that are slowly eroding the very thing we need to do our jobs well? There are some behaviors or tendencies that are obvious. When it comes to destroying trust, they’re the wrecking balls.
Other issues are more subtle in their work, like water beneath the surface. It slowly erodes where no one can see but can lead to incredible damage when a sinkhole opens up. The damage may feel instantaneous, but the destructive work was slow.
Either way, trust is destroyed. So what are things we find ourselves doing that destroy the trust we have at work?
Gossip
What is gossip? I’m partial to the definition by Rick Warren. “When people are talking about someone or something, and no one there is part of the problem or solution.”
If we find ourselves in a conversation about someone, and no one in the conversation is involved, no one is a part of why that situation is going wrong, and no one in the conversation is part of fixing that situation, it’s probably gossip.
Our staff walked through this book on gossip, and I like their definition, as well. “Bearing bad news behind someone’s back out of a bad heart.” For Matt Mitchell, gossip must contain these three elements:
Bad news. Sharing information about someone’s newborn child wouldn’t qualify, because in most situations that comes as good news. Just because it’s not bad news doesn’t mean it should be shared, but for Mitchell, it wouldn’t qualify as gossip. Behind their back. Just like Rick Warren’s definition, for something to qualify as gossip, the people involved are not present. If you find yourself in a group text, email chain, or hallway conversation about someone or a relationship and no one is part of that conversation, it has a good chance of being gossip. Bad heart. Intentions matter…but are hard to evaluate. Are you sharing that story because you and the person you’re texting are genuinely wanting to help? Or are you sharing it because, deep down, it feeds your power or makes you feel more in control?
Gossip will destroy the trust you have spent years building. The old, stereotypical illustration of gossip rings true. Go take a bag of feathers and throw them off a skyscraper. Go to the bottom, walk outside, and put them all in the bag. That’s the reality of gossip. Once something has been spoken, it is nearly impossible to undo.
Think about it this way. You know the people in your office that are constantly filling you in on the latest stories…how likely are you to go to them when you need help? If you’re not likely to rely on them, what makes you think anyone else in the organization will, either?
Shading the Truth
This is similar to being a suck-up. Shading the truth means being “technically honest” but deceptive. It can come in two forms.
Positively shading the truth means giving a report to your boss that makes things seem a little better than they may be. An example from my context in student ministry would be going to my boss and saying, “We had 750 people at our retreat, it was a huge win.” The reality? Yes, we had 750 people, but that included staff, chaperones, kitchen staff, and on and on. If I know my boss is asking for how many students we had this year, 750 people is accurate, but still not a complete truth.
Negatively shading the truth is similar. You give an accurate response, but make it sound a little worse than it was. Maybe your team is processing an event you don’t want to host again, and you frame the conversation to be a little less favorable.
Negatively shading the truth can also come in the form of false humility. If you are trying to play the “Little Ol’ Me” card, your boss will eventually see this. Framing yourself as the victim, or less deserving, or more of a problem in a situation when you are not is a sure way to break trust.
Why does shading the truth break trust? For the same reason, gossip breaks trust. When people at your work cannot depend on your feedback or comments for unbiased, fair statements, there is no reason for trust.
You will build for yourself a reputation of being “mostly true,” but mostly true isn’t true.
Blaming
This should come as no surprise…blaming failures will always break trust. It doesn’t matter if you blame other people, if you blame circumstances beyond your control if you blame another department, or anything else. If you don’t take ownership of your own mistakes, you will never build the trust necessary to move on.
Why? Failure isn’t final. In almost every situation, failure is part of the journey, not the end of the journey. The problem with blaming is that you are refusing to take responsibility. When you don’t take responsibility, other people are at fault. When others are at fault, there’s no reason for reflection. When there’s no reason for reflection, there’s no opportunity for growth. When there’s no opportunity for growth, there’s no way to increase your leadership capacity.
The leaders that lead well have also failed, and failed well. The path to true, sustainable success isn’t built upon people and things you’ve thrown under the bus. It’s built upon the hard situations that have made you who you are.
When your default posture is to blame others in failure, you create a win/lose situation for your boss. If he or she gives you more responsibility, either that will go well (win) or things won’t go well and others are blamed (fail).
When your default posture is to accept responsibility (even if it’s not yours to own), you have created a win/win situation. As you get more responsibility, things may go well (win), or if things don’t go well, your boss knows it can be a growth experience when you shoulder the failure and keep moving forward (win).
For more reading on this idea, and to explore the concept of “extreme ownership,” I’d recommend this book by Jocko Willink.
Surprises
I don’t even like surprise parties. That’s personal, though, not necessarily something that will destroy trust.
If you want to make sure you don’t break trust, don’t let there be any surprises. Do you think a client is going to call and be furious about something that happened? Give their rep a heads up. Did something go wrong with a purchase order that you think will work itself out? Don’t let your boss be surprised, give them a heads up.
I have a handful of goals as a leader, and one of them is, “Never let my boss be surprised.” I may send more emails or give more heads up than my boss may like, but I have learned that’s the lesser of two evils.
In my role, I interview adult volunteers to work with teenagers and mentor them. Because of the sensitivity of putting adults in places of trust and power with minors, we have a lot of policies and procedures, as well as an extensive onboarding process to ensure the safety of our students.
As a part of that onboarding, we have leader coaching. When I am coaching a new leader, I ask the same of them: “Please don’t let me get surprised.” Here’s the general overview of my script when I unpack this with them.
If there’s something that happens in your small group time that you think may frustrate a parent, or if there’s a conversation that comes up that covers sensitive material, at least send me a text message.
If someone asks a question about sex and a parent calls me, that phone call can go one of two ways.
If you’ve texted me ahead of time and said, “Ross asked ________, so just as a heads up, we talked about this,” then that conversation with the frustrated parent is pretty easy. “Yes, thanks for calling. Here’s what happened.”
If you haven’t given me a heads up, and a parent calls asking why you were telling them about sex, I have to say, “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. Let me find out about that.”
Parents will respond to two very different ways to those situations. Please help me be in your corner by making sure I’m not surprised by anything.
I would say the same should be true in a working environment. Make sure that your boss is never surprised by something about which you have prior knowledge. It’s a lot easier to be in your corner and knows you’re reliable when you are constantly keeping your boss in the loop (and in turn, making him or her look better).
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https://medium.com/the-leadership-journal/destroy-trust-at-work-1926ce1d8406
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['Austin Walker']
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2019-12-26 15:44:49.096000+00:00
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['Work', 'Management', 'Leadership', 'Self Improvement', 'Productivity']
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Title 4 Easy Ways Destroy TrustContent time greatest commodity trust valuable currency Time something cannot afford waste trust something cannot afford squander destroyed trust work destruction may stop bos cannot trust u workplace left limited option may end micromanaging performance taken away belief ability handle job may end leaning develop believe capacity maybe overextended trust merited may replace damage vital organization cannot survive road repair fellow leader much company continue organization move begs question thing destroy trust caught habit slowly eroding thing need job well behavior tendency obvious come destroying trust they’re wrecking ball issue subtle work like water beneath surface slowly erodes one see lead incredible damage sinkhole open damage may feel instantaneous destructive work slow Either way trust destroyed thing find destroy trust work Gossip gossip I’m partial definition Rick Warren “When people talking someone something one part problem solution” find conversation someone one conversation involved one part situation going wrong one conversation part fixing situation it’s probably gossip staff walked book gossip like definition well “Bearing bad news behind someone’s back bad heart” Matt Mitchell gossip must contain three element Bad news Sharing information someone’s newborn child wouldn’t qualify situation come good news it’s bad news doesn’t mean shared Mitchell wouldn’t qualify gossip Behind back like Rick Warren’s definition something qualify gossip people involved present find group text email chain hallway conversation someone relationship one part conversation good chance gossip Bad heart Intentions matter…but hard evaluate sharing story person you’re texting genuinely wanting help sharing deep feed power make feel control Gossip destroy trust spent year building old stereotypical illustration gossip ring true Go take bag feather throw skyscraper Go bottom walk outside put bag That’s reality gossip something spoken nearly impossible undo Think way know people office constantly filling latest stories…how likely go need help you’re likely rely make think anyone else organization either Shading Truth similar suckup Shading truth mean “technically honest” deceptive come two form Positively shading truth mean giving report bos make thing seem little better may example context student ministry would going bos saying “We 750 people retreat huge win” reality Yes 750 people included staff chaperone kitchen staff know bos asking many student year 750 people accurate still complete truth Negatively shading truth similar give accurate response make sound little worse Maybe team processing event don’t want host frame conversation little le favorable Negatively shading truth also come form false humility trying play “Little Ol’ Me” card bos eventually see Framing victim le deserving problem situation sure way break trust shading truth break trust reason gossip break trust people work cannot depend feedback comment unbiased fair statement reason trust build reputation “mostly true” mostly true isn’t true Blaming come surprise…blaming failure always break trust doesn’t matter blame people blame circumstance beyond control blame another department anything else don’t take ownership mistake never build trust necessary move Failure isn’t final almost every situation failure part journey end journey problem blaming refusing take responsibility don’t take responsibility people fault others fault there’s reason reflection there’s reason reflection there’s opportunity growth there’s opportunity growth there’s way increase leadership capacity leader lead well also failed failed well path true sustainable success isn’t built upon people thing you’ve thrown bus It’s built upon hard situation made default posture blame others failure create winlose situation bos give responsibility either go well win thing won’t go well others blamed fail default posture accept responsibility even it’s created winwin situation get responsibility thing may go well win thing don’t go well bos know growth experience shoulder failure keep moving forward win reading idea explore concept “extreme ownership” I’d recommend book Jocko Willink Surprises don’t even like surprise party That’s personal though necessarily something destroy trust want make sure don’t break trust don’t let surprise think client going call furious something happened Give rep head something go wrong purchase order think work Don’t let bos surprised give head handful goal leader one “Never let bos surprised” may send email give head bos may like learned that’s lesser two evil role interview adult volunteer work teenager mentor sensitivity putting adult place trust power minor lot policy procedure well extensive onboarding process ensure safety student part onboarding leader coaching coaching new leader ask “Please don’t let get surprised” Here’s general overview script unpack there’s something happens small group time think may frustrate parent there’s conversation come cover sensitive material least send text message someone asks question sex parent call phone call go one two way you’ve texted ahead time said “Ross asked head talked this” conversation frustrated parent pretty easy “Yes thanks calling Here’s happened” haven’t given head parent call asking telling sex say “Oh goodness I’m sorry Let find that” Parents respond two different way situation Please help corner making sure I’m surprised anything would say true working environment Make sure bos never surprised something prior knowledge It’s lot easier corner know you’re reliable constantly keeping bos loop turn making look betterTags Work Management Leadership Self Improvement Productivity
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5,020 |
Angular, Quarkus, Keycloak, Security
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Angular, Quarkus, Keycloak, Security
Small guide of combining the two most used frameworks on the web in a secure manner.
Intro
This will be a small guide on how to tie and use together all the mentioned technologies in one nice end to end web project.
First of all, Angular is now a mature framework that makes use of typescript to develop modern and advanced UI applications. It’s taken care by Google and in the latest releases it came with lots of performance improvements.
Angular doesn’t necessarily require as much learning as other front-end technologies and it distinguish itself from React or Vue by being a framework not a library the can be easily plugged and unplugged.
This sometimes means that you have to write boilerplate code configuration to perform certain tasks and the framework will do it for you. Anyhow, you may use any front-end technology, the concept will still be valid just that there will be more code for you to write I assume.
The concept
The concept is based on the Oauth2 specifications, as well as UMA specifications. While you may go and read them for your own sake they are properly implemented within Keycloak by specialists.
Keycloak is also Opensource, mature, with a clear release cycle, broad documentation and highly used and appreciated by other people and corporations. What it’s important to take from here is that while it can be misused, chances of doing so are fairly low.
Security Concept
1. Angular — Keycloak Integration
If it were for someone to look into everything that Keycloak is capable of, I’d highly recommend their server administration documentation: https://www.keycloak.org/docs/latest/server_admin/#overview.
From there, we’ll make use of the concept of SSO, SSO protocols, as well as Managing Clients, Roles and User Session Management sections.
Secondly, Keycloack comes with a great deal of adapters to support integration with most of the languages & frameworks available on the web. These are small libraries that are very closed to your project implementation.
In the end, depending on the technology and the type of client you are implementing (or resource server configuration) — from oauth2 specs — different oauth2 flows are supported.
For example, when you think about JavaScript clients there are 2 OAuth2 flows supported. However, we’ll see that there is a third option: hybrid. It’s important to keep in mind that the hybrid mode combines best best from the two: refresh token, access token available right away. You may read more about it here.
keycloak-angular
Keycloak angular is a library that makes the integration much easier. It has everything a user might expect from it:
Interceptor to attach the security token on each request. Guard to protect your paths based on roles or any other logic you may find suitable. A service that gives developers access to a security context KeycloakService . An init method were developers may configure certain behavior on application startup.
Installation
npm install keycloak-angular keycloak-js
Configuration
If you are looking to login users before using you applications you shall create a factory method and attached it to your APP_INITIALIZER providers.
Angular Module Configuration
Now every time a user will load the application, it will be first redirect to Keycloak for login and only after that he’ll be able to access the application.
Note that if this is not the behavior you may look for, you can anytime use the keycloakService.login method.
Quarkus Resource Server
The project can be found here. It mostly follows the guide publish by Quarkus about centralized authorization with the central point being the application.properties where the security configuration are put in place.
It’s important to set your correct auth-server-url following the pattern /auth/${realm_name}/${client} as well as the client-id and client-secret.
Consider storing your secret in a environment variable rather then having it hard-coded like me.
Quarkus-Keycloak configuration
Demo
To start up the projects you’ll need docker , docker-compose , npm , angular-cli and java installed.
First we must start keycloak. For this navigate within the keycloak-client and run a docker-compose up -d Secondly, you may want to import the same configuration as I have from https://gitlab.com/blogging4t/keycloak-client/-/blob/develop/realm-export.json . To do this, in Keycloak, navigate to the Import button. Within the keycloak-client run npm install; npm start ; This will start the angular project for you. The quarkus project can be taken from here. To run it, simply execute from the command line mvn clean compile quarkus:dev Navigate to http://localhost:4200. In there the following should be displayed:
Angular app screen
By Clicking show message, depending on what role you have, the application will say either hello admin, or, hello user.
While playing around you might take interest in watching the network tab and checking all the calls that are being done for you to obtain an access_token as well as the fact that all the requests sent contain an Authorization header.
To experiment more, try playing with these if and see what happens if the user is normal and tries to access the admin endpoint:
Last Security Consideration
Use an SSL connection when connecting from a confidential resource server and make sure your certificate is validated. For you angular-client (public client) disable Direct Access Grant from the keycloak adminstration console Make sure to always use encrypted traffic between your services The entire infrastructure is based on signing the JWT’s. From my end this not the best security model and a incremental security pattern should be implemented. For example, the private key may be exposed by one of the organization employees through social engineering. One way to achieve a better security is based on reference tokens where an intermediate service will replace an Opaque token with the access token before accessing the resource server. This entitles that the outside users should be only have access to the opaque tokens. Nevertheless, the community seems to be aware of it and there is a request for this kind of functionality: https://issues.redhat.com/browse/KEYCLOAK-8278.
Best of luck building and securing your APIs!
|
https://medium.com/swlh/angular-quarkus-keycloak-security-ac95d4547d1
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['Catalin Patrut']
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2020-12-08 15:54:56.261000+00:00
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['Java', 'Quarkus', 'Angular', 'Security', 'Keycloak']
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Title Angular Quarkus Keycloak SecurityContent Angular Quarkus Keycloak Security Small guide combining two used framework web secure manner Intro small guide tie use together mentioned technology one nice end end web project First Angular mature framework make use typescript develop modern advanced UI application It’s taken care Google latest release came lot performance improvement Angular doesn’t necessarily require much learning frontend technology distinguish React Vue framework library easily plugged unplugged sometimes mean write boilerplate code configuration perform certain task framework Anyhow may use frontend technology concept still valid code write assume concept concept based Oauth2 specification well UMA specification may go read sake properly implemented within Keycloak specialist Keycloak also Opensource mature clear release cycle broad documentation highly used appreciated people corporation it’s important take misused chance fairly low Security Concept 1 Angular — Keycloak Integration someone look everything Keycloak capable I’d highly recommend server administration documentation httpswwwkeycloakorgdocslatestserveradminoverview we’ll make use concept SSO SSO protocol well Managing Clients Roles User Session Management section Secondly Keycloack come great deal adapter support integration language framework available web small library closed project implementation end depending technology type client implementing resource server configuration — oauth2 spec — different oauth2 flow supported example think JavaScript client 2 OAuth2 flow supported However we’ll see third option hybrid It’s important keep mind hybrid mode combine best best two refresh token access token available right away may read keycloakangular Keycloak angular library make integration much easier everything user might expect Interceptor attach security token request Guard protect path based role logic may find suitable service give developer access security context KeycloakService init method developer may configure certain behavior application startup Installation npm install keycloakangular keycloakjs Configuration looking login user using application shall create factory method attached APPINITIALIZER provider Angular Module Configuration every time user load application first redirect Keycloak login he’ll able access application Note behavior may look anytime use keycloakServicelogin method Quarkus Resource Server project found mostly follows guide publish Quarkus centralized authorization central point applicationproperties security configuration put place It’s important set correct authserverurl following pattern authrealmnameclient well clientid clientsecret Consider storing secret environment variable rather hardcoded like QuarkusKeycloak configuration Demo start project you’ll need docker dockercompose npm angularcli java installed First must start keycloak navigate within keycloakclient run dockercompose Secondly may want import configuration httpsgitlabcomblogging4tkeycloakclientblobdeveloprealmexportjson Keycloak navigate Import button Within keycloakclient run npm install npm start start angular project quarkus project taken run simply execute command line mvn clean compile quarkusdev Navigate httplocalhost4200 following displayed Angular app screen Clicking show message depending role application say either hello admin hello user playing around might take interest watching network tab checking call done obtain accesstoken well fact request sent contain Authorization header experiment try playing see happens user normal try access admin endpoint Last Security Consideration Use SSL connection connecting confidential resource server make sure certificate validated angularclient public client disable Direct Access Grant keycloak adminstration console Make sure always use encrypted traffic service entire infrastructure based signing JWT’s end best security model incremental security pattern implemented example private key may exposed one organization employee social engineering One way achieve better security based reference token intermediate service replace Opaque token access token accessing resource server entitles outside user access opaque token Nevertheless community seems aware request kind functionality httpsissuesredhatcombrowseKEYCLOAK8278 Best luck building securing APIsTags Java Quarkus Angular Security Keycloak
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5,021 |
Do You Lose Days to Anxiety?
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How much do you struggle with anxiety? How often do you battle to stay sane in a world that steals the life from you? Do you ever lose days fighting to get your mind back from the brink?
Those of us who deal with anxiety know how hard it is to do “normal” things when we are suffering. Getting out of bed, showering, remembering to eat, trying to work — what do you manage to get done and what do you give up?
We know the sinking feeling when the anxiety visits us. First, it’s a nagging feeling that won’t go away. Soon it sweeps away everything else until we struggle to survive.
How are we supposed to live a normal life?
The past few days
I went to bed the other night feeling only the normal amount of anxiety I usually experience. I didn’t know anything was wrong. The only thing that marked this night was the panic attack my wife Flora suffered before she went to bed.
Between the two of us, panic attacks happen almost every day. We’ve learned to deal with them by using deep breathing and a lot of support from each other.
That night my sleep was more than troubled. I tossed and turned, fighting against invisible enemies and night terrors. I was up and down all night, trying to clear the demons from my head by pacing back and forth in the dark.
I woke to a feeling of panic and pulled the blanket tighter around my head. Soon Flora was yelling at me to get out of bed, and I pushed back against the anxiety holding me in place. There was a terrible amount of dread building in my chest, but I pushed it down inside so I could start my day.
I did a few of the things that I needed to get done, but I wasn’t able to write. The voices were screaming in my head, and I couldn’t concentrate no matter what I tried.
Photo by Edwin Andrade on Unsplash
I was irritable and couldn’t talk to anyone without getting angry and yelling. After seeing the hurt in my daughter’s eyes after I yelled at her for daring to tell me she was hungry, I gave up trying. I spent the afternoon and evening curled fetal in my bed, trying to push away the noise in my mind.
That night and the following day weren’t much better.
I drank a few beers before bed last night. Not the best coping mechanism, but it’s was all I had. I slept sound, and while I woke to anxiety, I didn’t have the panic and terror that marked the previous days.
I realized when I sat at my desk to write today that I’d lost almost two days. Two more days of my life are gone. I’ll never get that time back and it bothers me.
How do you feel?
Do you see a little of your own battle in what happened to me? Are you struggling with sleep and moving through your days like a zombie?
Many of us tire of trying to rely on medications to help with our symptoms. I did that for years and became an addict because I gave up fighting and relied 100% on the pills as a cure.
Pills aren’t the only answer. Neither is drinking. None of us can live our lives in an irritable fog, lashing out at everyone who dares come near to us.
So what do we do?
The only way to rid ourselves of anxiety and panic is to figure out what caused it in the first place. In my case, I’ve been pushing too hard. I put myself in the middle of situations that caused me stress. I am highly sensitive, and I tend to absorb the feelings of the people around me.
I’ve allowed myself to be in situations I had no part of because I wanted to help. I wanted to stand up for the little guy and make a difference. But all I did was push myself down a rabbit hole that took me two days to get out of.
As much as we want to help, we have to think of our own situation first. Our minds get manipulated into a position where we are no longer practicing self-care. We forget to do the things that helped us in the first place. We forget our issues.
I hate to say it because I am the kind of person who likes to help others, but you have to be selfish. You have to concentrate on the things that help you get to a better place.
For me, it’s writing and taking care of my family. I forget them sometimes and sit staring into my phone, trying to solve others’ problems. I forget about my own goals, and I can’t do that.
Look where it got me.
Be selfish sometimes. Practice self-care. Try to help others but don’t lose yourself in the process.
Remember what’s important and do what makes you happy and fulfilled.
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https://jasonjamesweiland.medium.com/do-you-lose-days-to-anxiety-1cefc914190f
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['Jason Weiland']
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2019-04-03 01:03:54.156000+00:00
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['Mental Health', 'Anxiety', 'Recovery', 'Life Lessons', 'Mental Illness']
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Title Lose Days AnxietyContent much struggle anxiety often battle stay sane world steal life ever lose day fighting get mind back brink u deal anxiety know hard “normal” thing suffering Getting bed showering remembering eat trying work — manage get done give know sinking feeling anxiety visit u First it’s nagging feeling won’t go away Soon sweep away everything else struggle survive supposed live normal life past day went bed night feeling normal amount anxiety usually experience didn’t know anything wrong thing marked night panic attack wife Flora suffered went bed two u panic attack happen almost every day We’ve learned deal using deep breathing lot support night sleep troubled tossed turned fighting invisible enemy night terror night trying clear demon head pacing back forth dark woke feeling panic pulled blanket tighter around head Soon Flora yelling get bed pushed back anxiety holding place terrible amount dread building chest pushed inside could start day thing needed get done wasn’t able write voice screaming head couldn’t concentrate matter tried Photo Edwin Andrade Unsplash irritable couldn’t talk anyone without getting angry yelling seeing hurt daughter’s eye yelled daring tell hungry gave trying spent afternoon evening curled fetal bed trying push away noise mind night following day weren’t much better drank beer bed last night best coping mechanism it’s slept sound woke anxiety didn’t panic terror marked previous day realized sat desk write today I’d lost almost two day Two day life gone I’ll never get time back bother feel see little battle happened struggling sleep moving day like zombie Many u tire trying rely medication help symptom year became addict gave fighting relied 100 pill cure Pills aren’t answer Neither drinking None u live life irritable fog lashing everyone dare come near u way rid anxiety panic figure caused first place case I’ve pushing hard put middle situation caused stress highly sensitive tend absorb feeling people around I’ve allowed situation part wanted help wanted stand little guy make difference push rabbit hole took two day get much want help think situation first mind get manipulated position longer practicing selfcare forget thing helped u first place forget issue hate say kind person like help others selfish concentrate thing help get better place it’s writing taking care family forget sometimes sit staring phone trying solve others’ problem forget goal can’t Look got selfish sometimes Practice selfcare Try help others don’t lose process Remember what’s important make happy fulfilledTags Mental Health Anxiety Recovery Life Lessons Mental Illness
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5,022 |
Introducing the “Careers in AI” Video Series for Middle School Students
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By Carolyn “CC” Song, High School Senior and Personal Robots Intern
A sample of the AI professionals that we interviewed for this series. Credit: Daniella DiPaola
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Whether the last time you thought about this question was a few days ago or a few decades ago, your answer has the power to potentially set you on a course for life.
For kids nowadays, future opportunities in the tech world are more abundant than ever. More specifically, the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is growing at an incredibly rapid rate and the careers that correspond to it are multiplying as well. That’s why I believe it is essential to introduce kids to these jobs as early as possible, because awareness around these opportunities is the first step to closing wage gaps and inequalities across race and gender lines that are prevalent in tech-related fields. Through my time as an intern in the Personal Robots group at the MIT Media Lab, I have learned so much about AI and how it might apply to my own career. I wanted to create an opportunity for other students to learn about it as well. That’s why I created a YouTube video series to highlight a diverse group of professionals in AI.
Before I continue, let me first introduce myself! Hi, my name is CC and I’m a high school senior who interned with the MIT Media Lab’s Personal Robots group (PRG) this summer. Being 17 doesn’t usually have many advantages when it comes to conducting research or creating curriculum, but for this project, it was actually my secret advantage to be closer in age to the middle school students we are teaching. Having gone through that part of life just a few years ago, I have a strong sense of what will attract middle schoolers’ interests and get our point across. Combined with my unique experience working in the Personal Robots group, I can combine my life experience with my personal interest in how AI actually applies in the “real world.”
I’ve noticed that prior to entering college and the workforce, many of my peers assume that AI is only explored in tech jobs where strong math and CS skills are required. Younger students may not even know that accessible AI jobs exist, since they assume AI is so advanced and futuristic that only the most experienced handful of scientists can access it.
As a result of these misconceptions, I have seen many of my peers question their dreams of following a career in AI. Sometimes it’s a great opportunity to realize that they’re even more passionate about another field, but oftentimes it comes from lack of confidence, support, representation, and education from the adults around them. I hope that this series of videos will show kids that there is someone like them who is already succeeding in their career, whether that is a woman in STEM, an underrepresented minority, or simply someone who has found a unique way to combine AI with art, law, design, or more.
There were a number of principles I wanted to follow when creating this video series. Accessibility was really important to me, especially now that the pandemic has moved a lot of learning online. Creating a YouTube video series makes this information readily available to both students and teachers, and is a simple and meaningful way for kids to begin to explore these ideas. When it came to the content of these videos, my goal was to share honest, unfiltered perspectives directly from real people who use AI in their careers. I also wanted to make sure that these videos disproved the stereotype that an AI career only refers to someone who writes code all day. To do that, I interviewed people who work with AI in vastly different fields, from social media, to art, to space technology, and more. Likewise, I sought to include speakers who represented racial, gender, and geographical diversity. My hope is that any young student can see themselves represented on screen in multiple ways so that they never abandon hopes of pursuing an AI-related job simply because they don’t think they fit the conventional image of an AI professional.
An amazing part of doing this project is that, through my quest to educate younger students, I ended up learning so much about AI careers myself. I learned that being curious about different career paths was helpful in narrowing down what I was interested in. I’m still applying to college where I’ll have four more years to figure it out, but the knowledge I gained this summer has been an incredible inspiration and first step.
First of all, I was introduced to fields that I had never even heard of before, one of them through Alexandra Klotz, a Product Design Lead at a self-driving car startup. Prior to meeting her, I had never really thought about designers outside the context of fashion and visual arts, so her job and connection to AI through self-driving cars was very unique.
I also learned a lot about the interdisciplinary power of AI, and how it can really be intertwined with almost any other subject if you are passionate enough about bringing the two together. Some examples from the people I interviewed include Dr. Danielle Wood, whose work combines social justice, environmental protection, and AI-related space technology. Dr. Kate Darling researches the intersection of law and AI, and Dr. Claudio Pinhanez combined his passion for soccer and the FIFA World Cup with AI. As someone who hopes to pursue Mechanical Engineering in the future but has always been interested in too many subjects at the same time, I found that talking to these incredibly talented scientists who have forged their own interdisciplinary paths gave me hope that I will be able to do something similar in the future.
We hear about successful careers all the time, but we rarely see all the early phases that inspired and led up to them. Yet, these are the parts of life that many of us middle and high schoolers can actually relate to, such as having an obsession with science fiction books or playing video games, which multiple of the interviewees shared with me. Simply being able to talk to so many women in STEM and women of color in STEM was inspiring. There were also many specific projects that left me totally awestruck, such as Aman Dalmia’s project to create a program capable of weighing and measuring babies in rural Indian communities without touching them. Plus, the talented members of the Personal Robots group, who have welcomed me with kindness into their community for the past two summers, represent a diversity of skills, genders, races, and ethnicities. Their mentorship has had a huge influence on me, and I will always be grateful for this incredible opportunity Dr. Breazeal afforded me, which has reshaped how I think about the future of technology and the role I hope to play in it. In the future, PRG will continue to expand the series, engaging in co-design with teachers and students across the country to cover more topics that will appeal to and inspire them.
Finally, let’s talk about how to use these videos and their guiding questions, and how you can introduce them to your students. Each video asks a big question such as “What is AI?” and “What is your advice for younger students that are interested in learning about AI?” followed by answers from our interviewees. Our hope is that by showing different perspectives back to back, students will have many perspectives that they could potentially resonate with.
Here are some ideas for how you can use these videos as an educator or otherwise:
Watch as a class and then discuss together
Watch as a class and have students dive further into one particular career path
Use as supplemental homework that you ask the students to reflect on/write about, or discuss in class the next day
Watch with your own friends or family and discuss
I’m excited to introduce the first two videos in this series: “How does AI relate to your job?” and “What is AI?” Below you can find links to both videos and some guiding questions to begin having a conversation.
Video 1: “What is AI?”
Questions for students:
Before watching this video, had you ever heard of AI before? What did you know about it if so?
Regardless of whether or not you already knew about it, what do you think AI is now?
Where have you seen examples of AI before in your own life?
Do any of the careers presented sound like something you might want to try in the future?
Video 2: “How is AI used in your job?”
Questions for students:
Did you think AI could interact with so many different jobs? Which one surprised you the most?
Do you think that AI could be part of any job in the world?
What job interested you the most? Why?
Acknowledgements
A special thank you to Ishita Bhimavarapu for editing the video series. Thank you to Personal Robots group members Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, Safinah Ali, and Nisha Devasia for all of your help during this project, and group member Daniella DiPaola for always being my strongest supporter and advocate as my mentor. Finally, thank you to the incredible people whom I interviewed for this project:
Alexandra Klotz, Product Design Lead at Optimus Ride
Aman Dalma, Research Fellow at Wadhwani AI
Dr. Chad Jenkins, Robotics Researcher and Professor at UMichigan
Dr. Christina Gardner-McCune, CS and AI Education Researcher and Professor at UFlorida
Dr. Claudio Pinhanez, Head of Conversational AI at IBM Research Brazil
Dr. Danielle Wood, Head of Space Enabled group at MIT Media Lab
Elmarie Sánchez-Gonzáles, Annotation Analyst at large tech company
Göksu Uğur, Gameplay Programmer at Sony
Dr. Haiping Zhao, Senior Architect at ByteDance (TikTok)
Dr. Kate Darling, Research Specialist at MIT Media Lab
Dr. Pedrito Maynard-Zhang, Senior Engineer at Amazon
Dr. Siggi Örn, AI Software Engineer at Google
Dr. Taniya Mishra, Director of AI Research at Affectiva
Dr. Troy Lau, Leader of Machine Intelligence Group at Draper Labs
|
https://medium.com/mit-media-lab/introducing-the-careers-in-ai-video-series-for-middle-school-students-91949fa0f8f
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['Mit Media Lab']
|
2020-11-09 15:45:03.298000+00:00
|
['STEM', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Career Advice', 'Education']
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Title Introducing “Careers AI” Video Series Middle School StudentsContent Carolyn “CC” Song High School Senior Personal Robots Intern sample AI professional interviewed series Credit Daniella DiPaola “What want grow up” Whether last time thought question day ago decade ago answer power potentially set course life kid nowadays future opportunity tech world abundant ever specifically field artificial intelligence AI growing incredibly rapid rate career correspond multiplying well That’s believe essential introduce kid job early possible awareness around opportunity first step closing wage gap inequality across race gender line prevalent techrelated field time intern Personal Robots group MIT Media Lab learned much AI might apply career wanted create opportunity student learn well That’s created YouTube video series highlight diverse group professional AI continue let first introduce Hi name CC I’m high school senior interned MIT Media Lab’s Personal Robots group PRG summer 17 doesn’t usually many advantage come conducting research creating curriculum project actually secret advantage closer age middle school student teaching gone part life year ago strong sense attract middle schoolers’ interest get point across Combined unique experience working Personal Robots group combine life experience personal interest AI actually applies “real world” I’ve noticed prior entering college workforce many peer assume AI explored tech job strong math CS skill required Younger student may even know accessible AI job exist since assume AI advanced futuristic experienced handful scientist access result misconception seen many peer question dream following career AI Sometimes it’s great opportunity realize they’re even passionate another field oftentimes come lack confidence support representation education adult around hope series video show kid someone like already succeeding career whether woman STEM underrepresented minority simply someone found unique way combine AI art law design number principle wanted follow creating video series Accessibility really important especially pandemic moved lot learning online Creating YouTube video series make information readily available student teacher simple meaningful way kid begin explore idea came content video goal share honest unfiltered perspective directly real people use AI career also wanted make sure video disproved stereotype AI career refers someone writes code day interviewed people work AI vastly different field social medium art space technology Likewise sought include speaker represented racial gender geographical diversity hope young student see represented screen multiple way never abandon hope pursuing AIrelated job simply don’t think fit conventional image AI professional amazing part project quest educate younger student ended learning much AI career learned curious different career path helpful narrowing interested I’m still applying college I’ll four year figure knowledge gained summer incredible inspiration first step First introduced field never even heard one Alexandra Klotz Product Design Lead selfdriving car startup Prior meeting never really thought designer outside context fashion visual art job connection AI selfdriving car unique also learned lot interdisciplinary power AI really intertwined almost subject passionate enough bringing two together example people interviewed include Dr Danielle Wood whose work combine social justice environmental protection AIrelated space technology Dr Kate Darling research intersection law AI Dr Claudio Pinhanez combined passion soccer FIFA World Cup AI someone hope pursue Mechanical Engineering future always interested many subject time found talking incredibly talented scientist forged interdisciplinary path gave hope able something similar future hear successful career time rarely see early phase inspired led Yet part life many u middle high schoolers actually relate obsession science fiction book playing video game multiple interviewee shared Simply able talk many woman STEM woman color STEM inspiring also many specific project left totally awestruck Aman Dalmia’s project create program capable weighing measuring baby rural Indian community without touching Plus talented member Personal Robots group welcomed kindness community past two summer represent diversity skill gender race ethnicity mentorship huge influence always grateful incredible opportunity Dr Breazeal afforded reshaped think future technology role hope play future PRG continue expand series engaging codesign teacher student across country cover topic appeal inspire Finally let’s talk use video guiding question introduce student video asks big question “What AI” “What advice younger student interested learning AI” followed answer interviewee hope showing different perspective back back student many perspective could potentially resonate idea use video educator otherwise Watch class discus together Watch class student dive one particular career path Use supplemental homework ask student reflect onwrite discus class next day Watch friend family discus I’m excited introduce first two video series “How AI relate job” “What AI” find link video guiding question begin conversation Video 1 “What AI” Questions student watching video ever heard AI know Regardless whether already knew think AI seen example AI life career presented sound like something might want try future Video 2 “How AI used job” Questions student think AI could interact many different job one surprised think AI could part job world job interested Acknowledgements special thank Ishita Bhimavarapu editing video series Thank Personal Robots group member Dr Cynthia Breazeal Safinah Ali Nisha Devasia help project group member Daniella DiPaola always strongest supporter advocate mentor Finally thank incredible people interviewed project Alexandra Klotz Product Design Lead Optimus Ride Aman Dalma Research Fellow Wadhwani AI Dr Chad Jenkins Robotics Researcher Professor UMichigan Dr Christina GardnerMcCune CS AI Education Researcher Professor UFlorida Dr Claudio Pinhanez Head Conversational AI IBM Research Brazil Dr Danielle Wood Head Space Enabled group MIT Media Lab Elmarie SánchezGonzáles Annotation Analyst large tech company Göksu Uğur Gameplay Programmer Sony Dr Haiping Zhao Senior Architect ByteDance TikTok Dr Kate Darling Research Specialist MIT Media Lab Dr Pedrito MaynardZhang Senior Engineer Amazon Dr Siggi Örn AI Software Engineer Google Dr Taniya Mishra Director AI Research Affectiva Dr Troy Lau Leader Machine Intelligence Group Draper LabsTags STEM Artificial Intelligence Career Advice Education
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5,023 |
Thank You
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She was the mirror I never knew I needed,
The reflection of a stranger standing there in need,
A sign made of cardboard in her cold, brittle hands,
Saying, “Please, Anything Will Help”.
People walk by, drive by, pass by without a glance at the woman on the corner.
No one sees her, looks at her, cares to take the time.
They ignore her silent pleas,
They cant see what I see.
I see heaven’s gift, a woman whole
Pleading to respect her soul
Needing help, “Hello!” will do
A simple gift of kindness due
And so I offer up a word
A simple act of courage
My hand, a gift of trust
To smile is a must
She stands there chilled to the bone
And obviously quite alone
But when she saw me smile
Her face lit up with hope
I hand her my hand with a bill inside
She takes it with grace and a smile on her face
And two words quietly slip from her lips,
“Thank you.”
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https://medium.com/scribe/thank-you-8e2d23d3cdd3
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['Sarah E Sturgis']
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2020-12-25 18:37:21.386000+00:00
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['Kindness', 'Writing', 'Thank You', 'Homelessness', 'Poetry']
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Title Thank YouContent mirror never knew needed reflection stranger standing need sign made cardboard cold brittle hand Saying “Please Anything Help” People walk drive pas without glance woman corner one see look care take time ignore silent plea cant see see see heaven’s gift woman whole Pleading respect soul Needing help “Hello” simple gift kindness due offer word simple act courage hand gift trust smile must stand chilled bone obviously quite alone saw smile face lit hope hand hand bill inside take grace smile face two word quietly slip lip “Thank you”Tags Kindness Writing Thank Homelessness Poetry
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5,024 |
Atlas Protocol Joins IAB Tech Lab Blockchain Working Group
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Summary: Atlas Protocol (ATP) is a blockchain application layer protocol of interactive advertising & marketing. It officially announced to join the IAB Technology Lab and its Blockchain Working Group to promote the development of blockchain advertising technology standards.
Atlas Protocol (ATP) officially announced to join the Interactive Advertising Bureau Technology Lab (IAB Tech Lab) and its Blockchain Working Group. It will work with Google, Amazon and others on blockchain interactive advertising technology standards.
Atlas team, the world’s leading provider of blockchain advertising technology services, has successfully developed Atlas Interactive Ads platform. With the intention to build a new blockchain interactive advertising marketing infrastructure, this innovative product enables users to get token incentives by participating in on-chain interactive advertising，and generates targetable user profiles from on-chain data.
Joining the IAB Blockchain Working Group will promote further development of Atlas Protocol’s technology in order to meet global technical standards. The membership of Atlas Protocol in the Blockchain Working Group will give it the chance to share native industry-based solutions to others in the advertising field.
This will give companies the ability to use Atlas Interactive Ads products when the advertising industry makes technological changes and pivots towards blockchain.
The IAB Tech Lab brings together innovators from a variety of different countries. All emphasize business ecology and endeavor to promote safe and secure development in the world of advertising.
The IAB Tech Lab Blockchain Working Group is dedicated to investigating how blockchain can be utilized to address challenges in the digital advertising space. It also works to develop standards and best practices for the deployment of blockchain technology.
Atlas aims to promote the development of blockchain interactive advertising technology standards through collaboration with the IAB Blockchain Working Group. This will allow for more structured and semi-structured data to be recorded on-chain, fostering more data sharing and collaboration within the blockchain advertising field.
Atlas continues to discover and explore more data values to provide advertisers with more competitive value-added advertising services, and to further develop common blockchain advertising data standards.
The implementation of blockchain interactive advertising technology standards will help advertisers provide more comprehensive solutions to achieve global business growth.
…
Learn more about Atlas Protocol：
Official website：atlasp.io
Medium：medium.com/atlaspio
Github：github.com/AtlasProtocol
Twitter：@atlaspio
Telegram：t.me/atlaspio
|
https://medium.com/atlaspio/atlas-protocol-joins-iab-tech-lab-blockchain-working-group-8ed72dec753c
|
['Atlas Protocol']
|
2018-11-22 08:37:15.186000+00:00
|
['Advertising', 'Marketing', 'Iab', 'Atlasprotocol', 'Blockchian']
|
Title Atlas Protocol Joins IAB Tech Lab Blockchain Working GroupContent Summary Atlas Protocol ATP blockchain application layer protocol interactive advertising marketing officially announced join IAB Technology Lab Blockchain Working Group promote development blockchain advertising technology standard Atlas Protocol ATP officially announced join Interactive Advertising Bureau Technology Lab IAB Tech Lab Blockchain Working Group work Google Amazon others blockchain interactive advertising technology standard Atlas team world’s leading provider blockchain advertising technology service successfully developed Atlas Interactive Ads platform intention build new blockchain interactive advertising marketing infrastructure innovative product enables user get token incentive participating onchain interactive advertising，and generates targetable user profile onchain data Joining IAB Blockchain Working Group promote development Atlas Protocol’s technology order meet global technical standard membership Atlas Protocol Blockchain Working Group give chance share native industrybased solution others advertising field give company ability use Atlas Interactive Ads product advertising industry make technological change pivot towards blockchain IAB Tech Lab brings together innovator variety different country emphasize business ecology endeavor promote safe secure development world advertising IAB Tech Lab Blockchain Working Group dedicated investigating blockchain utilized address challenge digital advertising space also work develop standard best practice deployment blockchain technology Atlas aim promote development blockchain interactive advertising technology standard collaboration IAB Blockchain Working Group allow structured semistructured data recorded onchain fostering data sharing collaboration within blockchain advertising field Atlas continues discover explore data value provide advertiser competitive valueadded advertising service develop common blockchain advertising data standard implementation blockchain interactive advertising technology standard help advertiser provide comprehensive solution achieve global business growth … Learn Atlas Protocol： Official website：atlaspio Medium：mediumcomatlaspio Github：githubcomAtlasProtocol Twitter：atlaspio Telegram：tmeatlaspioTags Advertising Marketing Iab Atlasprotocol Blockchian
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5,025 |
The Human Toll of the 2019 Media Apocalypse
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Driving westward through Pennsylvania on a stretch of land dotted by trees, hills, and rest stops along Interstate 80, you’ll eventually hit the Ohio border. The first major metropolis you’ll come across is Youngstown, the state’s ninth-largest city. This year, The Vindicator, Youngstown’s only daily newspaper, celebrated its 150th anniversary. It would also be the newspaper’s last.
On June 28, 2019, employees were told to meet in the conference room at 4 p.m. “We all know what a Friday afternoon meeting means at a daily newspaper,” Vindicator reporter Jessica Hardin told me. Some people thought the paper was being sold to GateHouse Media, and its employee roster would be cut in half. But in a meeting with Vindicator owner Mark Brown, they learned the paper had sought a buyer but couldn’t find one. On August 31, The Vindicator would shut down operations, laying off 144 employees and 250 newspaper carriers.
After graduating from Youngstown State University in 2017, Samantha Phillips was hired by The Vindicator to cover three small communities outside of Youngstown. During her two years at the paper, she covered everything from crime and local government to breaking news and education. However, even before the closure, Phillips had been contemplating changing careers. Journalism “didn’t seem viable long-term because of the low pay and job insecurity,” she told me, adding that a few weeks before the closure she had driven six hours to Washington, D.C., to interview for a communications position with a trade association. The two months between the closure announcement and the Vindy’s actual shutdown felt like “a long funeral.” Media outlets from around the country visited to eulogize the 150-year-old paper, and employees received a nearly endless supply of food from local businesses and Vindy alumni. Phillips got the job in D.C, and after watching the final press run with her co-workers in August, she packed up and left her whole life in Ohio behind. “I had been considering leaving journalism for some time, but being laid off cemented that decision for me,” she said.
Having a number to point to at the end of the year can still feel meaningless — the tale of 2019 is that nobody was spared.
While working on this story, I received literally hundreds of messages from people who wanted to speak to me about their experiences getting laid off in 2019, from outlets big and small. In April 2019, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for its coverage of the shooting deaths of 11 people and the wounding of seven others at the Tree of Life synagogue the year before. But as Post-Gazette reporter and editor Rich Lord pointed out recently on Twitter, many of the editors who led coverage of shooting had since left the paper — many through buyouts, another way media companies have whittled down the size of their staff. David Shribman, the paper’s former editor in chief, is now teaching at McGill University in Montreal; Web Editor Jim Iovino is now teaching at West Virginia University. Politics Editor Donna Eyring and Features Editor Virginia Linn have also left. And City Editor Lillian Thomas is now at the Houston Chronicle.
One of the immediate problems I ran into reporting this story was reporters’ apprehension in speaking on the record. Many laid-off reporters and editors I spoke to were nervous about violating the nondisclosure agreements their former employers made them sign as a condition to receive severance pay after they were laid off or bought out. I found this to be especially true with those laid off by newspapers owned by Gannett and GateHouse.
In many cases, the reporters and editors who spoke to me said they tried to apply for other media jobs after getting laid off. Jessica Hardin was able to stay in Youngstown after the Vindicator staff got the news about the layoffs, Mandy Jenkins, who had just been named director of the Compass Experiment — the McClatchy/Google project to put digital news startups in underserved news areas — reached out to Hardin. Jenkins had chosen Youngstown as the project’s first site and hired Hardin as one of the site’s two reporters. The four other positions on the local team were filled by former Vindicator employees. “I only spent a long weekend being unemployed,” Hardin said. “And honestly, most folks I worked with landed on their feet.”
Others, like Lynne Sherwin, who worked at the Akron Beacon Journal for 24 years before being laid off earlier this year, took jobs at trade publications. “The Cleveland area has a ton of B2B publications, where a lot of ex-journos tend to land, and I’m now managing editor of Plastics Machinery Magazine,” she told me. “It’s a big change from features coverage, but editing is editing.”
But often, employees laid off from media companies switch career paths entirely. Some, like Chris Kocher, who worked for Gannett Central New York for 22 years, find themselves in professions with transferrable skills — like working in communications. Kocher was part of Gannett’s January layoffs “I was determined not to move for another media job, under the theory that it too could be eliminated at any time,” he said. He ended up in the communications and marketing department at Binghamton University, a job he says he was “lucky to get,” with a short commute and state benefits.
Still, other reporters and editors consider jobs even further away from media and their skill sets. Elizabeth King, a freelance writer who wrote for Brit + Co. until its layoffs this spring, hasn’t been able to land a job in media since being laid off. “I’ve had a couple of interviews with nonprofits that haven’t lead anywhere,” she told me. “I’m considering moving back to my home state and getting a job on a factory floor where a couple of my siblings work. I signed up with a temp agency a few months ago that has gotten me one day of work where I literally counted crackers for a snack company.”
Brendan Skwire, who wrote for Raw Story until he was laid off earlier this year, applied to some media jobs, but one outlet that wanted to hire him would have required him to move across the country, and other offers he received were too low to be livable. He didn’t want to go into marketing or nonprofits, so he chose a different path entirely. “I’ve been a musician my entire life, and a friend here in Nashville asked if I had experience with audio-visuals. When I said yes, he gave me the number for the company he works for. I was hired that day without so much as an interview, he said. “I took any role that was available, until I realized carpentry was my strongest skill. I asked to be promoted and was bumped up accordingly. Next week I’m applying to the union, where my starting wage will again bump up quite a bit.”
|
https://gen.medium.com/the-human-toll-of-the-2019-media-apocalypse-4347ef4dd708
|
['Maya Kosoff']
|
2019-12-19 22:50:06.591000+00:00
|
['Journalism', 'Media', 'Jobs', 'Culture', 'Gen Longreads']
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Title Human Toll 2019 Media ApocalypseContent Driving westward Pennsylvania stretch land dotted tree hill rest stop along Interstate 80 you’ll eventually hit Ohio border first major metropolis you’ll come across Youngstown state’s ninthlargest city year Vindicator Youngstown’s daily newspaper celebrated 150th anniversary would also newspaper’s last June 28 2019 employee told meet conference room 4 pm “We know Friday afternoon meeting mean daily newspaper” Vindicator reporter Jessica Hardin told people thought paper sold GateHouse Media employee roster would cut half meeting Vindicator owner Mark Brown learned paper sought buyer couldn’t find one August 31 Vindicator would shut operation laying 144 employee 250 newspaper carrier graduating Youngstown State University 2017 Samantha Phillips hired Vindicator cover three small community outside Youngstown two year paper covered everything crime local government breaking news education However even closure Phillips contemplating changing career Journalism “didn’t seem viable longterm low pay job insecurity” told adding week closure driven six hour Washington DC interview communication position trade association two month closure announcement Vindy’s actual shutdown felt like “a long funeral” Media outlet around country visited eulogize 150yearold paper employee received nearly endless supply food local business Vindy alumnus Phillips got job DC watching final press run coworkers August packed left whole life Ohio behind “I considering leaving journalism time laid cemented decision me” said number point end year still feel meaningless — tale 2019 nobody spared working story received literally hundred message people wanted speak experience getting laid 2019 outlet big small April 2019 Pittsburgh PostGazette 2019 Pulitzer Prize Breaking News Reporting coverage shooting death 11 people wounding seven others Tree Life synagogue year PostGazette reporter editor Rich Lord pointed recently Twitter many editor led coverage shooting since left paper — many buyout another way medium company whittled size staff David Shribman paper’s former editor chief teaching McGill University Montreal Web Editor Jim Iovino teaching West Virginia University Politics Editor Donna Eyring Features Editor Virginia Linn also left City Editor Lillian Thomas Houston Chronicle One immediate problem ran reporting story reporters’ apprehension speaking record Many laidoff reporter editor spoke nervous violating nondisclosure agreement former employer made sign condition receive severance pay laid bought found especially true laid newspaper owned Gannett GateHouse many case reporter editor spoke said tried apply medium job getting laid Jessica Hardin able stay Youngstown Vindicator staff got news layoff Mandy Jenkins named director Compass Experiment — McClatchyGoogle project put digital news startup underserved news area — reached Hardin Jenkins chosen Youngstown project’s first site hired Hardin one site’s two reporter four position local team filled former Vindicator employee “I spent long weekend unemployed” Hardin said “And honestly folk worked landed feet” Others like Lynne Sherwin worked Akron Beacon Journal 24 year laid earlier year took job trade publication “The Cleveland area ton B2B publication lot exjournos tend land I’m managing editor Plastics Machinery Magazine” told “It’s big change feature coverage editing editing” often employee laid medium company switch career path entirely like Chris Kocher worked Gannett Central New York 22 year find profession transferrable skill — like working communication Kocher part Gannett’s January layoff “I determined move another medium job theory could eliminated time” said ended communication marketing department Binghamton University job say “lucky get” short commute state benefit Still reporter editor consider job even away medium skill set Elizabeth King freelance writer wrote Brit Co layoff spring hasn’t able land job medium since laid “I’ve couple interview nonprofit haven’t lead anywhere” told “I’m considering moving back home state getting job factory floor couple sibling work signed temp agency month ago gotten one day work literally counted cracker snack company” Brendan Skwire wrote Raw Story laid earlier year applied medium job one outlet wanted hire would required move across country offer received low livable didn’t want go marketing nonprofit chose different path entirely “I’ve musician entire life friend Nashville asked experience audiovisual said yes gave number company work hired day without much interview said “I took role available realized carpentry strongest skill asked promoted bumped accordingly Next week I’m applying union starting wage bump quite bit”Tags Journalism Media Jobs Culture Gen Longreads
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5,026 |
Simplify Code Review Process with Auto Mention Code Review Systems
|
As Tokopedia grows fast from time to time, so does the number of sub-teams and modules in our android team codebase. Each sub-team usually owns a number of modules, depending on the size of each sub-team. We use CODEOWNERS file system from GitHub to make sure that every code changes to a specific module should be reviewed by at least one of the members of the sub-team that owns that module.
Actually this system is great for securing the codebase from breaking changes. The only problem is: when we create a pull request (PR) with huge changes in a lot of modules and want to request for code reviews.
The Problem
What we usually do when we want to request for code reviews on our PR is by checking out who’s sub-teams are the codeowners by looking at the top right corner of the GitHub PR page.
Then we find out the list of persons that belong to each sub-team. For example, we want to know who are the members of android-minionkevin-dev, then we go to the sub-team page.
After we got the member list, we slack DM them one-by-one so if one team member is unavailable for reviewing (taking leave, in a meeting, etc), the other member can do the code review. After the review process finished and approval given, everything is done. Really? No no no.. not that easy fellas!
Remember that is just one approval from one CODEOWNERS sub-team. You have to repeat the whole process all over again for all sub-teams that own the modules changed in the PR. If you make changes to substantial things like the library that are used in many modules, you usually need to get approval from 10 or more sub-teams.
Frustrating? Yes. But those are just from the PR creator side. From the reviewer side, there is also one freaking thing: you should find out yourself which files are yours from the list of hundreds of file changes on the PR.
This cumbersome and frustrating process is there from times to times, until I have an “Eureka!” moment and figure out a solution to end this pain across all android teams.
The Solutions
I actually thought to myself: If there exists a system to notify all members of each CODEOWNERS sub-team that need to review a PR, along with lists of file changes that are mapped for each sub-team, it could solve all the problems, both for the PR creator and reviewers.
So I started with utilizing Slack, as our main communication and notification tools across the entire company. First, I create slack user group for each CODEOWNERS sub-team, so that we can just mention the user group to notify all of the sub-team members, instead of slacking them one-by-one.
Here is one example of slack user group, that you can just use @android-core-dev to get attention from all the core team members, instead of mentioning them one-by-one (look, I’m there btw 😂)
After that, I create a slack channel #android-auto-mention-code-review where all code review related matters will be inside here.
As you may notice from the above picture, yes, I automate the process of mentioning each CODEOWNERS user group that needs to review a PR via this little cute yellow Android Bot. What you have to do to trigger this bot is just comment /check review on your PR, and just watch him working hard to get approval from all CODEOWNERS needed.
This little bot also list all file changes needed to be reviewed by specific user group in a thread reply to the mentioning slack message, so the team members can directly look at the file list via Threads menu in the upper left corner of the Slack Apps, without going back and forth to the code review channel
Here is the example preview of that automatic thread reply
From there, all core team can know that from all 26 file changes in PR #14123, ten of them are belong to core team and need to be reviewed by them. Also, if there is any change requested by core team, the PR creator can just reply to this thread again to notify core team again that the change request has been addressed.
Although this invention and approach are hard to think until I figure it out, the tech ingredients that I used to create this magic is pretty simple and not a matter of rocket science. Basically, all we needed are just these components:
The way to detect /check review comment on a PR The way to programmatically obtain changed files list of a specific PR The way to programmatically obtain CODEOWNERS file content The way to programmatically mapped changed files list to each CODEOWNERS sub-team The way to programmatically post something to slack channel
Let’s break them out one by one!
So, to detect /check review comments on a PR, we simply use webhook system that is provided by GitHub. With this system, your company server machine can get notified when any GitHub event happened on your company repository, including new comments on PR. This notification includes what is called webhook payload, which consists of the event details. So what I do is getting the commented PR number along with comment body, check if comment body equals /check review, and then trigger auto mention code review Jenkins job, with commented PR number as parameter. Here are the docs of GitHub webhooks if you want to explore more.
After Jenkins job triggered, the first thing that the job do is to obtain changed files list in the commented PR. Fortunately, GitHub also provides this functionality through their API. Just pass the PR number and you are good to go. Don’t worry about :owner and :repo params, cause there are the same as in your ordinary GitHub repo url (github.com/:owner/:repo). Just hardcode them to keep it simple!
Then we need the content of the CODEOWNERS file. Again, we can use this API from GitHub to obtain it. Don’t forget to add this field in your request header
‘Accept’: ‘application/vnd.github.v3.raw’
or else you will only get encrypted content that is meaningless 😂
Now we have all the ingredients needed: The changed files list and the CODEOWNERS content. It’s time to cook them together so that we get delicious food: Separated changed files list for each CODEOWNERS sub-team. It seems complicated at first, but if you do further analysis, nothing to be scared of by exerting brute force iteration with n² complexity.
Imagine you have a very huge codebase in your company with 100,000 files inside a single repository, and you also have 1,000 lines in CODEOWNERS file. In worst case scenario — when you create a PR that changed every single file in the repo (100,000 changed files) — you will iterate 100,000,000 times to compare each changed filename to each line of CODEOWNERS. That is below 10 seconds for most of the computer nowadays with an average filename string length of 50. Very acceptable!
Lastly, we need to serve that delicious food to the customer. I use this pretty simple API from Slack to post full custom messages into #android-auto-mention-code-review slack channel, including user group mentions, PR links, and list of file changes in a reply thread. Please read my previous post to get more detail into how I did this step-by-step.
Conclusion
After this auto mention code review system is implemented, the code review process is much simpler and not as frustrating as earlier. Developers are happier, work-life balance can be attained, as they have more time to spend with their families instead of struggling with the stressful code review process. Henry Pri once again saves so many lifetimes of android developers at Tokopedia.
Want to be a hero too? Just use this invention, and treat me a cup of coffee if you get a noble prize from your company. Just kidding ;)
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https://medium.com/tokopedia-engineering/simplify-code-review-process-with-auto-mention-code-review-systems-ca2264de16a9
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['Henry Priyono']
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2020-09-08 09:39:41.821000+00:00
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['Android', 'Software Engineering', 'Engineering Productivity', 'Tokopedia']
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Title Simplify Code Review Process Auto Mention Code Review SystemsContent Tokopedia grows fast time time number subteams module android team codebase subteam usually owns number module depending size subteam use CODEOWNERS file system GitHub make sure every code change specific module reviewed least one member subteam owns module Actually system great securing codebase breaking change problem create pull request PR huge change lot module want request code review Problem usually want request code review PR checking who’s subteams codeowners looking top right corner GitHub PR page find list person belong subteam example want know member androidminionkevindev go subteam page got member list slack DM onebyone one team member unavailable reviewing taking leave meeting etc member code review review process finished approval given everything done Really easy fella Remember one approval one CODEOWNERS subteam repeat whole process subteams module changed PR make change substantial thing like library used many module usually need get approval 10 subteams Frustrating Yes PR creator side reviewer side also one freaking thing find file list hundred file change PR cumbersome frustrating process time time “Eureka” moment figure solution end pain across android team Solutions actually thought exists system notify member CODEOWNERS subteam need review PR along list file change mapped subteam could solve problem PR creator reviewer started utilizing Slack main communication notification tool across entire company First create slack user group CODEOWNERS subteam mention user group notify subteam member instead slacking onebyone one example slack user group use androidcoredev get attention core team member instead mentioning onebyone look I’m btw 😂 create slack channel androidautomentioncodereview code review related matter inside may notice picture yes automate process mentioning CODEOWNERS user group need review PR via little cute yellow Android Bot trigger bot comment check review PR watch working hard get approval CODEOWNERS needed little bot also list file change needed reviewed specific user group thread reply mentioning slack message team member directly look file list via Threads menu upper left corner Slack Apps without going back forth code review channel example preview automatic thread reply core team know 26 file change PR 14123 ten belong core team need reviewed Also change requested core team PR creator reply thread notify core team change request addressed Although invention approach hard think figure tech ingredient used create magic pretty simple matter rocket science Basically needed component way detect check review comment PR way programmatically obtain changed file list specific PR way programmatically obtain CODEOWNERS file content way programmatically mapped changed file list CODEOWNERS subteam way programmatically post something slack channel Let’s break one one detect check review comment PR simply use webhook system provided GitHub system company server machine get notified GitHub event happened company repository including new comment PR notification includes called webhook payload consists event detail getting commented PR number along comment body check comment body equal check review trigger auto mention code review Jenkins job commented PR number parameter doc GitHub webhooks want explore Jenkins job triggered first thing job obtain changed file list commented PR Fortunately GitHub also provides functionality API pas PR number good go Don’t worry owner repo params cause ordinary GitHub repo url githubcomownerrepo hardcode keep simple need content CODEOWNERS file use API GitHub obtain Don’t forget add field request header ‘Accept’ ‘applicationvndgithubv3raw’ else get encrypted content meaningless 😂 ingredient needed changed file list CODEOWNERS content It’s time cook together get delicious food Separated changed file list CODEOWNERS subteam seems complicated first analysis nothing scared exerting brute force iteration n² complexity Imagine huge codebase company 100000 file inside single repository also 1000 line CODEOWNERS file worst case scenario — create PR changed every single file repo 100000 changed file — iterate 100000000 time compare changed filename line CODEOWNERS 10 second computer nowadays average filename string length 50 acceptable Lastly need serve delicious food customer use pretty simple API Slack post full custom message androidautomentioncodereview slack channel including user group mention PR link list file change reply thread Please read previous post get detail stepbystep Conclusion auto mention code review system implemented code review process much simpler frustrating earlier Developers happier worklife balance attained time spend family instead struggling stressful code review process Henry Pri save many lifetime android developer Tokopedia Want hero use invention treat cup coffee get noble prize company kidding Tags Android Software Engineering Engineering Productivity Tokopedia
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Trauma of Mystical Experience
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Trauma of Mystical Experience
An Exploration of the Phenomenological Similarities Between Trauma and Mystical Experience
Written by Mackenzie Amara for the MIND Blog.
“Cosmic love is absolutely ruthless and highly indifferent. It teaches its lessons whether you like them or not.” ~ John C. Lilly
Perhaps at first blush, there appears to be nothing phenomenologically similar about traumatic and mystical experiences. The former tend to range in scale from deeply upsetting to catastrophic, catalyze recurring suffering, and debilitate the experiencer for a lengthy amount of time. The latter are often assumed to be sunshine and rainbows, waves of bliss rippling out from a unified epicenter of which the experiencer also happens to be a part.
While I do not discount the truth of those experiences, or the reality that for many, trauma and mystical experience are two distinct threads and never the twain shall meet, this essay is a brief exploration of the opposite assertion: namely, that trauma and mystical experience are phenomenologically similar, if not identical. I do not mean to assert that all trauma is mystical, nor that a mystical experience is always traumatic; nor am I aiming to express the importance of a mystical experience in treating trauma (although there is mounting evidence supporting that claim). I only hope to explore how, when we poke around in what exactly constitutes a mystical moment of awakening, the living experience of it might be about as far from sunshine and rainbows as we can get; the living experience of it itself might be traumatic.
What Constitutes a Traumatic Experience
To begin with, let’s look at what constitutes a traumatic experience. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 (DSM-5), a traumatic event involves “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence” to either oneself or a loved one and is necessarily followed by a host of symptoms which span behavioral, psychological, emotional, and social functioning. We could say that trauma is anything that renders the experiencer temporarily powerless in the face of a real or perceived threat. The aftermath of a traumatic experience are symptoms that we have come to associate with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Acute Stress Disorder (ASD). These responses can be explored physiologically, socially, psychologically, and theologically or spiritually.
To understand trauma responses at the level of physiology, let us turn to the research of renowned traumatologist Peter Levine, PhD, founder of the innovative trauma treatment modality Somatic ExperiencingTM. According to Levine, “traumatic experiences are largely the result of primitive responses,” meaning that the symptoms experienced by people in the wake of a trauma exist as a result of the body’s natural, evolutionarily purposeful physiological reactions. In response to something overwhelming a body will fight, flee, or freeze. Essentially, when any animal, human or otherwise, encounters an overwhelming threat, it instinctively engages one of these responses as a protective mechanism to avoid death. When the body under attack is not able to experience the natural instinctive response through to its completion, the impact of the encounter can get stuck. In Levine’s words, “trauma is a highly activated incomplete biological response to threat, frozen in time.”
The notion of “fight, flight, or freeze” to which I referred above could be familiar to some readers. These are the primitive responses of which Levine speaks. A fourth response — “fawn” — has also recently been noticed and is now being explored by traumatologists. To fight is to gear up to, and perhaps successfully administer a counter-attack in the face of threat. To flee is to run away from an attack, to freeze is to be stunned into temporary paralysis (as a deer in the headlights), and to fawn is to comply with the attacker in an unconscious vie for sympathy or safe passage (e.g. Stockholm Syndrome). In the wild, when an animal body is overtaken by one of these responses, the animal will naturally discharge the enormous energetic impact of the response once the threat has passed. They do this by shaking or trembling, sounding, or otherwise “off-loading” some of their physical energy. This discharge, according to Levine’s research, integrates the trauma and alleviates any chance of developing negative symptoms. As humans, however, we have been conditioned for dissociation — that is, disconnection from our physiological response — by a culture of hyper-rationality. This means that the overwhelming energy of impact can get caught in the traumatized individual’s body, like an impacted spring unable to release and uncoil. According to this theory, it is the stuck, unintegrated energy which results in many of the symptoms seen in a post-traumatic response.
Beyond the physiological response, trauma affects us emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. According to Donald Winnicott, a pioneer in the field of child psychology, trauma robs the experiencer of their subjective omnipotence, that is their perceived power and autonomy, which renders them temporarily unable to engage with the world around them. This can feel like extreme identity disillusion, wherein one’s perceived dominance in one’s own life is called into question Without a subjective “me,” one lacks the required equipment to engage with the world outside of “me.” This leads to what Heinz Kohut has dubbed “disintegration anxiety,” or, in the words of Jungian analyst Dr. Donald Kalsched, “an unnamable dread associated with the threatened disillusion of a coherent self.” This lack of a coherent self results in a diminished capacity to make symbolic meaning of one’s life’s events, as the meaningfulness of external events results from these events’ relationship to one’s inner world and vice versa. A trauma can temporarily suspend one’s ability to connect to inner experience, or to build a bridge from inner to outer, thus eradicating the potential for sense-making, insight, compassion, and even transcendence. In this way, trauma has far-reaching psychological consequences.
To summarize, trauma is anything — real or perceived — that brings us face-to-face with our vulnerability, with death. The fallout from said experience is often an untenable dissociation from oneself, feelings of having lost one’s identity, being inexplicably, inconveniently, and often violently overcome by reactionary impulses, a deep loss of one’s ability to make meaning, frequent run-ins with chaos, and painful somatic symptoms seemingly without cause.
What constitutes a mystical experience?
As a result of the current psychedelic renaissance, we have gained new epistemologies, ontologies, and phenomenologies for understanding and studying mystical experiences. And it could not be happening at a more opportune time, for in this hypermodern world which normalizes disconnection from self, other, and nature, we are collectively wearing the malaise of spiritual bankruptcy and lack of meaning none too well. However, despite the utility of psychedelics in providing a window into mystical experiences, much of what we know about these states come from the fields of theology, anthropology, and psychology, far predating this psychedelic renaissance.
A mystical experience is considered one of a few non-ordinary states of consciousness (NOSC; also referred to by some as altered states of consciousness, or ASCs, particularly when the consciousness shift occurs as a result of ingesting a substance), the others of which are flow states, meditative or contemplative states, and psychedelic states (hence the renewed interest in them as a result of the psychedelic renaissance). NOSCs are brought about by what religious scholar Mircea Eliade refers to as “sacred technologies,” that is, the trance-inducing techniques used by shamanic cultures worldwide to engage with the spiritual dimension of existence: ecstatic states, communion with the transpersonal realms, and underworld journeying. These technologies include dancing, drumming, chanting, fasting, ritual, and ingesting plant medicines, among others.
While one of the hallmarks of mystical experiences is their ineffability (making discourse rather convoluted at times), for the purpose of this essay, I am going to join the likes of Henri Bergson, Aldous Huxley, William James, Jeffrey Kripal, Carl Jung, Houston Smith, and many others, in touting the “reducing valve” theory: that is, the idea that the dominant function of the brain is to delimit access to an expanded consciousness. According to these theorists, the sacred technologies outlined by Eliade can effectively diminish this control valve in the brain, exposing an a priori reality behind or underneath said valve. This means that a NOSC does not cause a mystical state, any more than a radio channel causes the frequency it picks up. In other words, a mystical experience comes about as a function of the removal of something, not the addition of another. This “thing” which is susceptible to unsuspected removal could be referred to as the “ego,” although I believe that is a bit too rationalistic and reductionist to be the full story.
According to this theory, an a priori “immediate luminosity,” “Mind-at-Large,” or “cosmic order” undergirds normal waking consciousness from which we are regularly barred by the brain’s standard or “default” resting state. During a mystical encounter, one can catch a glimpse of this more vast reality, which very well may challenge all of our previously held rational beliefs about what is real and what is not.
Bergson theorizes that the function of this “reducing valve” is to restrict conscious access to the interconnected web of reality at any given moment, lest we be overwhelmed by the ever-present flood of potentially meaningful connectivity spiraling, weaving, dancing, and dodging all around us. Neuroscientists who study the effect of psychedelics on the brain theorize that a network of brain regions, dubbed the Default Mode Network (DMN), might correlate to Bergson’s very-same reducing valve, in that these neurons appear to be active and engaged in the sharing of information while the brain is disengaged from anything else. The DMN is a collection of functionally connected regions of the brain which are involved in processing self-referential information and are thought to collectively operate as a kind of underlying identity generator. This brain network also seems to be active when the mind wanders, as evidenced by brain scans that show people in meditative (non-mind-wandering) states having less activity in the DMN.
It might be that this default functioning keeps one’s consciousness engaged in the assertion of a “me,” which is necessarily limited, far smaller than the underlying reality. During a mystical experience, whether psychedelically-occasioned or otherwise, it appears that one of the major neurological changes which occur is that the action of the DMN is temporarily suppressed. This produces a state of “transient hypofrontality,” wherein it may feel as if the mind is no longer blinded by personal identity and the “doors of perception” are open.
A mystical experience, no matter which transformational technology is employed to engender said experience, has certain universal qualities, as outlined by Walter Stace. They include things like ineffability and paradoxicality, an abiding sense of unity, and a vital gnosis or noetic quality, which seems to imbue the experiencer with a sense of a deeper truth.
The current research suggests that a psychedelic-occasioned mystical encounter can result in lasting positive changes in the lives of individuals suffering from substance abuse, end of life anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. These changes can include greater levels of openness and mental wellbeing, as well as decreased reliance on drugs, alcohol, or other compulsive negative coping patterns.
When the Mystical becomes Terrible; or, the Mysterium Tremendum
While the description of mystical experiences and the subsequent positive changes sound highly desirable, I want to explore the open secret of mysticism; namely, that often the first stop in transit to such mystical revelations might end up being terror, dread, fear, panic, and disillusionment. Psychiatrist Stanislav Grof, after sitting through thousands of LSD psychotherapy sessions with hundreds of individuals, outlined the nature of these particular flavors of horror in what he refers to as “perinatal experiences,” a framework he created by interpreting the work of renowned psychologist, Otto Rank’s classic, The Trauma of Birth. According to Grof, perinatal experiences “focus on problems relating to fetal existence, biological birth, physical pain, disease, aging, dying, and death.” Grof theorizes that when undergoing an LSD psychotherapy session, the individual can be confronted with the visceral, psychological memory of their own becoming — that is, the trauma of birth. According to Grof, this confrontation can result in very real, emotional, psychological, and spiritual pain.
