Podcasts about UX

Matej Zak, CEO of Trezor, and I sat down at their Prague office to discuss the new Trezor Safe 7 hardware wallet and much more.Topics:- Trezor's new device - Safe 7 - Design and Security approach - The future of self custody - Preparing for potential quantum-computing threats to crypto security - Does Trezor have plans to go public? 

Anurag Arjun is the Co-founder of Avail, a unified foundation for rollups to scale horizontally, share liquidity, move assets trustlessly, communicate permissionlessly along with a multi-token economic security.He entered the blockchain industry in 2017, founding Matic Network, which evolved into Polygon Labs. By 2020, he launched Avail within the Polygon ecosystem, utilizing his background in research, economics, and engineering. In March 2023, he spun out Avail as an independent project.  Anurag is a seasoned entrepreneur who has founded several successful startups across diverse industries, ranging from cash flow lending to regulatory tech. His expertise and vision continue to drive Avail's success and position the company at the forefront of the blockchain revolution.In this conversation, we discuss:- Biggest misconceptions people have about interoperability and “multichain” today- UX is still the main pain point in crypto - Intent-based architecture - Liquidity unification - Creating a unified balance across chains - Quantum's threat to crypto - Unlocking a multichain userbase - Liquidity fragmentation - Making Nexus chain-agnostic — including EVM, non-EVM, and eventually Solana - The future of crypto AvailX: @AvailProjectWebsite: www.availproject.orgTelegram: t.me/AvailCommunityAnurag ArjunX: @anuragarjunLinkedIn: Anurag Arjun---------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions. Code: CRYPTONEWS50 This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below: PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50FollowApple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicRSS FeedSee All

We dig into how AI changes the risk surface for banks and fintechs and why identity must be designed from the start. Sutton Maxwell of Curity shares how to set API guardrails, balance friction with trust, and choose hybrid architectures that meet regulation without killing speed.• What Curity does for API security and identity• Why AI pilots fail without early security design• Common mistakes when teams bolt on controls late• How to balance UX with risk‑based friction• US speed vs EU regulation on AI adoption• Hybrid, multi‑cloud, and cloud exit strategies• Practical advice for fintech founders on KYC, OAuth, OIDC• Turning compliance into a growth advantageTo connect and keep up to date with all the latest, head over to www.jointheconnector.com or hit subscribe via your podcast streaming platformThank you for tuning into our podcast about global trends in the FinTech industry.Check out our podcast channel.Learn more about The Connector. Follow us on LinkedIn.CheersKoen Vanderhoydonkkoen.vanderhoydonk@jointheconnector.com#FinTech #RegTech #Scaleup #WealthTech

In this episode, eco & Tyler welcome back Skot who was at the African Bitcoin Conference, this year hosted in Mauritius, where he spoke on open-source Bitcoin mining. We swap travel tales (including Scott's chaotic Paris layover) and impressions of Mauritius, the conference venue, and side events focused on Bitcoin education. We dig into mining headlines: Bitdeer's missed ASIC roadmap and investor lawsuit, Bitmain's history (Antbleed) and why open-source mining matters, and MicroBT's M70-series lineup pushing industrial-scale, three-phase miners. Skot explains the theory behind Bitdeer's hyped “adiabatic charge recovery logic,” why it's hard to scale, and how thermal and power density realities define miner design. We go deep on open hardware and firmware progress: Braiins' open control board, Secure Boot obstacles, and Mujina's modular path to safe, customizable, dev-fee-free mining; plus Skot's BitCrain control board concept for USB‑controlled fleets. We share shop-floor lessons building AddIt boards and Ember One prototypes (solder paste, tombstoning, reflow profiles) and celebrate practical innovation like Gridless's open-source JuaKali direct-DC solar mining kit. On home-mining UX, Tyler demos new Home Assistant integrations for Canaan Avalons and WhatsMiner, and we preview Hydra Pool deployments (Grafana/Prometheus dashboards) for the upcoming Telehash. Finally, we update the community on the Samourai Wallet case: Keonne's facility designation, the continuing push for a presidential pardon, and how to support via petition and donations. #PardonSamourai.

Recorded live at SocialWest 2025, this episode features Andrew Turnbull, Managing Director of UX and Product at Evans Hunt, in conversation with guest host Meredith McKeough. Together, they explore the growing problem of “hostile user design” and how large platforms are enshittification experiences in the name of growth.Andrew shares insights from over 15 years in UX, using the Sonos redesign as a cautionary tale of business decisions eroding user trust. The conversation moves from platform-level design trends to what smaller businesses can learn, and avoid. They dig into the systems thinking required to scale responsibly, how to balance growth with respect for your users, and why customer feedback is still your most powerful strategic asset.This episode captures the mood shift in 2025 toward more ethical, user-first digital strategies, and how marketers and designers alike can push back on enshittification by prioritizing clarity, consent, and long-term value.

Josh Ho is the Founder and CEO of Referral Rock, a bootstrapped referral marketing platform serving SMBs that rely on multi-step, relationship-driven sales. Starting in 2015 as a solo developer consulting on the side, Josh built the first version himself, validated demand quickly, and landed early customers by doing demos and hands-on support.  Referral Rock has grown to roughly 500 customers, 20 team members, and about $3M in annual revenue. The company scaled through strong inbound SEO, founder-led sales, and a high-touch onboarding model for B2B businesses that value referrals. Over the years, the product expanded too broadly, creating UX and complexity challenges that later required a deliberate refocusing on core use cases.  Today, Referral Rock is profitable, founder-owned, and steady at its current revenue plateau as Josh rethinks pricing, packaging, product simplicity, and ICP focus. He shares practical lessons on avoiding over-complexity, hiring from what you've already figured out, returning to first principles, and treating plateaus as puzzles to solve rather than signs of failure. Key Takeaways Charge Early, Not Late – His first startup delayed monetization; Referral Rock asked for payment within days of launching an MVP. Pricing For Segments– Good-better-best failed for SMBs with wildly different referral economics; switching to two specific lanes solved misalignment. Do the Job First – Hiring worked only after Josh personally figured out support, sales, or marketing enough to define the role clearly. Plateaus Aren't Failure – Post-COVID shifts and SEO changes slowed growth, but Josh treats plateaus as system puzzles, not existential threats. Profit Equals Freedom – With no investors and steady profitability, he optimizes for enjoyable work, long-term optionality, and building at his own pace. Quote from Josh Ho, Founder and CEO of Referral Rock "For me, a plateau or a pivot is a puzzle to be solved. Any time you try to build something, you hope to just keep hitting accelerators and different serendipitously find those things. But I've learned through my life, the most part, there are things that work only for a certain duration, right.  "For me, it comes back to how I think about the business and. my innate goals for the business which, are different from most founders. When I'm talking to another founder is, they'll ask me what my exit strategy is. And my answer is usually, Well, I don't really have one. That's not how I think about the business. It's a very clear. "I enjoy my work and that's my North Star. Am I having fun? Do I enjoy this work? And I also continuously reinvent myself and my role to fit those changes.. There might be a job I had to do that I don't enjoy, but then I'll do that until it's no longer like the limiting step and then hire someone to backfill for myself." Links Josh Ho on LinkedIn Referra lRock on LinkedIn Referral Rock website Podcast Sponsor – Designli This podcast is sponsored by Designli, a digital product studio that helps entrepreneurs and startups turn their software ideas into reality. From strategy and design to full-scale development, Designli guides you through every step of building custom web and mobile apps. Learn more at designli.co/practical. The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.

Eytan Seidman, VP of product at Shopify, joins the podcast to unpack Shopify's Winter '26 Edition and how AI is emerging into the market for developers and merchants. They discuss the new Dev MCP server, showing how tools like Cursor and Claude Desktop can rapidly scaffold Shopify apps, wire up Shopify functions, and ship payment customization and checkout UI extension experiences that lean on Shopify primitives like meta fields and meta objects across online stores and point of sale. Eytan also breaks down how Sidekick connects with apps, why the new analytics API and ShopifyQL open fresh analytics use cases, and more. Links Shopify Winter '26 Edition: https://www.shopify.com/editions/winter2026 We want to hear from you! How did you find us? Did you see us on Twitter? In a newsletter? Or maybe we were recommended by a friend? Fill out our listener survey (https://t.co/oKVAEXipxu)! https://t.co/oKVAEXipxu Let us know by sending an email to our producer, Elizabeth, at elizabeth.becz@logrocket.com (mailto:elizabeth.becz@logrocket.com), or tweet at us at PodRocketPod (https://twitter.com/PodRocketpod). Check out our newsletter (https://blog.logrocket.com/the-replay-newsletter/)! https://blog.logrocket.com/the-replay-newsletter/ Follow us. Get free stickers. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, fill out this form (https://podrocket.logrocket.com/get-podrocket-stickers), and we'll send you free PodRocket stickers! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces the UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Start understanding where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Chapters 01:00 — AI as the Focus of Winter '26 02:00 — MCP Server as the Ideal Dev Workflow 03:00 — Best Clients for MCP (Cursor, Claude Desktop) 04:00 — Hallucinations & Code Validation in MCP 06:00 — Developer Judgment & Platform Primitives 07:00 — Storage Choices: Meta Fields vs External Storage 09:00 — Learning UI Patterns Through MCP 10:00 — Sidekick Overview & Merchant Automation 11:00 — Apps Inside Sidekick: Data & UI Integration 13:00 — Scopes, Data Access & Developer Responsibility 14:00 — AI-Ready Platform & Explosion of New Apps 16:00 — New Developer Demographics Entering Shopify 17:00 — Where Indie Devs Should Focus (POS, Analytics) 18:00 — New Analytics API & Opportunities 19:00 — Full Platform Coverage via MCP Tools 20:00 — Building Complete Apps in Minutes 21:00 — Large Stores, Token Limits & MCP Scaling 22:00 — Reducing Errors with UI & Function Testing 23:00 — Lessons from Building the MCP Server 25:00 — Lowering Barriers for Non-Experts 26:00 — High-Quality Rust Functions via MCP 27:00 — MCP Spec Adoption: Tools Over Resources 28:00 — Future: Speed, Quality & UI Precision 29:00 — Model Evolution, Evals & Reliability 31:00 — Core Shopify Primitives to Build On 33:00 — Docs, Community & Learning Resources

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.—Ray is a designer-turned-researcher. He grew up in New Zealand but moved to the UK last year.His career started in graphic design and advertising, but he's also studied art history and worked as a brand strategist and innovation consultant before moving into UX. He was a product designer before officially pivoting to UX research.He is passionate about the craft of UX research, so is naturally drawn towards rigour and detail. But there's definitely a balance to be mindful of, so lately he's been enjoying the challenge of taking a more pragmatic approach to cut through the noise at work and maximise impact.In our conversation, we discuss:* How Raymond moved from design to research and why his messy, creative path helps him make peace with constraints.* Why “just enough” research is often the most realistic (and still valuable) kind.* Dealing with stakeholders who want statistical significance and to act on N=1 quotes.* What makes a one-pager actually work (hint: it's not cramming 14 bullet points into 10pt font).* How to reframe constraints as creative challenges, instead of just reasons to cry in a spreadsheet.Some takeaways:* Rigor isn't one thing. There's a difference between medical research and a usability test for a SaaS dashboard. Raymond reminds us to stop chasing perfection and start asking: What's the risk? What's the goal? What's actually good enough here?* You don't have to be the loudest voice in the room to be the expert. Sometimes the best way to build trust is not to say “trust me, I'm the expert,” but to bring the right method to the table and explain why it fits. Raymond shares how he uses method knowledge to guide teams—without pulling rank.* Constraints aren't the enemy, they're the brief. That tight deadline or limited budget? Treat it like a design prompt. What can you strip away? What creative method still works? That shift in mindset changes everything from energy to output.* Scoping is where the real power is. Raymond shares a sharp approach to collaborative scoping: show a strawman plan and let stakeholders rip it apart. It builds alignment faster and helps surface hidden assumptions, risks, and trade-offs without ego wars.* Your research summary isn't for you. Your one-pager should pass the 40-second CEO elevator ride test. Raymond breaks down his 3-column template and shares why the takeaways column matters more than your favorite quote or clever insight. It's about what they need to do next.Where to find Raymond:* ADPList mentor profile page* LinkedIn* Medium Stop piecing it together. Start leading the work.The Everything UXR Bundle is for researchers who are tired of duct-taping free templates and second-guessing what good looks like.You get my complete set of toolkits, templates, and strategy guides. used by teams across Google, Spotify, , to run credible research, influence decisions, and actually grow in your role.It's built to save you time, raise your game, and make you the person people turn to—not around.→ Save 140+ hours a year with ready-to-use templates and frameworks→ Boost productivity by 40% with tools that cut admin and sharpen your focus→ Increase research adoption by 50% through clearer, faster, more strategic deliveryInterested in sponsoring the podcast?Interested in sponsoring or advertising on this podcast? I'm always looking to partner with brands and businesses that align with my audience. Book a call or email me at nikki@userresearchacademy.com to learn more about sponsorship opportunities!The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, positions, or policies of the host, the podcast, or any affiliated organizations or sponsors. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.userresearchstrategist.com/subscribe

Send us a textIn this episode, Jes Scholz joins Greg Sterling and Mike Blumenthal for a deep dive into the forces reshaping search: AI agents, the rise of conversational interfaces, the 60/40 brand-activation model, content freshness, multimodal distribution, and why your database — not your website — may determine your competitive future.Jes explains what marketers must do now: update your content strategy, test your site with agents, fix your UX friction, and prepare your database for natural-language inputs. Essential listening for SEOs, CMOs, and local businesses navigating the next wave of digital change.Subscribe to our newsletters and other content at https://www.nearmedia.co/subscribe/

In this episode of Future of UX, Patricia breaks down the most important tech and AI shifts of 2025 — the trends that fundamentally changed how we design, build, research, and work. If you missed anything this year or simply want the essential takeaways, this episode is your shortcut.From AI Agents and deepfake-proof UX to vibe-coding, AI-native browsers, research automation, and the rise of general-purpose robots — here are the big transformations shaping the future of design.Why 2025 was the year AI Agents became real — not as chatbots, but as autonomous coworkers running full workflows.• How MCP unlocked the agent ecosystem• Vibe coding and intent-driven development• The shift from execution to oversight in human rolesVisual trust collapsed — and UX became responsible for rebuilding it.• Why humans can't detect deepfakes anymore• What actually worked: C2PA, identity checks, and UI “micro-literacy”• Designing interfaces that communicate authenticity and uncertaintyHow tools like Lovable, Replit, and AI builders changed who gets to create.• From pixel pushing to strategic direction• Conversational creation flows• What this means for designers and innovatorsAI automated more than ever — but made human oversight more important.• Where full autonomy worked• Where humans stayed essential• Why the future depends on intentional human-in-the-loop designResearch and analysis were transformed by automated synthesis.• Superagency: managing research instead of doing it manually• The new trust problem in fast research• Data provenance, model transparency, and expert validationBrowsers became intelligence layers instead of navigation tools.• Context-aware, predictive UX• Browsers that act, not just display• How this changes product and interaction designWhy general-purpose robots finally left the lab in 2025.• Embodied AI• Real-world perception• Language-driven task executionAI for Designers: 5-week Bootcamp

Gotta catch 'em all! Including this episode, when Lex Lofthouse joins us to talk about her passion for collecting Pokémon cards. She's been collecting them since they first came out in 1999, taking a break as a teenager, and returning in 2016 when Pokémon Go's release reignited her passion. Lex explains how the pandemic and influencers transformed the hobby from an affordable niche into a volatile investor market, making it increasingly difficult for collectors and kids to access products at retail prices. She talks about her collecting strategies, why she prefers slightly damaged vintage cards, participating in Pokémon tournaments, and encourages former fans to reconnect with childhood nostalgia by opening a single pack.Guest BioLex Lofthouse (she/her) is a Senior Designer at Nzime, a digital agency in the UK. She has been working in the design industry for over fifteen years, she began her career in the cold regions of Scotland and now lives and works in Nottingham. She specialises in UX and digital design but her skillset also includes branding and print design. She's even semi-competent at some basic HTML and CSS but that's where she draws the line! Despite being a professional designer she has also gained an odd reputation as an advocate for Comic Sans, the world's most misunderstood typeface. In her spare time Lex is a massive Pokemon fan and has been since its release in the UK in 1999.LinksLex's website: https://loftio.co.uk/Lex on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/loftio.co.ukLex on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bulbioCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

In this episode of the Agency Rocket Show, Host Liz Hunt is flying without Chelsea (who is off doing casual things like HAVING A BABY) and is joined by DayCloud's own marketing coordinator and resident wordsmith, Keaton Haines. Together they break down what copywriting actually is, how website copy differs from “regular” writing, and why your site shouldn't read like an HR handbook. They walk through DayCloud's full website copy process—from discovery and brand voice, to wireframes, UX-minded content strategy, and collaboration between design and copy—and talk honestly about common mistakes businesses make when they DIY their words. You'll hear how empathy and embodiment drive good copy, how to think about SEO without turning your site into keyword soup, and why “integrity, honesty, professionalism” is not a brand personality. If you've ever wondered how agencies actually write websites (or what a ghostwriter does for a brand), this one's for you.

