#which is why you get some out there nominations in the tech categories that most people have not seen

[femme-foucault]

Whoaaaa Challengers for Score!!! Who are these people and what have they done with the Globes???

[ear-worthy]

Pod-Alization: Spotify Gets "Distractible"; Ambie Award Winners; *IN SYNC Podcast Premieres In April

Spotify announces partnership with “Distractible” and “Go! My Favorite Sports Team” podcasts

Spotify has announced an exclusive video partnership with hit podcaster and content creator Markiplier of “Distractible” and “Go! My Favorite Sports Team.” A first for both podcasts, video episodes will launch exclusively on Spotify, with “Distractible” video episodes available to stream on the platform starting today.

Markiplier, Wade Barnes, and Bob Muyskens will continue as hosts of the chart-topping comedy podcast “Distractible,” with Markiplier and Tyler Scheid hosting the sports companion podcast, “Go! My Favorite Sports Team.” All back catalog and future audio episodes for both podcasts will remain widely available. As part of the deal, Markiplier will also launch additional exclusive video content on Spotify. 

“Distractible” has been a widely popular podcast on the Spotify platform, where it reached the #1 spot on Spotify’s podcast charts the week it first debuted on the platform in May 2021 and continues to consistently remain in top charts. “Distractible” is inspired by Markiplier, Barnes, and Muyskens’ gaming livestreams, where the trio exchange stories and funny, often thought-provoking, off-kilter discussions that have garnered a cult following of deeply loyal fans.

Since launching in 2022, Markiplier and Scheid’s podcast “Go! My Favorite Sports Team” has also built a rabid fanbase. The comedic, irreverent show provides diehard sports fans and novices alike with entertaining commentary on the world of sports, through the complementary viewpoints of Markiplier, “the guy who doesn’t know sports,” and Scheid, who has a master’s degree in Sports Administration.

 In addition to being a top podcaster, Markiplier is one of the most-followed creators on YouTube, where he has been sharing a mixture of gaming-related content, animated videos, comedy sketches, and vlogs under the name Markiplier since 2012. His videos include frequent collaborations with longtime friends and fellow creators Barnes (LordMinion777) and Muyskens (muyskerm), with the trio known in particular for their gaming livestreams, which were the original inspiration for the “Distractible” podcast.

Ambie Award Winners presented -- "And the winner is..."

 The Podcast Academy, a group of 1,000-plus industry creators and executives, awarded Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment’s Chameleon: Wild Boys with the top honor at this year’s 2023 Ambie Awards.

The ceremony was hosted by comedian Larry Wilmore in Las Vegas’ Westgate Resort and Casino and live-streamed on Twitch. Earlier in the evening, Lava for Good’s Bone Valley and Sonoro and Futuro Studios’ Ídolo: The Ballad of Chalino Sánchez both received two awards (Bone Valley in the documentary and reporting categories, Ídolo in the nonfiction scriptwriting and society and culture categories), making them tied as the most-awarded shows of the evening.

Though Audible entered the evening with the most nominations, the audio company was shut out at this year’s awards ceremony.

The Podcast Academy also honored Stuff You Should Know with the governors award in recognition of the show’s impact on the industry. Appearing onstage with producer Jeri Rowland and co-host Josh Clark, Stuff You Should Know host Chuck Bryant said it was “fun to see how far the medium has gone” since the show first launched in 2008.

 The iHeartPodcast Awards are returning in 2023, and once again, the very best in podcasting will be celebrated during the annual awards show on March 14th.

 Some of my favorite categories include:

Best Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast

Climate of Change In Machines We Trust IRL: Online Life is Real Life Ted Radio Hour (WINNER) Threshold Unexplainable (Should Have Won) Why It Matters

Best Interview Podcast

9 to 5ish with theSkimm Design Matters with Debbie Millman Direct Deposit Rethinking (For me, a close second) The Assignment with Audie Cornish (WINNER) The Lede Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

 Best History Podcast

Against The Odds Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis History Daily One Year: 1986 (great concept; great execution) Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till Mobley Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade (WINNER) SNAFU with Ed Helms

 *IN SYNC podcast premieres in April and plays a sweet melody

 Great moments in TV and film are often punctuated and accentuated by the accompanying music not written for that piece of content. Think of the long-running and water-cooler popular The Sopranos on HBO. Season one, episode seven featured the song, White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane to depict the hopelessness of drug addiction. In the sixth and final season and last episode of the show, Don't Stop Believin' by Journey plays as the screen fades to black, and Tony Soprano’s fate is left up to our own imagination.

So if you're into music in TV or film, a new podcast --*IN SYNC -- is a podcast for anyone who loves a perfect on-screen needle-drop. 

With their extensive experience in music and podcasting, cultural critic Rachel Brodsky and filmmaker/podcaster Aviv Rubinstien have joined forces to create the brand-new *IN SYNC Podcast. 

A historiography celebrating your favorite music moments in TV and film, *IN SYNC looks at one great song-to-screen sync per episode and breaks down the cultural impact. The co-hosts are often joined by guests, such as the music supervisors behind these highly memorable music moments. 

