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"This is the biggest thing we’ve done since the pull request." 😮

GitHub Actions launched yesterday to help developers automate their entire development workflows. Instead of jumping between ten different services every time you want run a workflow, you can set up an Action once. It's like having a magic code butler do all of the boring stuff, so you can focus on building.

Just like repos, they're also shareable and discoverable. While the tool is currently in private beta, expect thousands of open-sourced Actions to start popping up across the GitHub universe.

The launch comes as Microsoft finalizes their $7.5B acquisition of GitHub, setting their sights on GitHub's massive developer community. Microsoft is doubling down on open-source software, opening up their 60,000 patents to end the Linux patent wars just last week.

"We are not buying GitHub to turn it into Microsoft; we are buying GitHub because we believe in the importance of developers.” This comes from GitHub's incoming CEO Nat Friedman in a Reddit AMA.

You don't need to code to use tools like Actions. There's a whole suite of tools to help you automate everything at home and work:

• Apple's Shortcuts lets you automate your day-to-day from your iPhone. Built on top of Workflow, which Apple acquired last year, Shortcuts are deeply integrated into iOS 12 and Siri to let you trigger dozens of apps with one button-press. Get directions to your next calendar event, for instance.

• IFTTT helps your various apps and tools talk to each other with their drag-and-drop interface and thousands of pre-built recipes. The possibilities are endless: automatically turning on your lights when the pizza guy shows up, automatically post a photo to all of your various social medias, or even trigger a phone call to yourself to get you out of an awkward situation. 😬

• Zapier connects 500+ web apps to help you work better. Trigger email campaigns from Mailchimp when you add new prospects to a Google Sheet or HubSpot or track bugs reports in Asana.

These are just a few of the many productivity-boosting tools. Explore dozens more right here. Your schedule will thank you. 🙏

Your next soda could have cannabis in it. 😮

A new generation of food founders are infusing sodas, beers, and snacks with cannabidiol (often known as CBD) to alleviate pain, inflammation, depression, anxiety, stress and other illnesses.

CBD isn't "new." The compound was first extracted from cannabis in the 40's by Harvard chemist Roger Adams, who thought it was completely useless and moved on to other research. His work was picked up in the 60's, leading to the worldwide CBD craze sweeping your local convenience store. Poor Roger. 😢

CBD can be infused into really anything. The extract doesn't include THC, which is what causes the psychoactive symptoms associated with getting high, and makes it legal in all 50 states. Don't be surprised if you see CBD offered at your local indie coffee shop. ☕

A new CBD soda just launched yesterday: DRAM's Lemongrass CBD Sparkling Water is exactly what it sounds like, and it ships anywhere in the US. There are THC varieties too: California Dreamin' went through Y Combinator last year and is selling in dispensaries across California. Eaze has raised $50M+ to deliver cannabis products directly to your door.

Or... if you want to grow everything yourself, LEAF is an automated plug-n'-plant cannabis grower for your house. It's even won an illustrious Golden Kitty in 2016.

Real-life adblockers have arrived.

Just launched this weekend, these nifty "IRL" glasses block out any screens. They were designed after the movie THEY LIVE, a 1998 cult classic where the protagonist finds a magical pair of glasses that blocks ads. 😂

This might seem farfetched, but a massive wave of digital IRL advertisments are coming soon. Grabb-It (YC '18) and Vugo put screens on Ubers to sell you stuff during your ride. They can even target specific ads based on the car's location, which means your ride home on Friday night could soon be pushing hangover cures (like this one).

Ads aren't necessarily bad. Consumers and businesses typically benefit when underutilized assets (like your attention!) are unlocked. For example, your Uber rides will likely become cheaper as car-based ads grow around the world. Advertisers get access to a new marketing channel, and drivers can supplement driving income with advertising revenue. Win for everybody.

But... unlike digital ads on websites, it's much harder to ignore these digital IRL advertisments. They catch our eye with flashy animations and famous faces, placed strategically in places that we can't avoid. For those of us who prefer to focus, the new IRL glasses might save the day. 😎

The first tweet was sent on March 21st, 2006 by CEO Jack Dorsey.

From that very first "just setting up my twittr," hundreds of billions of tweets lived together in harmony. Then... everything changed when The Algorithm attacked. Only third party developers, masters of every user demand, could stop it, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 😮

Well, they didn't quite vanish. In August, Twitter announced sweeping changes to their API that broke most of the features in award-winning Twitter clients like Tweetbot and Tweetdeck. And while Twitter brought back the chronological timeline last month, power users still aren't pleased.

A new third party developer is here to save the world. Zach Hamed just launched Macaw, a new Twitter client that surfaces the top-liked tweets from your network. Macaw focuses on tweets and users that you *should* follow, rather than tweets and users you already follow:

"If 5 of the people who you follow like a particular tweet, chances are good that you should read that tweet. Same with users: if a lot of the people you follow suddenly start following a user, chances are good you might want to follow them."