Well, here we are. The UX Strategy and Leadership course has wrapped up, and I am officially putting down my digital pen until January 8th.I know. Try not to weep.

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training Why do clients keep asking for deliverables they don't actually need? How to get them to focus on the outcome instead of the task list? Every agency owner has had clients show up asking for a website, SEO, or a million social posts, when what they actually need is something much deeper: more leads, more profit, more time back, and a business they're proud of again. Today's featured guest broke down how he built an 11-year-old shop that delivers exactly that. We dig into why small businesses really hire agencies, why "selling SEO" is a trap, and how simplifying complex work can make your agency more profitable, more trusted, and a hell of a lot easier to run. Nico Biggi, Founder of The Gorilla Agency a full-service Oregon digital agency that helps small businesses achieve their marketing goals. After applying to 31 agencies and hearing absolutely nothing back, he decided if no one would hire him, he'd simply build the place he wished existed. Eleven years later, his agency helps small businesses fall in love with their companies again by delivering marketing that feels personal, purposeful, and rooted in truth—not hype. In this interview, we'll discuss: Why clients don't want SEO and what small business are really buying. How radical simplicity makes agencies more profitable. Walking away from big clients to make your agency stronger. How AI is changing client expectations. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources E2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service. Why Clients Don't Actually Want SEO (And What They're Really Buying from Agencies) Nico knows why his clients first reach out and he understands that, in reality, no one wants SEO. No one wants a website. No one wants a content calendar. What they want is for their phone to ring. They want predictable revenue and to stop feeling behind. Basically, they want a business that finally looks and performs the way they imagined when they started it. Hence, when Nico sits with a new client, he doesn't take their request at face value. He keeps pulling the thread: Why do you want that? What are you really trying to fix? What's happening behind the scenes that made you reach out today? By the time he gets to the core problem, the tactical service almost never matches the thing they originally asked for. And that's where trust is built—showing clients the real path to their desired outcome, not the task list they think they need. As he puts it: Services are the toolkit. Outcomes are the reason you pick up the tools. How Radical Simplicity Makes Agencies More Profitable and Improves Client Trust During client meetings, Nico strives to strip away the complexity agencies tend to hide behind. Clients don't want a masterclass in keyword density or a dissertation-length PDF they'll never read. They want clarity. To him, the best operators and the best salespeople think like teachers. Teachers take complicated ideas and make them accessible. They speak in a way a fifth grader can understand, because simplicity builds confidence, and confidence builds buy-in. Inside his own agency, this shows up in the way he trains his team. No silos. No "not my job." Everyone learns how every part of the system works, from content, SEO, design, dev, and strategy. That shared understanding creates respect, efficiency, and a culture where no one feels like they're building in the dark. Everyone in his team is taught that no one is above anyone and they're all running the machine together. It's a mindset that creates accountability among the team and helps the client understand exactly what they're paying for. Why Saying No to Big Clients Can Make Your Agency Stronger Every agency owner has a moment where the "big" client forces them to rethink everything. For Nico, it was early on, when a client offered him more money than he even asked for ($10k a month) and three months later, he fired the client. On paper, it was a dream account. In practice, it drained the team, misaligned with their process, and became the catalyst for rebuilding the agency from the ground up. He spent two years refining every process—on-page and off-page SEO, content creation, design systems, communication workflows—all centered around one thing: making sure clients always know where their money is going and how it's working. Most agencies duct-tape their operations when things get messy instead of rebuilding the underlying, broken system. Nico rebuilt his foundation truly believing that all business owners need is for someone to create systems, truly listen to them, and help them articulate what they do for their clients. Authenticity Converts (And Your Clients Need Your Help to Show It) Nico's wife unknowingly became the perfect case study for modern buyer behavior. Before choosing anything (restaurants, local services, events) she checks: Reviews Menus FAQs Photos Location Details User experience Credibility That's what most customers are doing, and the standard Nico sets for his clients. He wants to work with businesses that engage with clients and answer their questions, show their work with real photos, tell compelling stories, show proof, have a clean, intuitive website. If it doesn't pass what Nico calls "the wife test" — if a business doesn't have clear answers, real photos, social proof, strong UX, and transparent information — it doesn't ship. And the same goes for exclusivity: Nico refuses to work with two companies in the same industry and service area. He wants to make one the best, not compete against himself for small wins. How AI Is Changing Client Expectations and Why It Won't Replace Agencies Nico sees AI from both angles: the opportunity and the threat. On one hand, AI makes clients think everything should be instant and $500. He's already had clients send him AI-generated instructions like they're firing off tasks to a robot. The danger isn't AI itself but rather clients misunderstanding what real strategy, design, content, and user experience actually require. But the other side is where he sees massive upside. AI removes the repetitive, thankless tasks that bog agencies down. It gives teams more room to think, solve, and create. It lets agencies deliver more value, not less, if they use it correctly. AI doesn't replace strategy and, more importantly, it doesn't replace the human connection that actually closes deals. Your network is your edge. Tools evolve but human trust, real expertise, and the ability to guide clients through complexity—that doesn't. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

Paulina Noches Pareja es investigadora en diseño chilena, estratega creativa y educadora con más de 10 años de experiencia en la industria del retail. Ella reside en Australia. En esta entrevista nos cuenta sobre su investigación de doctorado en Monash University con mucho detalle y haciendo hincapié en las metodologías. Ella investigó el futuro del trabajo en los supermercados australianos usando diseño de ficciones. Paulina se especializa en desarrollo de productos, tecnologías para el comercio minorista. Hablamos de tiempo, emociones y futuros. Pueden mirar videos sobre el trabajo de Paulina: 1. VIP in-store job (AR experience using Oculus headsets)2. Remote VR job (VR experience using Oculus headsets)Esta entrevista es parte de las listas: Chile y diseño, Australia y diseño, Investigación en diseño, Antropología y diseño, Diseño de servicios, Diseño UX y Diseño y futuros. Paulina nos recomienda: Design EthnographyResearch, Responsibilities, and Futures de Sarah Pink y otres. El profesional reflexivo, de Donald Schön. Making Anthropology, Archaeology, Art and Architecture, de Tim IngoldEntre hacer y conocer Seis textos sobre antropología del diseño y antropología visual de Ton Otto con Rachel Charlotte Smith y Mette Gislev Kjærsgaard. Design & futures, de Stuart Candy y Cher Potter. Speculative everything de Anthony Runne y Fiona Ray Hyper-reality de Keiichi Matsuda

Go from marketing chaos to marketing confidence, book a call with our team to learn how.In this Contractor Dynamics Masterclass, we break down five ways your “good enough” website is losing you roofing jobs—often without you even realizing it. Homeowners are doing more research than ever, trust is harder to earn, and your website is often the first sales conversation you never get to attend.If you're spending money on ads but your website leads are weak (or non-existent), or you keep losing bids to companies with worse workmanship but better online presence, this masterclass is for you. We'll show you the five most expensive website mistakes roofing companies make—and the practical fixes you can implement to increase trust, boost conversions, and plug your website into a real marketing and sales engine for 2026.Key Takeaways for Roofing Company Owners✔️ The 5-second test your website must pass✔️ Why looking like every roofer forces you to compete on price✔️ How to build trust and reduce risk (so you win more bids)✔️ The website conversion essentials: CTAs, speed-to-lead, and mobile UX✔️ How to connect your website to tracking, CRM, automations, and retargetingTimestamps00:00 Intro: 5 ways your “good enough” website loses jobs01:25 What to expect + why implementation matters03:05 Who Contractor Dynamics is (roofing-only since 2013)05:10 The problem: disconnected marketing + the “leaky bucket”07:10 How buying has changed in 2025 (80% decision before contact)10:05 Goal for today + overview of the 5 mistakes12:10 Mistake #118:55 Mistake #225:10 Mistake #332:10 Mistake #438:05 Mistake #543:05 Website before/after examples Connect with Contractor DynamicsWebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedIn#roofingcompany #roofingmarketing #contractordynamics #roofingbusiness #roofingwebsite #leadgeneration #marketingstrategy #businessgrowth #roofingcontractors #websitedesign

In the final episode of 2025, Kyle sits down with someone who has been woven into her UX journey for nearly two decades: Amy Heymans — founder of Mad*Pow, founder of Beneficent, and co-founder of the Dignified Futures Conference.Amy and Kyle first met in 2006, when Mad*Pow was just a few people in a small Portsmouth, NH office. Over the next 13 years, Amy grew the agency into a nationally respected 70+ person consultancy known for its exceptional design work and its influential events, including HXD, the Center for Health Experience Design, and the Financial Experience Design Conference.But this conversation goes far deeper than Mad*Pow's rise.In 2019, Mad*Pow was acquired — the “dream scenario” for many agency founders. Amy shares openly what that experience was really like: the financial realities behind acquisitions, the emotional complexity of letting go of her company, the personal circumstances that shaped the outcome, and the surprising truth that the big exit doesn't always look like the fantasy many consultants imagine.After leaving Mad*Pow, Amy stepped into a prestigious role as Chief Design Officer at UnitedHealthcare, navigating an enormous 400,000-person organization. She talks candidly about why the move felt right, why it ultimately didn't align with her values, and how she knew it was time to walk away.Today, Amy is the founder of Beneficent, where she focuses on systems thinking, futures design, and complex problem-solving across health, finance, and the public sector. She also co-leads the Dignified Futures Conference, a gathering dedicated to reimagining systems for social impact — and she shares what inspired it and how designers, policymakers, and innovators can get involved.This episode covers:How Mad*Pow really beganThe messy truth behind scaling a design agencyThe realities of selling a firm — financially, emotionally, and personallyWhy Amy returned to corporate — and why she leftHow she's building Beneficent differently from Mad*PowHow ADHD shows up in her work as both a challenge and superpowerThe future of UX consulting in the age of AI and speculative foresightPractical advice for landing big clients and navigating uncertaintyThis is one of the most candid conversations ever aired on The UX Consultants Lounge — a deep, honest look at success, identity, reinvention, and the realities of leading a UX career across decades of change.Connect with Us:Host: Kyle Soucy | Usable Interface |  Linkedin Guest: Amy Heymans | Beneficient Design | Linkedin- - - - -Links and Resources Mentioned:Dignified Futures Conference: https://www.designfordignity.com/Submit a question or story: Have a question or topic that you'd like us to cover in a future episode and/or want to share an anonymous consulting story? Submit your questions and stories. Don't want to miss an episode? Be sure to sign up for the podcast newsletter.Thanks for tuning in! Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform. I can't wait to have you back in the lounge for our next episode!

In this final part of my three-episode series on accelerating sales and adoption in B2B analytics and AI products, I unpack a growing challenge in the age of generative AI: what to do when your product automates a major chunk of a user's workflow only to reveal an entirely new problem right behind it. Building on Part I and Part II, I look at how AI often collapses the “front half” of a process, pushing the more complex, value-heavy work directly to users. This raises critical questions about product scope, market readiness, competitive risks, and whether you should expand your solution to tackle these newly surfaced problems or stay focused and validate what buyers will actually pay for. I also discuss why achieving customer delight—not mere satisfaction—is essential for earning trust, reducing churn, and creating the conditions where customers become engaged design partners. Finally, I highlight the common pitfalls of DIY product design and why intentional, validated UX work is so important, especially when AI is changing how work gets done faster than ever.   Highlights/ Skip to: Finishing the journey: staying focused, delighting users, and intentional UX (00:35) AI solves problems—and can create new ones for your customers—now what? (2:17) Do AI products have to solve your customers' downstream “tomorrow” problems too before they'll pay? (6:24)  Questions that reveal whether buyers will pay for expanded scope (6:45) UX outcomes: moving customers from satisfied to delighted before tackling new problems  (8:11) How obtaining “delight” status in the customer's mind creates trust, lock-in, and permission to build the next solution (9:54) Designing experiences with intention (not hope) as AI changes workflows (10:40) My “Ten Risks of DIY Product Design…” — why DIY UX often causes self-inflicted friction (11:46)   Links Listen to part I: Episode 182 and part two: Episode 183 Read: “Ten Risks of DIY Product Design On Sales And Adoption Of B2B Data Products”  Stop guessing what is blocking your own product's adoption and sales: Schedule a Design-Eyes Assessment with me, and in 90 minutes, I'll diagnose whether you're facing a design problem, a product management gap, a positioning issue, or something else entirely. You'll walk away knowing exactly what's standing between your product and the traction you need—so you don't waste time and money on product design "improvements" that won't move your critical KPIs.

This week, Darren shares his appearance on the 97 Things Podcast, where he talked about his chapter from the book "97 Things Every UX Practitioner Should Know." Check it out!REMINDER: Video is available for this episode via select resources. #ux#podcasts#cxofmradio#cxofm#realuxtalk#worldofux#worldouxBookmark the new World of UX website at https://www.worldoux.com. Visit the UX Uncensored blog at https://uxuncensored.medium.com. Get your specialized UX merchandise at https://www.kaizentees.com.

Sponsored by Auth0 for Startups → 1-year free https://auth0.com/startups/vip Auth0 is an adaptable authentication and authorization platform that helps you secure your apps and AI agents. It delivers convenience, privacy, and security so you can focus on building a great UX. FOUNDER PROFILE:Krish Subramanian, Founder - Chargebee - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krishs/Guy Marion, CMO - Chargebee- https://www.linkedin.com/in/guymarion 

What's on your mind? Let CX Passport know...Jon Deragon brings a global lens to AI product design as the Head of Design at FPT, the sponsor for today's episode. Thank you FPT for collaborating with CX Passport.Jon guides a 140+ person design org building everything from mobile apps to automotive interfaces while navigating the rapid shift into AI and multimodal experiences. This conversation gets into what modern design teams truly need to succeed and how respect transforms the design and development partnership.Here are five insights you'll hear in this episode: • How multimodal input changes the entire UX landscape • Why design literacy helps… but “everyone is a designer” does not • The real fix for design and development friction • Why centralizing design creates more meaningful output • How AI learning happens in layers and why that mattersCHAPTERS00:00 Welcome00:16 Jon's global path and design focus01:52 Designing for AI03:38 Multimodal input05:17 Keeping pace with AI11:12 Should everyone be a designer14:44 First Class Lounge21:01 Structuring a large design org24:15 Making design and development collaboration healthy28:03 Respect as a design principle29:04 Where to learn more about Jon and FPTGUEST LINKSFPT: https://fpt.com/ Jon's website: https://jonderagon.com/THREE WAYS TO KEEP EXPLORING CX PASSPORTListen: https://www.cxpassport.com Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@cxpassport Newsletter: https://cxpassport.kit.com/signupI'm Rick Denton and I believe the best meals are served outside and require a passport.Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed are those of the hosts and guests and should not be taken as legal, financial, or professional advice. Always consult with a qualified attorney, financial advisor, or other professional regarding your specific situation. The opinions expressed by guests are solely theirs and do not necessarily represent the views or positions of the host(s).