On April 11, Gotham West Studios will launch the first episode centered around Sia’s “Breathe Me” closing out cult TV show, Six Feet Under. Combining the masterful storytelling and the emotional power of music, *IN SYNC is an episodic deep dive into music history and fandom.

 Rachel Brodsky is a freelance culture writer, critic, and reporter living in Los Angeles. She is a staff writer/editor and Pop Columnist with Stereogum and was previously on staff with The Independent, Grammy.com, SPIN, and MTV. Her writing about music, TV, comedy, podcasts, film, gender, and lifestyle has been published by outlets including the LA Times, InStyle, The Guardian, Vulture, Nylon, GQ, UPROXX, Paste, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and more. Aviv Rubinstien is a Philly native filmmaker and podcaster living and working in Los Angeles. He has written and directed several genre-jumping feature films both in the United States and Southeast Asia. He teaches screenwriting and filmmaking at Emerson College, and Hussian College Los Angeles and formerly New York Film Academy, and the University of Rhode Island. Aviv leads a double life as a musician, lead singer of rock and roll band Jacob the Horse. Celebrate your favorite music moments in TV and film with this new podcast. How do you separate the music from the content? For instance, the Steppenwolf song Born To Be Wild will be forever tied to the 1969 counterculture film Easy Rider.

 You don't. They're inexorably linked. Find out how and why on this upcoming podcast. *IN SYNC launches on April 11 via Gotham West Studios. You can listen to the trailer and download the show now to your podcast feed.

How about Stuck In The Middle With You by Stealers Wheel in Quentin Tarantino's hit film Reservoir Dogs? Or Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield for The Exorcist. The possibilities are endless. 

[theaterdisneynerdsunite]

Tony Awards Thoughts

So it looks like, at least for now, the CBS website lets you watch it for free (at least in the US). Here are my thoughts using those time stamps (be warned I have a long running commentary)

0:23 Oh is this going to be a parody of her playing the piano on last year’s Tony’s

1:05 How has neither one of them won anything? I mean I get if they said neither one of them one a Tony cause I mean, they both did shows that one time…but anything?

1:18 Is there anything more Broadway than saying the same rehearsed thing at the same time and pretending it was just part of the banter? Oh theater tropes I love you

1:36 That’s always been something that bothered me, people assume that just because something didn’t win the Tony doesn’t mean its not a great show, and the show that wins might not even be the best one that season (you know who you are). I love the Tony’s but its an award show, people don’t stop watching tv shows and movies or listening to artists that didn’t win or weren’t nominated, it makes me sad that so many shows close post Tony’s just because they weren’t the big winner. Anyways…

1:53 THEY CELEBRATED THE LOSERS LIKE ME, these A list celebrities that are totally not losers are soooo relatable ;)

2:40 A few years ago Something Rotten did what I thought was a brilliant advertising campaign listing amazing shows that lost the Tonys like them, so the fact that it was put into song gave me a fond flashback. See? SEE??? Oh it feels so good to be vindicated on tv

3:49 “If you make art at all your a part of the cure” :)

4:10 THEY HAD THE ENSEMBLE MEMBERS BE THE ONES IN THE OPENING NUMBER RATHER THAN THE LEADS THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY. If only my high school self could have seen this she would have felt so much better

6:42 I didn’t see any of the plays this year but I heard the most about Angels in America this season so not surprised. Looks interesting

7:45 Happy Pride Month

8:40 Bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked would actually be a pretty good diction warmup

14:10 Kinda surprised that they didn’t pick Rather Be Me or Apex Predator considering those are the really marketed songs. “Where We Belong” seems a lot like “Status Quo” from High School Musical. I mean you’ll get that about high school clicks in the lunch room with a blond queen bee but like, even the dance moves felt similar, and the lunch tray dancing, even the giant cat decal. But like, it's not as catchy? I didn’t expect them to win anything tonight but I really don’t think they’ll win anything now? Is that mean? Just cause it feels like it was supposed to be a high energy number and it didn’t have that energy I thought it would. Also come on, just cause you want the girls to be shallow and dumb doesn’t mean the lyrics have to be that cringey. This feels like a less good version of if Legally Blonde and High School Musical had a baby (I absolutely love Legally Blonde that was not intended to be an insult to either show).

15:00 Is it me or did Amy Schumer look like she wanted to say something but Rachel Bloom kept talking. But it didn’t really have any joke setup or serve as a good segway for commentary, what could she have wanted to say?

15:35 Later on I’m going to see if I can find the award speeches that didn’t get televised. most of the world doesn’t get broadway they get regional theater, I wanted to hear what they had to say

15:45 Nick Scandalious feels like a cartoon name you’d see in an Onion article about the Me Too movement. His face even looks like the generic celebrity that had a TMZ scandal five years ago. I thought I read it wrong at first lol

16:40 I was cracking up they know their brand so well. The air quotes on emotional, perfect!

17:10 Mini Sara and Josh are so cute!

17:50 Ok I missed the reference, what is the giant bird lady from?