Grof outlines the precise stages of this experience in four distinct matrices, called the Basic Perinatal Matrices (BPM). Speaking broadly, the general rationale behind Grof’s theory for why these perinatal experiences can feel so profoundly life-threatening is because they mirror the experience of the neonate during the birthing process; namely, they mirror the incredible shock experienced by the infant of being encased in a fecund, dark, (ideally) nourishing womb and rather suddenly, and without much choice in the matter, being forced out of said womb in a series of painful, pressurized, chemically foreign throes. Both mother and infant experience childbirth as agonizing. However, the mother is armed with foresight. The infant has no prescience of what’s happening to her, and so, for her, being born is akin to dying. Grof noted that for the individual experiencing a perinatal matrix during a psychedelic experience, this birth process is often recapitulated in a seeming death-rebirth experience much like the one they went through during their actual birth. Experiences of the BPMs range from overwhelming feelings of entrapment or suffocation; horrendous visions of hell realms and nightmare scenery; the unshakeable insistence of the void which incessantly begs questions of life’s meaning; and a seemingly infinite experience of “this will never end.” Grof also notes that, for most people, deliverance from these shockingly dark experiences is often experienced as radiance, transcendence, or a brilliant, indescribable blissfulness. In other words, your classic, desirable mystical experience.
The darkness, degradation, and deep fear Grof witnessed during his thousands of psychedelic psychotherapy sessions is not new. Mystics from numerous traditions write about the pain of surrender, the terror of encountering the numinous, or the phenomenal shattering which must occur to purge the mind of illusion. Perhaps the most famous account of this experience comes from the Christian mystic, St. John of the Cross, who details with painstaking clarity his own identity loss/divinity discovery in his book “The Dark Night of the Soul.” Indeed, that phrase is now used quite commonly to refer to the necessary darkening which occurs along many individual spiritual journeys.
Prof. Christopher Bache, religious studies professor at Youngstown State University and author of “LSD and the Mind of the Universe”, wrote a paper comparing Grof’s BPM to this “Dark Night of the Soul”. This paper details the purgative aspect of both John’s account of the via negativa (that is the negative way, or the way of divestment, of ridding oneself of everything standing between self and god, of purging falsehood) and Grof’s description of the confrontation with hell-realms experienced by hundreds of patients. Line for line, whether Grof’s account of the perinatal experience or John’s painful testimony about his years spent in a Dark Night, it seems that these experiences share a core phenomenological identity. Prof. Bache asserts that it is perhaps precisely the purging of all falseness (that is, belief in the separate self, the illusion) — something discussed by both Stanislav Grof and John of the Cross — which leads to the mystical encounter, writing that “this radical purging is necessary because if one is to be God, everything in oneself that is unlike God must be removed.” Recalling the aforementioned theory of a “reducing valve” mechanism within the brain, we can begin to theorize about what might be happening during a mystical experience. Could it be that through some kind of purging of a constructed self, through divesting oneself of the delimiting reducing valve of the mind during a perinatal experience, one is ultimately shown something more vast which exists a priori behind the veil of identity?
A Mystical Experience Might be Traumatic
I assert that this process of purging, whether in an LSD psychotherapy context à la Grof, walking the via negativa à la John of the Cross, or endeavoring to engage in any other number of practices which might cause someone to question their rational beliefs of separation or their engrained notions of identity, is subjectively and objectively traumatic, à la Levine. To explore this statement, let’s examine how mystical experiences could be seen as traumatic.
To begin with, let me introduce a concept from famed German philosopher and theologian, Rudolph Otto. According to Otto, an encounter with the numinosum, that is, the self-evident ineffable essence of which the aforementioned speak (e.g. James’ “immediate luminosity,” etc.) always contains something of the mysterium tremendum, or the tremendous, awe-and-terror- inspiring mystery. According to Otto, this sort of encounter feels life-threatening from the perspective of identity or ego, a point he explores through the de facto existence of earth- shattering fear when one finds oneself in the presence of the numinous. This threat to life is akin to the threat to life felt during a traumatic experience. Mystical experience can also be life-altering, as some of the previously mentioned research clearly shows. A mystical encounter with the numinous, which contains no small amount of dread according to Otto, can have the effect of catalyzing lifestyle changes, inspiring one to participate more fully in co-creating their life, and revolutionizing a sense of meaningfulness in one’s psyche. This kind of alteration to life is akin to the alteration experienced after a traumatic experience, only this sort of shift is subjectively far better.
Furthermore, mystical experiences, as well as trauma, call into question the notion of volition, as when the subjective omnipotence Winnicott speaks of has been violated and one’s ability to act autonomously is disrupted or when, as John of the Cross writes about, one’s willful actions seem to be thwarted by something which is experienced as divine intervention. Both could have the effect of alienating oneself from previous hobbies, social circles, and behavior patterns. Both pose an enormous challenge to previously held worldviews, cultural norms, and one’s sense of self. And finally, both carry a somatic load, whether from the frozen energy of previous impacts or the off-loading of previous impacts through release. In this way, much like John of the Cross’s Dark Night is phenomenologically akin to Grof’s outline of the perinatal experiences one might undergo during an LSD-psychotherapy session, I propose that a personal encounter with the numinous is akin to trauma.
This, of course, does not mean that one should not emphatically welcome the numinous if it comes knocking. Having the reducing valve of the mind itself reduced enough to allow the “immediate luminosity” of a direct experience to permeate one’s consciousness has the potential to be an inordinate blessing, even when the aftermath feels chaotic and hard to integrate. It is only to say that when one does come to discover the Mind-at-Large, one should not expect only rainbows and unicorns, for the body will perceive any threat of death as a trauma and will undoubtedly respond accordingly. Bear in mind, though, should you be delivered into the Dark Night, in the words of Peter Levine, while “trauma is hell on earth, trauma resolved is a gift from the gods.”
The MIND Foundation for Psychedelic Research aims to create a healthier, more connected world through research and education. Learn more or become part of our mission.
References appear in the original article.
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https://mind-foundation.medium.com/trauma-of-mystical-experience-65353dd0585
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['The Mind Foundation']
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2020-12-26 17:03:10.361000+00:00
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['Psychedelics', 'Mental Health', 'Trauma', 'Mysticism', 'Psychedelic Therapy']
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Title Trauma Mystical ExperienceContent Trauma Mystical Experience Exploration Phenomenological Similarities Trauma Mystical Experience Written Mackenzie Amara MIND Blog “Cosmic love absolutely ruthless highly indifferent teach lesson whether like not” John C Lilly Perhaps first blush appears nothing phenomenologically similar traumatic mystical experience former tend range scale deeply upsetting catastrophic catalyze recurring suffering debilitate experiencer lengthy amount time latter often assumed sunshine rainbow wave bliss rippling unified epicenter experiencer also happens part discount truth experience reality many trauma mystical experience two distinct thread never twain shall meet essay brief exploration opposite assertion namely trauma mystical experience phenomenologically similar identical mean assert trauma mystical mystical experience always traumatic aiming express importance mystical experience treating trauma although mounting evidence supporting claim hope explore poke around exactly constitutes mystical moment awakening living experience might far sunshine rainbow get living experience might traumatic Constitutes Traumatic Experience begin let’s look constitutes traumatic experience According Diagnostic Statistical Manual 5 DSM5 traumatic event involves “actual threatened death serious injury sexual violence” either oneself loved one necessarily followed host symptom span behavioral psychological emotional social functioning could say trauma anything render experiencer temporarily powerless face real perceived threat aftermath traumatic experience symptom come associate PostTraumatic Stress Disorder PTSD Acute Stress Disorder ASD response explored physiologically socially psychologically theologically spiritually understand trauma response level physiology let u turn research renowned traumatologist Peter Levine PhD founder innovative trauma treatment modality Somatic ExperiencingTM According Levine “traumatic experience largely result primitive responses” meaning symptom experienced people wake trauma exist result body’s natural evolutionarily purposeful physiological reaction response something overwhelming body fight flee freeze Essentially animal human otherwise encounter overwhelming threat instinctively engages one response protective mechanism avoid death body attack able experience natural instinctive response completion impact encounter get stuck Levine’s word “trauma highly activated incomplete biological response threat frozen time” notion “fight flight freeze” referred could familiar reader primitive response Levine speaks fourth response — “fawn” — also recently noticed explored traumatologists fight gear perhaps successfully administer counterattack face threat flee run away attack freeze stunned temporary paralysis deer headlight fawn comply attacker unconscious vie sympathy safe passage eg Stockholm Syndrome wild animal body overtaken one response animal naturally discharge enormous energetic impact response threat passed shaking trembling sounding otherwise “offloading” physical energy discharge according Levine’s research integrates trauma alleviates chance developing negative symptom human however conditioned dissociation — disconnection physiological response — culture hyperrationality mean overwhelming energy impact get caught traumatized individual’s body like impacted spring unable release uncoil According theory stuck unintegrated energy result many symptom seen posttraumatic response Beyond physiological response trauma affect u emotionally psychologically spiritually According Donald Winnicott pioneer field child psychology trauma robs experiencer subjective omnipotence perceived power autonomy render temporarily unable engage world around feel like extreme identity disillusion wherein one’s perceived dominance one’s life called question Without subjective “me” one lack required equipment engage world outside “me” lead Heinz Kohut dubbed “disintegration anxiety” word Jungian analyst Dr Donald Kalsched “an unnamable dread associated threatened disillusion coherent self” lack coherent self result diminished capacity make symbolic meaning one’s life’s event meaningfulness external event result events’ relationship one’s inner world vice versa trauma temporarily suspend one’s ability connect inner experience build bridge inner outer thus eradicating potential sensemaking insight compassion even transcendence way trauma farreaching psychological consequence summarize trauma anything — real perceived — brings u facetoface vulnerability death fallout said experience often untenable dissociation oneself feeling lost one’s identity inexplicably inconveniently often violently overcome reactionary impulse deep loss one’s ability make meaning frequent runins chaos painful somatic symptom seemingly without cause constitutes mystical experience result current psychedelic renaissance gained new epistemology ontology phenomenology understanding studying mystical experience could happening opportune time hypermodern world normalizes disconnection self nature collectively wearing malaise spiritual bankruptcy lack meaning none well However despite utility psychedelics providing window mystical experience much know state come field theology anthropology psychology far predating psychedelic renaissance mystical experience considered one nonordinary state consciousness NOSC also referred altered state consciousness ASCs particularly consciousness shift occurs result ingesting substance others flow state meditative contemplative state psychedelic state hence renewed interest result psychedelic renaissance NOSCs brought religious scholar Mircea Eliade refers “sacred technologies” tranceinducing technique used shamanic culture worldwide engage spiritual dimension existence ecstatic state communion transpersonal realm underworld journeying technology include dancing drumming chanting fasting ritual ingesting plant medicine among others one hallmark mystical experience ineffability making discourse rather convoluted time purpose essay going join like Henri Bergson Aldous Huxley William James Jeffrey Kripal Carl Jung Houston Smith many others touting “reducing valve” theory idea dominant function brain delimit access expanded consciousness According theorist sacred technology outlined Eliade effectively diminish control valve brain exposing priori reality behind underneath said valve mean NOSC cause mystical state radio channel cause frequency pick word mystical experience come function removal something addition another “thing” susceptible unsuspected removal could referred “ego” although believe bit rationalistic reductionist full story According theory priori “immediate luminosity” “MindatLarge” “cosmic order” undergirds normal waking consciousness regularly barred brain’s standard “default” resting state mystical encounter one catch glimpse vast reality well may challenge previously held rational belief real Bergson theorizes function “reducing valve” restrict conscious access interconnected web reality given moment lest overwhelmed everpresent flood potentially meaningful connectivity spiraling weaving dancing dodging around u Neuroscientists study effect psychedelics brain theorize network brain region dubbed Default Mode Network DMN might correlate Bergson’s verysame reducing valve neuron appear active engaged sharing information brain disengaged anything else DMN collection functionally connected region brain involved processing selfreferential information thought collectively operate kind underlying identity generator brain network also seems active mind wanders evidenced brain scan show people meditative nonmindwandering state le activity DMN might default functioning keep one’s consciousness engaged assertion “me” necessarily limited far smaller underlying reality mystical experience whether psychedelicallyoccasioned otherwise appears one major neurological change occur action DMN temporarily suppressed produce state “transient hypofrontality” wherein may feel mind longer blinded personal identity “doors perception” open mystical experience matter transformational technology employed engender said experience certain universal quality outlined Walter Stace include thing like ineffability paradoxicality abiding sense unity vital gnosis noetic quality seems imbue experiencer sense deeper truth current research suggests psychedelicoccasioned mystical encounter result lasting positive change life individual suffering substance abuse end life anxiety posttraumatic stress disorder change include greater level openness mental wellbeing well decreased reliance drug alcohol compulsive negative coping pattern Mystical becomes Terrible Mysterium Tremendum description mystical experience subsequent positive change sound highly desirable want explore open secret mysticism namely often first stop transit mystical revelation might end terror dread fear panic disillusionment Psychiatrist Stanislav Grof sitting thousand LSD psychotherapy session hundred individual outlined nature particular flavor horror refers “perinatal experiences” framework created interpreting work renowned psychologist Otto Rank’s classic Trauma Birth According Grof perinatal experience “focus problem relating fetal existence biological birth physical pain disease aging dying death” Grof theorizes undergoing LSD psychotherapy session individual confronted visceral psychological memory becoming — trauma birth According Grof confrontation result real emotional psychological spiritual pain Grof outline precise stage experience four distinct matrix called Basic Perinatal Matrices BPM Speaking broadly general rationale behind Grof’s theory perinatal experience feel profoundly lifethreatening mirror experience neonate birthing process namely mirror incredible shock experienced infant encased fecund dark ideally nourishing womb rather suddenly without much choice matter forced said womb series painful pressurized chemically foreign throe mother infant experience childbirth agonizing However mother armed foresight infant prescience what’s happening born akin dying Grof noted individual experiencing perinatal matrix psychedelic experience birth process often recapitulated seeming deathrebirth experience much like one went actual birth Experiences BPMs range overwhelming feeling entrapment suffocation horrendous vision hell realm nightmare scenery unshakeable insistence void incessantly begs question life’s meaning seemingly infinite experience “this never end” Grof also note people deliverance shockingly dark experience often experienced radiance transcendence brilliant indescribable blissfulness word classic desirable mystical experience darkness degradation deep fear Grof witnessed thousand psychedelic psychotherapy session new Mystics numerous tradition write pain surrender terror encountering numinous phenomenal shattering must occur purge mind illusion Perhaps famous account experience come Christian mystic St John Cross detail painstaking clarity identity lossdivinity discovery book “The Dark Night Soul” Indeed phrase used quite commonly refer necessary darkening occurs along many individual spiritual journey Prof Christopher Bache religious study professor Youngstown State University author “LSD Mind Universe” wrote paper comparing Grof’s BPM “Dark Night Soul” paper detail purgative aspect John’s account via negativa negative way way divestment ridding oneself everything standing self god purging falsehood Grof’s description confrontation hellrealms experienced hundred patient Line line whether Grof’s account perinatal experience John’s painful testimony year spent Dark Night seems experience share core phenomenological identity Prof Bache asserts perhaps precisely purging falseness belief separate self illusion — something discussed Stanislav Grof John Cross — lead mystical encounter writing “this radical purging necessary one God everything oneself unlike God must removed” Recalling aforementioned theory “reducing valve” mechanism within brain begin theorize might happening mystical experience Could kind purging constructed self divesting oneself delimiting reducing valve mind perinatal experience one ultimately shown something vast exists priori behind veil identity Mystical Experience Might Traumatic assert process purging whether LSD psychotherapy context à la Grof walking via negativa à la John Cross endeavoring engage number practice might cause someone question rational belief separation engrained notion identity subjectively objectively traumatic à la Levine explore statement let’s examine mystical experience could seen traumatic begin let introduce concept famed German philosopher theologian Rudolph Otto According Otto encounter numinosum selfevident ineffable essence aforementioned speak eg James’ “immediate luminosity” etc always contains something mysterium tremendum tremendous aweandterror inspiring mystery According Otto sort encounter feel lifethreatening perspective identity ego point explores de facto existence earth shattering fear one find oneself presence numinous threat life akin threat life felt traumatic experience Mystical experience also lifealtering previously mentioned research clearly show mystical encounter numinous contains small amount dread according Otto effect catalyzing lifestyle change inspiring one participate fully cocreating life revolutionizing sense meaningfulness one’s psyche kind alteration life akin alteration experienced traumatic experience sort shift subjectively far better Furthermore mystical experience well trauma call question notion volition subjective omnipotence Winnicott speaks violated one’s ability act autonomously disrupted John Cross writes one’s willful action seem thwarted something experienced divine intervention could effect alienating oneself previous hobby social circle behavior pattern pose enormous challenge previously held worldviews cultural norm one’s sense self finally carry somatic load whether frozen energy previous impact offloading previous impact release way much like John Cross’s Dark Night phenomenologically akin Grof’s outline perinatal experience one might undergo LSDpsychotherapy session propose personal encounter numinous akin trauma course mean one emphatically welcome numinous come knocking reducing valve mind reduced enough allow “immediate luminosity” direct experience permeate one’s consciousness potential inordinate blessing even aftermath feel chaotic hard integrate say one come discover MindatLarge one expect rainbow unicorn body perceive threat death trauma undoubtedly respond accordingly Bear mind though delivered Dark Night word Peter Levine “trauma hell earth trauma resolved gift gods” MIND Foundation Psychedelic Research aim create healthier connected world research education Learn become part mission References appear original articleTags Psychedelics Mental Health Trauma Mysticism Psychedelic Therapy
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Lifestyles of the Fake and Lonely
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This story is part of the Internet Time Machine, a collection about life online in the 2010s.
Connor is 27, with green eyes and a dorky grin. His favorite emoji is the shaka (🤙), which he uses to express a casual DTF energy. He’s tan and toned, athletic yet approachable, and his profile photos resemble ads for a millennial lifestyle brand. There goes Connor, throwing up a peace sign on Runyon Canyon. Surfing as the sun sets over Manhattan Beach. A mirror selfie, an action shot, an abdominal V.
Connor is your average thirst trap next door. Also, I created him in the palm of my hand.
The photos are a friend’s. Sorry. Not a friend’s. A friend of a former roommate of a distant acquaintance’s, the hottest friend of a former roommate of a distance acquaintance I know. I found them on Instagram, screenshotted a select few, and cropped out the identifying details with no one’s permission but my own. It felt harmless, or fun, or necessary, somehow, in the way chronic loneliness can make you believe many unnecessary things are necessary.
I know. I’m sorry.
I tapped my way through a popular gay dating app’s sign-up flow, uploaded the photos, and invented a person. Connor is a software engineer, though if you ask him what kind he’ll have to home-button his way out of the conversation. He grew up in L.A. but just moved to “Willyburg.” He says “haha,” not “LOL,” which takes some getting used to. He almost never exceeds one line of text. He is calm, cool, and Objectively Hot.
“I’m so glad we matched!”
“Hiii!”
“👋😊😅”
Shaka.
And this isn’t Grindr, either, but a newer, more ostensibly ethical and supportive queer app. A safe space, until I came along.
I match with everyone. For three hours, I mainline approval like the approval-hungry human I am. It feels like I’ve unlocked another dimension. I don’t have to tread the waters of small talk or drop gratuitous exclamation points to telegraph how happy I am to be here — my matches do that. When I’ve played this game as myself, a 32-year-old gay man who is not a model, it’s slower. Harder. Connor is my cheat code.
“You seem really genuine,” a man named Brandon messages me at midnight.
What I’m doing is wrong, I know that. I chat with 20 smitten or merely very horny gay men, deceiving them with every message. In queer communities, like the one I’m in, catfishing is everything we’re afraid of: We fear that people will prey on our sexuality, take advantage of our vulnerability, pretend to be someone they’re not when we’ve overcome so many hurdles to become who we are.
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https://humanparts.medium.com/lifestyles-of-the-fake-and-lonely-f22ac231af46
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['Harris Sockel']
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2019-12-21 03:54:40.473000+00:00
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['Nonfiction', 'Love And Sex', 'Dating', 'Internet Time Machine', 'Social Media']
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Title Lifestyles Fake LonelyContent story part Internet Time Machine collection life online 2010s Connor 27 green eye dorky grin favorite emoji shaka 🤙 us express casual DTF energy He’s tan toned athletic yet approachable profile photo resemble ad millennial lifestyle brand go Connor throwing peace sign Runyon Canyon Surfing sun set Manhattan Beach mirror selfie action shot abdominal V Connor average thirst trap next door Also created palm hand photo friend’s Sorry friend’s friend former roommate distant acquaintance’s hottest friend former roommate distance acquaintance know found Instagram screenshotted select cropped identifying detail one’s permission felt harmless fun necessary somehow way chronic loneliness make believe many unnecessary thing necessary know I’m sorry tapped way popular gay dating app’s signup flow uploaded photo invented person Connor software engineer though ask kind he’ll homebutton way conversation grew LA moved “Willyburg” say “haha” “LOL” take getting used almost never exceeds one line text calm cool Objectively Hot “I’m glad matched” “Hiii” “👋😊😅” Shaka isn’t Grindr either newer ostensibly ethical supportive queer app safe space came along match everyone three hour mainline approval like approvalhungry human feel like I’ve unlocked another dimension don’t tread water small talk drop gratuitous exclamation point telegraph happy — match I’ve played game 32yearold gay man model it’s slower Harder Connor cheat code “You seem really genuine” man named Brandon message midnight I’m wrong know chat 20 smitten merely horny gay men deceiving every message queer community like one I’m catfishing everything we’re afraid fear people prey sexuality take advantage vulnerability pretend someone they’re we’ve overcome many hurdle become areTags Nonfiction Love Sex Dating Internet Time Machine Social Media
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5,029 |
Top Python Libraries Every Developer Should Learn
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Image Source: Canva
When talking about Python’s popularity in both the programming and Data Science community, the first thing that arrives in mind is its integrity. One of the best specialties of Python is its inherent integrity and readability that makes it a beginner-friendly language.
As every language has its own libraries and to be a good developer, it is not essential to learn all the libraries. Therefore, there are some libraries that every developer should learn and know well.
This blog is aimed at newbie developers who want to learn the Python programming language. It is not a complete reference work on Python libraries, but rather, highlights the several libraries that are available and briefly covers their purposes.
Top 7 Python Libraries that Every Developer Should Learn
TensorFlow
TensorFlow is one of the most prominent libraries for Python applications launched by Google in 2020. It is a free, open-source python machine learning library that allows developers to work with numerical computation. It is very easy to learn and has a handful collection of helpful tools.
It is based upon data flow graphs that are used in GPUs and CPUs with a single API. However, it is not restricted to machine learning only; you can also utilize it for dataflow and programs that are differentiable.
TensorFlow is available for Python and C APIs and also for C++, Java, JavaScript, Go, Swift, etc. Also, Third-party packages are also available for MATLAB, C#, Julia, Scala, R, Rust, etc.
Features of TensorFlow
TensorFlow uses automatic high-performance APIs such as — Keras.
It offers an immediate iteration of machine learning models.
This library features eager execution, which allows you to create, manipulate machine learning models , and make the debugging way easier.
, and make the debugging way easier. With TensorFlow, we can easily imagine each and every part of the graph.
With TensorFlow, you can easily move your ML models in clouds, on any device and on-premises in any browser.
TensorFlow comes with an easy to learn architecture. You can easily develop your concept into code and make your publications even easier.
It has a solution to all of your common machine learning issues. You can easily implement it and go for giving your best.
2. NumPy
NumPy is known as one of the most popular machine learning library in Python. NumPy is generally used for scientific computation. TensorFlow and other libraries use NumPy within for performing multiple operations on Tensors. Array interface is the best and the most prominent feature of NumPy.
It enables us to operate multidimensional arrays. Arrays implementation is not there in Python so mainly the developers use NumPy in their machine learning projects. It’s easy to learn and is an open-source library that provides advanced math functionalities and a fundamental package for scientific computing with Python.
Almost every machine learning technician or data scientist applies this module for complex mathematical computations. While NumPy is a helpful Python package for a sort of general-purpose programming tasks, it’s especially great if you want to do machine learning since it provides part of the foundation for libraries like TensorFlow.
Features of NumPy
Makes complex mathematical implementations very simple.
Makes coding real simple and understanding the concepts is easy.
This python package provides useful tools for integration. You can easily integrate NumPy with programming languages such as C, C++, and Fortran code.
Broadly used, therefore a lot of open source contributions.
NumPy provides such functionalities that are comparable to MATLAB. They both allow users to get faster with operations.
3. SciPy
SciPy is a machine learning library that is used for both application developers and engineers. SciPy is one of the core packages that offer up the SciPy stack. It provides many user-friendly and effective numerical methods such as methods for numerical integration and optimization.
However, computation is not the only job that makes SciPy special. It is also very famous for image manipulation, as well.
SciPy supplies for various scientific computing tasks that manage data optimization, data integration, and data modification. Just like NumPy, the multidimensional models are the main purposes in SciPy, which are given by the NumPy module itself.
SciPy is a useful tool for a wide sort of scientific, mathematical, and engineering tasks that lack some manipulation of numbers.
Features of SciPy
SciPy fulfills all the efficient numerical routines like optimization, numerical integration.
All the functions in all submodules of SciPy are well documented.
It makes the best use of NumPy arrays for general data structures. In fact, NumPy is an integrated part of Scipy.
Scipy can handle 1-d polynomials in two ways. Whether you can use poly1d class from NumPy or you can use co-efficient arrays to do the job.
4. Keras
Keras is recognized as one of the coolest machine learning libraries in Python. People who want to learn deep neural networks, Keras can be a really good option for them.
Developers who work with Keras are fascinated with its user-friendly and modular structure. It provides an easier mechanism to signify neural networks. Keras also provides some of the best services for compiling models, processing data-sets, visualization of graphs, and much more.
Keras has the ability and resources to run on top of popular deep learning libraries like TensorFlow, Theano, or CNTK. It also presents a comparably simple API that manages to also offers a lot of flexibility. This makes Keras easy to learn and simple to use.
This user-friendly, extensible tool allows easier development of deep learning models. It is a great, effective tool for beginners, too, and can run seamlessly on CPUs and GPUs.
Features of Keras
Keras, being modular in nature is amazingly expressive, flexible, and well-suited for innovative research.
It doesn’t only support neural networks only but also provides a fully supportive environment for convolutional and recurrent neural networks.
It runs smoothly on both CPU and GPU.
This python library features a variety of implementations from neural networks forming blocks — functions, layers, optimizers, objectives, and others.
Keras also features many useful tools that allow you to work with different images and texts easily.
Using Keras, you can build deep models for smartphones — both Android and iOS or for Java Virtual Machine also.
5. Pandas
Pandas is a machine learning library in Python that gives data structures of high-level and a broad variety of tools for analysis. One of the great features of this library is the capability to translate complex operations with data using one or two commands.
It is a must to learn for data-science and dedicatedly formulated for Python language. It is a fast, definite, and flexible platform that allows intuitive data-structures.
As Pandas is a data analysis module, we can refine the data most efficiently using the pandas’ library. It allows different kinds of data structures that are able to work.
Features of Pandas
Pandas make sure that the entire process of manipulating data will be easier.
will be easier. Smart alignment and indexing featured in Pandas offer you a perfect organization and data labeling.
Pandas have some special features that allow you to handle missing data or value with a proper measure.
This package offers you such a clean code that even people with no or basic knowledge of programming can easily work with it.
It provides a collection of built-in tools that allows you to both read and write data in different web services, data-structure, and databases as well.
Pandas can support JSON, Excel, CSV, HDF5, and many other formats. In fact, you can merge different databases at a time with Pandas.
6. Theano
Theano is a computational framework machine learning library in Python and it is a popular choice for performing neural network models. Theano works similarly to TensorFlow, but it is not as effective as TensorFlow.
It can analyze, define, optimize, and modify different mathematical information at the same time. As Theano gets the best use of multi-dimensional arrays, you hardly have to worry about the completion of your projects.
Moreover, Theano can also be applied in distributed or parallel environments just similar to TensorFlow.
Features of Theano
Ability to use NumPy arrays effectively in Theano-compiled functions.
Perform data-intensive computations much quicker than on a CPU.
Theano performs your derivatives for functions with one or many inputs.
Evaluate expressions faster than ever before, thereby, increasing efficiency by a lot.
Detect and diagnose multiple types of errors and ambiguities in the model.
Theano allows you to avoid dirty bugs while working with expressions. You can work seamlessly on expressions without wasting any time.
This library makes computation 140x faster. Computation of data-intensive applications is easier with Theano.
7. PyTorch
PyTorch is the biggest machine learning library and a popular open-source framework for machine learning and deep learning. This machine learning library is based on Torch, which is an open-source machine library performed in C with a wrapper in Lua.
It’s a useful tool for developing and training neural networks. It optimizes tensors for deep learning using CPUs and GPUs, and it also accelerates the way from research to prototyping to production deployment.
Other than this, PyTorch offers rich APIs for resolving application issues related to neural networks. This is the most used machine learning library, assisting planners to perform tensor computations with the acceleration of a GPU.
Features of PyTorch –
PyTorch can be used with other popular libraries, as well. You can easily integrate it with libraries/packages like Cython and Numba.
PyTorch uses TorchScript, which offers a flexible and simple eager mode. You can evaluate different functions and operations instantly.
While in the graph mode, PyTorch provides absolute transitioning, fast optimizations, and offers a C++ run-time environment.
PyTorch has good support for async. Execution for cumulative operations. This way, you can boost up your project performance.
This library also allows P2P (Peer to Peer) communication, which can be gained by both Python and C++.
Conclusion
Python Packages and Libraries play an important role in a developer’s profession. Whether it is for data science or machine learning or any other viewpoints of the programming world, these libraries are all here to meet you up.
We hope this blog encouraged you to kick start your learning on the libraries available in Python. We guess you got to know about different modules, libraries, and frameworks for Python.
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https://medium.com/swlh/top-python-libraries-every-developer-should-learn-b25fd803b703
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['Asha Goyal']
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2020-11-28 19:03:20.494000+00:00
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['Python Programming', 'Python Libraries', 'Python Pandas', 'Python']
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Title Top Python Libraries Every Developer LearnContent Image Source Canva talking Python’s popularity programming Data Science community first thing arrives mind integrity One best specialty Python inherent integrity readability make beginnerfriendly language every language library good developer essential learn library Therefore library every developer learn know well blog aimed newbie developer want learn Python programming language complete reference work Python library rather highlight several library available briefly cover purpose Top 7 Python Libraries Every Developer Learn TensorFlow TensorFlow one prominent library Python application launched Google 2020 free opensource python machine learning library allows developer work numerical computation easy learn handful collection helpful tool based upon data flow graph used GPUs CPUs single API However restricted machine learning also utilize dataflow program differentiable TensorFlow available Python C APIs also C Java JavaScript Go Swift etc Also Thirdparty package also available MATLAB C Julia Scala R Rust etc Features TensorFlow TensorFlow us automatic highperformance APIs — Keras offer immediate iteration machine learning model library feature eager execution allows create manipulate machine learning model make debugging way easier make debugging way easier TensorFlow easily imagine every part graph TensorFlow easily move ML model cloud device onpremises browser TensorFlow come easy learn architecture easily develop concept code make publication even easier solution common machine learning issue easily implement go giving best 2 NumPy NumPy known one popular machine learning library Python NumPy generally used scientific computation TensorFlow library use NumPy within performing multiple operation Tensors Array interface best prominent feature NumPy enables u operate multidimensional array Arrays implementation Python mainly developer use NumPy machine learning project It’s easy learn opensource library provides advanced math functionality fundamental package scientific computing Python Almost every machine learning technician data scientist applies module complex mathematical computation NumPy helpful Python package sort generalpurpose programming task it’s especially great want machine learning since provides part foundation library like TensorFlow Features NumPy Makes complex mathematical implementation simple Makes coding real simple understanding concept easy python package provides useful tool integration easily integrate NumPy programming language C C Fortran code Broadly used therefore lot open source contribution NumPy provides functionality comparable MATLAB allow user get faster operation 3 SciPy SciPy machine learning library used application developer engineer SciPy one core package offer SciPy stack provides many userfriendly effective numerical method method numerical integration optimization However computation job make SciPy special also famous image manipulation well SciPy supply various scientific computing task manage data optimization data integration data modification like NumPy multidimensional model main purpose SciPy given NumPy module SciPy useful tool wide sort scientific mathematical engineering task lack manipulation number Features SciPy SciPy fulfills efficient numerical routine like optimization numerical integration function submodules SciPy well documented make best use NumPy array general data structure fact NumPy integrated part Scipy Scipy handle 1d polynomial two way Whether use poly1d class NumPy use coefficient array job 4 Keras Keras recognized one coolest machine learning library Python People want learn deep neural network Keras really good option Developers work Keras fascinated userfriendly modular structure provides easier mechanism signify neural network Keras also provides best service compiling model processing datasets visualization graph much Keras ability resource run top popular deep learning library like TensorFlow Theano CNTK also present comparably simple API manages also offer lot flexibility make Keras easy learn simple use userfriendly extensible tool allows easier development deep learning model great effective tool beginner run seamlessly CPUs GPUs Features Keras Keras modular nature amazingly expressive flexible wellsuited innovative research doesn’t support neural network also provides fully supportive environment convolutional recurrent neural network run smoothly CPU GPU python library feature variety implementation neural network forming block — function layer optimizers objective others Keras also feature many useful tool allow work different image text easily Using Keras build deep model smartphones — Android iOS Java Virtual Machine also 5 Pandas Pandas machine learning library Python give data structure highlevel broad variety tool analysis One great feature library capability translate complex operation data using one two command must learn datascience dedicatedly formulated Python language fast definite flexible platform allows intuitive datastructures Pandas data analysis module refine data efficiently using pandas’ library allows different kind data structure able work Features Pandas Pandas make sure entire process manipulating data easier easier Smart alignment indexing featured Pandas offer perfect organization data labeling Pandas special feature allow handle missing data value proper measure package offer clean code even people basic knowledge programming easily work provides collection builtin tool allows read write data different web service datastructure database well Pandas support JSON Excel CSV HDF5 many format fact merge different database time Pandas 6 Theano Theano computational framework machine learning library Python popular choice performing neural network model Theano work similarly TensorFlow effective TensorFlow analyze define optimize modify different mathematical information time Theano get best use multidimensional array hardly worry completion project Moreover Theano also applied distributed parallel environment similar TensorFlow Features Theano Ability use NumPy array effectively Theanocompiled function Perform dataintensive computation much quicker CPU Theano performs derivative function one many input Evaluate expression faster ever thereby increasing efficiency lot Detect diagnose multiple type error ambiguity model Theano allows avoid dirty bug working expression work seamlessly expression without wasting time library make computation 140x faster Computation dataintensive application easier Theano 7 PyTorch PyTorch biggest machine learning library popular opensource framework machine learning deep learning machine learning library based Torch opensource machine library performed C wrapper Lua It’s useful tool developing training neural network optimizes tensor deep learning using CPUs GPUs also accelerates way research prototyping production deployment PyTorch offer rich APIs resolving application issue related neural network used machine learning library assisting planner perform tensor computation acceleration GPU Features PyTorch – PyTorch used popular library well easily integrate librariespackages like Cython Numba PyTorch us TorchScript offer flexible simple eager mode evaluate different function operation instantly graph mode PyTorch provides absolute transitioning fast optimization offer C runtime environment PyTorch good support async Execution cumulative operation way boost project performance library also allows P2P Peer Peer communication gained Python C Conclusion Python Packages Libraries play important role developer’s profession Whether data science machine learning viewpoint programming world library meet hope blog encouraged kick start learning library available Python guess got know different module library framework PythonTags Python Programming Python Libraries Python Pandas Python
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5,030 |
Coffee Chat Series #1: Getting Ahead as an Early-Career Designer
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Are you an Early-Career Designer?
You think of yourself as “new to designing professionally.” Maybe you’re still in school, with an internship or two under your belt. Or, perhaps you graduated in the last 1–2 years and are in the midst of your first or second design job. Or, maybe you’ve decided recently to switch careers.
You don’t yet consider yourself an expert in any aspect of design, whether it’s interfaces or graphics, user experiences or design processes. You may feel you’ve got solid fundamentals and a decent understanding of what good design is, but you can’t yet produce consistently excellent solutions at the level you aspire to, and you believe you are still a good ways off. You look around and can easily enumerate many types of design problems that you haven’t experienced before and would love to cut your teeth on.
You play a support role in bigger product initiatives. In larger teams, you might be paired with a senior or lead designer who is acting as a mentor or creative director. In smaller teams, you may be getting detailed briefs and specific direction or feedback from a CEO or product leader. You don’t typically feel comfortable pushing back on the problem you’re asked to solve or the feedback you receive because you’re mostly in observing and absorbing mode.
You’ve a long and adventurous career ahead. You’re just getting started, and you’re going to leave footprints.
Your superpowers
A lot of early-career designers I know don’t assume that they have any superpowers. They figure they’ve got a lot to learn, and not a lot they can contribute. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Pretty much everyone I know raves about working with these people. Why?
Flexibility. As an early-career designer, you come in with practically no bad habits or preconceived notions. You’re not weighed down by the past, so you adapt easily to new tools and processes. Non-existent are the grumblings of, “Well, in my day, we did X or Y and it was so much better…” Within a few years, I’ve seen many people go from n00b to expert designing on some new platform, technology, or cultural trend. And given the rate at which this industry changes — a lot — this kind of flexibility is a huge advantage. When paradigms shift — whether from analog to digital, or web to mobile— you’ll notice that a new generation of pioneers are at the forefront, rather than the established big names from the past. The only way forward is through change, and early career designers are some of the best at adapting.
Curiosity. If you’re new to the field, you’re brimming with a thousand questions. Everything is interesting and novel. You look at problems with a clean slate, which sparks new thoughts and ideas. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve shown a design proposal and gotten earnest questions from early-career designers like “What problem are you trying to solve?” or “Why does this need four steps?” that made me recheck my assumptions and realize a better solution. Asking for the sake of understanding is powerful; it reminds everyone else to not get lost in the shortcuts that inevitably build up over the course of a long career; it invites us to go back to first principles and reclaim that beginner’s mindset.
Enthusiasm. Just a few weeks ago I chatted with a designer who had taken on mentoring an intern during the summer. I asked her how the experience was. “Simply amazing!” she gushed. “The team loved our intern. Everyone felt so much more energetic with him around!” I hear variants of this story over and over again. As an early-career designer, your genuine and bright-eyed excitement stirs even the most cynical of souls. Problems that more experienced designers have solved half a dozen times already are made to feel fresh again, boosting everyone’s mood. Don’t underestimate how much of a gift this is. Enthusiasm fosters enthusiasm.
Ability to try new things and take risks. At this stage, this much is true: you have far more to gain than to lose. You don’t have a reputation to protect. You haven’t specialized in a particular area of expertise. You don’t have a deep history that people can draw assumptions from. This is the time to take risks! This is the time to raise your hand on the tasks that nobody else wants to do; to join the companies or teams that feel like underdogs; to volunteer for the projects that seem impossible or at the very least, incredibly complicated. This is the time to make like Shakira from Zootopia and “Try Everything.” The worst that can happen is that you get deeper insights into what you don’t like — a valuable learning! The best is that you discover you’re capable of far more than you realized.
Habits for Success
What are the daily practices that have outsized returns for early-career designers? After hundreds of conversations and observations of their career trajectories, this is my short list:
Focus on quantity of work produced. There is a famous study where an instructor for a photojournalism class divided his students into two groups. The first was told that they would be judged solely on quantity — ie, 100 photos submitted gets you an A, 80 gets you a B, etc. The second group was told they only had to produce one photo at the end of the course, and they would be judged solely on how good that one photo was. Guess what? When all was said and done, it turns out that the quantity group did better on both quantity AND quality. In doing the work of producing dozens of photos, they experienced firsthand what made for better composition, lighting, focal length, etc. Meanwhile, the quality group sat around for hours theorizing about what the “perfect” photo was, and then produced one mediocre piece. When designing to solve a problem, try as many different solutions as you can, then scrutinize the pros and cons of each. Trying to “save time” doing something that’s “good enough” isn’t the goal — instead, shore up your fundamentals through a constant stream of high output.
Show your work as often as you can, to as many people as you can for feedback. When I was getting started, I didn’t do this much, and it’s one of my biggest regrets. My excuse was always: “Oh, we already have a weekly team critique — I’ll just show my stuff then.” The truth was, I was embarrassed to ask for feedback, especially on early work that I knew wasn’t totally there. I worried other designers would think less of me if they saw my in-progress work. So I’d sit in my corner and try to perfect my designs before anyone saw them. Unfortunately, by doing this, I missed out on learning faster — I got critique feedback late, I passed up opportunities to get one-on-one advice and coaching, and nobody thought I was particularly proactive. Later on, as a manager, the designers who impressed me the most were those who didn’t let their egos get in the way of their growth, the ones who readily said, Can you take a look at my latest work? I’m struggling with the layout or I’m not sure how to approach this problem and I’d love to talk it through with you first. Ask for honest feedback and listen to it seriously. Iterate based on that feedback. Approach multiple designers you admire for their take on your work. Don’t be discouraged if some days, your work doesn’t meet your (or someone else’s) bar, or you don’t think you’re getting better fast enough. The only way forward is through the work, and through getting more and more perspectives that help you improve.
Work on your growth areas. The conventional wisdom for career growth is to Focus on your strengths. This is good advice in general, but I caution you to not take it seriously at the early career stage. Why? Because right now, investing in your fundamentals — especially shoring up your weaknesses — doesn’t cost you much and will benefit you every day for the rest of your career. If you aren’t strong at visuals, now is not the time to say, “Ah well, I’ll never be a great visual designer anyway, so why bother?” Be wary especially in situations (as in larger companies) where roles tend toward specialization, because you might be tempted to hand off visual work to an expert instead of trying to improve yourself. Even if you have zero aspirations to be an icon expert or a visual systems designer down the road, the more you improve those skills now, the more valuable you will be in every design job down the road. Same goes for other design hard skills — interaction design, motion, product thinking, etc — or soft skills like communication, persuasion, organization, proactivity, or leadership.
Ask questions all the time. As Euripedes said, “Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing.” Asking questions is the fastest way to learn. Don’t know what an acronym stands for? Ask. Don’t see why your colleague used blue instead of purple on this button? Ask. Can’t really follow the logic behind why your team’s top priority is X instead of Y? Ask. You don’t have to agree with every answer, but you’ll gain a whole lot of context and perspective.
Raise your hand and try everything. Set a goal to try 3 things you haven’t done before every month. They could be new projects, new initiatives, or new practices. If an opportunity comes along and you’re not sure if you’re going to like it or be successful at it, raise your hand. You’ll be better off for the experience, no matter how it goes.
Read books about human culture and psychology. An underrated aspect of becoming a top designer is accumulating a better understanding of human motivation and behavior. Why do people do what they do? How do they process information? When do they behave rationally and irrationally? When does a behavior become habitual, and why? Some books in this category that I’ve found useful: Thinking Fast and Slow; The Design of Everyday Things; Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind; Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results; Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas and Others Die; Predictably Irrational; The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion; How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Misconceptions and Obstacles to overcome
In my coffee chats with designers, we’ll often talk about what we wish we knew when we first got started. A few traps stand out again and again as misconceptions that hinder success:
Learning is more important than “proving yourself.” Remember: you have much to gain and very little to lose at this stage. Ask any money manager what the most powerful concept is to build wealth and you’ll hear the same answer over and over again: compound interest. Learning is the compound interest for your career, and the sooner you get started, the richer the rewards will be at the end of five, ten, or twenty years. Resist the temptation to “prove yourself” at the beginning. If you have the choice between banking a surefire success by playing it safe or taking a risk to learn something new, default to the latter. Unlike roles, titles, or rewards, which are fleeting, knowledge and experience gained is permanent. Nobody can ever take that away from you.
Your career is your responsibility, not anyone else’s. If you’re lucky, you will have many folks in your life who will support, encourage and help you in your journey— managers, peer colleagues, mentors, family and friends. But even if you don’t, remember this: your career should matter more to you than to anyone else. So look first to yourself to get where you want to go. You are not entitled to the generosity of others, nor can you control what they choose to do (though I’m always inspired by the warmth and helpfulness of the design community at large). It doesn’t do you any good to blame your environment or your manager if you’re not happy with your progress. You are the captain of the ship of your career, so ask yourself what you need to change.
Designing well is about solving problems for your intended audience, not about coming up with things you personally like. As an early-career designer, I took huge pride in my personal taste. I felt that I had an elevated understanding of aesthetics, of simplicity, and of the journey towards the ideal. But through the course of learning to design for millions, then billions, of people, time and time again I was humbled by the waves of reality. The designs I personally loved best didn’t always have the biggest impact. In fact, often they crashed and burned. I loved minimalism — the more spacious and elegant the interface, the better— but many people out there, especially those newer to the web, appreciate clear, wordy labels over stark icons. Creating excellent work isn’t about me and what I thought was lovely; it’s about meeting our users where they were and empathizing with their needs so we can solve their problems. Resist relying too much on your own assumptions and desires, and seek the truth of what really matters to your audience.
Mentorship starts with asking good questions, not asking for a mentor. It’s natural for early career designers to be excited about getting mentored by folks they look up to. But here’s the thing: 9 times out of 10, getting “mentorship” isn’t like gaining admittance into some sort of program (unless it happens to be structured that way— this is the 1 in 10 case). There’s typically no application process. It’s not a binary thing, like you’re either X’s mentee or you aren’t. In fact, trying to formalize it by asking Can you be my mentor? is awkward, because mentorship should be like any normal relationship — two people who like and enjoy each other’s company want to spend more time together. Refrain from immediately asking someone to spend regular time with you. If they don’t know you well, why would they say yes? Instead, start with genuine questions and low-commitment asks. I’m a huge fan of how you do X — can you share with me some advice for how I can also improve at X? or Can I invite you for a coffee to discuss X? If that goes well, then you can make another ask or request to make it a more regular occurrence.
Reflection Questions to Ask Yourself
The best thing you can do for your career is not to listen to what someone else has to say (this article included), but to get in the habit of regularly asking yourself deep questions. You’re the only one who knows your true heart and where you want your career to go, so keep these questions in mind:
Which qualities of people around me do I admire, and how can I learn from them? Seeing is believing. If a colleague does something that leaves you thinking, Damn, I wish I could do that— maybe its the simplicity and elegance of their design work; maybe its their attention to detail; maybe its the compelling way they make arguments— count your lucky stars that you get to see them work that magic and that you have the opportunity to learn from them. Admiration doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can appreciate a particular skill or trait without admiring everything about a person. Make a list of those qualities, and then ask yourself how you might get better at them. Can you ask that person to give you feedback? Can you request that they deconstruct their process? Can you make notes of their specific tips and tricks?
How can I find out more about my likes and dislikes? It’s perfectly natural to respond to a question like “What am I meant to do with my life?” with I have no f-ing clue right now. You can’t rush discovering the answer; it’ll emerge in its own time, through first-hand experience with the kind of work that gives you the greatest satisfaction. But what you can do is put yourself in situations where you’re constantly testing new scenarios and learning about yourself in the process. These experiments might not all be successful, but think of Thomas Edison, who said, “Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” You may try things and learn that you despise certain tasks but love others — this is what self-discovery looks like. if you don’t get out of your comfort zone, it will take you much, much longer to find your true calling.
What things gives me energy, and what sucks away my energy? This is is a simple reflection question to contemplate at the end of a month, quarter or year that is a baby step towards answering the much bigger existential question of “What am I meant to do with my life?” Simply observe which activities give you energy and feel rewarding, versus what make you feel heavy and discouraged. Don’t react or change your actions based on a particular month or quarter’s answer; narrowing your area of opportunity too quickly is limiting. Instead, note them and jot them down. What’s valuable is understanding the larger trends or patterns over the years — I am energized by people who take their responsibilities seriously and share my optimism in the future — not specific examples like I don’t enjoy working with Taylor.
What are my unique strengths and growth areas? Like the question above, this is an important reflection question to understand yourself better. Make note of your strengths, but don’t ignore your weaknesses — instead, focus on improving them to establish a better foundation for the future. Continue to broaden your field of experiences, but periodically take stock of what things come naturally to you, and what you struggle more with.
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https://medium.com/the-year-of-the-looking-glass/coffee-chat-series-1-getting-ahead-as-an-early-career-designer-12d0c0aaec67
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['Julie Zhuo']
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2019-09-11 15:31:02.161000+00:00
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['Design', 'Learning', 'Career Advice', 'Product Management', 'Designer']
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Title Coffee Chat Series 1 Getting Ahead EarlyCareer DesignerContent EarlyCareer Designer think “new designing professionally” Maybe you’re still school internship two belt perhaps graduated last 1–2 year midst first second design job maybe you’ve decided recently switch career don’t yet consider expert aspect design whether it’s interface graphic user experience design process may feel you’ve got solid fundamental decent understanding good design can’t yet produce consistently excellent solution level aspire believe still good way look around easily enumerate many type design problem haven’t experienced would love cut teeth play support role bigger product initiative larger team might paired senior lead designer acting mentor creative director smaller team may getting detailed brief specific direction feedback CEO product leader don’t typically feel comfortable pushing back problem you’re asked solve feedback receive you’re mostly observing absorbing mode You’ve long adventurous career ahead You’re getting started you’re going leave footprint superpower lot earlycareer designer know don’t assume superpower figure they’ve got lot learn lot contribute couldn’t truth Pretty much everyone know raf working people Flexibility earlycareer designer come practically bad habit preconceived notion You’re weighed past adapt easily new tool process Nonexistent grumbling “Well day X much better…” Within year I’ve seen many people go n00b expert designing new platform technology cultural trend given rate industry change — lot — kind flexibility huge advantage paradigm shift — whether analog digital web mobile— you’ll notice new generation pioneer forefront rather established big name past way forward change early career designer best adapting Curiosity you’re new field you’re brimming thousand question Everything interesting novel look problem clean slate spark new thought idea can’t tell number time I’ve shown design proposal gotten earnest question earlycareer designer like “What problem trying solve” “Why need four steps” made recheck assumption realize better solution Asking sake understanding powerful reminds everyone else get lost shortcut inevitably build course long career invite u go back first principle reclaim beginner’s mindset Enthusiasm week ago chatted designer taken mentoring intern summer asked experience “Simply amazing” gushed “The team loved intern Everyone felt much energetic around” hear variant story earlycareer designer genuine brighteyed excitement stir even cynical soul Problems experienced designer solved half dozen time already made feel fresh boosting everyone’s mood Don’t underestimate much gift Enthusiasm foster enthusiasm Ability try new thing take risk stage much true far gain lose don’t reputation protect haven’t specialized particular area expertise don’t deep history people draw assumption time take risk time raise hand task nobody else want join company team feel like underdog volunteer project seem impossible least incredibly complicated time make like Shakira Zootopia “Try Everything” worst happen get deeper insight don’t like — valuable learning best discover you’re capable far realized Habits Success daily practice outsized return earlycareer designer hundred conversation observation career trajectory short list Focus quantity work produced famous study instructor photojournalism class divided student two group first told would judged solely quantity — ie 100 photo submitted get 80 get B etc second group told produce one photo end course would judged solely good one photo Guess said done turn quantity group better quantity quality work producing dozen photo experienced firsthand made better composition lighting focal length etc Meanwhile quality group sat around hour theorizing “perfect” photo produced one mediocre piece designing solve problem try many different solution scrutinize pro con Trying “save time” something that’s “good enough” isn’t goal — instead shore fundamental constant stream high output Show work often many people feedback getting started didn’t much it’s one biggest regret excuse always “Oh already weekly team critique — I’ll show stuff then” truth embarrassed ask feedback especially early work knew wasn’t totally worried designer would think le saw inprogress work I’d sit corner try perfect design anyone saw Unfortunately missed learning faster — got critique feedback late passed opportunity get oneonone advice coaching nobody thought particularly proactive Later manager designer impressed didn’t let ego get way growth one readily said take look latest work I’m struggling layout I’m sure approach problem I’d love talk first Ask honest feedback listen seriously Iterate based feedback Approach multiple designer admire take work Don’t discouraged day work doesn’t meet someone else’s bar don’t think you’re getting better fast enough way forward work getting perspective help improve Work growth area conventional wisdom career growth Focus strength good advice general caution take seriously early career stage right investing fundamental — especially shoring weakness — doesn’t cost much benefit every day rest career aren’t strong visuals time say “Ah well I’ll never great visual designer anyway bother” wary especially situation larger company role tend toward specialization might tempted hand visual work expert instead trying improve Even zero aspiration icon expert visual system designer road improve skill valuable every design job road go design hard skill — interaction design motion product thinking etc — soft skill like communication persuasion organization proactivity leadership Ask question time Euripedes said “Question everything Learn something Answer nothing” Asking question fastest way learn Don’t know acronym stand Ask Don’t see colleague used blue instead purple button Ask Can’t really follow logic behind team’s top priority X instead Ask don’t agree every answer you’ll gain whole lot context perspective Raise hand try everything Set goal try 3 thing haven’t done every month could new project new initiative new practice opportunity come along you’re sure you’re going like successful raise hand You’ll better experience matter go Read book human culture psychology underrated aspect becoming top designer accumulating better understanding human motivation behavior people process information behave rationally irrationally behavior become habitual book category I’ve found useful Thinking Fast Slow Design Everyday Things Sapiens Brief History Humankind Atomic Habits Tiny Changes Remarkable Results Made Stick Ideas Others Die Predictably Irrational Righteous Mind Good People Divided Politics Religion Win Friends Influence People Misconceptions Obstacles overcome coffee chat designer we’ll often talk wish knew first got started trap stand misconception hinder success Learning important “proving yourself” Remember much gain little lose stage Ask money manager powerful concept build wealth you’ll hear answer compound interest Learning compound interest career sooner get started richer reward end five ten twenty year Resist temptation “prove yourself” beginning choice banking surefire success playing safe taking risk learn something new default latter Unlike role title reward fleeting knowledge experience gained permanent Nobody ever take away career responsibility anyone else’s you’re lucky many folk life support encourage help journey— manager peer colleague mentor family friend even don’t remember career matter anyone else look first get want go entitled generosity others control choose though I’m always inspired warmth helpfulness design community large doesn’t good blame environment manager you’re happy progress captain ship career ask need change Designing well solving problem intended audience coming thing personally like earlycareer designer took huge pride personal taste felt elevated understanding aesthetic simplicity journey towards ideal course learning design million billion people time time humbled wave reality design personally loved best didn’t always biggest impact fact often crashed burned loved minimalism — spacious elegant interface better— many people especially newer web appreciate clear wordy label stark icon Creating excellent work isn’t thought lovely it’s meeting user empathizing need solve problem Resist relying much assumption desire seek truth really matter audience Mentorship start asking good question asking mentor It’s natural early career designer excited getting mentored folk look here’s thing 9 time 10 getting “mentorship” isn’t like gaining admittance sort program unless happens structured way— 1 10 case There’s typically application process It’s binary thing like you’re either X’s mentee aren’t fact trying formalize asking mentor awkward mentorship like normal relationship — two people like enjoy other’s company want spend time together Refrain immediately asking someone spend regular time don’t know well would say yes Instead start genuine question lowcommitment asks I’m huge fan X — share advice also improve X invite coffee discus X go well make another ask request make regular occurrence Reflection Questions Ask best thing career listen someone else say article included get habit regularly asking deep question You’re one know true heart want career go keep question mind quality people around admire learn Seeing believing colleague something leaf thinking Damn wish could that— maybe simplicity elegance design work maybe attention detail maybe compelling way make arguments— count lucky star get see work magic opportunity learn Admiration doesn’t nothing appreciate particular skill trait without admiring everything person Make list quality ask might get better ask person give feedback request deconstruct process make note specific tip trick find like dislike It’s perfectly natural respond question like “What meant life” fing clue right can’t rush discovering answer it’ll emerge time firsthand experience kind work give greatest satisfaction put situation you’re constantly testing new scenario learning process experiment might successful think Thomas Edison said “Just something doesn’t planned doesn’t mean it’s useless” may try thing learn despise certain task love others — selfdiscovery look like don’t get comfort zone take much much longer find true calling thing give energy suck away energy simple reflection question contemplate end month quarter year baby step towards answering much bigger existential question “What meant life” Simply observe activity give energy feel rewarding versus make feel heavy discouraged Don’t react change action based particular month quarter’s answer narrowing area opportunity quickly limiting Instead note jot What’s valuable understanding larger trend pattern year — energized people take responsibility seriously share optimism future — specific example like don’t enjoy working Taylor unique strength growth area Like question important reflection question understand better Make note strength don’t ignore weakness — instead focus improving establish better foundation future Continue broaden field experience periodically take stock thing come naturally struggle withTags Design Learning Career Advice Product Management Designer
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5,031 |
Data Science — A quick overview. The big data ETL process is the key to…
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The big data ETL process is the key to engineering any data pipeline. In general, an end to end big data pipelining consists of four main blocks:
Data preparation and collection Data cleaning, transformation, and loading (ETL) Data analytics (statistics or data mining) Predictive analytics (Machine learning / Artificial Intelligence)
Over the last decade, there has been a massive growth in both data generated and data retained. These data are retained by companies and organization to drive their business, we call this “Big Data”.
Nowadays, the term “Data Science” is gaining a wide recognition. But what does a data scientist do? Data scientists are the people who make sense out of all the big data and determine what can be done with it in order to increase the productivity of a business.
Let’s understand with an example:
Consider, you are eating candy, generally, a person takes those candies that he likes, in contrast, data scientists are the people who will get all the flavors of the candies and analyze them because they really need to know what each one tastes like. In short, the title “Data Scientist” encompasses different flavors of the work. According to me, that is the major difference between a “Data Scientist”, “Statistician”, “Analyst” or an “Engineer”. A data scientist is one who does little of those tasks done by a statistician, analyst, and engineer.
To be more specific, a data scientist is the one who does the following primary tasks:
Data Analysis (Statistics) Predictive analytics (Machine Learning) Visualization
Let’s have a look at each of the tasks in brief:
Data Analysis (Statistics):
In this task, lots of plots of data are made in order to understand the pattern of the data. Through this process, some theories regarding data behavior are crafted in a way that will be easy to communicate and easy to act on. A data scientist develops different models by understanding the data patterns through data analysis and develops some strategies based on understood or developed statistics. But the most challenging aspect of this task is that the models or statistics cannot act as a permanent solution to the defined problem. Therefore, a lot of time is dedicated to this task in which a data scientist may need to evaluate and make some changes in the existing models, as well as going back to the data and bring out new features to help make better models.
Predictive Analytics (Machine Learning)
Another important task of a data scientist can be developing predictive models for forecasting possible outcomes or patterns in the data. Such predictive analytics can help businesses take valuable business decisions. An important challenge for building a predictive model is the reliability of the model. A data scientist must make sure that the model passes several validation tests before it is ready for making business decisions. Some interesting use cases of predictive analytics can be weather forecasting, stock predictions, recommender systems based on buyer purchase patterns, etc.
Visualization:
The above-discussed tasks can just be defined or act as a tip of the iceberg. This is because even if we have state of the art data models for different applications, it doesn’t do anyone much good if the insights are not given to the customers or users and do it consistently. This means building a sort of a data product that can be used by the people who are not data scientists. This can be implemented in many forms like chart visualizations, metrics on a dashboard, or an application. The best examples of such applications are Tableau, Alteryx, etc. which are the market leaders in data dashboarding.
Understanding all the above tasks of a data scientist, in brief, it can also be understood that a long-term life cycle of a data science project may involve going back and re-analyzing the data models if there is always a new source of data coming in and there is a need to incorporate them.
Analyzing such traits and tasks of a data scientist it can be concluded beyond doubt that how great importance the data science and data scientist may have in the growth of any organization in the era of highest competition and the need of constant improvements in the services of the organizations.
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https://medium.com/rock-your-data/data-science-a-quick-overview-b34e9772287a
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['Karan Tongay']
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2019-06-10 05:01:29.159000+00:00
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['Data Science', 'Big Data', 'Data Analytics']
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Title Data Science — quick overview big data ETL process key to…Content big data ETL process key engineering data pipeline general end end big data pipelining consists four main block Data preparation collection Data cleaning transformation loading ETL Data analytics statistic data mining Predictive analytics Machine learning Artificial Intelligence last decade massive growth data generated data retained data retained company organization drive business call “Big Data” Nowadays term “Data Science” gaining wide recognition data scientist Data scientist people make sense big data determine done order increase productivity business Let’s understand example Consider eating candy generally person take candy like contrast data scientist people get flavor candy analyze really need know one taste like short title “Data Scientist” encompasses different flavor work According major difference “Data Scientist” “Statistician” “Analyst” “Engineer” data scientist one little task done statistician analyst engineer specific data scientist one following primary task Data Analysis Statistics Predictive analytics Machine Learning Visualization Let’s look task brief Data Analysis Statistics task lot plot data made order understand pattern data process theory regarding data behavior crafted way easy communicate easy act data scientist develops different model understanding data pattern data analysis develops strategy based understood developed statistic challenging aspect task model statistic cannot act permanent solution defined problem Therefore lot time dedicated task data scientist may need evaluate make change existing model well going back data bring new feature help make better model Predictive Analytics Machine Learning Another important task data scientist developing predictive model forecasting possible outcome pattern data predictive analytics help business take valuable business decision important challenge building predictive model reliability model data scientist must make sure model pass several validation test ready making business decision interesting use case predictive analytics weather forecasting stock prediction recommender system based buyer purchase pattern etc Visualization abovediscussed task defined act tip iceberg even state art data model different application doesn’t anyone much good insight given customer user consistently mean building sort data product used people data scientist implemented many form like chart visualization metric dashboard application best example application Tableau Alteryx etc market leader data dashboarding Understanding task data scientist brief also understood longterm life cycle data science project may involve going back reanalyzing data model always new source data coming need incorporate Analyzing trait task data scientist concluded beyond doubt great importance data science data scientist may growth organization era highest competition need constant improvement service organizationsTags Data Science Big Data Data Analytics
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5,032 |
The Lucrative Underground World Of SMMA
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A License To Print Money
One of the members in my SMMA group makes well over $80,000 a month. That’s not a typo. He makes more in three months than most doctors make all year. He took a one-month course and then money started rolling in. Doctors dedicate half their lives to school and training to earn their salary. On the financial front, it doesn’t seem fair but it’s the truth.
We all know that the internet hosts a sea of get-rich-quick schemes. It’s no different with people posing as SMMA owners and gurus. But currently with an SMMA, it’s still possible to make this kind of money creating and managing Facebook Ads (which I’ll explain how later). In fact, several people I’ve met in these groups are making more money with their SMMA than their regular jobs. I’ve seen some Facebook groups that won’t even let you in unless you’re making at least six figures a year with your SMMA.
These success stories are incredibly inspiring, especially to people still in high school. The more teens learn about the SMMA world, the more they are intrigued. Social media makes complete sense to them. Their generation grew up with it, and manipulating these platforms is second nature to them. To make money with it seems like a dream.
Trade Secrets In Facebook Groups
Teens will tell you that Facebook is dead and they use Instagram or Snapchat instead. That’s true for most of them. But the entrepreneurial type are coming back to Facebook because it’s a popular site for businesses and special interest groups.
Facebook is a vital platform for teens creating SMMAs today. They’ll often post up their recent wins and losses. They can also learn about industry updates and techniques to try out. From what I’ve experienced, it’s mostly a place to get the kind of support people need to succeed. And lately, there are plenty of SMMA groups to choose from.
It seems like a new group pops up every day. It has definitely started to creep out of its underground status. I joined a group six months ago when I decided to focus on Facebook ads for my pre-existing marketing company. It was a challenge for me to fit in at first. It’s definitely a “bro culture.” That comes with the average age of members. Even the girls refer to other girls as bro! With some posts, I felt like I was reading the script from the set of the next American Pie movie.
In my SMMA group, I was the oldest of about 300 members. I’m so old, they called me “uncle” but it was endearing. Even though I had the most digital marketing experience, my Facebook Ads chops needed fine-tuning. And despite my experience, it just couldn’t compete with the group creator, Iman Gadzhi. He regularly made over $40,000 a month with his SMMA services alone.
Minors Allowed
Like many, I came across one of Gadzhi’s SMMA videos on YouTube. There are lots of really great SMMA videos created by other people. However, Gadhzi seemed to have a great understanding of the digital marketing landscape and where it was going. Back then, he had just turned 17 and dropped out of high school. That sounds bad until you learn that he was making an incredible amount of money online, and he found a way to sustain it month after month.
Here was this young man who became financially independent before he could even vote. The fact that he dropped out of school seems more like a business decision than a scholastic aptitude issue. Gadzhi took it upon himself to know more about how to run an online business than most adults.
At seventeen, the average kid is doing odd jobs for money and relying on their parents. It’s no wonder why people turned to him. And Gadzhi’s life story is part of his sales hook. It has been an essential piece in his personal branding that has helped him amass thousands of followers online. The more I learned about him, the more I felt like I should have been doing more when I was a teenager. He’s a huge over-achiever compared to most of the teens I’ve known.
Though I was very skeptical, I bought Gadzhi’s course to learn what he was doing. At first, I thought it was a crazy idea. It was the first time in my life where my mentor was practically a kid! Though I questioned some of the curriculum, after a few videos I was learning the finer details of social media that I have been missing all these years.
A New Kind Of Schooling
When you listen to Gadzhi, you keep forgetting that he’s a teenager. He’s unusually charismatic and well-spoken. Before every training video, he throws his hands out like a magician welcoming you into the act. He smiles a lot and always keeps things positive. There is no doubt that he is a likable character.
The online courses Gadzhi creates are a different kind of schooling. You’re encouraged to listen to his videos on 2X speed just to get through them all. For each lesson, he wants you to learn just enough and then take action. Gadzhi is a firm believer that direct experience is the best form of education. That could be a little scary for a teen and even a full-grown adult. Though many of us aspire to do great things, sometimes pulling the trigger is paralyzing.
The good news is that in this group, you never have to do anything alone. You’ll always find someone in the same boat to collaborate with. For example, one of the tasks is to find a partner and role-play sales calls — a daunting task for anyone. This is real-life immersion education. I began to think to myself, if more public schools taught in this way, we’d be much better off. Here, it’s all about viable skills not theory.
Some tasks are easy. Other tasks require you to really think about what you’re doing. For example, his first task for new members is to head to the Facebook group and write a quick hello. Following this, they must then state their financial goal for the year. One member wrote:
“Hey everyone! Anyone from Germany too?
My bold twelve-month goal is to drop out of high school ASAP, visit 7 countries, take care of my mum, and make $100,000. 🙏🏽”
Within minutes, several other members had replied to this post giving the newbie encouragement and support. (Half the comments were followed by “bro” of course.) For the most part, most of these goal statements sound alike. After seeing a few of these, I began to worry. Is Gadzhi a bad influence on teenagers? Not everyone can drop out and make money like he did.
But then again, seeing how interested these young members were about business and the actions they took made me feel differently. Looking at the state of our millennial graduates and the 1.4 trillion-dollar college debt crisis in the USA, maybe more teenagers should consider starting an SMMA or something similar in addition to finishing school.
We send kids to schools and colleges to become theoretical and knowledge generalists. However, the real world privileges in-demand specialists with commercially viable skills. We have it all backwards and many of the SMMA teachers know this.
The truth is, Gadzhi is not an outlier. Lots of other teenagers and twenty-somethings are making millions doing this today. I saw an SMMA course by Billy Willson that has the subtitle: The Replacement For College. He is a peer of Gadzhi (and a college drop-out), that is consistently making over $20,000 a month himself. And business is booming. Willson is on track for a breakout month that will net him over $50,000.
On a different SMMA Youtube channel, I learned about a sixteen-year-old from Florida named James Brinker who is making over five figures a month. Brinker goes well beyond SMMA. His team offers a full suite of professional digital services that rival many well-known marketing agencies. These services attract clients worldwide.
In India, I heard about a girl who set up a call center to serve American businesses. Her SMMA agency employs five people and a dozen more sub-contractors. This young lady, who is actually a very private person online, is only nineteen years old!
It’s obvious why so many teens want to own an SMMA when countless ordinary teenagers are becoming successful at it. With such a big upside, many teens don’t hesitate about the initial startup costs.
The Cost Of Admission
The majority of SMMA courses and exclusive Facebook groups are not free. Courses cost around $500 to $2000. Many courses have well over ten hours of video instruction. They cover everything from finding clients to mastering the ever-changing Facebook Ad features. Agency owners usually rush through the courses, but the Facebook group is something they really savor. Most say it’s the best part of the course package.
Unfortunately, I’m starting to see lots of courses and groups pop up from inexperienced SMMA founders. Because the reach of online courses, sometimes there is more money in teaching SMMA principles than actually running a real agency.
Like all online business offerings, it’s hard to know what you’re getting into. Every course’s long sales page looks the same. They pack in sales copy, videos, course outlines, and numerous testimonials. “Buy Now” buttons are liberally peppered in between sections. Worse yet, you won’t see very many reviews about these courses or none at all, and that makes sense. They’re created by people in an underground movement started roughly two years ago.
The Origin Of The SMMA Industry
Early in the SMMA movement, people like Tai Lopez were posting their ads on every social media platform — especially YouTube. One video ad with over sixty-nine million views to date is called “Here in my garage.” It’s where Lopez talks about his book collection, which happens to share the same space as his stable of exotic cars. His story has all the hallmarks of a successful online advertisement. Before he made it big, he was dirt poor. He was once confused, but his clarity and focus made him millions. Then he throws in the unscientific anecdotal argument: If he can do it, so can you! Needless to say, his marketing worked.
Lopez is one of a few first-wave SMMA experts. He wasn’t an early innovator in this space, but he was one of the first who really made it accessible to the masses. Through his numerous how-to videos, flashy images, and celebrity interviews from his Hollywood mansion, he attracted millions of followers worldwide. Lopez seemed to have the dream lifestyle that being a digital entrepreneur brought. And because the barrier to entry was low, countless young people all over the world followed him. One of them was Gadzhi.
Back then, the best SMMA course to get was Lopez’s. In his group, people were talking about their recent wins within days of receiving the course. Students who weren’t even finished with the course were already getting clients and posting up images of the checks they received from local businesses as proof. It was unreal. I can only imagine what the fast-moving Facebook discussion board was like then.
Pretty soon, those teens were posing in front of luxury cars they rented for the day or outright bought. Others started posting Instagram pictures from exotic locations. The Internet was seeing mini Tai Lopez’s all over the world. And because they wanted to be online famous like him, they did something key. They documented their journey on social media. In our age of digital influencers and online millionaires, there is nothing more click-baity than showing off things that people can’t have (at least today). These teens knew that. Within months, their lives changed because they learned how to create Facebook Ads for local business clients.
The Importance Of SMMA Services
This business opportunity naturally evolved from the increasing need for local digital marketing, and the application of Facebook ads in general. Getting online traffic is the real challenge. What small businesses have realized is that the golden days of SEO are gone. Ranking on the first page of Google or making bids for their ads to show up is really expensive now. Where search engine marketing campaigns used to cost under a hundred bucks a month, now it costs them thousands.
Local businesses have also seen a sharp rise in social media effectiveness. Before it looked like a big waste of time. With all this tweeting, poking, liking, vlogging, and hash-tagging it’s hard to believe those simple fleeting actions could be valuable to a business.
But thanks to people like Gary Vaynerchuk, social media has proven to be a viable platform for local and global brands to bring in new customers. And with today’s tools, analytics, and storytelling tactics, smaller companies can compete with much bigger ones using Facebook Ads.