Ever imagined bringing in $100,000 a month purely from digital products? Today, I'm sharing an episode that might just make you rethink what's possible for your business. Whether you're new to digital offerings or already experimenting with online income, this story shows just how transformational selling digital products can be! To get the lowdown on just how you can leverage digital products in your business I interviewed Becky Beach, an incredible woman who's become a million-dollar digital product seller and coach. Becky's background in IT and user experience design gives her a sharp edge, and she's known for her smart, flexible approach to business - even as the digital landscape swiftly changes. She's been featured in places like Business Insider and Forbes, and it's no wonder: Becky has figured out how to continuously innovate, find new opportunities, and stay ahead of the curve. Here's what we explore together in this jam-packed conversation: Why are digital products the gateway to new streams of income for nearly any business - and what types might you have overlooked? What prompted Becky's leap from a draining corporate job to launching “Mom Beach” and building her own empire, step by step? How do you move past overwhelm and find your first (or next) digital product idea - even if you have a mountain of choices? What impact has artificial intelligence really made on creating and selling digital products - and how can you work with it instead of against it? What are Becky's biggest lessons, regrets, and practical tips to help you skip the pitfalls and make profitable choices faster? If you've ever wondered how to add digital products to your business, what works now, and what's coming next, you'll get real stories and clear answers in this conversation. Plus, Becky shares a brilliant free resource for listeners wanting to create with AI. Listen in and open the door to your next big possibility! About our guest: Becky Beach is a million-dollar digital product seller and coach at coachbeckybeach.com. Known online as "Mom Beach," she has built a thriving business specializing in digital products, including printables, spreadsheets, courses, and books sold across multiple platforms such as Etsy, Shopify, and Amazon. With a background in IT, UX design, and web development spanning over 20 years, Becky leveraged her expertise to carve out a unique niche, especially as digital products and AI have evolved. Her entrepreneurial journey began as a way to gain flexibility and spend more time with her son, leading her to start the Mom Beach blog, which later pivoted toward topics like making money online and selling printables. Thanks to her innovative strategies and ability to capitalize on market shifts, she now earns approximately $100,000 a month in revenue from her digital product streams. Becky is passionate about helping women and service providers diversify their income through digital products and teaches others how to use AI tools to accelerate their business growth. Featured in publications like Forbes and Business Insider, Becky stands out for her resilience, creativity, and willingness to continually adapt to new technologies. Connect with Becky:Website: https://coachbeckybeach.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themombeach/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themombeachLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckbeach/ Resources for She's The Business Listeners! Learn how to create 3 different digital products to sell using AI tools! Free training: AI Digital Product Creation Masterclass Turn Spreadsheets You Create With AI Into Passive Income! (Learn Becky's method)Online course: AI Powered Spreadsheet System ==================== The NICHE Buster 7 Day Program For coaches, creatives, consultants who want to find your breakthrough niche and finally be seen for your true expertise! https://www.jessicaosborn.com/nichechallenge ................................................. Loving this podcast? Please drop a 5 star rating to help others find it too! If you have a spare 30 seconds we would be so grateful if you would leave a short review. Simply hit the 5 stars and add a few words of your own about your experience listening to She's The Business Podcast. You might be chosen as the review of the month and featured on an upcoming episode! ......................................................... About your host: Jessica Osborn is a strategic business coach who helps online experts step into authority and attract premium clients with ease. Drawing on 25 years in marketing and 15 years as a successful entrepreneur, she teaches women how to design unique and profitable signature programs that set them apart and attract a waitlist. As an active mother of two she's all about creating efficient, lean and sustainable service models that product multiple six-figure years without sacrificing your lifestyle! Learn more & book an intro call: https://jessicaosborn.com Instagram or Threads: https://instagram.com/jessica.osborn LinkedIn: Https://linkedin.com/in/jessicaaosborn Facebook: https://facebook.com/jessicaosborn.bxcoach

Apúntate a la newsletter para recibir cada episodio en tu correoEn Píldoras UX hablamos a menudo de investigación, producto y diseño centrado en el usuario, pero rara vez profundizamos en el mundo del branding, a pesar de que ambas disciplinas se influyen mutuamente.Por eso en este episodio invité a Samuel Ferrer, fundador de Kinton Brands, para analizar uno de los conceptos más importantes dentro del universo de las marcas: el conocimiento de marca.¡Espero que te guste!

Today's episode breaks down a massive new empirical study from OpenRouter and a16z that analyzed more than 100 trillion real-world tokens to reveal what developers and power users are actually doing with AI right now, from the surge in reasoning models to the dominance of coding workloads to the unexpected rise of roleplay in open-source systems. The discussion explores how the shift toward long-context programming tasks, tool-use invocation, and hybrid stacks of closed and open models is reshaping the practical AI landscape and what patterns matter most heading into 2026. Headlines include fresh rumors around GPT-5.2, OpenAI's UX cleanup efforts, and the latest shake-ups at Apple and Meta. Brought to you by:KPMG – Discover how AI is transforming possibility into reality. Tune into the new KPMG 'You Can with AI' podcast and unlock insights that will inform smarter decisions inside your enterprise. Listen now and start shaping your future with every episode. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kpmg.us/AIpodcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Gemini - Build anything with Gemini 3 Pro in Google AI Studio - http://ai.studio/buildRovo - Unleash the potential of your team with AI-powered Search, Chat and Agents - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rovo.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AssemblyAI - The best way to build Voice AI apps - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.assemblyai.com/brief⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LandfallIP - AI to Navigate the Patent Process - https://landfallip.com/Blitzy.com - Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://blitzy.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to build enterprise software in days, not months Robots & Pencils - Cloud-native AI solutions that power results ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://robotsandpencils.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Agent Readiness Audit from Superintelligent - Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://besuper.ai/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to request your company's agent readiness score.The AI Daily Brief helps you understand the most important news and discussions in AI. Subscribe to the podcast version of The AI Daily Brief wherever you listen: https://pod.link/1680633614Interested in sponsoring the show? sponsors@aidailybrief.ai

In this interview, Sarah sits down with Steven, a longtime UX leader who spent 17 years at the same digital agency before an unexpected layoff forced him to re-evaluate everything. With no portfolio, no updated resume, and low confidence, Steven joined Career Strategy Lab, and everything changed.Today, Steven is thriving as a fractional product design director, long-term contractor, and consultant helping companies elevate their UX teams and integrate AI into their workflows. In this conversation, he shares how Career Stratgegy Lab's UX job search accelerator helped him rebuild his confidence, tell a clear story about 20+ years of experience, streamline his job search, and even reinvent himself as a business owner.Whether you're mid-career, coming out of a layoff, or curious about consulting, Steven's story is a grounding reminder that clarity, strategy, and community can completely change your UX career trajectory.What You'll Learn in This Episode:✔️ How Steven went from 25% confidence to 80% confidence in his job search✔️ The myth he had to unlearn: your portfolio is not the first step✔️ Why clarity + foundational work = faster, less stressful job search✔️ How CSL's community accelerated his progress and kept him motivated✔️ The mindset shift that helped him stop applying blindly to jobs✔️ How he now uses CSL's frameworks to land consulting and contract roles✔️ Why your “career operating system” needs ongoing updates✔️ How knowing your values helps you choose the right opportunitiesTimestamps:00:00 Introduction to Sarah Doody and Career Strategy Lab00:38 Episode Overview and Open House Context01:26 Sarah Doody's Background and UX Career Coaching02:31 Steven's Journey and Career Strategy Lab Experience04:13 Building Confidence and Telling Your Story06:25 The Power of Community and Networking09:55 Mindset Shifts and Career Value Criteria13:03 Freelance and Consulting Success Tips16:01 Final Thoughts and Advice18:53 Conclusion and Next Steps

Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4rA1kKW Episode summary: In this episode of Insights Unlocked, host Nathan Isaacs sits down with Mike Mace, Executive Business Strategist at UserTesting, to explore a major shift already underway in the tech landscape: the rise of AI-powered conversational interfaces. Drawing from decades of industry experience, Mike warns that this is not a distant future trend—it's happening now, and it's reshaping how companies must approach user experience, product design, and customer interaction. What you'll learn in this episode: Why companies need to stop treating AI as just a feature and start seeing it as a transformational force How conversational interfaces are changing the rules for software UX—much like the shift to graphical interfaces decades ago Why today's AI tools require testing not only for usability but also for tone, personality, and brand alignment How emotional responses to AI-driven conversations can dramatically impact user trust and satisfaction Simple strategies companies can use today to evaluate and improve their AI experiences Mike also shares practical advice on how to begin adapting to this shift, including how to use tools like ChatGPT to understand user behaviors and preferences in real time. Resources & links Mike on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemace/) Nathan Isaacs on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanisaacs/) Effective AI: how to choose the right generative AI features (https://www.usertesting.com/resources/guides/how-to-choose-generative-ai-features) Designing AI-powered shopping experiences for the next generation of commerce (https://www.usertesting.com/resources/guides/designing-ai-powered-shopping-experiences-ecommerce) Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast

Every few years, the world of product management goes through a phase shift. When I started at Microsoft in the early 2000s, we shipped Office in boxes. Product cycles were long, engineering was expensive, and user research moved at the speed of snail mail. Fast forward a decade and the cloud era reset the speed at which we build, measure, and learn. Then mobile reshaped everything we thought we knew about attention, engagement, and distribution.Now we are standing at the edge of another shift. Not a small shift, but a tectonic one. Artificial intelligence is rewriting the rules of product creation, product discovery, product expectations, and product careers.To help make sense of this moment, I hosted a panel of world class product leaders on the Fireside PM podcast:• Rami Abu-Zahra, Amazon product leader across Kindle, Books, and Prime Video• Todd Beaupre, Product Director at YouTube leading Home and Recommendations• Joe Corkery, CEO and cofounder of Jaide Health • Tom Leung (me), Partner at Palo Alto Foundry• Lauren Nagel, VP Product at Mezmo• David Nydegger, Chief Product Officer at OvivaThese are leaders running massive consumer platforms, high stakes health tech, and fast moving developer tools. The conversation was rich, honest, and filled with specific examples. This post summarizes the discussion, adds my own reflections, and offers a practical guide for early and mid career PMs who want to stay relevant in a world where AI is redefining what great product management looks like.Table of Contents* What AI Cannot Do and Why PM Judgment Still Matters* The New AI Literacy: What PMs Must Know by 2026* Why Building AI Products Speeds Up Some Cycles and Slows Down Others* Whether the PM, Eng, UX Trifecta Still Stands* The Biggest Risks AI Introduces Into Product Development* Actionable Advice for Early and Mid Career PMs* My Takeaways and What Really Matters Going Forward* Closing Thoughts and Coaching Practice1. What AI Cannot Do and Why PM Judgment Still MattersWe opened the panel with a foundational question. As AI becomes more capable every quarter, what is left for humans to do. Where do PMs still add irreplaceable value. It is the question every PM secretly wonders.Todd put it simply: “At the end of the day, you have to make some judgment calls. We are not going to turn that over anytime soon.”This theme came up again and again. AI is phenomenal at synthesizing, drafting, exploring, and narrowing. But it does not have conviction. It does not have lived experience. It does not feel user pain. It does not carry responsibility.Joe from Jaide Health captured it perfectly when he said: “AI cannot feel the pain your users have. It can help meet their goals, but it will not get you that deep understanding.”There is still no replacement for sitting with a frustrated healthcare customer who cannot get their clinical data into your system, or a creator on YouTube who feels the algorithm is punishing their art, or a devops engineer staring at an RCA output that feels 20 percent off.Every PM knows this feeling: the moment when all signals point one way, but your gut tells you the data is incomplete or misleading. This is the craft that AI does not have.Why judgment becomes even more important in an AI worldDavid, who runs product at a regulated health company, said something incredibly important: “Knowing what great looks like becomes more essential, not less. The PM's that thrive in AI are the ones with great product sense.”This is counterintuitive for many. But when the operational work becomes automated, the differentiation shifts toward taste, intuition, sequencing, and prioritization.Lauren asked the million dollar question. “How are we going to train junior PMs if AI is doing the legwork. Who teaches them how to think.”This is a profound point. If AI closes the gap between junior and senior PMs in execution tasks, the difference will emerge almost entirely in judgment. Knowing how to probe user problems. Knowing when a feature is good enough. Knowing which tradeoffs matter. Knowing which flaw is fatal and which is cosmetic.AI is incredible at writing a PRD. AI is terrible at knowing whether the PRD is any good.Which means the future PM becomes more strategic, more intuitive, more customer obsessed, and more willing to make thoughtful bets under uncertainty.2. The New AI Literacy: What PMs Must Know by 2026I asked the panel what AI literacy actually means for PMs. Not the hype. Not the buzzwords. The real work.Instead of giving gimmicky answers, the discussion converged on a clear set of skills that PMs must master.Skill 1: Understanding context engineeringDavid laid this out clearly: “Knowing what LMS are good at and what they are not good at, and knowing how to give them the right context, has become a foundational PM skill.”Most PMs think prompt engineering is about clever phrasing. In reality, the future is about context engineering. Feeding models the right data. Choosing the right constraints. Deciding what to ignore. Curating inputs that shape outputs in reliable ways.Context engineering is to AI product development what Figma was to collaborative design. If you cannot do it, you are not going to be effective.Skill 2: Evals, evals, evalsRami said something that resonated with the entire panel: “Last year was all about prompts. This year is all about evals.”He is right.• How do you build a golden dataset.• How do you evaluate accuracy.• How do you detect drift.• How do you measure hallucination rates.• How do you combine UX evals with model evals.• How do you decide what good looks like.• How do you define safe versus unsafe boundaries.AI evaluation is now a core PM responsibility. Not exclusively. But PMs must understand what engineers are testing for, what failure modes exist, and how to design test sets that reflect the real world.Lauren said her PMs write evals side by side with engineering. That is where the world is going.Skill 3: Knowing when to trust AI output and when to override itTodd noted: “It is one thing to get an answer that sounds good. It is another thing to know if it is actually good.”This is the heart of the role. AI can produce strategic recommendations that look polished, structured, and wise. But the real question is whether they are grounded in reality, aligned with your constraints, and consistent with your product vision.A PM without the ability to tell real insight from confident nonsense will be replaced by someone who can.Skill 4: Understanding the physics of model changesThis one surprised many people, but it was a recurring point.Rami noted: “When you upgrade a model, the outputs can be totally different. The evals start failing. The experience shifts.”PMs must understand:• Models get deprecated• Models drift• Model updates can break well tuned prompts• API pricing has real COGS implications• Latency varies• Context windows vary• Some tasks need agents, some need RAG, some need a small finetuned modelThis is product work now. The PM of 2026 must know these constraints as well as a PM of the cloud era understood database limits or API rate limits.Skill 5: How to construct AI powered prototypes in hours, not weeksIt now takes one afternoon to build something meaningful. Zero code required. Prompt, test, refine. Whether you use Replit, Cursor, Vercel, or sandboxed agents, the speed is shocking.But this makes taste and problem selection even more important. The future PM must be able to quickly validate whether a concept is worth building beyond the demo stage.3. Why Building AI Products Speeds Up Some Cycles and Slows Down OthersThis part of the conversation was fascinating because people expected AI to accelerate everything. The panel had a very different view.Fast: Prototyping and concept validationLauren described how her teams can build working versions of an AI powered Root Cause Analysis feature in days, test it with customers, and get directional feedback immediately.“You can think bigger because the cost of trying things is much lower,” she said.For founders, early PMs, and anyone validating hypotheses, this is liberating. You can test ten ideas in a week. That used to take a quarter.Slow: Productionizing AI featuresThe surprising part is that shipping the V1 of an AI feature is slower than most expect.Joe noted: “You can get prototypes instantly. But turning that into a real product that works reliably is still hard.”Why. Because:• You need evals.• You need monitoring.• You need guardrails.• You need safety reviews.• You need deterministic parts of the workflow.• You need to manage COGS.• You need to design fallbacks.• You need to handle unpredictable inputs.• You need to think about hallucination risk.• You need new UI surfaces for non deterministic outputs.Lauren said bluntly: “Vibe coding is fast. Moving that vibe code to production is still a four month process.”This should be printed on a poster in every AI startup office.Very Slow: Iterating on AI powered featuresAnother counterintuitive point. Many teams ship a great V1 but struggle to improve it significantly afterward.David said their nutrition AI feature launched well but: “We struggled really hard to make it better. Each iteration was easy to try but difficult to improve in a meaningful way.”Why is iteration so difficult.Because model improvements may not translate directly into UX improvements. Users need consistency. Drift creates churn. Small changes in context or prompts can cause large changes in behavior.Teams are learning a hard truth: AI powered features do not behave like typical deterministic product flows. They require new iteration muscles that most orgs do not yet have.4. The PM, Eng, UX Trifecta in the AI EraI asked whether the classic PM, Eng, UX triad is still the right model. The audience was expecting disagreement. The panel was surprisingly aligned.The trifecta is not going anywhereRami put it simply: “We still need experts in all three domains to raise the bar.”Joe added: “AI makes it possible for PMs to do more technical work. But it does not replace engineering. Same for design.”AI blurs the edges of the roles, but it does not collapse them. In fact, each role becomes more valuable because the work becomes more abstract.• PMs focus on judgment, sequencing, evaluation, and customer centric problem framing• Engineers focus on agents, systems, architecture, guardrails, latency, and reliability• Designers focus on dynamic UX, non deterministic UX patterns, and new affordances for AI outputsWhat does changeAI makes the PM-Eng relationship more intense. The backbone of AI features is a combination of model orchestration, evaluation, prompting, and context curation. PMs must be tighter than ever with engineering to design these systems.David noted that his teams focus more on individual talents. Some PMs are great at context engineering. Some designers excel at polishing AI generated layouts. Some engineers are brilliant at prompt chaining. AI reveals strengths quickly.The trifecta remains. The skill distribution within it evolves.5. The Biggest Risks AI Introduces Into Product DevelopmentWhen we asked what scares PMs most about AI, the conversation became blunt and honest. Risk 1: Loss of user trustLauren warned: “If people keep shipping low quality AI features, user trust in AI erodes. And then your good AI product suffers from the skepticism.”This is very real. Many early AI features across industries are low quality, gimmicky, or unreliable. Users quickly learn to distrust these experiences.Which means PMs must resist the pressure to ship before the feature is ready.Risk 2: Skill atrophyTodd shared a story that hit home for many PMs. “Junior folks just want to plug in the prompt and take whatever the AI gives them. That is a recipe for having no job later.”PMs who outsource their thinking to AI will lose their judgment. Judgment cannot be regained easily.This is the silent career killer.Risk 3: Safety hazards in sensitive domainsDavid was direct: “If we have one unsafe output, we have to shut the feature off. We cannot afford even small mistakes.”In healthcare, finance, education, and legal industries, the tolerance for error is near zero. AI must be monitored relentlessly. Human in the loop systems are mandatory. The cycles are slower but the stakes are higher.Risk 4: The high bar for AI compared to humansJoe said something I have thought about for years: “AI is held to a much higher standard than human decision making. Humans make mistakes constantly, but we forgive them. AI makes one mistake and it is unacceptable.”This slows adoption in certain industries and creates unrealistic expectations.Risk 5: Model deprecation and instabilityRami described a real problem AI PMs face: “Models get deprecated faster than they get replaced. The next model is not always GA. Outputs change. Prompts break.”This creates product instability that PMs must anticipate and design around.Risk 6: Differentiation becomes hardI shared this perspective because I see so many early stage startups struggle with it.If your whole product is a wrapper around an LLM, competitors will copy you in a week. The real differentiation will not come from using AI. It will come from how deeply you understand the customer, how you integrate AI with proprietary data, and how you create durable workflows.6. Actionable Advice for Early and Mid Career PMsThis was one of my favorite parts of the panel because the advice was humble, practical, and immediately useful.A. Develop deep user empathy. This will become your biggest differentiator.Lauren said it clearly: “Maintain your empathy. Understand the pain your user really has.”AI makes execution cheap. It makes insight valuable.If you can articulate user pain precisely.If you can differentiate surface friction from underlying need.If you can see around corners.If you can prototype solutions and test them in hours.If you can connect dots between what AI can do and what users need.You will thrive.Tactical steps:• Sit in on customer support calls every week.• Watch 10 user sessions for every feature you own.• Talk to customers until patterns emerge.• Ask “why” five times in every conversation.• Maintain a user pain log and update it constantly.B. Become great at context engineeringThis will matter as much as SQL mattered ten years ago.Action steps:• Practice writing prompts with structured context blocks.• Build a library of prompts that work for your product.• Study how adding, removing, or reordering context changes output.• Learn RAG patterns.• Learn when structured data beats embeddings.• Learn when smaller local models outperform big ones.C. Learn eval frameworksThis is non negotiable.You need to know:• Precision vs recall tradeoffs• How to build golden datasets• How to design scenario based evals for UX• How to test for hallucination• How to monitor drift• How to set quality thresholds• How to build dashboards that reflect real world input distributionsYou do not need to write the code.You do need to define the eval strategy.D. Strengthen your product senseYou cannot outsource product taste.Todd said it best: “Imagine asking AI to generate 20 percent growth for you. It will not tell you what great looks like.”To strengthen your product sense:• Review the best products weekly.• Take screenshots of great UX patterns.• Map user flows from apps you admire.• Break products down into primitives.• Ask yourself why a product decision works.• Predict what great would look like before you design it.The PMs who thrive will be the ones who can recognize magic when they see it.E. Stay curiousRami's closing advice was simple and perfect: “Stay curious. Keep learning. It never gets old.”AI changes monthly. The PM who is excited by new ideas will outperform the PM who clings to old patterns.Practical habits:• Read one AI research paper summary each week.• Follow evaluation and model updates from major vendors.• Build at least one small AI prototype a month.• Join AI PM communities.• Teach juniors what you learn. Nothing accelerates mastery faster.F. Embrace velocity and side projectsTodd said that some of his biggest career breakthroughs came from solving problems on the side.This is more true now than ever.If you have an idea, you can build an MVP over a weekend. If it solves a real problem, someone will notice.G. Stay close to engineeringNot because you need to code, but because AI features require tighter PM engineering collaboration.Learn enough to be dangerous:• How embeddings work• How vector stores behave• What latency tradeoffs exist• How agents chain tasks• How model versioning works• How context limits shape UX• Why some prompts blow up API costsIf you can speak this language, you will earn trust and accelerate cycles.H. Understand the business deeplyJoe's advice was timeless: “Know who pays you and how much they pay. Solve real problems and know the business model.”PMs who understand unit economics, COGS, pricing, and funnel dynamics will stand out.7. Tom's Takeaways and What Really Matters Going ForwardI ended the recording by sharing what I personally believe after moderating this discussion and working closely with a variety of AI teams over the past 2 years.Judgment becomes the most valuable PM skillAs AI gets better at analysis, synthesis, and execution, your value shifts to:• Choosing the right problem• Sequencing decisions• Making 55 45 calls• Understanding user pain• Making tradeoffs• Deciding when good is good enough• Defining success• Communicating vision• Influencing the orgAgents can write specs.LLMs can produce strategies.But only humans can choose the right one and commit.Learning speed becomes a competitive advantageI said this on the panel and I believe it more every month.Because of AI, you now have:• Infinite coaches• Infinite mentors• Infinite experts• Infinite documentation• Infinite learning loopsA PM who learns slowly will not survive the next decade. Curiosity, empathy, and velocity will separate great from goodMany panelists said versions of this. The common pattern was:• Understand users deeply• Combine multiple tools creatively• Move quickly• Learn constantlyThe future rewards generalists with taste, speed, and emotional intelligence.Differentiation requires going beyond wrapper appsThis is one of my biggest concerns for early stage founders. If your entire product is a wrapper around a model, you are vulnerable.Durable value will come from:• Proprietary data• Proprietary workflows• Deep domain insight• Organizational trust• Distribution advantage• Safety and reliability• Integration with existing systemsAI is a component, not a moat.8. Closing ThoughtsHosting this panel made me more optimistic about the future of product management. Not because AI will not change the job. It already has. But because the fundamental craft remains alive.Product management has always been about understanding people, making decisions with incomplete information, telling compelling stories, and guiding teams through ambiguity and being right often.AI accelerates the craft. It amplifies the best PMs and exposes the weak ones. It rewards curiosity, empathy, velocity, and judgment.If you want tailored support on your PM career, leadership journey, or executive path, I offer 1 on 1 career, executive, and product coaching at tomleungcoaching.com.OK team. Let's ship greatness. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit firesidepm.substack.com