18:10 oh

20:57 celebrity child picture counter: #3 Amy Schumer. Also guess which year the musical described as “a comedy about class and sexism” is from? Yup it’s My Fair Lady, the audience laughed like I did in that sort of this is funny but also sad kinda way

26:00 This was so overacted and hammy and one day I aspire to that level of loud printed robes. Coincidentally my name is also spelled like Eliza but my voice is not nearly that good. Also does it count as drag if they are clearly men in dresses with some comical makeup or is there another name for it when they aren’t actually trying to look feminine?

26:18 The twitter usernames were too small to see on my screen who were the twitter pictures of?

26:30 See above comment

27:00 What show did Billy Joel work on? Also Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and Josh Groban maybe my mom will finally enjoy theater

29:12 Oh my gosh that picture of Titus Burgess is amazing as is that suit. And that intro is so Titus its great

30:07 Renee Fleming we’ve got the Opera world here too? It’s so many famous musicians from outside broadway on broadway, think of all the crossovers

32:50: Yes spongebob get Josh Groban to sing more thank you for your service. Ok I’m not a huge fan of spongebob but they have to win for sound design that guy is on overload

33:27 Lol it explains so much why the songs sound disjointed cause they got a billion people to write them. Also lol I was waiting for that joke

33:50 Also what I thought would happen would be a medley that way Spongebob who really is the driving energy of the show and Squidward played by the Broadway darling would both have a song. This wasn’t how I expected them to do it, but I was sort of right so I’ll count it. I’m not really a fan of Spongebob the musical (I’ve listened to it twice once when it first came out and once during Tony Season. I’m not one of the people who hate it off the sheer premise and won’t give it a chance, but I just thought it was meh and not worth having the most nominations.) But Squidward’s song is very me, not in terms of melody cause that is I find most of the melodies to be rather generic but the lyrics are 100% me trying to convince myself. Also all I will be thinking about for the rest of the will be what tap dancing must feel like its gotta feel weird how long do you think he spent practicing it with and without the extra legs. Or it might be nightmare fuel with the sea anemone contributing to it, who knows? Probably both,

38:07 still don’t know whose handles those are

38:28 ^^^

38:40 Ok when I saw the outfits I was expecting a Chorus Line Parody, but this Sia parody fits this every genre but musical theater theme of this Broadway season

39:20 Eight times a week, and all the subsequent puns

40:28 Can I just say I love this return to singing interludes over awkward award show banter?

41:44 I saw the Bands Visit a few month’s back and I still don’t know how to describe it. Normally I would guess it would be the second fiddle of the Tony’s but considering the “purists” it’ll probably win most of the awards

44:16 With all the previous reaction shots you knew it had to be Nathan Lane. I always forget how well spoken he is because of his typical roles but he is really well spoken and sincere rather than trying to wise crack and it was so sweet. It made me smile

47:43 His face saying “blow high” has got to be a gif right?

51:45 The entirety of the Carousel number was me thinking if I had a higher sex drive this would totally make me thirsty. They also used very creative ways to physically embody the shape and workings of a ship but then again I’m admittedly biased. Listen to that number you know their vocal prowess was not why they picked it

52:12 I mean, I know that crew gets less attention than cast and plays less attention than musicals but I would watch the full version stop cutting out the speeches. C’mon I love costumes

53:04 I know your joking but that hurts

53:19 yes #4 famous kid photo Uzo Aduba

55:49 Ari'el Stachel’s speech is made all the more poignant when you realize everyone else in his category were white. Despite this season’s commerciality you actually do have shows and casts with Asian leads and African American leads and Latin American leads and Middle Eastern leads somewhere between the sea of shows like Spongebob and Frozen. Show these shows some love, prove that Hamilton wasn’t the anomaly but the rule

56:55 They brought the Parkland teacher for the theater education award! Fitting 65 students into a high school teacher’s office for hours to protect them is not easy, she saved lives that day

58:17 I thought #5 Matthew Morrison was a girl in his child pic

58:40 They went to Parkland?!

59:35 OMG they’re performing!?!

1:00:10 Seasons of Love is the Perfect song for this, they sound so good too!

1:01:18 Girl has an amazing voice! Dang to get up there in front of all of these famous performers on live TV after the media has already hounded them and putting yourself out there is courageous

1:02:45 I can’t see the handles

1:03:11 Will they be able to top NPH’s Tony magic trick though??? Probably not but let’s see

1:03:31 So cheesy but tbh if I had a Harry Potter wand I’d be even cheesier

1:03:46 Was that line improved or was the tech delay intentional?

1:04:22 C’mon Squidward already pulled the same “trick” you have ensemble block the audience pov while someone enters from the back. Didn’t even come close to topping NPH

1:04:43 Little Patti Lupone I can’t believe she allowed them to include her picture of lil’ Patti

1:05:04 I just wanted to include Patti’s line about a “deep appreciation for outspoken women” cause I actually said “you go girl” out loud

1:05:35 Yeah, fun fact, Tony wasn’t a man but was actually short for Antoinette. They referenced it multiple times before, including earlier tonight, but it was stated most explicitly here

1:06:35 Is that a young or modern Claire Danes, I can’t tell

1:07:39 Also it’s really cool that an older woman won something, I feel like the stage gives more roles for older woman that other acting industries, also if people argue that she was political she served political office. Also how cool is it that apparently people were there from every recognized country?