This is all great news, but the whole process to do this is time-consuming for business owners. Hiring a typical brick-and-mortar marketing agency is an option, but with them you’re paying for the huge overhead. A qualified virtual SMMA seems to be the perfect solution.
Facebook As The Gatekeeper
A t over 2.2 billion active users, businesses are realizing that all their ideal clients are on Facebook. So why not advertise there? Sure, it’s a different environment. Unlike Google search, people are not on Facebook to do research or to shop. They are there to socialize and share pictures. Facebook is trying to change that by putting up local classified ads. Maybe in the future, people will see Facebook as a place to socialize and shop too. But for now, most people dismiss ads on the website.
There is one exception.
If you put out a compelling or irresistible ad — I’m talking Groupon style here — it’s just human nature that people are going to click on your ads.
This is the tradecraft of SMMAs.
They know how to interrupt people socializing and how to market on Facebook. This includes image selection, video editing, copywriting, audience targeting, and sales funnel mapping. With a few tests and tweaks, SMMAs make data-driven changes to allow Facebook’s algorithm to send their clients massive traffic.
How effective are these ads? With one of Gadzhi’s clients, his team spent £3,700 in ad spend to reap over £110,000 in sales. After fees, the client made around £96,000 in 30 days. It’s hard to beat that kind of return on ad spend.
On the surface the concepts of Facebook Ads are easy to understand. However, there are a lot of ways to screw up a Facebook campaign. Many businesses try out a few ads and end up wasting thousands of dollars. They get lots of clicks or views, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into sales. After the basics of creating Facebook ads, the learning curve is steep because the sheer amount of options and strategies.
However, businesses do see the tremendous value of Facebook. It’s a platform they have been dreaming of: Reams of data on their ideal client and direct access to them. Facebook knows how much money people make, where they work, and what they like to do. They know what they click on, when they view it, how much they view it, and if they shared or liked it. If they click off of Facebook, they can still be tracked because of a little device called a pixel.
As we all know, nothing is sacred online. From Google and Amazon listening in on your conversations to tracking random pages you visit, everyone is collecting data and creating consumer profiles to sell you more stuff.
It all feels a bit evil.
If it weren’t so common in marketing, people would probably hesitate to create their own SMMA. However, we’ve all given up our privacy by agreeing to the terms and conditions on the websites we visit. And if you work with a company that truly ads value to the world, using Facebook ads to extend their reach is mutually beneficial. There are worse things to use it for like rigging elections or harboring hate speech. So in the grand scheme of things, most SMMAs don’t get too deep with their online ethics and just focus on the prize.
And the sell is easy.
Compared to traditional media or SEO, generating leads on Facebook is clearly the way to go. You can reach more targeted people for a fraction of the price of other methods. This is something all these entrepreneurial teens seem to know, but older local business owners are just getting around to learning. The SMMAs that are successful at letting local businesses realize the opportunity here are making lots of money doing it.
What It Takes For Teens To Make It As An SMMA Owner
The odd thing about SMMAs is that you need very little to succeed. You don’t need a fancy website (the highest paid member does not have one and his clients are international brands). You don’t need to master Facebook Ads. In the beginning, you’re encouraged to outsource that expertise while you learn to do it. You don’t even need big testimonies. Local business don’t care about praise from faceless corporations.
What teens need the most are intangible things: drive, sales skills, and administration skills. No one can give you drive, of course, but it’s essential. The people that do well with their SMMA simply don’t stop until they are successful. They know the road is long and bumpy, but they persist. There is a lot of excuse-making with SMMA owners, but people with drive shrug all of that off to get results.
Sales is the one skill set that is often lacking with these teens. Where do they learn it? What’s the ethical way to apply it? These are a couple questions everyone has to ask because schools refuse to even talk about sales, conscious capitalism, or value creation. Ironically, those are exactly the lessons they need. Even universities do a poor job of talking about these topics, and not knowing this keeps them in the poorhouse.
The idea is simple: no sales, no business. To stay in business and make a profit, you literally have to make a bunch of sales. Deep down, everyone knows this but they would rather do dozens of other things except for this one task.
I see this as the biggest hurdle.
Teens don’t want to hop on the phone or shoot out an email to book appointments. The ones that do well understand there is never any selling on the phone. It’s just about convincing a business owner to have a sit-down and talk about their business. All the selling and consulting happens face-to-face. Even that part mortifies some people. It’s safe too say, if you can’t sell (or at least learn to sell better) than an SMMA is not for you.
Mostly this business is about sales. You can always hire a contractor with a decade of Facebook ad experience to run your clients’ ads. However, your job is to qualify leads, call them, and get the sale. It’s one of the simplest things, and yet untrained people find it incredibly frustrating. The Facebook discussion board is full of stories about how someone fouled up a sales presentation and left empty-handed.
This is a let-down for many would-be SMMA owners. The temporary sales and rejection keeps them from making more money than their parents ever dreamed of. However, mastering these skills would set them up for life.
We’ll always be selling something, whether it be products, an idea, or yourself in an important interview. This is reality education. And handling failure is essential too. Schools are simply not interested in teaching this important lesson.
Where The SMMA Industry Is Going
A s I write this, the third wave of young SMMA owners are making their mark. They are the students of teachers like Iman Gadzhi. Many are starting to launch their own SMMA groups — or leaving the industry entirely because they couldn’t make it work. It’s a shame because of the innovation this industry is developing.
As it becomes mainstream, creating Facebook ads and running an SMMA is becoming a science. There are plenty of supplementary tools, tests, and techniques that can predict an ad campaign’s success. And while many local businesses are already using Facebook and Instagram ads, it’s clear that countless businesses aren’t. In fact, many companies making well over $5,000,000 a year have yet to even touch Facebook Ads. These are easy marks for teens with a successful SMMA.
At last count, there are over 20 different SMMA online courses being offered. These teachers often have $100,000+ course launches and they re-launch their programs a couple times a year. That’s a lot of students. With millions to be made and droves of teens signing up, isn’t it saturated by now?
To make matters worse, cynics believe that the SMMA equivalent of LegalZoom or Canva is just around the corner. This would make creating Facebook Ads incredibly easy and inexpensive for business owners. I’m even starting to see local businesses trying to learn these ads themselves, thus removing the SMMA middleman.
However, the SMMA industry has a lot of room to grow. Business owners who are trying their hand at Facebook ads are struggling to keep ahead of the constant Facebook Ad changes and competitive marketing tactics SMMAs know. And every day I read how someone in my group closed yet another big client.
It’s likely that in the next four years, the industry will be saturated and some brilliant SaaS product will shut down most of the mediocre agencies. But that’s plenty of time for teens to make good money and provide real value in the marketplace. I’m excited for them and digital entrepreneurs of any age that are learning about SMMAs. In this economy, creating an SMMA is another lucrative option to explore so get on it, bro!
Arlie Peyton is a coach for personal brands and online businesses. He has served as Oregon’s state representative for vocational education and strongly believes that everyone creates their own brand of intrinsic and commercial value. Peyton is based in Portland, Oregon — a magical and mysterious city enveloped by a Douglas Fir rainforest. Learn more at arliepeyton.com.
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This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by +367,349 people.
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https://medium.com/swlh/the-lucrative-underground-world-of-smma-6ff105cfd8ad
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['Arlie']
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2020-03-30 22:26:03.988000+00:00
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['Smma', 'Small Business', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Social Media', 'Digital Marketing']
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Title Lucrative Underground World SMMAContent License Print Money One member SMMA group make well 80000 month That’s typo make three month doctor make year took onemonth course money started rolling Doctors dedicate half life school training earn salary financial front doesn’t seem fair it’s truth know internet host sea getrichquick scheme It’s different people posing SMMA owner guru currently SMMA it’s still possible make kind money creating managing Facebook Ads I’ll explain later fact several people I’ve met group making money SMMA regular job I’ve seen Facebook group won’t even let unless you’re making least six figure year SMMA success story incredibly inspiring especially people still high school teen learn SMMA world intrigued Social medium make complete sense generation grew manipulating platform second nature make money seems like dream Trade Secrets Facebook Groups Teens tell Facebook dead use Instagram Snapchat instead That’s true entrepreneurial type coming back Facebook it’s popular site business special interest group Facebook vital platform teen creating SMMAs today They’ll often post recent win loss also learn industry update technique try I’ve experienced it’s mostly place get kind support people need succeed lately plenty SMMA group choose seems like new group pop every day definitely started creep underground status joined group six month ago decided focus Facebook ad preexisting marketing company challenge fit first It’s definitely “bro culture” come average age member Even girl refer girl bro post felt like reading script set next American Pie movie SMMA group oldest 300 member I’m old called “uncle” endearing Even though digital marketing experience Facebook Ads chop needed finetuning despite experience couldn’t compete group creator Iman Gadzhi regularly made 40000 month SMMA service alone Minors Allowed Like many came across one Gadzhi’s SMMA video YouTube lot really great SMMA video created people However Gadhzi seemed great understanding digital marketing landscape going Back turned 17 dropped high school sound bad learn making incredible amount money online found way sustain month month young man became financially independent could even vote fact dropped school seems like business decision scholastic aptitude issue Gadzhi took upon know run online business adult seventeen average kid odd job money relying parent It’s wonder people turned Gadzhi’s life story part sale hook essential piece personal branding helped amass thousand follower online learned felt like teenager He’s huge overachiever compared teen I’ve known Though skeptical bought Gadzhi’s course learn first thought crazy idea first time life mentor practically kid Though questioned curriculum video learning finer detail social medium missing year New Kind Schooling listen Gadzhi keep forgetting he’s teenager He’s unusually charismatic wellspoken every training video throw hand like magician welcoming act smile lot always keep thing positive doubt likable character online course Gadzhi creates different kind schooling You’re encouraged listen video 2X speed get lesson want learn enough take action Gadzhi firm believer direct experience best form education could little scary teen even fullgrown adult Though many u aspire great thing sometimes pulling trigger paralyzing good news group never anything alone You’ll always find someone boat collaborate example one task find partner roleplay sale call — daunting task anyone reallife immersion education began think public school taught way we’d much better it’s viable skill theory task easy task require really think you’re example first task new member head Facebook group write quick hello Following must state financial goal year One member wrote “Hey everyone Anyone Germany bold twelvemonth goal drop high school ASAP visit 7 country take care mum make 100000 🙏🏽” Within minute several member replied post giving newbie encouragement support Half comment followed “bro” course part goal statement sound alike seeing began worry Gadzhi bad influence teenager everyone drop make money like seeing interested young member business action took made feel differently Looking state millennial graduate 14 trilliondollar college debt crisis USA maybe teenager consider starting SMMA something similar addition finishing school send kid school college become theoretical knowledge generalist However real world privilege indemand specialist commercially viable skill backwards many SMMA teacher know truth Gadzhi outlier Lots teenager twentysomethings making million today saw SMMA course Billy Willson subtitle Replacement College peer Gadzhi college dropout consistently making 20000 month business booming Willson track breakout month net 50000 different SMMA Youtube channel learned sixteenyearold Florida named James Brinker making five figure month Brinker go well beyond SMMA team offer full suite professional digital service rival many wellknown marketing agency service attract client worldwide India heard girl set call center serve American business SMMA agency employ five people dozen subcontractor young lady actually private person online nineteen year old It’s obvious many teen want SMMA countless ordinary teenager becoming successful big upside many teen don’t hesitate initial startup cost Cost Admission majority SMMA course exclusive Facebook group free Courses cost around 500 2000 Many course well ten hour video instruction cover everything finding client mastering everchanging Facebook Ad feature Agency owner usually rush course Facebook group something really savor say it’s best part course package Unfortunately I’m starting see lot course group pop inexperienced SMMA founder reach online course sometimes money teaching SMMA principle actually running real agency Like online business offering it’s hard know you’re getting Every course’s long sale page look pack sale copy video course outline numerous testimonial “Buy Now” button liberally peppered section Worse yet won’t see many review course none make sense They’re created people underground movement started roughly two year ago Origin SMMA Industry Early SMMA movement people like Tai Lopez posting ad every social medium platform — especially YouTube One video ad sixtynine million view date called “Here garage” It’s Lopez talk book collection happens share space stable exotic car story hallmark successful online advertisement made big dirt poor confused clarity focus made million throw unscientific anecdotal argument Needless say marketing worked Lopez one firstwave SMMA expert wasn’t early innovator space one first really made accessible mass numerous howto video flashy image celebrity interview Hollywood mansion attracted million follower worldwide Lopez seemed dream lifestyle digital entrepreneur brought barrier entry low countless young people world followed One Gadzhi Back best SMMA course get Lopez’s group people talking recent win within day receiving course Students weren’t even finished course already getting client posting image check received local business proof unreal imagine fastmoving Facebook discussion board like Pretty soon teen posing front luxury car rented day outright bought Others started posting Instagram picture exotic location Internet seeing mini Tai Lopez’s world wanted online famous like something key documented journey social medium age digital influencers online millionaire nothing clickbaity showing thing people can’t least today teen knew Within month life changed learned create Facebook Ads local business client Importance SMMA Services business opportunity naturally evolved increasing need local digital marketing application Facebook ad general Getting online traffic real challenge small business realized golden day SEO gone Ranking first page Google making bid ad show really expensive search engine marketing campaign used cost hundred buck month cost thousand Local business also seen sharp rise social medium effectiveness looked like big waste time tweeting poking liking vlogging hashtagging it’s hard believe simple fleeting action could valuable business thanks people like Gary Vaynerchuk social medium proven viable platform local global brand bring new customer today’s tool analytics storytelling tactic smaller company compete much bigger one using Facebook Ads great news whole process timeconsuming business owner Hiring typical brickandmortar marketing agency option you’re paying huge overhead qualified virtual SMMA seems perfect solution Facebook Gatekeeper 22 billion active user business realizing ideal client Facebook advertise Sure it’s different environment Unlike Google search people Facebook research shop socialize share picture Facebook trying change putting local classified ad Maybe future people see Facebook place socialize shop people dismiss ad website one exception put compelling irresistible ad — I’m talking Groupon style — it’s human nature people going click ad tradecraft SMMAs know interrupt people socializing market Facebook includes image selection video editing copywriting audience targeting sale funnel mapping test tweak SMMAs make datadriven change allow Facebook’s algorithm send client massive traffic effective ad one Gadzhi’s client team spent £3700 ad spend reap £110000 sale fee client made around £96000 30 day It’s hard beat kind return ad spend surface concept Facebook Ads easy understand However lot way screw Facebook campaign Many business try ad end wasting thousand dollar get lot click view doesn’t necessarily translate sale basic creating Facebook ad learning curve steep sheer amount option strategy However business see tremendous value Facebook It’s platform dreaming Reams data ideal client direct access Facebook know much money people make work like know click view much view shared liked click Facebook still tracked little device called pixel know nothing sacred online Google Amazon listening conversation tracking random page visit everyone collecting data creating consumer profile sell stuff feel bit evil weren’t common marketing people would probably hesitate create SMMA However we’ve given privacy agreeing term condition website visit work company truly ad value world using Facebook ad extend reach mutually beneficial worse thing use like rigging election harboring hate speech grand scheme thing SMMAs don’t get deep online ethic focus prize sell easy Compared traditional medium SEO generating lead Facebook clearly way go reach targeted people fraction price method something entrepreneurial teen seem know older local business owner getting around learning SMMAs successful letting local business realize opportunity making lot money Takes Teens Make SMMA Owner odd thing SMMAs need little succeed don’t need fancy website highest paid member one client international brand don’t need master Facebook Ads beginning you’re encouraged outsource expertise learn don’t even need big testimony Local business don’t care praise faceless corporation teen need intangible thing drive sale skill administration skill one give drive course it’s essential people well SMMA simply don’t stop successful know road long bumpy persist lot excusemaking SMMA owner people drive shrug get result Sales one skill set often lacking teen learn What’s ethical way apply couple question everyone ask school refuse even talk sale conscious capitalism value creation Ironically exactly lesson need Even university poor job talking topic knowing keep poorhouse idea simple sale business stay business make profit literally make bunch sale Deep everyone know would rather dozen thing except one task see biggest hurdle Teens don’t want hop phone shoot email book appointment one well understand never selling phone It’s convincing business owner sitdown talk business selling consulting happens facetoface Even part mortifies people It’s safe say can’t sell least learn sell better SMMA Mostly business sale always hire contractor decade Facebook ad experience run clients’ ad However job qualify lead call get sale It’s one simplest thing yet untrained people find incredibly frustrating Facebook discussion board full story someone fouled sale presentation left emptyhanded letdown many wouldbe SMMA owner temporary sale rejection keep making money parent ever dreamed However mastering skill would set life We’ll always selling something whether product idea important interview reality education handling failure essential Schools simply interested teaching important lesson SMMA Industry Going write third wave young SMMA owner making mark student teacher like Iman Gadzhi Many starting launch SMMA group — leaving industry entirely couldn’t make work It’s shame innovation industry developing becomes mainstream creating Facebook ad running SMMA becoming science plenty supplementary tool test technique predict ad campaign’s success many local business already using Facebook Instagram ad it’s clear countless business aren’t fact many company making well 5000000 year yet even touch Facebook Ads easy mark teen successful SMMA last count 20 different SMMA online course offered teacher often 100000 course launch relaunch program couple time year That’s lot student million made drove teen signing isn’t saturated make matter worse cynic believe SMMA equivalent LegalZoom Canva around corner would make creating Facebook Ads incredibly easy inexpensive business owner I’m even starting see local business trying learn ad thus removing SMMA middleman However SMMA industry lot room grow Business owner trying hand Facebook ad struggling keep ahead constant Facebook Ad change competitive marketing tactic SMMAs know every day read someone group closed yet another big client It’s likely next four year industry saturated brilliant SaaS product shut mediocre agency that’s plenty time teen make good money provide real value marketplace I’m excited digital entrepreneur age learning SMMAs economy creating SMMA another lucrative option explore get bro Arlie Peyton coach personal brand online business served Oregon’s state representative vocational education strongly belief everyone creates brand intrinsic commercial value Peyton based Portland Oregon — magical mysterious city enveloped Douglas Fir rainforest Learn arliepeytoncom Read Next story published Startup Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed 367349 people Subscribe receive top story hereTags Smma Small Business Entrepreneurship Social Media Digital Marketing
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5,033 |
How We Built Penbook
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Slaven Radic is User Camp’s co-founder and lead developer.
I’ve been fascinated with pen computing for 20 years. I wrestled my Apple Newton MessagePad in college, convinced that paper’s days were over. But it was my love for paper that convinced me that technology will eventually free paper of its physical constraints and transform it into an even better tool. I just never thought I’d be in a position to not only use those apps, but create one myself.
Here at User Camp, we’ve been working on UWP-exclusive apps for the past three years. We love the tech stack, and also Microsoft’s refreshing approach to app store merchandising. (Only an ex-Apple developer truly appreciates what the Microsoft Store has to offer.)
When the Surface Pro 4 launched, I switched to it as my main development environment. Using my Surface Pen every day tickled something in me. It’s hard not to feel a bit inspired with Ink Workspace always there for you. Microsoft has put so much work (and marketing) into a smooth inking experience that it makes anyone feel creative.
I eventually gave into my Ink-development FOMO with our app Spirality, an app that was less a business decision and more of a flight of fancy. The fact that it still earns us money years later with its soft-sell IAP model tells you something about its users.
Eventually, we decided to take this niche seriously. Even though the Microsoft Store already had good (and great) inking apps, many were not targeting the latest Windows SDK, or were using outdated frameworks. This meant the inking experience wasn’t as good as the hardware allowed. We also had a vision for a lightweight inking app that would sit somewhere between Ink Workspace and OneNote — an app that provided a familiar UI, but improved upon physical paper in many small ways.
So we buckled down and made Penbook. Now, our little FOMO-induced app is up for a Windows Developer Award at Build 2018. Here are some lessons from our development process.
Lesson 1: The Windows Ink API is amazing
It took a few years for Microsoft to settle the inking API to where it is today. If you have older inking code, you may be frustrated to find it no longer works on later versions of Windows SDK. I feel your pain.
But with the benefit of hindsight, I’m grateful the API had evolved the way it has. It is now (fairly) self-consistent and enables much with little code. I still have some pet peeves and niggles that I’ve already communicated to the @WindowsInk team, but for 95% of all use cases it does its job well.
We also decided to stick to Microsoft’s UI and affordances as often as possible. It means that Penbook will get free new functionality when the Ink API moves forward. But more importantly, it relies on familiar interface patterns that users don’t have to re-learn.
Lesson 2: SVG is awesome
Maybe half of what makes Penbook fun is the included stationery. We designed 60+ stationery templates for people to use for their notes. We really wanted our stationery to be in a vector format, so it could look good at any level of magnification — but we didn’t want to deal with the overhead of a PDF engine living under the InkCanvas. Since Windows 10 recently added native SVG support to XAML, we decided to rely on it completely. This made the whole design process a lot easier, having Adobe XD and Illustrator export the stationery creative and UWP render it.
Lesson 3: Moving fast and not breaking things
Most of our older apps still target version 10240, the original Windows 10 release. This was out of habit — we didn’t want to cut off even a tiny subset of users who could be our potential customers.
There is definitely a place for being prudent when deciding what version of the Windows SDK you want to support. But Windows 10 is moving and improving at a fast clip. Sticking with older versions can lead to a subpar product, or an expanded development schedule, neither of which we could afford.
So we decided to target Fall Creators Update, the latest Windows 10 version that was then available, and Penbook has done well with it. Besides the fact that we were “only” giving up about 20% of the Windows 10 install base, our niche’s users were more likely to update to the latest and greatest Windows so that they could take advantage of the new pen-centric Windows features. And in the end, over 100,000 users have installed Penbook. Our next app will be targeting Fall Creators Update again.
See you at Build
Again, big thanks to the folks at @WindowsInk — I can’t wait to see where this API goes next. And if you have a moment to spare, you can even vote for us as the Application Creator of the Year for this year’s Windows Developer Awards. I’ll be at the awards ceremony on Sunday, so if you see me come say hi and I’ll get you a beer (provided they have an open bar).
|
https://medium.com/user-camp/how-we-built-penbook-3c543e6d87a
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['Slaven Radic']
|
2019-08-02 19:32:42.584000+00:00
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['Microsoft', 'Apps', 'App Development', 'Windows 10', 'Development']
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Title Built PenbookContent Slaven Radic User Camp’s cofounder lead developer I’ve fascinated pen computing 20 year wrestled Apple Newton MessagePad college convinced paper’s day love paper convinced technology eventually free paper physical constraint transform even better tool never thought I’d position use apps create one User Camp we’ve working UWPexclusive apps past three year love tech stack also Microsoft’s refreshing approach app store merchandising exApple developer truly appreciates Microsoft Store offer Surface Pro 4 launched switched main development environment Using Surface Pen every day tickled something It’s hard feel bit inspired Ink Workspace always Microsoft put much work marketing smooth inking experience make anyone feel creative eventually gave Inkdevelopment FOMO app Spirality app le business decision flight fancy fact still earns u money year later softsell IAP model tell something user Eventually decided take niche seriously Even though Microsoft Store already good great inking apps many targeting latest Windows SDK using outdated framework meant inking experience wasn’t good hardware allowed also vision lightweight inking app would sit somewhere Ink Workspace OneNote — app provided familiar UI improved upon physical paper many small way buckled made Penbook little FOMOinduced app Windows Developer Award Build 2018 lesson development process Lesson 1 Windows Ink API amazing took year Microsoft settle inking API today older inking code may frustrated find longer work later version Windows SDK feel pain benefit hindsight I’m grateful API evolved way fairly selfconsistent enables much little code still pet peeve niggles I’ve already communicated WindowsInk team 95 use case job well also decided stick Microsoft’s UI affordances often possible mean Penbook get free new functionality Ink API move forward importantly relies familiar interface pattern user don’t relearn Lesson 2 SVG awesome Maybe half make Penbook fun included stationery designed 60 stationery template people use note really wanted stationery vector format could look good level magnification — didn’t want deal overhead PDF engine living InkCanvas Since Windows 10 recently added native SVG support XAML decided rely completely made whole design process lot easier Adobe XD Illustrator export stationery creative UWP render Lesson 3 Moving fast breaking thing older apps still target version 10240 original Windows 10 release habit — didn’t want cut even tiny subset user could potential customer definitely place prudent deciding version Windows SDK want support Windows 10 moving improving fast clip Sticking older version lead subpar product expanded development schedule neither could afford decided target Fall Creators Update latest Windows 10 version available Penbook done well Besides fact “only” giving 20 Windows 10 install base niche’s user likely update latest greatest Windows could take advantage new pencentric Windows feature end 100000 user installed Penbook next app targeting Fall Creators Update See Build big thanks folk WindowsInk — can’t wait see API go next moment spare even vote u Application Creator Year year’s Windows Developer Awards I’ll award ceremony Sunday see come say hi I’ll get beer provided open barTags Microsoft Apps App Development Windows 10 Development
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5,034 |
How Did He Possibly Get So Many Votes?
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How Did He Possibly Get So Many Votes?
Because we have a lot of trauma. And a lot of healing to do.
If you just can’t get your head around it — look at this way: this election gave us a picture of how much unresolved trauma exists in our country. And let’s not be confused. This is not about politics. This is about trauma (cultural, intergenerational, and personal).
In his podcast Making Sense, Sam Harris recently shared his view on The Key to Trump’s Appeal. He makes a case that Trump’s wild and unapologetic flaws make his base feel better (versus the Democrats pushing us to reckon with harsh realities like racism, science and math). Harris describes Trump as a ‘Punch you in the face, Grab you in the Pussy, Eat as many cheeseburgers as I want’ — Jesus. As if he is a savior absolving you of your sins by being so ridiculously terrible.
The thing is, we only need an absurd villain and his cheeseburgers to make us feel better about our own flaws when we are terrified to look at them ourselves.
I come from a culture laden with alcohol addiction. In a rare moment of clarity, a member of my family once said “I don’t like it when anyone else stops drinking, because then I feel like I have a problem.”
That person also happened to vote for Trump.
Many people survived harrowing cultural and individual trauma to become Americans. And tragically, the Trump campaign took advantage of that. Maybe you escaped the cultural revolution in China and you are terrified of information control by the media, and you feel safer with a radical leader who will stand up against that. Maybe you escaped an oppressive socialist regime in Cuba, and you think requiring the right to health care for every citizen is dangerous. These beliefs are only logical when we see them through the lens of trauma.
Even if you had the world’s most healthy family, our dominant cultures of white supremacy and Patriarchy are traumatic for everyone. And when we’re ready to reckon with the depths of our racial trauma and the emergency of our climate crisis we no longer need to protect ourselves from it — we can face it head on, and it becomes workable.
Thomas Hubl defines trauma as anything that was so overwhelming to our nervous system that we couldn’t integrate it, so we hardened off around it. This is a protective and intelligent response. The challenge is getting that hardened off part back — retraining it to feel safe enough to be present with reality. Trauma is like a time warp. It is frozen and stuck in the overwhelming event or series of events in the past— which leaves us unable to take in what is actually happening now.
To quote Brene Brown, “When we deny our history and pain, our history and pain own us. When we have the courage to own our stories of pain, fear, and oppression, we can write a new story.”
Until we do that work, we can actually believe the lie that most slave owners were loving and kind and treated their slaves like family. Because that lie is the only way you can sleep at night and still believe you are good Christian. Maybe you were physically abused by your parents, and constantly working your ass off to be a good dad who does not repeat that abuse with your own kids. Maybe that takes every ounce of energy you have.
That lie might help you cope, but it also walling you off from reality. And leads you to vote for Trump, who is clearly a racist (and a narcissist).
And if you allow yourself to see how Trump is a racist, then you might be too. And if the demonstrators are right, and we live in a country with systemic racism that needs to be adressed — then this whole sense of who you are is threatened. And you just can’t go there. You really can’t. That is not a conscious choice. That is an existential threat that would require you to deal with the painful emotions you have spent your life protecting yourself from.
If you are still reading this, I’m guessing you already know how hard and painful it is to turn towards our trauma. Whether that’s from your childhood of being raised in an abusive home, or from our cultural trauma of being raised in a racist society, or the millions of other possible harms— that move requires deep commitment and intrinsic motivation. And it’s the opposite of one and done — it’s a life long journey. And not everyone is ready to choose that path (yet). Trauma needs safety, care, empathy, love and a lot of space to heal and integrate. Given the right conditions this healing will happen naturally and slowly over time.
So let us never give up on anyone. Let’s believe in everyone and set a seat at the table for anyone who is ready. And let’s not be confused about what’s happening in this election. This is not about politics, this is about trauma — and there is absolutely no use trying to push someone who isn’t ready. And it isn’t kind. If they aren’t ready, they aren’t ready and not only will it not work — pushing can cause harm.
And it’s okay to take some space from our loved ones that aren’t ready. We can love them from a distance for a little while, while we move forward with what needs to be done.
We desperately need truth and reparations (and controls on social media). We need to make amends that are long overdue. And we need to prevent the next Trump from actually turning us into The Handmaid’s Tale.
Ta-Nehisi Coates offers Germany as a road map. For me the first crucial takeaway is knowing that we don’t need to wait until we all agree it’s a good idea. He cites the following statistics from the start of the reparations process:
We have to choose sanity and stop trying to convince anyone that isn’t ready. I’ll say it again: this is not about politics. This is about trauma.
And we can not wait for them. We just have to do the right thing, and let them catch up. That will take a long time for some, and for others that might be never — and in the meantime, we will create a generation who knows better.
I worked in Afghanistan for a long time. It took me many years to realize that the only thing we were fighting for was creating stable enough conditions for a new generation to be educated. And that is exactly what we need. More than 70 million voters, and the majority of our political leadership in the House and Senate has demonstrated that they are too bound up in Misogyny, Racism and White Supremacy to help us heal.
Our only reasonable goal is to shift our cultural consciousness over time.
Every German kid in every school is explicitly taught to reckon with the holocaust: We did this. It was enormously fucked up and we need to be extremely careful to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Can you even imagine what would be possible if at a minimum — we just stopped lying? If reckoning with the truth of racism and white supremacy and our climate crisis was basic education?
As Otto Scharmer said, in his recent piece The Darkest Hour is Just Before the Dawn, “this is the time to launch bold initiatives.”
And for kids, it’s easy. We can just tell them the truth. They will get it.
And there are enough of us — and we are ready.
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https://medium.com/an-injustice/seriously-how-did-he-get-so-many-votes-d5ab7f6be36c
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['Meghann Mcniff']
|
2020-12-21 23:06:40.649000+00:00
|
['Culture', 'White Supremacy', '2020 Presidential Race', 'Racism', 'Mental Health']
|
Title Possibly Get Many VotesContent Possibly Get Many Votes lot trauma lot healing can’t get head around — look way election gave u picture much unresolved trauma exists country let’s confused politics trauma cultural intergenerational personal podcast Making Sense Sam Harris recently shared view Key Trump’s Appeal make case Trump’s wild unapologetic flaw make base feel better versus Democrats pushing u reckon harsh reality like racism science math Harris describes Trump ‘Punch face Grab Pussy Eat many cheeseburger want’ — Jesus savior absolving sin ridiculously terrible thing need absurd villain cheeseburger make u feel better flaw terrified look come culture laden alcohol addiction rare moment clarity member family said “I don’t like anyone else stop drinking feel like problem” person also happened vote Trump Many people survived harrowing cultural individual trauma become Americans tragically Trump campaign took advantage Maybe escaped cultural revolution China terrified information control medium feel safer radical leader stand Maybe escaped oppressive socialist regime Cuba think requiring right health care every citizen dangerous belief logical see lens trauma Even world’s healthy family dominant culture white supremacy Patriarchy traumatic everyone we’re ready reckon depth racial trauma emergency climate crisis longer need protect — face head becomes workable Thomas Hubl defines trauma anything overwhelming nervous system couldn’t integrate hardened around protective intelligent response challenge getting hardened part back — retraining feel safe enough present reality Trauma like time warp frozen stuck overwhelming event series event past— leaf u unable take actually happening quote Brene Brown “When deny history pain history pain u courage story pain fear oppression write new story” work actually believe lie slave owner loving kind treated slave like family lie way sleep night still believe good Christian Maybe physically abused parent constantly working as good dad repeat abuse kid Maybe take every ounce energy lie might help cope also walling reality lead vote Trump clearly racist narcissist allow see Trump racist might demonstrator right live country systemic racism need adressed — whole sense threatened can’t go really can’t conscious choice existential threat would require deal painful emotion spent life protecting still reading I’m guessing already know hard painful turn towards trauma Whether that’s childhood raised abusive home cultural trauma raised racist society million possible harms— move requires deep commitment intrinsic motivation it’s opposite one done — it’s life long journey everyone ready choose path yet Trauma need safety care empathy love lot space heal integrate Given right condition healing happen naturally slowly time let u never give anyone Let’s believe everyone set seat table anyone ready let’s confused what’s happening election politics trauma — absolutely use trying push someone isn’t ready isn’t kind aren’t ready aren’t ready work — pushing cause harm it’s okay take space loved one aren’t ready love distance little move forward need done desperately need truth reparation control social medium need make amends long overdue need prevent next Trump actually turning u Handmaid’s Tale TaNehisi Coates offer Germany road map first crucial takeaway knowing don’t need wait agree it’s good idea cite following statistic start reparation process choose sanity stop trying convince anyone isn’t ready I’ll say politics trauma wait right thing let catch take long time others might never — meantime create generation know better worked Afghanistan long time took many year realize thing fighting creating stable enough condition new generation educated exactly need 70 million voter majority political leadership House Senate demonstrated bound Misogyny Racism White Supremacy help u heal reasonable goal shift cultural consciousness time Every German kid every school explicitly taught reckon holocaust enormously fucked need extremely careful ensure doesn’t happen even imagine would possible minimum — stopped lying reckoning truth racism white supremacy climate crisis basic education Otto Scharmer said recent piece Darkest Hour Dawn “this time launch bold initiatives” kid it’s easy tell truth get enough u — readyTags Culture White Supremacy 2020 Presidential Race Racism Mental Health
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5,035 |
Exciting Features of iPhone New Trackpad -Here’s How It Actually Works
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This Content Originally published at CodixLab.
On March 18, Apple officially declared iPhone new trackpad for iPad.These modifications in apple’s official trackpad are considerable developments in the technology era. It concluded the half-baked choices in Phone’s function Accessibility that we main saw on the iPad display screen.
iPhone new trackpad maintenance is the most significant entity that takes place on the iPad in an extended period. Superficially, iPadOS cares several third-party trackpads. This is how-to exactly we get the support on the apple’s official trackpad.
How to pair Apple’s official trackpad — Quick Tour
Here’s the full explanation of how to fix it up on your iPad.As soon as Apple’s official trackpad is unpaired, turn it off down, and after that, turns it back on.
Start your iPad and click the Settings app. Keep it to ensure that Bluetooth is switched on (green). Just before the end of the menu, you have to see your trackpad programmed under Other Devices. Click on your device’s name and pair it. To unpair, Apple’s official trackpad, just go to Settings > Bluetooth and, after that, touch the blue “i” in a blue circle to the right of the device’s name.
Your iPhone new trackpad must now work. To unpair the apple’s official trackpad, just go to Settings > Bluetooth, and after that, touch the blue “i” in a blue circle to the right of the device’s name in the Bluetooth list.
Related: How to Reset Apple Watch in 3 Steps? [Smart Solutions]
How to customize Apple’s official trackpad on your iPad
Apple now gives iPhone new trackpad support in the General section of the Settings app. which is a significant improvement. Here’s how to do it.
Press the settings app. Click on the general setting. Press iPhone newTrackpad& Mouse.
At here, you may adjust the setting to sort the pointer move fast or more slowly.
How to use Apple’s official trackpad; multi-touch gestures with iPad
iPhone’s new trackpad maintains the iPad more than just a mouse. Further down, you’ll see the gestures we know about this moment.
Get access to the Home screen. Without clicking on your apple’s official trackpad, press your iPhone new trackpad with three fingertips and put-down in one dragging motion. You’ll instantly be directed back to the iPad’s Home screen.
Using the App Switcher to check all Open Apps at once
This is actually like the previous gesture, but with an indirect twist. Without clicking down on apple’s official trackpad, touch trackpad with your three fingertips and swipe upward, but gentle down before you touch the top of this iPhone new trackpad.
As a substitute for the Home Screen, you’ll see App Switcher with your all open apps. You can swipe-up the complete list by clicking the iPad trackpad with two fingertips and swiping through left or right.
Swipe up without using the App Switcher
Just the once an app is exposed in full-screen style, you can simply swipe up all other open apps that are running in the background by moving the Apple’s official trackpad with your three fingertips and swipe through left or right.
Open-up the control panel
Click down the iPhone new trackpad and swipe through the upper right direction. The Control panel will appear.
Quick action; list of options
Usually, in iPadOS, you must grip up an app’s sign for about a second beforehand you see a pop-up of Quick Action Menu.
By the iPhone new trackpad, we can change the pointer over an image, touch the trackpad with two fingertips, and we’ll quickly see the desired Quick Action Menu list. This works as a “right-click” choice with most apps.
Deprived of click down on the iPhone new trackpad, touch out to zoom on a photo or webpage. Pinch inside to zoom off. This is a similar motion you would usually use on an iPad screen, but it’s trickier on the trackpad because it’s easy to press down it.
However, there are numerous worthy explanations to hook up Apple’s official trackpad. For example, you don’t need to continuously lift your finger to poke the display while you’re busy with your iPad in the “laptop” approach on a place of work.
For an additional, Apple allows organizing the trackpad and mouse to assist you in everyday activities similar to right-clicking.
Conclusion
This Apple’s new trackpad is similar to a significant development over a mouse as it lets you practice gestures that only normal iPad functions like multitasking and Apple enhanced the involvement over what we said in the old iPad promote by assembling the pointer reflects more “Mac-like” in how it relates with contacts and text.
You may like: Amazing Handmade iPhone Accessories that Give Sexy Look to your iPhone[2020]
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https://medium.com/codixlab/exciting-features-of-iphone-new-trackpad-heres-how-it-actually-works-2020-c5bb16d3b234
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['Mustufa Ansari']
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2020-03-23 08:11:31.979000+00:00
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['iPhone', 'Features', 'Tech', 'Technology', 'Apple']
|
Title Exciting Features iPhone New Trackpad Here’s Actually WorksContent Content Originally published CodixLab March 18 Apple officially declared iPhone new trackpad iPadThese modification apple’s official trackpad considerable development technology era concluded halfbaked choice Phone’s function Accessibility main saw iPad display screen iPhone new trackpad maintenance significant entity take place iPad extended period Superficially iPadOS care several thirdparty trackpads howto exactly get support apple’s official trackpad pair Apple’s official trackpad — Quick Tour Here’s full explanation fix iPadAs soon Apple’s official trackpad unpaired turn turn back Start iPad click Settings app Keep ensure Bluetooth switched green end menu see trackpad programmed Devices Click device’s name pair unpair Apple’s official trackpad go Settings Bluetooth touch blue “i” blue circle right device’s name iPhone new trackpad must work unpair apple’s official trackpad go Settings Bluetooth touch blue “i” blue circle right device’s name Bluetooth list Related Reset Apple Watch 3 Steps Smart Solutions customize Apple’s official trackpad iPad Apple give iPhone new trackpad support General section Settings app significant improvement Here’s Press setting app Click general setting Press iPhone newTrackpad Mouse may adjust setting sort pointer move fast slowly use Apple’s official trackpad multitouch gesture iPad iPhone’s new trackpad maintains iPad mouse you’ll see gesture know moment Get access Home screen Without clicking apple’s official trackpad press iPhone new trackpad three fingertip putdown one dragging motion You’ll instantly directed back iPad’s Home screen Using App Switcher check Open Apps actually like previous gesture indirect twist Without clicking apple’s official trackpad touch trackpad three fingertip swipe upward gentle touch top iPhone new trackpad substitute Home Screen you’ll see App Switcher open apps swipeup complete list clicking iPad trackpad two fingertip swiping left right Swipe without using App Switcher app exposed fullscreen style simply swipe open apps running background moving Apple’s official trackpad three fingertip swipe left right Openup control panel Click iPhone new trackpad swipe upper right direction Control panel appear Quick action list option Usually iPadOS must grip app’s sign second beforehand see popup Quick Action Menu iPhone new trackpad change pointer image touch trackpad two fingertip we’ll quickly see desired Quick Action Menu list work “rightclick” choice apps Deprived click iPhone new trackpad touch zoom photo webpage Pinch inside zoom similar motion would usually use iPad screen it’s trickier trackpad it’s easy press However numerous worthy explanation hook Apple’s official trackpad example don’t need continuously lift finger poke display you’re busy iPad “laptop” approach place work additional Apple allows organizing trackpad mouse assist everyday activity similar rightclicking Conclusion Apple’s new trackpad similar significant development mouse let practice gesture normal iPad function like multitasking Apple enhanced involvement said old iPad promote assembling pointer reflects “Maclike” relates contact text may like Amazing Handmade iPhone Accessories Give Sexy Look iPhone2020Tags iPhone Features Tech Technology Apple
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5,036 |
“Concept designs” in a lean environment
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Lean product environment
At Docplanner we work in a lean product environment. This environment lets us test our ideas and deliver user and business value very fast. Read more about how we test these business questions.
By adopting the mindset of our users (their needs, business goals and technology limitations), we constantly improve our product.
A long time to deliver the best product. Vs short time to deliver MLP.
The Creativity trap
The thing with working in a lean environment is that you can easily fall into what I used to call a ‘creativity trap’. I bet that most designers have been there once or twice.
Very specific tasks can limit you to the simplest solution without having in mind the bigger picture of the user journey. You can see only one piece of a much bigger picture.
|
https://medium.com/docplanner-tech/concept-designs-in-a-lean-environment-b12ee893199e
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['Dawid Liberadzki']
|
2020-03-19 08:51:39.055000+00:00
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['Product Design', 'Design', 'UX Design', 'Lean Startup', 'UX']
|
Title “Concept designs” lean environmentContent Lean product environment Docplanner work lean product environment environment let u test idea deliver user business value fast Read test business question adopting mindset user need business goal technology limitation constantly improve product long time deliver best product Vs short time deliver MLP Creativity trap thing working lean environment easily fall used call ‘creativity trap’ bet designer twice specific task limit simplest solution without mind bigger picture user journey see one piece much bigger pictureTags Product Design Design UX Design Lean Startup UX
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5,037 |
Story
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How Climax is connected to other Story Elements
When you are writing a story, climax is the key element you are looking for. When you know the climax — you have a…
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https://medium.com/fictionhub/story-6274eb8ec538
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['Ray Alez']
|
2016-10-03 09:19:57.618000+00:00
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['Short Story', 'Fiction', 'Fantasy', 'Writing', 'Science Fiction']
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Title StoryContent Climax connected Story Elements writing story climax key element looking know climax — a…Tags Short Story Fiction Fantasy Writing Science Fiction
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5,038 |
5 ways Deep Learning is changing our day-to-day life
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About: Data-Driven Science (DDS) provides training for people building a career in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Follow us on Twitter.
Deep learning is a subset of Machine Learning in Artificial Intelligence (AI). When an AI imitates the human brain for processing data, creating patterns, and making decisions, it is Deep Learning. It uses multiple layers to progressively extract higher-level features from the raw input. The word ‘deep’ in ‘deep learning’ refers to the number of layers through which the data is transformed. Through this, it is possible to learn patterns from unstructured and unlabelled data. The deep learning algorithm performs a task repeatedly, each time improving its outcome, similar to how we learn from experience.
The vast amount of data being created every second on search engines, social media, e-commerce platforms has made deep learning of great potential. In addition to that, the strong computing power available today has made a huge impact on the algorithms used in deep learning. Moreover, breakthroughs in AI such as self-driving cars, AlphaGo, voice assistants are all possible because of deep learning.
Here are 5 applications of Deep Learning in our day-to-day lives:
Speech Recognition in Virtual Assistants
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
All major virtual assistants (e.g. Siri, Alexa, Cortana) are based on deep learning. These enable software agents to perform tasks or services for an individual based on verbal commands by interpreting human speech. The more a person interacts with such devices, the more training data it receives, it has a better scope to improve accuracy. This data can then be utilized to determine user behavior and preferences, thereby making human-device interaction smooth.
2. Facial recognition
In deep learning, Facial Recognition (FR) is basically identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or video. FR works by comparing selected facial features from a given image with faces within a database. An application of FR is the anti-spoofing of face images. Detection of spoofing from facial recognition is used in applications where people are verified by showing their face in front of a camera. Another application of facial recognition is tagging people on Facebook photos, and recommendations of who might be present in the photo.
3. Personalized Recommendations
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
Netflix suggestions on what you should watch next are nothing but deep-learning algorithms at work. There are two types of recommender systems-
(I) Collaborative Filtering- This type of filter is based on users’ ratings, and it will recommend movies that we haven’t watched yet, but users similar to us have watched and liked. The algorithm predicts a rating for a movie from a user’s past behavior as well.
(II) Content Based Filtering- This type of filter uses a series of discrete characteristics of a movie in order to recommend additional movies with similar features.
4. Health Care
Photo by Online Marketing on Unsplash
Deep learning is being widely used in pharmaceutical and medical companies for applications ranging from diagnosis to image segmentation. It is helping doctors diagnose patients more accurately, make predictions about patients’ future health, and recommend better treatments. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in deep learning are well-suited to analyzing images, such as MRI results or X-rays.
5. News Aggregation
Photo by Matthew Guay on Unsplash
Efforts to customize news as per readers are strengthened by the use of deep learning. Newer levels of sophistication to define reader personas are being met to filter out news as per geographical, social, economical parameters along with the individual preferences of a reader. An example of this is Google News which uses real-time AI/ML to organize the news.
Another application is fake news detection. Fake news is misinformation or manipulated news that is spread across social media with an intention to damage a person, agency, and organization. Deep Learning classifiers help detect fake or biased news and remove it from the news feed, and also giving a possible warning of privacy breaches.
|
https://medium.com/swlh/5-ways-deep-learning-is-changing-our-day-to-day-life-7c17875b720c
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['Data-Driven Science']
|
2020-05-16 04:57:28.682000+00:00
|
['Deep Learning', 'Automation', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Data Science', 'Machine Learning']
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Title 5 way Deep Learning changing daytoday lifeContent DataDriven Science DDS provides training people building career Artificial Intelligence AI Follow u Twitter Deep learning subset Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence AI AI imitates human brain processing data creating pattern making decision Deep Learning us multiple layer progressively extract higherlevel feature raw input word ‘deep’ ‘deep learning’ refers number layer data transformed possible learn pattern unstructured unlabelled data deep learning algorithm performs task repeatedly time improving outcome similar learn experience vast amount data created every second search engine social medium ecommerce platform made deep learning great potential addition strong computing power available today made huge impact algorithm used deep learning Moreover breakthrough AI selfdriving car AlphaGo voice assistant possible deep learning 5 application Deep Learning daytoday life Speech Recognition Virtual Assistants Photo Clay Banks Unsplash major virtual assistant eg Siri Alexa Cortana based deep learning enable software agent perform task service individual based verbal command interpreting human speech person interacts device training data receives better scope improve accuracy data utilized determine user behavior preference thereby making humandevice interaction smooth 2 Facial recognition deep learning Facial Recognition FR basically identifying verifying person digital image video FR work comparing selected facial feature given image face within database application FR antispoofing face image Detection spoofing facial recognition used application people verified showing face front camera Another application facial recognition tagging people Facebook photo recommendation might present photo 3 Personalized Recommendations Photo freestocks Unsplash Netflix suggestion watch next nothing deeplearning algorithm work two type recommender system Collaborative Filtering type filter based users’ rating recommend movie haven’t watched yet user similar u watched liked algorithm predicts rating movie user’s past behavior well II Content Based Filtering type filter us series discrete characteristic movie order recommend additional movie similar feature 4 Health Care Photo Online Marketing Unsplash Deep learning widely used pharmaceutical medical company application ranging diagnosis image segmentation helping doctor diagnose patient accurately make prediction patients’ future health recommend better treatment Convolutional neural network CNNs deep learning wellsuited analyzing image MRI result Xrays 5 News Aggregation Photo Matthew Guay Unsplash Efforts customize news per reader strengthened use deep learning Newer level sophistication define reader persona met filter news per geographical social economical parameter along individual preference reader example Google News us realtime AIML organize news Another application fake news detection Fake news misinformation manipulated news spread across social medium intention damage person agency organization Deep Learning classifier help detect fake biased news remove news feed also giving possible warning privacy breachesTags Deep Learning Automation Artificial Intelligence Data Science Machine Learning
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5,039 |
Submit Stories to Financial Strategy
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Money.
For many it’s a taboo subject, not to be brought up in polite company.
Here at Financial Strategy we have a completely different point of view. We strongly believe there’s nothing wrong with money, or with talking about it, as long as it’s in the context of achieving goals that are important to you.
If they also have a positive impact on society, even better.
It could be buying a home. Starting a business. Paying off high-interest debt. Helping your kids get an education without taking on excessive student debt. Becoming financially independent.
It’s your journey, so only you can decide what’s important to you. We just want to help make that journey less stressful and more successful, through entertaining and informative stories.
If you have a money story you’d like to share with Financial Strategy’s readers, we’d like to see it!
There’s nothing wrong with money, or with talking about it, as long as it’s in the context of achieving goals that are important to you. If they also have a positive impact on society, even better.
Stories We’re Looking For
We’re always happy to publish (well-written) stories around money, finances, saving, investing, entrepreneurship, freelancing, side hustles, money-making or money-saving hacks, etc.
We especially like ones where you hook the reader with a personal story, entertaining while helping them learn from your experiences. It could be:
Financial struggles you dealt with in the past, and how you worked through them;
Current financial struggles, and how you’re dealing with them;
Your personal financial goals, how you chose them, and how you plan to achieve them;
How you’re making money, and more importantly, how you make sure to keep more of that money to reach your goals; and/or
How you started a business, how you run it, and how your personal financial goals inform the way you run it.
Stories We’re Not Interested In
If the story is clearly written to serve your needs rather that help our readers, we’ll pass. Some examples include:
Overly promotional articles, especially ones with links to join your email list and/or with affiliate links;
Articles that promote risky financial schemes or ones that require advanced knowledge and experience beyond what most people have. These could include becoming a day-trader; trading foreign currencies, commodities, or options; and/or
Articles promoting specific stocks or other investments, since you have no way of knowing whether a specific investment fits any particular reader, let alone all our readers.
How to Become a Writer for Financial Strategy
If you’d like to join Financial Strategy as a writer, it’s as simple as can be.
Leave a comment below saying you’d like to submit stories here, preferably with a bit about yourself and why you write about money, and we’ll add you as a “Writer” Once you’re a Writer, edit the Medium story or draft you want to submit, click on the three dots, click “Add to publication,” select Financial Strategy, hit “Submit”
We’re happy to accept stories you’ve published elsewhere first and import into Medium, as long as they’re your stories and comply with Medium’s Terms and Conditions.
We will review your submission and do one of three things.
Accept it as-is;
Edit lightly to improve the likelihood of curation; or
Let you know if it doesn’t fit this publication.
If we don’t accept your submission, please don’t take it personally. Review the above explanation as to what we’re looking for and what we’re not interested in, and you’ll most likely see why we made the decision we did. Then, please submit a different story that better aligns with our values, and that compares favorably with the quality of other stories on Financial Strategy.
We look forward to reading what you want to share with us and our readers!
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https://medium.com/financial-strategy/submit-stories-to-financial-strategy-55198a6f9e7e
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['Opher Ganel']
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2020-06-12 16:39:26.224000+00:00
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['Investing', 'Financial Strategy', 'Writing', 'Money', 'Finance']
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Title Submit Stories Financial StrategyContent Money many it’s taboo subject brought polite company Financial Strategy completely different point view strongly believe there’s nothing wrong money talking long it’s context achieving goal important also positive impact society even better could buying home Starting business Paying highinterest debt Helping kid get education without taking excessive student debt Becoming financially independent It’s journey decide what’s important want help make journey le stressful successful entertaining informative story money story you’d like share Financial Strategy’s reader we’d like see There’s nothing wrong money talking long it’s context achieving goal important also positive impact society even better Stories We’re Looking We’re always happy publish wellwritten story around money finance saving investing entrepreneurship freelancing side hustle moneymaking moneysaving hack etc especially like one hook reader personal story entertaining helping learn experience could Financial struggle dealt past worked Current financial struggle you’re dealing personal financial goal chose plan achieve you’re making money importantly make sure keep money reach goal andor started business run personal financial goal inform way run Stories We’re Interested story clearly written serve need rather help reader we’ll pas example include Overly promotional article especially one link join email list andor affiliate link Articles promote risky financial scheme one require advanced knowledge experience beyond people could include becoming daytrader trading foreign currency commodity option andor Articles promoting specific stock investment since way knowing whether specific investment fit particular reader let alone reader Become Writer Financial Strategy you’d like join Financial Strategy writer it’s simple Leave comment saying you’d like submit story preferably bit write money we’ll add “Writer” you’re Writer edit Medium story draft want submit click three dot click “Add publication” select Financial Strategy hit “Submit” We’re happy accept story you’ve published elsewhere first import Medium long they’re story comply Medium’s Terms Conditions review submission one three thing Accept asis Edit lightly improve likelihood curation Let know doesn’t fit publication don’t accept submission please don’t take personally Review explanation we’re looking we’re interested you’ll likely see made decision please submit different story better aligns value compare favorably quality story Financial Strategy look forward reading want share u readersTags Investing Financial Strategy Writing Money Finance
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5,040 |
The Burden of COVID-19
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In this work we will look at how COVID-19 deaths compare with the expected number of deaths in a country, based on historical mortality data. We define the COVID-19 burden to be the number of COVID-19 deaths as a fraction of the expected number of deaths in a country over the same period of time; that is from the time of the first reported COVID-19 death.
Now, you might ask why we need yet another metric? What does this metric tell us that others, such as the more usual total number of fatalities per capita, do not? Just as the number of fatalities per capita is a better metric than a simple count of fatalities — because it normalises for population, making it easier to compare countries of different sizes — the COVID-19 burden goes one step further, because it also normalises for a country’s natural mortality rate. And by doing so, it combines a whole host of additional mortality factors, from population demographics, healthcare conditions, living standards, food and water security, conflict etc.
Thus, we present the COVID-19 burden as providing a more comprehensive account of a country’s experience under the current COVID-19 regime. Using datasets from OWID we will attempt to shed light on the following questions:
Are countries with higher mortality rates more or less likely to be associated with high numbers of COVID-19 fatalities per capita? Is it fair to compare official COVID-19 deaths between countries, given differences in reporting policies? How does the COVID-19 burden vary by country and continent? How does COVID-19 rank against other common causes of death in countries around the world?
A Major Caveat
Before going any further it is worth confronting a key caveat associated with this work, namely inconsistencies in official COVID-19 fatality statistics. It is not that reported numbers are inaccurate per se, rather they mean different things because they arise from many different reporting policies. Some countries only include deaths that arise from a confirmed COVID test, others have limited their focus to hospital settings, while yet others have been far more inclusive, counting suspected and confirmed deaths across all settings. These differences were especially common during the early stages of the pandemic, and while many countries have at least addressed some of the obvious shortcomings in their early counting (e.g. counting hospital deaths only) inconsistencies do remain.
This is problematic given the central aim of this work, because the COVID-19 burden is, after all, a relative fatility estimate that is based on these inconsistent fatality numbers. However, we can at least shed some light on the the scale of this problem, by comparing official COVID-19 fatality statistics to so-called excess deaths. Excess deaths provide an estimate of the additional deaths this year so far, regardless of cause, by comparing total numbers of deaths in 2020 to historical averages. The problem is that these data are difficult to come by and are only readily available for a small subset of the countries in our dataset. However, enough data is available to at least gain some useful insight into the degree of inconsistency that likely exists.
Ideally, we should expect to find a strong correlation between excess deaths and officially reported COVID-19 deaths. This graph shows this relationship using an OWID dataset of 27 countries with known excess death estimates. It does indicate a reasonably strong relationship with a so-called r-squared value of 0.8, which means that 80% of the variation in the official COVID deaths can be explained by the excess death estimates. Note that excess deaths is measured by OWID as a sum of the daily percentage differences, relative to historical norms. For example, Belgium has a total excess of 380% based on an average daily excess of 2.5% during the duration of its outbreak. This does not mean that there have been nearly 4x as many extra deaths in Belgium, rather it means that there have been approximately 2.5% extra deaths so far during the COVID period.
Most countries fall close to the linear regression line used to estimate the relationship between these two fatality parameters, but Belgium is the obvious outlier. It’s official fatalities (>80 per 100k) are very high in comparison to other countries with similar excess deaths. Given that Belgium is the outlier, this suggests that its official fatality estimate is too high and needs to be reduced (by almost 40%) to bring it into line with the reporting standards of others, and such an adjustment will have a corresponding effect on Belgium’s COVID-19 burden. In a similar way, the official fatality estimate from the UK may be too low and it should be increased by approximately 12%.
In summary, some variation remains in the way that official COVID-19 fatalities are recorded, and although the degree of this variation between countries is likely to be <20%, this nonetheless highlights the need for caution when comparing countries to one another. This is especially true when official fatality statistics differ by <20%, because such differences may be an artefact of reporting rather than a sign of genuine difference in the number of COVID-19 related deaths.
Defining the COVID-19 Burden
Given this caveat we can now consider the relationship between official COVID-19 fatalities and historical mortality rates for a dataset of 173 countries. Not surprisingly, there is only a very weak association between COVID-19 deaths per capita and the corresponding expected deaths over the same period —the r-squared value between these two variables is just 0.02— because the former depends on the number of COVID-19 infections in a country, which is not strongly correlated with historical mortality rates. In other words, countries with a higher historical mortality rate are not associated with a higher COVID-19 infection or fatality rate, and vice versa.
We define the COVID-19 burden to be the total number of official COVID-19 deaths divided by the historical number of (all-cause) deaths that would be expected to occur over the same period; for convenience, we will typically express the the COVID burden as a percentage rather than a fraction. For example, at the time of writing it has been 180 days since Ireland’s first reported COVID-19 fatality, and there has been 1,778 COVID deaths reported so far. Ireland’s historical number of annual deaths is just under 30,000 per year. So during the outbreak approximately 14,500 deaths might have been expected; this assumes a uniform distribution of deaths throughout the year, which is certainly not accurate, but likely good enough for our purposes. This means that Ireland’s current COVID-19 burden is just over 12% (or strictly speaking 0.12) of expected deaths over the same period.
The “Tadpole” Plot
Below, is a plot of COVID-19 deaths versus the expected (historical) deaths over the same period of time. Each country is represented by a single marker (the head) with a tail, just like a tadpole. The size of the head is proportional to the number of confirmed cases per capita, and it is coloured according to its COVID-19 burden, as per the scale shown.
The highlighted countries are also annotated with their current COVID-19 burden, as a percentage. An arrow shows whether this is increasing, stable, or falling (compared to 30 days ago) and, in brackets, a separate burden estimate calculated using the total expected number of deaths in a year, instead of the expected deaths so far during the COVID period. For example, Ireland has a current COVID-19 burden of 12%, which is falling, and its COVID deaths so far account for 5% of Ireland’s historical annual total.
The tails indicate the trajectories of COVID-19 deaths over the previous 30 days. They show whether deaths have been increasing (tails with an upward trajectory) or absent (horizontal tails). For example, upward-facing tails of countries such as Peru, the US, and Israel indicate increasing deaths — the steeper the angle the greater the rate of increase — whereas Ireland, France, and Germany, have horizontal tails, indicating no material increase in COVID deaths over the past 30 days.
|
https://medium.com/data-in-the-time-of-corona/the-burden-of-covid-19-64cdcd7a9c3f
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[]
|
2020-09-18 08:51:27.011000+00:00
|
['Covid 19', 'Data Science', 'Dataviz']
|
Title Burden COVID19Content work look COVID19 death compare expected number death country based historical mortality data define COVID19 burden number COVID19 death fraction expected number death country period time time first reported COVID19 death might ask need yet another metric metric tell u others usual total number fatality per caput number fatality per caput better metric simple count fatality — normalises population making easier compare country different size — COVID19 burden go one step also normalises country’s natural mortality rate combine whole host additional mortality factor population demographic healthcare condition living standard food water security conflict etc Thus present COVID19 burden providing comprehensive account country’s experience current COVID19 regime Using datasets OWID attempt shed light following question country higher mortality rate le likely associated high number COVID19 fatality per caput fair compare official COVID19 death country given difference reporting policy COVID19 burden vary country continent COVID19 rank common cause death country around world Major Caveat going worth confronting key caveat associated work namely inconsistency official COVID19 fatality statistic reported number inaccurate per se rather mean different thing arise many different reporting policy country include death arise confirmed COVID test others limited focus hospital setting yet others far inclusive counting suspected confirmed death across setting difference especially common early stage pandemic many country least addressed obvious shortcoming early counting eg counting hospital death inconsistency remain problematic given central aim work COVID19 burden relative fatility estimate based inconsistent fatality number However least shed light scale problem comparing official COVID19 fatality statistic socalled excess death Excess death provide estimate additional death year far regardless cause comparing total number death 2020 historical average problem data difficult come readily available small subset country dataset However enough data available least gain useful insight degree inconsistency likely exists Ideally expect find strong correlation excess death officially reported COVID19 death graph show relationship using OWID dataset 27 country known excess death estimate indicate reasonably strong relationship socalled rsquared value 08 mean 80 variation official COVID death explained excess death estimate Note excess death measured OWID sum daily percentage difference relative historical norm example Belgium total excess 380 based average daily excess 25 duration outbreak mean nearly 4x many extra death Belgium rather mean approximately 25 extra death far COVID period country fall close linear regression line used estimate relationship two fatality parameter Belgium obvious outlier It’s official fatality 80 per 100k high comparison country similar excess death Given Belgium outlier suggests official fatality estimate high need reduced almost 40 bring line reporting standard others adjustment corresponding effect Belgium’s COVID19 burden similar way official fatality estimate UK may low increased approximately 12 summary variation remains way official COVID19 fatality recorded although degree variation country likely 20 nonetheless highlight need caution comparing country one another especially true official fatality statistic differ 20 difference may artefact reporting rather sign genuine difference number COVID19 related death Defining COVID19 Burden Given caveat consider relationship official COVID19 fatality historical mortality rate dataset 173 country surprisingly weak association COVID19 death per caput corresponding expected death period —the rsquared value two variable 002— former depends number COVID19 infection country strongly correlated historical mortality rate word country higher historical mortality rate associated higher COVID19 infection fatality rate vice versa define COVID19 burden total number official COVID19 death divided historical number allcause death would expected occur period convenience typically express COVID burden percentage rather fraction example time writing 180 day since Ireland’s first reported COVID19 fatality 1778 COVID death reported far Ireland’s historical number annual death 30000 per year outbreak approximately 14500 death might expected assumes uniform distribution death throughout year certainly accurate likely good enough purpose mean Ireland’s current COVID19 burden 12 strictly speaking 012 expected death period “Tadpole” Plot plot COVID19 death versus expected historical death period time country represented single marker head tail like tadpole size head proportional number confirmed case per caput coloured according COVID19 burden per scale shown highlighted country also annotated current COVID19 burden percentage arrow show whether increasing stable falling compared 30 day ago bracket separate burden estimate calculated using total expected number death year instead expected death far COVID period example Ireland current COVID19 burden 12 falling COVID death far account 5 Ireland’s historical annual total tail indicate trajectory COVID19 death previous 30 day show whether death increasing tail upward trajectory absent horizontal tail example upwardfacing tail country Peru US Israel indicate increasing death — steeper angle greater rate increase — whereas Ireland France Germany horizontal tail indicating material increase COVID death past 30 daysTags Covid 19 Data Science Dataviz
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5,041 |
Python ASCII Art Generator.
|
Learn how to generate ASCII art from the image using Python.
Generated in Python
Steps to convert image to ASCII character
Load an image
Resize Image
Convert image to GreyScale
Convert GreyScale data of each pixel into respective ASCII character
Loading an Image using PIL image Library
To load the image we will be using PIL library.
import PIL.Image
def main():
path = input("Enter the path to the image fiel :
")
try:
image = PIL.Image.open(path)
except:
print(path, "Unable to find image ");
The above code read the image from the path given by the user. If the image doesn’t exist on the given path then, we will show an error message.
Define ASCII list
Let’s create a list of ASCII characters,
ASCII_CHARS = ["@", "#", "$", "%", "?", "*", "+", ";", ":", ",", "."]
The ASCII characters are arranged from the darkest to the lightest. This means the darkest pixel will be replaced with @ and lightest with .
Resize Image
We need to convert the image to some small width and height so that it doesn’t result in large size text. To find the new_height , multiply new_width with old_height then divide by old_width .
def resize(image, new_width = 100):
width, height = image.size
new_height = new_width * height / width
return image.resize((new_width, new_height))
Convert Image to GreyScale
We can use convert method on image with L option to get GreyScale image
def to_greyscale(image):
return image.convert("L")
Convert GreyScale Image to ASCII character
To convert the image to ASCII character first, get each pixel value (0-255) . Get the corresponding ASCII character and join them as a string
def pixel_to_ascii(image):
pixels = image.getdata()
ascii_str = "";
for pixel in pixels:
ascii_str += ASCII_CHARS[pixel//25];
return ascii_str
Now we have a to_greyscale method to convert image to GreyScale image, pixel_to_ascii method to convert GreyScale image to ASCII string, once we get the ASCII string of the image we need to split the string based on the width of the image and save it in a file
import PIL.Image def main():
path = input("Enter the path to the image fiel :
")
try:
image = PIL.Image.open(path)
except:
print(path, "Unable to find image ") #resize image
image = resize(image); #convert image to greyscale image
greyscale_image = to_greyscale(image) # convert greyscale image to ascii characters
ascii_str = pixel_to_ascii(greyscale_image)
img_width = greyscale_image.width
ascii_str_len = len(ascii_str)
ascii_img="" #Split the string based on width of the image
for i in range(0, ascii_str_len, img_width):
ascii_img += ascii_str[i:i+img_width] + "
" #save the string to a file
with open("ascii_image.txt", "w") as f:
f.write(ascii_img);
main()
Thanks for reading. Follow Javascript Jeep🚙💨. For more Tutorials
|
https://medium.com/javascript-dots/python-ascii-art-generator-60ba9eb559d7
|
['Javascript Jeep']
|
2020-06-07 04:57:26.030000+00:00
|
['Python Programming', 'Programming', 'Python', 'Javascript Jeep', 'Ascii Art']
|
Title Python ASCII Art GeneratorContent Learn generate ASCII art image using Python Generated Python Steps convert image ASCII character Load image Resize Image Convert image GreyScale Convert GreyScale data pixel respective ASCII character Loading Image using PIL image Library load image using PIL library import PILImage def main path inputEnter path image fiel try image PILImageopenpath except printpath Unable find image code read image path given user image doesn’t exist given path show error message Define ASCII list Let’s create list ASCII character ASCIICHARS ASCII character arranged darkest lightest mean darkest pixel replaced lightest Resize Image need convert image small width height doesn’t result large size text find newheight multiply newwidth oldheight divide oldwidth def resizeimage newwidth 100 width height imagesize newheight newwidth height width return imageresizenewwidth newheight Convert Image GreyScale use convert method image L option get GreyScale image def togreyscaleimage return imageconvertL Convert GreyScale Image ASCII character convert image ASCII character first get pixel value 0255 Get corresponding ASCII character join string def pixeltoasciiimage pixel imagegetdata asciistr pixel pixel asciistr ASCIICHARSpixel25 return asciistr togreyscale method convert image GreyScale image pixeltoascii method convert GreyScale image ASCII string get ASCII string image need split string based width image save file import PILImage def main path inputEnter path image fiel try image PILImageopenpath except printpath Unable find image resize image image resizeimage convert image greyscale image greyscaleimage togreyscaleimage convert greyscale image ascii character asciistr pixeltoasciigreyscaleimage imgwidth greyscaleimagewidth asciistrlen lenasciistr asciiimg Split string based width image range0 asciistrlen imgwidth asciiimg asciistriiimgwidth save string file openasciiimagetxt w f fwriteasciiimg main Thanks reading Follow Javascript Jeep🚙💨 TutorialsTags Python Programming Programming Python Javascript Jeep Ascii Art
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5,042 |
Jews, Women, or Both?
|
The Hebrew Bible & Rabbinic Tradition
To properly grasp the historical nature of the Jewish people, it is necessary to explore the ancient structures through which Judaism operated for thousands of years. The Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh, is the collection of scrolls considered canon amongst the Jewish religious tradition. The Tanakh is an acronym for the three sections of the larger text: the Torah (teaching), the Nevi’im (prophets), and Ketuvim (writings). This collection is roughly 1400 years old (Bronner 20).
It is within the Torah, the holiest part of the Hebrew Bible, that ancient narratives and the bulk of Jewish legal writings can be found. These still guide the life of Jews in a modern context. In the Nevi’im, stories of military conquest, political order, and prophecy can be found. In the final installment, the Ketuvim (writings) mostly contain poetry and wisdom writing and include the two sole scrolls named after women: Ruth and Esther.
The Tanakh has always been important to the Jewish people, but before the destruction of their primary holy site, the Temple of Solomon, Jewish life looked very different. Jerusalem was the center of Jewish life, where the priests lived and performed sacrifices. After the final destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD, a seismic shift occurred in which Judaism became a religion in diaspora, using its sacred texts as the primary axis of religiosity.
This period, known as the early Rabbinic period, canonized the Hebrew Bible and began the codification of other important religious documents. In this new era of Judaism, priests no longer served as the religious order since there was no longer a temple to preside over. Instead, the role of rabbi (teacher) was engineered to lead groups of Jews as they spread to the ends of the earth.
The early rabbis believed that all Jews, throughout the entire Jewish history, were present at Mount Sinai when Moses received the Torah, a notion that the feminist theologian Judith Plaskow equips in her famous book, Standing Again at Sinai (1994). This Torah supposedly came in two forms: the written Torah, which is divinely documented in the Tanakh, and the Oral Torah, which further clarifies the written Torah.
This oral tradition had been passed down verbatim throughout all of Jewish history, from Moses up to the rabbis themselves. When this tradition was finally documented, it became known as the Mishnah. The Mishnah set a precedent for the most extensive Jewish text of the Rabbinic period known as the Talmud, which contains the written accounts of commentaries on the Mishnah. According to Bronner, this literature has existed canonically for about 700 years (2).
As it relates to women, the Talmud expands upon the narratives contained in the Torah familiar to all Jews, providing further legal clarifications of the proper actions of women (these codified legal discussions are known as halakhah), and folkloristic narrative which expands on the given texts, known as aggadah (Bronner xvi).
Midrash, which provides exegesis on the Torah, is heavily aggadic, meaning it is primarily built on folklore rather than merely legal precedent. Throughout this paper, examples of midrash will be provided to display the texture brought to Biblical women in the Rabbinic period, both in a positive light and negative one.
The Gender Economy of Jewish Religious Life
The Hebrew Bible indisputably depicts men’s lives and their activities more than their female counterparts (Bronner 1). The 613 mitzvot (laws) contained in the Torah are built on a gender economy. They were designed, mostly for men. This means that men were (and are) required to perform all mitzvot, but women were (and are) excused from many. For example, women are excluded from participating in time-oriented mitzvot such as communal prayer and are not considered part of the minyan (Bronner 4). They were also not allowed to engage with the Torah, which restricted them from theological knowledge and religious dialogue (Rabbi Elierzer went so far as to suggest that the Torah “be burnt rather than given to a woman”) (Bronner 5).