Ignacio Siles es un investigador de la Universidad de Costa Rica que se dedica a entender las relaciones cotidianas de las personas con los algoritmos, sin escaparle al tema de lo divino y lo místico de la tecnología.  Nos va a contar como investiga el tema y porqué vale la pena investigarlo. Esta entrevista es parte de las listas: Costa Rica y diseño, Inteligencia Artificial, Diseño UX e Investigación en diseño. Su libro: Living with Algorithms. Agency and User Culture in Costa Rica. Uno de sus artículos: Algoritmos como hechos y fabricaciones: relatos etnográficos de factishes del Caribe costarricenseIgnacio nos recomienda: Recomienda: Klara y el sol de Kazuo IshiguroOne battle after an another de Paul Thomas Anderson

Maged Harby, General Partner at VMS, joins Jeremy Au to share his journey from publishing to building one of the Middle East's earliest EdTech venture programs, explain how Egypt and Saudi Arabia differ as innovation ecosystems, and guide founders on how to enter the region with cultural fit and strong partnerships. They discuss how EdTech adoption accelerated during COVID, why parents still steer children toward traditional fields, and how Gen Z is shifting toward entrepreneurship. Their conversation explores the contrast between Egypt's talent depth and Saudi Arabia's purchasing power, the need for localization in pricing and UX, and why Middle Eastern markets must be treated as distinct rather than homogeneous. Maged also outlines what he hopes to see next in personalized learning and why teacher training remains the region's biggest unlock. 00:25 VMS: Corporate Venture studio based in Saudi Arabia and provide several program to help and support startup to grow such as Bridge program that support startups that need to expand their business to Saudi Arabia and other programs 03:00 Parents push traditional paths: Egypt's university admissions are rigid and most families still guide children toward engineering or medicine. 07:00 EdVentures built from zero: Maged grew EdVentures into a major EdTech incubator and accelerator with more than 90 graduated startups and 23 investments. 14:00 Gen Z shifts to entrepreneurship: Young people are increasingly drawn to building startups and solving real problems instead of following traditional job tracks. 16:00 Localization defines success: Middle Eastern markets differ in pricing, UX, language and regulation which makes adaptation essential for expansion. 19:00 Competition varies by country: FinTech is saturated in Saudi Arabia while EdTech and health tech remain more open in Egypt and the UAE. 27:00 Teacher quality is the bottleneck: Universities must modernize teacher training so classrooms can match Gen Z and Gen Alpha digital habits. Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/maged-harby-middle-east-playbook Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremyau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Chinese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Vietnamese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts #MiddleEastTech #EdTechInnovation #SaudiArabiaStartups #EgyptEcosystem #GenZEntrepreneurs #LocalizationStrategy #VentureStudios #GCCExpansion #PersonalizedLearning #BRAVEpodcast

Any donation is greatly appreciated! 47e6GvjL4in5Zy5vVHMb9PQtGXQAcFvWSCQn2fuwDYZoZRk3oFjefr51WBNDGG9EjF1YDavg7pwGDFSAVWC5K42CBcLLv5U OR DONATE HERE: https://www.monerotalk.live/donate TODAY'S SHOW: In this episode of Monero Talk, Douglas Tuman speaks with Paul Puey of Edge Wallet about privacy in cryptocurrency. Paul shares his journey from Dogecoin to Bitcoin, recognizing Bitcoin's privacy issues early on, which led to his support for Monero. He discusses the rise of "privacy season," attributing increased interest in privacy coins to dissatisfaction with Bitcoin's lack of privacy. Paul also explains Edge Wallet's integration of Monero in 2018 and contrasts Monero's mandatory privacy with Zcash's optional model. The conversation covers usability challenges with Monero, such as transaction finality, and touches on the need for better point-of-sale solutions to drive crypto adoption. Paul also highlights Edge Wallet's new integration of XANO for private Bitcoin transactions and discusses the potential impact of macroeconomic trends on the crypto market, especially privacy coins. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00:58) – Privacy Season is Here (00:04:00) – Using Monero in Daily Life (00:06:40) – Edge Wallet's Role in the Monero Community (00:08:00) – Early Edge Integration of Monero (00:13:45) – Bitcoin Privacy vs. Monero Privacy (00:16:20) – Zcash's Early Usability Issues (00:18:30) – Monero vs Zcash: Philosophy & UX (00:23:50) – Proof-of-Stake Debate (00:26:50) – Zuko Conversation & Community Dynamics (00:31:00) – FCMP: The Future of Monero Privacy (00:33:10) – Light Wallet Servers Get Major Privacy Boost (00:35:50) – Biggest Monero Hard Fork Ever (00:47:30) – Best Coins for Payments (01:10:25) – Privacy Season Outlook (01:14:05) – Monero as the Ultimate Hedge (01:16:10) – Final Wrap-Up GUEST LINKS: https://x.com/paullinator Purchase Cafe & tip the farmers w/ XMR! https://gratuitas.org/ SPONSORS: Cakewallet.com, the first open-source Monero wallet for iOS. You can even exchange between XMR, BTC, LTC & more in the app! Monero.com by Cake Wallet - ONLY Monero wallet (https://monero.com/) StealthEX, an instant exchange. Go to (https://stealthex.io) to instantly exchange between Monero and 450 plus assets, w/o having to create an account or register & with no limits. WEBSITE: https://www.monerotopia.com CONTACT: monerotalk@protonmail.com ODYSEE: https://odysee.com/@MoneroTalk:8 TWITTER: https://twitter.com/monerotalk FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/MoneroTalk HOST: https://twitter.com/douglastuman INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/monerotalk TELEGRAM: https://t.me/monerotopia MATRIX: https://matrix.to/#/%23monerotopia%3Amonero.social MASTODON: @Monerotalk@mastodon.social MONERO.TOWN: https://monero.town/u/monerotalkAny donation is greatly appreciated!Any donation is greatly appreciated!

Many market research, UX, and CX teams now use AI for brainstorming, writing, and various research tasks. But it's not always easy, especially when using AI to help researchers craft surveys and discussion guides. The recurring issue isn't effort—it's uneven quality from ad hoc prompting. In "Prompt Engineering for Researchers," host Kathryn Korostoff demonstrates two structured approaches that keep rigor intact while reducing rework. First, Prompt Chaining: design the deliverable step by step—structure before content—using short review loops to tune timing, probes, and flow. Second, Reflexion (with an "X"): asking the AI to critique its own draft for bias, confusion, or sequencing and to document changes. Example: "Review this guide and revise any questions that may be leading, biased, or confusing. Then list the changes you made and why you made them." And it will! Check out this episode for examples of using effective AI prompting for qualitative and quantitative researchers. #MarketResearch #QualitativeResearch #UXResearch #CXResearch #SurveyDesign #AIforResearch Conversations for Research Rockstars is produced by Research Rockstar Training & Staffing. Our 25+ Market Research eLearning classes are offered on demand and include options to earn Insights Association Certificates. Our Rent-a-Researcher staffing service places qualified, fully vetted market research experts, covering temporary needs due to project and resource fluctuations. We believe it: Inside every market researcher is a Research Rockstar! Hope you enjoy this episode of Conversations for Research Rockstars. Research Rockstar | Facebook | LinkedIn | 877-Rocks10 ext 703 for Support, 701 for Sales Info@ResearchRockstar.com

Ryan Young and Kayla Ferris are Certified OOUX Strategists and UX leaders at P3+Uplift, an IT consulting firm based in Des Moines, Iowa. Ryan serves as Senior Director of Product and Design, while Kayla is a UX and Product Designer and mentor for the OOUX Certification Program. In this episode of the UX Level-Up Podcast, Sophia talks with Ryan and Kayla about how OOUX became P3's “test-driven design” process, why it helps them ramp up on complex projects at lightning speed, and how mapping objects with clients—even those with PhDs in microbiology—turns confusion into clarity. They also share real stories of saving weeks of rework and being told they knew more about their clients' businesses than ten-year veterans.LINKS: A List Apart: Object-Oriented UX — https://alistapart.com/article/object-oriented-ux/Learn more about OOUX Certification — https://ooux.com/certificationContinue the conversation on the OOUX Forum!

Join us for a conversation with Spanish double bassist Uxía Martínez Botana, who shares her journey from facing skepticism as a woman in classical music to becoming a celebrated soloist, chamber musician, and educator. Based in Amsterdam, she tours internationally with ensembles like the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Sol Gabetta's baroque ensemble, and is the first female double bass professor at a Spanish conservatory. We dig into topics like life on the road, work-life balance, her journey through the world of professional music, and her recent Mendelssohn X-Files Project. Enjoy, and learn more about Uxía and the great work she's doing through the links below Official Website: uxiamartinezbotana.com Mendelssohn X-Files Album: Fuga Libera Spotify: Uxía Martínez Botana YouTube: Official Channel Instagram: @uxiamartinezbotana Connect with DBHQ Join Our Newsletter Double Bass Resources Double Bass Sheet Music Double Bass Merch Gear used to record this podcast Zoom H6 studio 8-Track 32-Bit Float Handy Recorder Rode Podmic Sony Alpha 7 IV Full-frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Lens Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM Lens   When you buy a product using a link on this page, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting DBHQ. Thank you to our sponsors! Upton Bass - From Grammy Award winners and Philharmonic players like Max Zeugner of the New York Philharmonic, each Upton Bass is crafted with precision in Connecticut, USA, and built to last for generations.  Discover your perfect bass with Upton Bass today! theme music by Eric Hochberg

Shruti Kapoor comes back onto the podcast to discuss React 19.2, how it builds on React 19 and React 18, and new features like Activity, View Transitions, useEffectEvent, and React server components improvements powered by cacheSignal. They explore partial pre rendering, Suspense boundary batching, the stable React Compiler for auto memoed apps, and new Chrome dev tools performance tracks. The episode also covers Next.js 16 framework support and the updated ESL plugin react hooks. Links Website: https://shrutikapoor.dev LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrutikapoor08/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shrutikapoor08 X: https://x.com/shrutikapoor08 Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:2xjmzwgtmtxa4hqw7ofab4kb Resources React 19.2: https://react.dev/blog/2025/10/01/react-19-2 We want to hear from you! How did you find us? Did you see us on Twitter? In a newsletter? Or maybe we were recommended by a friend? Fill out our listener survey (https://t.co/oKVAEXipxu)! https://t.co/oKVAEXipxu Let us know by sending an email to our producer, Elizabeth, at elizabeth.becz@logrocket.com (mailto:elizabeth.becz@logrocket.com), or tweet at us at PodRocketPod (https://twitter.com/PodRocketpod). Check out our newsletter (https://blog.logrocket.com/the-replay-newsletter/)! https://blog.logrocket.com/the-replay-newsletter/ Follow us. Get free stickers. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, fill out this form (https://podrocket.logrocket.com/get-podrocket-stickers), and we'll send you free PodRocket stickers! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces the UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Start understanding where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Chapters Special Guest: Shruti Kapoor.