1:09:27 so that’s how they do Sven, I knew Olaf was supposed to be an Avenue Q style puppet but the way they move Sven is really cool (it’s the technique they used on things like War Horse, I don’t know if it’s considered costuming or puppetry or what the official name is)

1:10:20 Anna looks exactly as I pictured her, and they changed a few minor lyrics for it to fit the stage

1:10:44 There are so many quick changes tonight

1:11:22 Elsa did not look like what I imagined her to be, but the costumes are on point

1:12:00 The chorus versions of these songs have beautiful harmony, but Olaf shouldn’t be there yet right? Isn’t he “born” in Let it Go

1:12:47 Alright I’ve been waiting to see how they’ll do the snow effects!

1:14:00 They got out of building the castle by already having it built at the beginning of the song, which is smart technically but I wanted to see how they do it, unless it’s one of those things that’s a surprise for when you see it live.

1:14:25 Never call it “Daddy’s Day” ever again. Never.

1:14:46 I can’t see the handles

1:14:59 How could you not show Chita Rivera’s lifetime achievement? I’ve been lucky enough to see her in more than one show and she is incredible.

1:15:13 And you also cut out Andrew Lloyd Webber’s?? You made the wrong cuts Broadway

1:15:25 It looks like they’re going to show a tribute I’m excited!!!

1:17:42 Two things: Andrew Lloyd Webber has written a weird collection of musicals, like when you see clips of them back to back you realize just how weird of a collection it is, and Josh Groban needs to be the next Phantom

1:18:08 That exchange was so physically awkward they haven’t even started talking yet and I feel the cringe

1:19:18 Is “I swore I’d never do something like that” shade against the La La Land debacle? In 2018? Or am I reading too much into it

1:19:21 I saw the Band’s Visit but I also saw Once on this Island and I thought that one would win Direction for sure but I guess I was wrong

1:22:36 I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, it’s a weird read, but I haven’t seen it live so maybe it’s directed brilliantly, who knows? Who else thinks its a weird read?

1:23:56 He’s getting the Tony audience to sing his boyfriend "Happy Birthday" instead of giving a speech and that is both adorably sweet and such a power move. Also a rare occasion of Happy Birthday being sung on key

1:25:10 They’re having DEH perform? You cut out people who actually were awarded tonight for people who already were featured on the Tony’s last year? And that song is a weird choice for a In Memoriam considering that show doesn’t really…respect the deceased. Weird

1:28:17 Give the tech more time in the limelight! You cut out Chita and Webber’s speeches for a weird tribute and you have weird stunts with tech like the magic thing yet cut out all their stage time. I know this is standard Tony procedure but it is something I will comment on every year until it changes

1:29:20 That move for “work hard for the money mom” line was uncomfortable

1:30:30 They really do sound like the original singer

1:31:53 So that’s how the performers follow the conductor. They have a huge teleprompter-like screen in the back of the audience

1:32:52 This cast seems specifically tailored to gather different subsections of internet geeks and I will not tell you which categories I fall into

1:33:18 I never knew “the Jimmy’s” were a thing when I was in high school

1:34:54 THOSE are the great themes of Harry Potter? Really?

1:36:10 Aww look at little Cinderella

1:36:34 How are they going to build that stage for the Tonys? They built a river inside the theater for it before!

1:37:00 Well it makes sense that they’d only include part of the set, you can’t really recreate an entire building. Yes I’m so glad they included Mama Will Provide. That song is like the definition of a Tony performance song. Why did they include the Daniel bit, that was so awkward and broke up the flow

1:40:40 If anyone would be chill with the goat it’s Nathan Lane. Yup, there a live goat at the Tony Awards

1:41:21 Don’t joke about that

1:41:41 Are you going to cut out every technical award

1:42:32 Too relatable

1:43:16 Is this that song from Chorus Line in real life

1:44:10 English Major life

1:46:03 The angel from Angels in America is so Extra TM

1:46:54 That Tony Kushner line was forced

1:47:18 Awkward segway but REMEMBER TO VOTE

1:47:38 That Judy Garland line ties in perfectly with the Happy Birthday to the gay couple

1:48:04 That reaction to the word “money” is me. And also is a gif right?

Am I so much of a Tony nerd that I both knew and was shocked that the accountants weren’t the normal ones from Ernst and Young but instead were from Grant Thorton. Why do I remember what company normally tallies the Tony votes? Why did they change companies? Why do I care so much? But seriously what happened

1:49:00 That phrase just sounded so odd, just the way it was said “my television Daddy-O Tony Shalhoub”

1:53:15 I don’t have the accent and I’m about as white as white can be, but I really want to perform this song somewhere at some point. I have family in this area even though I don’t look like I would but and I just connect to it. The melody is gorgeous and the chorus reminds me of the lullabies of when I was very little.