Like nearly all ancient civilizations, women existed in a profoundly patriarchal system, tasked with keeping with the home and rearing children. Their participation in traditional religious life was reasonably limited, though expressed differently depending on the period.
Bronner distinguishes, “In the Rabbinic world.. [women] were enablers, family-oriented and away from the centers of power and communal leadership. This is in contrast to the Bible where despite their being ineffective in the legal realm, more women display active leadership in the narrative sources” (2). In the Tanakh, at least, there exists a tradition of women who rose to consequential public roles: Deborah becomes a Judge of Israel, Esther saves her people from genocide, and Serah bat Asher stands in solidarity with other powerful “Exodus Women”.
In the rabbinic period, this gendered approach of Jewish legalism gained more definition (Kashani-Sabet & Wenger 115). The Rabbis sorted laws into four categories: laws that applied to men, laws that applied to women, laws that applied to men and women, and laws that applied to neither men or women (Kashani-Sabet & Wenger 106).
Moving from law to a more general social context, women were seen within four main archetypes: daughters, wives, mothers, or sisters (Bronner 2). They existed primarily in their relationships with men. This rigid system further ingrained the importance of gender in Jewish society, making any gender deviance fairly difficult. This gendered way of approaching Jewish life, and therefore religious life, produced ideal archetypes of men and women.
There exists a surprising number of courageous Jewish women in the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic tradition, too many to include in a snapshot of exceptional women in ancient and contemporary examples. Though the following section will primarily fixate on the characters of Eve, Serah bat Asher, Deborah, and Esther, honorable mentions include the Woman of Song of Songs and Joseph’s femininity.
Feminine Archetypes in Jewish Religious Texts
Eve as the Female Prototype
There are few Biblical characters as controversial as Eve. In the Torah, Eve was the first woman created by God, created alongside Adam, the first man. She was tasked with providing companionship and facilitating the multiplication of the human race (Genesis 1:28). While she acts as an archetype for women in general, her story has often been used as a framework for dos and don’ts for women (Bronner 22). She possessed a dangerous, creative energy that, to many, is interpreted as spelling out the destruction of humanity altogether.
In the written Torah, two creation stories are given for Eve. In the first, she is created alongside Adam at the same time.
“So God created Mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27, Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation
In the second, she is pulled from Adam’s side when he is in a deep sleep.
“So the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon the man; and, while he slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in that spot. And the Lord God fashioned the rib that He had taken from the man into a woman; and He brought her to the man.” Genesis 2:21–22, Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation
The difference is significant. If one is to believe that Eve was created alongside Adam, as in the first creation myth, then it would be reasonable to assume them to be equal. But if one is to believe that she was taken from his rib, then a particular flavor of subservience is salient, as is ascertained later in the creation narrative (Genesis 3:16).
This seeming contradiction between the accounts gave rabbis much to consider, which resulted in several creative theological solutions. In one Rabbinic explanation, the Hebrew word ‘rib’ is instead translated as ‘side’ (Bronner 28). In this version, Adam was not created as a male but a hermaphrodite containing male and female qualities (Bronner 27).
Since the Hebrew word ‘adam’ translates to ‘human’ in English, many theologians have gravitated to this version of the narrative, including modern feminists. From the androgynous Adam came two ‘sides’, which became man and woman. To suggest that God made man and woman at the same time, as in the first version of creation, would also suggest that the male sex was created at the point of separation, not as a precursor.
Given the problem of Eve’s existence being a sexual one in nature, many of the rabbinic narratives surrounding the fall of man are sexual. To paraphrase the text: Adam and Eve are instructed to eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden aside from one, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. A serpent deceives Eve, convincing her to eat from the forbidden fruit and then handing it to Adam, who eats as well. At this moment, they realize they are naked and try to hide from God, who is stomping through the Garden looking for them. He eventually finds them and expels them from the Garden after providing ‘punishments’ to both Adam and Eve:
“And to the woman He said, “I will make most severe your pangs in childbearing; In pain shall you bear children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” To Adam he said, “Because you did as your wife said and ate of the tree which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed be the ground because of you; by toil you eat of it all the days of your life: thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you. But your food shall be the grasses of the field; by the sweat of your brow shall you get bread to eat, until you return to the ground — for from it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:16–19, Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation
It is first important to recognize the ambiguity surrounding the sin’s nature (Bronner 24). Ancient sources grapple with this. Some rabbinical sources consider Eve’s decision to eat from the fruit to be entirely driven by lust, thereby bringing lust and death to creation (Bronner 26). In a more aggadic version, Satan (attributed to the serpent) found himself lusting after Eve, had sex with her (“injecting lust into her”), which thereby causes all the events of the Fall of Man to ensure (Bronner 26).
While this may be seen as a redemption of Eve to some extent, her presence is considered enough to entice Satan, thereby still deserving the blame onto her. This story is transformed into a construction of modesty, whereby Eve is prescribed rules to prevent men’s enticement, like Satan, including covering her hair and keeping out of the way of men (Bronner 32).
One midrash states, “in the same way Eve disgraced herself and caused her daughters to cover their heads” (Bronner 32). The female body is associated with death, destruction, and danger — something that must be covered and hidden. Modesty becomes the primary occupation of many rabbinic midrashim (Bronner 31). To many, this is the true essence of women — their prototype, and therefore the archetype for all women.
Before continuing, it is worth arguing that modesty within the rabbinic tradition is not consistent throughout the Hebrew Bible examinations. Rabbinic interpretation is often a product of one’s time, needs, and crises. In a world of utter disorder, it would make sense that rabbis would want to add more rigidity to men and women’s roles.
But one must look no further than the Song of Songs, to encounter an unapologetically sexual woman within the Jewish canon and plenty of rabbinic support behind it. Rabbi Akiva famously defended the canonization of this sexually loaded scroll saying,
“For all of eternity in its entirety is not as worthy as the day on which Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the Writings are holy, but Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies.”
Back within the creation narrative, the Medieval midrash of Lilith complicates the story of Eve. In medieval Kabbalist sources, some rabbis engineered a new aggadic figure — the true first woman, Lilith.
Lilith was the original wife of Adam, created from the dust of the earth (Bronner 33). She was brash, insistent on equality, and argumentative. In one particular argument about who should have the ‘active’ sexual position, she becomes so frustrated that she flies away and leaves Adam (Bronner 34). She is the embodiment of the rabbinic tradition’s fears, deviant women becoming an archetype of female rebellion. Unsurprisingly, in the 20th century, Lilith’s meaning transforms again and becomes seen as a positive rebellious role model for women trying to correct the injustices of modern patriarchy — modern nation-saving.
Against the backdrop of Lilith, Eve is seen as marginally better. There is some degree to which her actions appear inevitable, attributed to her female nature. One rabbinic interpretation of God’s ‘punishments’ to Adam and Eve redefines them as prophecy rather than rejection. In this version, God merely describes how the relationship between man, woman, and the earth will evolve (Bronner 24). ‘He shall rule over you’ not because God ordains it to be so, but because that is simply how things will unfold. In His anger, God tells the couple the hard truth, regardless of whether or not He sees it as just.
Contemporary feminists take this interpretation a step further, arguing that God was detailing the injustices men would commit against women, rejecting the idea that this is the way things must be but merely the broken way things are at the moment.
To many contemporary women, then, Eve is a symbol of where all women start, constrained, surveilled, made to imagine their bodies as some evil vessel. Eve is curious, hungry for knowledge of right and wrong. What she discovers is horrifying. In the face of crisis, men will blame and subjugate women to stay in power and have their own needs met. Eve becomes the original victim of men, the woman contemporary feminists are working break free. These Jewish feminists ask, “Can the same fruit that banished us from the garden, bring us back?”
|
https://medium.com/interfaith-now/jews-women-or-both-850301447097
|
['Allison J. Van Tilborgh']
|
2020-12-22 22:04:01.844000+00:00
|
['Books', 'History', 'Religion', 'Spirituality', 'Feminism']
|
Title Jews Women BothContent Hebrew Bible Rabbinic Tradition properly grasp historical nature Jewish people necessary explore ancient structure Judaism operated thousand year Hebrew Bible also known Tanakh collection scroll considered canon amongst Jewish religious tradition Tanakh acronym three section larger text Torah teaching Nevi’im prophet Ketuvim writing collection roughly 1400 year old Bronner 20 within Torah holiest part Hebrew Bible ancient narrative bulk Jewish legal writing found still guide life Jews modern context Nevi’im story military conquest political order prophecy found final installment Ketuvim writing mostly contain poetry wisdom writing include two sole scroll named woman Ruth Esther Tanakh always important Jewish people destruction primary holy site Temple Solomon Jewish life looked different Jerusalem center Jewish life priest lived performed sacrifice final destruction Temple Romans 70 AD seismic shift occurred Judaism became religion diaspora using sacred text primary axis religiosity period known early Rabbinic period canonized Hebrew Bible began codification important religious document new era Judaism priest longer served religious order since longer temple preside Instead role rabbi teacher engineered lead group Jews spread end earth early rabbi believed Jews throughout entire Jewish history present Mount Sinai Moses received Torah notion feminist theologian Judith Plaskow equips famous book Standing Sinai 1994 Torah supposedly came two form written Torah divinely documented Tanakh Oral Torah clarifies written Torah oral tradition passed verbatim throughout Jewish history Moses rabbi tradition finally documented became known Mishnah Mishnah set precedent extensive Jewish text Rabbinic period known Talmud contains written account commentary Mishnah According Bronner literature existed canonically 700 year 2 relates woman Talmud expands upon narrative contained Torah familiar Jews providing legal clarification proper action woman codified legal discussion known halakhah folkloristic narrative expands given text known aggadah Bronner xvi Midrash provides exegesis Torah heavily aggadic meaning primarily built folklore rather merely legal precedent Throughout paper example midrash provided display texture brought Biblical woman Rabbinic period positive light negative one Gender Economy Jewish Religious Life Hebrew Bible indisputably depicts men’s life activity female counterpart Bronner 1 613 mitzvot law contained Torah built gender economy designed mostly men mean men required perform mitzvot woman excused many example woman excluded participating timeoriented mitzvot communal prayer considered part minyan Bronner 4 also allowed engage Torah restricted theological knowledge religious dialogue Rabbi Elierzer went far suggest Torah “be burnt rather given woman” Bronner 5 Like nearly ancient civilization woman existed profoundly patriarchal system tasked keeping home rearing child participation traditional religious life reasonably limited though expressed differently depending period Bronner distinguishes “In Rabbinic world woman enablers familyoriented away center power communal leadership contrast Bible despite ineffective legal realm woman display active leadership narrative sources” 2 Tanakh least exists tradition woman rose consequential public role Deborah becomes Judge Israel Esther save people genocide Serah bat Asher stand solidarity powerful “Exodus Women” rabbinic period gendered approach Jewish legalism gained definition KashaniSabet Wenger 115 Rabbis sorted law four category law applied men law applied woman law applied men woman law applied neither men woman KashaniSabet Wenger 106 Moving law general social context woman seen within four main archetype daughter wife mother sister Bronner 2 existed primarily relationship men rigid system ingrained importance gender Jewish society making gender deviance fairly difficult gendered way approaching Jewish life therefore religious life produced ideal archetype men woman exists surprising number courageous Jewish woman Hebrew Bible rabbinic tradition many include snapshot exceptional woman ancient contemporary example Though following section primarily fixate character Eve Serah bat Asher Deborah Esther honorable mention include Woman Song Songs Joseph’s femininity Feminine Archetypes Jewish Religious Texts Eve Female Prototype Biblical character controversial Eve Torah Eve first woman created God created alongside Adam first man tasked providing companionship facilitating multiplication human race Genesis 128 act archetype woman general story often used framework do don’ts woman Bronner 22 possessed dangerous creative energy many interpreted spelling destruction humanity altogether written Torah two creation story given Eve first created alongside Adam time “So God created Mankind image image God created male female created them” Genesis 127 Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation second pulled Adam’s side deep sleep “So Lord God cast deep sleep upon man slept took one rib closed flesh spot Lord God fashioned rib taken man woman brought man” Genesis 221–22 Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation difference significant one believe Eve created alongside Adam first creation myth would reasonable assume equal one believe taken rib particular flavor subservience salient ascertained later creation narrative Genesis 316 seeming contradiction account gave rabbi much consider resulted several creative theological solution one Rabbinic explanation Hebrew word ‘rib’ instead translated ‘side’ Bronner 28 version Adam created male hermaphrodite containing male female quality Bronner 27 Since Hebrew word ‘adam’ translates ‘human’ English many theologian gravitated version narrative including modern feminist androgynous Adam came two ‘sides’ became man woman suggest God made man woman time first version creation would also suggest male sex created point separation precursor Given problem Eve’s existence sexual one nature many rabbinic narrative surrounding fall man sexual paraphrase text Adam Eve instructed eat tree Garden Eden aside one Tree Knowledge Good Evil serpent deceives Eve convincing eat forbidden fruit handing Adam eats well moment realize naked try hide God stomping Garden looking eventually find expels Garden providing ‘punishments’ Adam Eve “And woman said “I make severe pang childbearing pain shall bear child Yet urge shall husband shall rule you” Adam said “Because wife said ate tree commanded ‘You shall eat it’ cursed ground toil eat day life thorn thistle shall sprout food shall grass field sweat brow shall get bread eat return ground — taken dust dust shall return” Genesis 316–19 Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation first important recognize ambiguity surrounding sin’s nature Bronner 24 Ancient source grapple rabbinical source consider Eve’s decision eat fruit entirely driven lust thereby bringing lust death creation Bronner 26 aggadic version Satan attributed serpent found lusting Eve sex “injecting lust her” thereby cause event Fall Man ensure Bronner 26 may seen redemption Eve extent presence considered enough entice Satan thereby still deserving blame onto story transformed construction modesty whereby Eve prescribed rule prevent men’s enticement like Satan including covering hair keeping way men Bronner 32 One midrash state “in way Eve disgraced caused daughter cover heads” Bronner 32 female body associated death destruction danger — something must covered hidden Modesty becomes primary occupation many rabbinic midrash Bronner 31 many true essence woman — prototype therefore archetype woman continuing worth arguing modesty within rabbinic tradition consistent throughout Hebrew Bible examination Rabbinic interpretation often product one’s time need crisis world utter disorder would make sense rabbi would want add rigidity men women’s role one must look Song Songs encounter unapologetically sexual woman within Jewish canon plenty rabbinic support behind Rabbi Akiva famously defended canonization sexually loaded scroll saying “For eternity entirety worthy day Song Songs given Israel Writings holy Song Songs Holy Holies” Back within creation narrative Medieval midrash Lilith complicates story Eve medieval Kabbalist source rabbi engineered new aggadic figure — true first woman Lilith Lilith original wife Adam created dust earth Bronner 33 brash insistent equality argumentative one particular argument ‘active’ sexual position becomes frustrated fly away leaf Adam Bronner 34 embodiment rabbinic tradition’s fear deviant woman becoming archetype female rebellion Unsurprisingly 20th century Lilith’s meaning transforms becomes seen positive rebellious role model woman trying correct injustice modern patriarchy — modern nationsaving backdrop Lilith Eve seen marginally better degree action appear inevitable attributed female nature One rabbinic interpretation God’s ‘punishments’ Adam Eve redefines prophecy rather rejection version God merely describes relationship man woman earth evolve Bronner 24 ‘He shall rule you’ God ordains simply thing unfold anger God tell couple hard truth regardless whether see Contemporary feminist take interpretation step arguing God detailing injustice men would commit woman rejecting idea way thing must merely broken way thing moment many contemporary woman Eve symbol woman start constrained surveilled made imagine body evil vessel Eve curious hungry knowledge right wrong discovers horrifying face crisis men blame subjugate woman stay power need met Eve becomes original victim men woman contemporary feminist working break free Jewish feminist ask “Can fruit banished u garden bring u back”Tags Books History Religion Spirituality Feminism
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5,043 |
CopyWriting = Good Storytelling
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I have to say, one of my all time Favorite things about being a CopyWriter is that I get a chance to be a StoryTeller.
When I was a kid, I watched every movie I could.
I bought every movie I liked too!
In fact, when I moved to my new home…Vietnam🇻🇳
Vietnam = Beautiful Country
I left over 700 DVD’s sitting in my Grandma’s house in Texas.
And I own almost that many movies, in digital format too.
Stories have Always Fascinated me!
I think that's WHY I became a CopyWriter?🤔
I wrote for my college newspaper and my first job out of college was being a paid journalist.
(for The Lewisville News…in my favorite County of Texas!)🇨🇱
But it took me up until a few years ago to FIND CopyWriting.
And I’m super Pumped I did!!!
Because as I sit here, and write ✍🏻 a 8,000 word VSL (Video Sales Letter)…
…I just LOVE being able to take a Reader/Video Watcher down a very specific road = “Story”
This stuff is super FUN!!!
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https://medium.com/copywriting/copywriting-good-storytelling-6e6f87609102
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['Fitness With Animal']
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2017-09-15 00:50:43.777000+00:00
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['Copywriting', 'Internet Marketing', 'Marketing', 'Sales Page Copy', 'Digital Marketing']
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Title CopyWriting Good StorytellingContent say one time Favorite thing CopyWriter get chance StoryTeller kid watched every movie could bought every movie liked fact moved new home…Vietnam🇻🇳 Vietnam Beautiful Country left 700 DVD’s sitting Grandma’s house Texas almost many movie digital format Stories Always Fascinated think thats became CopyWriter🤔 wrote college newspaper first job college paid journalist Lewisville News…in favorite County Texas🇨🇱 took year ago FIND CopyWriting I’m super Pumped sit write ✍🏻 8000 word VSL Video Sales Letter… …I LOVE able take ReaderVideo Watcher specific road “Story” stuff super FUNTags Copywriting Internet Marketing Marketing Sales Page Copy Digital Marketing
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5,044 |
Teach Kids Business Sense Early, Change Their Lives Forever
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Greenlight eliminates a lot of struggles. What is it, and how does it work? It’s a debit card for kids. There is a small monthly fee. It’s less than a cup of good coffee per month, for up to five kids, and eliminates most of our pain points. Our bank account is tied to their accounts so that we can automate money transfers from our account onto their debit cards. Kids can check the app on their mobile or computer to see that their payment has been received.
While you can automate payments every Saturday, for instance, we’ve elected to stop the automation. The kids get to make a payment request equal to the fee we’ve previously agreed upon for the work they’ve completed and whether they deserve full or partial payment for the timeliness of a job well done. Extra accountability, if you ask me, for kids to learn how the real world works. Parents can pay the request or decline to pay it if they feel it is different than expected.
Gone are the days of running to the ATM for cash or raiding the penny bank so kids can hold bills and coins in their hands. Our economy is mostly shifting toward electronic forms of currency, even though financial expert Dave Ramsey says, “Cash is still king.”
Final Thoughts
Paying kids for household chores or allowance can be a burden, but it doesn’t have to be stressful. Make kids accountable for doing good work on time by requesting payments for the work they do.
Shopping is straightforward because kids use their own debit card, instead of paying parents back when they forget their money at home. When you travel, kids can use their debit card anywhere a MasterCard can be used.
Stress about money falls away, and kids either do their work or don’t get paid.
I’ll bet you know some adults who can benefit from these principles. Instill family money values in kids early and watch them grow into entrepreneurs who earn 25% more than the general population.
Foster business knowledge in kids and watch them succeed in life.
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https://medium.com/publishous/teach-kids-business-sense-early-change-their-lives-forever-684fee7b029b
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['Nicole Akers']
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2020-09-09 13:48:37.114000+00:00
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['Travel', 'Advice', 'Life Lessons', 'Parenting', 'Entrepreneurship']
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Title Teach Kids Business Sense Early Change Lives ForeverContent Greenlight eliminates lot struggle work It’s debit card kid small monthly fee It’s le cup good coffee per month five kid eliminates pain point bank account tied account automate money transfer account onto debit card Kids check app mobile computer see payment received automate payment every Saturday instance we’ve elected stop automation kid get make payment request equal fee we’ve previously agreed upon work they’ve completed whether deserve full partial payment timeliness job well done Extra accountability ask kid learn real world work Parents pay request decline pay feel different expected Gone day running ATM cash raiding penny bank kid hold bill coin hand economy mostly shifting toward electronic form currency even though financial expert Dave Ramsey say “Cash still king” Final Thoughts Paying kid household chore allowance burden doesn’t stressful Make kid accountable good work time requesting payment work Shopping straightforward kid use debit card instead paying parent back forget money home travel kid use debit card anywhere MasterCard used Stress money fall away kid either work don’t get paid I’ll bet know adult benefit principle Instill family money value kid early watch grow entrepreneur earn 25 general population Foster business knowledge kid watch succeed lifeTags Travel Advice Life Lessons Parenting Entrepreneurship
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5,045 |
Blockchain and Real Estate — one plus one not always equals two
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It’s not very revolutionary to say that Real Estate has one of the most inefficient and expensive transactions processes that exist nowadays. Physical documents for proof of identity and to the lack of accessibility and transparency in the markets increase the time and cost spent by all parties involved in a transaction. Compared to other industries, it is still a real pain to deal with this one.
The market is not efficient. We know that. If there is any financing involved, the sale/rental process becomes even more complicated as many documents and steps become duplicated by both the buyer and the seller. Not fun at all.
Blockchain is clearly not the magic solution to every problem (although some people say it is), but it is clear that it can be used as a really useful tool to cut down unnecessary costs and inefficiencies in this particular case.
By using blockchain & smart contract technology, AREX aims to be the first to create an international real estate market as liquid as stock markets are nowadays. Sounds ambitious, I know, but let us explain.
Real Estate nowadays has three main issues: The price of the properties, the international barriers to trade and the amount of bureaucracy/paperwork. By implementing Blockchain, we want to eliminate the second and third problem.
The tools that already exist will help us to standardize a common due diligence process for investment in Real Estate assets. As a result we will create a common Set of International Standards for Investment (it’s really the highest time to develop it!). Companies and individuals will be required to comply with those Standards to be able to list assets in the exchange.
We know that trading tokenized assets is the future, but only when everybody (including the market, companies and regulators) is ready to adopt it. That being said, not yet.
The main goal right now is to create a real financial market in which its inputs are Real Estate assets. We don’t think blockchain is a magic solution to everything, but it is a tool and an enabler that can make the market work in a much more efficient and liquid way.
AREX wants to use blockchain as a tool for managing properties, certifying documents, providing transparency to the market and develop smart contracts that will later serve for co-investment in Real Estate assets.
We hope to bring some major improvements to the way the industry functions today and reinvent the way we interact with it. We believe that the Real Estate, as messy as it seems, still deserves our hope.
That’s why we’re here.
…
AREX creates a Real Estate Exchange with asset management optimisation via blockchain. Stay tuned for our next article about the detailed plan for our mission. And if you have any questions or comments — please say hello!
Written by Daria Krauzo
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https://medium.com/arex-blockchain-real-estate/blockchain-and-real-estate-one-plus-one-not-always-equals-two-11f5d55a083c
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['Francisco Hernández Parga']
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2018-12-05 16:20:07.987000+00:00
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['Blockchain', 'Real Estate', 'Proptech', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Finance']
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Title Blockchain Real Estate — one plus one always equal twoContent It’s revolutionary say Real Estate one inefficient expensive transaction process exist nowadays Physical document proof identity lack accessibility transparency market increase time cost spent party involved transaction Compared industry still real pain deal one market efficient know financing involved salerental process becomes even complicated many document step become duplicated buyer seller fun Blockchain clearly magic solution every problem although people say clear used really useful tool cut unnecessary cost inefficiency particular case using blockchain smart contract technology AREX aim first create international real estate market liquid stock market nowadays Sounds ambitious know let u explain Real Estate nowadays three main issue price property international barrier trade amount bureaucracypaperwork implementing Blockchain want eliminate second third problem tool already exist help u standardize common due diligence process investment Real Estate asset result create common Set International Standards Investment it’s really highest time develop Companies individual required comply Standards able list asset exchange know trading tokenized asset future everybody including market company regulator ready adopt said yet main goal right create real financial market input Real Estate asset don’t think blockchain magic solution everything tool enabler make market work much efficient liquid way AREX want use blockchain tool managing property certifying document providing transparency market develop smart contract later serve coinvestment Real Estate asset hope bring major improvement way industry function today reinvent way interact believe Real Estate messy seems still deserves hope That’s we’re … AREX creates Real Estate Exchange asset management optimisation via blockchain Stay tuned next article detailed plan mission question comment — please say hello Written Daria KrauzoTags Blockchain Real Estate Proptech Entrepreneurship Finance
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5,046 |
18 Digital Marketing Metrics and KPIs You Should Know
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Marketing and Sales Performance Metrics
What’s going on with my sales? Is my website effective enough? What’s been the efficiency of our content marketing efforts in the last few months? All of these questions can be answered by marketing and sales performance metrics and KPIs.
Conversion Rate (CR)
Conversion rate is the simplest but not an unimportant metric. The conversion rate is the percentage of users that complete the desired action (purchase, download an app, submit a contact form).
CR = Number of conversions / Total number of visitors × 100%
You can find the number of conversions and the total number of visitors in Google Analytics.
Image courtesy of the author
Once you’ve set your goals, you can see this visualization on the Conversions → Goals → Overview page.
This is a website metric. Clicks mean purchases to a certain degree. The click-through rate is the ratio of users who click a link to the total number of users who view it.
CTR = Number of clicks / Number of impressions × 100%
CTR is often used to measure the success of online ads. But it’s not the only metric to analyze PPC ads efficiency.
This KPI shows if you can save some money on paid ads. The cost per click shows how much you pay when your ad is clicked. CPC is used to assess the cost-effectiveness of an ad campaign.
CPC = Ad costs / Number of clicks
Google Ads shows you this information while calculating the CPC on auctions for your keywords. You can integrate your Google Ads with Google Analytics natively, then complete the integration with other ad services with the help of OWOX BI.
Cost per Action (CPA)
CPA is an indicator that shows the cost of completing the desired action. It also helps you to measure the effectiveness of the marketing funnel. It’s totally up to you which action you consider desired — signing up for a newsletter, requesting a callback, or something else.
Image courtesy of the author
This simple metric is the basis for CPA marketing, where you pay for each conversion that comes from an affiliate source. The pitfalls of this method are that dishonorable affiliates might try to fool you with traffic. To avoid this, refer to our CPA case study.
Cost per Lead (CPL)
This is an even hotter KPI than the previous one! Cost per lead is similar to cost per action, except that you pay for the contact information of a person potentially interested in your offer.
CPL = Ad costs / Number of acquired leads
To calculate this metric, add all your ad expenditures on the way to registration for gated content, for instance, and divide the total expenditures by the number of acquired leads. This metric will show you if your lead acquisition efforts fall within your budget or if you’re spending too much. Keep in mind that a lead is only halfway to being a client and isn’t even a loyal follower.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
The customer acquisition cost includes money spent on marketing and advertising. CAC is the cost of convincing someone to buy your product or service.
Image courtesy of the author
Calculating the total marketing budget can be stressful, but it’s worth trying. It can help you see the bottleneck values in your system.
Abandon Rate
This is the percentage of inbound calls that are canceled before connecting with a call center agent or the percentage of abandoned carts in the retail business.
For call centers: Abandon rate = Abandoned calls / Total number of inbound calls × 100%
For retail businesses: Abandon rate = Number of abandoned shopping carts / Total number of initiated transactions × 100%
You can see the positive side of the abandon rate in Google Analytics after setting a conversion goal for the shopping cart page. The best practice is to track the abandon rate depending on industry average values and audience cohorts over time.
Image courtesy of the author
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Simple and understandable, this is one of the most important digital marketing metrics for measuring ad performance. Return on ad spend is the amount of revenue your business gets for every dollar spent on ads. Use it as the main metric for each digital marketing campaign and you’ll feel the difference between effective and ineffective campaigns.
ROAS = Revenue derived from the ad / Cost of the ad
ROI (ROMI for marketing)
ROI is the queen of KPIs, even among those who have never heard about analytics. Return on investment is a performance metric that’s used to evaluate the efficiency of a particular investment.
ROI = ((Gain from investment — Cost of investment) / Cost of investment )× 100%
You can calculate ROI for almost every process. In most cases, ROI is normalized and must be above 100%. So before you start calculations, find the benchmarks for your particular case.
Average Revenue Per Account/User/Customer (ARPA, ARPU, ARPC)
The average revenue per account (or per user or per customer) shows you the average revenue from an account.
ARPA = Total monthly recurring revenue / Total number of accounts
Check your ARPA now if you’re planning to raise prices. Then check it later. If raising prices was a bad idea, you’ll see it in the ARPA — unless the total monthly recurring revenue increases, the ARPA will fall.
Time to Payback CAC
This metric shows how long it’ll take to earn back marketing costs spent on acquiring a customer. The time to payback CAC metric is especially relevant for SaaS businesses with long sales funnels.
Time to payback CAC = Customer acquisition cost (CAC) / (Average revenue per account (ARPA) × Gross profit)
Gross Profit = Revenue — Cost of goods/services sold
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
The general concept is that MRR is a metric for recurring revenue components of a subscription business. It helps companies predict revenue and realign their sales plans.
MRR = Total fees paid by customers monthly
or
MRR = ARPA per month × Total number of customers per month
Churn Rate
The churn rate is the percentage of customers or subscribers who discontinue their subscriptions during a given period.
Image courtesy of the author
Revenue Churn
Also known as the MRR churn rate, where MRR is monthly recurring revenue, revenue churn defines the loss in revenue from churned customers and downgraded subscriptions.
MRR churn rate = (Churned MRR in the period / MRR at the start of the period) × 100%
Share of Market (SOM)
This metric shows how big your share of the market is.
SOM = (Company sales / Sales in the entire market) × 100%
You can calculate the percentage of the market you have and set the right goals to grow. The biggest problem is getting data on sales in the whole market.
Share of Wallet (SOW)
This metric shows you the percentage of dollars in customers’ pockets that they spend on you. You can get this data through marketing investigations or through focus groups. Focus groups are a tough but interesting way to collect data because your clients will tell you insights that you could never have imagined! Just take the first step to meet them.
SOW = (Total cost of purchases a customer has made from your company / Total cost of purchases the customer has made in the same product or service class) × 100%
Let’s say Ann spent $20 on your handmade cosmetics this month while she spent $120 on cosmetics in general. Your SOW would be 20/120 × 100% = 16.6%. Not as high as expected!
Customer Retention Rate (CRR)
How long do people keep returning to you? Or do they just buy and say goodbye? Getting new customers is much more expensive than reactivating existing customers. The customer retention rate is also called reversed customer churn.
Image courtesy of the author
The perfect customer retention rate is 100%. It means that customers are loyal and stay with you for a while. But if it starts decreasing, pay more attention to your customer service. It worth trying to keep this KPI high.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Customer lifetime value can be historical (the sum of all profits from the purchases a customer has made) or predictive (the total revenue your business expects to get from the relationship with this customer).
CLV = Average gross margin per customer / (Customer retention rate / 1 + Rate of discount — Customer retention rate)
Why is CLV so important? Because the longer people stay with your company, the higher your revenue will be.
|
https://medium.com/better-marketing/18-digital-marketing-metrics-and-kpis-you-should-know-f4f30705f3e2
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['Maryna Sharapa']
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2020-11-18 17:31:55.084000+00:00
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['Marketing', 'Metrics', 'Kpi', 'Digital Marketing']
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Title 18 Digital Marketing Metrics KPIs KnowContent Marketing Sales Performance Metrics What’s going sale website effective enough What’s efficiency content marketing effort last month question answered marketing sale performance metric KPIs Conversion Rate CR Conversion rate simplest unimportant metric conversion rate percentage user complete desired action purchase download app submit contact form CR Number conversion Total number visitor × 100 find number conversion total number visitor Google Analytics Image courtesy author you’ve set goal see visualization Conversions → Goals → Overview page website metric Clicks mean purchase certain degree clickthrough rate ratio user click link total number user view CTR Number click Number impression × 100 CTR often used measure success online ad it’s metric analyze PPC ad efficiency KPI show save money paid ad cost per click show much pay ad clicked CPC used ass costeffectiveness ad campaign CPC Ad cost Number click Google Ads show information calculating CPC auction keywords integrate Google Ads Google Analytics natively complete integration ad service help OWOX BI Cost per Action CPA CPA indicator show cost completing desired action also help measure effectiveness marketing funnel It’s totally action consider desired — signing newsletter requesting callback something else Image courtesy author simple metric basis CPA marketing pay conversion come affiliate source pitfall method dishonorable affiliate might try fool traffic avoid refer CPA case study Cost per Lead CPL even hotter KPI previous one Cost per lead similar cost per action except pay contact information person potentially interested offer CPL Ad cost Number acquired lead calculate metric add ad expenditure way registration gated content instance divide total expenditure number acquired lead metric show lead acquisition effort fall within budget you’re spending much Keep mind lead halfway client isn’t even loyal follower Customer Acquisition Cost CAC customer acquisition cost includes money spent marketing advertising CAC cost convincing someone buy product service Image courtesy author Calculating total marketing budget stressful it’s worth trying help see bottleneck value system Abandon Rate percentage inbound call canceled connecting call center agent percentage abandoned cart retail business call center Abandon rate Abandoned call Total number inbound call × 100 retail business Abandon rate Number abandoned shopping cart Total number initiated transaction × 100 see positive side abandon rate Google Analytics setting conversion goal shopping cart page best practice track abandon rate depending industry average value audience cohort time Image courtesy author Return Ad Spend ROAS Simple understandable one important digital marketing metric measuring ad performance Return ad spend amount revenue business get every dollar spent ad Use main metric digital marketing campaign you’ll feel difference effective ineffective campaign ROAS Revenue derived ad Cost ad ROI ROMI marketing ROI queen KPIs even among never heard analytics Return investment performance metric that’s used evaluate efficiency particular investment ROI Gain investment — Cost investment Cost investment × 100 calculate ROI almost every process case ROI normalized must 100 start calculation find benchmark particular case Average Revenue Per AccountUserCustomer ARPA ARPU ARPC average revenue per account per user per customer show average revenue account ARPA Total monthly recurring revenue Total number account Check ARPA you’re planning raise price check later raising price bad idea you’ll see ARPA — unless total monthly recurring revenue increase ARPA fall Time Payback CAC metric show long it’ll take earn back marketing cost spent acquiring customer time payback CAC metric especially relevant SaaS business long sale funnel Time payback CAC Customer acquisition cost CAC Average revenue per account ARPA × Gross profit Gross Profit Revenue — Cost goodsservices sold Monthly Recurring Revenue MRR general concept MRR metric recurring revenue component subscription business help company predict revenue realign sale plan MRR Total fee paid customer monthly MRR ARPA per month × Total number customer per month Churn Rate churn rate percentage customer subscriber discontinue subscription given period Image courtesy author Revenue Churn Also known MRR churn rate MRR monthly recurring revenue revenue churn defines loss revenue churned customer downgraded subscription MRR churn rate Churned MRR period MRR start period × 100 Share Market SOM metric show big share market SOM Company sale Sales entire market × 100 calculate percentage market set right goal grow biggest problem getting data sale whole market Share Wallet SOW metric show percentage dollar customers’ pocket spend get data marketing investigation focus group Focus group tough interesting way collect data client tell insight could never imagined take first step meet SOW Total cost purchase customer made company Total cost purchase customer made product service class × 100 Let’s say Ann spent 20 handmade cosmetic month spent 120 cosmetic general SOW would 20120 × 100 166 high expected Customer Retention Rate CRR long people keep returning buy say goodbye Getting new customer much expensive reactivating existing customer customer retention rate also called reversed customer churn Image courtesy author perfect customer retention rate 100 mean customer loyal stay start decreasing pay attention customer service worth trying keep KPI high Customer Lifetime Value CLV Customer lifetime value historical sum profit purchase customer made predictive total revenue business expects get relationship customer CLV Average gross margin per customer Customer retention rate 1 Rate discount — Customer retention rate CLV important longer people stay company higher revenue beTags Marketing Metrics Kpi Digital Marketing
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5,047 |
How To Boost Your WordPress Website With Digital Marketing And SEO
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It’s important to have a website for your business as this is a vital part of your digital marketing efforts. So, you decide to make one using WordPress since it’s the most popular website creation tool or Content Management System (CMS) right now. Plus, it’s free and easy to use. Next, you should aim to make your website more visible to online users, and SEO is what you need to make that possible. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it’s a powerful tool that can push your website to the top ranks of search engine results pages or SERPs. Here’s how you can use the power of SEO to boost your WordPress website:
Choose a Trusted Web Host
Before you focus on SEO, you will need to make your website visible first. WordPress is only used for building your website, but when it comes to making your website live or accessible in the World Wide Web, you will need a web server for it. You can get a web server for your WordPress website from a web hosting service provider or web hosts. Web hosts are companies that own many servers to cater thousands of websites on the internet. The rule of thumb here when choosing a web host is that it has to be closer to your location so that your website loads and performs faster. Some of the most used web hosts for WordPress are HostGator, SiteGround, BlueHost, and Dreamhost.
Consider CDN
As mentioned earlier, it’s ideal that your web host’s server should be located near you. But what if the closest web server to you is still miles away from your target audience and your location? Even if you have the best web host server and you employ the best SEO strategies, when your website fails to load, your efforts will be for naught. The solution to this problem is CDN or content delivery network. Whereas web hosting servers have limited locations and only provides a limited number of servers per client, CDN uses a network of super servers called edge servers to transmit your website’s data to online users. This means that no matter how far your website’s servers are, with CDN, online users and potential leads can still access it at a fast speed.
Optimize the First 100 Words
Once you’re confident that your website will run smoothly when it gets life, it’s time to pack up your WordPress site’s SEO muscles. Your priority for in-page content SEO should be the first 100 words that you write. An intro paragraph that’s packed with relevant keywords can make your WordPress site more noticeable to search engine spiders or crawlers.
Customize and Shorten Your Site’s URL
On a generic form, URLs or your website’s address would look topsy-turvy. Plus, by default, it would bear WordPress on it. You want to put your business or your name upfront, so it has to be reflected on your URL. To own a personalized URL, you will have to pay and register your very own domain name. Once you secure one, make sure that your URLs are trimmed. You can use URL shorteners like TinyURL, Goo.gl, and Bitly. Short URLs also make it easier to send through emails and share on social media sites, especially Twitter, which has a character limit. Better structured short URLs are also easier for web crawlers to read and retrieve.
Write Long, Juicy Content
The best way to keep visitors coming to your website is by making sure that you’re producing quality content. Quality means you are giving your readers relevant information related to what they’re searching online with additional pertinent data. It’s also important to remember that all other parts of your content will also need to have relevant keywords in it. It’s also ideal if you can keep your content long so visitors can take their time digesting what you’ve written. The longer they linger on your website, the more it boosts your website on the ranks as it becomes a recommended page to visit.
Update Your Content Regularly
Aside from maintaining long and quality content, you also have to make sure that you update your content regularly. Every time a new topic or information comes up that’s relevant to your niche, use it to produce fresh content. If your old topics need revisions, update them as many times as necessary. The more you produce new content on your WordPress website, the better it gets noticed by search engine crawlers and online searchers.
Install SEO Plugins
If you’re not an WordPress SEO master, but you want to push your WordPress site’s SEO to the next level, you can use an SEO Plugin instead. SEO plugins are tools to help you add and manage in-page optimization for your WordPress site. Some of these SEO plugins have automatic optimization features, too, so you can avoid the hassle of manually doing the work. Some of the best SEO plugins are Yoast SEO, All in One SEO Pack, SEMRush, and Google Keyword Planner.
Meta-Tags
Another sneaky yet legal way of making your WordPress site more searchable is by using meta-tagging. Meta-tags are HTML codes that you hide within your web page’s source code, so visitors will only see your content. The most crucial parts of your web page that need meta-tagging are:
Header Tags — This is the meta-tag you add to the headers on your content such as H1, H2, H3, and so on.
Image or Alt Tags — Alternative text that replaces images on your web page if it fails to load, and it’s what makes these images readable to web crawlers.
Title Tags — The title of the content found on your website that shows up on the search engine results page.
Meta-Description — The text description found below your content’s title that shows up on the search results page.
Incorporate Links
Adding links on your WordPress website content also adds a boost to its ranking. You can add links to external sites by linking them into relevant keywords called anchor texts. You have to make sure that the external websites you are linking on your WordPress content are secured and authorized websites. It’s also important to add anchor texts that link to other web pages within your website. These are your internal links. Internal links also help keep visitors from leaving your site, thereby increasing its relevance.
Activate Social Media Buttons
Social media is an important driver of leads in digital marketing. After all, there are millions of users found on these sites. You can leverage on the relevance of social media to boost your website by adding and linking social media buttons that will redirect visitors to your social media pages.
Create a Sitemap
You can make your WordPress site even more accessible to search engine web crawlers with the help of sitemaps. Creating a sitemap of your website’s content will make it easier for search engines to index your website because sitemaps act like an overview and quick access file. The most preferable format for a sitemap is in .xml as it’s made up of multiple directories.
Mobile Capability and Responsive Design
To make your WordPress site more accessible by online users anywhere and anytime, you have to enable it for mobile view and make sure that it is responsive. When your website is mobile capable, it’ll have a mobile viewable version when accessed through a phone. Having a responsive design for your website will also make it accessible to other gadgets as the web page automatically adjusts to the screen size of any device. Search engine companies like Google have noticed how important the ease of use feature for users is and have made it a criterion when ranking websites, making it a must.
Conclusion
Reaching online success for your WordPress website will greatly help you achieve business success. This is how digital marketing and SEO in WordPress are making such a great impact on businesses worldwide. The tips mentioned above should be useful for your digital marketing efforts, but you don’t have to limit yourself on the list. You are free to find other ways to add to it as long as you are persistent and committed to reaching your business goals.
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https://medium.com/visualmodo/how-to-boost-your-wordpress-website-with-digital-marketing-and-seo-696a3a9a68d0
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[]
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2019-05-02 01:09:48.535000+00:00
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['WordPress', 'Boost', 'Marketing', 'Digital', 'SEO']
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Title Boost WordPress Website Digital Marketing SEOContent It’s important website business vital part digital marketing effort decide make one using WordPress since it’s popular website creation tool Content Management System CMS right Plus it’s free easy use Next aim make website visible online user SEO need make possible SEO stand Search Engine Optimization it’s powerful tool push website top rank search engine result page SERPs Here’s use power SEO boost WordPress website Choose Trusted Web Host focus SEO need make website visible first WordPress used building website come making website live accessible World Wide Web need web server get web server WordPress website web hosting service provider web host Web host company many server cater thousand website internet rule thumb choosing web host closer location website load performs faster used web host WordPress HostGator SiteGround BlueHost Dreamhost Consider CDN mentioned earlier it’s ideal web host’s server located near closest web server still mile away target audience location Even best web host server employ best SEO strategy website fails load effort naught solution problem CDN content delivery network Whereas web hosting server limited location provides limited number server per client CDN us network super server called edge server transmit website’s data online user mean matter far website’s server CDN online user potential lead still access fast speed Optimize First 100 Words you’re confident website run smoothly get life it’s time pack WordPress site’s SEO muscle priority inpage content SEO first 100 word write intro paragraph that’s packed relevant keywords make WordPress site noticeable search engine spider crawler Customize Shorten Site’s URL generic form URLs website’s address would look topsyturvy Plus default would bear WordPress want put business name upfront reflected URL personalized URL pay register domain name secure one make sure URLs trimmed use URL shortener like TinyURL Googl Bitly Short URLs also make easier send email share social medium site especially Twitter character limit Better structured short URLs also easier web crawler read retrieve Write Long Juicy Content best way keep visitor coming website making sure you’re producing quality content Quality mean giving reader relevant information related they’re searching online additional pertinent data It’s also important remember part content also need relevant keywords It’s also ideal keep content long visitor take time digesting you’ve written longer linger website boost website rank becomes recommended page visit Update Content Regularly Aside maintaining long quality content also make sure update content regularly Every time new topic information come that’s relevant niche use produce fresh content old topic need revision update many time necessary produce new content WordPress website better get noticed search engine crawler online searcher Install SEO Plugins you’re WordPress SEO master want push WordPress site’s SEO next level use SEO Plugin instead SEO plugins tool help add manage inpage optimization WordPress site SEO plugins automatic optimization feature avoid hassle manually work best SEO plugins Yoast SEO One SEO Pack SEMRush Google Keyword Planner MetaTags Another sneaky yet legal way making WordPress site searchable using metatagging Metatags HTML code hide within web page’s source code visitor see content crucial part web page need metatagging Header Tags — metatag add header content H1 H2 H3 Image Alt Tags — Alternative text replaces image web page fails load it’s make image readable web crawler Title Tags — title content found website show search engine result page MetaDescription — text description found content’s title show search result page Incorporate Links Adding link WordPress website content also add boost ranking add link external site linking relevant keywords called anchor text make sure external website linking WordPress content secured authorized website It’s also important add anchor text link web page within website internal link Internal link also help keep visitor leaving site thereby increasing relevance Activate Social Media Buttons Social medium important driver lead digital marketing million user found site leverage relevance social medium boost website adding linking social medium button redirect visitor social medium page Create Sitemap make WordPress site even accessible search engine web crawler help sitemaps Creating sitemap website’s content make easier search engine index website sitemaps act like overview quick access file preferable format sitemap xml it’s made multiple directory Mobile Capability Responsive Design make WordPress site accessible online user anywhere anytime enable mobile view make sure responsive website mobile capable it’ll mobile viewable version accessed phone responsive design website also make accessible gadget web page automatically adjusts screen size device Search engine company like Google noticed important ease use feature user made criterion ranking website making must Conclusion Reaching online success WordPress website greatly help achieve business success digital marketing SEO WordPress making great impact business worldwide tip mentioned useful digital marketing effort don’t limit list free find way add long persistent committed reaching business goalsTags WordPress Boost Marketing Digital SEO
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5,048 |
Book Review Policy
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I accept copies of books for review on an open basis. If you offer to send me a copy of a book to review online (here, Goodreads, Amazon, etc.), I am likely to accept. If I accept, I will guarantee a review of the book. The speed at which I will review will vary depending on the length of the book and my current reading list, but my standard practice is to publish a review within 30–60 days upon receipt of the book. I do accept unsolicited books for review, but I do not guarantee a review in such a case.
When I write a review of your book, I will write the following disclosure at the end of the post: “I received this book as (an ARC/a review copy) courtesy of (name of publisher/person providing the copy), but my opinions are my own.” When I am finished reviewing the book (and after the book has been published), I will donate the copy to a local teacher or to charity unless specifically instructed by the publisher to do otherwise.
Here are some additional helpful bits of information for publicists, organizers, etc.:
I prefer hard copies of books, but only by a little. I gladly accept eBooks (preferable in MOBI format so that I can easily read them on Kindle). My primary interests are in nonfiction books, specifically history, psychology, sociology, government/politics, education, biography, memoir, parenting, sports, entertainment, and the occasional business book. I do not read self-help books. I do read fiction books, but not as often, so I’ll give you some of my favorite books from fiction genres for reference: sci-fi (The Martian, Red Rising), fantasy (LOTR, Chronicles of Narnia), YA/dystopian (Hunger Games, Divergent, Legend), historical fiction (Elizabeth Street). I do not read much fiction outside of these genres. If I don’t like the book, I will be honest, but I will not be harsh. If I write a negative review, I will be very specific about what I did not like. However, I am an optimist and my reviews almost always reflect that personality. I will always post a review on Medium and on Goodreads. If you would like the book reviewed anywhere else, please let me know and I will do my best to grant your wishes.
My contact information:
Email — [email protected]
Phone number and address — upon request
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https://medium.com/park-recommendations/book-review-policy-251a6af03278
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['Jason Park']
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2018-10-09 17:43:38.746000+00:00
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['Books', 'Book Review', 'Review', 'Arc', 'Publishing']
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Title Book Review PolicyContent accept copy book review open basis offer send copy book review online Goodreads Amazon etc likely accept accept guarantee review book speed review vary depending length book current reading list standard practice publish review within 30–60 day upon receipt book accept unsolicited book review guarantee review case write review book write following disclosure end post “I received book ARCa review copy courtesy name publisherperson providing copy opinion own” finished reviewing book book published donate copy local teacher charity unless specifically instructed publisher otherwise additional helpful bit information publicist organizer etc prefer hard copy book little gladly accept eBooks preferable MOBI format easily read Kindle primary interest nonfiction book specifically history psychology sociology governmentpolitics education biography memoir parenting sport entertainment occasional business book read selfhelp book read fiction book often I’ll give favorite book fiction genre reference scifi Martian Red Rising fantasy LOTR Chronicles Narnia YAdystopian Hunger Games Divergent Legend historical fiction Elizabeth Street read much fiction outside genre don’t like book honest harsh write negative review specific like However optimist review almost always reflect personality always post review Medium Goodreads would like book reviewed anywhere else please let know best grant wish contact information Email — jasonandersonparkgmailcom Phone number address — upon requestTags Books Book Review Review Arc Publishing
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5,049 |
Scholarly Conversations
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Zhihu is a Chinese question-and-answer website where questions are created, answered, edited and organized by the community of its users. In Classical Chinese, “Zhihu” means “Do you know?”. Chinese-language internet users nowadays increasingly resort to Zhihu for expert knowledge and insights into various topics.
The scholars in Zhihu evaluating the information by discussing the response with many experts together. Whenever an answer is created, it will be viewed and critiqued by many other users in Zhihu. Everyone can provide their own perspectives to this answer. If most of the users “agree” this respond, it will be pushed to the top of the question. On the other hand, if most of the users in Zhihu “disagree” your response, it will be at the bottom of the website.
Unfortunately, although everyone in the Zhihu is discussing scholarly topics, there is not a rule for the users to determine the authority. Indeed, there are some experts and professionals in this website, but the users cannot determine who is an expert and who isn’t. Thus, the only way that people determine the authority and credibility is to see how many persons press “agree” and “disagree”.
However, some experts are pretty famous in a certain area. When a user creates an account, you will be asked to choose some fields that you are professional or interested in. Once you create a highly-valued answer in a certain field, the other users will “follow” you and sometimes they will “invite” you to answer other questions in the same field. In this way, many celebrities are created and people would prefer to believe their answer more.
In my viewpoint, this website should be improved by validating the answers. The workers in Zhihu should invite some experts to check if the answer is trust-worthy. If the experts agree with this answer, then there should be a sign on this answer. Thus, whenever the users see that sign, they know that this answer is an official-proved answer, which means it is authorized and believable.
|
https://medium.com/the-open-book/scholarly-conversations-e20da442400d
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['Yunshen Gan']
|
2016-12-16 06:28:53.863000+00:00
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['Design', 'Quora']
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Title Scholarly ConversationsContent Zhihu Chinese questionandanswer website question created answered edited organized community user Classical Chinese “Zhihu” mean “Do know” Chineselanguage internet user nowadays increasingly resort Zhihu expert knowledge insight various topic scholar Zhihu evaluating information discussing response many expert together Whenever answer created viewed critiqued many user Zhihu Everyone provide perspective answer user “agree” respond pushed top question hand user Zhihu “disagree” response bottom website Unfortunately although everyone Zhihu discussing scholarly topic rule user determine authority Indeed expert professional website user cannot determine expert isn’t Thus way people determine authority credibility see many person press “agree” “disagree” However expert pretty famous certain area user creates account asked choose field professional interested create highlyvalued answer certain field user “follow” sometimes “invite” answer question field way many celebrity created people would prefer believe answer viewpoint website improved validating answer worker Zhihu invite expert check answer trustworthy expert agree answer sign answer Thus whenever user see sign know answer officialproved answer mean authorized believableTags Design Quora
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5,050 |
Daylighting Melbourne: how we can transform our cities, street by street
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Daylighting Melbourne: how we can transform our cities, street by street
Let us Not-Plan. Instead, let’s break urban transformation into a series of small, progressive steps, enabling people, technology, place, and environment to be aligned a little more carefully, and unlocking better streets as we go
Cars have laid waste to our cities. The sister article to this piece lays out how, but also what some cities are beginning to do about it. And within that article is a note about a particular design strategy for unpicking the car-dominated street, bit by bit. This piece expands upon that, working as a kind of extended footnote. Note: as a playbook entry, it’s detailed; so perhaps read it in pieces.
The street is the basic unit of city. It is where the city comes together. It is unique to the city, in a way that other roads, or buildings, are not. It is not the freeway (despite some transport planners’ best efforts) nor is it the residential cul-de-sac or country lane. It is where we live, work and play, where the slightly higher density of interactions forces contradiction and complexity, yet in a way which is entirely everyday. It is, to paraphrase Sennett, where we learn to live well with people who are not like us; in other words, the whole point of cities.
For that to happen, we need to rebalance the street as a series of slow and fast layers of change: to enable adaptation and flexibility to the fast moving layers of mobility technologies, in ways that the heavy, distinctly 20th century infrastructure for the car and truck does not, whilst reinforcing the slower, more valuable characteristics of streets, like places for open, social and civic interaction, whether markets, playgrounds, theatre, gardens, or culture and cultures. But put simply, our approach to the former, designing for 20thC mobility, has tended to destroy the latter.
Despite cities making statements to the contrary, the transport planner (really a traffic engineer in most cases) has inadvertently been allowed to define what the street is about — as if we invented streets in order to generate traffic. The street is only incidentally about traffic yet that is largely how it is managed, and so that is what it becomes.
Put traffic engineers in charge of the street and you get traffic. If we put gardeners in charge of the street, we’d get gardens.
From a design and policy point-of-view, we generally are left with the challenge of a toolkit for streets still tuned to 20th century. We have to reverse that now.
Melbourne as a prototype
A few questions spring to mind:
How do we describe new ‘north stars’ to steer with, framed around challenges like climate, health, and social justice? And how can these deliver richer, more ‘everyday complex’, diverse and delightful streets?
How do policymakers and planners uncover new methods for these new outcomes?
How do we elegantly, carefully yet ambitiously take advantage of the new mobility technologies?
How do we really unlock the power of the street by unhooking it from the idea of the car as progress?
How do we take people with us through this transformation, as we reverse the polarity of all that 20th century advertising and engineering?
Whilst helping devise the initial vision and strategy for Melbourne’s Innovation District with my former team Arup Digital Studio, we wanted to explore how we might address these questions, showing how existing streets could be ‘flipped’ over time, describing a different practice to traditional planning, and using a richer array of tools. Working closely with the brilliant Chris Green in my team, we created ourselves a little brief within the broader project, and called on the expertise of Arup’s Global Transport Leader Isabel Dedring. (Chris and I had worked together on numerous projects ‘future street’ projects at Arup, from Sidewalk Labs to Gemeente Amsterdam, and Isabel had actually run much of London’s transport, whilst deputy mayor there.)
With Isabel’s guidance, Chris and I sketched out an approach to transforming a typical inner-Melbourne street by progressively switching out its car-based mobility over time. We wanted to describe how a series of small apparently tactical moves could in fact be strategic, combining to great effect over time, building footholds as we go. Given the ongoing failure of planning to understand tech, it would be important to suggest how to take advantage of today’s technology, and tomorrow’s as it becomes useful. In particular, we wanted to describe a participative approach to interventions, enabling people to engage step-by-step. And crucially, to describe how focusing on outcomes — ends rather than means — and using a ‘North Star’ for societal outcomes, as with mission-oriented innovation, might enable a richer set of values in play.
Generalising wildly, admittedly, such an approach would the opposite of urban planning, a kind of Un-Planning (though not the same as Non-Plan at all, given it still is a directed, design-led practice). It would instead deploy an ‘adaptive design’ philosophy and practice: iterative, agile, engaged, working in slow and fast layers simultaneously, common to interaction design, service design, and other contemporary design practices honed in the tech sector. As usual in my work, it would adapt a ‘small pieces, loosely joined’ design philosophy derived from designing on the internet, and thus human-centred, yet try to place this in the context of cities and urbanism, and thus beyond individually-oriented user-centred design, and into the broader circuits of urban systems and the biosphere.
Incidentally, Melbourne could work as a prototype here as it is in many ways a perfect collision of European, American and Asian urban influences. It is its own place—and most of all, Wurundjeri—but at the same time has weathered waves of post-colonial development. Its history includes modified European models (not just British, but also Italian, Greek, and other southern and eastern European cultures), North American urban development perhaps most of all, as usual with Australia, and more recently, significant Asian influence. As such, it is an endlessly interesting and complex place, yet could stand in, almost like a movie set, for many other urban types elsewhere.
Frame by frame
The area in question for us, just outside the central business district of Melbourne, is still in fully 20th century mode—and so it’s typical of many cities. How could it be iteratively transformed to become more valuable, in every sense, via a design process which is equitable, participative and replicable?
We had an overall vision for the district in mind, avoiding the trap of using property development as the engine for change, and instead threading together the existing city via a diverse series of different interventions, creating ribbons of new activity running on the existing streets. (More on this project later, perhaps.) Still, this diagram illustrates how an individual street transformation could be part of a wider ‘play’, progressively weaving a tapestry-like pattern across these grids of city. These activities are all ‘lighter’ layers, generally requiring little in the way of large capital investment, and each capable of being tested and iterated in place.
|
https://medium.com/dark-matter-and-trojan-horses/daylighting-melbourne-how-we-can-transform-our-cities-street-by-street-2345410741
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['Dan Hill']
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2020-09-30 20:18:27.184000+00:00
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['Design', 'Urbanism', 'Mobility', 'Cities', 'Urban Planning']
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Title Daylighting Melbourne transform city street streetContent Daylighting Melbourne transform city street street Let u NotPlan Instead let’s break urban transformation series small progressive step enabling people technology place environment aligned little carefully unlocking better street go Cars laid waste city sister article piece lay also city beginning within article note particular design strategy unpicking cardominated street bit bit piece expands upon working kind extended footnote Note playbook entry it’s detailed perhaps read piece street basic unit city city come together unique city way road building freeway despite transport planners’ best effort residential culdesac country lane live work play slightly higher density interaction force contradiction complexity yet way entirely everyday paraphrase Sennett learn live well people like u word whole point city happen need rebalance street series slow fast layer change enable adaptation flexibility fast moving layer mobility technology way heavy distinctly 20th century infrastructure car truck whilst reinforcing slower valuable characteristic street like place open social civic interaction whether market playground theatre garden culture culture put simply approach former designing 20thC mobility tended destroy latter Despite city making statement contrary transport planner really traffic engineer case inadvertently allowed define street — invented street order generate traffic street incidentally traffic yet largely managed becomes Put traffic engineer charge street get traffic put gardener charge street we’d get garden design policy pointofview generally left challenge toolkit street still tuned 20th century reverse Melbourne prototype question spring mind describe new ‘north stars’ steer framed around challenge like climate health social justice deliver richer ‘everyday complex’ diverse delightful street policymakers planner uncover new method new outcome elegantly carefully yet ambitiously take advantage new mobility technology really unlock power street unhooking idea car progress take people u transformation reverse polarity 20th century advertising engineering Whilst helping devise initial vision strategy Melbourne’s Innovation District former team Arup Digital Studio wanted explore might address question showing existing street could ‘flipped’ time describing different practice traditional planning using richer array tool Working closely brilliant Chris Green team created little brief within broader project called expertise Arup’s Global Transport Leader Isabel Dedring Chris worked together numerous project ‘future street’ project Arup Sidewalk Labs Gemeente Amsterdam Isabel actually run much London’s transport whilst deputy mayor Isabel’s guidance Chris sketched approach transforming typical innerMelbourne street progressively switching carbased mobility time wanted describe series small apparently tactical move could fact strategic combining great effect time building foothold go Given ongoing failure planning understand tech would important suggest take advantage today’s technology tomorrow’s becomes useful particular wanted describe participative approach intervention enabling people engage stepbystep crucially describe focusing outcome — end rather mean — using ‘North Star’ societal outcome missionoriented innovation might enable richer set value play Generalising wildly admittedly approach would opposite urban planning kind UnPlanning though NonPlan given still directed designled practice would instead deploy ‘adaptive design’ philosophy practice iterative agile engaged working slow fast layer simultaneously common interaction design service design contemporary design practice honed tech sector usual work would adapt ‘small piece loosely joined’ design philosophy derived designing internet thus humancentred yet try place context city urbanism thus beyond individuallyoriented usercentred design broader circuit urban system biosphere Incidentally Melbourne could work prototype many way perfect collision European American Asian urban influence place—and Wurundjeri—but time weathered wave postcolonial development history includes modified European model British also Italian Greek southern eastern European culture North American urban development perhaps usual Australia recently significant Asian influence endlessly interesting complex place yet could stand almost like movie set many urban type elsewhere Frame frame area question u outside central business district Melbourne still fully 20th century mode—and it’s typical many city could iteratively transformed become valuable every sense via design process equitable participative replicable overall vision district mind avoiding trap using property development engine change instead threading together existing city via diverse series different intervention creating ribbon new activity running existing street project later perhaps Still diagram illustrates individual street transformation could part wider ‘play’ progressively weaving tapestrylike pattern across grid city activity ‘lighter’ layer generally requiring little way large capital investment capable tested iterated placeTags Design Urbanism Mobility Cities Urban Planning
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5,051 |
20 Spots for Remote Workers Who Are About That Latte and Laptop Life
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Earlier this year, I wrote about why remote working became my first step towards lifestyle innovation. And I talked about how, as a remote working newbie, different environments seemed to help drive inspiration and productivity, and how, as a result, working wherever WiFi and a seat were available quickly became my new normal.
A coffee shop used to be my quick stop for a morning cup of coffee or tea before heading to the office. Now, often times, it is the office, where I expect to spend anywhere from 15–18 hours a week.
Confession: I love tea more than coffee. But both are great to fill up the hours until it’s acceptable to drink wine.
Do you have days when you’ve said your motivational mantras, have your Brain Food playlist on Spotify and you’re ‘bout your business, pumped and plugging through tasks? But do you also have days where you’ve had the same 80 internet tabs open for hours and counting blades of grass sounds more captivating than your current to-do list?
Because remote workers spend the majority of time in physical isolation from our colleagues and professional networks, a heightened sense of self-awareness is often developed and ultimately, a keen understanding of our respective work styles. In reflection, I’ve found I’ve become especially perceptive to my mood and environment, and my needs to navigate the varying work days in response to those moods and environments.
(outside the Sugar Hill Cafe — Harlem, New York)
For most professionals, work is what has to get done before life starts for the day (frankly, night). For many remote workers, that line is blurred, and with good reason, because we’ve been granted the unique opportunity to blend work into our lifestyle.
Coffee shops offer an experience that their street-side promotional chalkboards try so hard to convey. And having typically been the haven for writers, artists, and other creative types, there’s something to be said about their ability to foster that work/lifestyle blend (via stable WiFi).
So, if you’ve got loads in different area codes (I’m talking about work), here are my top 20 coffee shops across the country worth checking out. Let me know your favorites!
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https://medium.com/future-of-work/20-spots-for-remote-workers-who-are-about-that-latte-and-laptop-life-f63b8fb1a70a
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['Tameka Vasquez']
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2017-12-18 14:00:28.179000+00:00
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['Remote Working', 'Travel', 'Coffee Shop', 'Virtual Office', 'Productivity']
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Title 20 Spots Remote Workers Latte Laptop LifeContent Earlier year wrote remote working became first step towards lifestyle innovation talked remote working newbie different environment seemed help drive inspiration productivity result working wherever WiFi seat available quickly became new normal coffee shop used quick stop morning cup coffee tea heading office often time office expect spend anywhere 15–18 hour week Confession love tea coffee great fill hour it’s acceptable drink wine day you’ve said motivational mantra Brain Food playlist Spotify you’re ‘bout business pumped plugging task also day you’ve 80 internet tab open hour counting blade grass sound captivating current todo list remote worker spend majority time physical isolation colleague professional network heightened sense selfawareness often developed ultimately keen understanding respective work style reflection I’ve found I’ve become especially perceptive mood environment need navigate varying work day response mood environment outside Sugar Hill Cafe — Harlem New York professional work get done life start day frankly night many remote worker line blurred good reason we’ve granted unique opportunity blend work lifestyle Coffee shop offer experience streetside promotional chalkboard try hard convey typically writer artist creative type there’s something said ability foster worklifestyle blend via stable WiFi you’ve got load different area code I’m talking work top 20 coffee shop across country worth checking Let know favoritesTags Remote Working Travel Coffee Shop Virtual Office Productivity
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5,052 |
6 Reasons Why You Should Try Flutter as an iOS Developer
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Flutter may be the best thing that happened to the mobile development scene in the recent past. It allows me to work faster, and more conveniently, and believe me, it might do the same for you.
So, are you an iOS Developer like me? Yes? Have you befriended a new kid on the block called Flutter? The 1.0 release of this Google-made framework was up in December 2018, but it’s moving forward really quickly.
If you haven’t tried it yet, I encourage you to do so. It’s a fantastic framework — it challenges both existing cross-platform frameworks, as well as native platforms, to become better. To make your decision easier, I gathered a list of features, that in my opinion, put Flutter above other tools used for iOS development.
1. Material Design: Making Prototypes Becomes Easy
I was born to become an iOS developer. Apple products and design made me a little biased towards Apple, and I prefer their UI design over Material Design.
However, I must admit that making good looking apps and prototypes is much easier with Material Design. At least for non-designers like me. This drives me to the first advantage of Flutter — it has dedicated widgets for most of the Material elements. A widget is a basic component used to build UI in Flutter. You can think about widgets, like about UIViews in iOS.
10Clouds’ designers working on one of the projects
Take a look at a gallery of widgets provided by the Flutter team. With a little help from official documentation, you can easily create prototypes that are easy to use and follow the best industry practices. Of course, you are not tight to Material design. Some widgets from a package called Cupertino recreate iOS components.
2. Android Studio: A Great Tool for… iOS Developer
This may be a bold statement, but I think that AppCode is a way better IDE than Xcode. It comes from JetBrains, a company focused specifically on making developers lives easier. If you are familiar with one of their IDE (like WebStorm or AppCode) you will know how to use the rest of them — you can switch from AppCode to Android Studio in no time which is a real time saver when you work on iOS and Flutter application during the same day.
Android Studio works great with Dart and Flutter. Code completion is quick, and syntax highlighting always work. You have great shortcuts for wrapping and unwrapping widgets, renaming and method extracting. There is also one handy keyboard shortcut (Cmd+D) which duplicates a line of code. What a great piece of software! If you really don’t like Android Studio, there is a solution for you as well. You can use a designated plugin for Visual Studio Code.
3. Hot Reloading: See the Changes Instantly
You make adjustments in application UI, and compile Swift application. It takes a long time, so you start working on next thing (like this one from XKCD). Then the application runs, and you forgot what you actually changed. Sounds familiar? When the iOS project grows, compilation can take a lot of time. It is a serious issue. We have to wait for our application, we lost a lot of time, and we can be easily distracted during that time.
Waiting, and waiting…
Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
Dart, language that we use to write Flutter applications, has a solution for this. It can compile in two modes. Ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation is used when you build an app for production. It takes more time but compiles binary works faster. Just-in-time (JIT) is used when you are developing the application. JIT compilation allows you to see your changes instantly which speeds up development cycles. This feature is often called hot reloading. No more, „app is compiling” excuses in Flutter!
4. Dart: As Easy as It Gets
When the first versions of Swift appeared I was a bit skeptical. Objective-C seemed to be a very good language and developing apps in it was a pleasure. But then I fall in love with Swift. Code that takes 100 lines in both Objective-C files can be written in Swift in 50 lines (or less) in one file! And all that functional programming functions. Oh boy, what a blast.
When I started learning Flutter, the first thing I noticed was Dart’s simplicity
But then Swift started to change, and I have a feeling that these changes are not taking us in the right direction. I’m expecting a modernization of UIKit not KeyPath and dynamicCallable in Foundation. I think they make code less readable. When I started learning Flutter, the first thing I noticed was Dart’s simplicity. No classes in other classes. Simple numeric enums, async/await keywords, easy access control, and a great code formatting. We discussed it in our 10Clouds mobile team, and I said that even a toddler that knows any object-oriented programming language could easily read code written in Dart.
5. Explicit File Import: Bye, Bye, Traumatic Naming Experiences
I’m bad at naming. I named my last macOS application Countdowns. It is a pretty popular word, so obviously I can’t monitor the publications that are mentioning it. In fact, it took me a week to find out that it was featured on Lifehacker.
Swift forces me to give every class and struct in the project different name. Finding a valid name for n-th kind of button that is used in the code may be a traumatic experience. The reason for this is simple — all not “private” and “fileprivate” objects are visible in all files of the Swift module. A solution used in Dart, where you have to explicitly declare what files are you importing allows me to give classes shorted, and still fully understandable names. This also has some disadvantages — you may land with long import list on top of your source code file. But you can fight with that by making listing files that export your interface.
6. No Threads, Fewer Problems
Threads or Dispatch Queues are a great invention to separate our UI code from operations that can be executed in the background. Except they are not. When using threads, we can encounter many problems. Especially when we work with properties that are used between threads. This is like in this old programmers joke: `Some people, when confronted with a problem, think “I know, I’ll use multithreading”. “Nothhw tpe yawrve o oblems”`.
Dart took a different approach that works great in JavaScript — it’s single threaded. Of course, it doesn’t mean that we can’t do an asynchronous task. We can, but with a help of async/await, or by Futures and Streams. For more advanced users there is also thread-like support called Isolate. These internal workers don’t share a memory, so we don’t have to worry about race condition.
A Serious React Native Competitor
I hope those arguments made your mind up a bit, and you will at least check Flutter’s docs. At 10Clouds we believe that Flutter can be a serious competitor to React Native. It proved to be less error-prone and platform agnostic than RN in our projects. With Flutter Web on the horizon, we will be able to share code with the web as well, which is one of the biggest selling points for RN right now.
Additionally, Flutter is blazing fast. It can be a remedy for React Native UI quirks, and from my experience, it’s proven to be production ready in multiple use cases. And last but not least, from a developer perspective, it’s just fun to work with.
At 10Clouds, we develop outstanding mobile apps. Check out our mobile services website to get more details or just contact us. From business consulting, through choosing the right technology, to delivering perfect code, our team will make the best use of its wide skills to make your product successful.