We talk about collaboration, but our brains often treat work like a win-lose game. In this episode, I break down Zero-Sum Bias, the belief that someone else's win automatically means your loss, where it comes from, how it quietly shapes team dynamics, and what you can do to build more win-win outcomes at work.What if your brain has been keeping score at work this whole time? And the game it thinks you're playing doesn't actually exist?We repeat lines like, “If a stakeholder wins, designers lose,” or “If the PM wins, users lose,” so often that they start to feel like facts. In this episode of the Cognition Catalog, we unpack Zero-Sum Bias, the belief that someone else's gain must come at your expense, and how that thinking quietly turns collaboration into a contest.I walk through where this bias comes from, starting with early economic and game theory models like zero-sum games, where wins and losses truly do net out to zero, and how that maps onto our evolutionary history of genuine scarcity. Food, safety, and resources really were limited, so one person's gain often did mean someone else's loss. The problem is that our brains still carry that wiring into modern workplaces that are full of shared goals, interdependence, and cross-functional teams.From design vs. product vs. engineering “tensions” to resourcing, prioritization, and recognition, I break down how zero-sum thinking shows up in everyday UX work—and what changes when you stop assuming only one side can win. We'll talk about practical ways to spot the bias, shift toward non-zero-sum thinking, and design team habits that reward collaboration over quiet competition.If you've ever caught yourself thinking, “If they win, I lose,” this episode will help you reset the scoreboard and build healthier ways of working together.Topics:• 02:08 Debunking Zero Sum Thinking• 03:13 Origins and Evolution of Zero Sum Bias• 04:09 Impact of Zero Sum Bias on Teams• 06:18 Strategies to Combat Zero-Sum BiasTo explore more about the Naive Cynicism, don't miss the full article @ ⁠⁠cognitioncatalog.com⁠⁠—Thanks for listening! We hope you dug today's episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you really enjoyed today's episode, why don't you leave a five-star review? Or tell some friends! It will help us out a ton.If you haven't already, sign up for our email list. We won't spam you. Pinky swear.• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get a FREE audiobook AND support the show⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out show transcripts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Stitcher⁠⁠