1:54:15 Every time the young photos come up it puts a small smile on my face

1:54:37 Good on them for putting their money where their mouth is. They actually helped fund arts programs in places where they were cut

1:55:05 I wonder what the rest of the scenic guy’s speech for Spongebob was because this tiny clip seemed so passionate (and just has such an interesting aesthetic). Gosh darn it Tonys stop pretending the only backstage people that count are the directors and producers, you have all these other people who put in so much hard work yet you consistently ignore them. Even orchestrations, choreography and score?? Orchestrations, choreography and score are crucial for musicals to exist as unique entities from plays. You make jokes about people sitting through 5 hour plays but I would gladly sit through a five hour award show if you just included the technical awards.

1:57:10 me trying to open anything ever

1:57:14 Yes! I was so worried they would go with the super old school ones that get constant revivals. I mean, they picked the show that had “1000 pounds of sand, a 100 gallons of water, a goat and 2 chickens into his theater” when you have safer, more conventional bets. Everyone kept sleeping on Once on this Island this Tony season to talk about their feelings about the Spongebob’s and Mean Girl’s of the world but this is such a good show. Maybe this’ll get this show the love it deserves.

1:59:30 what did Robert DeNiro say on the recording the sound cut out. Did the mic cut out did he say something inappropriate, I’ve been avoiding Tony news what happened?

1:59:55 It’s got more than just a big cast, dancing, and a history lesson. You know that applies to, idk like 60% of famous Broadway musicals lol

2:00:06 when someone gives that pregnant of a pause you gotta wonder what the story is there

2:00:27 Truth

2:00:40 “Jersey Boy” that’s such a good one liner, actually, it might sound sarcastic online but that was a funny one liner in context

2:03:00 Is Bruce Springsteen really going to just do spoken word poetry the whole time? Also I don’t know why but this makes me think of Fun Home

2:06:05 Oh he’s going to sing after all. Though that story is about as Americana Fourth of July as anything I’ve ever heard on the Tony Awards ever and that’s saying something

2:07:39: who are these people?

2:08:00 Didn’t Kristin Chenowitz and Alan Cumming do this exact same shtick when they hosted, what 2 years ago? And there’s was much bigger I mean really go big like that Glinda the Good dress or go home.

2:08:23 Was there really no punch line? Also aww baby Kelli O’Hara is precious

2:09:07 The actor’s name sounds like his character’s name and I enjoy that

2:09:39 Well these actors are very different from each other

2:11:28 I am a sucker for genuine sincerity and that combined with some of the earlier moments like the Parkland moment brought me close to tears

2:12:45 Look at this award shows actual diversity, and not just using one show for diversity and nominating a bunch of actors you have 3 out of 6 female leads be people of color and none of them are a “token” and they all support each other. Hailey Kilgore is so young and such a good actress and I wanted her to win so much but she seemed so excited for the person who did win and they all seem happy at the result you don’t have any of that polite loser face they are all genuinely supportive and this makes me happy. I’m happy, look at those smiles I’m smiling, I love it when they show women supporting each other.

12:14:06 “my stupid little heart with so much joy” is me watching these people tonight.

12:14:27 Still can’t identify these people

12:15:00 Josh Groban’s reaction to Bernadette Peter’s name is me. Honestly Josh Groban is killing the potential gif game tonight

I’m sorry I just can’t take this description of them as “empowering stories” seriously when half of your nominations are Spongebob and Mean Girls

2:16:10 Tonight the Band’s Visit really swept. Honestly some seasons shows don’t win any awards that deserved it and other seasons shows that (while still deserving) probably wouldn’t have won win and it’s all kind of arbitrary, but I’m glad out of this batch it won, it was really the only show out of the four that would have gotten the Tony Award ticket sales boost and it got it.

2:17:35 “Music gives people hope and makes borders disappear”

2:19:08 yes another Josh Groan duet!

2:19:25 I love Miss Peters too

2:20:44 This number made me smile, this whole night made me smile. I was worried I would get frustrated by the night with Spongebob and Frozen and Mean Girls and all the potential for it to be a cynical snark fest or a capitalist money grabber spectacular. There are about 10 billion ways I saw myself not liking this year’s Tony Awards before it started and not only am I relieved that I was wrong about the mood of the night but I am elated. I love me some deadpan humor and some snark but you rarely see one of these nights just wholly be genuine and not tongue and cheek and it was such a breath of fresh air. Even the hokey bits like the stupid magic jokes and banter or weaker songs like that Mean Girls number, because everything was in such a kindhearted atmosphere, didn’t feel as bad as they otherwise would have.