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https://medium.com/beautiful-code-smart-design-by-10clouds/6-reasons-why-you-should-try-flutter-as-an-ios-developer-cc7c898036e1
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['Kamil Powałowski']
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2019-05-31 11:21:01.370000+00:00
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['App Development', 'Flutter', 'iOS', 'Mobile', 'Development']
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Title 6 Reasons Try Flutter iOS DeveloperContent Flutter may best thing happened mobile development scene recent past allows work faster conveniently believe might iOS Developer like Yes befriended new kid block called Flutter 10 release Googlemade framework December 2018 it’s moving forward really quickly haven’t tried yet encourage It’s fantastic framework — challenge existing crossplatform framework well native platform become better make decision easier gathered list feature opinion put Flutter tool used iOS development 1 Material Design Making Prototypes Becomes Easy born become iOS developer Apple product design made little biased towards Apple prefer UI design Material Design However must admit making good looking apps prototype much easier Material Design least nondesigners like drive first advantage Flutter — dedicated widget Material element widget basic component used build UI Flutter think widget like UIViews iOS 10Clouds’ designer working one project Take look gallery widget provided Flutter team little help official documentation easily create prototype easy use follow best industry practice course tight Material design widget package called Cupertino recreate iOS component 2 Android Studio Great Tool for… iOS Developer may bold statement think AppCode way better IDE Xcode come JetBrains company focused specifically making developer life easier familiar one IDE like WebStorm AppCode know use rest — switch AppCode Android Studio time real time saver work iOS Flutter application day Android Studio work great Dart Flutter Code completion quick syntax highlighting always work great shortcut wrapping unwrapping widget renaming method extracting also one handy keyboard shortcut CmdD duplicate line code great piece software really don’t like Android Studio solution well use designated plugin Visual Studio Code 3 Hot Reloading See Changes Instantly make adjustment application UI compile Swift application take long time start working next thing like one XKCD application run forgot actually changed Sounds familiar iOS project grows compilation take lot time serious issue wait application lost lot time easily distracted time Waiting waiting… Photo NordWood Themes Unsplash Dart language use write Flutter application solution compile two mode Aheadoftime AOT compilation used build app production take time compiles binary work faster Justintime JIT used developing application JIT compilation allows see change instantly speed development cycle feature often called hot reloading „app compiling” excuse Flutter 4 Dart Easy Gets first version Swift appeared bit skeptical ObjectiveC seemed good language developing apps pleasure fall love Swift Code take 100 line ObjectiveC file written Swift 50 line le one file functional programming function Oh boy blast started learning Flutter first thing noticed Dart’s simplicity Swift started change feeling change taking u right direction I’m expecting modernization UIKit KeyPath dynamicCallable Foundation think make code le readable started learning Flutter first thing noticed Dart’s simplicity class class Simple numeric enums asyncawait keywords easy access control great code formatting discussed 10Clouds mobile team said even toddler know objectoriented programming language could easily read code written Dart 5 Explicit File Import Bye Bye Traumatic Naming Experiences I’m bad naming named last macOS application Countdowns pretty popular word obviously can’t monitor publication mentioning fact took week find featured Lifehacker Swift force give every class struct project different name Finding valid name nth kind button used code may traumatic experience reason simple — “private” “fileprivate” object visible file Swift module solution used Dart explicitly declare file importing allows give class shorted still fully understandable name also disadvantage — may land long import list top source code file fight making listing file export interface 6 Threads Fewer Problems Threads Dispatch Queues great invention separate UI code operation executed background Except using thread encounter many problem Especially work property used thread like old programmer joke people confronted problem think “I know I’ll use multithreading” “Nothhw tpe yawrve oblems” Dart took different approach work great JavaScript — it’s single threaded course doesn’t mean can’t asynchronous task help asyncawait Futures Streams advanced user also threadlike support called Isolate internal worker don’t share memory don’t worry race condition Serious React Native Competitor hope argument made mind bit least check Flutter’s doc 10Clouds believe Flutter serious competitor React Native proved le errorprone platform agnostic RN project Flutter Web horizon able share code web well one biggest selling point RN right Additionally Flutter blazing fast remedy React Native UI quirk experience it’s proven production ready multiple use case last least developer perspective it’s fun work 10Clouds develop outstanding mobile apps Check mobile service website get detail contact u business consulting choosing right technology delivering perfect code team make best use wide skill make product successfulTags App Development Flutter iOS Mobile Development
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5,053 |
安裝 Puffin 全雲端上網擴充 如虎添翼
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CloudMosa’s mission is to empower the world’s phones through cloud computing and make them universally powerful and useful.
Follow
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https://medium.com/cloudmosa-tw/%E5%AE%89%E8%A3%9D-puffin-%E5%85%A8%E9%9B%B2%E7%AB%AF%E4%B8%8A%E7%B6%B2%E6%93%B4%E5%85%85-%E5%A6%82%E8%99%8E%E6%B7%BB%E7%BF%BC-f610b13b64ed
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['Cloudmosa']
|
2020-11-16 02:46:31.644000+00:00
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['Chrome Extension', 'Web Isolation', 'Cloud Computing', 'Cloud Services', 'Cybersecurity']
|
Title 安裝 Puffin 全雲端上網擴充 如虎添翼Content CloudMosa’s mission empower world’s phone cloud computing make universally powerful useful FollowTags Chrome Extension Web Isolation Cloud Computing Cloud Services Cybersecurity
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5,054 |
Consent in Art
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It’s irritating how irrelevant consent becomes to people when it comes to art, especially art available (for free, if you know where to look) online. Many seem to think they have any right to decide on an artist’s priorities, or that they have any “right” on the art itself without going the way the artist wants them to, like paying, or using an online portal the artist consented into supplying their art.
Consent, people. It’s not hard! Does the artist explicitly say you can use their art in the way you want to use it? Yes -> Go ahead. No -> Not your decision. No matter how small and irrelevant the use, no matter how much you (think you) need it. It’s not your choice! They decide on their own priorities — everyone decides on their own priorities. Apply your logic to _any_ field outside of art and you quickly see how ridiculous and away from reality, and also common sense, it is.
I’m not creative in any way myself. Hell, I rarely ever created anything artistic all by myself. But even artists sometimes think that way. It’s ok to not think of everything by yourself but it’s not ok to discuss on this beyond education just because you somehow think it’s different for art. Consent is not up to discussion. Ever. In any context. If someone can’t consent, you don’t do stuff to them outside of saving their life or preventing them from having great pain.
Ask any webcomic artist what they think of 9Gag or iFunny. Ask any movie producer what they think of movie piracy. Ask any music interpret what they think of sharing platforms. If you think they wouldn’t care, ask them. No answer? Not your call! They give consent (some even do!)? Go ahead! They say No? You were wrong and have no right on their art, no matter how much you like it. The art is too expensive? Same thing! The artist behaves morally questionable? Don’t support that. The art is not available in your country or any platform you can access due to legal reasons? Ask them to offer it in your country — and try to change the law. Participate politically. Don’t like the situation? Try to change it according to active laws and political structures.
This, of course, applies to every situation, even just sharing webcomics on facebook, altered/translated or not. Dig up the original and embed or link it with credit — it’s not hard. Every small consent violation makes a difference, because it normalizes that. Catcalling, wide-spread and often “well-intended”, hurts. Guys often don’t realize that; many even argue that they’d like, or even want it — even if that’s true even if it happened as often as it does for women, it is not your choice to decide on what anyone else wants, likes and prioritizes. Even victimless crimes, like taking an empty seat you didn’t pay for in a cinema, or pirating art, are drops of water on the heads of integrity and consent. Do you not go voting because your vote “doesn’t make a difference anyway”? No. And if you don’t, you don’t get to complain, that’s common knowledge.
Even small things add up. Everything works this way, still many people think contrary, act according to that and normalize it further. It’s called conditioning, which works with everything in the universe. It’s a good thing small things add up in elections, or for the goals of a torturer that water drops on the same spot for too long drive people beyond their capacities, but people consented into democracy. If you don’t like it, move somewhere else which fits your political views more, but you won’t find a country that’ll let you do all decisions since humanity is advanced enough to know that noone is smarter than everyone else, and noone can sustain themselves on their own either if they want to hold any standard of living higher than Tarzan.
Just like with art. Don’t like the circumstances? Too bad, not your decision, do not use it. Use something else which fits your needs. Noone needs specific, individual art to survive. For comfort, yes, for sanity, in some cases, but there’s consented-to-be free or really cheap art of every major genre in every kind of art you can fall back to if you think you can’t live without it, but can’t afford the art, or don’t want to support the artist.
|
https://medium.com/consent-culture-a-conversation/consent-in-art-cc6d37c1dd97
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['Jannis Tenbrink']
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2020-08-04 22:46:40.430000+00:00
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['Movies', 'Music', 'Consent', 'Media', 'Art']
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Title Consent ArtContent It’s irritating irrelevant consent becomes people come art especially art available free know look online Many seem think right decide artist’s priority “right” art without going way artist want like paying using online portal artist consented supplying art Consent people It’s hard artist explicitly say use art way want use Yes Go ahead decision matter small irrelevant use matter much think need It’s choice decide priority — everyone decides priority Apply logic field outside art quickly see ridiculous away reality also common sense I’m creative way Hell rarely ever created anything artistic even artist sometimes think way It’s ok think everything it’s ok discus beyond education somehow think it’s different art Consent discussion Ever context someone can’t consent don’t stuff outside saving life preventing great pain Ask webcomic artist think 9Gag iFunny Ask movie producer think movie piracy Ask music interpret think sharing platform think wouldn’t care ask answer call give consent even Go ahead say wrong right art matter much like art expensive thing artist behaves morally questionable Don’t support art available country platform access due legal reason Ask offer country — try change law Participate politically Don’t like situation Try change according active law political structure course applies every situation even sharing webcomics facebook alteredtranslated Dig original embed link credit — it’s hard Every small consent violation make difference normalizes Catcalling widespread often “wellintended” hurt Guys often don’t realize many even argue they’d like even want — even that’s true even happened often woman choice decide anyone else want like prioritizes Even victimless crime like taking empty seat didn’t pay cinema pirating art drop water head integrity consent go voting vote “doesn’t make difference anyway” don’t don’t get complain that’s common knowledge Even small thing add Everything work way still many people think contrary act according normalize It’s called conditioning work everything universe It’s good thing small thing add election goal torturer water drop spot long drive people beyond capacity people consented democracy don’t like move somewhere else fit political view won’t find country that’ll let decision since humanity advanced enough know noone smarter everyone else noone sustain either want hold standard living higher Tarzan like art Don’t like circumstance bad decision use Use something else fit need Noone need specific individual art survive comfort yes sanity case there’s consentedtobe free really cheap art every major genre every kind art fall back think can’t live without can’t afford art don’t want support artistTags Movies Music Consent Media Art
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5,055 |
Data Science Scholarships-Full-list Compilations.
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Data Science has been described as one of the best jobs in the world consistently, and of course the sexiest job in the 21st century. Data Scientists have on average a masters’ degree and people invest more in gaining degrees in this field.
Currently, a Data Science degree cost more than most of the other courses and some as much as $57,000. This huge cost creates a big barrier for people to enter into this field.
However, there are several forms of financial aids that can help to lessen your financial bill as you enter into the Data Science field. Finding them is a time-consuming activity.
Today, I share with you a complete compilation of various Data Science and Analytics Scholarships and other forms of Financial Aid.
Coursera Data Science Scholarships for Learners in India
Data Science Masters/PH.D. Degree Scholarships
Top 5 Scholarships For Data Science And Machine Learning Programmes
Google PhD Fellowship Program
The only impact that will differentiate you from the thousands of candidates applied to the same job is the proof of skills. Building a Data Science Portfolio is what can ACTUALLY get you your dream job.
REGISTER NOW
The Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship
IBM PhD Fellowship program
The Facebook Fellowship Program
17 Ph.D. in Data Science Scholarships 2020
Comprehensive List of Data Science Scholarships
Women in Data Science Scholarship
20 Great Scholarships for Data Science and Big Data
MASTER OF SCIENCE (MSC) — DATA SCIENCE AND BUSINESS ANALYTICS
15 Data Science Masters Degree Scholarships 2019–2020
Sponsorship Opportunities at CDS
Data Science scholarships 2020–2021
Data Sciences Research and Study Opportunities
The only impact that will differentiate you from the thousands of candidates applied to the same job is the proof of skills. Building a Data Science Portfolio is what can ACTUALLY get you your dream job.
REGISTER NOW
Master of Data Science Scholarship
Masters in Data Science in Canada: Top Universities, Admission Process, Cost, Scholarships, & Job Prospects
Data Science and Artificial Intelligence PhD
81 Data-Science scholarships in Canada
Australian Government Research Scholarship 2020 (Fully Funded)
FELLOWSHIP.AI
MSc Scholarships in Data Science for International Students, 2019
UBC Master of Data Science
Masters in Data Science in Germany — Best Programs for 2020
Data Science MSc
The Data Science for Social Good Fellowship
data science PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships in New Zealand
The only impact that will differentiate you from the thousands of candidates applied to the same job is the proof of skills. Building a Data Science Portfolio is what can ACTUALLY get you your dream job.
REGISTER NOW
MrBriit
Total Data Science
|
https://medium.com/total-data-science/data-science-scholarships-full-list-compilations-d2e2738f91f1
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[]
|
2020-11-14 01:44:52.109000+00:00
|
['Machine Learning', 'Data Science', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Data Visualization', 'Data']
|
Title Data Science ScholarshipsFulllist CompilationsContent Data Science described one best job world consistently course sexiest job 21st century Data Scientists average masters’ degree people invest gaining degree field Currently Data Science degree cost course much 57000 huge cost creates big barrier people enter field However several form financial aid help lessen financial bill enter Data Science field Finding timeconsuming activity Today share complete compilation various Data Science Analytics Scholarships form Financial Aid Coursera Data Science Scholarships Learners India Data Science MastersPHD Degree Scholarships Top 5 Scholarships Data Science Machine Learning Programmes Google PhD Fellowship Program impact differentiate thousand candidate applied job proof skill Building Data Science Portfolio ACTUALLY get dream job REGISTER Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship IBM PhD Fellowship program Facebook Fellowship Program 17 PhD Data Science Scholarships 2020 Comprehensive List Data Science Scholarships Women Data Science Scholarship 20 Great Scholarships Data Science Big Data MASTER SCIENCE MSC — DATA SCIENCE BUSINESS ANALYTICS 15 Data Science Masters Degree Scholarships 2019–2020 Sponsorship Opportunities CDS Data Science scholarship 2020–2021 Data Sciences Research Study Opportunities impact differentiate thousand candidate applied job proof skill Building Data Science Portfolio ACTUALLY get dream job REGISTER Master Data Science Scholarship Masters Data Science Canada Top Universities Admission Process Cost Scholarships Job Prospects Data Science Artificial Intelligence PhD 81 DataScience scholarship Canada Australian Government Research Scholarship 2020 Fully Funded FELLOWSHIPAI MSc Scholarships Data Science International Students 2019 UBC Master Data Science Masters Data Science Germany — Best Programs 2020 Data Science MSc Data Science Social Good Fellowship data science PhD Projects Programs Scholarships New Zealand impact differentiate thousand candidate applied job proof skill Building Data Science Portfolio ACTUALLY get dream job REGISTER MrBriit Total Data ScienceTags Machine Learning Data Science Artificial Intelligence Data Visualization Data
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5,056 |
Gifts for the Discerning Graphic Designer in Your Life
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If you’ve had the pleasure of working alongside (or living with) a graphic designer, you’re aware that they can be picky creatures — especially when it comes to items they deem worthy of introducing into their carefully designed workspaces/living rooms/wardrobes.
Luckily, the members of Kick Point’s “Design Island” are here to help! Here are some items we’d be proud to welcome into our lives this Christmas — or anytime, for that matter. Of course, taste is unique to the individual, but we hope that this list helps you put a smile on a designer’s face.
Super Sweet Pins by Super Team Deluxe
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https://medium.com/kick-point/gifts-for-the-discerning-graphic-designer-in-your-life-e7daeb109320
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['Emma Butler']
|
2017-11-30 19:05:28.495000+00:00
|
['Design', 'Inspiration', 'Web Design', 'Gifts', 'Graphic Design']
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Title Gifts Discerning Graphic Designer LifeContent you’ve pleasure working alongside living graphic designer you’re aware picky creature — especially come item deem worthy introducing carefully designed workspacesliving roomswardrobes Luckily member Kick Point’s “Design Island” help item we’d proud welcome life Christmas — anytime matter course taste unique individual hope list help put smile designer’s face Super Sweet Pins Super Team DeluxeTags Design Inspiration Web Design Gifts Graphic Design
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5,057 |
About What Works
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What Works is an invitation to in-depth, non-obvious thinking about small business in the digital world.
Our goal is to bring you a candid look at what’s actually going on under the hoods of successful small businesses.
You’ll find articles from the host of the What Works podcast, Tara McMullin, show notes on our podcast episodes, and contributions from What Works Network members.
|
https://medium.com/help-yourself/about-help-yourself-cocommercial-e0e02057ce1a
|
['Tara Mcmullin']
|
2019-04-02 16:41:36.676000+00:00
|
['Small Business', 'Entrepreneurship']
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Title WorksContent Works invitation indepth nonobvious thinking small business digital world goal bring candid look what’s actually going hood successful small business You’ll find article host Works podcast Tara McMullin show note podcast episode contribution Works Network membersTags Small Business Entrepreneurship
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5,058 |
Beginner Tips: Async/Await
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Async Cannot Be Used With .forEach
One of the first issues I ran into was using async with .forEach . Unfortunately, it took me a while to realize that they are not compatible. This is due to the fact that .forEach only invokes a function, which means it does not wait for the function to end before moving on with the next iteration. There are a few options when it comes to remedying this. One option is to use .reduce .
|
https://medium.com/better-programming/beginner-tips-async-await-b4ee13e71f7f
|
['Ellen Park']
|
2020-12-18 16:41:24.127000+00:00
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['Angular', 'JavaScript', 'React', 'Nodejs', 'Programming']
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Title Beginner Tips AsyncAwaitContent Async Cannot Used forEach One first issue ran using async forEach Unfortunately took realize compatible due fact forEach invokes function mean wait function end moving next iteration option come remedying One option use reduce Tags Angular JavaScript React Nodejs Programming
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5,059 |
Design and Analysis of Firefly Response to the Stimulus
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Introduction
The dynamical system in simple words is a system whose state changes over time. The example includes the mathematical model that describes population growth, swinging of a pendulum, or predator-prey model. There are two types of dynamical systems: iterated maps and differentials equations. The iterated maps are used to solve problems where time is discrete, whereas the differential equation is used to solve problems where time is continuous.
Now confining our attention to differential equations, it can be divided into various types: Ordinary or Partial and Linear or Nonlinear, etc. In this report, we will deal with Ordinary differential equations and Nonlinear differential equations.
We can understand the idea of a dynamic system, ordinary and nonlinear differential equations by using an example of a population growth model. In any population, the number of individuals changes over time. The change in population can occur due to various reasons, for example, resource availability, competition, and disease. The simplest model describing changes in the population size is the exponential growth model. For simplicity, we will assume that the population does not interact with its environment and does not get affected by environmental changes. Therefore the equation will be
dn(t)/ dt = rn
Where dn(t)/ dt is a first degree ordinary differential equation, where r is a growth rate and n in the population size. Figure 1, shows an exponential growth in population.
Figure 1: Exponential growth in population.
Synchronization in Fireflies
Synchronization — the operation or activity of two or more things at the same time or rate, often occurs in nature. For example, neurons in our brain, cardiac pacemaker cells, blinking of fireflies in unison.
Oscillators are a system which has some kind of periodic movement and shows steady state behaviour over a period of time [1]. In nature some systems become synchronized through the oscillation phenomena. Oscillator is a huge area of mathematics, therefore, we will only describe phase oscillators in this report.
Entertainment of fireflies
Fireflies are the soft bodied beetles commonly known as lightning bugs for their use of bioluminescence during twilight to attract mates. When the fireflies begin to imitate light. The fireflies blink at their own pace and frequency, however there comes a time when thousands of fireflies start flashing on and off all at once. Most of the fireflies can modify their natural frequencies to match up with the fireflies around it.Here, every firefly is trying to dynamically synchronize its frequency with that of every other firefly. This synchronization phenomenon has been studied by many scholars. We are taking a simplified model from the chapter on Firefly from the book “Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos” -by Steven H. Strogatz. Here in the model
In this chapter, Strogatz examines a model where firefly responds to rhythm of a flashing stimuli. Let us assume that the phase of the firefly’s flashing is given by θ(t) where θ=0 is the instant when the firefly emits the flash. We also assume that θ is 2π-periodic. Therefore, θ= 2πn. Then its natural frequency -the frequency at which it blinks without the presence of a stimuli be θ=ω. Similarly, now let us introduce a stimulus with 2π-periodic phase Θ(t) where Θ=0 is the instant of the stimulus flashing, and Θ = Ω is its frequency.
As we know that, firefly will attempt to synchronize with the stimulus, if the stimulus flashes after the firefly then firefly will attempt to slow. Similarly, if the stimulus is flashing before the firefly then the firefly will attempt to speed up to synchronize with the stimulus. We can describe this model with an equation as
Θ =˙ ω + A sin(Θ − θ) (1)
Where A is a measure of the ability of firefly to change its frequency in response to a stimulus, and (Θ − θ) is a phase difference between the stimulus and the firefly. In order to have a better picture of a above equation (1), we plotted a graph by giving a initial value for ω , Ω and A. Figure 2, shows the curve for phases of firefly and the stimulus.
Figure 2: Phase of firefly and stimulus.
From this equation we can imply that if 0 < Θ − θ < π, which means stimulus is ahead of the firefly, meaningΘ˙ > ω, therefore the firefly speeds up. Similarly, if −π < Θ − θ < 0, meaning Θ˙ < ω, and the firefly slows down.
Now that we have a model, we analyze the firefly’s response to the stimulus. When the entertainment occurs, the difference in phase between the stimulus and the firefly φ approaches a fixed constant. This can show various behaviour in the system : phase synchronization, phase locked, phase drift. Using equation,
φ˙= Ω − ω − A sin(φ) (2)
If the constant is 0, that means that the firefly has synchronized with the stimulus and the firefly and stimulus are flashing together. We can show this phenomenon by solving equation (2) and plotting the graph for φ vs time, where time is in the range of 0 to 2π splitted into 1000, and the initial value for ω and Ω is 11.5564 Hz. Figure 3 shows the phase synchronization.
Figure 3: Phase Synchronization
Similarly, if the constant is not 0 then it can show two different behaviours. The firefly can either be in a phase locked to the stimulus, meaning that firefly and the stimulus have the same instantaneous frequency, but the firefly will always flash behind or ahead by a fixed amount. Figure 4 shows Phase locked behaviour.
Figure 4: Phase locked.
Finally, if the constant is not 0 and if the frequency of the stimulus is too high or too low then firefly will struggle to match the frequency of the stimulus, and thus entertainment will not occur, this behaviour is known as phase drift. Figure 5 shows the phase drift behaviour.
Figure 5: Phase drift
Fixed Point and Stability Analysis
In previous figures (3,4,5) we saw the phase difference trajectories of different behaviour in the system. Now, to analyze the stability of these behaviours, we can examine the stability of the fixed points. Fixed points are defined by f(x)=0, it is a point which remains stagnant when the system changes along with the time. We can examine the stability by plotting a graph for φ˙ versus φ using equation (2). For each type of behaviour, there are different types of stability of the fixed points. For figure 6, stable fixed point is at φ = 0 which corresponds to phase synchronization, for figure 7,stable fixed point is at φ = c where c is a real constant, which corresponds to phase locked, and finally in figure 8 there are no stable fixed points.
Figure 6: Phase Synchronization Figure 7: Phase Locked
Figure 8: Phase Drift
In order for entertainment to occur , φ should move along with c as time move along with the infinity, here c can be any real number including 0, therefore, for the simplicity we consider c=0, which means fixed point , φ˙ = 0. From equation (2), we can write,
0 = Ω − ω − A sin(φ) (3)
sin(φ) = Ω − ω /A (4)
We know that −1 ≤ sin(φ) ≤ 1, therefore equation 4 will be,
−1 ≤ Ω − ω/ A ≤ 1
−A ≤ Ω − ω ≤ A
ω − A ≤ Ω ≤ ω + A (5)
Therefore, from equation (5) we can say that for the entertainment to occur omega should be between ω − A and ω + A .
We also found out that parameter A also affects the behaviour of the system. According to the plot, larger values of A cause phase synchronization, shown in figure 9, whereas smaller values cause phase drift and phase locking shown in figure 10 and figure 11 respectively.
Figure 9: Phase Synchronization Figure 10: Phase Locked
Figure 11: Phase Drift
Firefly synchronization with two stimuli
So far, we were working with a simple model which had one firefly and one stimulus. We can call this a single stimulus case. But how will the fireflies react to the two different stimuli — stimulus 1 and stimulus 2 represented by Θ1 and Θ2 respectively, meaning two different frequencies? We can explore this case by building another model. The model will be the same as the equation (1). For both the models we will use the same parameters for phase of firefly but two different phases for two different stimuli. Let the frequencies of stimulus 1 Θ1= Ω1 and the frequency of stimulus 2 Θ2=Ω1. Let the phase difference between simulus 1 and firefly and phase difference between stimulus 2 and firefly be φ1 = Θ1 − θ and φ2 = Θ2 − θ respectively. Let us suppose a model that predicts the phase of the firefly change be
θ = ω + A sin(φ1) + A sin(φ2) (6)
We can call equation (6), multiple stimuli models. We know that φ1 = Θ1 − θ and φ2 = Θ2 − θ, therefore we can write equation (6) as
φ˙ 1 = Ω1 − ω − A sin(φ1) − A sin(φ2) (7)
φ˙ 2 = Ω2 − ω − A sin(φ1) − A sin(φ2) (8)
Suppose frequencies for stimulus 1 and 2 both are same, then Ω1 = Ω2. As a result φ1 = φ2. This will be the case where we will not have different types of stimuli, the model will act as a single stimulus model.
However, if the frequencies for stimulus 1 and 2 both are not same, then Ω1 is not equal to Ω2. In this case, when the firefly will begin to change its frequency to match that of stimulus 1, phase difference φ2 will increase or decrease, but then phase difference φ2 will also increase or decrease along with the φ2. Therefore, the trajectories of φ1 and φ2 will be uniformly increasing and decreasing. Thus the firefly will never synchronize with the stimuli, but instead will cause phase drift with both the stimuli.
Figure 12: Firefly behaviour with two stimuli
Conclusion
We tried to understand firefly synchronization in presence of the stimulus. In the model which had only one stimulus, showed three different kinds of behaviour — Phase synchronization, Phase locked and Phase drift. Phase synchronization only occurs when frequency of the firefly and the stimulus is the same, otherwise either the firefly and stimulus and in phase locked state or phase drift state. We also tried to analyze behaviour in the change in the resetting strength (A) of the firefly. We found out that large resetting strength may result in phase synchronization, however, less A will cause either phase lock or there will be no entertainment at all. Finally we tried to see the behaviour of the firefly when two stimuli are present. From the model we found out that in presence of two stimuli, if the frequencies of both the stimuli is same then synchronization can occur, otherwise they will not synchronize.
References
[1] The Oscillator Principle of Nature- A simple Observation
[2] Runyeon, Hope. “Firefly Synchronization.” (2006).
[3] Strogatz, S. H. Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos, with Applications to Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Engineering. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1994.
|
https://medium.com/swlh/design-and-analysis-of-firefly-response-to-the-stimulus-2b747e55350
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['Sanyukta Suman']
|
2020-11-14 19:46:14.694000+00:00
|
['Nonlinear Dynamics', 'Firefly', 'Python']
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Title Design Analysis Firefly Response StimulusContent Introduction dynamical system simple word system whose state change time example includes mathematical model describes population growth swinging pendulum predatorprey model two type dynamical system iterated map differential equation iterated map used solve problem time discrete whereas differential equation used solve problem time continuous confining attention differential equation divided various type Ordinary Partial Linear Nonlinear etc report deal Ordinary differential equation Nonlinear differential equation understand idea dynamic system ordinary nonlinear differential equation using example population growth model population number individual change time change population occur due various reason example resource availability competition disease simplest model describing change population size exponential growth model simplicity assume population interact environment get affected environmental change Therefore equation dnt dt rn dnt dt first degree ordinary differential equation r growth rate n population size Figure 1 show exponential growth population Figure 1 Exponential growth population Synchronization Fireflies Synchronization — operation activity two thing time rate often occurs nature example neuron brain cardiac pacemaker cell blinking firefly unison Oscillators system kind periodic movement show steady state behaviour period time 1 nature system become synchronized oscillation phenomenon Oscillator huge area mathematics therefore describe phase oscillator report Entertainment firefly Fireflies soft bodied beetle commonly known lightning bug use bioluminescence twilight attract mate firefly begin imitate light firefly blink pace frequency however come time thousand firefly start flashing firefly modify natural frequency match firefly around itHere every firefly trying dynamically synchronize frequency every firefly synchronization phenomenon studied many scholar taking simplified model chapter Firefly book “Nonlinear Dynamics Chaos” Steven H Strogatz model chapter Strogatz examines model firefly responds rhythm flashing stimulus Let u assume phase firefly’s flashing given θt θ0 instant firefly emits flash also assume θ 2πperiodic Therefore θ 2πn natural frequency frequency blink without presence stimulus θω Similarly let u introduce stimulus 2πperiodic phase Θt Θ0 instant stimulus flashing Θ Ω frequency know firefly attempt synchronize stimulus stimulus flash firefly firefly attempt slow Similarly stimulus flashing firefly firefly attempt speed synchronize stimulus describe model equation Θ ˙ ω sinΘ − θ 1 measure ability firefly change frequency response stimulus Θ − θ phase difference stimulus firefly order better picture equation 1 plotted graph giving initial value ω Ω Figure 2 show curve phase firefly stimulus Figure 2 Phase firefly stimulus equation imply 0 Θ − θ π mean stimulus ahead firefly meaningΘ˙ ω therefore firefly speed Similarly −π Θ − θ 0 meaning Θ˙ ω firefly slows model analyze firefly’s response stimulus entertainment occurs difference phase stimulus firefly φ approach fixed constant show various behaviour system phase synchronization phase locked phase drift Using equation φ˙ Ω − ω − sinφ 2 constant 0 mean firefly synchronized stimulus firefly stimulus flashing together show phenomenon solving equation 2 plotting graph φ v time time range 0 2π splitted 1000 initial value ω Ω 115564 Hz Figure 3 show phase synchronization Figure 3 Phase Synchronization Similarly constant 0 show two different behaviour firefly either phase locked stimulus meaning firefly stimulus instantaneous frequency firefly always flash behind ahead fixed amount Figure 4 show Phase locked behaviour Figure 4 Phase locked Finally constant 0 frequency stimulus high low firefly struggle match frequency stimulus thus entertainment occur behaviour known phase drift Figure 5 show phase drift behaviour Figure 5 Phase drift Fixed Point Stability Analysis previous figure 345 saw phase difference trajectory different behaviour system analyze stability behaviour examine stability fixed point Fixed point defined fx0 point remains stagnant system change along time examine stability plotting graph φ˙ versus φ using equation 2 type behaviour different type stability fixed point figure 6 stable fixed point φ 0 corresponds phase synchronization figure 7stable fixed point φ c c real constant corresponds phase locked finally figure 8 stable fixed point Figure 6 Phase Synchronization Figure 7 Phase Locked Figure 8 Phase Drift order entertainment occur φ move along c time move along infinity c real number including 0 therefore simplicity consider c0 mean fixed point φ˙ 0 equation 2 write 0 Ω − ω − sinφ 3 sinφ Ω − ω 4 know −1 ≤ sinφ ≤ 1 therefore equation 4 −1 ≤ Ω − ω ≤ 1 −A ≤ Ω − ω ≤ ω − ≤ Ω ≤ ω 5 Therefore equation 5 say entertainment occur omega ω − ω also found parameter also affect behaviour system According plot larger value cause phase synchronization shown figure 9 whereas smaller value cause phase drift phase locking shown figure 10 figure 11 respectively Figure 9 Phase Synchronization Figure 10 Phase Locked Figure 11 Phase Drift Firefly synchronization two stimulus far working simple model one firefly one stimulus call single stimulus case firefly react two different stimulus — stimulus 1 stimulus 2 represented Θ1 Θ2 respectively meaning two different frequency explore case building another model model equation 1 model use parameter phase firefly two different phase two different stimulus Let frequency stimulus 1 Θ1 Ω1 frequency stimulus 2 Θ2Ω1 Let phase difference simulus 1 firefly phase difference stimulus 2 firefly φ1 Θ1 − θ φ2 Θ2 − θ respectively Let u suppose model predicts phase firefly change θ ω sinφ1 sinφ2 6 call equation 6 multiple stimulus model know φ1 Θ1 − θ φ2 Θ2 − θ therefore write equation 6 φ˙ 1 Ω1 − ω − sinφ1 − sinφ2 7 φ˙ 2 Ω2 − ω − sinφ1 − sinφ2 8 Suppose frequency stimulus 1 2 Ω1 Ω2 result φ1 φ2 case different type stimulus model act single stimulus model However frequency stimulus 1 2 Ω1 equal Ω2 case firefly begin change frequency match stimulus 1 phase difference φ2 increase decrease phase difference φ2 also increase decrease along φ2 Therefore trajectory φ1 φ2 uniformly increasing decreasing Thus firefly never synchronize stimulus instead cause phase drift stimulus Figure 12 Firefly behaviour two stimulus Conclusion tried understand firefly synchronization presence stimulus model one stimulus showed three different kind behaviour — Phase synchronization Phase locked Phase drift Phase synchronization occurs frequency firefly stimulus otherwise either firefly stimulus phase locked state phase drift state also tried analyze behaviour change resetting strength firefly found large resetting strength may result phase synchronization however le cause either phase lock entertainment Finally tried see behaviour firefly two stimulus present model found presence two stimulus frequency stimulus synchronization occur otherwise synchronize References 1 Oscillator Principle Nature simple Observation 2 Runyeon Hope “Firefly Synchronization” 2006 3 Strogatz H Nonlinear Dynamics Chaos Applications Physics Biology Chemistry Engineering Reading AddisonWesley 1994Tags Nonlinear Dynamics Firefly Python
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Drinking Like A Man Stopped Me Enjoying Being A Woman
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Drink is a feminist issue
When I was a kid, my dad was my hero. He knew everything there was to know about plants and trees, and if he found broken animals he would bring them home in a box for us to (try and) nurse back to health. I loved that soft side of him, and I wanted to be just like him. He worked hard and he played hard too.
After a long day cutting down trees and remaking people’s gardens, my dad would go to the pub. I’d watch him get happier until he was red-faced and silly and not entirely making sense. It looked like fun, and I couldn’t wait to join him.
Cue me, aged fifteen, standing by the bar and ordering drinks. When we couldn’t get served we stole booze from parties or asked older kids to buy it for us from the shop.
From the very start, I wanted to be able to hold my liquor. It seemed important and respectable, and I didn’t give up. By the time I got to university, I’d nailed it. I could drink like the boys. Mostly.
I was proud of the fact that I matched men pint for pint. I felt like one of the lads. Drinking pints was just one of many ways in which I rejected femininity. I resented the incessant gendered double binds.
The pressure to look good while having no vanity. Smooth armpits and legs, but no extra time to get ready. Great in bed, but not too experienced. Getting smashed out of my mind helped me forget about the injustices, large and small.
Alcohol affects women differently
Unfortunately (or fortunately?) being able to drink like a man doesn’t mean that your body is able to process alcohol like a man. As Linda Richter discusses in her book, Neuroscience and Alcohol:
In the past decade, women have shown dramatically steeper increases in alcohol use, risky drinking, and alcohol use disorder relative to men. This is highly concerning since the evidence is indisputable that women who drink alcohol experience its adverse effects, including addiction, more rapidly and intensely compared to men who drink similar amounts.
As women catch up with men in terms of sinking the drink, our relative suffering increases. Not only can women become addicted, and incur damage to their organs more quickly, but our vulnerability to violence and abuse expands too.
In spite of how well you might play pool and come up with witty retorts after four or five pints, your female body is absorbing and metabolizing all that booze differently to the way male bodies process it. Even if the bodies are the same size.
Alcohol is held in the body as body water, not body fat, and as women tend to be smaller, with more body fat, this adds up to it being more concentrated, which leads to them being more impaired than men after drinking equivalent amounts of alcohol.
Many of those times I matched men pint for pint, I walked home in a blackout. And if I dared ask, this was rarely the case for them. People didn’t believe I had lost the whole previous night because I seemed to function normally or thereabouts. Shame and fear quickly taught me to keep my blackouts secret.
After a while, they didn’t seem so bad. Mostly, I woke up at home or in a close friend’s bed, and after some variety of debilitating hangover, life continued as normal. I swore I would drink more slowly next time.
Women’s drunk bodies are treated differently to men’s drunk bodies
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but in the stories I hear, drunk men get into fights with strangers, and drunk women wake in beds with strangers. And this is the nice side of the imbalance.
“Research typically finds that between 25% and 50% of those who perpetrate domestic abuse have been drinking at the time of assault, although in some studies the figure is as high as 73%.” — Alcohol, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Report, from the Institute of Alcohol Studies, 2014
Alcohol confuses the issue of consent enough that many women don’t understand that what has happened to them meets the legal definition of rape until long after their assault.
“Researchers consistently have found that approximately one-half of all sexual assaults are committed by men who have been drinking alcohol… Similarly, approximately one-half of all sexual assault victims report that they were drinking alcohol at the time of the assault, with estimates ranging from 30 to 79 percent.” — National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
It isn’t only women this can happen to. The abuse of alcohol makes the whole population more dangerous and more vulnerable at the same time. But women, like it or not, are more vulnerable.
We love drinking because it smooths the edges
It softens social awkwardness and allows strangers to bond quickly. It helps us to relax and stops our minds from worrying over our neverending to-do lists. It allows us to spend time with people that push our buttons without getting too wound up. Alcohol helps us to connect and have fun and unwind.
But it helps to hide from unpalatable truths too. For me, drinking was a way of hiding from the fact that I was female. Because I saw the way women were treated by society and it made me sick. But closing your eyes when a train is hurtling towards you doesn’t stop you from getting hit.
Until I quit drinking, I was unable to make peace with my gender and the discrimination I have faced because of it. The anger that I felt at the world’s treatment of women so consumed me that I had to drink to numb it.
It wasn’t until I finally stopped necking all those lager tops that I was able to really discover and accept the traditionally ‘feminine’ side of myself.
It was so relaxing to stop trying to be something I was not. To enjoy nesting and baking and soaking in the bath. I found a beautiful man who enjoyed these things too. (I’m not trying to put anyone in gender essentialist prison here).
In my early twenties, I scorned being ‘girly’ and stuck close to the boys. I wore baggy jeans and felt like one of the lads, but the men in the group still talked over me once they got excited. (It was the mid-noughties and nobody had heard of micro-aggressions in spite of the term being coined in the 1970s.)
By pretending to be one of them I missed out on being part of a group that truly saw and heard and valued me.
Finding your voice is your responsibility
After I got sober, I was able to understand and make peace with the reality of my existence. I am a woman. An ordinary, unexceptional, typical sort of woman. And that is okay. That is perfect.
It is hard being marginalized by the society and even by the family you live in. You aren’t imagining it. But hiding from the truth of your identity doesn’t help anything.
I write this so you don’t waste as much time as I did.
I spent a decade arguing about feminism with sexist men when I could have been talking to people who shared similar ideas. I could have used my passion in campaigns or art or education, but instead I left it bouncing around the walls of the pub, absorbed by beer mats.
Your voice matters, and it’s your responsibility to do whatever it takes to find it. For me, it began with therapy, which led to sobriety, which led to starting a blog. What does the first step look like for you?
Make a commitment to stop pretending. Discover the obstacles that stand in your way to becoming who you truly are. Ask this question: what prevents you from owning your power?
You don’t have to be special and different to earn your place in the world. You earn it just by showing up. Your community is waiting, but they can only recognize you when you’re being authentic.
If you’re struggling with drinking, know that you aren’t alone.
If you relate to this, and you’re ready for something different, try the alcohol experiment. Do whatever it takes to stay sober for 30 days: go to your doctor, try Smart or AA or Hip Sobriety or Soberistas. Listen to Recovery Elevator and SHAIR podcasts. Read This Naked Mind. Try Moderation Management.
Quitting drinking alone is boring, difficult and for many of us, impossible. There is a whole community of people just waiting to help you. Reach out. Something better is waiting for you.
Keep in touch at beautifulhangover <3
Chelsey Flood is a novelist, lecturer and truth-seeker. She writes stories about freedom, nature and love.
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https://medium.com/an-injustice/drinking-like-a-man-stopped-me-enjoying-being-a-woman-ac9cfb614479
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['Chelsey Flood']
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2020-05-29 16:38:10.167000+00:00
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['Equality', 'Women', 'Mental Health', 'Addiction', 'Culture']
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Title Drinking Like Man Stopped Enjoying WomanContent Drink feminist issue kid dad hero knew everything know plant tree found broken animal would bring home box u try nurse back health loved soft side wanted like worked hard played hard long day cutting tree remaking people’s garden dad would go pub I’d watch get happier redfaced silly entirely making sense looked like fun couldn’t wait join Cue aged fifteen standing bar ordering drink couldn’t get served stole booze party asked older kid buy u shop start wanted able hold liquor seemed important respectable didn’t give time got university I’d nailed could drink like boy Mostly proud fact matched men pint pint felt like one lad Drinking pint one many way rejected femininity resented incessant gendered double bind pressure look good vanity Smooth armpit leg extra time get ready Great bed experienced Getting smashed mind helped forget injustice large small Alcohol affect woman differently Unfortunately fortunately able drink like man doesn’t mean body able process alcohol like man Linda Richter discus book Neuroscience Alcohol past decade woman shown dramatically steeper increase alcohol use risky drinking alcohol use disorder relative men highly concerning since evidence indisputable woman drink alcohol experience adverse effect including addiction rapidly intensely compared men drink similar amount woman catch men term sinking drink relative suffering increase woman become addicted incur damage organ quickly vulnerability violence abuse expands spite well might play pool come witty retort four five pint female body absorbing metabolizing booze differently way male body process Even body size Alcohol held body body water body fat woman tend smaller body fat add concentrated lead impaired men drinking equivalent amount alcohol Many time matched men pint pint walked home blackout dared ask rarely case People didn’t believe lost whole previous night seemed function normally thereabouts Shame fear quickly taught keep blackout secret didn’t seem bad Mostly woke home close friend’s bed variety debilitating hangover life continued normal swore would drink slowly next time Women’s drunk body treated differently men’s drunk body hate Debbie Downer story hear drunk men get fight stranger drunk woman wake bed stranger nice side imbalance “Research typically find 25 50 perpetrate domestic abuse drinking time assault although study figure high 73” — Alcohol Domestic Abuse Sexual Assault Report Institute Alcohol Studies 2014 Alcohol confuses issue consent enough many woman don’t understand happened meet legal definition rape long assault “Researchers consistently found approximately onehalf sexual assault committed men drinking alcohol… Similarly approximately onehalf sexual assault victim report drinking alcohol time assault estimate ranging 30 79 percent” — National Institute Alcohol Abuse Alcoholism isn’t woman happen abuse alcohol make whole population dangerous vulnerable time woman like vulnerable love drinking smooth edge softens social awkwardness allows stranger bond quickly help u relax stop mind worrying neverending todo list allows u spend time people push button without getting wound Alcohol help u connect fun unwind help hide unpalatable truth drinking way hiding fact female saw way woman treated society made sick closing eye train hurtling towards doesn’t stop getting hit quit drinking unable make peace gender discrimination faced anger felt world’s treatment woman consumed drink numb wasn’t finally stopped necking lager top able really discover accept traditionally ‘feminine’ side relaxing stop trying something enjoy nesting baking soaking bath found beautiful man enjoyed thing I’m trying put anyone gender essentialist prison early twenty scorned ‘girly’ stuck close boy wore baggy jean felt like one lad men group still talked got excited midnoughties nobody heard microaggressions spite term coined 1970s pretending one missed part group truly saw heard valued Finding voice responsibility got sober able understand make peace reality existence woman ordinary unexceptional typical sort woman okay perfect hard marginalized society even family live aren’t imagining hiding truth identity doesn’t help anything write don’t waste much time spent decade arguing feminism sexist men could talking people shared similar idea could used passion campaign art education instead left bouncing around wall pub absorbed beer mat voice matter it’s responsibility whatever take find began therapy led sobriety led starting blog first step look like Make commitment stop pretending Discover obstacle stand way becoming truly Ask question prevents owning power don’t special different earn place world earn showing community waiting recognize you’re authentic you’re struggling drinking know aren’t alone relate you’re ready something different try alcohol experiment whatever take stay sober 30 day go doctor try Smart AA Hip Sobriety Soberistas Listen Recovery Elevator SHAIR podcasts Read Naked Mind Try Moderation Management Quitting drinking alone boring difficult many u impossible whole community people waiting help Reach Something better waiting Keep touch beautifulhangover 3 Chelsey Flood novelist lecturer truthseeker writes story freedom nature loveTags Equality Women Mental Health Addiction Culture
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5,061 |
Why Do So Many Americans Believe Trump’s Lies?
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Photo by Capturing the human heart, courtesy of Unsplash
Even after the U.S. electoral college made it official that Joe Biden is the President-elect, many Americans continue to believe that Democrats stole the election. According to an early December, 2020, Rasmussen poll of 1,000 likely U.S. voters, 47% of Americans believe that it is at least “somewhat likely” that “Democrats stole votes or destroyed pro-Trump ballots in several states to ensure that Joe Biden would win.” To be sure, Rasmussen has been criticized by progressives because their survey questions sometimes invite conservative responses. But because that issue is a matter for a different blog, I’m going to trust this part of their recent survey. In fact, Rasmussen reports that one in six Democrats (17%) say it is “very likely” that Democrats stole the election.
The progressive voter in me finds this 17% figure hard to fathom. The psychologist in me is thankful that it isn’t worse. A surprisingly high percentage of Americans do seem to believe Trump’s destructive lie that Joe Biden stole the election. They believe it for a simple and powerful reason: They keep hearing it. To appreciate how powerful, and worrisome, this principle is, you have to know something about how the human brain believes. Research in fields as diverse as human development, persuasion, human memory, language processing, and social cognition shows that the human brain accepts almost everything it processes as true and real. It is only by means of careful, step-by-step reasoning that we ever come to recognize anything that we see or hear as false.
Consider a few examples, which I’ll present in roughly their order of discovery.
The sleeper effect: In the late 1940s and early 1950s, researchers asked Yale University students to read a well-crafted persuasive essay arguing that nuclear submarines were about to become a reality. But these students were told that the source of the essay was the Russian newspaper Pravda. Of course, very few of these students were persuaded. The students probably assumed that a Russian newspaper was not to be trusted. But these same students were also contacted by phone, about a month later. At this point, they reported their opinions on a wide range of topics, one of which happened to be the feasibility of nuclear submarines. The same students who had previously reported that nuclear submarines were an impossibility now reported that the subs were probably on their way. Seven decades later, we know why this belief grew. When students first heard arguments for nuclear subs, they dismissed the arguments as Russian propaganda. But a month later, many of these students remembered the basics of what they had heard but forgot where (from whom) they had heard it. People remember things they have encountered way better than they remember who told them. A recent review showed that sleeper effects are particularly strong when people hear persuasive messages and think hard about them but immediately learn that the messages are from an unreliable source. In the weeks that follow, people begin to believe what they were initially told because they remember the message well but forget where they heard it.
This will work well in the short-run. But in the long-run, it will make you think Tim Howell is famous.
Becoming famous overnight: Research on human memory further supports the view that we have a hard time dismissing untruths. A research team headed by cognitive psychologist Larry Jacoby conducted a series of clever studies in which they told people, truthfully, that the people included on a list of names were not famous. Sebastian Weisdorf, for example, is not famous. Trust me. Shortly after examining the list, most people were very good at reporting that the people on the list were not famous. But as little as one day later, when people saw names like Sebastian Weisdorf (which now felt vaguely familiar), many people were convinced that Sebastian must be famous for something. Why else would people recognize his name?
The perseverance effect: People even accept lies after just having been told that they were lied to. To put this a little differently, classic research in social psychology shows that people are much better at believing than at unbelieving. Long ago, Lee Ross and his colleagues asked Stanford University students to try to tell the difference between real and fake suicide notes. This is a surprisingly difficult task, by the way. By the flip of a coin, half of the students were falsely told that they crushed the suicide note detection task. Others were told they had performed poorly. Then all of the students were told, truthfully, that the feedback they had just received was false — that it had been determined by the flip of a coin. Now, all of the students were asked to estimate just how good they would be if they were to be given accurate feedback about their ability to distinguish between real and fake suicide notes. The lies people knew they had just been told biased their judgments. Those who knew they’d been falsely told they crushed the test thought they’d rock at the real test. Those who knew they’d been falsely told they failed the test thought they’d struggle at the real thing. We human beings are so prone to belief over disbelief that sometimes we believe lies that we fully know to have been lies.
The person taking this True-False quiz guessed correctly that George Washington did NOT have nine brothers. But if you repeat this specific true-false question for several weeks, most test takers will begin to believe that the statement is true.
Believing that which is repeated: Many decades ago, a group of cognitive psychologists led by Lynne Hasher wanted to see if simple repetition promotes belief — even when people are repeatedly exposed to information with zero validity. Hasher and colleagues asked students to answer a series of difficult trivia questions. Students were told, truthfully, that exactly half of the statements they’d evaluate were false. In other words, the average true/false statement had no validity whatsoever. The trivia questions included statements such as “The capybara is the largest of the marsupials.” and “French horn players get cash bonuses for being in the U.S. army.” In case you’re interested, capybaras are not marsupials. But at the time of this study, French horn playing soldiers did get those cash bonuses. But that’s not the point. The point is that students knew that the questions they evaluated was just as likely to be false as true. And here’s where it gets interesting. Hasher and colleagues gave multiple trivia quizzes over about a five-week period. Further, they repeated a few of the specific true-false statements. I’m guessing you can predict what they found. By the end of the study, the true-false statements that had been repeated over the course of the study were evaluated by most students as likely to be true. The simple repetition of dubious information makes that information start to feel true.
Research shows that it’s very hard for you to read this fake statement without believing it.
Believing that which is merely presented: For almost three decades, social psychologist Dan Gilbert and colleagues have argued that the tendency to believe everything we see and hear is so fundamental that the very process of hearing or reading a statement requires us to believe it — at least briefly. That’s right; Gilbert argues that you cannot read even the most preposterous statement without initially accepting it as true. That includes statements such as “Playing the French horn to capybaras makes them float in the air.” In one study, Gilbert’s team asked students to read what they thought were statements in the Hopi Indian language. They might read that “a suffa is a cloud” or that “a nasli is a snake.” All the statements had this simple “Hopi word is English word” format. But on half the trials of this task, students saw a signal indicating that the statement in question was false. But this signal didn’t stop the students from encoding the statements as true. This was particularly true when people had to do two things at once (to process the false sentence while also listening carefully for a tone). As the late psychologist Dan Wegner surely would have agreed, the human tendency to believe what we see or hear is one reason why being told that something is not true can often make people believe that it is. Statements such as “Chris Federico not linked to mafia” convince many people that there is a good chance Chris Federico is a crook.
Social media magnification: These classic studies are but a few in a long list showing that people are predisposed to believe everything they hear and read. The “echo chambers” of social media only exaggerate this basic human tendency to believe the unbelievable. If you’d like to see how popular Facebook has been on the internet in the past 12 months, just check out the chart below, generated using Google Trends. The chart compares the level of U.S. Google search activity for “Facebook” with search activity for the fact-checked “New York Times.” In fact, even “God” cannot compete with Facebook these days.
Unscrupulous people who know about the power of human belief over disbelief need merely to keep repeating lies and misrepresentations. Facebook posts will endlessly recycle the lies. Widespread false beliefs will reliably follow.
Consider how many people still believe that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Or consider the many Americans who have sent donations to a tax-evading billionaire — to help him with his legal efforts to overturn an election he lost by more than seven million votes. As of December 1, 2020, Trump had received more than $170 million in donations — much of the money from middle-class Americans — to help him fight what he keeps insisting was a stolen election. It is hard to find a more powerful testament to the enduring power of the simple repetition of lies.
One might hope that more than 50 failed lawsuits, including many that were heard by highly conservative judges, would make people reconsider whether Trump was really robbed. But the human mind is strongly prone to belief. Sadly, Trump has proven in the past month that he is willing to capitalize on this human foible and create harm and distrust in millions of American voters. Let’s hope that in the next four years, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris can get people to believe simple truths as well as Trump has gotten them to believe dangerous lies.
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https://medium.com/an-injustice/why-do-so-many-americans-believe-trumps-lies-bd2446d858a7
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['Brett Pelham']
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2020-12-18 19:27:52.789000+00:00
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['Politics', 'Politics And Elections', 'Psychology', 'Propaganda', 'Trump']
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Title Many Americans Believe Trump’s LiesContent Photo Capturing human heart courtesy Unsplash Even US electoral college made official Joe Biden Presidentelect many Americans continue believe Democrats stole election According early December 2020 Rasmussen poll 1000 likely US voter 47 Americans believe least “somewhat likely” “Democrats stole vote destroyed proTrump ballot several state ensure Joe Biden would win” sure Rasmussen criticized progressive survey question sometimes invite conservative response issue matter different blog I’m going trust part recent survey fact Rasmussen report one six Democrats 17 say “very likely” Democrats stole election progressive voter find 17 figure hard fathom psychologist thankful isn’t worse surprisingly high percentage Americans seem believe Trump’s destructive lie Joe Biden stole election believe simple powerful reason keep hearing appreciate powerful worrisome principle know something human brain belief Research field diverse human development persuasion human memory language processing social cognition show human brain accepts almost everything process true real mean careful stepbystep reasoning ever come recognize anything see hear false Consider example I’ll present roughly order discovery sleeper effect late 1940s early 1950s researcher asked Yale University student read wellcrafted persuasive essay arguing nuclear submarine become reality student told source essay Russian newspaper Pravda course student persuaded student probably assumed Russian newspaper trusted student also contacted phone month later point reported opinion wide range topic one happened feasibility nuclear submarine student previously reported nuclear submarine impossibility reported sub probably way Seven decade later know belief grew student first heard argument nuclear sub dismissed argument Russian propaganda month later many student remembered basic heard forgot heard People remember thing encountered way better remember told recent review showed sleeper effect particularly strong people hear persuasive message think hard immediately learn message unreliable source week follow people begin believe initially told remember message well forget heard work well shortrun longrun make think Tim Howell famous Becoming famous overnight Research human memory support view hard time dismissing untruth research team headed cognitive psychologist Larry Jacoby conducted series clever study told people truthfully people included list name famous Sebastian Weisdorf example famous Trust Shortly examining list people good reporting people list famous little one day later people saw name like Sebastian Weisdorf felt vaguely familiar many people convinced Sebastian must famous something else would people recognize name perseverance effect People even accept lie told lied put little differently classic research social psychology show people much better believing unbelieving Long ago Lee Ross colleague asked Stanford University student try tell difference real fake suicide note surprisingly difficult task way flip coin half student falsely told crushed suicide note detection task Others told performed poorly student told truthfully feedback received false — determined flip coin student asked estimate good would given accurate feedback ability distinguish real fake suicide note lie people knew told biased judgment knew they’d falsely told crushed test thought they’d rock real test knew they’d falsely told failed test thought they’d struggle real thing human being prone belief disbelief sometimes believe lie fully know lie person taking TrueFalse quiz guessed correctly George Washington nine brother repeat specific truefalse question several week test taker begin believe statement true Believing repeated Many decade ago group cognitive psychologist led Lynne Hasher wanted see simple repetition promotes belief — even people repeatedly exposed information zero validity Hasher colleague asked student answer series difficult trivia question Students told truthfully exactly half statement they’d evaluate false word average truefalse statement validity whatsoever trivia question included statement “The capybara largest marsupials” “French horn player get cash bonus US army” case you’re interested capybara marsupial time study French horn playing soldier get cash bonus that’s point point student knew question evaluated likely false true here’s get interesting Hasher colleague gave multiple trivia quiz fiveweek period repeated specific truefalse statement I’m guessing predict found end study truefalse statement repeated course study evaluated student likely true simple repetition dubious information make information start feel true Research show it’s hard read fake statement without believing Believing merely presented almost three decade social psychologist Dan Gilbert colleague argued tendency believe everything see hear fundamental process hearing reading statement requires u believe — least briefly That’s right Gilbert argues cannot read even preposterous statement without initially accepting true includes statement “Playing French horn capybara make float air” one study Gilbert’s team asked student read thought statement Hopi Indian language might read “a suffa cloud” “a nasli snake” statement simple “Hopi word English word” format half trial task student saw signal indicating statement question false signal didn’t stop student encoding statement true particularly true people two thing process false sentence also listening carefully tone late psychologist Dan Wegner surely would agreed human tendency believe see hear one reason told something true often make people believe Statements “Chris Federico linked mafia” convince many people good chance Chris Federico crook Social medium magnification classic study long list showing people predisposed believe everything hear read “echo chambers” social medium exaggerate basic human tendency believe unbelievable you’d like see popular Facebook internet past 12 month check chart generated using Google Trends chart compare level US Google search activity “Facebook” search activity factchecked “New York Times” fact even “God” cannot compete Facebook day Unscrupulous people know power human belief disbelief need merely keep repeating lie misrepresentation Facebook post endlessly recycle lie Widespread false belief reliably follow Consider many people still believe Barack Obama born United States consider many Americans sent donation taxevading billionaire — help legal effort overturn election lost seven million vote December 1 2020 Trump received 170 million donation — much money middleclass Americans — help fight keep insisting stolen election hard find powerful testament enduring power simple repetition lie One might hope 50 failed lawsuit including many heard highly conservative judge would make people reconsider whether Trump really robbed human mind strongly prone belief Sadly Trump proven past month willing capitalize human foible create harm distrust million American voter Let’s hope next four year Joe Biden Kamala Harris get people believe simple truth well Trump gotten believe dangerous liesTags Politics Politics Elections Psychology Propaganda Trump
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5,062 |
Installing Hadoop 3.1.0 multi-node cluster on Ubuntu 16.04 Step by Step
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There are many links on the web about install Hadoop 3. Many of them are not working well or need improvements. This article is taken from the official documentation and other articles in addition of many answers from Stackoverflow.com
1. Prerequisites
Note: All prerequisites must be applied on name node and data nodes
1.1. Installation of JAVA, SSH and other software utilities
First, we need to install SSH and few software installation utilities for Java 8:
sudo apt install \ openssh-server \ software-properties-common \ python-software-properties
Then we need to install Oracle’s Java 8 distribution and update the current OS.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java sudo apt update sudo apt install oracle-java8-installer
To verify the java version you can use the following command:
java -version
1.2. Creation of a dedicated user and group for Hadoop
We will use a dedicated Hadoop user account for running Hadoop applications. While that’s not required but it is recommended because it helps to separate the Hadoop installation from other software applications and user accounts running on the same machine (security, permissions, backups, etc).
sudo addgroup hadoopgroup sudo adduser --ingroup hadoopgroup hadoopuser sudo adduser hadoopuser sudo
You can check the groups and users using the following commands:
compgen -g compgen -u
1.3. SSH Configuration
Hadoop requires SSH access to manage its different nodes, i.e. remote machines plus your local machine.
First you need to login as Hadoopuser
sudo su -- hadoopuser
The following commands are used for generating a key value pair using SSH
ssh-keygen -t rsa -P “” -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa
Copy the public keys form id_rsa.pub to authorized_keys.
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub>> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys chmod 0600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
Make sure hadoopuser can ssh to its own account without password. ssh to localhost from hadoopuser account to make sure it is working fine.
ssh localhost
Note: If you get error: ssh: connect to host localhost port 22: Connection refused, then, please try to install ssh-server using below command.
sudo apt-get install ssh
2. Download and Configure Hadoop
In this article, we will install Hadoop on three machines:
The First machine will act as the name node (Master) and a data node (slave), the other machines are data nodes (slaves)
On each machine we have to edit the /etc/hosts files using the following command
sudo gedit /etc/hosts
Each file must contain these rows:
127.0.0.1 localhost 10.0.1.1 hadoop-namenode 10.0.1.2 hadoop-datanode-2 10.0.1.3 hadoop-datadnode-3
Note: if the /etc/hosts file contains the following line
127.0.1.1 <Hostname>
Then you have to delete this line.
2.1. Download Hadoop
We are going to install all the software under the /opt directory and store HDFS’ underlying data there as well. Below we will create the folders with a single command.
sudo mkdir -p /opt/{hadoop/{logs},hdfs/{datanode,namenode},yarn/{logs}
The layout of the folder will looks like
/opt/ ├── hadoop │ ├── logs ├── hdfs │ ├── datanode │ └── namenode ├── yarn │ ├── logs
You can download the hadoop-3.1.0.tar.gz using the following command:
To decompress the Hadoop package you can use the following command:
sudo tar -xvf hadoop.tar.gz \ --directory=/opt/hadoop \ --strip 1
The binary release of Hadoop 3 is 293 MB compressed. Its decompressed size is 733 MB with 400 MB of small documentation files that may take a long time to decompress. You can skip these files by adding the following line to the command above:
--exclude=hadoop-3.1.0/share/doc
2.2. Hadoop Common Configuration
Note: These Steps must be done on the Name node and Data nodes as well.
There are environment settings that will be used by Hadoop, Hive and Spark and are shared by both root and the regular user accounts. To centralize these settings I’ve stored them in /etc/profile and created a symbolic link from /root/.bashrc to this file as well. That way all users will have centrally-managed settings.
sudo gedit /etc/profile
The /etc/profile must looks like:
if [ “$PS1” ]; then if [ “$BASH” ] && [ “$BASH” != “/bin/sh” ]; then # The file bash.bashrc already sets the default PS1. # PS1=’\h:\w\$ ‘ if [ -f /etc/bash.bashrc ]; then . /etc/bash.bashrc fi else if [ “`id -u`” -eq 0 ]; then PS1=’# ‘ else PS1=’$ ‘ fi fi fi if [ -d /etc/profile.d ]; then for i in /etc/profile.d/*.sh; do if [ -r $i ]; then . $i fi done unset i fi export HADOOP_HOME=/opt/hadoop export PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:$HADOOP_HOME/bin:$HADOOP_HOME/sbin export HADOOP_CONF_DIR=/opt/hadoop/etc/hadoop export HDFS_NAMENODE_USER=root export HDFS_DATANODE_USER=root export HDFS_SECONDARYNAMENODE_USER=root export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-oracle export HADOOP_MAPRED_HOME=/opt/hadoop export HADOOP_COMMON_HOME=/opt/hadoop export HADOOP_HDFS_HOME=/opt/hadoop export YARN_HOME=/opt/hadoop
The following command will create a symbolic link between ~/.bashrc and /etc/profile and apply the changes made to /etc/profile
sudo ln -sf /etc/profile /root/.bashrc source /etc/profile
Update /opt/hadoop /etc/hadoop/ hadoop-env.sh file and set JAVA_HOME variable and HADOOP_HOME, HADOOP_CONF_DIR AND HADOOP_LOG_DIR variables
export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-oracle export HADOOP_HOME=/opt/hadoop export HADOOP_CONF_DIR=/opt/hadoop /etc/hadoop export HADOOP_LOG_DIR=/opt/hadoop/logs
Log out and re-login to your hadoopuser account and check Hadoop installation using below command.
hadoop -version
2.3. Master Node Configuration
First, we have to update the hdfs-site.xml file located a /opt/Hadoop/etc/Hadoop/ to define the name node and data node on this machine and define the replication factor and other settings:
sudo gedit /opt/hadoop/etc/hadoop/hdfs-site.xml
The file must looks like:
<configuration> <property> <name>dfs.namenode.name.dir</name> <value>file:///opt/hdfs/namenode</value> <description>NameNode directory for namespace and transaction logs storage.</description> </property> <property> <name>dfs.datanode.data.dir</name> <value>file:///opt/hdfs/datanode</value> <description>DataNode directory</description> </property> <property> <name>dfs.replication</name> <value>3</value> </property> <property> <name>dfs.permissions</name> <value>false</value> </property> <property> <name>dfs.datanode.use.datanode.hostname</name> <value>false</value> </property> <property> <name>dfs.namenode.datanode.registration.ip-hostname-check</name> <value>false</value> </property> </configuration>
Then we have to update core-site.xml file located at /opt/hadoop/etc/hadoop and let Hadoop distribution know, where the name node is located:
sudo gedit /opt/hadoop/etc/hadoop/core-site.xml
The file must looks like:
<configuration> <property> <name>fs.defaultFS</name> <value>hdfs://hadoop-namenode:9820/</value> <description>NameNode URI</description> </property> <property> <name>io.file.buffer.size</name> <value>131072</value> <description>Buffer size</description> </property> </configuration>
Then we have to update yarn-site.xml file located at /opt/hadoop/etc/hadoop/
sudo gedit /opt/hadoop/etc/hadoop/yarn-site.xml
The file must looks like:
<configuration> <property> <name>yarn.nodemanager.aux-services</name> <value>mapreduce_shuffle</value> <description>Yarn Node Manager Aux Service</description> </property> <property> <name>yarn.nodemanager.aux-services.mapreduce.shuffle.class</name> <value>org.apache.hadoop.mapred.ShuffleHandler</value> </property> <property> <name>yarn.nodemanager.local-dirs</name> <value>file:///opt/yarn/local</value> </property> <property> <name>yarn.nodemanager.log-dirs</name> <value>file:///opt/yarn/logs</value> </property> </configuration>
Then we have to update mapred-site.xml file located at /opt/hadoop/etc/hadoop/
<configuration> <property> <name>mapreduce.framework.name</name> <value>yarn</value> <description>MapReduce framework name</description> </property> <property> <name>mapreduce.jobhistory.address</name> <value>hadoop-namenode:10020</value> <description>Default port is 10020.</description> </property> <property> <name>mapreduce.jobhistory.webapp.address</name> <value> hadoop-namenode:19888</value> <description>Default port is 19888.</description> </property> <property> <name>mapreduce.jobhistory.intermediate-done-dir</name> <value>/mr-history/tmp</value> <description>Directory where history files are written by MapReduce jobs.</description> </property> <property> <name>mapreduce.jobhistory.done-dir</name> <value>/mr-history/done</value> <description>Directory where history files are managed by the MR JobHistory Server.</description> </property> </configuration>
Now we have to format the name node
hdfs namenode –format
Finally, we have to add your data node(s) (Slaves) to workers file located in /opt/hadoop/etc/hadoop
10.0.1.1 10.0.1.2 10.0.1.3
After configuring data nodes you have to make sure that the name node has a password less access to them:
ssh-copy-id -i /home/hadoopuser/.ssh/id_rsa.pub [email protected] ssh-copy-id -i /home/hadoopuser/.ssh/id_rsa.pub [email protected]
2.4. Configuring Data nodes
Note: Instead of downloading Hadoop you can copy the Hadoop.tar.gz file from the name node to data nodes and extract it. You can use the following command:
scp hadoop.tar.gz hadoop-datanode-2:/home/hadoopuser scp hadoop.tar.gz hadoop-datanode-3:/home/hadoopuser
On each data node you must do the following steps:
We have to update hdfs-site.xml, core-site.xml, yarn-site.xml and mapred-site.xml located at /opt/hadoop/etc/hadoop directory as the following:
hdfs-site.xml
<configuration> <property> <name>dfs.datanode.data.dir</name> <value>file:///opt/hdfs/datanode</value> <description>DataNode directory</description> </property> <property> <name>dfs.replication</name> <value>3</value> </property> <property> <name>dfs.permissions</name> <value>false</value> </property> <property> <name>dfs.datanode.use.datanode.hostname</name> <value>false</value> </property> </configuration>
core-site.xml
<configuration> <property> <name>fs.defaultFS</name> <value>hdfs://hadoop-namenode:9820/</value> <description>NameNode URI</description> </property> </configuration>
yarn-site.xml
<configuration> <property> <name>yarn.nodemanager.aux-services</name> <value>mapreduce_shuffle</value> <description>Yarn Node Manager Aux Service</description> </property> </configuration>
mapred-site.xml
<configuration> <property> <name>mapreduce.framework.name</name> <value>yarn</value> <description>MapReduce framework name</description> </property> </configuration>
2.5. Start Hadoop
After finishing the steps above, from the name node we have to execute the following command to start the Name node, data nodes and secondary name node:
start-dfs.sh
It will give the following output:
Starting namenodes on [hadoop-namenode] Starting datanodes Starting secondary namenodes [hadoop-namenode]
Also to start the resource manager and node managers we have to execute the following command:
start-yarn.sh
It will give the following output:
Starting resourcemanager Starting nodemanagers
After that, to ensure that Hadoop started successfully, we must run the jps command on name node and data nodes must give the following output:
On Name node (ignore process ids):
16488 NameNode 16622 DataNode 17215 NodeManager 17087 ResourceManager 17530 Jps 16829 SecondaryNameNode
On Data nodes (ignore process ids):
2306 DataNode 2479 NodeManager 2581 Jps
If you get similar output then all Hadoop daemons started successfully.
Note: You may check logs at /opt/hadoop/logs and check if everything is alright, by running hdfs dfsadmin -report command (it must return Live datanodes (3)).
