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Our ultra-fast Daily: Three takes on new products. Yesterday’s top ten launches. That’s it.
Your big break into tech 👩💻
On Friday, Anil Dash tweeted: "Who is a person (not counting family) that opened doors for you in your career when they didn’t have to?"
The tweet has since gone viral, with thousands of replies pouring in. Anil has brought the same question to the Product Hunt community, asking you to show gratitude to the people who've opened doors for you in your career (we'll RT our favorite responses on Twitter).
Everybody who works in the tech industry has had their "big break" – a single, defining moment that changed their professional lives forever. Yours has just arrived.
We've partnered with General Assembly to let a one lucky winner attend one of the biggest tech conferences of the year. We can't say which event, but it rhymes with "Schmoogle Eye Oh". Enter to win.
The winner will also receive:
✈️ $500 airline credit from anywhere to Mountain View
🏨 Hotel and transportation credit around the city
🛠️ $200 credit for any General Assembly development class
😻 Meet the Product Hunt team in San Francisco!
Bitmoji competitor valued at $100M out of stealth! 🚀
A next-gen Bitmoji competitor just came out of stealth, and is valued at $100M from top investors.
Genies lets you create a digital clone of yourself that reacts to the news in real-time throughout the day and be shared with friends. It's like Apple's new Animojis, but more expressive (and without an iPhone X).
The creators see this not only as a form of self-expression, but also as a source for news. For example, a Genie could react to news that Elon Musk’s SpaceX landed its Falcon 9 rocket with an avatar shooting into space (watch the video).
So far, over 689,000 people (!!!) joined the waitlist, including Product Hunt kitty (see above).
2018 Prediction: Avatars are about to take off in a major way with advancements in AR and facial recognition technology. Last month's Animoji karaoke sensation is a small preview of what's to come.
Genies lets you create a digital clone of yourself that reacts to the news in real-time throughout the day and be shared with friends. It's like Apple's new Animojis, but more expressive (and without an iPhone X).
The creators see this not only as a form of self-expression, but also as a source for news. For example, a Genie could react to news that Elon Musk’s SpaceX landed its Falcon 9 rocket with an avatar shooting into space (watch the video).
So far, over 689,000 people (!!!) joined the waitlist, including Product Hunt kitty (see above).
2018 Prediction: Avatars are about to take off in a major way with advancements in AR and facial recognition technology. Last month's Animoji karaoke sensation is a small preview of what's to come.
Instagram launched a new messaging app! 🚨
“Asking folks to install another app is a short term painful thing, but if we wanted to focus on serving this [use case] well, we had to build a dedicated and focused experience.” – Mark Zuckerberg (2014)
Instagram just launched a dedicated messaging app. The experimental app is called Direct, and it's available today on Android and iOS.
The courageous decision to launch a standalone messaging app could go down in history as one of the all-time greats, right alongside Apple removing the headphone jack, Hype pivoting to HQ Trivia, and Tesla expanding into iPhone accessories.
Only time will tell if Instagram's messaging aspirations will work out as planed. In the short-term, the only true measure of success is if 3 months from now, Facebook tries to acquire them again.
Instagram just launched a dedicated messaging app. The experimental app is called Direct, and it's available today on Android and iOS.
The courageous decision to launch a standalone messaging app could go down in history as one of the all-time greats, right alongside Apple removing the headphone jack, Hype pivoting to HQ Trivia, and Tesla expanding into iPhone accessories.
Only time will tell if Instagram's messaging aspirations will work out as planed. In the short-term, the only true measure of success is if 3 months from now, Facebook tries to acquire them again.
Uber’s secret plan, revealed! 📊😮
Hi everyone! I'm Nick, on the Ship team at Product Hunt. ⛵️
I love credit card points. Finding the best rewards is addictive (I haven’t paid for a flight in years), so I and 700+ other credit card-loving upvoters was excited to see Uber launch their own credit card last month.
It seemed like a natural progression of Uber’s core business. However, to credit card power users, some of Uber’s rewards were baffling (only 2% cash back on any Uber ride).
One could write this off as a low-effort entrance into an established credit industry, but doing so would ignore Uber’s true intention: to launch the first data-driven restaurant empire by combining your restaurant spending data and location history. That's a possibility.
You can read about how Uber is replacing local restaurants with big data in a new post I just published on the Product Hunt Blog.