Zach isn't alone trying to fix Twitter. Earlier this year, Sindre Sorhus launched Refined Twitter, which strips out all ads and algorithmic tweets. Mastodon, Peepeth, Afari, and Leeroy are rebuilding a decentralized Twitter on the blockchain. Oh, and this fancy Emoji Tweeter lets 👏 you 👏 type 👏 like 👏 this.

Night mode is the best when burning the midnight oil in front of the LCD. Unfortunately, most sites don’t offer this option to night owls.

Google launched three devices yesterday, taking on Apple, Amazon, and FB.

The first: the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, the newest generation of Google's flagship Android smartphone. Both come with slimmed down bezels, wireless charging, and AI-powered dual front cameras with nifty new camera modes like Night Sight, Super Res Zoom, and Top Shot that takes a burst of photos and automatically selects the best one.

Cool thing: Google's voice AI (dubbed Duplex) will automatically screen calls from suspected spammers, just like a personal assistant, singlehandedly bringing voicemail into the 21st century.

The smaller 5.5" Pixel 3 sells for $799, with the larger 6.3" Pixel 3 XL coming in at $899. Pre-orders are live. 📱

The second: the Google Home Hub, their newest addition to the Google Home family. It comes with a 7" screen to display the weather, upcoming appointments, and cat videos on YouTube.

At $149, this new device directly competes with the Amazon Echo Show ($229+) and the contentious Facebook Portal ($199+). We'll have to wait and see who wins the battle for your kitchen counter. 🏘️

The third: the new Google Pixel Slate, their most recent attempt to kill the iPad. The Chrome OS tablet comes with a 3000×2000 display, 8-16GB of RAM, front and rear cameras, and will ship later in 2018 for $599+. Biggest heartbreak: it does not have a headphone jack. 😢

The timing for the entire event is odd. Just yesterday, Google killed Google+ and disclosed a security incident that exposed 500,000+ user's personal data to third parties. Facebook just launched their own Facebook Portal on Monday. Maybe somebody got their wires crossed. 🤷‍♂️

Reddit is home to the best and worst of the internet. Political propagandists and puppy-lovers call the site home, with 1.2M+ subreddits spanning the globe. The site has driven hundreds of millions of dollars in donations to worthy caused... and disseminated thousands of leaked nude celebrity pictures.

A lot has happened over the company’s 13-year history.

Inc Magazine writer Christine Lagorio just published We Are The Nerds, a deep-dive into the founding story of Reddit.

The fifth most popular website in the US has humble beginnings. Part of Y Combinator's first cohort (back when it was run out of Paul Graham and Jessica Livingston's house in Cambridge), Reddit was the brainchild of UVA's Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman.

Only two years after launch, the small team sold their company to Conde Nast... only to see the site engulfed in controversies, corporate restructuring, and in-fighting that threatened to bring the entire site down.

Christine spoke with hundreds of community members over the course of 6 years to bring the untold insightful, somber, and wholesome history about the "front page of the Interent" to light. Get a copy here. 📦

And for the Reddit-addicts out there, here's a secret tool that lets you pretend to be working while browsing Reddit. We won't tell your boss. 🤐

The rumors are true. Facebook just launched its first hardware device: Portal.

Portal looks a bit like Amazon's Echo Show, but with a focus on helping you connect with people (as you might expect from the social network).

“Connecting through Portal feels like being together in the same room, even when you’re far apart. And Portal makes it easier to connect more regularly with the most important people in your life.”

The device sits in your kitchen, living room, or bedside. Use it to video chat your long-distance boo, family back home, or start a Houseparty-like group call with your buddies using its smart camera. Unlike other video chat apps you might use on your mobile, Portal is activated with your voice, hands-free.

While much of Facebook's marketing have fixated on video chatting, its audio/voice functionality might be the real killer app. As audio and voice eats into our screen time, Facebook needs a voice play. Other members of the FAANG already have theirs (except for Netflix... that we know of). Amazon has spread Alexa everywhere, integrated into all Echo devices and even their new microwave. Apple has Siri and AirPods. Google continues to roll out different variations of Google Home, including an adorable “donut”.

Funny note: because Facebook hasn't launched their own assistant yet, the Portal is powered by Alexa. Another win for Jeff Bezos. 😮

This is why Facebook Portal is so important for them. However, the device has been met with skepticism:

“Most of us already own more convenient, portable video calling devices. They’re called smartphones. Quality not as great, but will do the job for most people.” – Kurt Wagner

“You can’t watch YouTube; there’s no web browser; WhatsApp and Instagram are nowhere to be found; and you can’t send or receive normal Facebook messages, even if they’re video recordings. If you buy the Portal, you have to really want to video chat with other people on Facebook, and do so from one room in your home, on something other than the phone or laptop or tablet that you likely already have.” – Jacob Kastrenakes

Less than two weeks ago the company announced 50M accounts were compromised amid ongoing concerns about user privacy. It's also rare to see a software-first company successfully expand into hardware. Facebook's smaller archenemy, Snap, attempted this with Spectacles which resulted in a $40M write-off in 2017 (although v2 is looking fresh 😎).