2.6. Accessing Hadoop on Browser
Namenode
Access to the following URL: https://hadoop-namenode:9870/
ResourceManager
Access to the following URL: https://hadoop-namenode:8088/
3. References
|
https://towardsdatascience.com/installing-hadoop-3-1-0-multi-node-cluster-on-ubuntu-16-04-step-by-step-8d1954b31505
|
['Hadi Fadlallah']
|
2020-11-28 22:27:02.412000+00:00
|
['Big Data', 'Hadoop', 'Ubuntu', 'Hadoop 3', 'Hadoop Cluster']
|
Title Installing Hadoop 310 multinode cluster Ubuntu 1604 Step StepContent many link web install Hadoop 3 Many working well need improvement article taken official documentation article addition many answer Stackoverflowcom 1 Prerequisites Note prerequisite must applied name node data node 11 Installation JAVA SSH software utility First need install SSH software installation utility Java 8 sudo apt install opensshserver softwarepropertiescommon pythonsoftwareproperties need install Oracle’s Java 8 distribution update current OS sudo addaptrepository ppawebupd8teamjava sudo apt update sudo apt install oraclejava8installer verify java version use following command java version 12 Creation dedicated user group Hadoop use dedicated Hadoop user account running Hadoop application that’s required recommended help separate Hadoop installation software application user account running machine security permission backup etc sudo addgroup hadoopgroup sudo adduser ingroup hadoopgroup hadoopuser sudo adduser hadoopuser sudo check group user using following command compgen g compgen u 13 SSH Configuration Hadoop requires SSH access manage different node ie remote machine plus local machine First need login Hadoopuser sudo su hadoopuser following command used generating key value pair using SSH sshkeygen rsa P “” f sshidrsa Copy public key form idrsapub authorizedkeys cat sshidrsapub sshauthorizedkeys chmod 0600 sshauthorizedkeys Make sure hadoopuser ssh account without password ssh localhost hadoopuser account make sure working fine ssh localhost Note get error ssh connect host localhost port 22 Connection refused please try install sshserver using command sudo aptget install ssh 2 Download Configure Hadoop article install Hadoop three machine First machine act name node Master data node slave machine data node slave machine edit etchosts file using following command sudo gedit etchosts file must contain row 127001 localhost 10011 hadoopnamenode 10012 hadoopdatanode2 10013 hadoopdatadnode3 Note etchosts file contains following line 127011 Hostname delete line 21 Download Hadoop going install software opt directory store HDFS’ underlying data well create folder single command sudo mkdir p opthadooplogshdfsdatanodenamenodeyarnlogs layout folder look like opt ├── hadoop │ ├── log ├── hdfs │ ├── datanode │ └── namenode ├── yarn │ ├── log download hadoop310targz using following command decompress Hadoop package use following command sudo tar xvf hadooptargz directoryopthadoop strip 1 binary release Hadoop 3 293 MB compressed decompressed size 733 MB 400 MB small documentation file may take long time decompress skip file adding following line command excludehadoop310sharedoc 22 Hadoop Common Configuration Note Steps must done Name node Data node well environment setting used Hadoop Hive Spark shared root regular user account centralize setting I’ve stored etcprofile created symbolic link rootbashrc file well way user centrallymanaged setting sudo gedit etcprofile etcprofile must look like “PS1” “BASH” “BASH” “binsh” file bashbashrc already set default PS1 PS1’hw ‘ f etcbashbashrc etcbashbashrc fi else “id u” eq 0 PS1’ ‘ else PS1’ ‘ fi fi fi etcprofiled etcprofiledsh r fi done unset fi export HADOOPHOMEopthadoop export PATHusrlocalsbinusrlocalbinusrsbinusrbinsbinbinHADOOPHOMEbinHADOOPHOMEsbin export HADOOPCONFDIRopthadoopetchadoop export HDFSNAMENODEUSERroot export HDFSDATANODEUSERroot export HDFSSECONDARYNAMENODEUSERroot export JAVAHOMEusrlibjvmjava8oracle export HADOOPMAPREDHOMEopthadoop export HADOOPCOMMONHOMEopthadoop export HADOOPHDFSHOMEopthadoop export YARNHOMEopthadoop following command create symbolic link bashrc etcprofile apply change made etcprofile sudo ln sf etcprofile rootbashrc source etcprofile Update opthadoop etchadoop hadoopenvsh file set JAVAHOME variable HADOOPHOME HADOOPCONFDIR HADOOPLOGDIR variable export JAVAHOMEusrlibjvmjava8oracle export HADOOPHOMEopthadoop export HADOOPCONFDIRopthadoop etchadoop export HADOOPLOGDIRopthadooplogs Log relogin hadoopuser account check Hadoop installation using command hadoop version 23 Master Node Configuration First update hdfssitexml file located optHadoopetcHadoop define name node data node machine define replication factor setting sudo gedit opthadoopetchadoophdfssitexml file must look like configuration property namedfsnamenodenamedirname valuefileopthdfsnamenodevalue descriptionNameNode directory namespace transaction log storagedescription property property namedfsdatanodedatadirname valuefileopthdfsdatanodevalue descriptionDataNode directorydescription property property namedfsreplicationname value3value property property namedfspermissionsname valuefalsevalue property property namedfsdatanodeusedatanodehostnamename valuefalsevalue property property namedfsnamenodedatanoderegistrationiphostnamecheckname valuefalsevalue property configuration update coresitexml file located opthadoopetchadoop let Hadoop distribution know name node located sudo gedit opthadoopetchadoopcoresitexml file must look like configuration property namefsdefaultFSname valuehdfshadoopnamenode9820value descriptionNameNode URIdescription property property nameiofilebuffersizename value131072value descriptionBuffer sizedescription property configuration update yarnsitexml file located opthadoopetchadoop sudo gedit opthadoopetchadoopyarnsitexml file must look like configuration property nameyarnnodemanagerauxservicesname valuemapreduceshufflevalue descriptionYarn Node Manager Aux Servicedescription property property nameyarnnodemanagerauxservicesmapreduceshuffleclassname valueorgapachehadoopmapredShuffleHandlervalue property property nameyarnnodemanagerlocaldirsname valuefileoptyarnlocalvalue property property nameyarnnodemanagerlogdirsname valuefileoptyarnlogsvalue property configuration update mapredsitexml file located opthadoopetchadoop configuration property namemapreduceframeworknamename valueyarnvalue descriptionMapReduce framework namedescription property property namemapreducejobhistoryaddressname valuehadoopnamenode10020value descriptionDefault port 10020description property property namemapreducejobhistorywebappaddressname value hadoopnamenode19888value descriptionDefault port 19888description property property namemapreducejobhistoryintermediatedonedirname valuemrhistorytmpvalue descriptionDirectory history file written MapReduce jobsdescription property property namemapreducejobhistorydonedirname valuemrhistorydonevalue descriptionDirectory history file managed MR JobHistory Serverdescription property configuration format name node hdfs namenode –format Finally add data node Slaves worker file located opthadoopetchadoop 10011 10012 10013 configuring data node make sure name node password le access sshcopyid homehadoopusersshidrsapub hadoopuser10012 sshcopyid homehadoopusersshidrsapub hadoopuser10013 24 Configuring Data node Note Instead downloading Hadoop copy Hadooptargz file name node data node extract use following command scp hadooptargz hadoopdatanode2homehadoopuser scp hadooptargz hadoopdatanode3homehadoopuser data node must following step update hdfssitexml coresitexml yarnsitexml mapredsitexml located opthadoopetchadoop directory following hdfssitexml configuration property namedfsdatanodedatadirname valuefileopthdfsdatanodevalue descriptionDataNode directorydescription property property namedfsreplicationname value3value property property namedfspermissionsname valuefalsevalue property property namedfsdatanodeusedatanodehostnamename valuefalsevalue property configuration coresitexml configuration property namefsdefaultFSname valuehdfshadoopnamenode9820value descriptionNameNode URIdescription property configuration yarnsitexml configuration property nameyarnnodemanagerauxservicesname valuemapreduceshufflevalue descriptionYarn Node Manager Aux Servicedescription property configuration mapredsitexml configuration property namemapreduceframeworknamename valueyarnvalue descriptionMapReduce framework namedescription property configuration 25 Start Hadoop finishing step name node execute following command start Name node data node secondary name node startdfssh give following output Starting namenodes hadoopnamenode Starting datanodes Starting secondary namenodes hadoopnamenode Also start resource manager node manager execute following command startyarnsh give following output Starting resourcemanager Starting nodemanagers ensure Hadoop started successfully must run jps command name node data node must give following output Name node ignore process id 16488 NameNode 16622 DataNode 17215 NodeManager 17087 ResourceManager 17530 Jps 16829 SecondaryNameNode Data node ignore process id 2306 DataNode 2479 NodeManager 2581 Jps get similar output Hadoop daemon started successfully Note may check log opthadooplogs check everything alright running hdfs dfsadmin report command must return Live datanodes 3 26 Accessing Hadoop Browser Namenode Access following URL httpshadoopnamenode9870 ResourceManager Access following URL httpshadoopnamenode8088 3 ReferencesTags Big Data Hadoop Ubuntu Hadoop 3 Hadoop Cluster
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5,063 |
Changing Hiring Practices to Build a More Diverse Technology Organization
|
Building a Coalition and Setting Expectations
If you’re working to build a more diverse team, you have to get recruitment onboard as partners. While it may seem natural, it’s not. Recruiting (especially external recruiters) are incentivized to close roles as quickly as possible. Most recruiters I’ve worked with are delighted to help find diverse candidates, but it’s critical to let them know that you understand the whole process will take longer. It’s also essential that their managers understand this.
If you have hiring managers reporting to you, you need to get them onboard and excited about this effort too. One measure of a manager is their ability to hire well. Being serious about diversity will probably mean that they’ll take longer to fill roles for their team.
You may need to assure them that you will take this into account if they miss their KPIs. You cannot set up or hold conflicting goals for your managers. If you cannot prioritize building diverse teams over hitting KPIs, you will most likely fail at both.
One way to handle the increased time to hire is to start sourcing for a role much earlier than scheduled. Spend the time before the position was supposed to open only looking at underrepresented candidates. Create an agreement with your manager that you will be able to hire them if you find a suitable candidate early. If you reach the planned opening date for the role and you haven’t located anyone, you can open the pool to your normal channels without losing time.
Your manager will also need to understand the potential impact of a diversity hiring focus on your KPIs.
With your manager’s support, create a reasonable KPI or OKR as your goal to track your efforts. The OKR should give you not only a target but also some cover if there are challenges to some of the tradeoffs you may need to make because you are hiring more slowly. Share your goal with your team. Update them on your progress regularly. Transparency is essential but also helps to enlist the rest of your team doing their part to help achieve the goal.
At Avvo, my diversity goals were part of my OKRs. I shared our progress with a monthly update to the organization. This repeated communication demonstrated the level of importance I placed on this goal and showed our improvement in real-time.
The good news is that as you make progress towards your goal, your time-to-hire will come down while maintaining or increasing your diversity. It does get easier. You will soon stop making tradeoffs as you continue to improve.
|
https://medium.com/better-programming/changing-hiring-practices-to-build-a-more-diverse-technology-organization-a-case-study-from-avvo-4ae5e29e11d6
|
['Kevin Goldsmith']
|
2020-06-19 13:21:47.007000+00:00
|
['Diversity In Tech', 'Diversity And Inclusion', 'Diversity', 'Programming', 'Startup']
|
Title Changing Hiring Practices Build Diverse Technology OrganizationContent Building Coalition Setting Expectations you’re working build diverse team get recruitment onboard partner may seem natural it’s Recruiting especially external recruiter incentivized close role quickly possible recruiter I’ve worked delighted help find diverse candidate it’s critical let know understand whole process take longer It’s also essential manager understand hiring manager reporting need get onboard excited effort One measure manager ability hire well serious diversity probably mean they’ll take longer fill role team may need assure take account miss KPIs cannot set hold conflicting goal manager cannot prioritize building diverse team hitting KPIs likely fail One way handle increased time hire start sourcing role much earlier scheduled Spend time position supposed open looking underrepresented candidate Create agreement manager able hire find suitable candidate early reach planned opening date role haven’t located anyone open pool normal channel without losing time manager also need understand potential impact diversity hiring focus KPIs manager’s support create reasonable KPI OKR goal track effort OKR give target also cover challenge tradeoff may need make hiring slowly Share goal team Update progress regularly Transparency essential also help enlist rest team part help achieve goal Avvo diversity goal part OKRs shared progress monthly update organization repeated communication demonstrated level importance placed goal showed improvement realtime good news make progress towards goal timetohire come maintaining increasing diversity get easier soon stop making tradeoff continue improveTags Diversity Tech Diversity Inclusion Diversity Programming Startup
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5,064 |
Headless UI Components: A Journey With High Order Components, Render Props, and Custom Hooks
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High Order Components
We have a component that prints out a simple UI:
For this article, the source code is verified in CodePen :
We want to make the text blue. This can be done by adding the style to line one or passing the style through line three. However, we want this style transformation logic to be reusable for other components too.
A high order component (HOC) is a good choice for this task. It’s a function that takes a component and returns a new component, with additional logic and behavior. It’s commonly defined as follows:
const EnhancedComponent = higherOrderComponent(WrappedComponent);
So, we create a HOC in the following code:
This HOC is named withColor (lines 1-8). It takes props and extracts out color if defined. Otherwise, it uses red as the default color (line 2). The rest props are passed down to the original component (line 5). It’s important to use composition, instead of mutating the original component.
This HOC wraps the original component by a div , styled with color (line 4), which is defined as blue at line 14.
Now we see the text blue:
You may be asking why we created TransformedComponent outside of App , instead directly mutating the original component in the render, as follows:
const App = () => {
const TransformedComponent = withColor(BaseComponent);
return <TransformedComponent value={1} color="blue"/>;
}
React’s diffing algorithm (also called reconciliation) uses component reference to determine whether it should update the existing subtree or throw it away and mount a new one. If the component returned from render is strictly equal to the component from the previous render, React recursively updates the subtree by diffing it with the new one. If they’re not equal, the previous subtree is completely unmounted.
If TransformedComponent is generated inside render, it has a new reference for each render, which would cause unnecessary unmounting.
If you have to put TransformedComponent inside render, the alternative way is to apply useMemo to keep the reference between renders.
withColor transforms the color. What if we also want to change the font style to be italic?
Another HOC is created to transform the font style:
This additional HOC is named withFontStyle (lines 1-8). It takes props and extracts out fontStyle if defined. Otherwise, it uses normal as the default fontStyle (line 2). The rest props are passed down to the original component (line 5).
This HOC wraps the original component by a div , styled with fontStyle (line 4), which is defined as italic at line 24.
Here we compose two HOCs at line 21.
What if we want to transform props in the original component, something like multiple of the original value?
Another HOC will do.
This new HOC is named withMultipleValue (lines 1 - 9). It takes props and extracts out factor if defined. Otherwise, it uses 1 as the default factor (line 2). A new value is calculated at line 3, which replaces the original value at line 6. newprops are passed down to the original component (line 8).
This HOC is applied at line 31, which times the factor, 5 , defined at line 36.
We compose three HOCs in lines 31-33. These lines look a little congested but they can be formatted like this if you have ramda installed:
import compose from "ramda"; const TransformedComponent = compose(
withMultipleValue,
withFontStyle,
withColor,
)(BaseComponent);
If you use Create React App, lodash is built-in and lines 31-33 can be written as:
|
https://medium.com/better-programming/headless-ui-components-a-journey-with-high-order-components-render-props-and-custom-hooks-811c9677b4cf
|
['Jennifer Fu']
|
2020-07-07 16:26:43.687000+00:00
|
['Reactjs', 'Programming', 'Nodejs', 'React', 'JavaScript']
|
Title Headless UI Components Journey High Order Components Render Props Custom HooksContent High Order Components component print simple UI article source code verified CodePen want make text blue done adding style line one passing style line three However want style transformation logic reusable component high order component HOC good choice task It’s function take component return new component additional logic behavior It’s commonly defined follows const EnhancedComponent higherOrderComponentWrappedComponent create HOC following code HOC named withColor line 18 take prop extract color defined Otherwise us red default color line 2 rest prop passed original component line 5 It’s important use composition instead mutating original component HOC wrap original component div styled color line 4 defined blue line 14 see text blue may asking created TransformedComponent outside App instead directly mutating original component render follows const App const TransformedComponent withColorBaseComponent return TransformedComponent value1 colorblue React’s diffing algorithm also called reconciliation us component reference determine whether update existing subtree throw away mount new one component returned render strictly equal component previous render React recursively update subtree diffing new one they’re equal previous subtree completely unmounted TransformedComponent generated inside render new reference render would cause unnecessary unmounting put TransformedComponent inside render alternative way apply useMemo keep reference render withColor transforms color also want change font style italic Another HOC created transform font style additional HOC named withFontStyle line 18 take prop extract fontStyle defined Otherwise us normal default fontStyle line 2 rest prop passed original component line 5 HOC wrap original component div styled fontStyle line 4 defined italic line 24 compose two HOCs line 21 want transform prop original component something like multiple original value Another HOC new HOC named withMultipleValue line 1 9 take prop extract factor defined Otherwise us 1 default factor line 2 new value calculated line 3 replaces original value line 6 newprops passed original component line 8 HOC applied line 31 time factor 5 defined line 36 compose three HOCs line 3133 line look little congested formatted like ramda installed import compose ramda const TransformedComponent compose withMultipleValue withFontStyle withColor BaseComponent use Create React App lodash builtin line 3133 written asTags Reactjs Programming Nodejs React JavaScript
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5,065 |
COVID-19 News for State, Local, and Tribal Leaders, 10/01/20
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S.R. 95, Fort Mojave Indian Reservation, Arizona. Photograph by Ken Lund, 2010
Welcome to our weekly roundup of articles and resources for state, local, and tribal leaders creating policy to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic as well as steering the social and economic recovery for their communities. Postings below do not convey endorsement of any particular organization or opinion contained in links.
When COVID-19 forced Buffalo to shut down, the University at Buffalo helped the city’s essential 311 call center transition to remote work within 48 hours.
Abigail Echo-Hawk is working around the clock to close discriminatory data gaps.
Telehealth offers significant opportunities to raise community resilience to health threats, to address disparities in healthcare quality and access — and to boost overall health and happiness.
The federal loans were meant to help hospitals survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet they’re coming due now — at a time when many rural hospitals are still desperate for help.
Industry is also calling for another $32bn in emergency funding to keep going.
A nonpartisan online competition from October 23rd to 25th for students to write proposals for policy-based solutions to today’s most pressing challenges. Over the course of the policython, teams of one to four members will hear from partners, receive guidance from leading academics whilst writing proposals, and submit their policy memos to policymakers.
A new study has found minimal evidence that the novel coronavirus is transferring inside K-12 school buildings despite reports of students and faculty across the country contracting the disease.
Making climate progress is still within our grasp, but the critical first step is to recognize the perks of collaboration, and then to reach across the aisle.
As coronavirus wreaks havoc on existing structures, we take a look at some visions for cities of the future — and how they hold up.
Draw a map of Chicago and shade the areas with more poverty, pollution and coronavirus. It will start to look like being Black is a pre-existing condition.
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https://medium.com/covid-19-public-sector-resources/covid-19-news-for-state-local-and-tribal-leaders-10-01-20-1dc74428c547
|
['Harvard Ash Center']
|
2020-10-01 17:33:56.421000+00:00
|
['Covid 19', 'Tribal Government', 'Local Government', 'State Government', 'Coronavirus']
|
Title COVID19 News State Local Tribal Leaders 100120Content SR 95 Fort Mojave Indian Reservation Arizona Photograph Ken Lund 2010 Welcome weekly roundup article resource state local tribal leader creating policy help combat COVID19 pandemic well steering social economic recovery community Postings convey endorsement particular organization opinion contained link COVID19 forced Buffalo shut University Buffalo helped city’s essential 311 call center transition remote work within 48 hour Abigail EchoHawk working around clock close discriminatory data gap Telehealth offer significant opportunity raise community resilience health threat address disparity healthcare quality access — boost overall health happiness federal loan meant help hospital survive COVID19 pandemic Yet they’re coming due — time many rural hospital still desperate help Industry also calling another 32bn emergency funding keep going nonpartisan online competition October 23rd 25th student write proposal policybased solution today’s pressing challenge course policython team one four member hear partner receive guidance leading academic whilst writing proposal submit policy memo policymakers new study found minimal evidence novel coronavirus transferring inside K12 school building despite report student faculty across country contracting disease Making climate progress still within grasp critical first step recognize perk collaboration reach across aisle coronavirus wreaks havoc existing structure take look vision city future — hold Draw map Chicago shade area poverty pollution coronavirus start look like Black preexisting conditionTags Covid 19 Tribal Government Local Government State Government Coronavirus
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5,066 |
I Blocked My Husband On Medium
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I Blocked My Husband On Medium
Better late than never
Photo by Jose Fontano on Unsplash
June 25, 2019
I haven’t done it yet.
But I am strongly considering it.
I don’t want to do it out of anger. Or, maybe I do. I’m just afraid.
I’m fearful of what my husband’s reaction will be. We aren’t in the healthiest place right now.
Medium is my healthy place.
My husband is having a hard time with that. A hard time, like, he’s a writer too all of a sudden.
Doesn’t he see how creepy that is?
I guess not.
I want, no — I need to write.
I’m holding myself back because I know he is all over it as soon as I make a move on here.
It’s bullshit now that I think about it.
It’s confusing as hell that he recently proposed the idea of being polyamorous to me, yet, can’t go a single day without being in my shit. Or let me have independent thoughts and write about them on Medium without feeling the urge to stalk me daily.
Am I missing something here?
Would he be able to handle (and fully consent to) his wife being mind-blowingly intimate and intertwined with another man or woman, completely separate from him?
Huh. That’s definitely another story for another day.
Not today, Medium. Not today.
It took me ten years to find a space where I can be me, not a mom, not a wife, just me.
He’s trampled all over that, not only by making an account (after he found out I had one) but continually checking up on me and covertly one-upping me by publishing articles for his readers.
Those articles seem more like personal rebuttals to me, his wife, now that I think about it.
Is that really necessary?
How could I be the unhealthy one for blocking my husband and having my own space to vent about motherhood and matrimony when he repeatedly disrespects my boundaries?
It’s not about secrecy for me. There is not a single word on here that he hasn’t heard from my mouth first. It is about where the only place I can go right now for refuge.
Medium is the only place where I own my identity.
It feels like he wants to take that away from me.
I can’t let him.
It’s the only scrap of autonomy I have left.
I don’t know what to do.
I don’t want to read his stuff. It has too big of an impact on me right now. It’s confusing to be in the middle of my thoughts and have him insert his.
I didn’t join Medium to figure out his shit or for him to read my articles and fix me.
I’m on here to figure it out for myself.
It seems as though neither of us is in a healthy state at the moment. We both need a peaceful place to work on ourselves before expecting our marriage to be a safe space.
I don’t want to block him. I could, but it doesn’t feel right.
Writing feels good.
I need to keep writing.
If I’ve figured out anything from this post, it’s that: I have to keep communicating unapologetically no matter what I do.
I can figure the rest out as I go along.
|
https://medium.com/recycled/i-blocked-my-husband-on-medium-d48a43d726c
|
['Divina Grey']
|
2020-12-20 14:59:55.868000+00:00
|
['Writing', 'Life', 'Life Lessons', 'Relationships', 'Self Improvement']
|
Title Blocked Husband MediumContent Blocked Husband Medium Better late never Photo Jose Fontano Unsplash June 25 2019 haven’t done yet strongly considering don’t want anger maybe I’m afraid I’m fearful husband’s reaction aren’t healthiest place right Medium healthy place husband hard time hard time like he’s writer sudden Doesn’t see creepy guess want — need write I’m holding back know soon make move It’s bullshit think It’s confusing hell recently proposed idea polyamorous yet can’t go single day without shit let independent thought write Medium without feeling urge stalk daily missing something Would able handle fully consent wife mindblowingly intimate intertwined another man woman completely separate Huh That’s definitely another story another day today Medium today took ten year find space mom wife He’s trampled making account found one continually checking covertly oneupping publishing article reader article seem like personal rebuttal wife think really necessary could unhealthy one blocking husband space vent motherhood matrimony repeatedly disrespect boundary It’s secrecy single word hasn’t heard mouth first place go right refuge Medium place identity feel like want take away can’t let It’s scrap autonomy left don’t know don’t want read stuff big impact right It’s confusing middle thought insert didn’t join Medium figure shit read article fix I’m figure seems though neither u healthy state moment need peaceful place work expecting marriage safe space don’t want block could doesn’t feel right Writing feel good need keep writing I’ve figured anything post it’s keep communicating unapologetically matter figure rest go alongTags Writing Life Life Lessons Relationships Self Improvement
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5,067 |
Tech Bridging the Accessibility Gap
|
Artificial Intelligence is helping to boost learning outcomes for deaf students.
Hard-of-hearing and deaf students are, unfortunately, often left at a disadvantage as they have an extra set of challenges to contend with on top of the difficulties that come with adjusting to a classroom environment.
This extra work — keeping up with sign language interpreters while simultaneously reading course material and taking notes — often results in learning challenges and lower grades. However, as technology integration grows in schools, new ways to bridge classroom accessibility gaps emerge.
And that’s where technology can really make a difference, according to Tom Livne, CEO of Verbit. His company has developed a cutting edge transcription process, powered by machine learning technology, that provide 99% transcription accuracy — which he claims is the fastest turnaround time in the industry at any volume.
“Our hybrid model fuses the latest AI technology as well as seasoned transcribers who edit and review each file to polish them to perfection. Our platform is the only solution on the market that incorporates contextual data, specific acoustic models and current events to provide each customer with a tailored model that keeps improving with time.”
Founded in 2016, Verbit has secured $11M in seed funding backed by several prominent venture capitalists. It is now being used by various institutions including Brigham Young University in Idaho, which has used their technology to provide fast and accurate transcripts and captions for their students, particularly those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Prior to working with Verbit, the university was facing major challenges due to a lack of resources, a high demand for services and a large backlog of inaccessible content that required transcription.
Deploying the technology resulted in a much faster turnaround without compromising on accuracy. Automation also allowed the services to be delivered at a much lower cost, which is of course a crucial issue for many education institutions trying to balance their budgets.
“We chose Verbit because, out of the multitude of companies on the market, they were a perfect fit for us. We stay with Verbit because the people are fantastic. The customer service has been incredible. The turnaround time, the accuracy, the editing time — all of those things are truly best- in-class.” Valerie Sturm, BYU-I Coordinator of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Prior to piloting the automation route, BYU-Idaho employed 11 transcribers on campus, tasked with covering over 500 hours of transcription per week. A high demand for services and too few people to provide them made it impossible to meet students’ needs and recover from a lengthy backlog of requests.
The system relied mostly on student transcribers, who would graduate in due course, meaning a constant need to re-train personnel from scratch, which was highly inefficient. The university found itself faced with a constant backlog of requests for content transcription, which they weren’t able to meet under the old system. At one point the institution had over 1,000 pieces of audio that were never transcribed or captioned. Activities like tutoring sessions or extra content that took place outside of the traditional classroom setting only added to this growing backlog.
This is part of a growing trend which we’ve been seeing at events such as this year’s Microsoft Build, where Satya Nadella launched their company’s AI for Accessibility program. There is little doubt that with the fast pace of innovation we’re seeing in fields such as machine learning, this type of capability has great potential for making society more inclusive for people with disabilities, and that has to be a good thing.
|
https://medium.com/edtech-trends/tech-bridging-the-accessibility-gap-578348b23a5a
|
['Alice Bonasio']
|
2019-01-02 19:42:26.536000+00:00
|
['Edtech', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Accessibility', 'Technology', 'Machine Learning']
|
Title Tech Bridging Accessibility GapContent Artificial Intelligence helping boost learning outcome deaf student Hardofhearing deaf student unfortunately often left disadvantage extra set challenge contend top difficulty come adjusting classroom environment extra work — keeping sign language interpreter simultaneously reading course material taking note — often result learning challenge lower grade However technology integration grows school new way bridge classroom accessibility gap emerge that’s technology really make difference according Tom Livne CEO Verbit company developed cutting edge transcription process powered machine learning technology provide 99 transcription accuracy — claim fastest turnaround time industry volume “Our hybrid model fuse latest AI technology well seasoned transcriber edit review file polish perfection platform solution market incorporates contextual data specific acoustic model current event provide customer tailored model keep improving time” Founded 2016 Verbit secured 11M seed funding backed several prominent venture capitalist used various institution including Brigham Young University Idaho used technology provide fast accurate transcript caption student particularly deaf hard hearing Prior working Verbit university facing major challenge due lack resource high demand service large backlog inaccessible content required transcription Deploying technology resulted much faster turnaround without compromising accuracy Automation also allowed service delivered much lower cost course crucial issue many education institution trying balance budget “We chose Verbit multitude company market perfect fit u stay Verbit people fantastic customer service incredible turnaround time accuracy editing time — thing truly best inclass” Valerie Sturm BYUI Coordinator Services Deaf Hard Hearing Prior piloting automation route BYUIdaho employed 11 transcriber campus tasked covering 500 hour transcription per week high demand service people provide made impossible meet students’ need recover lengthy backlog request system relied mostly student transcriber would graduate due course meaning constant need retrain personnel scratch highly inefficient university found faced constant backlog request content transcription weren’t able meet old system one point institution 1000 piece audio never transcribed captioned Activities like tutoring session extra content took place outside traditional classroom setting added growing backlog part growing trend we’ve seeing event year’s Microsoft Build Satya Nadella launched company’s AI Accessibility program little doubt fast pace innovation we’re seeing field machine learning type capability great potential making society inclusive people disability good thingTags Edtech Artificial Intelligence Accessibility Technology Machine Learning
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5,068 |
E-learning platform for kids on Scratch 3.0
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Kids are awesome. So we were happy when one of our clients reached us with the task to create the working prototype of an e-learning product for them.
What Humansee Labs development team build: a working prototype of a new web application designed to help children aged 7–9 learn to code.
Scratch 3.0 (open-source, JavaScript-based web coding environment, code available from GitHub)
The e-learning platform based on Scratch block coding environment. It contains a proprietary floating video player which allows the user to watch the video while coding along with the lesson.
Approach
The Website we build for the client includes a “lesson select” page. We customized Scratch dashboard and visual environment.
Main page with the playlist of all lessons
The user chooses the lesson and arrives at the screen with an incorporated the floating video player and Scratch interface. On top of the page are placed a logo of the company. The user can move and resize the video player. It’s very comfortable when you learn something and repeat it at the same time.
Page with Scratch environment and video lesson
The playlist has the option to include a quiz with few variants of answers. When the user finishes to watch the video lesson starts the test. Each user gets points for his answers in these tests. All points are collected in user’s account.
Personal statistics and My achievements
Key Feature: customized video plugin
Our client decided to use Youtube API instead of using standard built in Scratch video plugin. Our dev team customized this API and made video player which allows:
the user to choose clips from a carousel of options within the chosen lesson;
the player to be moved around the screen and resized;
the user to return to a “lesson select” screen.
the moderator to host a playlist of videos
Result
A working prototype of a new web application for children aged 7–9 which are learning to code.
|
https://medium.com/humanseelabs/e-learning-platform-for-kids-on-scratch-3-0-ad3460426802
|
['Alina Dementsevich']
|
2018-11-28 14:20:04.360000+00:00
|
['React', 'Javascript Development', 'Web Development', 'Case Study', 'Redux']
|
Title Elearning platform kid Scratch 30Content Kids awesome happy one client reached u task create working prototype elearning product Humansee Labs development team build working prototype new web application designed help child aged 7–9 learn code Scratch 30 opensource JavaScriptbased web coding environment code available GitHub elearning platform based Scratch block coding environment contains proprietary floating video player allows user watch video coding along lesson Approach Website build client includes “lesson select” page customized Scratch dashboard visual environment Main page playlist lesson user chooses lesson arrives screen incorporated floating video player Scratch interface top page placed logo company user move resize video player It’s comfortable learn something repeat time Page Scratch environment video lesson playlist option include quiz variant answer user finish watch video lesson start test user get point answer test point collected user’s account Personal statistic achievement Key Feature customized video plugin client decided use Youtube API instead using standard built Scratch video plugin dev team customized API made video player allows user choose clip carousel option within chosen lesson player moved around screen resized user return “lesson select” screen moderator host playlist video Result working prototype new web application child aged 7–9 learning codeTags React Javascript Development Web Development Case Study Redux
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5,069 |
Working With AWS CLI
|
AWS provide lots of products or services and for using those services multiple ways are available for us, we can use the GUI console of AWS (Web App) or we can write some automation codes to create our infrastructure. At starting, we always like and are comfortable with GUI as it easy to use but it will not provide us all the options available to satisfy some customized requirements. So, here we are going to use command line interface (CLI) to connect with AWS and use its services.
First of all we should have the AWS CLI software which is very simple to install. For installing AWS CLI you can visit this link,
‘https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/install-cliv2.html’
After that we can run aws command to check if it is installed properly,
For connecting to our AWS account we need a user with some keys (for authentication), So we need to have an existing user or add a user through IAM service of AWS.
Add a user and after creating it save the credentials (Id and key) as we will need it later to configure aws-cli.
We have to attach a policy to give powers to the user we are creating. Here I gave admin access, it will have all the powers except billing dashboard.
We need to configure our user profile using configure command and copy paste the access key ID and secret access key that we got while adding a user in IAM.
aws configure
AWS provide a great documentation to help us dealing with all the services. So, we don’t need to remember any command and just use the ‘help’ anywhere when we are stuck or want to see all available commands and options. It will give a long list, just do enter-enter and we can explore all the commands.
aws help
We are going to use some of the services of AWS to show how to work in CLI,
Following is the task we are going to do through AWS-CLI
🔑 Create a key pair
🛡 Create a security group
💻 Launch an instance using the above created key pair and security group.
💿 Create an EBS volume of 1 GB.
🔗 The final step is to attach the above created EBS volume to the instance you created in the previous steps.
As all these services (key-pair, security group, instance and EBS) comes under EC2 service of AWS, so we will be using aws ec2 command. And to see other sub-commands in it we have the documentation with us (using help). It will give the complete description and list of commands available.
aws ec2 help
Going down we can find a command called creat-key-pair and that is what we want, again we can use help with it to see the available options in it and this is the way we can find and use all the required aws services.
aws ec2 create-key-pair help
So, create a key pair.
aws ec2 create-key-pair --key-name <your_key_name>
But this will print the key as output.
So rather we copy this key, create a file and paste into it we can redirect the output to a file. The following command will create a ‘clikey.pem’ file in current directory and it will contain the generated key-pair.
aws ec2 create-key-pair --key-name clikey > clikey.pem
We have successfully created a key-pair,
2. Creating a security group,
Using the same approach we can create a security group with following command
aws ec2 create-security-group --group-name <any_name> --description "Security Group from CLI"
Looking at the console, our security group is also created.
But there is no inbound rule set and in this case no one can connect to the instance. So, we can also add some rule to the created security group.
aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress --group-name mysg --protocol tcp --port 22 --cidr 0.0.0.0/0
As we can see, we have also added the rule,
3. It’s time to create an instance with the created key-pair and security group.
We can provide multiple options while creating an instance but few are compulsory like image-id and instance type. So again we can use help command to see the documentation,
aws ec2 run-instances help
Let’s pick some of them and launch an instance,
aws ec2 run-instances --image-id <any_image_id> --instance-type <instance_type> --key-name <your_key> --tag-specifications ResourceType=instance,Tags=[{Key=<string>,Value=<string>}] --security-groups <sg_name>
So, here we are creating a t2.micro instance with the created key and security group. I also added a name tag.
This part is also done,
4. Now lets create a EBS volume.
Note that volume should be created in the same availability zone in which our instance is created if we want to attach it. We can see details of our instances (here we want to know availability zone) using describe-instances command.
aws ec2 describe-instances
Now creating a volume,
aws ec2 create-volume --volume-type <type> --size <size> --availability-zone <zone> --tag-specifications ResourceType=volume,Tags=[{Key=<string>,Value=<string>}]
So I created a volume of 1Gb size,
We can see that the status is available and not in use. So, we have created a volume which is not attached.
5. Next, we need to attach this created volume to our instance.
For attaching we will require following options,
aws ec2 attach-volume --volume-id <created_volume_id> --instance-id <your_instance_id> --device <any_valid_device_name>
Finally, we have also attached our volume to the instance.
So, we have done this task to understand how to use AWS CLI for creating and managing resources on AWS cloud with the right approach.
Thank you for reading ! 😃
|
https://vikasverma250999.medium.com/working-with-aws-cli-970e26f8a4e9
|
['Vikas Verma']
|
2020-10-15 11:59:21.010000+00:00
|
['Aws Cli', 'Cloud Computing', 'Cli', 'Aws Ec2']
|
Title Working AWS CLIContent AWS provide lot product service using service multiple way available u use GUI console AWS Web App write automation code create infrastructure starting always like comfortable GUI easy use provide u option available satisfy customized requirement going use command line interface CLI connect AWS use service First AWS CLI software simple install installing AWS CLI visit link ‘httpsdocsawsamazoncomclilatestuserguideinstallcliv2html’ run aws command check installed properly connecting AWS account need user key authentication need existing user add user IAM service AWS Add user creating save credential Id key need later configure awscli attach policy give power user creating gave admin access power except billing dashboard need configure user profile using configure command copy paste access key ID secret access key got adding user IAM aws configure AWS provide great documentation help u dealing service don’t need remember command use ‘help’ anywhere stuck want see available command option give long list enterenter explore command aws help going use service AWS show work CLI Following task going AWSCLI 🔑 Create key pair 🛡 Create security group 💻 Launch instance using created key pair security group 💿 Create EBS volume 1 GB 🔗 final step attach created EBS volume instance created previous step service keypair security group instance EBS come EC2 service AWS using aws ec2 command see subcommands documentation u using help give complete description list command available aws ec2 help Going find command called creatkeypair want use help see available option way find use required aws service aws ec2 createkeypair help create key pair aws ec2 createkeypair keyname yourkeyname print key output rather copy key create file paste redirect output file following command create ‘clikeypem’ file current directory contain generated keypair aws ec2 createkeypair keyname clikey clikeypem successfully created keypair 2 Creating security group Using approach create security group following command aws ec2 createsecuritygroup groupname anyname description Security Group CLI Looking console security group also created inbound rule set case one connect instance also add rule created security group aws ec2 authorizesecuritygroupingress groupname mysg protocol tcp port 22 cidr 00000 see also added rule 3 It’s time create instance created keypair security group provide multiple option creating instance compulsory like imageid instance type use help command see documentation aws ec2 runinstances help Let’s pick launch instance aws ec2 runinstances imageid anyimageid instancetype instancetype keyname yourkey tagspecifications ResourceTypeinstanceTagsKeystringValuestring securitygroups sgname creating t2micro instance created key security group also added name tag part also done 4 let create EBS volume Note volume created availability zone instance created want attach see detail instance want know availability zone using describeinstances command aws ec2 describeinstances creating volume aws ec2 createvolume volumetype type size size availabilityzone zone tagspecifications ResourceTypevolumeTagsKeystringValuestring created volume 1Gb size see status available use created volume attached 5 Next need attach created volume instance attaching require following option aws ec2 attachvolume volumeid createdvolumeid instanceid yourinstanceid device anyvaliddevicename Finally also attached volume instance done task understand use AWS CLI creating managing resource AWS cloud right approach Thank reading 😃Tags Aws Cli Cloud Computing Cli Aws Ec2
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5,070 |
Python Dictionaries — in and out. Dictionaries are one of the most widely…
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Iteration in Dictionaries
Fig-7: Iterating through dictionaries (img source:real Python)
Iterating through dictionaries are quiet different from another data structures because, in dictionaries we have (key-value) pairs whereas, in lists or tuples we only have one single element at each index and also list on its own is iterable.
Fig-8: Iterating through values in dictionary
Fig-9:various methods in iterating over keys in dictionary
Fig-10: iterating through both keys and values
In order to extract values from dictionary , we need to use .values() method. In the Fig-8, difference between iterating over lists and dictionaries can be seen(in terms of Values).
Similarly, we need to use .keys() method to iterate over keys in dictionary. As you can see in the Fig-9, the same can be done without using “.keys()” method also (it is not anway recommended).
To iterate through both (key-value) pairs at a time in dictionary, we use .items() method. This method returns an iterable collection (list of tuples.
Dict comprehension
These are similar to list comprehension (prior understanding of list comprehension will help in understanding better). I would cover about dict comprehension in very brief manner because it is one of the advanced topic in dictionaries.
Fig-11: Dict Comprehension
Syntax : {__:__for__in__} - it iterates over keys by default. If we want to iterate over keys and values, we should use .items() method. Conditional logics can also be written with in dict-comprehension (see Fig-11)
Methods in Dictionaries
In this part, I would briefly discuss about few inbuilt methods (clear, copy, fromkeys, get, pop, popitem)of dictionary data structure.
1.clear()
Fig-12 : clear and del in dictionary
clear() — — clears all the ‘‘keys and values’’ in a dictionary . But it doesn’t delete entire dictionary object from memory. If you want to delete entire dictionary object from memory, then we need to use del.If you further try to access deleted dictionary then you will get “NameError”, del can also be used to remove single element from dictionaries.
2.copy()
Fig-13: copy method in dictionaries
copy() method will create a duplicate dictionary in different address of the memory. This can be tested as shown in the Fig-13. In this, “==” refers to whether both the values in two dictionaries are same or not. Whereas, “is” refers to whether both dictionaries (original as well as copied) refers to same address in the memory or not. Change in one of the both, will not impact other as both are stored at different addresses.
3.fromkeys()
Fig-14 : fromkeys() method in dictionary
fromkeys() creates key-value pairs from comma separated values. condition to be followed— Key should be an iterable collection to the dictionary. All the iterables in key will be assigned to same value specified in the Value part, as shown in the Fig-14. This is rarely used method for creating dictionaries.
4.get()
Fig-15: get method in dictionary
get() method retrieves a key in an object and return None instead of keyError, if the key doesn’t exist.The biggest advantage is that, it doesn’t throw an error, even though if we try to access a key, which is not present in dictionary.
In Fig-15 —- sample_dict.get(‘a’) is equivalent to sample_dict[‘a’]
5.pop()
Fig-16:pop() method in dictionary
In lists, we use pop() method to remove an element from a list. In dictionaries, we use it to remove a (key,value) pair. pop() method should be provided with at least one single argument corresponding to the key. It removes that particular (key-value) pair from dictionary by returning the value corresponding to the key that was removed. If we try to remove a key which is not in dictionary, then it will generate key-error, which can be overcomed by providing optional argument to it(as shown in last in Fig-16).
6.popitem()
Fig-17: popitem() method in dictionary
If we want to randomly remove (key-value) pair from dictionary, then we should use popitem() method. If any argument is provided to popitem(), then we will get an error because, it doesn’t take any argument.
7.update()
Fig-18: update() method in dictionary
update() will change (key,value) in a dictionary with another set of key-value pairs. It will also overwrites an existing key. It will overwrite and edit the properties however, it won’t remove them if we pass an empty dictionary to update with existing one.
To list all available methods and attributes of a dictionary , use dir(dictionary_oject)
|
https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/python-dictionaries-in-and-out-f1b7a3237a65
|
['Chamanth Mvs']
|
2019-12-16 12:38:58.228000+00:00
|
['Programming', 'Python Programming', 'Data Science', 'Data Structures', 'Python']
|
Title Python Dictionaries — Dictionaries one widely…Content Iteration Dictionaries Fig7 Iterating dictionary img sourcereal Python Iterating dictionary quiet different another data structure dictionary keyvalue pair whereas list tuples one single element index also list iterable Fig8 Iterating value dictionary Fig9various method iterating key dictionary Fig10 iterating key value order extract value dictionary need use value method Fig8 difference iterating list dictionary seenin term Values Similarly need use key method iterate key dictionary see Fig9 done without using “keys” method also anway recommended iterate keyvalue pair time dictionary use item method method return iterable collection list tuples Dict comprehension similar list comprehension prior understanding list comprehension help understanding better would cover dict comprehension brief manner one advanced topic dictionary Fig11 Dict Comprehension Syntax forin iterates key default want iterate key value use item method Conditional logic also written dictcomprehension see Fig11 Methods Dictionaries part would briefly discus inbuilt method clear copy fromkeys get pop popitemof dictionary data structure 1clear Fig12 clear del dictionary clear — — clear ‘‘keys values’’ dictionary doesn’t delete entire dictionary object memory want delete entire dictionary object memory need use delIf try access deleted dictionary get “NameError” del also used remove single element dictionary 2copy Fig13 copy method dictionary copy method create duplicate dictionary different address memory tested shown Fig13 “” refers whether value two dictionary Whereas “is” refers whether dictionary original well copied refers address memory Change one impact stored different address 3fromkeys Fig14 fromkeys method dictionary fromkeys creates keyvalue pair comma separated value condition followed— Key iterable collection dictionary iterables key assigned value specified Value part shown Fig14 rarely used method creating dictionary 4get Fig15 get method dictionary get method retrieves key object return None instead keyError key doesn’t existThe biggest advantage doesn’t throw error even though try access key present dictionary Fig15 — sampledictget‘a’ equivalent sampledict‘a’ 5pop Fig16pop method dictionary list use pop method remove element list dictionary use remove keyvalue pair pop method provided least one single argument corresponding key remove particular keyvalue pair dictionary returning value corresponding key removed try remove key dictionary generate keyerror overcomed providing optional argument itas shown last Fig16 6popitem Fig17 popitem method dictionary want randomly remove keyvalue pair dictionary use popitem method argument provided popitem get error doesn’t take argument 7update Fig18 update method dictionary update change keyvalue dictionary another set keyvalue pair also overwrites existing key overwrite edit property however won’t remove pas empty dictionary update existing one list available method attribute dictionary use dirdictionaryojectTags Programming Python Programming Data Science Data Structures Python
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5,071 |
Part 1: Building a Flask Web Application
|
Elliott Saslow
We will be building a flask server that we can use to post the work that we create in this class. Check out more about flask here
Lets build a website!!
Goals:
Website with home page and about page Flask server to handle calls AWS EC2 set up so that you can access the website remotely Smart Contract?
Part 1. Building the website:
To begin, we are going to be uing the command line to build out a folder system.
Create a new folder called flask_website: mkdir flask_website Create new folders within flask_website mkdir static mkdir templates Make a server file: touch server.py
Open flask_website folder in your favorite code editor
The Static folder will contain all of our javascript and css files.
The templates will contain all of our html pages
|
https://medium.com/future-vision/building-a-flask-web-application-a66acafea2d2
|
['Elliott Saslow']
|
2019-06-14 04:26:54.079000+00:00
|
['Flask', 'Web Development', 'Python', 'Developer', 'Servers']
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Title Part 1 Building Flask Web ApplicationContent Elliott Saslow building flask server use post work create class Check flask Lets build website Goals Website home page page Flask server handle call AWS EC2 set access website remotely Smart Contract Part 1 Building website begin going uing command line build folder system Create new folder called flaskwebsite mkdir flaskwebsite Create new folder within flaskwebsite mkdir static mkdir template Make server file touch serverpy Open flaskwebsite folder favorite code editor Static folder contain javascript cs file template contain html pagesTags Flask Web Development Python Developer Servers
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5,072 |
Top Five Tips to Get Your Story Curated
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The majority of the people face the same problem when they start their journey in story writing and making it publish. As for a beginner, it is a bit hard to get noticed without getting a helping hand for their valuable work to get seen. Here, In the article, I will be discussing the top 5 points that you should keep in mind to increase the change of your story get curated.
These are the points that I have observed in most of the stories I have read. And, I applied the same techniques to my stories and found that most of my stories got curated with those approaches. It is not true that by applying these five techniques your stories will definitely get curated but these are the essential steps that help your stories in a curated list.
Always Check for Grammar Errors: Whenever you write something and send your article to any publisher. On the publisher side, All the publishers have their editorial team. Where a human being is sitting there any deciding if your article should get publish or not. And, if your story will have lots of grammar mistakes or any punctuation error, then the editorial person will get frustrated and will end up switch to the next article as they have many article requests in a row.
Photo by Sarah Kilian on Unsplash
2. Use Authentic images: Believe it or not, but, this is the central portions that make makes the reader spend more time over your story. Reading just a complete text data lost the interest of the reader and the reader will scroll to the conclusion and will switch to another exciting story. Image or other graphical contents make the view light and make the mind feel comfortable. We should also take care of the accountability of the photos we used. We should refrain from using images directly from the internet as they might bring copyrights issues. Use images from Pixabay, Unsplash, StockSnap, Flickr, Pexels, Burst, The Stocks. These resources are open sources and free to use.
3. Cover Picture A Story Driver: Cover picture makes the article more catchy and attracts more attention to the people. Sometimes people don’t read the title and only look for the cover images as the cover image itself provides the solution to their problem they are looking for. The cover picture should not be a random one but should depict your story or should somehow relate to your story so that a reader can understand what this story is going to be. If the reader comes to your story by looking at the cover and doesn’t find what he/she was looking for then the reader might move to another story.
Photo by Chase Clark on Unsplash
4. Always add Title & Subtitle: Title & Subtitle plays a significant role in taking the attention of the public. Your title should define your story in a few words, and also you should refrain from using your title as a click-bait as if your title doesn’t satisfy the content then the reader might lose the interest of your upcoming posts. Also, here in the medium, you will get more audience by both article's views count and the claps.
Photo by Kaleidico on Unsplash
5. Adding Conclusion: Most of the time, we thought that I had written an excellent article with no Grammar mistakes, proper formatting, and also no copyrights infringements. Still, the publisher rejects it by submission. Sometimes conclusion works as proof if you have delivered whatever you have said. This is the best way to check the quality of an article quickly. You must add a conclusion to your article. The conclusion should be in short, defining what you have discussed in the above article.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Final Closing Points
Congratulations, You have completed the lesson of Five most important checks to do before submitting your article to Medium. Those were the points that play significant importance for the article. These points define the quality of an article. Now, It’s your time to reviews these 5 points and makes your article publish. Good Luck with your Medium Journey.
|
https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/5-points-to-avoid-getting-rejected-by-the-publications-7e36f26d1db9
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['Pranjal Saxena']
|
2020-09-28 00:46:39.196000+00:00
|
['Tips', 'Marketing', 'Data Science', 'Audience', 'Marketing Strategies']
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Title Top Five Tips Get Story CuratedContent majority people face problem start journey story writing making publish beginner bit hard get noticed without getting helping hand valuable work get seen article discussing top 5 point keep mind increase change story get curated point observed story read applied technique story found story got curated approach true applying five technique story definitely get curated essential step help story curated list Always Check Grammar Errors Whenever write something send article publisher publisher side publisher editorial team human sitting deciding article get publish story lot grammar mistake punctuation error editorial person get frustrated end switch next article many article request row Photo Sarah Kilian Unsplash 2 Use Authentic image Believe central portion make make reader spend time story Reading complete text data lost interest reader reader scroll conclusion switch another exciting story Image graphical content make view light make mind feel comfortable also take care accountability photo used refrain using image directly internet might bring copyright issue Use image Pixabay Unsplash StockSnap Flickr Pexels Burst Stocks resource open source free use 3 Cover Picture Story Driver Cover picture make article catchy attracts attention people Sometimes people don’t read title look cover image cover image provides solution problem looking cover picture random one depict story somehow relate story reader understand story going reader come story looking cover doesn’t find heshe looking reader might move another story Photo Chase Clark Unsplash 4 Always add Title Subtitle Title Subtitle play significant role taking attention public title define story word also refrain using title clickbait title doesn’t satisfy content reader might lose interest upcoming post Also medium get audience article view count clap Photo Kaleidico Unsplash 5 Adding Conclusion time thought written excellent article Grammar mistake proper formatting also copyright infringement Still publisher reject submission Sometimes conclusion work proof delivered whatever said best way check quality article quickly must add conclusion article conclusion short defining discussed article Photo Kelly Sikkema Unsplash Final Closing Points Congratulations completed lesson Five important check submitting article Medium point play significant importance article point define quality article It’s time review 5 point make article publish Good Luck Medium JourneyTags Tips Marketing Data Science Audience Marketing Strategies
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5,073 |
I’m A Nobody, and That’s A Good Thing
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Do you ever angrily stare at the screen after finding errors in your recently published piece? I do. Why didn’t I see that before? The truth is, only a few people are going to see that error. Well, at least in my case.
In this age of social media, young adults just like me look around at some of their peers and feel like they’re failing at life. Maybe they had to stop attending college for some reason. They could have chosen not to go in the first place. We look around at some of our peers blossoming in their chosen careers with nice cars, a nice apartment, and a pure bred puppy.
However, I promise you that puppy has peed on a pair or two of their expensive shoes and possibly pooped on their costly rug. I know; I once had seven of them to care for. Their life isn’t as great as their social media accounts display.
Social media accounts are simply curations. Most people aren’t brave enough to post their failures for the world to see, and nobody should have to. We don’t have to be on this stage acting out every chapter of our lives.
I’m a nobody, and that’s a good thing.
I don’t have 10K+ followers. I don’t have to agonize over how crisp my line up is or how white my teeth are or where how rare my Jordans are. Honestly, I’ve always loved being in the background. It’s comfortable back there.
Social media is a gift and a curse.
Creators now have these amazing platforms to share their work, build their audience, and get support. On the other hand, people are obsessing over likes, follows, and branding themselves into something profitable. Somehow “thigh gaps” became a thing that some teen girls and young adult women starve themselves to achieve.
Instagram, Medium, and Twitter have allowed me to grow as a man and as a writer. I’ve met some amazing people along my writing journey. I wouldn’t trade that for the world. At one point, I did fall into the trap of obsessing over stats and number growth. I had to remind myself that the right people would find my work in time.
Indya Moore, an amazing actor (Pose on FX) and phenomenal activist, read the article I wrote about her a while back and shared it with her fans. I didn’t get a big boost in audience from it, but I didn’t care. The fact that she liked it enough to share was more than enough for me.
Being a nobody gives me a beautiful opportunity to grow.
Take a look at kids in the spotlight today. Every mistake or chance they take is highlighted and pasted all over every social media platform and gossip site. Do you remember when Jaden Smith wore a skirt? Take a look at Dwayne Wade’s family as they unconditionally support his daughter.
Today, someone can fall in the classroom and become an internet meme. Everyday there’s a new clip of someone getting beat up or humiliated in countless different ways. Being a “nobody” is becoming harder and harder each year.
I get to fail in peace.
Some of my articles flop. At times, people don’t like the fiction I’m working on. This is my time to fail over and over again. Failure is a great teacher if you’re willing to listen. I wince whenever someone’s mistakes are blown up all over social media. What if that was me?
No one is giving me a hard time if a piece I write doesn’t do well. People aren’t analyzing my stats and trying to figure out how much money I’m making each month. Instagram has become a tool to meet and network with some amazing people from painters and writers to entrepreneurs and small business owners. It’s no longer a place to obsess over likes and followers for me.
If I stop in the middle of a story, a few people might be upset with me, but I won’t receive any death threats. I can write an inaccurate piece on accident, and I won’t be shunned forever for it. I get to fail freely.
I get to experiment freely.
If I wanted to write about cowboys or even a Red Dead Redemption 2 fanfiction, I could. If I wanted to write about a boy getting kidnapped and taking to a school of magic, I could.
I can write about video games one day and LGBTQ news next. I can venture out and take a more journalistic approach and see how that works for me. I can write fiction based on my video game characters.
This is my time to find what works for me, and I don’t have to do it in the spotlight. If people don’t like something, the worst that will happen is 1–2 negative comments. Then I’ll just write something else.
At my age, my job is to fail — and fail a lot. That’s how I’ll figure out what I want to do, where my passion truly lies, and exactly what my calling is.
|
https://medium.com/brian-the-man-behind-the-pen/im-a-nobody-and-that-s-a-good-thing-1ad8f7ba9dd8
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[]
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2020-08-07 09:01:00.922000+00:00
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['LGBTQ', 'Life Lessons', 'This Happened To Me', 'Growth', 'Writing']
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Title I’m Nobody That’s Good ThingContent ever angrily stare screen finding error recently published piece didn’t see truth people going see error Well least case age social medium young adult like look around peer feel like they’re failing life Maybe stop attending college reason could chosen go first place look around peer blossoming chosen career nice car nice apartment pure bred puppy However promise puppy peed pair two expensive shoe possibly pooped costly rug know seven care life isn’t great social medium account display Social medium account simply curations people aren’t brave enough post failure world see nobody don’t stage acting every chapter life I’m nobody that’s good thing don’t 10K follower don’t agonize crisp line white teeth rare Jordans Honestly I’ve always loved background It’s comfortable back Social medium gift curse Creators amazing platform share work build audience get support hand people obsessing like follows branding something profitable Somehow “thigh gaps” became thing teen girl young adult woman starve achieve Instagram Medium Twitter allowed grow man writer I’ve met amazing people along writing journey wouldn’t trade world one point fall trap obsessing stats number growth remind right people would find work time Indya Moore amazing actor Pose FX phenomenal activist read article wrote back shared fan didn’t get big boost audience didn’t care fact liked enough share enough nobody give beautiful opportunity grow Take look kid spotlight today Every mistake chance take highlighted pasted every social medium platform gossip site remember Jaden Smith wore skirt Take look Dwayne Wade’s family unconditionally support daughter Today someone fall classroom become internet meme Everyday there’s new clip someone getting beat humiliated countless different way “nobody” becoming harder harder year get fail peace article flop time people don’t like fiction I’m working time fail Failure great teacher you’re willing listen wince whenever someone’s mistake blown social medium one giving hard time piece write doesn’t well People aren’t analyzing stats trying figure much money I’m making month Instagram become tool meet network amazing people painter writer entrepreneur small business owner It’s longer place ob like follower stop middle story people might upset won’t receive death threat write inaccurate piece accident won’t shunned forever get fail freely get experiment freely wanted write cowboy even Red Dead Redemption 2 fanfiction could wanted write boy getting kidnapped taking school magic could write video game one day LGBTQ news next venture take journalistic approach see work write fiction based video game character time find work don’t spotlight people don’t like something worst happen 1–2 negative comment I’ll write something else age job fail — fail lot That’s I’ll figure want passion truly lie exactly calling isTags LGBTQ Life Lessons Happened Growth Writing
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5,074 |
Data Science Minimum: 10 Essential Skills You Need to Know to Start Doing Data Science
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Data Science is such a broad field that includes several subdivisions like data preparation and exploration; data representation and transformation; data visualization and presentation; predictive analytics; machine learning, etc. For beginners, it’s only natural to raise the following question: What skills do I need to become a data scientist?
This article will discuss 10 essential skills that are necessary for practicing data scientists. These skills could be grouped into 2 categories, namely, technological skills (Math & Statistics, Coding Skills, Data Wrangling & Preprocessing Skills, Data Visualization Skills, Machine Learning Skills,and Real World Project Skills) and soft skills (Communication Skills, Lifelong Learning Skills, Team Player Skills and Ethical Skills).
Data science is a field that is ever-evolving, however mastering the foundations of data science will provide you with the necessary background that you need to pursue advance concepts such as deep learning, artificial intelligence, etc. This article will discuss 10 essential skills for practicing data scientists.
10 Essential Skills You Need to Know to Start Doing Data Science
1. Mathematics and Statistics Skills
(I) Statistics and Probability
Statistics and Probability is used for visualization of features, data preprocessing, feature transformation, data imputation, dimensionality reduction, feature engineering, model evaluation, etc. Here are the topics you need to be familiar with:
a) Mean
b) Median
c) Mode
d) Standard deviation/variance
e) Correlation coefficient and the covariance matrix
f) Probability distributions (Binomial, Poisson, Normal)
g) p-value
h) MSE (mean square error)
i) R2 Score
j) Baye’s Theorem (Precision, Recall, Positive Predictive Value, Negative Predictive Value, Confusion Matrix, ROC Curve)
k) A/B Testing
l) Monte Carlo Simulation
(II) Multivariable Calculus
Most machine learning models are built with a data set having several features or predictors. Hence familiarity with multivariable calculus is extremely important for building a machine learning model. Here are the topics you need to be familiar with:
a) Functions of several variables
b) Derivatives and gradients
c) Step function, Sigmoid function, Logit function, ReLU (Rectified Linear Unit) function
d) Cost function
e) Plotting of functions
f) Minimum and Maximum values of a function
(III) Linear Algebra
Linear algebra is the most important math skill in machine learning. A data set is represented as a matrix. Linear algebra is used in data preprocessing, data transformation, and model evaluation. Here are the topics you need to be familiar with:
a) Vectors
b) Matrices
c) Transpose of a matrix
d) The inverse of a matrix
e) The determinant of a matrix
f) Dot product
g) Eigenvalues
h) Eigenvectors
(IV) Optimization Methods
Most machine learning algorithms perform predictive modeling by minimizing an objective function, thereby learning the weights that must be applied to the testing data in order to obtain the predicted labels. Here are the topics you need to be familiar with:
a) Cost function/Objective function
b) Likelihood function
c) Error function
d) Gradient Descent Algorithm and its variants (e.g. Stochastic Gradient Descent Algorithm)
Find out more about the gradient descent algorithm here: Machine Learning: How the Gradient Descent Algorithm Works.
2. Essential Programming Skills
Programming skills are essential in data science. Since Python and R are considered the 2 most popular programming languages in data science, essential knowledge in both languages are crucial. Some organizations may only require skills in either R or Python, not both.
(I) Skills in Python
Be familiar with basic programming skills in python. Here are the most important packages that you should master how to use:
a) Numpy
b) Pandas
c) Matplotlib
d) Seaborn
e) Scikit-learn
f) PyTorch
(ii) Skills in R
a) Tidyverse
b) Dplyr
c) Ggplot2
d) Caret
e) Stringr
(iii) Skills in Other Programming Languages
Skills in the following programming languages may be required by some organizations or industries:
a) Excel
b) Tableau
c) Hadoop
d) SQL
e) Spark
3. Data Wrangling and Preprocessing Skills
Data is key for any analysis in data science, be it inferential analysis, predictive analysis, or prescriptive analysis. The predictive power of a model depends on the quality of the data that was used in building the model. Data comes in different forms such as text, table, image, voice or video. Most often, data that is used for analysis has to be mined, processed and transformed to render it to a form suitable for further analysis.
i) Data Wrangling: The process of data wrangling is a critical step for any data scientist. Very rarely is data easily accessible in a data science project for analysis. It’s more likely for the data to be in a file, a database, or extracted from documents such as web pages, tweets, or PDFs. Knowing how to wrangle and clean data will enable you to derive critical insights from your data that would otherwise be hidden.
ii) Data Preprocessing: Knowledge about data preprocessing is very important and include topics such as:
a) Dealing with missing data
b) Data imputation
c) Handling categorical data
d) Encoding class labels for classification problems
e) Techniques of feature transformation and dimensionality reduction such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA).
4. Data Visualization Skills
Understand the essential components of a good data visualization.
a) Data Component: An important first step in deciding how to visualize data is to know what type of data it is, e.g. categorical data, discrete data, continuous data, time series data, etc.
b) Geometric Component: Here is where you decide what kind of visualization is suitable for your data, e.g. scatter plot, line graphs, barplots, histograms, qqplots, smooth densities, boxplots, pairplots, heatmaps, etc.
c) Mapping Component: Here you need to decide what variable to use as your x-variable and what to use as your y-variable. This is important especially when your dataset is multi-dimensional with several features.
d) Scale Component: Here you decide what kind of scales to use, e.g. linear scale, log scale, etc.
e) Labels Component: This include things like axes labels, titles, legends, font size to use, etc.
f) Ethical Component: Here, you want to make sure your visualization tells the true story. You need to be aware of your actions when cleaning, summarizing, manipulating and producing a data visualization and ensure you aren’t using your visualization to mislead or manipulate your audience.
5. Basic Machine Learning Skills
Machine Learning is a very important branch of data science. It is important to understand the machine learning framework: Problem Framing; Data Analysis; Model Building, Testing &Evaluation; and Model Application. Find out more about the machine learning framework from here: The Machine Learning Process.
The following are important machine learning algorithms to be familiar with.
i) Supervised Learning (Continuous Variable Prediction)
a) Basic regression
b) Multiregression analysis
c) Regularized regression
ii) Supervised Learning (Discrete Variable Prediction)
a) Logistic Regression Classifier
b) Support Vector Machine Classifier
c) K-nearest neighbor (KNN) Classifier
d) Decision Tree Classifier
e) Random Forest Classifier
iii) Unsupervised Learning
a) Kmeans clustering algorithm
6. Skills from Real World Capstone Data Science Projects
Skills acquired from course work alone will not make your a data scientist. A qualified data scientist must be able to demonstrate evidence of successful completion of a real world data science project that includes every stages in data science and machine learning process such as problem framing, data acquisition and analysis, model building, model testing, model evaluation, and deploying model. Real world data science projects could be found in the following:
a) Kaggle Projects
b) Internships
c) From Interviews
7. Communication Skills
Data scientists need to be able communicate their ideas with other members of the team or with business administrators in their organizations. Good communication skills would play a key role here to be able to convey and present very technical information to people with little or no understanding of technical concepts in data science. Good communication skills will help foster an atmosphere of unity and togetherness with other team members such as data analysts, data engineers, field engineers, etc.
8. Be a Lifelong Learner
Data science is a field that is ever-evolving, so be prepared to embrace and learn new technologies. One way to keep in touch with developments in the field is to network with other data scientists. Some platforms that promote networking are LinkedIn, github, and medium (Towards Data Science and Towards AI publications). The platforms are very useful for up-to-date information about recent developments in the field.
9. Team Player Skills
As a data scientist, you will be working in a team of data analysts, engineers, administrators, so you need good communication skills. You need to be a good listener too, especially during early project development phases where you need to rely on engineers or other personnel to be able to design and frame a good data science project. Being a good team player world help you to thrive in a business environment and maintain good relationships with other members of your team as well as administrators or directors of your organization.
10. Ethical Skills in Data Science
Understand the implication of your project. Be truthful to yourself. Avoid manipulating data or using a method that will intentionally produce bias in results. Be ethical in all phases from data collection, to analysis, to model building, analysis, testing and application. Avoid fabricating results for the purpose of misleading or manipulating your audience. Be ethical in the way you interpret the findings from your data science project.
In summary, we’ve discussed 10 essential skills needed for practicing data scientists. Data science is a field that is ever-evolving, however mastering the foundations of data science will provide you with the necessary background that you need to pursue advance concepts such as deep learning, artificial intelligence, etc.
|
https://towardsdatascience.com/data-science-minimum-10-essential-skills-you-need-to-know-to-start-doing-data-science-e5a5a9be5991
|
['Benjamin Obi Tayo Ph.D.']
|
2020-07-24 05:00:07.523000+00:00
|
['Professional Development', 'Python', 'Data Science Education', 'Data Science', 'Machine Learning']
|
Title Data Science Minimum 10 Essential Skills Need Know Start Data ScienceContent Data Science broad field includes several subdivision like data preparation exploration data representation transformation data visualization presentation predictive analytics machine learning etc beginner it’s natural raise following question skill need become data scientist article discus 10 essential skill necessary practicing data scientist skill could grouped 2 category namely technological skill Math Statistics Coding Skills Data Wrangling Preprocessing Skills Data Visualization Skills Machine Learning Skillsand Real World Project Skills soft skill Communication Skills Lifelong Learning Skills Team Player Skills Ethical Skills Data science field everevolving however mastering foundation data science provide necessary background need pursue advance concept deep learning artificial intelligence etc article discus 10 essential skill practicing data scientist 10 Essential Skills Need Know Start Data Science 1 Mathematics Statistics Skills Statistics Probability Statistics Probability used visualization feature data preprocessing feature transformation data imputation dimensionality reduction feature engineering model evaluation etc topic need familiar Mean b Median c Mode Standard deviationvariance e Correlation coefficient covariance matrix f Probability distribution Binomial Poisson Normal g pvalue h MSE mean square error R2 Score j Baye’s Theorem Precision Recall Positive Predictive Value Negative Predictive Value Confusion Matrix ROC Curve k AB Testing l Monte Carlo Simulation II Multivariable Calculus machine learning model built data set several feature predictor Hence familiarity multivariable calculus extremely important building machine learning model topic need familiar Functions several variable b Derivatives gradient c Step function Sigmoid function Logit function ReLU Rectified Linear Unit function Cost function e Plotting function f Minimum Maximum value function III Linear Algebra Linear algebra important math skill machine learning data set represented matrix Linear algebra used data preprocessing data transformation model evaluation topic need familiar Vectors b Matrices c Transpose matrix inverse matrix e determinant matrix f Dot product g Eigenvalues h Eigenvectors IV Optimization Methods machine learning algorithm perform predictive modeling minimizing objective function thereby learning weight must applied testing data order obtain predicted label topic need familiar Cost functionObjective function b Likelihood function c Error function Gradient Descent Algorithm variant eg Stochastic Gradient Descent Algorithm Find gradient descent algorithm Machine Learning Gradient Descent Algorithm Works 2 Essential Programming Skills Programming skill essential data science Since Python R considered 2 popular programming language data science essential knowledge language crucial organization may require skill either R Python Skills Python familiar basic programming skill python important package master use Numpy b Pandas c Matplotlib Seaborn e Scikitlearn f PyTorch ii Skills R Tidyverse b Dplyr c Ggplot2 Caret e Stringr iii Skills Programming Languages Skills following programming language may required organization industry Excel b Tableau c Hadoop SQL e Spark 3 Data Wrangling Preprocessing Skills Data key analysis data science inferential analysis predictive analysis prescriptive analysis predictive power model depends quality data used building model Data come different form text table image voice video often data used analysis mined processed transformed render form suitable analysis Data Wrangling process data wrangling critical step data scientist rarely data easily accessible data science project analysis It’s likely data file database extracted document web page tweet PDFs Knowing wrangle clean data enable derive critical insight data would otherwise hidden ii Data Preprocessing Knowledge data preprocessing important include topic Dealing missing data b Data imputation c Handling categorical data Encoding class label classification problem e Techniques feature transformation dimensionality reduction Principal Component Analysis PCA Linear Discriminant Analysis LDA 4 Data Visualization Skills Understand essential component good data visualization Data Component important first step deciding visualize data know type data eg categorical data discrete data continuous data time series data etc b Geometric Component decide kind visualization suitable data eg scatter plot line graph barplots histogram qqplots smooth density boxplots pairplots heatmaps etc c Mapping Component need decide variable use xvariable use yvariable important especially dataset multidimensional several feature Scale Component decide kind scale use eg linear scale log scale etc e Labels Component include thing like ax label title legend font size use etc f Ethical Component want make sure visualization tell true story need aware action cleaning summarizing manipulating producing data visualization ensure aren’t using visualization mislead manipulate audience 5 Basic Machine Learning Skills Machine Learning important branch data science important understand machine learning framework Problem Framing Data Analysis Model Building Testing Evaluation Model Application Find machine learning framework Machine Learning Process following important machine learning algorithm familiar Supervised Learning Continuous Variable Prediction Basic regression b Multiregression analysis c Regularized regression ii Supervised Learning Discrete Variable Prediction Logistic Regression Classifier b Support Vector Machine Classifier c Knearest neighbor KNN Classifier Decision Tree Classifier e Random Forest Classifier iii Unsupervised Learning Kmeans clustering algorithm 6 Skills Real World Capstone Data Science Projects Skills acquired course work alone make data scientist qualified data scientist must able demonstrate evidence successful completion real world data science project includes every stage data science machine learning process problem framing data acquisition analysis model building model testing model evaluation deploying model Real world data science project could found following Kaggle Projects b Internships c Interviews 7 Communication Skills Data scientist need able communicate idea member team business administrator organization Good communication skill would play key role able convey present technical information people little understanding technical concept data science Good communication skill help foster atmosphere unity togetherness team member data analyst data engineer field engineer etc 8 Lifelong Learner Data science field everevolving prepared embrace learn new technology One way keep touch development field network data scientist platform promote networking LinkedIn github medium Towards Data Science Towards AI publication platform useful uptodate information recent development field 9 Team Player Skills data scientist working team data analyst engineer administrator need good communication skill need good listener especially early project development phase need rely engineer personnel able design frame good data science project good team player world help thrive business environment maintain good relationship member team well administrator director organization 10 Ethical Skills Data Science Understand implication project truthful Avoid manipulating data using method intentionally produce bias result ethical phase data collection analysis model building analysis testing application Avoid fabricating result purpose misleading manipulating audience ethical way interpret finding data science project summary we’ve discussed 10 essential skill needed practicing data scientist Data science field everevolving however mastering foundation data science provide necessary background need pursue advance concept deep learning artificial intelligence etcTags Professional Development Python Data Science Education Data Science Machine Learning
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5,075 |
Why Photos of Ourselves Are Sometimes Disappointing
|
Familiarity Works Against Us
If you’re anything like me, you can’t stand photos of yourself in a certain light. The wrong angle, the wrong lighting, or the wrong hair day. All are enough to ruin the photo.
We assume we look abnormal, or different to how we usually do; because the photo we are looking at doesn’t match our pre-existing schema of ourselves.
But maybe it’s not that you’re having a bad hair day, or are standing in an unflattering light. What if you actually look like that? It could be that you’ve just become accustomed to seeing yourself a certain way, and you find any other perception weird.
The mere exposure effect (Zajonc, 1968,) states that the more we encounter a stimulus, the more we like it. Therefore, we find attractive what we are familiar with.
And we’re familiar with a certain self-perception. For years, we’ve told ourselves we look identical to the person we see in the mirror. When we see a version of ourselves that doesn’t match that, it throws us off as weird and unusual.
That’s not to say that we don’t look like the person in the photo, or that this version of ourselves is ugly. All it means is we’re not used to seeing ourselves in that light.
Mirror, Mirror (On the Wall)
We prefer objects, people, and thoughts that we are familiar with. And the self-image we know best is the one we see in the mirror. Our mirrored self is the version of ourselves we know best.
But when we look in the mirror, our image is reversed. It depicts an inaccurate and distorted reflection of your body.
The truth is, you’re not familiar with your face. All you’ve ever seen is a reverse of it. Yet photos present your face as it appears for real/not reversed, and that’s why you look different in them.
That’s not to say you look worse or less attractive than the person you see in the mirror. In fact, others often think our mirrored self is less attractive. As highlighted by research undergone by Mita et al (1977), found that, while most of us prefer our mirror image, others prefer photos of that individual that show your “true image.”
On this account, it’s not that you look worse in a photo. You just look different.
|
https://medium.com/publishous/why-photos-of-ourselves-are-sometimes-disappointing-29b44acc8b6e
|
['Jon Hawkins']
|
2020-12-15 12:43:27.938000+00:00
|
['Advice', 'Life Lessons', 'Life', 'Self', 'Psychology']
|
Title Photos Sometimes DisappointingContent Familiarity Works Us you’re anything like can’t stand photo certain light wrong angle wrong lighting wrong hair day enough ruin photo assume look abnormal different usually photo looking doesn’t match preexisting schema maybe it’s you’re bad hair day standing unflattering light actually look like could you’ve become accustomed seeing certain way find perception weird mere exposure effect Zajonc 1968 state encounter stimulus like Therefore find attractive familiar we’re familiar certain selfperception year we’ve told look identical person see mirror see version doesn’t match throw u weird unusual That’s say don’t look like person photo version ugly mean we’re used seeing light Mirror Mirror Wall prefer object people thought familiar selfimage know best one see mirror mirrored self version know best look mirror image reversed depicts inaccurate distorted reflection body truth you’re familiar face you’ve ever seen reverse Yet photo present face appears realnot reversed that’s look different That’s say look worse le attractive person see mirror fact others often think mirrored self le attractive highlighted research undergone Mita et al 1977 found u prefer mirror image others prefer photo individual show “true image” account it’s look worse photo look differentTags Advice Life Lessons Life Self Psychology
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5,076 |
Stitch Fix accelerates design sprints by collaborating in Figma
|
Personal style service Stitch Fix made waves in November as the first tech IPO led by a woman in 2017. Since then, its market cap has nearly doubled. The company won the hearts of consumers with an elegant app and website experience that makes receiving (and in some cases returning) a monthly box of clothing fun instead of daunting.