We also put together a collection of credit card alternatives and tools you may want to look into:
📦 Amazon Prime Rewards Card gives you 5% back on your every Amazon purchase. It's like free money if you have a Prime membership.
💎 Chase Sapphire Reserve has become the go-to card for millennials, and offers ~4% back on any travel expenses (including Uber).
👑 Final give a unique credit card number to every merchant so you don't waste time re-establishing your payment relationships if you're card is lost or stolen.
🗂 Tally manages all of your credit cards in one place, automatically paying your bills to minimize interest and avoid late fees.
💵 Sift gives you automatic refunds from hidden credit card benefits.
💳 Petal is a simple, no-fee card, that doesn't require a credit score. Instead, they look at the money you make and the bills you already pay to help you qualify instantly.
P.S. Developers can use the Dummy Card Generator to create fake credit card numbers for eCommerce testing. 😛
I love credit card points. Finding the best rewards is addictive (I haven’t paid for a flight in years), so I and 700+ other credit card-loving upvoters was excited to see Uber launch their own credit card last month.
It seemed like a natural progression of Uber’s core business. However, to credit card power users, some of Uber’s rewards were baffling (only 2% cash back on any Uber ride).
One could write this off as a low-effort entrance into an established credit industry, but doing so would ignore Uber’s true intention: to launch the first data-driven restaurant empire by combining your restaurant spending data and location history. That's a possibility.
You can read about how Uber is replacing local restaurants with big data in a new post I just published on the Product Hunt Blog.
We also put together a collection of credit card alternatives and tools you may want to look into:
📦 Amazon Prime Rewards Card gives you 5% back on your every Amazon purchase. It's like free money if you have a Prime membership.
💎 Chase Sapphire Reserve has become the go-to card for millennials, and offers ~4% back on any travel expenses (including Uber).
👑 Final give a unique credit card number to every merchant so you don't waste time re-establishing your payment relationships if you're card is lost or stolen.
🗂 Tally manages all of your credit cards in one place, automatically paying your bills to minimize interest and avoid late fees.
💵 Sift gives you automatic refunds from hidden credit card benefits.
💳 Petal is a simple, no-fee card, that doesn't require a credit score. Instead, they look at the money you make and the bills you already pay to help you qualify instantly.
P.S. Developers can use the Dummy Card Generator to create fake credit card numbers for eCommerce testing. 😛
Cats are taking over the blockchain 😸📈
CryptoKitties is the newest craze in cryptocurrency. So many people are buying, selling, and breeding CryptoKitties that the Ethereum blockchain is struggling to keep up with all the activity.
The average cat is trading for $100 in ether and users have spent over $3M total on breeding, buying and selling the in-game items (up from $1M yesterday).
Two days ago, a true believer of cat-based technologies bought the genesis cat (the first cat) for 250 ETH, which is over $100,000. Today, CryptoKitties is the most active smart contract on the Ethereum network, accounting for over 16% of all Ethereum transactions. 😸
CryptoKitties launched on Product Hunt six days ago, where maker Mack Flavelle explained the idea behind it:
“Blockchain technology could be the biggest revolution since the internet, but the majority of projects in this space are unapproachable to muggles. That's something we wanted to change with CryptoKitties. We figured- if you want to speak to regular people speak in regular language. And cats are the regular language of the internet.”
And went on to explain the dynamics of CryptoKitty:
“In CryptoKitties, users collect and breed digital cats. Through breeding, unique cattributes can be unlocked. Each CryptoKitty has a 256-bit genome that dictates its appearance and hidden traits, with 4-billion possible combinations. And we have Fancy Cats - kitties with custom art, including a little treat for Product Hunt fans.”
Right now the best way to try out CryptoKitties is by downloading MetaMask, a chrome extension that makes it easy to interact with the Ethereum blockchain directly from your browser. You're also going to need a little Ether, which you can buy from exchanges like Coinbase.
By leveraging the power of cats on the internet, CryptoKitties is introducing the public to cryptocurrencies and blockchain based technologies. If you want to learn a bit more about how the game mechanics work you can check out Fitz Tepper's excellent post on TechCrunch.
P.S. A big thanks to the CryptoKitties team for creating a lovable tatted-up Ship CryptoKitty (see header image). 😸⛵️
The average cat is trading for $100 in ether and users have spent over $3M total on breeding, buying and selling the in-game items (up from $1M yesterday).