[kettlewrites]

teacher!woozi

he looks so hot in that gif i cry plus this is the first time i’ve ever done something like this please don’t hate me i can’t write fduvobfiu pls

okay let’s begin

so Jihoon is the talk of the town- well school- as everyone is getting into the new school year

“did u hear about the new choir teacher ???? i heard that his old students called him the spawn of satan”

“spawn of satan??? i think that’s a bit much.”

oM G it’ S hI m R u N

okay okay i’ll stop

he’s the new choir, music theory and piano teacher. the dudeo is a little music prodigy.

he transferred from a school across town bc he was tired of being in the same place for so long, plus his friends worked here too!!

literature teacher wonu, orchestra teacher joshua, and intro to dance teacher soonyoung recommended Jihoon to the principal and with his track record he was s E T

so, first day of school when the students piled into his, not decorated at all, choir room they were sh 0o k.

“is he the TA?” “why he is so smol???” “are you sure that’s a teacher??” “jENNI F E R shU T uP thAT i S toTal LY a StudEn T” “we’re in women’s choir right now kim.”

he greets the class, somewhat coldly “i’m your new teacher. okay let’s get started with warm ups”

everyone does not take him seriously, bc literally it’s a bunch of immature high schoolers who would take someone so smol and adorable very seriously then one day------ mr. lee (jihoon) had eNOU GH

“Mr. Lee where are our chairs?” “ *smiles* until you guys give me the respect, i have taken your chairs away. now warms up-” yes. he does this to every class, even his piano students and they are c r y i n g

after a good week, they respect him. they fear him, he made a student cry (accidentally) by making the entire choir stop singing to talk about how being off tune will bring down the entire score at competition (he wasn’t even singling the person out)

“okay, competition is in 3 weeks today guys. i know it’s difficult but we’ve gone over this part so many times now, so whoever is off tune please realize your mistakes and fix that so we don’t get points taken off for something so simple fixed.” *kim runs out of the room crying* “jennifer please go take care of that”

somehow from then to the end of the school year no one ever sings a cent off tune ever again

so! how do you get into this mess ? M U S IC AL SE A SON B E GINS

you, the also new and surprisingly loved advanced acting teacher, is casting the school year’s musical alongside V E RY loved dance teacher mr. kwon

auditions didn’t go as well as you were planning, the acting was amazing as you expected from your students so was the dancing... but the vocal talent was l a ck ing. so who do you go to ? obviously!! you don’t go anywhere because you were terrified of going to talk to jihoon who you had a crush on since the first day of teacher camp over the summer wait what hu H

soonyoung was like “we need to do something about this y/n, why don’t we ask jihoon? we could talk to him, i’ve been friends since high school”

your heart does a leap in your chest, we talk? ! ? but you wanted to win the high school musical competition (you’ve done it multiple years in a row at your old school, you were determined to do it here as well)

so push comes to shove, you were in the bare choir room that was empty aside from the classical music playing through a speaker somewhere in the room

you took a deep breath in and knocked on the door frame, since the door was open but he had his back turned towards you. once he heard your knock the (tenth) third time, he spun around in his spinny chair and almost fell out bc did an angel just walk into the room omg

“yes?”

“you’re jihoon right? uh soonyoung sent me bc we need help with the musical”

“tell soonyoung to go fu- you said we?”

“yeah, i’m directing and he’s choreographing and w e need help with the vocals, our actors aren’t up to par of where we need them.”

usually jihoon would tell the person to go away, bc he isn’t some charity to give help to whoever asks, but for some reason he !! just !! couldn’t !! say !! no !! to !! you !! (curse you soonyoung for sending a literal angel his way) so as he was trying to say he had no time to- somehow a yeah sure when do you want me to train them came out of his mouth.

and that’s how a friendship between you two blossomed ( even tho you two strictly told your friends and students who were super nosy that it was just a friendship everyone is like ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) “sure miss. y/l/n. sure it is”

and it was !!! for the most part bc you two could not come to terms with each of your own feelings

then when tech week came you were S T R E S S E D bc

 1. 3/4 of your techies were very very very new to all of this and currently is being taught by one of the old techies who considered quitting during this week 

2. one of your leads has the flu and spread it to his co-actress (so it’s flu central)

3. THE ENSEMBLE DID NOT KNOW ANY OF THEIR LINES AND WHY DO THEY LOOK SO DEAD ON STAGE PLS LIVEN UP CHILDREN IM CRYIN g

so you cancel rehearsal on your end (soonyoung actually asks for everyone to stay to have a chat with them) and run to jihoon’s office with tears running down your face

he sadly was out of the room to make some copies of the music, but when he returned he was !!!!!!!!!

“y/n omg what happened? are you okay???”

“i want to quit my job.” you cried due to stress. you loved your job, you didnt want to quit it was just so many things were happening at once and you wanted to crawl into a hole and cry

“n O !” “i mean.. you shouldn’t, i know this week is the hardest week for directors. mingyu tells me about it all the time with his kids over at *insert another high school* you’re strong y/n!!! you can do this!!!” he even did aegyo for you and it did help cheer you up

and you did get through this with multiple hugs from jihoon and soonyoung talking to the kids and telling them to have fun, bc they obviously were just doing this at this point as a routine

and it worked. it totally worked and the show was a H I T. it was such a hit the show had a nomination in every category from best overall to best ensemble to best small prop in the corner during act 2 scene 5.

and when you saw the nomination list, you ran down the hall from the auditorium to jihoon’s classroom (who he was currently scolding women’s choir for being distracted) (they were totally talkign about how he looks at you while you two were speaking in the hallway)

*BOOM* you slam the door open and he instantly lightens up and smiles (spawn of satan jihoon exits the room) !!!

