Like many software engineers and indie hackers, I dream of and experiment with different product ideas every now and then. Five years ago, in 2018, I toyed with an idea where personas and expressions are the enablers for showcasing people's talents and interests. I called it, Persumi. The Origin The original idea was to break the pattern of modern day social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, where every person is hidden behind a two-dimensional facade. Words and photos are...

A few weeks ago I soft launched an MVP - you are looking at it right now. In this post I'll talk about the features, the tech stack and the globally distributed infrastructure behind building this MVP, and of course, with a sprinkle of learnings too. The "MVP" Deciding what makes up an "MVP" is always interesting - I've heard some saying if the product isn't embarrassing you're releasing it too late, and also if the product is embarrassing, you're not gonna make it. For me, I've always had th...

Over the past decade or two, both as a software developer and as a manager I have accumulated a few tips for becoming a better software developer. For context, I've been working as a software developer for more than a decade, mostly in small product-based companies; over the last decade or so I've worked as a team lead or manager in various capacities; and I've moonlighted as a consultant, freelancer and open source contributor in-between. Check out my LinkedIn profile and Github profile if you ...

Hindsight is such a blessed thing. Should I have had a time-machine to tell myself to keep running track, don't date that person, buy bitcoin; I would have been in such a different space than I am in now. That point in itself is enough to appreciate all the hardship I've been through - whether useless or crucial to my growth as a person. That's where the appreciation for hindsight comes in. Hindsight is such a blessed thing, because it's the current you, using the past you, to create an inform...

After having soft launched Persumi in 2023, I quickly found myself wanting to explore better ways to promote the product. Unfortunately, most of digital marketing products are focused on three main areas: 1. Keyword bidding, e.g. Google Ads or Facebook Ads 2. Cold outreach, e.g. Apollo 3. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) They each has its own pros and cons. As an indie developer without a huge budget, none of these tools work effectively. The Challenges Keyword bidding and targeted ads are...

The article compares six AI OCR tools: AWS Textract, Microsoft Azure Document Intelligence, Google Cloud Document AI, Rossum.ai, Super.ai and Eden.ai. It then does a deep comparison between Azure and Google, the two leading choices, in several aspects: initial setup, auto labelling data, text detection and recognition, custom labelling, auto-label accuracy, auto-label result verification, data training speed, data regions and compliance. The article concludes that Azure is the better choice.

That's fantastic! ❤️

Small gestures can have a significant impact on customer experience. By listening to customers, empowering employees, mapping customer journeys, monitoring impact, sharing successes, and budgeting for gestures, businesses can create lasting relationships with their customers. These gestures can range from personal touches like handwritten notes to proactive communication and extra-mile service. By focusing on authentic understanding and fulfilling customer needs, businesses can create a posi...

Ah yeah that's a quirk I gotta fix. Thanks for noticing!

Hi product builders. I'm building a set of tools to help Phoenix devs - https://petal.build. It was used to help build this site!

Due to COVID-19, not many companies are hiring at the moment. The company I work for therefore is in a very fortunate position to still be thinking about growth and hiring. As a hiring manager for almost a decade now, I've personally reviewed thousands of job applications and CVs, and many hiring managers would probably agree, the vast majority of CVs are terrible. Let's change that! During COVID-19 where more and more people are either losing jobs or having their work hours cut, we are experie...

Choosing the right search tool for an Elixir application has been a challenge for me. We initially used Algolia but later migrated to PostgreSQL through some A/B testing. However, we started experiencing more and more bottlenecks on PostgreSQL. The reason for migrating away from Algolia was to reduce costs, so if we are not fond of Saas products, it seems we might turn to Elasticsearch for our search needs.

Super insightful post, esp. in regard to your decision making upon reaching those hurdles 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

_@archivistmoth commented:_ > From a more admin note, I am curious if this would need to change, should "schedule publication" ever be on the roadmap. Yep, it's on the roadmap. > Also interesting to note how much more I can fit in the comments, should I choose to comment on my own quick post. (Can you tell I like kicking the tires of any tech I use?) Good question, there's no limit on the number of comments you can make, though there is a character limit (500) per comment.

Thank you for the valuable tips! I'll definitely incorporate them into my work. Regarding UX, may I suggest opening external links in new tabs? It would enhance navigation and maintain reading flow. Just a thought for a smoother user experience. Much appreciated!

Great insights! Writing blogs (reflections, learning, etc) more often helps. Especially when they're done on Persumi. 😁

Excited to build and be part of communities on Persumi!

As coding bootcamps such as Coder Academy and General Assembly churn out more and more software developers, and as more and more people start to realise the importance of software, companies these days are facing an increased amount of candidates applying for junior dev roles. Recently we had to take down our job ad for a junior full stack React and Elixir role only a few days after posting it due to having received about 300 applications. Suffice to say, the competition is fierce at the entry-l...

I've recently learned about the powers of xylitol. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is used as a sweetener. It is also a prebiotic, which means that it feeds the good bacteria in your mouth. These bacteria subsequently reward you by protecting your teeth and improving your gums. Regime: - chew xylitol gum after every meal - once or twice a day take a teaspoon of xylitol sugar crystals and put it in your mouth and swish it around for 5 mins or so - the goal is to have xylitol exposure 5+ ti...