To adapt to their growing user base and the ever-changing nature of the web, Stitch Fix uses design sprints — like hackathons for design — to troubleshoot challenges. From the get-go, they’ve relied on Figma to stay aligned and on track, according to Stitch Fix Head of Product Design Ellen Beldner.
“Figma unlocked collaboration across departments, so that everyone could solve the tough problems together.” — Ellen Beldner, Stitch Fix Head of Product Design
Step 1: Sprinting in the Cloud
Now that they’ve completed over half a dozen successful sprints, we sat down with Ellen to learn how our cloud-based design platform fits into each part of the process.
The best design sprints start with ideation, whiteboarding, and a ton of crumpled up Post-it notes. Stitch Fix designers, engineers, marketers and project managers test out solutions until the perfect one emerges, shining with straightforward simplicity. Then the real fun kicks off: designing a prototype using Figma.
Because Figma runs in the browser, the team doesn’t waste any time during this transition. Everyone can open a shared file with a simple URL — from the PMs using PCs to the comms designers who are diehard Mac loyalists.
Ellen explains:
“The reason I think Figma makes this terrifically easy is because: 1) You’re not dealing with the back and forth files. 2) Other people don’t need to install any crazy software in order to see what you’re doing. 3) There is one source of truth. It isn’t just that it replaces Sketch. Figma replaces Sketch, InVision and Zeplin.”
With Figma, the design sprint attendees can skip the usual steps — buying, downloading and installing a menagerie of applications — and move straight into prototyping.
Step 2: Brainstorming and critiquing in tandem
In this early prototyping stage, design sprint attendees inevitably hit some challenges. Perhaps their oh-so-simple feature idea is far more difficult to execute than they’d expected. In other cases, changing one part of a flow ripples through the rest of the user experience in an unexpected way. To work through these kinds of hiccups on tight deadline, teams need to collaborate quickly and effectively.
“It isn’t just that it replaces Sketch. Figma replaces Sketch, InVision and Zeplin.”
Here’s a common design sprint scenario: One person needs immediate feedback on a wireframe, so they ask others for a second opinion.
Without Figma, people would either need to huddle around one person’s computer, effectively stopping the design process, or export and email the file.
Stitch Fix avoids all that using Figma’s Multiplayer feature. If anyone on Ellen’s team needs feedback, she scrolls to their trouble spot and immediately rattles off suggestions. She also leaves feedback via Figma’s commenting function, or quickly draws a mock-up in the file to demonstrate her suggestion.
“There’s no possible way for something like Sketch or Photoshop to do this job,” Ellen explains. “You’re going to have four people working on four different versions of the file and you’re not going to be able to see what people are doing.”
Ellen says this makes detailed feedback much easier, erasing the need to schedule meetings for walk-throughs. During one particularly hairy sprint, a designer showed her eight or nine ideas. Ellen went through each one, left comments, and sketched a few mockups to illustrate her points. The designer was then free to pop back into that same URL to study the critique whenever she wanted.
“Everyone is able to edit the same source of truth in the same file at the same time, and that lets us work so much more quickly and coherently,” she tells us. “When we are creating prototypes of a higher fidelity, Figma makes it much easier for everyone to stay aligned.”
In short? Figma shuts down potential project management chaos before it even begins.
Step 3: Shared components kill the busy work
Time is of the essence during a sprint. Teams have zilch wiggle room for busy work, like replicating the same icon over and over in every design frame. This is where Figma’s shared components — reusable instances of UI elements — come into play.
“Everyone is able to edit the same source of truth, and that lets us work so much more quickly and coherently.”
During one sprint Ellen’s team prototyped a card-based design system. It was a serious challenge because it meant testing which combination of cards would be most effective for certain users. To do this, her team took advantage of Figma’s shared components feature.
When they changed the master component all of its instances would also change, saving them a ton of time on useless busywork. Not only that, but designers could drop in instances as Ellen forged ahead to the navigation tab. This gave everyone more time to gnaw over high-level problems.
“I want my team to spend time thinking about high level UX problems, rather than mindlessly repeating busy work,” Ellen says. “Figma helps them do that.”
Step 4: Other departments jump in to wrap up
A design sprint is a hybrid beast of multiple departments, not just designers refining the same prototype ad nauseum. Marketing, engineering and design sweat side by side in the sprint trenches.
Figma runs in the browser (think: Google Docs of design), and everyone can jump in the file at the same time. As a result, the design team works in parallel instead of sequentially. To do their part of the job, developers and copy whizzes don’t have to wait for designers to finish wireframing.
“I come from a history of collaborative work cultures, something that’s very important for me to recreate here at Stitch Fix,” Ellen tells us. “I love the way Figma makes it easy for people to pull up what another designer is doing and make a comment.”
The marketing team especially benefits from Figma, a surprising revelation considering they don’t normally work with design tools.
“I don’t know if you’ve had this experience, but working inside of a design tool is usually a nightmare for copywriters,” Ellen says. “They have to write and edit copy strings for every single element. Trying to do that in a way that is efficient is crazy.”
“Working inside of a design tool is usually a nightmare for copywriters.”
Now the copy team pops in during the later stages, spritz a headline here and some microcopy there before engineering builds everything out. They can test out what text length displays best and experiment accordingly.
“When we used Sketch in previous sprints it was difficult because we had to constantly update each other,” she explains. “Grabbing the text from marketing meant opening up Google Docs and copy pasting.”
Stitch Fix’s stamp of approval
“Figma unlocked collaboration across departments, so that everyone could solve the tough problems together,” Ellen concludes. “I highly recommend it for accelerating design sprints to a higher level.”
Have you or your company used Figma during a design sprint? We’d love to hear your story! Please reach out to us via Twitter or email: [email protected].
|
https://medium.com/figma-design/stitch-fix-accelerates-design-sprints-by-collaborating-in-figma-d78c460e66a
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['Valerie Veteto']
|
2018-04-06 18:06:20.666000+00:00
|
['UI', 'Case Studies', 'Design', 'Technology', 'UX']
|
Title Stitch Fix accelerates design sprint collaborating FigmaContent Personal style service Stitch Fix made wave November first tech IPO led woman 2017 Since market cap nearly doubled company heart consumer elegant app website experience make receiving case returning monthly box clothing fun instead daunting adapt growing user base everchanging nature web Stitch Fix us design sprint — like hackathons design — troubleshoot challenge getgo they’ve relied Figma stay aligned track according Stitch Fix Head Product Design Ellen Beldner “Figma unlocked collaboration across department everyone could solve tough problem together” — Ellen Beldner Stitch Fix Head Product Design Step 1 Sprinting Cloud they’ve completed half dozen successful sprint sat Ellen learn cloudbased design platform fit part process best design sprint start ideation whiteboarding ton crumpled Postit note Stitch Fix designer engineer marketer project manager test solution perfect one emerges shining straightforward simplicity real fun kick designing prototype using Figma Figma run browser team doesn’t waste time transition Everyone open shared file simple URL — PMs using PCs comms designer diehard Mac loyalist Ellen explains “The reason think Figma make terrifically easy 1 You’re dealing back forth file 2 people don’t need install crazy software order see you’re 3 one source truth isn’t replaces Sketch Figma replaces Sketch InVision Zeplin” Figma design sprint attendee skip usual step — buying downloading installing menagerie application — move straight prototyping Step 2 Brainstorming critiquing tandem early prototyping stage design sprint attendee inevitably hit challenge Perhaps ohsosimple feature idea far difficult execute they’d expected case changing one part flow ripple rest user experience unexpected way work kind hiccup tight deadline team need collaborate quickly effectively “It isn’t replaces Sketch Figma replaces Sketch InVision Zeplin” Here’s common design sprint scenario One person need immediate feedback wireframe ask others second opinion Without Figma people would either need huddle around one person’s computer effectively stopping design process export email file Stitch Fix avoids using Figma’s Multiplayer feature anyone Ellen’s team need feedback scroll trouble spot immediately rattle suggestion also leaf feedback via Figma’s commenting function quickly draw mockup file demonstrate suggestion “There’s possible way something like Sketch Photoshop job” Ellen explains “You’re going four people working four different version file you’re going able see people doing” Ellen say make detailed feedback much easier erasing need schedule meeting walkthroughs one particularly hairy sprint designer showed eight nine idea Ellen went one left comment sketched mockups illustrate point designer free pop back URL study critique whenever wanted “Everyone able edit source truth file time let u work much quickly coherently” tell u “When creating prototype higher fidelity Figma make much easier everyone stay aligned” short Figma shuts potential project management chaos even begin Step 3 Shared component kill busy work Time essence sprint Teams zilch wiggle room busy work like replicating icon every design frame Figma’s shared component — reusable instance UI element — come play “Everyone able edit source truth let u work much quickly coherently” one sprint Ellen’s team prototyped cardbased design system serious challenge meant testing combination card would effective certain user team took advantage Figma’s shared component feature changed master component instance would also change saving ton time useless busywork designer could drop instance Ellen forged ahead navigation tab gave everyone time gnaw highlevel problem “I want team spend time thinking high level UX problem rather mindlessly repeating busy work” Ellen say “Figma help that” Step 4 department jump wrap design sprint hybrid beast multiple department designer refining prototype ad nauseum Marketing engineering design sweat side side sprint trench Figma run browser think Google Docs design everyone jump file time result design team work parallel instead sequentially part job developer copy whizz don’t wait designer finish wireframing “I come history collaborative work culture something that’s important recreate Stitch Fix” Ellen tell u “I love way Figma make easy people pull another designer make comment” marketing team especially benefit Figma surprising revelation considering don’t normally work design tool “I don’t know you’ve experience working inside design tool usually nightmare copywriters” Ellen say “They write edit copy string every single element Trying way efficient crazy” “Working inside design tool usually nightmare copywriters” copy team pop later stage spritz headline microcopy engineering build everything test text length display best experiment accordingly “When used Sketch previous sprint difficult constantly update other” explains “Grabbing text marketing meant opening Google Docs copy pasting” Stitch Fix’s stamp approval “Figma unlocked collaboration across department everyone could solve tough problem together” Ellen concludes “I highly recommend accelerating design sprint higher level” company used Figma design sprint We’d love hear story Please reach u via Twitter email valeriefigmacomTags UI Case Studies Design Technology UX
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5,077 |
How Easy Is It to Change Someone’s Mind?
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Photo by Noah Buscher on Unsplash
Have you watched the Social Dilemma on Netflix yet?
If so, what was your reaction? A mere shrug, and yeah we all know or did you throw your devices out of the house?
I was one of those that threw the phone to the other end of the room. Watching the show I had light bulb moments as to why you see the small dots wiggle when someone is replying to you.
Obvious when pointed out, but. I. had. no. idea.
And now I’m pissed off because all they want is my attention and my being — not much, but time is one thing you can never get back.
Yet what chilled me to the bone more than anything during that documentary was when one of the developers mentioned his fear for the future: a civil war.
Far fetched? maybe, but maybe not.
Take the UK. The UK has a long history of civil wars, the earliest recorded was in 1088, the most recent 1649–51.
Now fast forward to 2020 and we are living the polarity that 24/7 algorithms programmed to drain your attention have produced. They are designed to re-enforce your opinions, keep you in your echo chamber of beliefs and generally keep you feeling you’re in the right.
Perfect for dividing friends, families and nation-states.
Yet I’m old enough to remember when you could be best friends with someone you disagreed with. Now you simply get cancelled and struck from Facebook friendship.
It’s all so clever, and yet so stupid!
An example used in the Social Dilemma to highlight the ways the algorithm pushes you down a rabbit hole was by using the idea that the world is flat. If you believe this and are looking into it, you will get more information to re-enforce that idea. It doesn’t matter if what you are searching for is true or false, you will get more information/fake news to confirm your bias.
Which is crazy, right?
And which leads me to the question, can you change someone's mind in such a divisive world?
I believe we can if we can bring back the art of conversation. Not only can we bring back empathy and understanding this way, but also an agreement to disagree without cancelling out another person; we can bring back the art of a right proper chin wag.
Which is actually enjoyable.
Entered into with the spirit of learning and understanding, exploring others opinions can be an interesting experience.
When was the last time you felt your brain changing gears as it took in new information that challenged you?
When did you last feel it digest, rub up against existing thoughts, beliefs and opinions, and then the breakthrough as you learn something new, becoming humble for a minute, maybe even uncomfortable, growing as a person and see ing the world in slightly different colours?
Harvard University has published an article about changing minds in a business setting, but I believe we can use the ideas expressed for the personal too.
They give a couple of suggestions, it’s a basic 2 ways to do x article, but they start with the suggestion of first finding the root of the disagreement.
The ‘why’ the other person disagrees. And you do this without judgement.
Find out where that other person is coming from, why do they hold that opinion? What is it about the life that has led them to X?
Then they suggest you note the inclusion or absence of emotion.
This to me is the crux of the matter.
We are emotional beings and despite what anyone tells you, they rule the roost. If there are emotional factors driving opinions, then they need to be treated differently to unemotional ones.
If someone is emotional, you can lay all the facts out in front of them and they will very often refuse to see them.
E.g. showing someone they will save money by buying X over Y is a logical, unemotional (most of the time) situation.
Showing someone that doing something in a different way may be better than the way they have been doing it, is not so easy, because there will be emotions invested.
So how do you do it? How do you change minds?
Harvard gives two examples, the cognitive conversation and the champion conversion.
The cognitive conversation is as it sounds, it’s less emotional and is about presenting a strong argument. Using a strong presentation, minimal emotion and relying upon the other person being unemotional and logical. Think back to the idea of X being cheaper than Y.
The champion conversion is more about building relationships. It’s about getting to know the other person, maybe bringing in someone they admire and like to the conversation.
I would add here finding common ground is always a good move, and generally, this is a more long term strategy.
Once you know them well enough, you can have slightly more controversial conversations with them, areas where you may disagree. When you know someone on more than a superficial level, you can communicate with them on a deeper level, and they will hopefully be more open to listening to you too.
Then the real conversations can take place, and perhaps minds are changed.
It is this art that we are losing; the art of the conversation. Included in that art is the art of relationship building, the art of listening, and the art of willing to disagree without hatred because sometimes we can’t change another’s mind, no matter how hard we try.
And sometimes, that’s OK.
|
https://medium.com/swlh/how-easy-is-it-to-change-someones-mind-2e1a60e5f73c
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['Katie Knight']
|
2020-10-24 15:32:48.613000+00:00
|
['Netflix', 'Psychology', 'Humanity', 'Social Media']
|
Title Easy Change Someone’s MindContent Photo Noah Buscher Unsplash watched Social Dilemma Netflix yet reaction mere shrug yeah know throw device house one threw phone end room Watching show light bulb moment see small dot wiggle someone replying Obvious pointed idea I’m pissed want attention — much time one thing never get back Yet chilled bone anything documentary one developer mentioned fear future civil war Far fetched maybe maybe Take UK UK long history civil war earliest recorded 1088 recent 1649–51 fast forward 2020 living polarity 247 algorithm programmed drain attention produced designed reenforce opinion keep echo chamber belief generally keep feeling you’re right Perfect dividing friend family nationstates Yet I’m old enough remember could best friend someone disagreed simply get cancelled struck Facebook friendship It’s clever yet stupid example used Social Dilemma highlight way algorithm push rabbit hole using idea world flat believe looking get information reenforce idea doesn’t matter searching true false get informationfake news confirm bias crazy right lead question change someone mind divisive world believe bring back art conversation bring back empathy understanding way also agreement disagree without cancelling another person bring back art right proper chin wag actually enjoyable Entered spirit learning understanding exploring others opinion interesting experience last time felt brain changing gear took new information challenged last feel digest rub existing thought belief opinion breakthrough learn something new becoming humble minute maybe even uncomfortable growing person see ing world slightly different colour Harvard University published article changing mind business setting believe use idea expressed personal give couple suggestion it’s basic 2 way x article start suggestion first finding root disagreement ‘why’ person disagrees without judgement Find person coming hold opinion life led X suggest note inclusion absence emotion crux matter emotional being despite anyone tell rule roost emotional factor driving opinion need treated differently unemotional one someone emotional lay fact front often refuse see Eg showing someone save money buying X logical unemotional time situation Showing someone something different way may better way easy emotion invested change mind Harvard give two example cognitive conversation champion conversion cognitive conversation sound it’s le emotional presenting strong argument Using strong presentation minimal emotion relying upon person unemotional logical Think back idea X cheaper champion conversion building relationship It’s getting know person maybe bringing someone admire like conversation would add finding common ground always good move generally long term strategy know well enough slightly controversial conversation area may disagree know someone superficial level communicate deeper level hopefully open listening real conversation take place perhaps mind changed art losing art conversation Included art art relationship building art listening art willing disagree without hatred sometimes can’t change another’s mind matter hard try sometimes that’s OKTags Netflix Psychology Humanity Social Media
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5,078 |
Importing GSON into Eclipse.
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This is a supplementary guide for the simple blockchain from scratch Java tutorial series.
What is GSON.
Gson is Java library created by google that enables you to get a JSON representation of a Java Object. Read more about it here.
Downloading GSON.
You will need to download Gson Jar ( “gson-2.6.2.jar” ) from the maven repo. Make sure to keep a note of where you saved it.
Creating a User Library for Gson.
Open Windows >preferences in the Eclipse menu, and navigate to the Java >Build path > User Libraries tab. Click new and enter a new User Library name: like “gson_lib” and hit ok. With “gson_lib” selected press Add External JARs and find the gson-2.6.2.jar you downloaded. Apply and Close.
Adding the User Library to a package.
Right click your package in package explorer > Build path > Add Libraries. Select User libraries and then press next, now just tick “gson_lib” and click finish.
Import it with import com.google.gson.*;
|
https://medium.com/programmers-blockchain/importing-gson-into-eclipse-ec8cf678ad52
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[]
|
2017-12-17 06:27:54.348000+00:00
|
['User Library', 'Eclipse Ide', 'Tutorial', 'Java', 'Gson']
|
Title Importing GSON EclipseContent supplementary guide simple blockchain scratch Java tutorial series GSON Gson Java library created google enables get JSON representation Java Object Read Downloading GSON need download Gson Jar “gson262jar” maven repo Make sure keep note saved Creating User Library Gson Open Windows preference Eclipse menu navigate Java Build path User Libraries tab Click new enter new User Library name like “gsonlib” hit ok “gsonlib” selected press Add External JARs find gson262jar downloaded Apply Close Adding User Library package Right click package package explorer Build path Add Libraries Select User library press next tick “gsonlib” click finish Import import comgooglegsonTags User Library Eclipse Ide Tutorial Java Gson
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5,079 |
Hellion
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Image from Pixabay
Spellbound hellion
Nuisance of the hen house
Hellhound yelling on
Good news since the Zen drought
What is it boy? What do you want?
Sniffing at traces, your face looking gaunt
What is it girl? What do you see?
I’m shushing the bushes,
you’re showing your teeth
I should take note
from the fur and the fangs
Stop dwelling on death,
the birth of Big Bangs
It’s riddled with mystery
Armed to the eyes
I muster the lust to combust in my mind
But
I haven’t the time
Instinct and innocence
Pull it into the pulpit
Suffocated by raving droolers
Drowning in conspiracy spit
Another sacrifice for the Lord of the Horde
It’s hit or miss
Some make it out with a bite and a scratch
Others, unlucky
Forever detached
It’s warm in the swarm
but it comes with a catch
No longer natural
primal and free
When you vacate your headspace
for hellion seeds
Overgrown tangles
your feet in the weeds
How you’ll ever shake loose
A mystery to me
|
https://medium.com/literally-literary/hellion-cb9af56b2f4f
|
['Scott Leonardi']
|
2020-12-25 05:32:27.163000+00:00
|
['Poetry On Medium', 'Writing', 'Abstract', 'Poetry', 'Creative Writing']
|
Title HellionContent Image Pixabay Spellbound hellion Nuisance hen house Hellhound yelling Good news since Zen drought boy want Sniffing trace face looking gaunt girl see I’m shushing bush you’re showing teeth take note fur fang Stop dwelling death birth Big Bangs It’s riddled mystery Armed eye muster lust combust mind haven’t time Instinct innocence Pull pulpit Suffocated raving drooler Drowning conspiracy spit Another sacrifice Lord Horde It’s hit miss make bite scratch Others unlucky Forever detached It’s warm swarm come catch longer natural primal free vacate headspace hellion seed Overgrown tangle foot weed you’ll ever shake loose mystery meTags Poetry Medium Writing Abstract Poetry Creative Writing
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5,080 |
4 Important Reasons to Answer Others’ Programming Questions Online
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3. A Good Reputation Can Help You With Marketing
Of course, when you are a startup, you want to make money and promote your product. Helping others in areas in which you are very well versed and perhaps one of the best in the world will clearly push you forward. Becoming an expert on different platforms, helping others with your answers, and showing the depth of your knowledge can obviously improve your chances of getting new clients.
Photo by Merakist on Unsplash.
The CEOs of most tech startups are also people who are tech-savvy and often visit such platforms — or at least their head developers might share some solutions with them from such platforms. If they notice that you understand these issues much better than them, they can turn to your startup for help and become your client. As such, this path is also very important and can be useful.
|
https://medium.com/better-programming/4-important-reasons-to-answer-others-programming-questions-online-5751e84f60fa
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['Elvina Sh']
|
2020-10-05 20:46:49.882000+00:00
|
['Programming', 'Startup', 'Learning', 'Technology', 'Education']
|
Title 4 Important Reasons Answer Others’ Programming Questions OnlineContent 3 Good Reputation Help Marketing course startup want make money promote product Helping others area well versed perhaps one best world clearly push forward Becoming expert different platform helping others answer showing depth knowledge obviously improve chance getting new client Photo Merakist Unsplash CEOs tech startup also people techsavvy often visit platform — least head developer might share solution platform notice understand issue much better turn startup help become client path also important usefulTags Programming Startup Learning Technology Education
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5,081 |
10 UI/UX Trends in 2020
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It’s the new year, and time for another list of design trends! Tbh, design trends hardly see a drastic change with the onset of a new calendar year. It’s more like a smooth gradient; trends change gradually over the years. Drop a few years in the timeline, and then take a look at design styles. It is now that you will notice a stark difference.
With the onset of 2020 the internet is already flooded with articles on new design trends in UI/UX. While most of them brood on aesthetics and animation styles, I would like to tread on a slightly different path.
I feel that aesthetics and animation ideas cannot and should not bend the knee to trends. These are the outcomes of a creative mind, and creativity should not be restricted by opinions. I had once read on an advertising board:
Teach your child how to think Not what to think.
Well, while others guide you on what to design, let me talk about how to design.
|
https://uxplanet.org/10-ui-ux-trends-in-2020-3be03597dfe7
|
['Design Studio']
|
2020-02-04 08:15:52.229000+00:00
|
['UI', 'Design', 'Trends', '2020', 'UX']
|
Title 10 UIUX Trends 2020Content It’s new year time another list design trend Tbh design trend hardly see drastic change onset new calendar year It’s like smooth gradient trend change gradually year Drop year timeline take look design style notice stark difference onset 2020 internet already flooded article new design trend UIUX brood aesthetic animation style would like tread slightly different path feel aesthetic animation idea cannot bend knee trend outcome creative mind creativity restricted opinion read advertising board Teach child think think Well others guide design let talk designTags UI Design Trends 2020 UX
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5,082 |
The Service Reactor
|
The service reactor is this work-in-progress model to demonstrate how a virtuous user research cycle and a commitment to discovery-validated delivery will generate enough proven insights to power a small city.
That’s a lot of made-up vocabulary designed to just consolidate this shit to a single sentence, so let’s break this down.
A “virtuous user research cycle” describes a system where your effort to make sense of some data results in the design of the next test to perform, the results of which return to the system.
“Discovery-validated delivery” is a requirement that end-user facing features of a product or service won’t be pursued until their demonstrable need and solution can be proven by existing user research.
A chain reaction beginning by cataloging raw data — survey answers, interview transcripts, a/b results, and so on — creates tactical and strategic insights, some aspects of which require more validation thus foreshadowing the next round of tests. Like a nuclear reactor, discovery-validated delivery creates pressure to perform those tests, which continues the chain reaction.
The chief product of the service reactor are insights that we use to validate our business decisions. At small scales, examples of these insights are:
evidence we need to rethink our menu structure because it’s confusing users,
indication that users need a way to opt-in to plain-text emails,
validation that this call-to-action works better than that one.
But as the catalog grows over time, new patterns emerge among unrelated sets of data, and that compounding value directly correlates to the scale of new insights. These are demonstrable proof that there is need among the userbase for entirely new services, let alone features. What’s more, because the service reactor creates insights as the byproduct of a process rather than insights that are specifically sought-out, the resulting service ideas may be orthogonal to your existing service provisions.
This is the drill maker getting into the business of designing entertainment units*. A service reactor powers the “innovation mill.”
The most important ethic I’m trying to convey with the service reactor is that while it is a vision to motivate an organization’s investment in ResearchOps, it is fundamentally user centric. Over time, there is no part of a service or product that is not derived from user research. The reactor ionizes the air with user centricity. You can’t help but breathe.
|
https://medium.com/the-metric/the-service-reactor-5cfb3c3b1e98
|
['Michael Schofield']
|
2019-09-10 14:12:14.847000+00:00
|
['Design', 'Service Design', 'User Experience', 'Podcast', 'UX']
|
Title Service ReactorContent service reactor workinprogress model demonstrate virtuous user research cycle commitment discoveryvalidated delivery generate enough proven insight power small city That’s lot madeup vocabulary designed consolidate shit single sentence let’s break “virtuous user research cycle” describes system effort make sense data result design next test perform result return system “Discoveryvalidated delivery” requirement enduser facing feature product service won’t pursued demonstrable need solution proven existing user research chain reaction beginning cataloging raw data — survey answer interview transcript ab result — creates tactical strategic insight aspect require validation thus foreshadowing next round test Like nuclear reactor discoveryvalidated delivery creates pressure perform test continues chain reaction chief product service reactor insight use validate business decision small scale example insight evidence need rethink menu structure it’s confusing user indication user need way optin plaintext email validation calltoaction work better one catalog grows time new pattern emerge among unrelated set data compounding value directly correlate scale new insight demonstrable proof need among userbase entirely new service let alone feature What’s service reactor creates insight byproduct process rather insight specifically soughtout resulting service idea may orthogonal existing service provision drill maker getting business designing entertainment unit service reactor power “innovation mill” important ethic I’m trying convey service reactor vision motivate organization’s investment ResearchOps fundamentally user centric time part service product derived user research reactor ionizes air user centricity can’t help breatheTags Design Service Design User Experience Podcast UX
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5,083 |
In the beginning, there was void *
|
In the beginning, there was void *
A tale of evolving code and unintended consequences
In honor of the imminent release of ‘Software Engineering at Google’, which I highly recommend, I thought I’d relate a tale of how software evolution and feature creep can go wrong in ways which, while feeling great at every step of the journey, yield a net outcome a decade later that is a disaster with a surprisingly large blast radius. This is my modest parallel to Tony Hoare’s ‘billion dollar mistake’, or Dennis Richie’s ‘most expensive one-byte mistake’ and, coincidentally, it involves both pointers and zero-terminated data-structures.
It all begins innocently enough. The year is 2009. A colleague of mine has a large number of dot products that need to be sped up to improve the scalability of a large-scale optimization problem. At the time, floating-point computation isn’t a common bottleneck for our workloads, and we don’t have off-the-shelf solutions readily available: bringing in a BLAS library is overkill, and there are simpler and definitely more fun things to do for someone like myself, who loves to write gnarly math code and mess around with vectorized Intel instructions.
No sweat, I’ll hack together a quick dot-product implementation using SSE intrinsics, and some hand-tuned unrolling for good measure. There is a very clever way to leverage the terrifyingly beautiful Duff’s device and express unrolling without abusing the pre-processor, at the cost of an equally scandalous abuse of the C syntax. I love it. One wrinkle: SSE instructions like to operate on 16-byte aligned data. Our toolchain doesn’t always provide that guarantee at the time, and compiler hints are still somewhat compiler-specific. No problem: I’ll just allocate a bigger buffer and add a data pointer to the closest 16-byte boundary to enforce alignment.
But wait, if I’m going to put a restriction on how the data gets allocated, it is now very tempting to make sure the contract is enforced via proper typing. So let’s wrap that naked pointer into a new data structure: float * becomes something like aligned_scoped_array<float>. Hey, this opens up new possibilities: dealing with edge effects, when using SSE instructions, is always most of the actual code, and easily alleviated when doing linear algebra by zero-padding the data up to multiples of 16 bytes, which plays nicely with my data alignment tricks. Great: let’s enforce that in the data structure, since we now control it. Done, it’s all very very fast now. Moving on.
Wait. Did someone say linear algebra? Can we process those dot products in batches instead? By then we’re really into BLAS territory, but let’s not rewrite everything just for a basic matrix multiply: just add another dimension to the array, a function that performs the 2D multiplication, and we’re good to go. Aligning and padding the data also means we can step through it without any further pointer indirection, which makes the code short and elegant. Of course, anyone who has read any of the literature on BLAS, notably the seminal Goto paper on the topic, knows that short and elegant probably leaves a ton of performance on the table, because considerations around cache performance can get quite complicated. The right answer is likely not to try to roll out your own implementation, but … it’s fun and it feels like progress, right?
Hang on. Can you do the same for quantized representations? Oh, but yes! In fact, I wrote this nifty paper on how mixing unsigned and signed fixed-point representations works amazingly well for neural networks. BLAS has nothing to offer in the space of fixed-point math, while all alignment and padding considerations still apply. So I’ll just add a specialization for int8*uint8 products, and we’re done. Magic.
By now, you’re probably beginning to see a pattern. Feature creep, slightly suboptimal decisions at every step of the way, the illusion of progress and decisions that are increasingly difficult to walk back from. Fast forward a few years down the road, and my one-off wrapper for a naked pointer has become a fully-fledged, tentacular matrix library, pedantically called FastMatrix. It supports x86, ARM and CUDA. It handles float, double, int8, uint8, int16 and int32. It compiles for Android and iOS. It has moved to a general ‘util’ directory in our shared codebase. It is being used by deep learning codebase as well as a growing number of projects, most of which I have never heard of. It is also sitting in a respectable position on the list of biggest consumers of CPU cycles on our Google-wide profiling dashboard. What’s not to love?
Well. It also has a terrible, maddeningly inconsistent API, in part because different hardware vendors have optimized for different data types and layouts, and I failed to abstract away those implementation details. It is also stuck in an evolutionary dead-end: forcing control of the data layout just to save a few CPU cycles and lines of code turns out to be a terrible idea, because much of the benefit disappears in all the data movements that it typically forces the users to go through. Its mere existence impedes progress towards better-supported, more comprehensive, BLAS-aware solutions such as the awesome Eigen library, which has gained support for fixed-point operations in the meantime. Its CUDA port is full of antipatterns, which I cringe at seeing cut-and-pasted elsewhere in the codebase. We also made a misguided attempt at supporting dynamic dispatch of some of the algorithms across instruction sets, which, if the caller isn’t careful, may cause leakage of compilation units for the wrong platform into one’s binary, and cause obscure crashes that are near impossible to tie back to the original root cause because the binary doesn’t even have to invoke the offending code to be tainted. Oops. It’s all fun and games until ads SRE come a-knocking.
Did I ever mention Google that rejected me when I first applied as a software engineer? They may have had a point. That library needed to die.
But by then, all these major design flaws had also paid short-term dividends: it is pretty fast. It’s there. Due to the somewhat loose, C-like API, it’s easy to add features to it, or copy-paste it piecemeal. Removing some of the most egregious maintenance nightmares would likely either cost thousands of CPU cores, or hundreds of software engineer hours: performance-sensitive code is extremely difficult to reason about, because while it’s safe to assume it has decent coverage for correctness, performance coverage is very difficult to achieve: a 10% speed regression could cost a mere microsecond or overload a datacenter, and you may not be able to tell the difference until someone deploys a binary with your changes a few months after the change is committed. By then, other repositories that I had no visibility into had started to rely on it, including its gnarliest implementation details, and I’d reached pandemic-levels of infection.
The year is now 2020. It’s been a decade. The monster is not entirely dead, though I’ve hacked a great number of its heads. Its demise recently got a significant boost from a die-hard fan of the library, who has fortuitously decided to leave the company. Don’t tell them: I gleefully deleted all their code the very same day. In my 12 years here, I have proudly removed more than 1.5M lines of code from our repository, yet these tendrils stubbornly remain. In retrospect, the best decision I made in recent years was to insist that TensorFlow not depend on any of it.
Donald Knuth famously said that no code is ever fully debugged until its last user has died. Obviously, Knuth doesn’t work at Google, or he might have said ‘… its last user and all of their colleagues …’. Even if the code is dead, some of its antipatterns survive, either in people’s heads or via good old-fashioned copypasta. Titus Winters, co-author of the aforementioned book, loves to say that ‘Software Engineering is programming integrated over time.’ One issue is that the time constants involved can be measured in decades, and rarely does someone stay in any job long enough to see their mistakes unfold. Decisions made locally, incrementally, can quickly poison an entire codebase and become terrifyingly difficult to walk back from, particularly as people move on to other, shinier problems.
Coda
When I started working on the DistBelief codebase a number of years later, I immediately noticed something surprising: the innermost structure that held the neural networks was a naked ‘void *’, nothing more. I looked up who wrote that heresy, and, of course, that turned out to be Jeff Dean. Oh. I timidly asked: ‘Jeff … but whyyy???’ His answer was simply: ‘well, we don’t know what we’re doing yet, so let’s not bake any assumptions into the data structures that we can’t walk back from.’ Sure enough, the right data layout to use in this context was extremely non-obvious: you can use one to optimize for forward inference on CPU, but it penalizes the speed of the backward pass during training, and the backward pass is roughly 2X more expensive than the forward pass. But in production you mostly just run inference, so that may be the right tradeoff? It depends, because on GPU it’s almost exactly the other way around. These tradeoffs took some time to settle, and eventually we codified a type system, a layout and removed the naked pointer. The lesson? Sometimes it is better to let Hyrum’s law (another noted co-author of the upcoming book) work in your favor and defer API contracts until you understand how your users will (ab)use them, instead of committing to an API early and becoming its victim.
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https://towardsdatascience.com/in-the-beginning-there-was-void-f3fdfa2830c
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['Vincent Vanhoucke']
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2020-03-12 15:04:17.708000+00:00
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['API', 'Machine Learning', 'Software Engineering', 'Coding', 'Software Development']
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Title beginning void Content beginning void tale evolving code unintended consequence honor imminent release ‘Software Engineering Google’ highly recommend thought I’d relate tale software evolution feature creep go wrong way feeling great every step journey yield net outcome decade later disaster surprisingly large blast radius modest parallel Tony Hoare’s ‘billion dollar mistake’ Dennis Richie’s ‘most expensive onebyte mistake’ coincidentally involves pointer zeroterminated datastructures begin innocently enough year 2009 colleague mine large number dot product need sped improve scalability largescale optimization problem time floatingpoint computation isn’t common bottleneck workload don’t offtheshelf solution readily available bringing BLAS library overkill simpler definitely fun thing someone like love write gnarly math code mess around vectorized Intel instruction sweat I’ll hack together quick dotproduct implementation using SSE intrinsics handtuned unrolling good measure clever way leverage terrifyingly beautiful Duff’s device express unrolling without abusing preprocessor cost equally scandalous abuse C syntax love One wrinkle SSE instruction like operate 16byte aligned data toolchain doesn’t always provide guarantee time compiler hint still somewhat compilerspecific problem I’ll allocate bigger buffer add data pointer closest 16byte boundary enforce alignment wait I’m going put restriction data get allocated tempting make sure contract enforced via proper typing let’s wrap naked pointer new data structure float becomes something like alignedscopedarrayfloat Hey open new possibility dealing edge effect using SSE instruction always actual code easily alleviated linear algebra zeropadding data multiple 16 byte play nicely data alignment trick Great let’s enforce data structure since control Done it’s fast Moving Wait someone say linear algebra process dot product batch instead we’re really BLAS territory let’s rewrite everything basic matrix multiply add another dimension array function performs 2D multiplication we’re good go Aligning padding data also mean step without pointer indirection make code short elegant course anyone read literature BLAS notably seminal Goto paper topic know short elegant probably leaf ton performance table consideration around cache performance get quite complicated right answer likely try roll implementation … it’s fun feel like progress right Hang quantized representation Oh yes fact wrote nifty paper mixing unsigned signed fixedpoint representation work amazingly well neural network BLAS nothing offer space fixedpoint math alignment padding consideration still apply I’ll add specialization int8uint8 product we’re done Magic you’re probably beginning see pattern Feature creep slightly suboptimal decision every step way illusion progress decision increasingly difficult walk back Fast forward year road oneoff wrapper naked pointer become fullyfledged tentacular matrix library pedantically called FastMatrix support x86 ARM CUDA handle float double int8 uint8 int16 int32 compiles Android iOS moved general ‘util’ directory shared codebase used deep learning codebase well growing number project never heard also sitting respectable position list biggest consumer CPU cycle Googlewide profiling dashboard What’s love Well also terrible maddeningly inconsistent API part different hardware vendor optimized different data type layout failed abstract away implementation detail also stuck evolutionary deadend forcing control data layout save CPU cycle line code turn terrible idea much benefit disappears data movement typically force user go mere existence impedes progress towards bettersupported comprehensive BLASaware solution awesome Eigen library gained support fixedpoint operation meantime CUDA port full antipatterns cringe seeing cutandpasted elsewhere codebase also made misguided attempt supporting dynamic dispatch algorithm across instruction set caller isn’t careful may cause leakage compilation unit wrong platform one’s binary cause obscure crash near impossible tie back original root cause binary doesn’t even invoke offending code tainted Oops It’s fun game ad SRE come aknocking ever mention Google rejected first applied software engineer may point library needed die major design flaw also paid shortterm dividend pretty fast It’s Due somewhat loose Clike API it’s easy add feature copypaste piecemeal Removing egregious maintenance nightmare would likely either cost thousand CPU core hundred software engineer hour performancesensitive code extremely difficult reason it’s safe assume decent coverage correctness performance coverage difficult achieve 10 speed regression could cost mere microsecond overload datacenter may able tell difference someone deploys binary change month change committed repository visibility started rely including gnarliest implementation detail I’d reached pandemiclevels infection year 2020 It’s decade monster entirely dead though I’ve hacked great number head demise recently got significant boost diehard fan library fortuitously decided leave company Don’t tell gleefully deleted code day 12 year proudly removed 15M line code repository yet tendril stubbornly remain retrospect best decision made recent year insist TensorFlow depend Donald Knuth famously said code ever fully debugged last user died Obviously Knuth doesn’t work Google might said ‘… last user colleague …’ Even code dead antipatterns survive either people’s head via good oldfashioned copypasta Titus Winters coauthor aforementioned book love say ‘Software Engineering programming integrated time’ One issue time constant involved measured decade rarely someone stay job long enough see mistake unfold Decisions made locally incrementally quickly poison entire codebase become terrifyingly difficult walk back particularly people move shinier problem Coda started working DistBelief codebase number year later immediately noticed something surprising innermost structure held neural network naked ‘void ’ nothing looked wrote heresy course turned Jeff Dean Oh timidly asked ‘Jeff … whyyy’ answer simply ‘well don’t know we’re yet let’s bake assumption data structure can’t walk back from’ Sure enough right data layout use context extremely nonobvious use one optimize forward inference CPU penalizes speed backward pas training backward pas roughly 2X expensive forward pas production mostly run inference may right tradeoff depends GPU it’s almost exactly way around tradeoff took time settle eventually codified type system layout removed naked pointer lesson Sometimes better let Hyrum’s law another noted coauthor upcoming book work favor defer API contract understand user abuse instead committing API early becoming victimTags API Machine Learning Software Engineering Coding Software Development
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5,084 |
Edie’s Three
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Edie’s Three
Top 3 for Sunday, October 27th
(Photo by Author)
Write What You Think, Not What Others Want
By: Sergey Faldin
Before coming to Medium, I never used to write non-fiction. I’ve since discovered that although it isn’t my first love, I’ve got a pretty good knack for it; but I have been struggling with content topics. Always wondering what I should be writing about, what do people want to read, what will they like, what won’t they like?
I love writing personal essays, but I’ve tried to stay away from them as much as possible (with the exception of a handful), simply because I didn’t think they would be well-received. Reading this piece today was like getting one of Oprah’s infamous ‘aha moments’. “Write what you think, not what others want” — and the audience you need will come to you.
What you think, what you want, is what you know best. It’s what comes easiest and most naturally to you. That will be reflected in your writing. You’ll be more believable, more ‘readable’. Just be you.
What About the Bees?
By: Sylvia Clare MSc. Psychol
So, I kind of have this thing for bees. I think they’re sweet little creatures that keep the world alive and get next to no credit for it. They’re feared, killed, hated, and people seem to have no clue that without them, we wouldn’t be around either.
I love Sylvia’s article, and it has inspired me to look into different types of plants for next summer so that I can attract a more diverse group of little buzzers! If you want to do your part for our little winged friends, have a read!
No More Shame: A Journey of Body Acceptance
By: Tiffany Amoakohene
We live in an age where body positivity and body acceptance is “trending” right now, but at the root of it, fat-shaming is still very much alive and thriving.
I’ve struggled with weight my whole life, and it took me decades to come to the realization that in order to get healthy, I need to love myself the way I am first. I know that I need to lose weight, but for me, it’s a lot less about physical appearance, and more about whole health. My mother is a diabetic, needing to inject herself daily. She has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and her heart isn’t in fantastic shape. My family also has a strong history of various cancers.
I know I need to find a healthy weight so I can set myself up for the best possible ‘golden years’.
I’ve stopped fat-shaming myself when I started to love myself. But I see it and hear it all the time. People not only fat-shame others — their friends, colleagues, perfect strangers, children — but they do it to themselves as well! This has to stop. There has to be a massive mind-shift change, and the focus has to be put on the causes and solutions versus pointing out the visual.
I love this article for the fact that it ends with acceptance and love.
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https://medium.com/top-3/edies-three-eaac3e243b0d
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['Edie Tuck']
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2019-10-27 23:26:36.848000+00:00
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['Body Image', 'Self Love', 'Bees', 'Writing', 'Top 3']
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Title Edie’s ThreeContent Edie’s Three Top 3 Sunday October 27th Photo Author Write Think Others Want Sergey Faldin coming Medium never used write nonfiction I’ve since discovered although isn’t first love I’ve got pretty good knack struggling content topic Always wondering writing people want read like won’t like love writing personal essay I’ve tried stay away much possible exception handful simply didn’t think would wellreceived Reading piece today like getting one Oprah’s infamous ‘aha moments’ “Write think others want” — audience need come think want know best It’s come easiest naturally reflected writing You’ll believable ‘readable’ Bees Sylvia Clare MSc Psychol kind thing bee think they’re sweet little creature keep world alive get next credit They’re feared killed hated people seem clue without wouldn’t around either love Sylvia’s article inspired look different type plant next summer attract diverse group little buzzer want part little winged friend read Shame Journey Body Acceptance Tiffany Amoakohene live age body positivity body acceptance “trending” right root fatshaming still much alive thriving I’ve struggled weight whole life took decade come realization order get healthy need love way first know need lose weight it’s lot le physical appearance whole health mother diabetic needing inject daily high blood pressure high cholesterol heart isn’t fantastic shape family also strong history various cancer know need find healthy weight set best possible ‘golden years’ I’ve stopped fatshaming started love see hear time People fatshame others — friend colleague perfect stranger child — well stop massive mindshift change focus put cause solution versus pointing visual love article fact end acceptance loveTags Body Image Self Love Bees Writing Top 3
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5,085 |
Stop Selling Me Empty Writing Promises
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Obviously, one of the appeals of platforms like Medium is the chance, however small, to make money writing. Yet many must, like me, quickly realize that isn’t the real value here for us. What I have found here are people to read what I write, and, once in a while, encourage me to keep going. I don’t anticipate that someone like me will get many followers, or make more than a few cents (which is why I no longer put posts behind the paywall).
People reading what I write is huge for me. I’ve never been able to share my writing like this before.
The thing is, when I first came here, I read a few of those “how to make money writing” posts. Who wouldn’t want to make some change doing something they love? But, at a certain point I tried to stop. I had noticed some of these posts are truly empty of quality and insight. I unfollowed several publications that seemed dominated by such posts.
You know, the ones that promise to teach you how to write 10 million words a day, or whatever nonsense, “market” myself, game the system, make a ton of money by selling this or that thing tangentially related to writing.
There are absolutely posts that offer real help and tips to people trying to start or maintain writing as a career. Some of these posts are absolutely amazing, and contain valuable insights.
But it’s clear to me that some of these people are just out to make money, here or elsewhere, off of writers, by writing about how to make money writing.
I’d be interested to see how many top earners on these platforms are those claiming to be helping beginning writers. Because, in this case, the more they dominate publications and are promoted, the less there is for the beginner writers themselves.
Also, you may have noticed: Some of these are super manipulative!
I don’t know who exactly needs to hear this. You probably know who you are, (if you ever read this, which I doubt):
Stop using the marketing tricks you are pretending to teach me, on me. Stop exploiting that side of me as though you are actually interested in “solving my problem”. You are hustling. You are manipulating. You know it, because you brag about it in these posts.
I am just here to write and read. If you are here to offer sincere help, that’s great. If you are here to manipulate those of us who love to write, or are eager to improve, I’ll say this:
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https://medium.com/the-haven/stop-selling-me-empty-writing-promises-6874423e7e87
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['Erica Ball']
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2020-12-22 18:21:32.498000+00:00
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['Writers On Writing', 'Humor', 'Rant', 'Writing', 'Writing Tips']
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Title Stop Selling Empty Writing PromisesContent Obviously one appeal platform like Medium chance however small make money writing Yet many must like quickly realize isn’t real value u found people read write encourage keep going don’t anticipate someone like get many follower make cent longer put post behind paywall People reading write huge I’ve never able share writing like thing first came read “how make money writing” post wouldn’t want make change something love certain point tried stop noticed post truly empty quality insight unfollowed several publication seemed dominated post know one promise teach write 10 million word day whatever nonsense “market” game system make ton money selling thing tangentially related writing absolutely post offer real help tip people trying start maintain writing career post absolutely amazing contain valuable insight it’s clear people make money elsewhere writer writing make money writing I’d interested see many top earner platform claiming helping beginning writer case dominate publication promoted le beginner writer Also may noticed super manipulative don’t know exactly need hear probably know ever read doubt Stop using marketing trick pretending teach Stop exploiting side though actually interested “solving problem” hustling manipulating know brag post write read offer sincere help that’s great manipulate u love write eager improve I’ll say thisTags Writers Writing Humor Rant Writing Writing Tips
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5,086 |
Writing Character Driven Stories
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Writing Character Driven Stories
Turning the wheel over to your characters to drive where your novel will go
Photo by Cristofer Jeschke on Unsplash
When you’re writing your story, do you prefer to focus on the characters or on the plot?
Well, it’s not entirely one or the other. Plot drives the story. It gives us tension and drama and a place for our characters to exist.
But characters make us feel. They give us someone to root for (or against). They develop and interact with the plot, molding themselves as they follow the yellow brick road of story direction.
Characters have to interact with the plot, otherwise we’d just have awesome people doing normal stuff. There’d be no conflict, nothing to develop the character. That’s why we throw in plot, obstacles, and consequences to action. Those things help mold the character into who they will be at the end.
The End… the elusive finish to your book. You might have an idea, but maybe you don’t. You might have a plan but it feels like you’re forcing your characters to follow a set path to the right when they really want to go left. Maybe to get there you have to force a character to do things they wouldn’t normally do.
There comes a point where your characters might have a better grasp on their own story than you do. Here are some ways to help you write character driven stories, or better yet, hand over the reigns of writing to your characters and give them power over where things will end up.
Connect with readers through realistic characters
Readers don’t want flawless characters. They would pass through the story without any issues, fighting the bad guy and prevailing on the first try. No, readers want to connect with the characters and become emotionally invested.
How does that happen? Realistic characters that have flaws and display unique personalities. Readers want to see themselves in the character. They want to imagine they are going through the same challenges and finding their own inner strength. They see someone they love and they want to root for the character that displays similar characteristics and emotions.
Interact with the world
There once was a man who was scared of birds. Birds exist only outside his house. Man never leaves house.
Well, that’s a boring story. Character driven novels should force the character into the world you’ve built. Make them do something. They need to interact with the world and be immersed in activities that will help shape them.
Man must go outside to put the trash away or get groceries. He makes it to the store without seeing a single bird (yay), but on his way out, a bird flies overhead. Does he drop the groceries and run? Does he use the food to defend himself? What interactions will he take to either withdraw or grow as a person?
Think of the worst, and then make it happen
What would your character strongly dislike or what do they never want to happen? Well, make that happen.
Consider the story above. The man is terrified that this bird will swoop down and attack him. So, what happens if it does? The bird swoops down, continually taking dives at the man’s head. He’s panicking…
Focus on the inner growth
What is your character’s biggest flaw? How can the character overcome that flaw, or at least use it to their advantage, by the end of the story? Those are the sorts of things that can help you figure out where the plot should be going or what obstacles it should present to your character.
Are there challenges that can help your character overcome their flaws or fears? Put them in. Let your character tell you what they don’t want to happen and then make it happen. Show their inner turmoil to finally gather the strength within themselves to overcome the challenge.
And now we see inner growth. The man above is panicking, terrified, unsure of what to do. There’s a moment of clarity as the bird stands between him and the car. But something changes. Is it a look of curiosity in the bird? There’s a small injury on it’s leg that prevents it from standing still, which is why the bird is constantly flapping and cawing.
The man realizes that the bird is just as terrified as him… because he’s hungry. Our man braves the little bird and offers him a slice of bread, inching closer to his biggest fear. Instead of screaming, the bird lets out a soft coo and accepts the bread without biting the man, flying off to a nearby tree where little birdies are happily waiting for food. Our main character learns that not all birds are bad, and they are only looking out for their survival. Inner growth.
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https://medium.com/swlh/writing-character-driven-stories-7d6dea88aae9
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['Laura Winter']
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2020-11-18 02:55:00.647000+00:00
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['Writing', 'Character', 'Character Development', 'Writers On Writing', 'Writer']
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Title Writing Character Driven StoriesContent Writing Character Driven Stories Turning wheel character drive novel go Photo Cristofer Jeschke Unsplash you’re writing story prefer focus character plot Well it’s entirely one Plot drive story give u tension drama place character exist character make u feel give u someone root develop interact plot molding follow yellow brick road story direction Characters interact plot otherwise we’d awesome people normal stuff There’d conflict nothing develop character That’s throw plot obstacle consequence action thing help mold character end End… elusive finish book might idea maybe don’t might plan feel like you’re forcing character follow set path right really want go left Maybe get force character thing wouldn’t normally come point character might better grasp story way help write character driven story better yet hand reign writing character give power thing end Connect reader realistic character Readers don’t want flawless character would pas story without issue fighting bad guy prevailing first try reader want connect character become emotionally invested happen Realistic character flaw display unique personality Readers want see character want imagine going challenge finding inner strength see someone love want root character display similar characteristic emotion Interact world man scared bird Birds exist outside house Man never leaf house Well that’s boring story Character driven novel force character world you’ve built Make something need interact world immersed activity help shape Man must go outside put trash away get grocery make store without seeing single bird yay way bird fly overhead drop grocery run use food defend interaction take either withdraw grow person Think worst make happen would character strongly dislike never want happen Well make happen Consider story man terrified bird swoop attack happens bird swoop continually taking dive man’s head He’s panicking… Focus inner growth character’s biggest flaw character overcome flaw least use advantage end story sort thing help figure plot going obstacle present character challenge help character overcome flaw fear Put Let character tell don’t want happen make happen Show inner turmoil finally gather strength within overcome challenge see inner growth man panicking terrified unsure There’s moment clarity bird stand car something change look curiosity bird There’s small injury it’s leg prevents standing still bird constantly flapping cawing man realizes bird terrified him… he’s hungry man brave little bird offer slice bread inching closer biggest fear Instead screaming bird let soft coo accepts bread without biting man flying nearby tree little birdie happily waiting food main character learns bird bad looking survival Inner growthTags Writing Character Character Development Writers Writing Writer
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5,087 |
Embarking on a Chaos Engineering Journey
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How to begin thinking about Chaos Engineering
“Chaos Engineering is the discipline of experimenting on a system
in order to build confidence in the system’s capability
to withstand turbulent conditions in production.” — https://principlesofchaos.org/
How do you turn a chaotic mess into a manageable system? Photo by Rick Mason on Unsplash
Today’s computer systems are very complex and vastly distributed. Microservice architectures can quickly become giant piles of legos on the floor, leading to difficulties in troubleshooting failures, extending downtime when incidents occur, and increased anxiety when making changes to production. Chaos Engineering can bring your platform to the next level by increasing the resiliency of the platform itself, increasing the preparedness of the developers and operators to respond to production incidents, and increasing the confidence developers have for making changes to production.
Often times, Production environments are treated like a House of Cards. It’s a fragile work of art. Please don’t change anything, we don’t want it to fall over.
It’s time to clean up the mess, and build a sturdy production environment that developers have confidence in. So how do you begin a chaos engineering program in your organization, especially if you are worried about knocking down your house of cards? There are many important ideas to keep in mind when starting off with chaos engineering. The idea of breaking things can seem intimidating at first, but trust me, you already are breaking things on purpose every-time you develop new code.
Test Driven Development, the first thing I ever learned in my introduction to software construction class in college. Never write a line of code for your program before having a functional test suite. Your test suites must include test vectors designed to break your code. No test suite is complete without testing what happens when you enter invalid inputs or supply the program with a barrage of edge case anomalies. No one ever expects these issues to happen frequently, but any good programmer understands that a user will do something unexpectedly, and if you haven’t tested for it, your code will break, or at the very least, perform unexpectedly.
A map of the Internet connections, circa 2005. Your production environment feels like its own universe sometimes.
If you are going to test your code, why not test how it operates in the production environment? Production environments are so large and complex now that no one individual can be certain of how anything will behave in all circumstances. Do you know what will happen to your service if the database it relies on is no longer reachable? What if just the queries take longer to complete all of a sudden? What happens to your service when a dependency breaks for a dependency of your service? No one person is going to have this answer, but you can discover the answers and begin to develop an understanding of the emergent properties of your production environment through chaos engineering and testing for failure scenarios.
Testing for failures is an essential step in the development cycle. Avoiding failure tests will only provide for more uncertainty in your code, less confidence in making changes, and longer time to resolution for incidents you were unprepared to respond to. The next question becomes, if it is so important to break things, how do I begin breaking things responsibly?
It takes time to become resilient. Start small. Plant the seeds, and nurture them as they grow.
When starting off with Chaos Engineering, start small. A lot of Chaos Engineers will call this idea limiting the Blast Radius. The idea is simple: minimize the impact of your failure test. When designing a failure scenario to test for, don’t start with a black hole test to see what happens when AWS has an S3 outage. Start Small. Design a test that only impacts the behavior of your service. If you are uncertain the test will not effect an upstream or downstream dependency or system, do not perform the test. Only increase the blast radius after validating the resiliency of everything within the blast radius.
Observability enables resiliency. Photo by Daniil Vnoutchkov on Unsplash
Observability is an absolute must for Chaos Engineering. When you begin breaking something in production, you are going to want to see what is broken. There will be things that you expect to break, as well as things that you don’t expect to break. If something unexpected breaks, it will be near impossible to fix without any observability. I suggest having three forms of observability:
Observability: Spiderweb view of your infrastructure. It is necessary to see what is running on what, and where all of those things are, and what they are connected to. Traceability: Flame chart style or any other visual form that lets you see an entire call chain on demand. If a call goes through multiple microservices, where did it go wrong? Time Series: Graphs of only the important stuff. It is necessary to have dashboards that display the condition of your platform. Be careful with making these too complex as too much information can overwhelm users instead of aiding them.
Bend, don’t break. Turbulent conditions can catalyze resiliency or destruction.
Chaos Engineering can bring your platform to the next level by increasing both the resiliency of the platform, as well as the preparedness of the developers and operators to respond to production incidents. By introducing a healthy dose of chaos into your systems, you can begin experimenting with possible failures that will affect your platform. This will strengthen your confidence in the platform by aiding you in understanding the emergent properties of the platform.
Overall, undergoing this process of chaos engineering, you will become more prepared each day to resolve actual production issues. Chaos engineering will enable you to avoid future production issues that you can foresee happening, as well as to reduce the amount of time that is needed for resolving a production issue you did not foresee happening. There are many valuable ways to adopt and implement chaos engineering within your organization, and many companies and organizations have found these practices to be valuable and successful.
|
https://medium.com/cloud-native-the-gathering/embarking-on-a-chaos-engineering-journey-e02f33064207
|
['James Gordon']
|
2019-10-22 16:39:15.646000+00:00
|
['Microservices', 'Programming', 'Chaos Engineering', 'Resilience', 'Testing']
|
Title Embarking Chaos Engineering JourneyContent begin thinking Chaos Engineering “Chaos Engineering discipline experimenting system order build confidence system’s capability withstand turbulent condition production” — httpsprinciplesofchaosorg turn chaotic mess manageable system Photo Rick Mason Unsplash Today’s computer system complex vastly distributed Microservice architecture quickly become giant pile lego floor leading difficulty troubleshooting failure extending downtime incident occur increased anxiety making change production Chaos Engineering bring platform next level increasing resiliency platform increasing preparedness developer operator respond production incident increasing confidence developer making change production Often time Production environment treated like House Cards It’s fragile work art Please don’t change anything don’t want fall It’s time clean mess build sturdy production environment developer confidence begin chaos engineering program organization especially worried knocking house card many important idea keep mind starting chaos engineering idea breaking thing seem intimidating first trust already breaking thing purpose everytime develop new code Test Driven Development first thing ever learned introduction software construction class college Never write line code program functional test suite test suite must include test vector designed break code test suite complete without testing happens enter invalid input supply program barrage edge case anomaly one ever expects issue happen frequently good programmer understands user something unexpectedly haven’t tested code break least perform unexpectedly map Internet connection circa 2005 production environment feel like universe sometimes going test code test operates production environment Production environment large complex one individual certain anything behave circumstance know happen service database relies longer reachable query take longer complete sudden happens service dependency break dependency service one person going answer discover answer begin develop understanding emergent property production environment chaos engineering testing failure scenario Testing failure essential step development cycle Avoiding failure test provide uncertainty code le confidence making change longer time resolution incident unprepared respond next question becomes important break thing begin breaking thing responsibly take time become resilient Start small Plant seed nurture grow starting Chaos Engineering start small lot Chaos Engineers call idea limiting Blast Radius idea simple minimize impact failure test designing failure scenario test don’t start black hole test see happens AWS S3 outage Start Small Design test impact behavior service uncertain test effect upstream downstream dependency system perform test increase blast radius validating resiliency everything within blast radius Observability enables resiliency Photo Daniil Vnoutchkov Unsplash Observability absolute must Chaos Engineering begin breaking something production going want see broken thing expect break well thing don’t expect break something unexpected break near impossible fix without observability suggest three form observability Observability Spiderweb view infrastructure necessary see running thing connected Traceability Flame chart style visual form let see entire call chain demand call go multiple microservices go wrong Time Series Graphs important stuff necessary dashboard display condition platform careful making complex much information overwhelm user instead aiding Bend don’t break Turbulent condition catalyze resiliency destruction Chaos Engineering bring platform next level increasing resiliency platform well preparedness developer operator respond production incident introducing healthy dose chaos system begin experimenting possible failure affect platform strengthen confidence platform aiding understanding emergent property platform Overall undergoing process chaos engineering become prepared day resolve actual production issue Chaos engineering enable avoid future production issue foresee happening well reduce amount time needed resolving production issue foresee happening many valuable way adopt implement chaos engineering within organization many company organization found practice valuable successfulTags Microservices Programming Chaos Engineering Resilience Testing
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5,088 |
About Me — Paul Gimsay. Veteran, peacekeeper and writer. It is…
|
About Me — Paul Gimsay
Veteran, peacekeeper and writer. It is never late to start
Visit to the Orphanage by Author
Take what life gives you and run the formula.
This has been my mantra while growing up. Everything happened to me by fate, or rather providence. It is not only my story; it is the same story for millions of children from my part of the world who grew up with one parent.
My name is Paul Gimsay. I come from Plateau State in North Central, Nigeria. I am the first son but second in a family of 3 boys and 3 girls. We were all raised single-handedly by a mother, who saw to it that we acquired the basics of life and education.
The famous Actor, Marlon Brando, said that sometimes your destiny changes when you lose your father. This clearly summarizes my story.
I grew up confused as to what to do. The lack of a father figure to provide guidance was obvious.
I had so many strengths, but I didn’t know because there was no one to point them out to me. I was very good in sports and strong with schoolwork. I had a strong passion for books — I read everything from fiction, non-fiction to biographies. This gave me the foundation I needed.
Growing up, all I wanted to do was to go into the academic world, become a professor and add to the body of knowledge in my field of expertise. This never happened as fate decided otherwise.
I joined the army at an early age and served for 26 years. I gave all my youth to serving my country. It gave me the opportunity to travel and see the world. I was able to support my siblings financially. It was the best decision of my life.
The army opened a new vista for me. I settled for the Signals Corps and became Signals Officer for all my years of service. The army provided the sponsorship for me to go college and study Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering.
I was launched into peacekeeping in Liberia in 1991. I served with the Nigerian Battalion 7 as the Regimental Signal Officer (RSO). This was part of the sub-regional peace enforcement forces ECOMOG, under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
My journey into peacekeeping continued in 2006 when I joined the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to head the Communications and Information Technology Section (CITS). I primarily identified field communications requirements and recommended to the Head of Mission. This is then passed to the Head of the Darfur Integrated Task Force for review and adoption.
I have been in international peacekeeping operations working as information systems manager. My areas of expertise include Innovation Leadership, Digital Business Transformation Management, Governance, Risk and Compliance, and Strategy and Leadership.
My motivation for writing on Medium
I was a Medium member for two years before I joined the Medium Partner Program in January 2020. My motivation came from three triggers.
When the world closed early this year due to COVID-19, I decided to take up writing to kill time. I wrote in FB, LinkedIn and Twitter from time to time, but I wasn’t regular due to lack of time. The reviews were good, and I had sizeable followership.
My daughter started her blog this year. I was not only thrilled but captivated with her simple writing. This inspired me; after all the apple does not fall far from the tree. I had it in me too.
As a storyteller, I have seen immense benefits in learning by doing, listening and sharing experience. Every story shared brings with it an experience which must resonate with someone, somewhere.
Storytelling helps to connect to humanity as you never know who it touches.
Presently, I write for two publications in Medium — The Innovation and An Ingenious Piece (An Idea). Thanks to Quy Ma, I have started now on About Me Stories. I write mainly on leadership, self-empowerment and growth, entrepreneurial leadership, innovation, sports and digital business transformation.
Life Philosophy
I take time to visit Orphanages occasionally. When I cannot visit, I make donations in cash and kind. This is my way of giving back and touching lives.
The picture above speaks for itself. I visited one of the orphanages in Kenya and the experience was life changing. I saw determined kids who want the best out of life. Talking to them showed that it does not matter how you start, once the opportunity presents itself, you will grow.
I donated money for books because I strongly believe that a hand that puts down a book is never the same. I benefited a lot from reading and should therefore share the same message.
All it takes is one idea from a book to impact one’s life forever.
Family and work
I live and work in Nairobi, Kenya with my family — my wife, 2 sons and one daughter.
There are so many experiences to cherish in Kenya with its abundance of tourist attractions such as the Maasai Mara wild. The annual migration is always a sight to behold.
Ranging from Safari trips, mountain climbing, hiking and the white sand beaches, the choice remains yours to make if you visit Kenya.
|
https://medium.com/about-me-stories/about-me-paul-gimsay-13147c9116d9
|
['Paul Gimsay']
|
2020-12-28 13:02:36.754000+00:00
|
['Self', 'Life Lessons', 'Giving Back', 'Writing']
|
Title — Paul Gimsay Veteran peacekeeper writer is…Content — Paul Gimsay Veteran peacekeeper writer never late start Visit Orphanage Author Take life give run formula mantra growing Everything happened fate rather providence story story million child part world grew one parent name Paul Gimsay come Plateau State North Central Nigeria first son second family 3 boy 3 girl raised singlehandedly mother saw acquired basic life education famous Actor Marlon Brando said sometimes destiny change lose father clearly summarizes story grew confused lack father figure provide guidance obvious many strength didn’t know one point good sport strong schoolwork strong passion book — read everything fiction nonfiction biography gave foundation needed Growing wanted go academic world become professor add body knowledge field expertise never happened fate decided otherwise joined army early age served 26 year gave youth serving country gave opportunity travel see world able support sibling financially best decision life army opened new vista settled Signals Corps became Signals Officer year service army provided sponsorship go college study Electronics Telecommunications Engineering launched peacekeeping Liberia 1991 served Nigerian Battalion 7 Regimental Signal Officer RSO part subregional peace enforcement force ECOMOG auspex Economic Community West African States ECOWAS journey peacekeeping continued 2006 joined African Union Mission Sudan AMIS head Communications Information Technology Section CITS primarily identified field communication requirement recommended Head Mission passed Head Darfur Integrated Task Force review adoption international peacekeeping operation working information system manager area expertise include Innovation Leadership Digital Business Transformation Management Governance Risk Compliance Strategy Leadership motivation writing Medium Medium member two year joined Medium Partner Program January 2020 motivation came three trigger world closed early year due COVID19 decided take writing kill time wrote FB LinkedIn Twitter time time wasn’t regular due lack time review good sizeable followership daughter started blog year thrilled captivated simple writing inspired apple fall far tree storyteller seen immense benefit learning listening sharing experience Every story shared brings experience must resonate someone somewhere Storytelling help connect humanity never know touch Presently write two publication Medium — Innovation Ingenious Piece Idea Thanks Quy started Stories write mainly leadership selfempowerment growth entrepreneurial leadership innovation sport digital business transformation Life Philosophy take time visit Orphanages occasionally cannot visit make donation cash kind way giving back touching life picture speaks visited one orphanage Kenya experience life changing saw determined kid want best life Talking showed matter start opportunity present grow donated money book strongly believe hand put book never benefited lot reading therefore share message take one idea book impact one’s life forever Family work live work Nairobi Kenya family — wife 2 son one daughter many experience cherish Kenya abundance tourist attraction Maasai Mara wild annual migration always sight behold Ranging Safari trip mountain climbing hiking white sand beach choice remains make visit KenyaTags Self Life Lessons Giving Back Writing
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5,089 |
Five tips for getting stakeholders aligned
|
can be a long road from a lead’s initial interest to the close of a deal, and taking a deal all the way to the closing meeting only to watch it fall apart can be excruciating.
Fortunately, as a salesperson, you can avoid a tragic ending if you get stakeholder buy-in early. Whether you’re working directly with the decision maker, or several stakeholders are involved in the project, you can follow these steps to keep your deal on the right path.
1. Communicate directly
Nothing is worse than playing a game of telephone when you’re trying to close on a project with multiple stakeholders or decision makers.
To avoid mixed messages or the sharing of impartial information, enlist your contact to help you get all stakeholders in the same room (or on the same conference call) so that you are sharing information just once.
Confident closers know their product or service is valuable, and may even decide not to meet with a potential client unless everyone is present. After all, a prospective client who isn’t willing to get all decision makers in one place is throwing up two very big red flags:
They’re disorganized. If the issue is that the prospective client simply isn’t organized enough to get everyone there, that’s a sign that you may be entering into a project with a company that may not be ready to work with an organized, process-driven team. Unorganized clients slow down timelines, re-negotiate project scope, and even question the process. Consider whether this really is an organization you want to work with. They’re not ready. If your contact isn’t willing to gather all decision makers in one place, then the prospective client is not ready to close. Much of the time the contact is still trying to determine if she thinks you are the right fit for the project and will not go to bat for you with others in her organization until that internal conflict is resolved. If you find yourself in this situation, take a step back and ask yourself if you are trying to close the deal too quickly. If so, slow down and work on building the relationship. Nothing kills a prospective deal as quickly as a pushy salesperson.
2. Understand their needs
Every stakeholder brings their own agenda and expectations to a new project. While it would be nice to think that every project team has discussed all expectations and worked out any potential conflicts before approaching you about a project, this usually doesn’t happen.
In order to get buy-in from all stakeholders you must understand their perspectives and expectations, not just assume you know what they want. Ask questions of each team member. Where you see potential conflicts, approach it head on with the goal of resolving these conflicts into win-win situations for everyone.
For teams of stakeholders that seem very fractured or unsure of what they are looking for, you should approach them with the idea of pursuing a funded Discovery to uncover their real needs, both from their perspective as well as the perspective of their end users.
If you’re not sure what an effective Discovery looks like, check out Madison Ave. Collective’s free guide to Discovery.
3. Demonstrate expertise and ability to do good work
Your firm begins demonstrating expertise and ability to a prospective client with the first impression, whether that is the first visit to your website, an email from a trusted referral, or the conversation you created on that initial cold call.
That first impression, however, is often forgotten by the time you get to the closing meeting. Stakeholders on projects of any size always have anxiety over whether they are pursuing the right project, choosing the right agency to work with, or even whether they should pursue this project at all. Ease this anxiety and uncertainty by showing them that the project they are about to undertake with your firm is nothing new to you. Have work samples to share with them of similar projects you’ve worked on, and talk to them about what makes your firm’s process an iron-clad recipe for success.
4. Demonstrate value in the project
Budget is always a hot button topic. The quickest way to show a client that the budget is realistic and worth spending is to demonstrate a return on the investment. Sometimes this can come in the form of metrics from past projects you’ve worked on, like an increase in site traffic or views of a social media campaign. Others may prefer to see cold hard dollar signs showing them how the project will affect the company’s bottom line.
If you feel that you have developed a fair and competitive estimate for the work, but face push-back from the prospective client, hold strong to your estimate, especially if it fits within the budget figures they’ve given you in previous discussions. While there are prospective clients out there who will try to bully you into a better rate, remember that your work has value that is established by both your work’s quality and by the market. If your work is of high quality, then by giving in to these bullying tactics you may be undercutting your own value in the market in the long run.
If you have a prospective client that you know is budget-sensitive, consider developing a phased proposal for closing, where “phase 1” meets all the client’s basic needs (and maybe a few wants), comes in solidly under budget, and is developed in a way that makes it easily scalable. Phases two and possibly three meet the client’s biggest want, help them to plan and budget effectively, and hopefully creates several more projects for your future project pipeline.
5. Highlight their role (and value) in the process
Some stakeholders have trouble letting go of control. If you do a good job asking the right questions in point 2, understanding their needs, you will identify these individuals early. With these people, highlighting how they will play an important role in helping to guide and develop the project can be a crucial tool for getting their buy-in.
* * *
Effectively implementing these five efforts will help you close more deals, identify issues before they become problems in the project itself, and even eliminate clients you don’t really want (and just don’t know it yet!)