“ W e  GOT A NOMINATION IN EVERY CATEGORY THANKS TO YOU JIHOONNNNIEEEEEE” 

“did miss. y/l/n call mr. lee ‘jihoonie’ ?”

he’s ecstatic to see you so happy which causes very ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) faces throughout the choir

the night of the award ceremony comes, there are over 500 people in that orpheum theatre all hoping that they win some award of some sort.

you were just sitting with jihoon and soonyoung trying to stay calm, you even already pick your representatives within the cast to go get the awards to save looking like a fool trying to find a rep last minute.

then it came to the moment everyone was waiting for, your show had won most of the awards of the night already but there was one category you wanted the most to set the night, best small prop in the corner during act 2 scene 5 overall musical.

you were so nervous, but soonyoung gave you that look that L O O K that you both knew what it meant (we won)

and the look was right, you did. “from Serenity Rose High School, *insert a good musical bc im too tired to name one* wins best overall for this years High School Musical Awards!”

you were jumping, you were screaming and crying and suddenly your lips were connected with jihoon’s

it was such a good kiss, it probably could’ve won best kiss tbh

jihoon is in shock, soonyoung was in shock, your entire cast was in shock they almost forgot to send little jenny to go get the award, and then after a minute you were in s h o c k.

you were kissing jihoon, you were kissing jihoon Y O U w E R e Ki S i N G Ji hOo N. you pull away so quickly, but your hands were still cupping his face.

“i.. uh.” you were beet red, your cheeks were getting hot and you couldn’t remove your hands from his face they were like stuck.

he was also blushing, and trying his best not to smile super widely.

“ihavelikedyousinceteachercampinjulyireallyhopethiswasntawkwardeventhoughiknowitwasimsosorryforkissingyououtofthebluebutomgdidiactuallyjustkissyou”

“what?”

“jihoon, you adorable spawn of satan, i have liked you since the beginning of the school year like a little school girl and i just kissed you because yes, i like you. god im such a hIg H scHOo L ER!”

“y/n y/n y/n, i very much like you too”

“t h a n k g O D”

dating jihoon would be sweet and cute and adored by the entire fine arts department (teachers and students included)

you would always be in his classroom during your off periods, just chilling while you watch him teach his class. everyone would be screaming o TP in their heads whenever a subtle cute interaction between you two would happen

“y/n we shouldn’t do this in front of the students.”

“they’re at lunch what could possibly happen if you kicked all of them out, just kiss me already!!!”

right when you two were just centimeters apart, “mr. lee i needed to ask you if- ..oh.. o  H” “KIM SERIOUSLY I TOLD ALL OF YOU TO GO TO LUNCH”

dates would include late night adventures to downtown or somewhere far, far away from the school. you would even go to see a show at the theatre bc after dating you, he got very interested into the performing arts. 

even though jihoon wouldn’t be very into pda, he’d do it when it was only you two alone (very alone no students, no teachers, no one just you and him)

he’d always be there when you are stressed and he’d provide hugs and soft singing to calm you down, and you would always be there for him bc he sometimes needs to be reminded of the time so he can leave the school at a reasonable time like JIHOON OMG IT’S 9PM WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!!?

“i just wanted to pick out new music for next semester”

“J i HOo N!” 

but yes, that is teacher!woozi / teacher!jihoon 

i’m terrible at this omg this was so long why is it so long thx for reading all of this if you did. i wrote this at like 2am don’t hate me if this was badly spelt or grammar is terrible too. i hope u liked it, this is what i believe teacher jihoon would be (somewhat inspired by my satan-like choir teacher) but yes, i might do more of these aus someday, if you have any ideas pls hit me up in my inbox! :D

oki bye

[strangehoot]

New Post has been published on Strange Hoot - How To’s, Reviews, Comparisons, Top 10s, & Tech Guide

New Post has been published on https://strangehoot.com/how-to-do-regression-analysis-in-excel/

How to Do Regression Analysis in Excel

Regression Analysis is a technique to forecast the relationship between data variables of entities such as customers, orders, transactions etc. These are the parameters based on which business decisions can be taken for sales, finance and marketing operations. To understand this in a simpler way, let us take some examples.

Example 1 – Risk Analytics in Retail Banking

Credit risk scores of customers are built by the banking industry to predict the customer’s delinquency behavior and to evaluate credit worthiness of each customer while processing loan applications.

Example 2 – Marketing Analytics in eCommerce

To predict customer’s buying patterns based on the customer’s past transactions from an online portal. The e-commerce industry is highly competitive so they use analytics to predict customer’s purchasing patterns.

Example 3 – Pricing Analytics in Stock Market

Stock brokers and investors use analytics to forecast stock pricing based on the past 52-week pricing trend and many other parameters. The analytics helps them to make the decisions on buying or selling the stocks based on the future pricing predictions.