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How to Build a Winning Strategy for Your B2B Brand In a fast-paced business environment, marketers, agencies, and consultants must proactively help clients differentiate their brands in the marketplace. One way of doing this is by analyzing the strategy, messaging, and brand positioning, both for their own brands and key competitors. So how can teams conduct this kind of brand research and competitive analysis in a way that's insightful, efficient, and actionable for planning the next steps? Tune in as the B2B Marketers on Mission Podcast presents the Marketing DEMO Lab Series, where we sit down with Clay Ostrom (Founder, Map & Fire) and his SmokeLadder platform designed for brand research, messaging and positioning analysis, and competitive benchmarking. In this episode, Clay explained the platform's origins and features, emphasizing its role in analyzing brand positioning, core messaging, and competitive landscapes. He also stressed the importance of clear, consistent brand positioning and messaging, and how standardized make it easier to compare brands across multiple business values. Clay also highlighted the value of objective, data-driven analysis to identify brand strengths, weaknesses, and gaps, and how tools like SmokeLadder can save significant time in gathering insights to build trust with clients. He provided practical steps for generating, refining, and exporting brand messaging and analysis for internal or client-facing use. Finally, Clay also discussed how action items and recommendations generated from analysis can immediately support smart brand strategy decisions and expedite trust-building with clients. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4_o1PzF1Kk Topics discussed in episode: [1:31] The purpose behind building SmokeLadder and why it matters for B2B teams [12:00] A walkthrough of the SmokeLadder platform and how it works [14:51] SmokeLadder's core features [17:48] How positioning scores and category rankings are calculated [35:36] How differentiation and competitors are analyzed inside SmokeLadder [44:07] How SmokeLadder builds messaging and generates targeted personas [50:24] The key benefits and unique capabilities that set SmokeLadder apart Companies and links: Clay Ostrom Map & Fire SmokeLadder Transcript Christian Klepp  00:00 In an increasingly competitive B2B landscape, marketers, agencies and consultants, need to proactively find ways to help their clients stand out amidst the digital noise. One way of doing this is by analyzing the strategy, messaging and positioning of their own brands and those of their competitors. So how can they do this in a way that’s insightful, efficient and effective? Welcome to this first episode of the B2B Marketers in the Mission podcast Demo Lab Series, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp. Today, I’ll be talking to Clay Ostrom about this topic. He’s the owner and founder of the branding agency Map and Fire, and the creator of the platform Smoke Ladder that we’ll be talking about today. So let’s dive in. Christian Klepp  00:42 All right, and I’m gonna say Clay Ostrom. Welcome to this first episode of the Demo Lab Series. Clay Ostrom  00:50 I am super excited and very honored to be the first guest on this new series. It’s awesome. Christian Klepp  00:56 We are honored to have you here. And you know, let’s sit tight, or batten down the hatches and buckle up, and whatever other analogy you want to throw in there, because we are going to unpack a lot of interesting features and discuss interesting topics around the platform that you’ve built. And I think a good place to start, perhaps Clay before we start doing a walk through of the platform is, but let’s start at the very beginning. What motivated you to create this platform called Smoke Ladder. Clay Ostrom  01:31 So we should go all the way back to my childhood. I always dreamed of, you know, working on brand and positioning. You know, that was something I’ve always thought of since the early days, but no, but I do. I own an agency called Map and Fire, so I’ve been doing this kind of work for over 10 years now, and have worked with lots and lots of different kinds of clients, and over that time, developed different frameworks and a point of view about how to do this kind of work, and when the AI revolution kind of hit us all, it just really struck me that this was an opportunity to take a lot of that thinking and a lot of that, you know, again, my perspective on how to do this work and productize that and turn it into something that could be used by people when we’re not engaged with them, in some kind of service offering. So, so that was kind of the kernel of it. I actually have a background in computer science and product. So it was sort of this natural Venn diagram intersection of I can do some product stuff, I can do brand strategy stuff. So let’s put it together and build something. Christian Klepp  02:46 And the rest, as they say, is history. Clay Ostrom  02:49 The rest, as they say, is a lot of nights and weekends and endless hours slaving away at trying to build something useful. Christian Klepp  02:58 Sure, sure, that certainly is part of it, too. Clay Ostrom  03:01 Yeah. Christian Klepp  03:02 Let’s not keep the audience in suspense for too long here, right? Like, let’s start with the walk through. And before you share your screen, maybe I’ll set this up a little bit, right? Because you, as you said, like, you know, you’ve built this platform. It’s called Smoke Ladder, which I thought was a really clever name. It’s, you like to describe it as, like, your favorite SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tool, but for brand research and analysis. So I would say, like, walk us through how somebody would use this platform, like, whether they be a marketer that’s already been like in the industry for years, or is starting out, or somebody working at a brand or marketing agency, and how does the platform address these challenges or questions that people have regarding brand strategy, analysis and research? Clay Ostrom  03:49 Yeah, yeah. I use that analogy of the SEO thing, just because, especially early on, I was trying to figure out the best way to describe it to someone who hasn’t seen it before. I feel like it’s a, I’m not going to fall into the trap of saying, this is the only product like this, but it has its own unique twists with what it can do. And I felt like SEO tools are something everybody has touched at one point or another. So I was using this analogy of, it’s like the s, you know, Semrush of positioning and messaging or Ahrefs, depending on your if you’re a Coke or Pepsi person. But I always felt like that was just a quick way to give a little idea of the fact that it’s both about analyzing your own brand, but it’s also about competitive analysis and being able to see what’s going on in the market or in your landscape, and looking specifically at what your competitors are doing and what their strengths and weaknesses are. So does that resonate with you in terms of, like, a shorthand way, I will say, I don’t. I don’t say that. It’s super explicitly on the website, but it’s been in conversation. Christian Klepp  05:02 No, absolutely, absolutely, that resonated with me. The only part that didn’t resonate with me is that I’m neither a coke or a Pepsi person. I’m more of a ginger ale type of guy. I digress. But yeah, let’s what don’t you share your screen, and let’s walk through this, right? Like, okay, if a marketing person were like, use the platform to do some research on, perhaps that marketers, like own company and the competitors as well, right? Like, what would they do? Clay Ostrom  05:32 Yeah, so that’s, that is, like you were saying, there’s, sort of, I guess, a few different personas of people who would potentially use this. And initially I was thinking a little more about both in house, people who, you know, someone who’s working on a specific brand, digging really deep on their own brand, whether they’re, you know, the marketing lead or whatever, maybe they’re the founder, and then this other role of agency owners, or people who work at an agency where they are constantly having to look at new brands, new categories, and quickly get up to speed on what those brands are doing and what’s the competitive space look like, you know, for that brand. And that’s something that, if you work at an agency, which obviously we both have our own agencies, we do this stuff weekly. I mean, every time a new lead comes in, we have to quickly get up to speed and understand something about what they do. And one of the big gaps that I found, and I’d be curious to kind of hear your thoughts on this, but I’ve had a lot of conversations with other agency owners, and I think one of the biggest gaps is often that brands are just not always that great at explaining their own brand or positioning or differentiation to you, and sometimes they have some documentation around it, but a lot of times they don’t. A lot of it’s word of mouth, and that makes it really hard to do work for them. If whatever you’re doing for them, whether that’s maybe you are working on SEO or maybe you’re working on paid ads or social or content, you have to know what the brand is doing and kind of what they’re again, what their strengths and weaknesses are, so that you can talk about that. I mean, do you come across that a lot in your work? Christian Klepp  07:33 How do I say this without offending anybody? I find, I mean jokes aside, I find, more often than not, in the especially in the B2B space, which is an area that I operate in, I find 888 point five times out of 10. We are dealing with companies that have a they, have a very rude, rudimentary, like, framework of something that remotely resembles some form of branding. And I know that was a very long winded answer, but it’s kind of sort of there, but not really, if you know what I mean. Clay Ostrom  08:17 Yeah. Christian Klepp  08:17 And there have been other extreme cases where they’ve got the logo and the website, and that’s as far as their branding goals. And I would say that had they had all these, this discipline, like branding system and structure in place, then people like maybe people like you and I will be out on a job, right and it’s something, and I’m sure you’ve come across this, and we’ll probably dig into this later, but like you, it’s something I’ve come across several times, especially in the B2B space, where branding is not taken seriously until it becomes serious. I know that sounds super ironic, right, but, and it’s to the point of this platform, right, which we’re going to dig into in a second, but it’s, it’s things, for instance, positioning right, like, are you? Are you, in fact, strategically positioned against competitors? Is your messaging resonating with, I would imagine, especially in the B2B context, with the multiple group target groups that you have, or that your company is, is going after? Right? Is that resonating, or is this all like something that I call the internal high five? You’ve this has all been developed to please internal stakeholders and and then you take it to market, and it just does not, it just does not resonate with the target audience at all. Right? So there’s such a complex plethora of challenges here, right? That people like yourself and like you and I are constantly dealing with, and I think that’s also part of the reason why I would say a platform like this is important, because it helps to not just aggregate data. I mean, certainly it does that too, but it helps. To put things properly, like into perspective at speed. I think that might be, that might be something that you would have talked about later, but it does this at speed, because I think, from my own experience, one of the factors in our world that sometimes works against us is time, right? Clay Ostrom  10:19 No, I totally agree, yeah, and, you know, we’re lucky, I guess would be the word that we are often hired to work on a company strategy with them and help them clarify these things. Christian Klepp  10:33 Absolutely. Clay Ostrom  10:34 There are a million other flavors of agencies out there who are being hired to execute on work for a brand, and not necessarily being brought in to redefine, you know what the brand, you know they’re positioning and their messaging and some of these fundamental things, so they’re kind of stuck with whatever they get. And like you said, a lot of times it’s not much. It might be a logo and a roughly put together website, and maybe not a whole lot else. So, yeah, but I think your other point about speed is that was a huge part of this. I think the market is only accelerating right now, because it’s becoming so much easier to start up new companies and new brands and new products. And now we’ve got vibe coding, so you can technically build a product in a day, maybe launch it the next day, start marketing it, you know, by the weekend. And all of this is creating noise and competition, and it’s all stuff that we have to deal with as marketers. We have to understand the landscape. We’ve got to quickly be able to analyze all these different brands, see where the strengths and weaknesses are and all that stuff. So… Christian Klepp  11:46 Absolutely. Clay Ostrom  11:46 But, yeah, that, I think that the speed piece is a huge part of this for sure. Christian Klepp  11:51 Yeah. So, so we’re okay, so we’re on the I guess this, this will probably be the homepage. So just walk us through what, what a marketing person would do if they want to use this platform, yeah? Clay Ostrom  12:00 So the very first thing you do when you come in, and this was when I initially conceived of this product, one of the things that I really wanted was the ability to have very quick feedback, be able to get analysis for whatever brand you’re looking at, you know, right away to be able to get some kind of, you know, insight or analysis done. So the first thing you can do, and you can do this literally, from the homepage of the website, you can enter in a URL for a brand, come into the product, even before you’ve created an account, you can come in and you can do an initial analysis, so you can put in whatever URL you’re looking at, could be yours, could be a competitor, and run that initial analysis. What we’re looking at here, this is, if you do create an account, this is, this becomes your, as we say, like Home Base, where you can save brands that you’re looking at. You can see your history, all that good stuff. And it just gives you some quick bookmarks so that you can kind of flip back and forth between, maybe it’s your brand, maybe it’s some of the competitors you’re looking at and then it gives you just some quick, kind of high level directional info. And I kind of break it up into these different buckets. Clay Ostrom  13:23 And again, I’d love to kind of hear if this is sort of how you think about it, too. But there’s sort of these different phases when you’re working on a brand. And again, this is sort of from an agency perspective, but you first got the sort of the research and the pitch piece. So this is before maybe you’re even working with them. You’re trying to get an understanding of what they do. Then we have discovery and onboarding, where we’re digging in a little bit deeper. We’re trying to really put together, what does the brand stand for, what are their strengths and weaknesses? And then we have the deeper dive, the strategy and differentiation. And this is where we’re really going in and getting more granular with the specific value points that they offer, doing some of that messaging analysis, finding, finding some of the gaps of the things that they’re talking about or not talking about, and going in deeper. So it kind of break it up into these buckets, based on my experience of how we engage with clients. Does that? Does that make sense to you, like, does that? Christian Klepp  14:28 It does make sense, I think. But what could be helpful for the audience is because this, this almost looks like it’s a pre cooked meal. All right, so what do we do we try another I mean, I think you use Slack for the analysis. Why don’t we use another brand, and then just pop it into that analysis field, and then see what it comes out with. Clay Ostrom  14:51 So the nice thing about this is, if you are looking at a brand that’s been analyzed, you’re going to get the data up really quickly. It’ll be basically pop up instantly. But you can analyze a brand from scratch as well. Just takes about a minute or so, basically, to kind of do some of the analysis. So for the sake of a demo, it’s a little easier just to kind of look at something that we’ve got in there. But if it’s a brand that you know, maybe you’re looking at a competitor for one of your brands, you know, there’s a good chance, because we’ve got about 6000 brands that we’ve analyzed in here, that there’s a good chance there’ll be some info on them. But so this is pipe drive. So whoever’s not familiar Pipedrive is, you know, it’s a CRM  (Customer Relationship Management), it’s, it’s basically, you know, it’s a lighter version of a HubSpot or Salesforce basically track deals and opportunities for business, but this so I flipped over. I don’t know if it was clear there, but I flipped over to this brand brief tab. And this is where we we get, essentially, a high level view of some key points about the brand and and I think about this as this would be something that you would potentially share with a client if you were, you know, working with them and you wanted to review the brand with them and make sure that your analysis is on point, but you’ll see it’s kind of giving you some positioning scores, where you rank from a category perspective, message clarity, and then we’ve got things like a quick overview, positioning summary, who their target persona is, in this case, sales manager, sales operation lead, and some different value points. And then it starts to get a little more granular. We get into like key competitors, Challenger brands. We do a little SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, and then maybe one of the more important parts is some of these action items. So what do we do with this? Yeah, and obviously, these are, these are starting points. This is not, it’s not going to come in and, you know, instantly be able to tell you strategically, exactly what to do, but it’s going to give you some ideas of based on the things we’ve seen. Here are some reasonable points that you might want to be looking at to, you know, improve the brand. Make it make it stronger. Christian Klepp  17:13 Gotcha. Gotcha. Now, this is all great clay, but like, I think, for the benefit of the audience, can we scroll back up, please. And let’s just walk through these one by one, because I think it’s important for the audience/potential future users,/ customers of Smoke Ladder, right? To understand, to understand this analysis in greater depth, and also, like, specifically, like, let’s start with a positioning score right, like, out of 100 like, what is this? What is this based on? And how was this analyzed? Let’s start with that. Clay Ostrom  17:48 Yeah, and this is where the platform really started. And I’m going to actually jump over to the positioning tab, because this will give us the all the detail around this particular feature. But this is, this was where I began the product this. I kind of think of this as being, in many ways, sort of the heart and soul of it. And when I mentioned earlier about this being based on our own work and frameworks and how we approach this, this is very much the case with this. This is, you know, the approach we use with the product is exactly how we work with clients when we’re evaluating their positioning. And it’s, it’s basically, it’s built off a series of scores. And what we have here are 24 different points of business value, which, if we zoom in just a little bit down here, we can see things like reducing risk, vision, lowering cost, variety, expertise, stability, etc. So there’s 24 of these that we look at, and it’s meant to be a way that we can look across different brands and compare and contrast them. So it’s creating, like, a consistent way of looking at brands, even if they’re not in the same category, or, you know, have slightly different operating models, etc. But what we do is we go in and we score every brand on each of these 24 points. And if we scroll down here a little bit, we can see the point of value, the exact score they got, the category average, so how it compares against, you know, all the other brands we’ve analyzed, and then a little bit of qualitative information about why they got the score. Christian Klepp  19:27 Sorry, Clay, Can I just jump in for a second so these, these attributes, or these key values that you had in the graph at the top right, like, are these consistent throughout regardless of what brand is being analyzed, or the least change. Clay Ostrom  19:42 It’s consistent. Christian Klepp  19:43 Consistent? Clay Ostrom  19:44 Yeah, and that was one of the sort of strategic decisions we had to make with the product. Was, you know, there’s a, maybe another version of this, where you do different points depending on maybe the category, or, you know, things like that. But I wanted to do it consistent because, again, it allows us to look at every brand through the same lens. It doesn’t mean that every brand you know there are certain points of value that just aren’t maybe relevant for a particular brand, and that’s fine, they just won’t score as highly in those but at least it gives us a consistent way to look at so when you’re looking at 10 different competitors, you know you’ve got a consistent way to look at them together,. Christian Klepp  20:26 Right, right, right. Okay, okay, all right, thanks for that. Now let’s go down to the next section there, where you’ve got, like this table with like four different columns here. So you mentioned that these are being scored against other brands in their category. Like, can you share it with the audience? Like, how many other brands are being analyzed here? Clay Ostrom  20:51 Yeah, well, it depends on the category. So again, we’ve got six, you know, heading towards 7000 brands that we’ve analyzed collectively. Each category varies a little bit, but, you know, some categories, we have more brands than others. But what this allows us to do is, again, to quickly look at this and say, okay, for pipe drive, a big focus for pipe drive is organization, simplification. You know, one of their big value props is we’re an easier tool to use than Salesforce or HubSpot. You can get up to speed really quickly. You don’t have all the setup and configurations and all that kind of stuff. So this is showing us that, yes, like their messaging, their content, their brand, does, in fact, do a good job of making it clear that simplicity is a big part of pipe drive’s message. And they do that by talking about it a lot in their messaging, having case studies, having testimonials, all these things that support it. And that’s how we come up with these scores. Is by saying, like the brand emphasizes these points well, they talk about it clearly, and that’s what we base it on. Christian Klepp  22:04 Okay, okay. Clay Ostrom  22:06 But as you come, I was just gonna say as you come down here, you can see, so the green basically means that they score well above average for that particular point. Yellow is, you know, kind of right around average, or maybe slightly above, and then red means that they’re below average for that particular point. So for example, like variety of tools, they don’t emphasize that as much with pipe drive, maybe compared to, again, like a Salesforce or a HubSpot that has a gazillion tools, pipe drive, that’s not a big focus for them. So they don’t score as highly there, but you can kind of just get a quick view of, okay, here are the things that they’re really strong with, and here are the things that maybe they’re, you know, kind of weak or below average. Christian Klepp  22:58 Yeah, yeah. Well, that’s certainly interesting, because I, you know, I’ve, I’ve used the, I’ve used the platform for analyzing some of my clients, competitor brands. And, you know, when I’m looking at this, like analysis with the scoring, with the scoring sheet, it, I think it will also be interesting perhaps in future, because you’ve got a very detailed breakdown of, okay, the factors and how they’re scored, and what the brand value analysis is also, because, again, in the interest of speed and time, it’d be great if the platform can also churn out maybe a one to two sentence like, summary of what is this data telling us, right? Because I’m thinking back to my early days as a product manager, and we would spend hours, like back then on Excel spreadsheets. I’m dating myself a little bit here, but um, and coming up with this analysis and charts, but presenting that to senior management, all they wanted to know was the one to two sentence summary of like, come on. What are you telling me with all these charts, like, what is the data telling you that we need to know? Right? Clay Ostrom  24:07 I know it’s so funny. We again, as strategists and researchers, we love to nerd out about the granular details, but you’re right. When you’re talking to a leader at a business, it does come down to like, okay, great. What do we do? And so, and I flipped back over to slacks. I knew I had already generated this but, but we’re still in the positioning section here, but we have this get insights feature. So basically it will look at all those scores and give you kind of, I think, similar to what you’re describing. Like, here’s three takeaways from what we’re seeing. Okay, okay, great, yeah, so we don’t want to leave you totally on your own to have to figure it all out. We’ll give you, give you a little helping hand. Christian Klepp  24:53 Yeah. You don’t want to be like in those western movies, you’re on your own kid. Clay Ostrom  24:59 Yeah. We try not to strand you again. There’s a lot of data here. I think that’s one of the strengths and and challenges with the platform, is that we try to give you a lot of data. And for some people, you may not want to have to sift through all of it. You might want just sort of give me the three points here. Christian Klepp  25:19 Absolutely, absolutely. And at the very least they can start pointing you in the right direction, and then you could be, you could then, like, through your own initiative, and perhaps dig a little bit deeper and perhaps find some other insights that may be, may be relevant, right? Clay Ostrom  25:35 Totally. Christian Klepp  25:36 Hey, it’s Christian Klepp here. We’ll get back to the episode in a second. But first, I’d like to tell you about a new series that we’re launching on our show. As the B2B landscape evolves, marketers need to adapt and leverage the latest marketing tools and software to become more efficient. Enter B2B Marketers on a Mission Marketing Demo Lab where experts discuss the latest tools and software that empower you to become a better B2B marketer. Tune in as we chat with product experts. Provide unbiased product reviews, give advice and deliver insights into real world applications and actionable tips on tools and technologies for B2B marketing. Subscribe to the Marketing Demo Lab, YouTube channel and B2B Marketers on a Mission, on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Christian Klepp  26:21 All right. Now, back to the show, if we can, if we could jump back, sorry, to the, I think it was the brand brief, right? Like, where we where we started out, and I said, let’s, let’s dig deeper. Okay, so then, then we have, okay, so we talked about positioning score. Now we’re moving on to category rank and message clarity score. What does that look like? Clay Ostrom  26:41 Yeah. So the category rank is, it’s literally just looking at the positioning score that you’ve gotten for the brand and then telling you within this category, where do you sort of fall in the ranking, essentially, or, like, you know, how do we, you know, for comparing the score against all the competitors, where do you fall? So you can see, with Slack, they’re right in the middle. And it’s interesting, because with a product like Slack, even though we all now know what slack is and what it does and everything. Christian Klepp  27:18 Yeah. Clay Ostrom  27:19 The actual messaging and content that they have now, I think maybe doesn’t do as good of a job as it maybe did once upon a time, and it’s gotten as products grow and brands grow, they tend to get more vague, a little more broad with what they talk about, and that kind of leads to softer positioning. So that’s sort of what we’re seeing reflected here. And then the third score is the message clarity score, which we can jump into, like, a whole different piece. Christian Klepp  27:48 Four on a tennis not a very high score, right? Clay Ostrom  27:52 Yeah. And again, I think it’s a product, of, we can kind of jump into that section. Christian Klepp  27:57 Yeah, let’s do that, yeah. Clay Ostrom  27:59 But it’s, again, a product, I think of Slack being now a very mature product that is has gotten sort of a little vague, maybe a little broader, with their messaging. But the message clarity score, we basically have kind of two parts to this on the left hand side are some insights that we gather based on the messaging. So what’s your category, quick synopsis of the product. But then we also do some things, like… Christian Klepp  28:33 Confusing part the most confusing. Clay Ostrom  28:36 Honestly to me, as I get I’d love to hear your experience with this, but coming into a new brand, this is sometimes one of the most enlightening parts, because it shows me quickly where some gaps in what we’re talking about, and in this case, just kind of hits on what we were just saying a minute ago. Of the messaging is overloaded with generic productivity buzzwords, fails to clearly differentiate how Slack is better than email or similar tools, etc. But also, this is another one that I really like, and I use this all the time, which is the casual description. So rather than this technical garbage jargon, you know, speak, just give me. Give it to me in plain English, like we’re just chatting. And so this description of it’s a workplace chat app for teams to message, collaborate, share files. Like, okay, cool. Like, yeah, you know, I get it. Yeah, I already know what slack is. But if I didn’t, that would tell me pretty well. Christian Klepp  29:33 Absolutely, yeah, yeah. No, my experience with this is has been, you know, you and I have been in the branding space for a while. So for the trained eye, when you look at messaging, you’ll know if it’s good or not, right. And we come I mean, I’m sure you do the same clay, but I also come to my own like conclusions based on experience of like, okay, so why do I think that that’s good messaging, or why do I think that that’s confusing messaging? Or it falls short, and why and how can that be improved? But it’s always good to have validation with either with platforms like this, where you have a you have AI, or you have, you have a software that you can use that analyzes, like, for example, like the messaging on a website, and it dissects that and says, Well, okay, so this is what they’re getting, right? So there’s a scoring for that, so it’s in the green, and then this is, this is where it gets confusing, right? So even you run that through, you run that through the machine, and the machine analyzes it as like, Okay, we can’t clearly, clearly define what it is they’re doing based on the messaging, right? And for me, that’s always a it’s good. It’s almost like getting a second doctor’s opinion, right? And then you go, Aha. So I we’ve identified the symptoms now. So let’s find the penicillin, right? Like, let’s find the remedy for this, right? Clay Ostrom  30:56 Yeah, well, and I like what you said there, because part of the value, I think, with this is it’s an objective perspective on the brand, so it doesn’t have any baggage. It’s coming in with fresh eyes, the same way a new customer would come into your website, where they don’t know really much about you, and they have to just take what you’re giving at face value about what you present. And we as people working on brands get completely blinded around what’s actually working, what’s being communicated. There’s so much that we take for granted about what we already know about the brand. And this comes in and just says, Okay, I’m just, I’m just taking what you give me, and I’m going to tell you what I see, and I see some gaps around some of these things. You know, I don’t have the benefit of sitting in your weekly stand up meeting and hearing all the descriptions of what you’re actually doing. Christian Klepp  31:59 I’m sorry to jump in. I’m interested to know, like, just, just based on what we’ve been reviewing so far, like, what has your experience been showing this kind of analysis to clients, and how do they respond to some of this data, for example, that you know, you’re walking us through right now? Clay Ostrom  32:18 Yeah, I think it’s been interesting. Honestly, I think it can sometimes feel harsh. And I think again, as someone who’s both run an agency and also built worked on brands, we get attached to our work on an emotional level. Christian Klepp  32:42 Absolutely. Clay Ostrom  32:42 Even if we think about it as, you know, this is just work, and it’s, you know, whatever, we still build up connections with our work and we want it to be good. And so I think there’s sometimes a little bit of a feeling of wow, like that’s harsh, or I would have expected or thought we would have done better or scored better in certain areas, but that is almost always followed up with but I’m so glad to know where, where we’re struggling, because now I can fix it. I can actually know what to focus on to fix, and that, to me, is what it’s all about, is, yes, there’s a little bit of feelings attached to some of these things, maybe, but at the end of the day, we really want it to be good. We want it to be clear. We don’t want to be a 4 out of 10. We want to be a 10 out of 10. And what specifically do we need to do to get there? And that’s really what we’re trying to reveal with this. So I think, you know, everybody’s a little different, but I would say the reactions are typically a mix of that. It’s like, maybe an ouch, but a Oh, good. Let’s work on it. Christian Klepp  33:55 Absolutely, absolutely. Okay. So we’ve got brand summary, we’ve got fundamentals, then quality of messaging is the other part of it, right? Clay Ostrom  34:02 So, yeah, so this, this is, this is where the actual 4 out of 10 comes. We have these 10 points that we look at and we say, Okay, are you communicating these things clearly? Are you communicating who your target customer is, your category, your offering, where you’re differentiated benefits? Do you have any kind of concrete claim about what you do to support you know what you’re what you’re selling? Is the messaging engaging? Is it concise? You’ll see here a 7% on concise. That’s basically telling us that virtually no brands do a good job of being concise. Only about 7% get a green check mark on this, and kind of similar with the jargon and the vague words big struggle points with almost every brand. Christian Klepp  34:55 Streamline collaboration. Clay Ostrom  34:58 So we can see here with Slack. You know some of the jargon we got, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), MQLs (Marketing Qualified Lead), if you’re in the space, you could argue like, oh, I kind of know what those things are. But depending on your role, you may not always know. In something like Salesforce marketing cloud, unless you’re a real Salesforce nerd, you probably have no idea what that is. But again, it’s just a way to quickly identify some of those weak points, things that we could improve to make our message more clear. Christian Klepp  35:27 Yes, yes. Okay, so that was the messaging analysis correct? Clay Ostrom  35:33 Yeah. Christian Klepp  35:33 Yeah. Okay. So what else have we got? Clay Ostrom  35:36 Yeah, so I think one other thing we could look at just for a sec, is differentiation, and this is this kind of plays off of what we looked at a minute ago with the positioning scores. But this is a way for us to look head to head with two different brands. So in this case, we’ve got Slack in the red and we’ve got Discord in the greenish blue. And I think of these, these patterns, as sort of the fingerprint of your brand. So where you Where are you strong? Where are you weak? And if we can overlay those two fingerprints on top of each other, we can see, where do we have advantages, and where does our competitor have advantages? So if we come down, we can sort of see, and this is again, for the nerds like me, to be able to come in and go deep, do kind of a deep dive on specifically, why did, why does Discord score better than Slack in certain areas. And at the bottom here we can see a kind of a quick summary. So slack is stronger in simplification, saving time, Discord has some better messaging around generating revenue, lowering costs, marketability. But again, this gives us a way to think about what are the things we want to double down on? So what do we want to actually be known for in the market? Because we can’t be known for everything. You know, buyers can maybe only remember a couple things about us. What are those couple things where we’re really strong, where we really stand out, and we’ve got some separation from the competitors. Christian Klepp  37:18 Right, okay, okay, just maybe we take a step back here, because I think this is great. It’s very detailed. It gets a bit granular, but I think it’s also going back to a conversation that you and I had previously about, like, Okay, why is it so important to be armed with this knowledge, especially if you’re in the marketing role, or perhaps even an agency talking to a potential client going in there already armed with the information about their competitors. And we were talking about this being a kind of like a trust building mechanism, right? For lack of a better description, right? Clay Ostrom  38:03 Yeah, I think to me, what I like about this, and again, this does come out of 10 years of doing work, this kind of work with clients as well, is it’s so easy to fall into a space of soft descriptions around things like positioning and just sort of using vague, you know, wordings or descriptions, and when you can actually put a number on it, which, again, it’s subjective. This isn’t. This isn’t an objective metric, but it’s a way for us to compare and contrast. It allows us to have much more productive conversations with clients, where we can say we looked at your brand, we we what based on our analysis, we see that you’re scoring a 10 and a 9 on simplicity and organization, for example. Is that accurate to you like do you think that’s what you all are emphasizing the most? Does that? Does that resonate and at the same time, we can say, but your competitors are really focused on there. They have a strong, strong message around generating revenue and lowering costs for their customers. Right now, you’re not really talking about that. Is that accurate? Is that like, what you is that strategically, is that what you think you should be doing so really quickly, I’ve now framed a conversation that could have been very loose and kind of, you know, well, what do you think your strategy is about? What do you know? And instead, I can say, we see you being strong in these three points. We see your competitors being strong in these three points. What do you think about that? And I think that kind of clarity just makes the work so much more productive with clients, or just again, working on your own brand internally. So what do you think about that kind of perspective? Christian Klepp  40:08 Yeah, no, no, I definitely agree with that. It’s always and I’ve been that type of person anyway that you know you go into a especially with somebody that hasn’t quite become a client yet, right? One of the most important things is also, how should I put this? Certainly the trust building part of it needs to be there. The other part is definitely a demonstration of competence and ability, but it’s also that you’ve been proactive and done your homework, versus like, Okay, I’m I’m just here as an order taker, right? And let’s just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it right? A lot and especially, I think this has been a trend for a long time already, but a lot of the clients that I’ve worked with now in the past, they want to, they’re looking for a partner that’s not just thinking with them, it’s someone that’s thinking ahead of them. And this type of work, you know what we’re seeing here on screen, this is the type of work that I would consider thinking ahead of them, right? Clay Ostrom  41:18 No, I agree. I think you framed that really well. Of we’re trying to build trust, because if we’re going to make any kind of recommendations around a change or a shift, they have to believe that we know what we’re talking about, that we’re competent, that we’ve done the work. And I think I agree with you. I think like this, it’s kind of funny, like we all, I think, on some base level, are attracted to numbers and scores. It just gives us something to latch on to. But I think it also, like you said, it gives you a feeling that you’ve done your work, that you’ve done your homework, you’ve studied, you’ve you’ve done some analysis that they themselves may have never done on this level. And that’s a big value. Christian Klepp  42:08 Yes, and a big part of the reason just to, just to build on what you said, a big part of the reason why they haven’t done this type of work is because it’s not so much. The cost is certainly one part of it, but it’s the time, it’s a time factor and the resource and the effort that needs to be put into it. Because, you know, like, tell me if you’ve never heard this one before, but there are some, there are some companies that we’ve been working with that don’t actually have a clearly, like, you know, a clear document on who their their target personas are, yeah, or their or their ICPs, never mind the buyer’s journey map. They don’t, they don’t even have the personas mapped out, right? Clay Ostrom  42:52 100% Yeah, it’s, and it’s, I think you’re right. It’s, it’s a mix of time and it’s a mix of just experience where, if you are internal with a brand, you don’t do this kind of work all the time. You might do it at the beginning. Maybe you do a check in every once in a while, but you need someone who’s done this a lot with a lot of different brands so that they can give you guidance through this kind of framework. But so it’s, you know, so some of it is a mix of, you know, we don’t have the time always to dig in like this. But some of it is we don’t even know how to do it, even if we did have the time. So it’s hopefully giving, again, providing some different frameworks and different ways of looking at it. Christian Klepp  43:41 Absolutely, absolutely. So okay, so we’ve gone through. What is it now, the competitor comparison. What else does the platform provide us that the listeners and the audience should be paying attention to here? Clay Ostrom  43:55 So I’ll show you two more quick things. So one is this message building section. So this is… Christian Klepp  44:03 Are you trying to put me out of a job here Clay? Clay Ostrom  44:07 Well, I’ll say this. So far in my experience with this, it’s not going to put us out of a job, but it is going to hopefully make our job easier and better. It’s going to make us better at the work we do. And that’s really, I think that’s, I think that’s kind of, most people’s impression of AI at this point is that it’s not quite there to replace us, but it’s sure, certainly can enhance what we do. Christian Klepp  44:36 Yeah, you’ll excuse me, I couldn’t help but throw that one out. Clay Ostrom  44:38 Yeah, I know, trust me, I’m this. It’s like I’m building a product that, in a sense, is undercutting, you know, the work that I do. So it is kind of a weird thing, but this message building section, which is a new part of the platform. It will come in, and you can see on the right hand side. And there’s sort of a quick summary of all these different elements that we’ve already analyzed. And then it’s going to give you some generated copy ideas, including, if I zoom in a little bit here, we’ve got an eyebrow category. This is again for Slack. It’s giving us a headline idea, stay informed without endless emails. Sub headline call to action, three challenges that your customers are facing, and then three points about your solution that help address those for customers. So it’s certainly not writing all of your copy for you, but if you’re starting from scratch, or you’re working on something new, or even if you’re trying to refresh a brand. I think this can be helpful to give you some messaging that’s hopefully clear. That’s something that I think a lot of messaging misses, especially in B2B, it’s, it’s not always super clear, like what you even do. Christian Klepp  45:56 Don’t get me started. Clay Ostrom  45:59 So hopefully it’s clear. It’s, you know, again, it’s giving you some different ideas. And that you’ll see down here at the bottom, you can, you can iterate on this. So we’ve got several versions. You can actually come in and, you know, you can edit it yourself. So if you say, like, well, I like that, but not quite that, you know, I can, you know, get my human touch on it as well. But yeah, so it’s a place to iterate on message. Christian Klepp  46:25 You can kind of look at it like, let’s say, if you’re writing a blog article, and this will give you the outline, right? Yeah. And then most of the AI that I’ve worked with to generate outlines, they’re not quite there. But again, if you’re starting from zero and you want to go from zero to 100 Well, that’ll, that’ll at least get you to 40 or 50, right? But I’m curious to know, because we’re looking at this now, and I think this, I mean, for me, this is, this is fascinating, but, like, maybe, maybe this will be part of your next iteration. But will this, will this generate messaging that’s already SEO optimized. Clay Ostrom  47:02 You know, it’s not specifically geared towards that, but I would say that it ends up being maybe more optimized than a lot of other messaging because it puts such an emphasis on clarity, it naturally includes words and phrases that I think are commonly used in the space more so than you know, maybe just kind of typical off the shelf Big B2B messaging, Christian Klepp  47:27 Gotcha. I had a question on the target persona that you’ve got here on screen, right? So how does the platform generate the information that will then populate that field because, and when I’m just trying to think about like, you know, because I’ve been, I’ve been in the space for as long as you have, and the way that I’ve generated target personas in the past was not by making a wild guess about, like, you know, looking at the brand’s website. It’s like having conducting deep customer research and listening to hours and hours of recordings, and from there, generating a persona. And this has done it in seconds. So… Clay Ostrom  48:09 Yeah, it’s so the way the system works in a couple different layers. So it does an initial analysis, where it does positioning, messaging analysis and category analysis, then you can generate the persona on top of that. So it takes all the learnings that it got from the category, from the product, from your messaging, and then develops a persona around that. And it’s, of course, able to also pull in, you know, the AI is able to reference things that it knows about the space in general. But I have found, and this is true. I was just having a conversation with someone who works on a very niche brand for a very specific audience, and I was showing him what it had output. And I said, Tell me, like, Don’t hold back. Like, is this accurate? He said, Yeah, this is, like, shockingly accurate for you know, how we view our target customer. So I think it’s pretty good. It’s not again, not going to be perfect. You’re going to need to do some work, and you still got to do the research, but, but, yeah. Christian Klepp  49:13 Okay, fantastic, fantastic. How do, I guess there’s the option, I see it there, like, download the PDF. So anything that’s analyzed on the platform can then be exported in a PDF format, right? Like, like, into a report. Clay Ostrom  49:28 Yeah, right now you can export the messaging analysis, or, sorry, the the messaging ideation that you’ve done, and then in the brand brief you can also, you can download a PDF of the brand brief as well. So, those are the two main areas. I’m still working on some additional exports of data so that people can pull it into a spreadsheet and do some other stuff with it. Christian Klepp  49:49 Fantastic, fantastic. That’s awesome, Clay. I’ve got a couple more questions before I let you go. But this has been, this has been amazing, right? Like and I really hope that whoever’s in the one listening and, most importantly, watching this, I hope that you really do consider like, you know, taking this for a test drive, right? How many I might have asked you this before, because, you know, I am somebody that does use, you know, that does a lot of this type of research. But how much time would you say companies would save by using Smoke Ladder? Clay Ostrom  50:24 It’s a good question. I feel like I’m starting to get some feedback around that with from our users, but I mean, for me personally, I would typically spend an hour or two just to get kind of up to speed initially, with a brand and kind of look at some of their competitors. If I’m doing a deep dive, though, if I’m actually doing some of the deeper research work, it could be several hours per client. So I don’t know. On a given week, it might depend on how many clients you’re talking to. Could be anywhere from a few hours to 10 hours or more, depending on how much work you’re doing. But, yeah, I think it’s a decent amount. Christian Klepp  51:07 Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, this definitely does look like a time saver. Here comes my favorite question, which you’re gonna look at me like, Okay, I gotta, I gotta. Clay Ostrom  51:17 Now bring it on. Let’s go. Christian Klepp  51:22 Folks that are not familiar with Smoke Ladder are gonna look at this, um, and before they actually, um, take it upon themselves to, like, watch, hopefully, watch this video on our channel. Um, they’re gonna look at that and ask themselves, Well, what is it that Smoke Ladder does that? You know that other AI couldn’t do, right, like, so I guess what I’m trying to say is, like, Okay, why would they use? How does the platform differ from something like ChatGPT, Perplexity or Claude, right? To run a brand analysis? Clay Ostrom  52:00 Yeah, no, I think it’s a great question. I think it’s sort of the it’s going to be the eternal AI question for every product that has an AI component. And I would say to me, it’s three things. So one is the data, which we talked about, and I didn’t show you this earlier, but there is a search capability in here to go through our full archive of all the brands we’ve analyzed, and again, we’ve analyzed over 6000 brands. So the data piece is really important here, because it means we’re not just giving you insights and analysis based on the brand that you’re looking at now, but we can compare and contrast against all the other brands that we’ve looked at in the space, and that’s something that you’re not going to get by just using some off the shelf standard LLM  (Large Language Model) and doing some, you know, some quick prompts with that. The next one, I think, to me that’s important is it’s the point of view of the product and the brand. Like I said, this is built off of 10 plus years of doing positioning and messaging work in the space. So you’re getting to tap into that expertise and that approach of how we do things and building frameworks that make this work easier and more productive that you wouldn’t get, or you wouldn’t know, just on your own. And then the last one, the last point, which is sort of the kind of like the generic software answer, is you get a visual interface for this stuff. It’s the difference between using QuickBooks versus a spreadsheet. You can do a lot of the same stuff that you do in QuickBooks and a spreadsheet, but wouldn’t you rather have a nice interface and some easy buttons to click that make your job way, way easier and do a lot of the work for you and also be able to present it in a way that’s digestible and something you could share with clients? So the visual component in the UI is sort of that last piece. Christian Klepp  54:01 Absolutely. I mean, it’s almost like UX and UI one on one. That’s, that’s pretty much like a big part of, I think what it is you’re trying to build here, right? Clay Ostrom  54:13 Yeah, exactly. It’s just it’s making all of those things that you might do in an LLM just way, way easier. You know, you basically come in, put in your URL and click a button, and you’re getting access to all the data and all the insights and all this stuff so. Christian Klepp  54:29 Absolutely, absolutely okay. And as we wrap this up, this has been a fantastic conversation, by the way, how can the audience start using Smoke Ladder, and how can they get in touch with you if they have questions, and hopefully good questions. Clay Ostrom  54:47 Yeah, so you can, if you go to https://smokeladder.com/ you can, you can try it out. Like I said, you can basically go to the homepage, put in a URL and get started. You don’t even have to create an account to do the initial analysis. But you can create FREE account. You can dig in and see, you know, play around with all the features, and if you use it more, you know, we give you a little bit of a trial period. And if you use it beyond that, then you can pay and continue to use it, but, but you can get a really good flavor of it for free. Christian Klepp  55:16 Fantastic, fantastic. Oh, last question, because, you know, it’s looking me right in the face now, industry categories. How many? How many categories can be analyzed on the platform? Clay Ostrom  55:26 Yeah, yeah. So right now, we have 23 categories in the system currently, which sounds like a lot, but when you start to dig into especially B2B, it’s we will be evolving that and continuing to add more, but currently, there’s 23 different categories of businesses in there. Christian Klepp  55:46 All right, fantastic, fantastic. Clay, man. This has been so awesome. Thank you so much for your time and for your patience and walking us through this, this incredible platform that you’ve built and continue to build. And you know, I’m excited to continue using this as it evolves. Clay Ostrom  56:06 Thank you. Yeah, no. Thanks so much. And you know, if anybody, you know, anybody who tries it out, tests it out, please feel free to reach out. We have, you know, contact info on there. You can also hit me up on LinkedIn. I spend a lot of time there, but I would love feedback, love getting notes, love hearing what’s working, what’s not, all those things. So yeah, anytime I’m always open. Christian Klepp  56:30 All right, fantastic. Once again, Clay, thanks for your time. Take care, stay safe and talk to you soon. Clay Ostrom  56:36 Thanks so much. Talk to you soon. Christian Klepp  56:37 All right. Bye for now.