Two days ago, a true believer of cat-based technologies bought the genesis cat (the first cat) for 250 ETH, which is over $100,000. Today, CryptoKitties is the most active smart contract on the Ethereum network, accounting for over 16% of all Ethereum transactions. 😸
CryptoKitties launched on Product Hunt six days ago, where maker Mack Flavelle explained the idea behind it:
“Blockchain technology could be the biggest revolution since the internet, but the majority of projects in this space are unapproachable to muggles. That's something we wanted to change with CryptoKitties. We figured- if you want to speak to regular people speak in regular language. And cats are the regular language of the internet.”
And went on to explain the dynamics of CryptoKitty:
“In CryptoKitties, users collect and breed digital cats. Through breeding, unique cattributes can be unlocked. Each CryptoKitty has a 256-bit genome that dictates its appearance and hidden traits, with 4-billion possible combinations. And we have Fancy Cats - kitties with custom art, including a little treat for Product Hunt fans.”
Right now the best way to try out CryptoKitties is by downloading MetaMask, a chrome extension that makes it easy to interact with the Ethereum blockchain directly from your browser. You're also going to need a little Ether, which you can buy from exchanges like Coinbase.
By leveraging the power of cats on the internet, CryptoKitties is introducing the public to cryptocurrencies and blockchain based technologies. If you want to learn a bit more about how the game mechanics work you can check out Fitz Tepper's excellent post on TechCrunch.
P.S. A big thanks to the CryptoKitties team for creating a lovable tatted-up Ship CryptoKitty (see header image). 😸⛵️
Facebook launches Snapchat for kids 👶
Today Facebook's COO and parent, Sheryl Sandberg, introduced their newest app, Messenger Kids.
The app looks a lot like Snapchat, Houseparty, and Facebook's Bonfire with a focus on playful face filters and group video chat. But unlike these incumbents, Messenger Kids puts parents in control, COPPA compliant so even children under 13 years old can participate.
Unsurprisingly, the app was met with mixed reactions. Cynics might criticize the app as solely a diabolical plan to incubate a new generation of Facebook addicts. Optimists see this as a way to empower kids to participate in our digital future, in a safe way. Regardless of your POV, this is a smart way for 14-year-old Facebook to bring a new generation of people into its ecosystem.
What do you think? Add your thoughts in the discussion. 🤔
The app looks a lot like Snapchat, Houseparty, and Facebook's Bonfire with a focus on playful face filters and group video chat. But unlike these incumbents, Messenger Kids puts parents in control, COPPA compliant so even children under 13 years old can participate.
Unsurprisingly, the app was met with mixed reactions. Cynics might criticize the app as solely a diabolical plan to incubate a new generation of Facebook addicts. Optimists see this as a way to empower kids to participate in our digital future, in a safe way. Regardless of your POV, this is a smart way for 14-year-old Facebook to bring a new generation of people into its ecosystem.
What do you think? Add your thoughts in the discussion. 🤔
Find out what your startup options are worth 💰
Just 2 weeks ago, the startup community (justifiably) flipped tables when a U.S. tax reform bill attempted to introduce a change that would force employees to pay taxes on options once they vest. Fortunately, the bill didn’t pass (😅) but many startups are still challenged to create the right stock option plan to award and retain their best talent.
Index Ventures created a product to help. OptionPlan is a new benchmarking tool informed by over 4,000 option grants. Executives can use this to set fair equity packages for their team. Employees can use this to compare their offer to the market and better understand what their options might be worth some day.
With First Round’s launch of a search engine for tech knowledge, and Index’s OptionPlan tool, many VC firms seem to be dedicating more time in their terminal than Medium. Products are the new blog posts.
P.S. Check out TL;DR Options and guesstimate the possible value of startup options. 😛
Index Ventures created a product to help. OptionPlan is a new benchmarking tool informed by over 4,000 option grants. Executives can use this to set fair equity packages for their team. Employees can use this to compare their offer to the market and better understand what their options might be worth some day.
With First Round’s launch of a search engine for tech knowledge, and Index’s OptionPlan tool, many VC firms seem to be dedicating more time in their terminal than Medium. Products are the new blog posts.