Are you going to buy a $199 Portal? Add your thoughts in the discussion.

She's called "the best VC on Instagram" by Homebrew's Hunter Walk. As part of her day-to-day as a VC at Backed, Jenny Gyllander runs Thingtesting, an Instagram account dedicated to reviewing the new wave of venture-backed products and brands like Sudden Coffee, Outdoor Voices, and more.

Her reviews are split into two portions: her personal review as a consumer, and her professional review as a venture capitalist. We asked her about her favorite products so far. 📸

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I launched Thingtesting after falling in love with the new wave of CPG products and brands both as a consumer and an investor. While I test and review new products that pop up on my feed, I do my best to demystify how VCs approach investing in consumer brands. It's a little bit like Product Hunt for brands. 💁‍

The most common question I get is: “What’s your favorite product?”

There's no easy answer. As a consumer, I've had three so far. Each had a delightful customer experience, were miles ahead of any competition I’d tested, had strong brands, and either provided a lot of value in my life or were simply fun & whimsical - just how I like it:


🏥 Curology is teledermatology for skincare. Fill out a quiz, and get a customized regimen mailed to your house.

Having never visited a dermatologist, or used any acne treatment - my expectations weren’t sky high - but oh my how wrong I was. Since moving to London my skin has been acting weirdly (because of London’s “hard” water). I used Curology every evening for less than 4 days and all problems were solved.

💉 Thriva blood tests you take at home to monitor your health. The product was quick to deliver and I was reminded regularly throughout the service which I liked - but the finger pricking experience is pretty grim. 😂

I find myself competing and trying to get better results test after test, which actually is quite fun (who knew blood tests could be fun..) I also received a test batch of free vitamin supplements to complement my subscription.
 

🛢️ Brightland delivers modern, elegant extra virgin olive oil grown in California right to your front door. The olive oil industry is absolutely crazy, with producers mixing in cheaper oils and additivies to drive down costs.

I’ve used half of the bottle in two weeks and l-o-v-e it. Super smooth & rich in taste. For a packaging lover like me, the bottle itself just makes the kitchen look better (it’s UV-powder coated to protect the oil from damaging light).
But... there's more. As a VC, I have to look for different things in products. There are a few that stand out with world-class founders as they attack huge markets, build proprietary tech, and cut out out middlemen:


🍺 IntelligentX Brewing Co uses AI to brew the best beer to suit your specific preferences. They’ve now created 18 different recipes and batches of beer, continually adapting it to the changing tastes of people drinking it.

A vast majority of consumer products fail because the wrong product is built, and customer feedback is collected in inefficient ways. Instead of using old-school market research methodologies like focus groups and fill-in surveys, IntelligentX wants to use AI to help make better products.

🌷 Floom sends stunning floral arrangements from independent florists in NY and London. Cut flowers is a $65b market, and the Floom model is smart and scalable compared to many other flower startups; no warehousing, no stock, no returns + high retention especially among business customers.

There’s been a couple of instances in the past years when I wanted to send flowers to someone and failed. Plus, most florists' attempts at ecommerce sites are... catastrophic, to say the least.  Ultimately, I ended up choosing to send a book on Amazon as a gift instead. I wish I had known about Floom.

💅 Glossier designs community-driven beauty, with their line of millenial pink products. They've raised $80M+ already, launching dozens of different products and showrooms around the world.

Community-driven business means instant high demand and incredible customer loyalty. Brand + quality + curation + community + retail = success (framework courtesy of Mark Suster). And Glossier nailed it, even offline.

What product should I review next? Let me know in the comments. 🤗

Think back to your high school's sex ed class. Try not to cringe. 😬

Apart from an awkward homeroom class in high school and the "birds and bees" talk with a parent, most of us receive little guidance on how things actually work. Besides, it's hard to ask questions touchy subjects when you're surrounded by your friends and family.

Earlier this week, Andrea Barrica and team launched O.school Originals, a judgement-free online community to help anybody learn about about sex, dating, and pleasure.

Their goal is to sit between Planned Parenthood and Pornhub, to help people around the world unlearn shame, heal from sexual trauma, and explore desires.

"I’ve been nothing but impressed by the O.school community. They have created a safe space to learn, ask questions and feel good about sex and pleasure." – Lucia Pavone

"Love the idea and how it's realised. Interesting and very high quality content, dives pretty deep into the topics. Sadly sex ed is largely ignored, and I'm glad to see you guys doing something to change that." – Ivan Vasilev

They're not alone in building products to help men and women solve uncomfortable problems:

• Beautifully-branded Unbound helps everybody discover the best sex toys.
• Nurx helps women get birth control prescriptions without a doctor's visit.
• Roman and Hims help men with erectile dysfunction, with prescription medication delivered discretely in the mail.
• Aunt Flow sells tampons and pads to businesses so they can be provided it for their team, free of charge (we have them at the Product Hunt office). 🙏