Our conversation with  Dan Jaenicke, Director of B2B Strategy for MacPaw, starts out with how CleanMyMac for Business is evolving to serve SMB and enterprise customers. Dan discusses patch and policy management, security and compliance challenges, fast deployment with tools like Jamf, preserving a friendly Mac-native interface, and how customer feedback and a new Mac admin survey are shaping the future of the product.  This edition of MacVoices is brought to you by the MacVoices Dispatch, our weekly newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on any and all MacVoices-related information. Subscribe today and don't miss a thing. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Setting the stage: MacPaw, B2B strategy, and enterprise focus[0:30] Introducing Dan Jänicke and his new role in B2B marketing[2:00] Launch of CleanMyMac business and early customer feedback[2:55] Consumer vs. B2B pain points and why enterprises are different[3:32] Fleet visibility, device health, and compliance needs at scale[6:01] Patch management as a key differentiator in the business product[7:22] Roadmap for group policies and staged rollouts for IT admins[8:44] Security expectations in enterprise environments[10:07] Fragmented policies across roles, departments, and access levels[11:55] Moving from SMB and mid-market into true enterprise capabilities[15:17] Competing with MDMs by focusing on simplicity and differentiation[17:21] Logistics of deploying to 1,000 devices and Jamf integration[20:08] Why quick, hours-level rollout is a competitive advantage[22:05] Complexity vs. usability in security and compliance tools[22:46] Preserving CleanMyMac's visual design and enjoyable UX for admins[24:08] Balancing simplicity with the depth enterprises demand[26:44] Design philosophy: making maintenance pleasant, not painful[27:53] Rising cyberattacks on SMBs and why every business is a target[29:05] Using Moonlock, patching, and good practices to reduce attack surface[31:07] Hidden costs of breaches for smaller organizations[33:24] Listening to customers and iterating the product weekly[33:38] Upcoming Mac admin survey and why MacPaw wants feedback[36:06] Being part of the Apple community, not just marketing to it[37:04] Closing thoughts, invitation to contact Dan, and future ambitions[38:02] Outro, support options, and how to stay connected Links: CleanMyMac CleanMyMac Business Guests: Dan Jaenicke is a seasoned Product Leader with over a decade of experience solving user challenges, leading global and local teams, and partnering with executive leadership to build impactful B2B and B2C SaaS products.  He has driven initiatives behind products launched in more than 125 countries, reaching over 50 million active users and 45,000+ paying businesses, and generating hundreds of millions in revenue.  Before joining MacPaw, Dan served as Director of Product Management at GoodRx. As MacPaw's Director of B2B Product Strategy, he now leads solutions such as CleanMyMac Business, driving innovation and growth across the company's business offerings. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

У меня в гостях Владлен Луцкий — бывший UX-дизайнер из Москвы, который после переезда в США совершенно неожиданно построил новую карьеру: теперь он создает надгробия в Калифорнии и ведет популярный TikTok про кладбища.В этом выпуске мы обсудили путь Владлена от политического переезда и первых случайных подработок в США до работы дизайнером надгробий в городке Колма — «столице мертвых». Разобрали, как выглядит полный цикл создания надгробия, из чего состоит его рабочий день и почему эта профессия требует точности, моторики и умения работать с человеческой памятью. Затронули темы денег и реального рынка этой индустрии, влияние AI на ручной труд, психологию клиентов, необычные заказы, а также то, как TikTok внезапно стал способом переработать сложные эмоции и найти свою аудиторию. Владлен честно рассказал, как такая работа изменила его самоощущение, чему научила и почему искать себя заново — нормально.Владлен Луцкий (Vlad Lutskii) - ex-UI/UX Designer в Национальной компьютерной корпорации (Москва). Сейчас создает дизайн надгробий в Сан-Франциско, ведет популярный TikTok канал.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lutvlog/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vladlenisheTelegram: https://t.me/weeabooshkaГОРОД МЕРТВЫХ в Кремниевой долине: МРАЧНЫЕ истории Сан Франциско, из IT в работу на кладбище!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv_lYeZRQbcЗаписаться на карьерную консультацию (резюме, LinkedIn, карьерная стратегия, поиск работы в США):https://annanaumova.comКоучинг (синдром самозванца, прокрастинация, неуверенность в себе, страхи, лень):https://annanaumova.notion.site/3f6ea5ce89694c93afb1156df3c903abТелеграм: https://t.me/prodcastUSAИнстаграм: https://www.instagram.com/prodcast.usТикТок: https://www.tiktok.com/@us.job⏰ Timecodes ⏰00:00 Начало6:00 Как проходил твой путь в США? Где работал после переезда?14:36 Как ты попал в дизайн надгробий?20:52 Как выглядит твой типичный рабочий день?29:32 Как выглядит процесс создания надгробия?39:53 Какие самые необычные заказы у тебя были?49:37 ИИ в работе дизайнера надгробий55:41 Сколько можно зарабатывать на этой работе?1:00:00 Как эта работа помогла тебе по-другому посмотреть на себя?1:03:33 Какие твои планы на будущее?1:08:40 Ты ведешь популярный TikTok про свою работу. Какая реакция людей?1:15:42 Какие 3 главных урока ты вынес из своего карьерного перехода?1:20:59 Что можешь пожелать тем, кто сейчас ищет свое место в Америке или думает о смене профессии?