P.S. Check out TL;DR Options and guesstimate the possible value of startup options. 😛
NEW Google Competitor 🦄
To succeed at a startup you have to constantly be teaching yourself new things: raising money, hiring great people, setting compensation, building a roadmap, managing well, training new employees. Most of us are not born with these skills.
While the quantity of startup content has exploded over the past few years (thanks, Medium) the results can be fragmented, vague, promotional, or lacking in credibility. So, the team at First Round (yes, the VC firm) built First Search, a database of high-quality, curated advice for founders.
Founders and employees need to know how to do a tremendous range of things. Next time you're looking for actionable advice, consider making First Search your first search.
P.S. If you look up "Product Hunt" it reveals all our secrets. 🙊
While the quantity of startup content has exploded over the past few years (thanks, Medium) the results can be fragmented, vague, promotional, or lacking in credibility. So, the team at First Round (yes, the VC firm) built First Search, a database of high-quality, curated advice for founders.
Founders and employees need to know how to do a tremendous range of things. Next time you're looking for actionable advice, consider making First Search your first search.
P.S. If you look up "Product Hunt" it reveals all our secrets. 🙊
Snapchat's biggest update ever.
"Today we’re separating the social from the media and reorganizing Snapchat around your relationships to make it more personal."
At an earnings call earlier this month, Evan Spiegel announced a major redesign was coming to Snapchat. This morning he published a video describing the update, and it's Snapchat's biggest release yet. Here are the highlights:
✅ New Discover feed with #brand content
✅ Friends are sorted algorithmically (blasphemy!)
✅ Adult-friendly UX
Snap is rolling out these updates to a percentage of their 150M+ daily users so if you don't see it yet, don't worry. Evan hasn't forgotten you.
P.S. We're snapping at ProductHuntTeam. Send us snaps!
At an earnings call earlier this month, Evan Spiegel announced a major redesign was coming to Snapchat. This morning he published a video describing the update, and it's Snapchat's biggest release yet. Here are the highlights:
✅ New Discover feed with #brand content
✅ Friends are sorted algorithmically (blasphemy!)
✅ Adult-friendly UX
Snap is rolling out these updates to a percentage of their 150M+ daily users so if you don't see it yet, don't worry. Evan hasn't forgotten you.
P.S. We're snapping at ProductHuntTeam. Send us snaps!
2 years in stealth, Facebook & Venmo execs launch Fin 🚀
Today we have special guests: Venmo founder Andrew Kortina and Facebook's former Product VP Sam Lessin are launching Fin, and are here to tell us about the future of intelligent assistant systems.
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It seems like in the last few years everyone has been working on some sort of assistant service. Siri can be great for cooking timers and placing phone calls, but we are a far cry from having the assistant we have been promised by movies like Her, Blade Runner, and Iron Man.
For the last few years, Andrew and I have been working on a different approach, combining machine learning and human operations to deliver a full human-equivalent assistant service. That is Fin's premise.
The product can make purchases on your behalf, book reservations, manage calendars, and take care of natural and sophisticated research and organization tasks for you. It learns your preferences, just like a human assistant would – from your choice of airline seats, to more personal things like the type of restaurants and hotels you prefer.
We've learned a ton in the past year, and wanted to share some of the key lessons that have given us more confidence than ever that in the near future, most work will be performed by human + software hybrid systems.
P.S. As a special offer to the Product Hunt community, we're waiving the monthly minimum so you can try Fin to get more done today.
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It seems like in the last few years everyone has been working on some sort of assistant service. Siri can be great for cooking timers and placing phone calls, but we are a far cry from having the assistant we have been promised by movies like Her, Blade Runner, and Iron Man.
For the last few years, Andrew and I have been working on a different approach, combining machine learning and human operations to deliver a full human-equivalent assistant service. That is Fin's premise.
The product can make purchases on your behalf, book reservations, manage calendars, and take care of natural and sophisticated research and organization tasks for you. It learns your preferences, just like a human assistant would – from your choice of airline seats, to more personal things like the type of restaurants and hotels you prefer.
We've learned a ton in the past year, and wanted to share some of the key lessons that have given us more confidence than ever that in the near future, most work will be performed by human + software hybrid systems.
P.S. As a special offer to the Product Hunt community, we're waiving the monthly minimum so you can try Fin to get more done today.