Share your own tips for getting buy-in from stakeholders in the comments!
|
https://medium.com/madison-ave-collective/5-tips-to-getting-stakeholders-aligned-a396e1e4f6d6
|
['Logan Hoffman']
|
2016-06-20 18:31:07.425000+00:00
|
['Design', 'Sales', 'Business Development']
|
Title Five tip getting stakeholder alignedContent long road lead’s initial interest close deal taking deal way closing meeting watch fall apart excruciating Fortunately salesperson avoid tragic ending get stakeholder buyin early Whether you’re working directly decision maker several stakeholder involved project follow step keep deal right path 1 Communicate directly Nothing worse playing game telephone you’re trying close project multiple stakeholder decision maker avoid mixed message sharing impartial information enlist contact help get stakeholder room conference call sharing information Confident closer know product service valuable may even decide meet potential client unless everyone present prospective client isn’t willing get decision maker one place throwing two big red flag They’re disorganized issue prospective client simply isn’t organized enough get everyone that’s sign may entering project company may ready work organized processdriven team Unorganized client slow timeline renegotiate project scope even question process Consider whether really organization want work They’re ready contact isn’t willing gather decision maker one place prospective client ready close Much time contact still trying determine think right fit project go bat others organization internal conflict resolved find situation take step back ask trying close deal quickly slow work building relationship Nothing kill prospective deal quickly pushy salesperson 2 Understand need Every stakeholder brings agenda expectation new project would nice think every project team discussed expectation worked potential conflict approaching project usually doesn’t happen order get buyin stakeholder must understand perspective expectation assume know want Ask question team member see potential conflict approach head goal resolving conflict winwin situation everyone team stakeholder seem fractured unsure looking approach idea pursuing funded Discovery uncover real need perspective well perspective end user you’re sure effective Discovery look like check Madison Ave Collective’s free guide Discovery 3 Demonstrate expertise ability good work firm begin demonstrating expertise ability prospective client first impression whether first visit website email trusted referral conversation created initial cold call first impression however often forgotten time get closing meeting Stakeholders project size always anxiety whether pursuing right project choosing right agency work even whether pursue project Ease anxiety uncertainty showing project undertake firm nothing new work sample share similar project you’ve worked talk make firm’s process ironclad recipe success 4 Demonstrate value project Budget always hot button topic quickest way show client budget realistic worth spending demonstrate return investment Sometimes come form metric past project you’ve worked like increase site traffic view social medium campaign Others may prefer see cold hard dollar sign showing project affect company’s bottom line feel developed fair competitive estimate work face pushback prospective client hold strong estimate especially fit within budget figure they’ve given previous discussion prospective client try bully better rate remember work value established work’s quality market work high quality giving bullying tactic may undercutting value market long run prospective client know budgetsensitive consider developing phased proposal closing “phase 1” meet client’s basic need maybe want come solidly budget developed way make easily scalable Phases two possibly three meet client’s biggest want help plan budget effectively hopefully creates several project future project pipeline 5 Highlight role value process stakeholder trouble letting go control good job asking right question point 2 understanding need identify individual early people highlighting play important role helping guide develop project crucial tool getting buyin Effectively implementing five effort help close deal identify issue become problem project even eliminate client don’t really want don’t know yet Share tip getting buyin stakeholder commentsTags Design Sales Business Development
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5,090 |
React Patterns — Writing Clean Code
|
Photo by Zoë Reeve on Unsplash
React is a popular library for creating web apps and mobile apps.
In this article, we’ll look at how to clean up our React code.
Multi-Properties
If we have lots of attributes or props, we should put them in their own line.
For instance, we can write:
<Content
foo="bar"
anotherProp="baz"
onClick={this.handleClick}
/>
This way, we can see each prop clearly.
The props should have one indentation.
This way, we won’t have long lines that we’ve to scroll through.
Conditionals
We often have to write conditional statements or expressions to display something conditionally.
For instance, we may write:
let link;
if (isLoggedIn) {
link= <LogoutLink />
}
return <div>{link}</div>
However, that’s hard to read.
It’s even harder is we have multiple components and conditions.
To make this shorter, we can use an inline expression instead:
<div>
{isLoggedIn && <LogoutLink />}
</div>
This works because if isLoggedIn is false then the 2nd expression won’t be evaluated.
But if it is, then it will.
If we want to display something for the alternate case, instead of writing:
let link;
if (isLoggedIn) {
link = <LogoutLink />
} else {
link = <LoginLink />
}
return <div>{link}</div>
We can use a ternary expression to make this shorter:
<div>
{isLoggedIn ? <LogoutLink /> : <LoginLink />}
</div>
If we have longer boolean expressions, then we should put them in a function instead of writing them out:
const canShowSecretData = () => {
return dataLoaded && (isAdmin || userHasPermissions)
}
And then we can use that in our conditional expression to render something:
<div>
{canShowSecretData() && <Secret />}
</div>
If we have a class component, we can also define a getter:
get canShowSecretData(){
return dataLoaded && (isAdmin || userHasPermissions)
}
Then we can use:
<div>
{this.canShowSecretData && <Secret />}
</div>
Computed properties can also be put into a function.
For instance, we can write:
const getPriceAfterTax = () => {
return currency * (1 + taxRate);
}
In a class component, we can also write:
getPriceAfterTax() {
return this.props.currency * (1 + this.props.taxRate);
}
If it’s in a class, we can also use a getter:
get priceAfterTax() {
return this.props.currency * (1 + this.props.taxRate);
}
There’s also a render-if package that lets us pass in a component to conditionally display.
We can install it by writing:
npm install --save render-if
For instance, we can write:
const canShowSecretData = renderIf(
dataLoaded && (isAdmin || userHasPermissions)
)
Then we can conditionally render our component with:
<div>
{canShowSecretData(<Secret />)}
</div>
Alternatively, we can use the react-only-if package to create a component that’s conditionally rendered with the high-order component that comes with the package.
To install it, we write:
npm install --save react-only-if
Then we can write:
const SecretDataOnlyIf = onlyIf(
({ dataLoaded, isAdmin, userHasPermissions }) => {
return dataLoaded && (isAdmin || userHasPermissions)
}
)(Secret) ... <div>
<SecretOnlyIf
dataLoaded={...}
isAdmin={...}
userHasPermissions={...}
/>
</div>
Now we don’t have to have logic in our expression to display Secret in the JSX code.
We pass in the expressions to check before rendering something as props.
Loops
To render a list of objects, we use the map method.
For example, we can write:
<div>
{users.map(user => <p key={user.id}>{user.name}</p)}
</div>
Note that we’ve to use the key prop with a unique ID so React can keep track of the list items properly.
This is more important if we’re changing the entries dynamically.
Control Statements
There’s the jsx-control-statements package to let us render items conditionally, especially where there are multiple cases.
We install it by writing:
npm install - save jsx-control-statements
Then in the .babelrc file, we add:
"plugins": ["jsx-control-statements"]
Then we can write:
<If condition={canShowSecret}>
<Secret />
</If>
If we have more than one case, we can write:
<Choose>
<When condition={...}>
<span>if</span>
</When>
<When condition={...}>
<span>else if</span>
</When>
<Otherwise>
<span>else</span>
</Otherwise>
</Choose>
When is like case and Otherwise if like default in a switch statement.
Photo by Roksolana Zasiadko on Unsplash
Conclusion
There are many ways to render things cleaning in React components.
If we have lots of conditional statements, we may want to use those packages listed.
If we want to render a list, we use the array’s map method.
JavaScript In Plain English
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|
https://medium.com/javascript-in-plain-english/react-patterns-writing-clean-code-9535f211a6a9
|
['John Au-Yeung']
|
2020-06-18 06:51:23.173000+00:00
|
['Software Development', 'React', 'JavaScript', 'Programming', 'Web Development']
|
Title React Patterns — Writing Clean CodeContent Photo Zoë Reeve Unsplash React popular library creating web apps mobile apps article we’ll look clean React code MultiProperties lot attribute prop put line instance write Content foobar anotherPropbaz onClickthishandleClick way see prop clearly prop one indentation way won’t long line we’ve scroll Conditionals often write conditional statement expression display something conditionally instance may write let link isLoggedIn link LogoutLink return divlinkdiv However that’s hard read It’s even harder multiple component condition make shorter use inline expression instead div isLoggedIn LogoutLink div work isLoggedIn false 2nd expression won’t evaluated want display something alternate case instead writing let link isLoggedIn link LogoutLink else link LoginLink return divlinkdiv use ternary expression make shorter div isLoggedIn LogoutLink LoginLink div longer boolean expression put function instead writing const canShowSecretData return dataLoaded isAdmin userHasPermissions use conditional expression render something div canShowSecretData Secret div class component also define getter get canShowSecretData return dataLoaded isAdmin userHasPermissions use div thiscanShowSecretData Secret div Computed property also put function instance write const getPriceAfterTax return currency 1 taxRate class component also write getPriceAfterTax return thispropscurrency 1 thispropstaxRate it’s class also use getter get priceAfterTax return thispropscurrency 1 thispropstaxRate There’s also renderif package let u pas component conditionally display install writing npm install save renderif instance write const canShowSecretData renderIf dataLoaded isAdmin userHasPermissions conditionally render component div canShowSecretDataSecret div Alternatively use reactonlyif package create component that’s conditionally rendered highorder component come package install write npm install save reactonlyif write const SecretDataOnlyIf onlyIf dataLoaded isAdmin userHasPermissions return dataLoaded isAdmin userHasPermissions Secret div SecretOnlyIf dataLoaded isAdmin userHasPermissions div don’t logic expression display Secret JSX code pas expression check rendering something prop Loops render list object use map method example write div usersmapuser p keyuseridusernamep div Note we’ve use key prop unique ID React keep track list item properly important we’re changing entry dynamically Control Statements There’s jsxcontrolstatements package let u render item conditionally especially multiple case install writing npm install save jsxcontrolstatements babelrc file add plugins jsxcontrolstatements write conditioncanShowSecret Secret one case write Choose condition spanifspan condition spanelse ifspan Otherwise spanelsespan Otherwise Choose like case Otherwise like default switch statement Photo Roksolana Zasiadko Unsplash Conclusion many way render thing cleaning React component lot conditional statement may want use package listed want render list use array’s map method JavaScript Plain English Enjoyed article get similar content subscribing YouTube channelTags Software Development React JavaScript Programming Web Development
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5,091 |
Slope/Bump chart in QlikView
|
Visualizing ranking based on a metric for a given dimension over a time period is possible in QlikView chart object. Slope or Bump chart helps visualizing data for a top n analysis and change in ranking over the time period.
The visualization below shows ranking of Product Segment over a time period of six year. The chart help us to see the ranking of each Segment every year, and increase or decrease in the ranking. The top 3 ranking has remain same over the period of time, but changes are visible for ranking between 4 to 8.
Ranking of Product Segment over Year
I will demonstrate creating the above visualization in QlikView app. I already loaded the sample data and the model in the app.
Data Model
The Bump chart needs to two dimension and one measure. For my example, I will use the following fields for dimensions and measure :
Year for the DimDate table as first dimension Segment for the DimProduct table as second dimension Sum(Units*[Unit Price]) to calculate Rank
Below are the steps to build the above visualization:
Add a New Sheet object -> Chart.. On the General Tab enter the appropriate title, and select Line chart from the Chart type. Click next to Dimension Tab
General Tab
3. On the Dimension Tab add Year and Segment fields to the Used Dimension
Dimensions Tab
Turn off the Label for both dimension. Click Next to Expressions Tab
Dimensions Tab
4. Enter the ranking expression in the Edit Expression box and Click OK to close the box
Rank(Sum(Units*[Unit Price]))*(-1)
In the Label box enter Sales Rank
Expression Tab
Check the Symbol and Values on the Data Points check boxes. Change the Symbol to Dots, and Line to Smooth from the drop box.
Click on the Next button to Style Tab
6. Click on the Next button to Presentation Tab
Increase the Line Width and Symbol size
Presentation Tab
Click on the next button to Axes Tab
7. On the Axes Tab, check on the Hide Axis option
On the Dimension Axis, check on the Show Grid option. Select Thick Line on the Grid Style option
Axes Tab
Click the Next button to Colors Tab
8. Click on the Next button to Numbers Tab
Change the Number Format Settings to Integer, and change the Format Pattern to #,##0;#,##0
Number Tab
Click on the Next button to the Font Tab
9. Click on the Next button to the Caption Tab
Turn off any Special Icons, and Allow Minimize and Allow Maximize options
Caption Tab
Click Finish button to add the chart to the sheet.
10. Resize the chart to improve the chart readability.
Bump Chart
11. There is Null value in the Segment field. Right click on the chart and select Properties from the menu option.
Click on the Dimension Tab, and select Segment from the Used Dimensions. Check on the Suppress When Value is Null option and click OK to close the Chart Properties box.
Suppress Null on the Dimension Tab
12. The Legend on the right side of the chart takes spaces and it is difficult to read and check ranking for the Product Segment.
Turn it off on Presentation Tab of the Chart Property
Turn off the Legend on Presentation tab.
13. The chart is readable but the Product segment legend to color is missing. Adding the Product segment value to each line will provide better information.
Bump Chart without legends
14. On the Expression Tab of the Chart property add a new expression as
If(Year = 2011 or Year = 2016, Segment, ‘’) and empty label
Turn off the Line option
Turn on the Values on Data Points
Add Product Segment Label
Click OK to update the chart
Bump Chart with Dimension values
The hard coded value can be replaced with variable assigned using the Max and Min from the Year Field.
The chart organizes the Product segment ranking for the time period Year and thier changes in the position.
|
https://k-shivanand.medium.com/slope-bump-chart-in-qlikview-a3b21de24563
|
['Shivanand Kamath']
|
2020-12-17 01:56:06.980000+00:00
|
['Qlikview', 'Bump', 'Visualization', 'Visual Design', 'Ránking']
|
Title SlopeBump chart QlikViewContent Visualizing ranking based metric given dimension time period possible QlikView chart object Slope Bump chart help visualizing data top n analysis change ranking time period visualization show ranking Product Segment time period six year chart help u see ranking Segment every year increase decrease ranking top 3 ranking remain period time change visible ranking 4 8 Ranking Product Segment Year demonstrate creating visualization QlikView app already loaded sample data model app Data Model Bump chart need two dimension one measure example use following field dimension measure Year DimDate table first dimension Segment DimProduct table second dimension SumUnitsUnit Price calculate Rank step build visualization Add New Sheet object Chart General Tab enter appropriate title select Line chart Chart type Click next Dimension Tab General Tab 3 Dimension Tab add Year Segment field Used Dimension Dimensions Tab Turn Label dimension Click Next Expressions Tab Dimensions Tab 4 Enter ranking expression Edit Expression box Click OK close box RankSumUnitsUnit Price1 Label box enter Sales Rank Expression Tab Check Symbol Values Data Points check box Change Symbol Dots Line Smooth drop box Click Next button Style Tab 6 Click Next button Presentation Tab Increase Line Width Symbol size Presentation Tab Click next button Axes Tab 7 Axes Tab check Hide Axis option Dimension Axis check Show Grid option Select Thick Line Grid Style option Axes Tab Click Next button Colors Tab 8 Click Next button Numbers Tab Change Number Format Settings Integer change Format Pattern 00 Number Tab Click Next button Font Tab 9 Click Next button Caption Tab Turn Special Icons Allow Minimize Allow Maximize option Caption Tab Click Finish button add chart sheet 10 Resize chart improve chart readability Bump Chart 11 Null value Segment field Right click chart select Properties menu option Click Dimension Tab select Segment Used Dimensions Check Suppress Value Null option click OK close Chart Properties box Suppress Null Dimension Tab 12 Legend right side chart take space difficult read check ranking Product Segment Turn Presentation Tab Chart Property Turn Legend Presentation tab 13 chart readable Product segment legend color missing Adding Product segment value line provide better information Bump Chart without legend 14 Expression Tab Chart property add new expression IfYear 2011 Year 2016 Segment ‘’ empty label Turn Line option Turn Values Data Points Add Product Segment Label Click OK update chart Bump Chart Dimension value hard coded value replaced variable assigned using Max Min Year Field chart organizes Product segment ranking time period Year thier change positionTags Qlikview Bump Visualization Visual Design Ránking
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5,092 |
Storiqa Presented Multicurrency Payment Solution at RISE 2018 HK
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More than 16,000 visitors, 700 journalists, 760 start-ups from 120 countries attended the most powerful tech conference RISE, bringing together some of the most brilliant minds in tech from around the globe. Storiqa COO Andrian Galkin gave a presentation on Growth Summit stage, which is dedicated to the companies of the future: startups were given an opportunity to present their ideas and share their experiences. Andrian Galkin presented the company, highlighting our multicurrency solution Storiqa Wallet.
“RISE conference is a perfect place to present your company and meet other technological startups and giants. Storiqa is pleased to be able to share and exchange our developments as a blockchain marketplace and e wallet, we had a great time sharing our successful token sale and product development as a platform” says Senior Vice President, Alan Wong.
Also, we met reporters, anchors, and bloggers from the most influential international media.
Anastasia Taved (Storiqa PR director) and Steven Ten (cryptoticker.io)
Anastasia Taved gave an interview for cryptoticker.io. You will find the articles using links:
For all German speaking members:
Forbes Contributor Sam Ameen interviewed Andrian Galkin:
Moreover, Michelle Chang, TED Talks moderator, has invited Storiqa to lead next technology section of TED Talks in HK in January.
RISE 2018 — a great event for the world’s biggest companies and most exciting startups. The audience is very modern and is not confused challenging and bold ideas. IoT, AI, AR, blockchain were discussed at the conference most actively (what a surprise). “The optimism at the RISE technology conference here in Hong Kong is palpable” says BBC and we absolutely agree. We are sure that the number of supporters of cryptoshopping with STQ will increase! 🚀
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https://medium.com/storiqa/storiqa-presented-multicurrency-payment-solution-at-rise-2018-hk-e8a0d8f046f9
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[]
|
2018-07-19 17:51:32.085000+00:00
|
['Event', 'Startup', 'Storiqa', 'Stqbusiness', 'Crypto']
|
Title Storiqa Presented Multicurrency Payment Solution RISE 2018 HKContent 16000 visitor 700 journalist 760 startup 120 country attended powerful tech conference RISE bringing together brilliant mind tech around globe Storiqa COO Andrian Galkin gave presentation Growth Summit stage dedicated company future startup given opportunity present idea share experience Andrian Galkin presented company highlighting multicurrency solution Storiqa Wallet “RISE conference perfect place present company meet technological startup giant Storiqa pleased able share exchange development blockchain marketplace e wallet great time sharing successful token sale product development platform” say Senior Vice President Alan Wong Also met reporter anchor blogger influential international medium Anastasia Taved Storiqa PR director Steven Ten cryptotickerio Anastasia Taved gave interview cryptotickerio find article using link German speaking member Forbes Contributor Sam Ameen interviewed Andrian Galkin Moreover Michelle Chang TED Talks moderator invited Storiqa lead next technology section TED Talks HK January RISE 2018 — great event world’s biggest company exciting startup audience modern confused challenging bold idea IoT AI AR blockchain discussed conference actively surprise “The optimism RISE technology conference Hong Kong palpable” say BBC absolutely agree sure number supporter cryptoshopping STQ increase 🚀Tags Event Startup Storiqa Stqbusiness Crypto
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5,093 |
Two Sides of The Same Distribution: Permutations
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Two Sides of The Same Distribution: Permutations
Recently, I’ve been spending more time getting to know the statistical side of the python programming language primarily in relation to visualizing certain characteristics and ideas. I thought I would share a quick tutorial on how one might go about determining whether two populations share a common distribution. The data that I will be using is NBA data sampled from the 2016 season and exhibits features such as the player’s name,the team they play for, their position, their age, their height, their weight, their salary and college attended.
For this example I will be focusing on player position in relation to salary earned.
First, you probably want to do an inspection of the features that you’re most interested in to get a feel for the spread of the data. Below is a boxplot showcasing the salary distribution as it relates to player position:
I should also note that all missing values had been discarded from the dataset reducing the number of observations to 364 rows from 458.
As you can see from the above boxplot many of the positions have similar distributions. The IQR’s for all plots seem to overlap, but there are some distinctions in that the center position appears to, on average, pay the most while the shooting guard position posesses the smallest median salary. That being said for this example, I’m interested in determining if the distributions between two groups are similar and by the looks of it the point guard position and power forward position have like distributions.
We can use permutations to recreate samples of both sets of salary information as it relates to the positions and reassign the new values to assist in the creation of an empirical cumulative distribution plot which will be subsequently compared to the individual ecdf’s of our original data.
First, we want to seperate salary information by each of the positions ultimately creating two seperate arrays. This is relatively straightforward using the pandas library of python
Secondly, we want to construct our function that will help in the construction of the ecdf’s.
then we would like to create a function that will take both arrays and combine them, permute them and then reassign them.
If the salary distributions for either position are essentially the same then it shouldn’t matter if we were to freely reassign samples from either distribution .
The above plot was generated by simulating fifty permutations and plotting each distributions respective ecdf. The dark blue line demonstrates the ecdf of the original point guard salary distribution while the red line denotes the ecdf of the original power forward salary distribution. The haze in between are the repeated ecdfs of the fifity permutions executed. If the two distributions were indeed similar then we would expect to see the original empirical distribution functions overlap with those of the permutations. In this graph we see just that! Implying that the distributions are indeed similar.
To further illustrate that the distributions are alike we can dig a little deeper by establishing a test statistic, the mean difference between the two original distributions. If we use the same logic as above we can use permutations to reconstruct this test statistic repeatedly and ultimately compare it to the actual or observed value.
Dummy function for test statistic
The above plot was constructed by generating 10,000 samples of our test statistic via the pre-defined functions we assembled earlier. The dashed line represents the observed value which is $456,081.27.
Where permuted_diff represents the permutation of 10,000 samples we can assess the probability of obtaining the observed value or some value more extreme, commonly known as the p-value. In this case the p-value is rather large and thus we have no evidence that suggest that the two distributions are not alike.
|
https://medium.com/statistical-discourse-by-phil-frederick/two-sides-of-the-same-distribution-permutations-a1548c593b3e
|
['Phil Frederick']
|
2019-10-22 18:53:14.077000+00:00
|
['Data Science', 'Tutorial', 'Statistics', 'Python']
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Title Two Sides Distribution PermutationsContent Two Sides Distribution Permutations Recently I’ve spending time getting know statistical side python programming language primarily relation visualizing certain characteristic idea thought would share quick tutorial one might go determining whether two population share common distribution data using NBA data sampled 2016 season exhibit feature player’s namethe team play position age height weight salary college attended example focusing player position relation salary earned First probably want inspection feature you’re interested get feel spread data boxplot showcasing salary distribution relates player position also note missing value discarded dataset reducing number observation 364 row 458 see boxplot many position similar distribution IQR’s plot seem overlap distinction center position appears average pay shooting guard position pose smallest median salary said example I’m interested determining distribution two group similar look point guard position power forward position like distribution use permutation recreate sample set salary information relates position reassign new value assist creation empirical cumulative distribution plot subsequently compared individual ecdf’s original data First want seperate salary information position ultimately creating two seperate array relatively straightforward using panda library python Secondly want construct function help construction ecdf’s would like create function take array combine permute reassign salary distribution either position essentially shouldn’t matter freely reassign sample either distribution plot generated simulating fifty permutation plotting distribution respective ecdf dark blue line demonstrates ecdf original point guard salary distribution red line denotes ecdf original power forward salary distribution haze repeated ecdfs fifity permutions executed two distribution indeed similar would expect see original empirical distribution function overlap permutation graph see Implying distribution indeed similar illustrate distribution alike dig little deeper establishing test statistic mean difference two original distribution use logic use permutation reconstruct test statistic repeatedly ultimately compare actual observed value Dummy function test statistic plot constructed generating 10000 sample test statistic via predefined function assembled earlier dashed line represents observed value 45608127 permuteddiff represents permutation 10000 sample ass probability obtaining observed value value extreme commonly known pvalue case pvalue rather large thus evidence suggest two distribution alikeTags Data Science Tutorial Statistics Python
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5,094 |
No, “The Crown” Doesn’t Need a Disclaimer That It’s Fiction
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No, “The Crown” Doesn’t Need a Disclaimer That It’s Fiction
Who would believe it anyway?
Image available from IMDB.com
God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen;
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us . . .
And please, God, please, make her look good on Netflix.
Since 2016, the streaming service has been home to The Crown, a series about the life and reign of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. Over 73 million households have watched the series; mine is one of them. Season 4 just dropped, and it looks like it will be even better than the first three. I can’t wait to dive in and laugh, cry, maybe throw pillows at the screen.
One emotion I don’t expect to feel: confusion.
The show is fiction. Historical fiction, yes: the characters were, and are, actual people. But as I watch, I know what I’m seeing is artifice based on events, not the events themselves.
This puts me in a minority, apparently.
British Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden thinks The Crown should include a disclaimer emphasizing its untruth. Earl Charles Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, agrees: “People see a program like that, and they forget that it is fiction.” Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Princess Margaret in the series, is also on board, saying the producers have “a moral responsibility to say, ‘Hang on guys, this is not … it’s not a drama-doc, we’re making a drama.’”
Few people, I think, confuse documentaries and dramas. Documentaries have narrators. They use still photos and video clips, and awkward interviews with college professors. They don’t hire Bellatrix Lestrange, Dick Solomon, or the Eleventh Doctor for live-action sequences. You don’t watch a documentary and think, “Is this real?” Questioning whether something is real is proof that it was written as fiction.
Besides, every viewer has the opportunity to Google anything they find weird or curious. In fact, that’s part of the viewing experience, according to one critic:
Consider Peter Townsend, the equerry whose doomed romance with Princess Margaret is depicted in the show’s first season. In the month before “The Crown” debuted in November 2016, Townsend’s Wikipedia page drew an average of 669 visitors a day. In the month following its debut, the number of daily visitors grew exponentially to 45,676.
The series is full of nuggets like this, showing the crew’s fealty to research, which is handled by a five-person team (most shows use only one or two). I pause episodes to look up stuff all the time, which means I’ve learned more about British history from my sofa than any classroom chair. I haven’t learned it from the show; I’ve learned it because of the show, which calls into question generations of critics who claimed that TV makes us stupid.
Crirics like Frank Lloyd Wright, who called television “chewing gum for the eyes.”
Harlan Ellison, for whom it was “the great enervator of the American people.”
Ray Bradbury, who called it “that insidious beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people to stone every night, staring fixedly, that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little.”
To them, I say: shut up, bitches. The Crown is active viewing. A worldwide, real-time study group. Fortnite for fact-checkers.
|
https://medium.com/fan-fare/no-the-crown-doesnt-need-a-fiction-disclaimer-828c3b5e01ad
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['Anthony Aycock']
|
2020-12-17 13:28:56.465000+00:00
|
['Television', 'TV Series', 'Britain', 'Hollywood', 'Writing']
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Title “The Crown” Doesn’t Need Disclaimer It’s FictionContent “The Crown” Doesn’t Need Disclaimer It’s Fiction would believe anyway Image available IMDBcom God save gracious Queen Long live noble Queen God save Queen Send victorious Happy glorious Long reign u please God please make look good Netflix Since 2016 streaming service home Crown series life reign Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II 73 million household watched series mine one Season 4 dropped look like even better first three can’t wait dive laugh cry maybe throw pillow screen One emotion don’t expect feel confusion show fiction Historical fiction yes character actual people watch know I’m seeing artifice based event event put minority apparently British Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden think Crown include disclaimer emphasizing untruth Earl Charles Spencer Princess Diana’s brother agrees “People see program like forget fiction” Helena Bonham Carter play Princess Margaret series also board saying producer “a moral responsibility say ‘Hang guy … it’s dramadoc we’re making drama’” people think confuse documentary drama Documentaries narrator use still photo video clip awkward interview college professor don’t hire Bellatrix Lestrange Dick Solomon Eleventh Doctor liveaction sequence don’t watch documentary think “Is real” Questioning whether something real proof written fiction Besides every viewer opportunity Google anything find weird curious fact that’s part viewing experience according one critic Consider Peter Townsend equerry whose doomed romance Princess Margaret depicted show’s first season month “The Crown” debuted November 2016 Townsend’s Wikipedia page drew average 669 visitor day month following debut number daily visitor grew exponentially 45676 series full nugget like showing crew’s fealty research handled fiveperson team show use one two pause episode look stuff time mean I’ve learned British history sofa classroom chair haven’t learned show I’ve learned show call question generation critic claimed TV make u stupid Crirics like Frank Lloyd Wright called television “chewing gum eyes” Harlan Ellison “the great enervator American people” Ray Bradbury called “that insidious beast Medusa freeze billion people stone every night staring fixedly Siren called sang promised much gave little” say shut bitch Crown active viewing worldwide realtime study group Fortnite factcheckersTags Television TV Series Britain Hollywood Writing
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5,095 |
How to Scrape a Static Website
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A really quick tutorial
Prerequisites: Knowledge of React.js will be required for this tutorial.
Let’s say you want to pull data from the frontend of a website because there’s no API available. You inspect the page and see that the data is available in the HTML, so how do you gather that information to be used in your app? It’s rather simple, we’re going to install two libraries and write less than 50 lines of code to demonstrate the scraping of a website. To keep this tutorial simple, we’ll use https://pokedex.org/ as our example.
In terminal:
create-react-app scraping-demo
cd scraping-demo
npm i request-promise
npm i cheerio
2. We’re going to start by using request-promise to get the HTML from https://pokedex.org/ into a console log.
In App.js:
3. Sometimes you may come across a CORS error blocking you from fetching. For demonstration purposes, try fetching pokemon.com
rp("https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/")
You should see an error like this in the console:
4. You can get around CORS by using https://cors-anywhere.herokuapp.com. Simply add that URL before your desired fetch URL like so:
rp("https://cors-anywhere.herokuapp.com/https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/")
Now you should be able to see the HTML from pokemon.com show in your console.
5. But we won’t have to use cors-anywhere for rp("https://pokedex.org/") , so let’s proceed
6. Now that we have the HTML, let’s use the cheerio library to help us grab the exact data that we want from desired element tags. In this example, we’ll grab all the names of the pokemon then display them in a list.
In App.js:
7. You should see a list of all the pokemon names display onto your screen:
It’s that simple! You scraped those names from the HTML without having to directly access any backend. Now try scraping the examples on http://toscrape.com/ for practice. Enjoy your new abilities!
|
https://medium.com/swlh/how-to-scrape-a-static-website-846bd9c6ed28
|
['Robert Chen']
|
2020-11-07 14:44:02.600000+00:00
|
['JavaScript', 'React', 'Frontend', 'Data', 'Web Scraping']
|
Title Scrape Static WebsiteContent really quick tutorial Prerequisites Knowledge Reactjs required tutorial Let’s say want pull data frontend website there’s API available inspect page see data available HTML gather information used app It’s rather simple we’re going install two library write le 50 line code demonstrate scraping website keep tutorial simple we’ll use httpspokedexorg example terminal createreactapp scrapingdemo cd scrapingdemo npm requestpromise npm cheerio 2 We’re going start using requestpromise get HTML httpspokedexorg console log Appjs 3 Sometimes may come across CORS error blocking fetching demonstration purpose try fetching pokemoncom rphttpswwwpokemoncomuspokedex see error like console 4 get around CORS using httpscorsanywhereherokuappcom Simply add URL desired fetch URL like rphttpscorsanywhereherokuappcomhttpswwwpokemoncomuspokedex able see HTML pokemoncom show console 5 won’t use corsanywhere rphttpspokedexorg let’s proceed 6 HTML let’s use cheerio library help u grab exact data want desired element tag example we’ll grab name pokemon display list Appjs 7 see list pokemon name display onto screen It’s simple scraped name HTML without directly access backend try scraping example httptoscrapecom practice Enjoy new abilitiesTags JavaScript React Frontend Data Web Scraping
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5,096 |
The Hardest Stoic Spiritual Exercise and Why It’s Crucial for Happiness
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Zeno, the founder of Stoicism in ancient Greece, is said to have begun his studies in philosophy by tutoring under Crates, a cynic. One of the first things that Zeno learned, as a result, was to practice not being ashamed of things that were not shameful.
To reinforce this lesson, Crates apparently had Zeno walk around with a pot full of lentil soup in public places. When he saw that Zeno was embarrassed and tried to keep the pot out of sight, Crates broke it by striking it with his staff. Zeno ran away, mortified. When he did, Crates called out:
“Why run away, my little Phoenician? Nothing terrible has befallen you” (DL 7.3).
And, of course, nothing bad had happened to Zeno. He only worried that other people might think ill of him. And this worrying about what other people thought was something that Zeno eventually learned to overcome.
It’s something that you and I, everyone really, must learn if we are ever going to be happy and live a good life.
Because if you want to achieve that goal, if you want to live a good life, then you need to be (relatively) unconcerned with other people’s opinions for two reasons. First, you will otherwise end up living the life that they think you should have, not yours. Second, you will otherwise end up playing a game — the recognition game — that you cannot win.
I think the first point is obvious. If you are always trying to please other people, to live by what they think, then there will be nothing left of your life for you to decide.
The second point is pretty obvious too: there is always a bigger fish. If you think that you can win the recognition game, you are wrong.
To illustrate, think of it this way. Marketers developed what is called a Q-Score to measure how popular various celebrities are. Their goal was to allow large firms to use those scores to more effectively advertise to their fan base. At one point, Obama was on top of that list. Now, he’s not (because he’s just not in the news as much). Even if you win at that game, in short, you will be replaced.
What these points mean is that we all need to learn, we all need to practice, not worrying about other people’s opinions about us. And while there are actually harder Stoic actions — such as dying freely — this practice is the hardest of the daily activities you could perform.
The 20th-century philosopher of Greek antiquity, Pierre Hadot, called these practices that help you become a better person “spiritual exercises,” because they are like medicine for your soul, rather than your body.
To put the goal memorably: to live an invulnerable life, you must practice daily vulnerability.
In less paradoxical language, to achieve Stoic happiness, where events outside your control don’t ruin your life, you have to address the sources of your shame — you have to be vulnerable.
The exercise of vulnerability understood in the way that people normally think of that concept then, is nothing but courage, as the Stoics thought of that. That’s my main claim.
What I am going to do is explain two spiritual exercises concerning shame and vulnerability following the Stoics, so that you can learn to live a happier life. In that explanation, I’ll also make my case that what’s at stake is courage.
Let’s begin with the easier version of these exercises.
Social Vulnerability
We no longer have the Republic that Zeno wrote, but apparently it was controversial in classical antiquity. He prohibited the building of temples, law courts and gymnasiums in his supposed “utopia.” Further, Diogenes tells us,
“He bids men and women wear the same dress and keep no part of the body entirely covered” (DL 7.33–34).
Why would Zeno want people to wear androgynous clothes that didn’t cover all parts of your body?
The Stoic lesson here seems to be that people become too conscious of what other people think about them, and they try, wrongly, to conform to social norms. These include how certain genders should act and the idea that some parts of the body are shameful.
This doesn’t mean that to practice Stoic vulnerability you should wear a sack cloth or wander around naked (though maybe Zeno would have liked nudism?).
To practice social vulnerability, the main thing you need to do is learn not to be trapped by social categories and expectations about them. I’ll give you some examples broken down by gender (since that’s an important social category).
For men, the challenge can be put this way: can you do “girly” things? Could you, for example, order a Cosmo as a drink? Could you go to a Yoga class?
For women, the challenge can’t be to perform masculine activities — at least not simply. The reason is that when women do masculine things, they still tend to be thought good, or at least not so bad. A woman, for example, who can chug a beer in four seconds will command the respect of the bros at the local bar.
A better example, then, might be the no-makeup challenges that you see celebrities perform occasionally. When not using makeup, women aren’t explicitly crossing into masculine categories — it’s just vulnerability.
A friend of mine practiced vulnerability as a woman in an unusual way. She had been dating a guy (also a friend) for a bit. After going to dinner, the meal just didn’t sit well with her. So she simply announced that fact and then farted in the car. Not exactly the sexiest thing for a woman to do, but her boyfriend laughed it off … and they’re engaged now. So something good came of that show of vulnerability.
How to Practice This
Whatever your gender, what you are after is an “affective cognition”, a feeling. The thought goes like this:
They are looking at me … and I’m not as I’m “supposed” to be.
The Stoics called this an immediate impression. It’s not fully rational yet. You need to stop yourself from just agreeing to these impressions, so that you can figure out if they are right.
The crucial part is to discern whether the evaluative portion of that feeling makes sense. Yes, they are looking at me. But that’s not a big deal. Also, yes, I’m not conforming to social norms — I’m not as I’m “supposed” to be. But why does that matter? Why is that bad?
What was so wrong about Zeno holding a pot of lentils in public? What’s so bad about a guy ordering a Cosmo? What’s so terrible about a woman farting? Nothing.
Find that feeling and learn to separate out that part that holds that it’s a bad thing. It’s not. Your life as a whole is not going worse because of what “they” think. But if you give into that irrational first impression, then it just might.
How This Exercise Will Shift Your Life
This spiritual exercise will build your courage. I hope that’s obvious. It takes courage to wander around in public holding a pot of soup, or with a big girly Cosmo (if you’re a guy). It takes courage to fart in front of your boyfriend and hopes that he’ll still like you.
But you need the courage to live your life and not the life that “they” say you should live.
To understand how much that is worth, consider it this way. Can you put a price tag on living your own life?
Suppose a billionaire says that they will pay you a very large sum of money if you agree just to live according to their every whim for a year. How much would you ask for?
What if it was for ten years? How much would you ask for in that case?
Then why are you giving your life away for free? Why are you right now doing what “they” say without charging anything at all?
Personal Vulnerability
The second kind of spiritual exercise turns on what might be called “personal vulnerability.” Unlike the last group, the focus isn’t on social categories. Rather, it’s on what you think about yourself as a person.
Are you an athlete? A chemist? An entrepreneur? A writer? Those are categories of personal self-conception. They’re also where our deepest vulnerabilities lie. Zeno again proves to be a useful guide here.
After having practised and having taught philosophy for a while, Zeno realized that he still needed to improve his logical knowledge. So he went to go learn from the logical philosopher Polemo at his school … and Polemo noticed.
He called Zeno out saying:
“You slip in, Zeno, by the garden door — I’m quite aware of it — you filch my teachings and give them a Phoenician twist [to pass them off as your own]” (DL 7.25).
Zeno continued going anyway.
Think about that for a little bit. Zeno thought of himself as a philosopher, taught as a philosopher, made a living by his reputation as a master philosopher. Yet, despite this, he realized that his understanding of logic could use some help. So he then went to the school of another philosopher as a student. Then, the master of that school made fun of him for it … and Zeno still went.
The vulnerability at stake here (like the last one) isn’t about a trauma (go to counselling for that), but it is about something really personal. It’s about how you think of yourself, and about your vulnerabilities at the core of your identity.
I’ll give you another story to flesh out the practice. To be fair, and consistent, I’ve got to do one about myself.
So I’m a professional philosopher in the university system of the United States. This means that I’m supposed to be able to research, get my work accepted at peer-reviewed public conferences, and get it published in peer-reviewed journals. The core of who I am is wrapped up in this.
Three years into graduate school, I had not figured this process out. I was supposed to be smart. But I couldn’t get anything accepted into conferences, much less into peer-reviewed journals.
My wife started grad school two years after I did. She was also a theatre major as an undergraduate student and switched into philosophy. Yet she was able to get her work accepted into a peer-reviewed conference her very first year, and she did that while I was still struggling.
I took the advice of “keep on keeping on,” and after much trying, I finally landed … a commentary … on another graduate student’s talk.
The mountain of rejections was difficult to handle, in part because conference applications tend to (or at least tended to) come twice a year, and there’s a lot of lag time in between. So your failures linger for months.
I figured it out eventually … after doing something a little like Zeno. I decided to let go of the idea that I knew how to write philosophy.
Instead, I set myself the task of reviewing a stack of journals to figure out commonalities among all the publications. I worked as a sociologist, basically, coding up what was published, how common certain topics were, etc.
Then, after an embarrassing amount of time doing meta- work, I discovered that philosophers only make about 15 publishable types of arguments. Really only four of those are both accessible to grad students and regularly appeared in print. And of those, two looked to be the most regularly published. I focused my efforts on just those formats … and it worked.
So, I ate humble pie about something at the core of my identity until I figured it out. That’s the idea at stake in the Stoic exercise of personal vulnerability.
How to Practice This
Just like in the last practice, there is a feeling and train of thought at work here. It goes something like this:
I’m supposed to be an x.
Xs are people who do y.
But I’m failing at y.
So I must be a failure as an X.
And because of that, I am a failure.
There is an insidious slide going on here, and you need to stop the spiral.
I’m not going to say that you need to stop thinking of what you are doing as failing. It was crucial that Zeno recognized that he was, really, failing at his logical exposition. It was crucial that I recognized that I didn’t know how to write professional academic papers. Neither of us could have improved without those realizations.
What you need to stop is the slide from outcomes, what you are failing at, to states, who you are. That’s the mistake. The challenge, in a question, is: can you think just the facts of this matter and let the irrational evaluation go?
Here’s another way to think of this practice: can you tell your own shame story? Maybe not to someone else, but at least to yourself?
You want to get to the point where you can recognize past shameful events as just what happened. You need to learn to accept them as what they are, and that they are ok.
How This Exercise Will Shift Your Life
Facing failure is hard. Facing failure about the most intimate aspects of your personality is exponentially more difficult.
But you have to do it. You need the courage to recognize what is going on, to face the sources of your shame, and then address it.
To think about how much this is worth to you, imagine a scenario parallel to the last one.
Suppose that you meet a billionaire and, because he is bored, he gives you the following offer. He says: I will pay you an enormous sum of money, name your price. You only have to give up ever achieving your dreams. And when you think of new dreams, you cannot pursue those either.
You can live a life of ease. You won’t have to work, and you can travel. But you can’t ever achieve anything of value. In fact, as soon as you become modestly good at something, you must quit, forever.
To be clear, this is not just about pursuits that could give you status or recognition. You can’t even be good as a parent or a lover. Those are achievements too, and they are especially valuable, so you can’t have those either.
How much money would you demand in that case? Would it ever be worth it?
Then why are you giving up on yourself for free?
Stoicism as a Way of Life
Practising vulnerability is exercising courage. And without courage, you will not accomplish anything that has real value, that is good, in your life.
That has been my primary thesis, and I hope it makes sense now.
This piece began from a conversation I had with a contemporary, practising Stoic. We had an intuitive disagreement.
He couldn’t put his finger on what he didn’t like about my article “Why Happiness is ‘Flow’ for the Stoics and How You Can Sustain it.” At base, he thought that the example that I used of Stoic flow was too “soft.” He wanted a “hardcore” Stoicism.
To his mind, Stoicism should focus on more exemplary deeds, like Cato the Younger’s suicide. Not the daily life of ordinary people.
Those are good points, but I worry that pitching Stoicism in that way makes it a haven for machismo. Giving into machismo will prevent the growth you need; it’s cowardice masquerading as courage.
The Stoics didn’t need external validation of their masculinity (or femininity), because they deliberately practised addressing their sources of shame; they practised vulnerability.
This is the hardest practice you can do on a daily basis. It’s also the most important.
I hope you learned something and thank you for reading.
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https://medium.com/illumination-curated/the-hardest-stoic-spiritual-exercise-and-why-its-crucial-for-happiness-d98b48ea17ad
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['Sebastian Purcell']
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2020-10-13 13:16:39.152000+00:00
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['Self-awareness', 'Life Lessons', 'Stoicism', 'Philosophy', 'Personal Development']
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Title Hardest Stoic Spiritual Exercise It’s Crucial HappinessContent Zeno founder Stoicism ancient Greece said begun study philosophy tutoring Crates cynic One first thing Zeno learned result practice ashamed thing shameful reinforce lesson Crates apparently Zeno walk around pot full lentil soup public place saw Zeno embarrassed tried keep pot sight Crates broke striking staff Zeno ran away mortified Crates called “Why run away little Phoenician Nothing terrible befallen you” DL 73 course nothing bad happened Zeno worried people might think ill worrying people thought something Zeno eventually learned overcome It’s something everyone really must learn ever going happy live good life want achieve goal want live good life need relatively unconcerned people’s opinion two reason First otherwise end living life think Second otherwise end playing game — recognition game — cannot win think first point obvious always trying please people live think nothing left life decide second point pretty obvious always bigger fish think win recognition game wrong illustrate think way Marketers developed called QScore measure popular various celebrity goal allow large firm use score effectively advertise fan base one point Obama top list he’s he’s news much Even win game short replaced point mean need learn need practice worrying people’s opinion u actually harder Stoic action — dying freely — practice hardest daily activity could perform 20thcentury philosopher Greek antiquity Pierre Hadot called practice help become better person “spiritual exercises” like medicine soul rather body put goal memorably live invulnerable life must practice daily vulnerability le paradoxical language achieve Stoic happiness event outside control don’t ruin life address source shame — vulnerable exercise vulnerability understood way people normally think concept nothing courage Stoics thought That’s main claim going explain two spiritual exercise concerning shame vulnerability following Stoics learn live happier life explanation I’ll also make case what’s stake courage Let’s begin easier version exercise Social Vulnerability longer Republic Zeno wrote apparently controversial classical antiquity prohibited building temple law court gymnasium supposed “utopia” Diogenes tell u “He bid men woman wear dress keep part body entirely covered” DL 733–34 would Zeno want people wear androgynous clothes didn’t cover part body Stoic lesson seems people become conscious people think try wrongly conform social norm include certain gender act idea part body shameful doesn’t mean practice Stoic vulnerability wear sack cloth wander around naked though maybe Zeno would liked nudism practice social vulnerability main thing need learn trapped social category expectation I’ll give example broken gender since that’s important social category men challenge put way “girly” thing Could example order Cosmo drink Could go Yoga class woman challenge can’t perform masculine activity — least simply reason woman masculine thing still tend thought good least bad woman example chug beer four second command respect bros local bar better example might nomakeup challenge see celebrity perform occasionally using makeup woman aren’t explicitly crossing masculine category — it’s vulnerability friend mine practiced vulnerability woman unusual way dating guy also friend bit going dinner meal didn’t sit well simply announced fact farted car exactly sexiest thing woman boyfriend laughed … they’re engaged something good came show vulnerability Practice Whatever gender “affective cognition” feeling thought go like looking … I’m I’m “supposed” Stoics called immediate impression It’s fully rational yet need stop agreeing impression figure right crucial part discern whether evaluative portion feeling make sense Yes looking that’s big deal Also yes I’m conforming social norm — I’m I’m “supposed” matter bad wrong Zeno holding pot lentil public What’s bad guy ordering Cosmo What’s terrible woman farting Nothing Find feeling learn separate part hold it’s bad thing It’s life whole going worse “they” think give irrational first impression might Exercise Shift Life spiritual exercise build courage hope that’s obvious take courage wander around public holding pot soup big girly Cosmo you’re guy take courage fart front boyfriend hope he’ll still like need courage live life life “they” say live understand much worth consider way put price tag living life Suppose billionaire say pay large sum money agree live according every whim year much would ask ten year much would ask case giving life away free right “they” say without charging anything Personal Vulnerability second kind spiritual exercise turn might called “personal vulnerability” Unlike last group focus isn’t social category Rather it’s think person athlete chemist entrepreneur writer category personal selfconception They’re also deepest vulnerability lie Zeno prof useful guide practised taught philosophy Zeno realized still needed improve logical knowledge went go learn logical philosopher Polemo school … Polemo noticed called Zeno saying “You slip Zeno garden door — I’m quite aware — filch teaching give Phoenician twist pas own” DL 725 Zeno continued going anyway Think little bit Zeno thought philosopher taught philosopher made living reputation master philosopher Yet despite realized understanding logic could use help went school another philosopher student master school made fun … Zeno still went vulnerability stake like last one isn’t trauma go counselling something really personal It’s think vulnerability core identity I’ll give another story flesh practice fair consistent I’ve got one I’m professional philosopher university system United States mean I’m supposed able research get work accepted peerreviewed public conference get published peerreviewed journal core wrapped Three year graduate school figured process supposed smart couldn’t get anything accepted conference much le peerreviewed journal wife started grad school two year also theatre major undergraduate student switched philosophy Yet able get work accepted peerreviewed conference first year still struggling took advice “keep keeping on” much trying finally landed … commentary … another graduate student’s talk mountain rejection difficult handle part conference application tend least tended come twice year there’s lot lag time failure linger month figured eventually … something little like Zeno decided let go idea knew write philosophy Instead set task reviewing stack journal figure commonality among publication worked sociologist basically coding published common certain topic etc embarrassing amount time meta work discovered philosopher make 15 publishable type argument Really four accessible grad student regularly appeared print two looked regularly published focused effort format … worked ate humble pie something core identity figured That’s idea stake Stoic exercise personal vulnerability Practice like last practice feeling train thought work go something like I’m supposed x Xs people I’m failing must failure X failure insidious slide going need stop spiral I’m going say need stop thinking failing crucial Zeno recognized really failing logical exposition crucial recognized didn’t know write professional academic paper Neither u could improved without realization need stop slide outcome failing state That’s mistake challenge question think fact matter let irrational evaluation go Here’s another way think practice tell shame story Maybe someone else least want get point recognize past shameful event happened need learn accept ok Exercise Shift Life Facing failure hard Facing failure intimate aspect personality exponentially difficult need courage recognize going face source shame address think much worth imagine scenario parallel last one Suppose meet billionaire bored give following offer say pay enormous sum money name price give ever achieving dream think new dream cannot pursue either live life ease won’t work travel can’t ever achieve anything value fact soon become modestly good something must quit forever clear pursuit could give status recognition can’t even good parent lover achievement especially valuable can’t either much money would demand case Would ever worth giving free Stoicism Way Life Practising vulnerability exercising courage without courage accomplish anything real value good life primary thesis hope make sense piece began conversation contemporary practising Stoic intuitive disagreement couldn’t put finger didn’t like article “Why Happiness ‘Flow’ Stoics Sustain it” base thought example used Stoic flow “soft” wanted “hardcore” Stoicism mind Stoicism focus exemplary deed like Cato Younger’s suicide daily life ordinary people good point worry pitching Stoicism way make machismo Giving machismo prevent growth need it’s cowardice masquerading courage Stoics didn’t need external validation masculinity femininity deliberately practised addressing source shame practised vulnerability hardest practice daily basis It’s also important hope learned something thank readingTags Selfawareness Life Lessons Stoicism Philosophy Personal Development
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5,097 |
Changing input size of pre-trained models in Keras
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Keras is a useful API for deep learning that also includes various pretrained models that you can used for transfer learning.
UPDATE! Now works with tf.keras!
The Keras API
Keras is a high level API (Application Programming Interface) for deep learning. That is it does not itself implement deep learning functionality but is built on-top of existing deep learning frameworks such as Tensorflow and provides improved functionality, faster implementation cycles, and added features. One of its most useful features is that it provided access to a large pool of existing deep learning models which are pre-trained on ImageNet (a rather time consuming and computationally demanding process). Hence, it facilitates transfer learning which is the process of re-purposing an existing deep learning model for another task.
One of the challenges/limitations of the existing approach is that the deep learning models come with reconfigured architecture and support a particularly input image size. But what if we want to use them for a smaller or larger image size?
Well thankfully there is a workaround for this which I discovered recently on this stackoverflow post. I will go through this process in this post and will also post a colab link to the code so that anyone can freely play with it.
Deep dive into code
The main function that performs the modification of the network to support the new image size is the following:
The function that creates a new model based on the JSON specification
The function first changes the input shape parameters of the network. At this point the internals of the model have not been registered. To register them we first convert the keras model to the JSON specification and then read it back essentially converting it to the keras model. Through this conversion the model is recreated but using the provided tensor shapes as input thus it modifies all the internal parameters to fit to this particular image size.
Lets look at a real example next. Lets consider the MobileNet V1 model which makes use of depthwise separable convolutions and is considered an efficient deep neural network for image understanding tasks (classification/detection/segmentation). When loading the model with ImageNet weights you can only specify a few input size images otherwise an error message is prompted on screen. By examining the input size of a loaded MobileNet model we observe that the default input size is 224x224.
Initial MobileNet Structure with input 224x224
Using the change_model function with an input size of 130x130 (which is not listed on the default MobileNet inputsizes)on the initial MobileNet model effectively changes its receptive input image size.
new_model = change_model(MobileNet,new_input_shape=(None, 128, 128, 3))
Adapted MobileNet Structure for input size 130x130
Notice that the input size has been halved as well as the subsequent feature maps produced by the internal layers. The model has been adapted to a new input image size.
Lets test it on an input image. For this we use an image from the cifar10 dataset which comes with keras and features similar classes to ImageNet. This makes it easier to reproduce the results since all is build in to keras. We load a truck image as shown below (image number 1 from the default cifar10 dataset as included in keras). Since the cifar10 images are of size 32x32 we upscale it to 130x130 and proceed to classify it with the modified MobileNet.
(top) cifar10 original image of size 32x32 (middle) resized image (bottom) MobileNet Predictions
Notice that the network outputs relevant labels, even though the image is blurry and almost half of the size it has been trained on demonstrating that the weights have been loaded correctly and the network retains its discrimination capabilities which are useful for transfer learning.
Remarks
Keras is a powerful tool and the pre-trained models it provides facilitate an excellent starting point for deep learning projects. Re-configuring the input size allows for a greater flexibility in choosing the best model. However, there are some pitfalls that should be considered. First, the original models have been trained on a particular image size and changing the input can affect the original classification accuracy. Also, changing the input size may not be possible when the network layers are trained for a specific input size and have a hard-coded number of parameters such as in the case of fully connected layers. In such a case the original weights will not be loaded for those layers and the fully connected layers will have a different number of neurons depending on the resulting feature map dimensions. One way to alleviate this since the main purpose is transfer learning, is to substitute the fully connected layers at the end with global average pooling operations that do not depend on the width and height of the feature maps. As is the case with almost everything in the deep learning domain the best results come after experimentation and empirical evidence. Enjoy Coding!!
💻 Colab Notebok is here
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https://ckyrkou.medium.com/changing-input-size-of-pre-trained-models-in-keras-3dfbe3ca3091
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['Christos Kyrkou']
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2020-11-27 08:52:41.704000+00:00
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['Keras', 'Deep Learning', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Neural Networks', 'Develpment']
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Title Changing input size pretrained model KerasContent Keras useful API deep learning also includes various pretrained model used transfer learning UPDATE work tfkeras Keras API Keras high level API Application Programming Interface deep learning implement deep learning functionality built ontop existing deep learning framework Tensorflow provides improved functionality faster implementation cycle added feature One useful feature provided access large pool existing deep learning model pretrained ImageNet rather time consuming computationally demanding process Hence facilitates transfer learning process repurposing existing deep learning model another task One challengeslimitations existing approach deep learning model come reconfigured architecture support particularly input image size want use smaller larger image size Well thankfully workaround discovered recently stackoverflow post go process post also post colab link code anyone freely play Deep dive code main function performs modification network support new image size following function creates new model based JSON specification function first change input shape parameter network point internals model registered register first convert kera model JSON specification read back essentially converting kera model conversion model recreated using provided tensor shape input thus modifies internal parameter fit particular image size Lets look real example next Lets consider MobileNet V1 model make use depthwise separable convolution considered efficient deep neural network image understanding task classificationdetectionsegmentation loading model ImageNet weight specify input size image otherwise error message prompted screen examining input size loaded MobileNet model observe default input size 224x224 Initial MobileNet Structure input 224x224 Using changemodel function input size 130x130 listed default MobileNet inputsizeson initial MobileNet model effectively change receptive input image size newmodel changemodelMobileNetnewinputshapeNone 128 128 3 Adapted MobileNet Structure input size 130x130 Notice input size halved well subsequent feature map produced internal layer model adapted new input image size Lets test input image use image cifar10 dataset come kera feature similar class ImageNet make easier reproduce result since build kera load truck image shown image number 1 default cifar10 dataset included kera Since cifar10 image size 32x32 upscale 130x130 proceed classify modified MobileNet top cifar10 original image size 32x32 middle resized image bottom MobileNet Predictions Notice network output relevant label even though image blurry almost half size trained demonstrating weight loaded correctly network retains discrimination capability useful transfer learning Remarks Keras powerful tool pretrained model provides facilitate excellent starting point deep learning project Reconfiguring input size allows greater flexibility choosing best model However pitfall considered First original model trained particular image size changing input affect original classification accuracy Also changing input size may possible network layer trained specific input size hardcoded number parameter case fully connected layer case original weight loaded layer fully connected layer different number neuron depending resulting feature map dimension One way alleviate since main purpose transfer learning substitute fully connected layer end global average pooling operation depend width height feature map case almost everything deep learning domain best result come experimentation empirical evidence Enjoy Coding 💻 Colab Notebok hereTags Keras Deep Learning Artificial Intelligence Neural Networks Develpment
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5,098 |
Handling imbalanced data:
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Handling imbalanced data:
Predicting customers canceling phone service
In this project I am trying to predict customers that are cancelling phone service in order to do something to retain those customers.
The data-set I am using for this came from openml.org, and you can click here for the direct link to this data-set.
Imbalanced Dataset
This dataset was imbalanced which brought some challenges to it. First lets take a look at the imbalance:
Amount of customers staying or cancelling
To deal with this, I used the SMOTE method of up-sampling data. I tried using ADYSN as well, however it did not preform as well. This is probably due to ADYSN also making random noise, which for this problem, just lessened how well the models were able to predict the outcome.
Due to how the data-set is, I decided to optimize for recall, while still taking into account accuracy to a certain extent. This was due to wanting to correctly predict as many customers leaving as possible, while still holding the false positives as low as possible.
I used cost-benefit analysis to grade the models. The calculation for that was as follows: From the information I had, the average monthly bill was $60. I then calculated that over the length of a 24 month contract, which came out to be $1,440. I then decided on a promotion amount of $500, just for calculation purposes.
Any True Negatives, or customers that are correctly predicted as staying, do not add or subtract anything.
Any False Negatives, or customers that would be canceling but are predicted as staying are a loss of $1,440 each.
Any True Positives, or customer that would be canceling and are predicted as canceling, would be offered a promotion so the gain would be $1,440 - $500 = $940.
Any False Positives, or customers that are predicted as leaving but are not, would be offered the promotion and therefore would be a loss of $500.
Correlation of features
Another thing I noticed at the beginning was about the correlation of the features:
Not a lot of correlation to the target, which was the ‘class’ feature, a few at about .2, also minutes and charge are correlated almost %100. That made sense, as at the time this data was made minutes were the most important part of a bill.
Modeling
When I was contemplating the amount of features and the correlation issue, on one hand having a lot of correlation between charges and minutes but on the other hand not many dominant features. I therefore thought that random forest would work best with this type of data due to how it randomizes the features and data for each tree, then makes predictions off the entire forest. I tested a few different methods with their basic default hyper-parameters and random forest did preform the best. The results I got for my test data, after optimizing it a few times, was this:
The cost — benefit of this was $71,320 or for the actual gain to retain the customers that would be leaving would be $589 per customer that would actually have previously left, if all 121 customers that we predicted to be leaving would then stay.
After doing 5 fold cross validation the average cost-benefit for the test set was $51,152.
Cross validation
Just a note on cross validation when dealing with imbalanced data. As you should only smote training data and then predict on the real test data, that limits how you can do cross validation. The regular cross validation methods would not work with this.
In order to combat that, I used Stratified K-Folds, which takes the same amount from each category so you end up with similar splits for each fold.
Then I got each split and applied SMOTE to the training data, trained the model on that. Saved the scores for each fold then averaged them.
Here is the sample code:
skf = StratifiedKFold(n_splits=5) # Set up the splits X_trains2 = {} # Make dictionaries for each train and test split
X_tests2 = {}
y_trains2 = {}
y_tests2 = {}
for i, (train_index, test_index) in enumerate(skf.split(X, y)): # Get the folds and make the index number the key in each dict
X_trains2[i] = X.loc[train_index]
X_tests2[i] = X.loc[test_index]
y_trains2[i] = y[train_index]
y_tests2[i] = y[test_index] scores2 = [] # Make a list to put all scores into
train = 0 # Setup to save all train scores
test = 0 # Setup to save all test scores
cb = 0 # Cost-Benefit numbers for i in range(5):
smoted_x, smoted_y = sm.fit_sample(X_trains3[i], y_trains3[i]) # SMOTE the training splits
rf5.fit(smoted_x, smoted_y) # Fit the model
trainpred = rf5.predict(X_trains3[i]) # Predict train (not Smoted)
testpred = rf5.predict(X_tests3[i]) # Predict test
train += recall_score(y_trains3[i], trainpred) # Total all train recall scores for each loop
test += recall_score(y_tests3[i], testpred) # Total all train recall scores for each loop
cb += cost_benefit(y_tests3[i], testpred) # Total the Cost-benefit scores scores2.append((i, recall_score(y_trains3[i], trainpred), recall_score(y_tests3[i], testpred))) # Append a tuple of index, train recall total and test recall total) print(f’
{recall_score(y_tests3[i], testpred)}’)
cm(y_tests2[i], testpred) # Print a confusion matrix
print(classification_report(y_tests3[i], testpred))
print(train/5, test/5, cb/5) # Print the total scores / # of Folds
Feature Importance
After having a good model to work with I was then able to look at the feature importance to see what I could figure out from it with regards to bettering the interpret-ability of the model to then be able to use that for future business decisions.
I did some feature engineering to combine all the minutes and all the charges into 2 features. As those 2 features are highly correlated, I dropped the minutes column. I also dropped all call number columns, as well as the state and account_length columns as they were close to 0 on feature importance.
I also dropped number_vmail_messages as it was highly correlated with having a voice mail plan.
I ended up with 4 features, here they are with the corresponding importance:
Top Features
Running the model with only these features, with 5 fold cross validation brought the cost-benefit to $56,964.
This showed me that the model got better by combining and dropping features based on the feature importance.
Analysis of Features based on importance
After looking into features relationships, the most significant thing that jumped out at me was that anyone with a bill over $72 was much more likely to leave. That can be seen in this visual:
The numbers for over $72 bills were as follows:
Leaving: 315
Staying: 247
Considering that in the general data there is a 85% staying to 15% leaving rate, to have more people leaving at the higher rate then staying is very important.
This also was consistent in checking how customers with bills over $72 crossed over with the other features.
If we would offer a $500 promo to everyone with a average bill over $72 then per customer staying we would be gaining $547, which is similar to what we would get over the entire data-set.
I would suggest looking into this more to see how best to handle customers with higher bills to retain more of them.
Recommendations
My final recommendations would be to offer some sort of promo to customers.
To figure out how much should be offered and what sort of promos would be most successful in retaining customers.
To research more how to retain customers with higher bills.
Please leave feedback if you have thoughts on this and if you would like to see the code used for it, that can be seen here.
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https://towardsdatascience.com/handling-imbalanced-data-4fb691e23fe9
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['Levi Raichik']
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2019-08-26 15:48:27.498000+00:00
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['Data Science', 'Imbalanced Data', 'Python', 'Machine Learning']
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Title Handling imbalanced dataContent Handling imbalanced data Predicting customer canceling phone service project trying predict customer cancelling phone service order something retain customer dataset using came openmlorg click direct link dataset Imbalanced Dataset dataset imbalanced brought challenge First let take look imbalance Amount customer staying cancelling deal used SMOTE method upsampling data tried using ADYSN well however preform well probably due ADYSN also making random noise problem lessened well model able predict outcome Due dataset decided optimize recall still taking account accuracy certain extent due wanting correctly predict many customer leaving possible still holding false positive low possible used costbenefit analysis grade model calculation follows information average monthly bill 60 calculated length 24 month contract came 1440 decided promotion amount 500 calculation purpose True Negatives customer correctly predicted staying add subtract anything False Negatives customer would canceling predicted staying loss 1440 True Positives customer would canceling predicted canceling would offered promotion gain would 1440 500 940 False Positives customer predicted leaving would offered promotion therefore would loss 500 Correlation feature Another thing noticed beginning correlation feature lot correlation target ‘class’ feature 2 also minute charge correlated almost 100 made sense time data made minute important part bill Modeling contemplating amount feature correlation issue one hand lot correlation charge minute hand many dominant feature therefore thought random forest would work best type data due randomizes feature data tree make prediction entire forest tested different method basic default hyperparameters random forest preform best result got test data optimizing time cost — benefit 71320 actual gain retain customer would leaving would 589 per customer would actually previously left 121 customer predicted leaving would stay 5 fold cross validation average costbenefit test set 51152 Cross validation note cross validation dealing imbalanced data smote training data predict real test data limit cross validation regular cross validation method would work order combat used Stratified KFolds take amount category end similar split fold got split applied SMOTE training data trained model Saved score fold averaged sample code skf StratifiedKFoldnsplits5 Set split Xtrains2 Make dictionary train test split Xtests2 ytrains2 ytests2 trainindex testindex enumerateskfsplitX Get fold make index number key dict Xtrains2i Xloctrainindex Xtests2i Xloctestindex ytrains2i ytrainindex ytests2i ytestindex scores2 Make list put score train 0 Setup save train score test 0 Setup save test score cb 0 CostBenefit number range5 smotedx smotedy smfitsampleXtrains3i ytrains3i SMOTE training split rf5fitsmotedx smotedy Fit model trainpred rf5predictXtrains3i Predict train Smoted testpred rf5predictXtests3i Predict test train recallscoreytrains3i trainpred Total train recall score loop test recallscoreytests3i testpred Total train recall score loop cb costbenefitytests3i testpred Total Costbenefit score scores2appendi recallscoreytrains3i trainpred recallscoreytests3i testpred Append tuple index train recall total test recall total printf’ recallscoreytests3i testpred’ cmytests2i testpred Print confusion matrix printclassificationreportytests3i testpred printtrain5 test5 cb5 Print total score Folds Feature Importance good model work able look feature importance see could figure regard bettering interpretability model able use future business decision feature engineering combine minute charge 2 feature 2 feature highly correlated dropped minute column also dropped call number column well state accountlength column close 0 feature importance also dropped numbervmailmessages highly correlated voice mail plan ended 4 feature corresponding importance Top Features Running model feature 5 fold cross validation brought costbenefit 56964 showed model got better combining dropping feature based feature importance Analysis Features based importance looking feature relationship significant thing jumped anyone bill 72 much likely leave seen visual number 72 bill follows Leaving 315 Staying 247 Considering general data 85 staying 15 leaving rate people leaving higher rate staying important also consistent checking customer bill 72 crossed feature would offer 500 promo everyone average bill 72 per customer staying would gaining 547 similar would get entire dataset would suggest looking see best handle customer higher bill retain Recommendations final recommendation would offer sort promo customer figure much offered sort promos would successful retaining customer research retain customer higher bill Please leave feedback thought would like see code used seen hereTags Data Science Imbalanced Data Python Machine Learning
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5,099 |
Germany Diary: Leaving Berlin, New Year’s Day 2020
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Germany Diary: Leaving Berlin, New Year’s Day 2020
Train ride into the unexpected
Image courtesy of the author
Here I am again, sat at the same table in the same carriage of this Flixtrain, just over a day later. Sadly I haven’t been able to strike up conversation with anybody — though I have moved tables to be closer to the four isolated, silent men spread across the edges of this carriage. I may open conversation with the one beside me, who is reading China Miéville’s collection of short stories that we studied at uni earlier this year. That would be something to talk about.
However, I did manage to sleep for an hour in my original seat in the dark corner at the back. I have now ostensibly moved to the middle of the carriage to use the overhead light for the purposes of writing, but I am really here to be closer to those seated alone. I want to talk to someone again as I likely won’t get much more sleep until I get back home and crash into bed.
I’m thinking hard about Australia again, how I feel I would be a lot more comfortable, more socially at ease, when in an English-speaking territory. I was unhappy with how much of a burden I felt at the party last night in Ziggy’s apartment, being the sole non-native German speaker, and how much I felt excluded as a result of this…
The difficulty of navigating a room choked with cigarette smoke and densely packed with strangers is significantly worsened when all speak a language of which I have only the most cursory understanding. I felt as though they begrudgingly spoke to me in English in the same one way placates a lost child until they can be offloaded onto their parents.
Hm.
I do wish I would not always be the first (only?) person to open channels of communication in day-to-day life. I wish more strangers would come up to me for a change. I think I am tired of Germany now because I am often told its inhabitants are so closed-minded and unwilling to open themselves to strangers; that does bum me out. I look forward to returning to Australia as I will be able to converse with greater ease and I think I shan’t feel like such an outsider…
My lack of linguistic proficiency won’t be an obstacle there; I hope to revive my Australian accent as well. Gosh, I do feel lonely right now. I dislike sitting in the close vicinity of others and merely exchanging brief instances of hopeless eye contact. I wish I weren’t so involuntarily solitary right now — I am not shy but I am tongue-tied with the uncertainty of speaking in a foreign country.
I do not like that, I have decided. Perhaps this is my realisation (resolution?) of this new year, that I do not wish to live as an expat; that the unambitious desire to live within a comfort zone, after having experienced the alternative, is what may best suit me. Perhaps I belong in Australia more than Europe, because my need to communicate openly and without impediment is predicated upon a need to feel rhetorically secure. I need to know the language.
The ability to converse with strangers, and to erode barriers of Bluetooth headphones and the seclusions of smartphone usage, can be more easily achieved in a country with one shared language — I really am more comfortable in English-speaking territories. This is a fair assertion I personally make after living outside of my birthplace for such a long time.
I think now is the best time for me to have decided that I need to return home, to return to Australia…
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https://medium.com/prismnpen/germany-diary-leaving-berlin-new-years-day-2020-4680a0aa1ab9
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['Liam Heitmann-Ryce']
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2020-12-23 14:38:23.852000+00:00
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['Berlin', 'Journey', '2020', 'Storytelling', 'Creative Non Fiction']
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Title Germany Diary Leaving Berlin New Year’s Day 2020Content Germany Diary Leaving Berlin New Year’s Day 2020 Train ride unexpected Image courtesy author sat table carriage Flixtrain day later Sadly haven’t able strike conversation anybody — though moved table closer four isolated silent men spread across edge carriage may open conversation one beside reading China Miéville’s collection short story studied uni earlier year would something talk However manage sleep hour original seat dark corner back ostensibly moved middle carriage use overhead light purpose writing really closer seated alone want talk someone likely won’t get much sleep get back home crash bed I’m thinking hard Australia feel would lot comfortable socially ease Englishspeaking territory unhappy much burden felt party last night Ziggy’s apartment sole nonnative German speaker much felt excluded result this… difficulty navigating room choked cigarette smoke densely packed stranger significantly worsened speak language cursory understanding felt though begrudgingly spoke English one way placates lost child offloaded onto parent Hm wish would always first person open channel communication daytoday life wish stranger would come change think tired Germany often told inhabitant closedminded unwilling open stranger bum look forward returning Australia able converse greater ease think shan’t feel like outsider… lack linguistic proficiency won’t obstacle hope revive Australian accent well Gosh feel lonely right dislike sitting close vicinity others merely exchanging brief instance hopeless eye contact wish weren’t involuntarily solitary right — shy tonguetied uncertainty speaking foreign country like decided Perhaps realisation resolution new year wish live expat unambitious desire live within comfort zone experienced alternative may best suit Perhaps belong Australia Europe need communicate openly without impediment predicated upon need feel rhetorically secure need know language ability converse stranger erode barrier Bluetooth headphone seclusion smartphone usage easily achieved country one shared language — really comfortable Englishspeaking territory fair assertion personally make living outside birthplace long time think best time decided need return home return Australia…Tags Berlin Journey 2020 Storytelling Creative Non Fiction
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