In this episode, we explore one of the biggest shifts happening in the world of work right now: the rise of people–agent–robot partnerships.I break down insights from McKinsey's new report Agents, Robots, and Us and explain what this means for UX designers, product teams, and anyone working in digital experiences.We talk about:• how work is changing toward human + AI + robot collaboration• why most skills won't disappear, but evolve• why AI fluency is becoming essential for designers• the seven new job archetypes shaping future workflows• real examples of people–agent–robot systems• and why UX will play a central role in orchestrating these experiencesIf you're curious about how to work with AI in a practical, meaningful way, this episode gives you a simple and friendly overview of what's coming next.Mentioned:• McKinsey's Agents, Robots, and Us report• Neo robot

Ethereum for the first time ever has rolled out a second major upgrade within a year. Fusaka has gone live less than six months after Pectra. In this Unchained podcast episode, Offchain Labs Prysm Team Ethereum Cored Developer Preston Van Loon joins Protocol Watch founder Christine D. Kim to unpack how Fusaka would make transactions cheaper, improve the UX for users and impact layer 2 chain operators. They also discuss the relatively short time to deployment and how this is impacting client and layer 2 teams. Preston also explains why he is less nervous about Fusaka than he was about Pectra and the indicators of success. Plus what comes next after the hard fork. Thank you to our sponsors! Uniswap  Mantle  Guests: Christine D. Kim, Host of Ready for Merge Podcast and writer of ​​ACD After Hours Preston Van Loon, Ethereum Core Developer working at Prysm by Offchain Labs Previous appearances on Unchained:  How Will ETH React to Ethereum's Shanghai Upgrade? Links: Unchained: Ethereum Fusaka Upgrade Clears Final Test Before December Launch Ethereum Gave Away Too Much for Too Long. Will Its Pivot Be Enough? Timestamps:

On this episode, I breakdown eight little-known mobile apps that each generate around $50,000+ per month and explain why they work. I walk through specific examples—from AI video generators and Bible note-takers to vinyl pricing tools and AI English tutors—then explain the common patterns behind their success. The second half of the episode is devoted to six clear frameworks for spotting high-potential niches and designing simple, sticky mobile apps around them. I end the episode with a batch of extra startup ideas built on high-intent inputs like photos, videos, and scans so listeners can “vibe code” their own profitable apps in 2026. Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 02:02 – App 1: Flashloop: AI Video Generator for Viral Character Clips 03:26 – App 2: Bible Note-Taker & Prayer Recorder for Churchgoers 06:35 – App 3: AI Home Decor Interior Design App and Visualization Pain 08:48 – App 4: Moji Lab: Emoji/Sticker Packs and Expression as a Business 11:43 – App 5: Vinyl Snap: Scanning Vinyl Records for Accurate Pricing 13:51 – App 6: Genora AI: Bundling Multiple LLMs into One Assistant 16:45 – App 7: Logo Maker: AI Generated Logos 18:57 – App 8: Menu Fit: Healthy Eating Recommendations at Any Restaurant 20:44 – App 9: LangLearn: Personal AI English Tutor and Duolingo Comparison 22:37 – App 10: Zozo Fit 3D Body Scanner: Tracking Body Change, Not the Scale 25:04 – The “ 50K MRR App Framework” 31:30 – Bonus Startup Ideas Key Points Profitable mobile apps often do one high-intent, recurring job for a specific identity-based group, then charge a subscription around that behavior. Many breakout apps turn photos, videos, or scans (high-signal inputs) into premium insights like valuations, design plans, or tailored recommendations. Simple, one-screen interfaces with clear before/after transformations make these AI-powered tools feel approachable and addictive to use. The “50K MRR App Framework” combines spending power, repeating problems, visual inputs, accuracy needs, and bad existing tools to guide idea selection. New app ideas can be generated by pairing these frameworks with underserved niches like golf swings, pet health, used cars, or RV layouts. Numbered Section Summaries Why Mobile Apps Are Printing Money in 2026 The host opens by arguing that now is an incredible time to build mobile apps, pointing to new apps that have appeared “out of nowhere” and reached $50K+ per month. He cites a tweet listing 10 such apps launched in the last 180 days and sets the goal of reverse engineering what makes them work so listeners can apply the patterns to their own ideas. The 50K MRR App Framework The “50K MRR App Framework”: find a group that (1) spends money, (2) has a repeating problem, (3) uses photos/videos as inputs, (4) cares deeply about accuracy, and (5) suffers from bad existing tools. He walks through how vinyl collectors fit every criterion and stresses that while the framework is simple, execution still requires great UX, clean UI, and the right niche. The goal is to make idea selection easier by checking all five boxes before committing to an app. Six Supporting Frameworks for Designing Hit Apps I expands into six additional frameworks: start with a “nerve” (identity, urgency, stakes, repetition); solve one job that always must be done; build around a single high-intent input (photo, address, object); use AI to unlock a premium insight (price, diagnosis, summary, design plan); wrap it in a simple, desirable interface (one screen, one button, one transformation); and create a recurring behavior loop that pulls users back daily or weekly. He summarizes these in a conceptual pipeline: high-intent input → AI premium insight → simple interface → recurring loop → $50K MRR. The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ The Vibe Marketer - Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: thevibemarketer.com Startup Empire - get your free builders toolkit to build cashflowing business - https://startup-ideas-pod.link/startup-empire-toolkit Become a member - https://startup-ideas-pod.link/startup-empire FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/

Thorsten Jaeckel, Head of Product at 0x and Matcha, discusses the biggest hurdles facing DeFi adoption—including regulatory uncertainty, user experience challenges, security concerns, and the need for better education. Discover what it will take for decentralized finance to reach the masses and get a glimpse of the path forward for DeFi. Key Takeaways:  How the rise of Layer 2 solutions are shaping (and complicating) the next phase of DeFi. What's holding back tokenized equities, and what it'll take to overcome regulatory hurdles. The significance of execution transparency in building user trust. The importance of creating DeFi products that feel as seamless as Web2 applications. How Matcha is making it easier for newcomers to start trading in DeFi. Guest Bio: Thorsten Jaeckel is the Head of Product at 0x and Matcha, where he leads product development for one of the top decentralized exchange aggregators in Web3. He's been building in crypto since 2017 and previously held product leadership roles at Coinbase and Square. Thorsten focuses on making DeFi more intuitive and trustworthy, with a particular interest in multi-chain UX and execution transparency. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this Show: The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all! Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together. The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API. Music by: Ari Dvorin Produced by: Sam Laliberte  

Send us a textWe break down Cloudflare's outage, why a small config change caused big waves, and what better guardrails could look like. We then unpack AWS and Google's cross‑cloud link, Megaport's move into bare metal and GPUs, Webex adding deepfake defenses, and a new startup aiming to tune AI networks at microsecond speed.• Cloudflare outage root cause and fallout• Automation guardrails, validation and rollbacks• AWS–Google cross‑cloud connectivity preview• Pricing, routing and policy gaps to watch• Megaport acquires Latitude SH for compute• Bare metal and GPU as a service near clouds• Webex integrates deepfake and fraud detection• Accuracy risks, UX and escalation paths• Apstra founders launch Aria for AI networks• Microburst telemetry, closed‑loop control and SLAsIf you enjoyed this please give us some feedback or share this with a friend we would love to hear from you as well and we will see you in two weeks with another episodePurchase Chris and Tim's book on AWS Cloud Networking: https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Advanced-Networking-Certification-certification/dp/1835080839/ Check out the Monthly Cloud Networking Newshttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1fkBWCGwXDUX9OfZ9_MvSVup8tJJzJeqrauaE6VPT2b0/Visit our website and subscribe: https://www.cables2clouds.com/Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/cables2clouds.comFollow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cables2clouds/Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cables2cloudsMerch Store: https://store.cables2clouds.com/Join the Discord Study group: https://artofneteng.com/iaatj

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Everett Swain II. Purpose of the Interview The interview aims to: Highlight alternative pathways to high-paying careers without a traditional four-year degree. Showcase how UXD Academy, founded by Everett Swain II, empowers individuals—especially from underserved communities—to leverage AI and design skills for financial and academic freedom. Inspire entrepreneurs and small business owners to embrace AI-driven opportunities. Key Takeaways AI as an Opportunity, Not a Threat AI can amplify human capabilities rather than replace them. Small businesses see 80% positive ROI from AI adoption, making it a major growth lever. Career Without a Degree Over 40% of tech companies no longer require degrees, focusing instead on certifications and portfolios. UXD Academy teaches AI experience design and automation for learners as young as 13. Everett’s Journey Started as a graphic designer, pivoted to UX after self-learning via “YouTube University.” Built UXD Academy to democratize access to tech careers and fight industry gatekeeping. Business Model UXD Academy offers free resources and paid guidance. Created Our Table, an AI experience agency employing top students for real-world projects. Impact on Underserved Communities Programs can transform lives, moving individuals from low-income jobs to salaries of $75K–$140K within 3 years. Focus on youth (starting at age 13) to break cycles of poverty and limited exposure. Future AI Trends for Small Businesses AI agents, automated workflows, and AI-powered customer experiences will dominate in the next 12–18 months. Legacy Everett aims to help 100,000 youth create their own reality through tech education. Notable Quotes On AI’s role:“Think of AI as the smartest intern you know—you can train it to work specifically for you.” On education:“You don’t need a degree for what I do. Over 40% of tech companies don’t care about degrees anymore—they care about your portfolio.” On opportunity:“If you follow what I’m telling you, you can change your life in under a year and a half.” On underserved communities:“For the first time in history, people of color can bridge the gap to academic and financial freedom without a four-year degree.” On legacy:“If I can help 100,000 kids create their own reality, that will be my legacy.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSupport the show: https://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Everett Swain II. Purpose of the Interview The interview aims to: Highlight alternative pathways to high-paying careers without a traditional four-year degree. Showcase how UXD Academy, founded by Everett Swain II, empowers individuals—especially from underserved communities—to leverage AI and design skills for financial and academic freedom. Inspire entrepreneurs and small business owners to embrace AI-driven opportunities. Key Takeaways AI as an Opportunity, Not a Threat AI can amplify human capabilities rather than replace them. Small businesses see 80% positive ROI from AI adoption, making it a major growth lever. Career Without a Degree Over 40% of tech companies no longer require degrees, focusing instead on certifications and portfolios. UXD Academy teaches AI experience design and automation for learners as young as 13. Everett’s Journey Started as a graphic designer, pivoted to UX after self-learning via “YouTube University.” Built UXD Academy to democratize access to tech careers and fight industry gatekeeping. Business Model UXD Academy offers free resources and paid guidance. Created Our Table, an AI experience agency employing top students for real-world projects. Impact on Underserved Communities Programs can transform lives, moving individuals from low-income jobs to salaries of $75K–$140K within 3 years. Focus on youth (starting at age 13) to break cycles of poverty and limited exposure. Future AI Trends for Small Businesses AI agents, automated workflows, and AI-powered customer experiences will dominate in the next 12–18 months. Legacy Everett aims to help 100,000 youth create their own reality through tech education. Notable Quotes On AI’s role:“Think of AI as the smartest intern you know—you can train it to work specifically for you.” On education:“You don’t need a degree for what I do. Over 40% of tech companies don’t care about degrees anymore—they care about your portfolio.” On opportunity:“If you follow what I’m telling you, you can change your life in under a year and a half.” On underserved communities:“For the first time in history, people of color can bridge the gap to academic and financial freedom without a four-year degree.” On legacy:“If I can help 100,000 kids create their own reality, that will be my legacy.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Everett Swain II. Purpose of the Interview The interview aims to: Highlight alternative pathways to high-paying careers without a traditional four-year degree. Showcase how UXD Academy, founded by Everett Swain II, empowers individuals—especially from underserved communities—to leverage AI and design skills for financial and academic freedom. Inspire entrepreneurs and small business owners to embrace AI-driven opportunities. Key Takeaways AI as an Opportunity, Not a Threat AI can amplify human capabilities rather than replace them. Small businesses see 80% positive ROI from AI adoption, making it a major growth lever. Career Without a Degree Over 40% of tech companies no longer require degrees, focusing instead on certifications and portfolios. UXD Academy teaches AI experience design and automation for learners as young as 13. Everett’s Journey Started as a graphic designer, pivoted to UX after self-learning via “YouTube University.” Built UXD Academy to democratize access to tech careers and fight industry gatekeeping. Business Model UXD Academy offers free resources and paid guidance. Created Our Table, an AI experience agency employing top students for real-world projects. Impact on Underserved Communities Programs can transform lives, moving individuals from low-income jobs to salaries of $75K–$140K within 3 years. Focus on youth (starting at age 13) to break cycles of poverty and limited exposure. Future AI Trends for Small Businesses AI agents, automated workflows, and AI-powered customer experiences will dominate in the next 12–18 months. Legacy Everett aims to help 100,000 youth create their own reality through tech education. Notable Quotes On AI’s role:“Think of AI as the smartest intern you know—you can train it to work specifically for you.” On education:“You don’t need a degree for what I do. Over 40% of tech companies don’t care about degrees anymore—they care about your portfolio.” On opportunity:“If you follow what I’m telling you, you can change your life in under a year and a half.” On underserved communities:“For the first time in history, people of color can bridge the gap to academic and financial freedom without a four-year degree.” On legacy:“If I can help 100,000 kids create their own reality, that will be my legacy.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSteve Harvey Morning Show Online: http://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob is the creator of Kyoto, an implementation of compact block filters that makes it easier for developers to build more private bitcoin wallets. Andreas is the creator of Bitcoin Safe, an app designed to make it easier to use hardware wallets securely.Andreas on Nostr: https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqsqd0y6klqxew4glwggn63jvumrgprnl32tw7hpuzfhv6msgf7y3agm756qu Bitcoin Safe on Nostr: https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqsyz7tjgwuarktk88qvlnkzue3ja52c3e64s7pcdwj52egphdfll0cq9934g Bitcoin Safe on X: https://x.com/BitcoinSafeOrgKyoto on Github: https://github.com/rustaceanrob/kyoto2140: https://2140.devEPISODE: 185BLOCK: 926163PRICE: 1099 sats per dollar(00:03:04) Bitcoin Dev Kit(00:04:39) Andreas (Bitcoin Safe) and Rob (Kyoto)(00:05:58) What is BDK? Goals, safety, and language bindings(00:09:27) Why BDK matters for UX, testing, and reliability(00:09:50) Kyoto origin story and compact block filters vision(00:13:21) Privacy model: servers vs. compact block filters(00:19:39) Do compact block filters work on mobile? Performance tradeoffs(00:23:55) Kyoto as a Rust reference client for BIP157/158(00:24:35) Bitcoin Safe overview: desktop cold storage with hardware signers(00:25:40) Using compact block filters in Bitcoin Safe: initial sync vs. daily speed(00:28:27) Why connect your own node and peer pools for CBF(00:33:14) Design choice: hardware-only wallets and setup wizard(00:36:29) Differentiating from Sparrow: private sync and Nostr-based multisig coordination(00:39:08) Will Sparrow adopt compact block filters? Considerations and UX(00:48:49) Developer ecosystems: 2140, OpenSats, and in-person collaboration(00:50:38) Making CBF the default: UX, education, and recovery flow(00:52:56) Electrum server defaults and operational notes(00:53:50) Birth heights, segwit/taproot start points, and future optimizations(00:56:17) Address reuse, scanning guarantees, and performance benchmarks(01:00:13) Bandwidth vs. compute: where the real bottlenecks are(01:00:19) Closing discussion, calls to action, and advice for new devsmore info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.comlearn more about me: https://odell.xyznostr: https://primal.net/odell

Summary:This week on Next in Media, Mike Shields talks with Erick Opeka, President & Chief Strategy Officer at Cineverse and board member at the startup Micro Co. Opeka breaks down how short-form “micro-dramas”—already attracting hundreds of millions of daily viewers in China—are taking shape in the U.S. and why they could become a $20 billion category.He explains how Cineverse's 22 streaming services, proprietary Matchpoint technology, and deep ad-tech stack position it to lead this wave. From Quibi's missteps to AI-driven efficiencies, Opeka shares how the next generation of vertical video could transform storytelling, advertising, and the very idea of television.⭐ Key Highlights

Ethereum is transparent by design, and that's a problem if you don't want your entire financial life on display. Rand Hindi, co-founder of Zama, joins us to explain how fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) can turn Ethereum into an encrypted, confidential blockchain where contracts stay composable and UX feels exactly the same. We get into why blockchains were public in the first place, why “anonymous addresses” were never enough, how FHE compares to ZK and MPC, and what a world of private DeFi, encrypted stablecoins, and on-chain “digital immortality” could look like.  ------