Example 4 – Behavioral Analytics in Human Resource Industry

Human resource departments / companies use analytics to predict employees’ behavioural patterns that will enable them to decide the increment or promotion to be given on a yearly basis.

Regression Analysis Basics

Before we go for how to do regression in Excel taking a case study, let us understand the dataset and its components.

Population vs. Sample

Population is referred to as all members of a defined group that are considered for studying information on data driven decisions. For example – Current inflation rates of EU countries.

Sample is a part of “population”. It can be biased or unbiased. For example – Current inflation rates of EU countries having per capita income < 50000 EURO per annum.

Types of Data Variables

The below diagram shows types of data variables under each category.

Data Snapshot

The table below gives an example of data snapshot with different data variables.

#Cust.NameCust. IDNo.Of credi cardsGenderMaritalStatusAgeAnnualSalaryMonthly Credit Card Usage1Josh1116695FNeverMarried4388,001Low2John2231126MMarried24592,330Low3Alen1891234MDivorced50272,304Low4Chaya1716903FMarried37140,400Low5Dandre166256MNeverMarried23105, 234Low6Justin1491717MDivorced34358,534Low7Neil1692545MMarried36510,321Low8Emily1497712FNever Married26164,732Low9Janice1756462FMarried35103,345Low10Farhan1706394MNever Married63724,788Low11Tony1131363MMarried70105,450Low

Let us understand the data variables available in the above table.

#Cust.NameCust. IDNo.of credit cardsGenderMaritalStatusAgeAnnualSalaryMonthly Credit Card Usage–––Numerical (Discrete)Categorical (Binary)Categorical (Nominal)Numerical (Discrete)Numerical (Continuous)Categorical (Ordinal)

Summarizing Data

The next step is to summarize data in a presentable format that will give the report on which analysis can be done. The ways to summarize the data are as follows:

Frequency Distribution – this is a simple way of counting distinct discrete values. For example – Number of credit cards owned by 3000 customers as sample data. Can be shown as tabular format or as a graph using Excel.

Steps to do this in Excel:

Go to the Data tab in your Excel Worksheet. 

Click Advanced. The dialog is shown

Go to the Number of Cards column. Sort them into ascending order of values.

Insert the formula in # of customers to set the frequency.

You will get the values as below.

Go to the Insert tab. Click the Column icon. Select the 2-D Chart.

The chart will be generated and shown as below.

Grouped Frequency Distribution – this is a method to summarize discrete variables having a large number of observations and range of values. For example – Number of customers falling under different salary ranges or groups.

Follow the steps in Excel as per instructions given in the screen below.

Cumulative Frequency Distribution – this is obtained by accumulating the frequencies to give the total number of observations up to and including the value or group in question. Illustration as per screen below.

Steps to calculate the cumulative frequency distribution are give in the screen below.

Stem Leaf Diagram – this technique is used in a limited set of data. For a large set of data, this method is not used. Example : Given age of 20 individuals in years. 

Line Plots – this technique is also not suitable for a large set of data. It is not extensively used in the industry. Example: Given test scores of 20 students.

Measure of Central Tendency – Median

The central tendency measure is robust to the effects of extreme observations. 

The median is a value, which splits the data set into two equal halves. Example – Calculate the median for a sample of 3000 individuals having credit cards along with demonstration of extreme observations.

Measure of Central Tendency – Mode

It is the value which occurs with the greatest frequency or the most typical value. For Example, finding the mode for a sample of 3000 individuals having credit cards. Excel has an in-built function “Mode” for granular data. For summarized data, it can be found easily by visual inspection. Illustration as below.

Measure of Spread

The different measures of spread are – 

Variance and Standard Deviation – below screen shows how to calculate the values.

The Range – It is a very simple measure of spread defined, as its name suggests, by the difference between the largest and smallest observations in the data set.

The Inter quartile range – the quartiles divide a set of data into four quarters. They are denoted by Q1, Q2 and Q3. Q1 is called the lower quartile and Q3 the upper quartile. Following image shows how to calculate Inter quartile Range for a sample of 3000 individuals having credit cards.

Symmetry and Skewness of data

It represents the shape of the distribution of a dataset, that is, whether it is symmetric or skewed to one side or the other.The approximate shape of a distribution can be determined by looking at a  histogram. The below diagram shows mean, median, mode and variance for symmetric and skewed data.

Tabular representation of data as shown below.

After evaluating the dataset by the above measures and techniques, a regression analysis can be conducted. Now, the question is which type of regression model is required for predictions.

The next section describes the measures that will state the relationship between the data variables and determine how strong the relationship is between identified variables.

Regression Analysis Models

Following are different techniques or formulas that are used to do regression analysis. These techniques are nothing but different formulas or equations that are used to determine the relationship between X and Y variables.

Covariance and correlation coefficient are the measures used in regression analysis. 

Covariance is a measure that helps to find out the direction of relationship between x variable and y variables. In simple terms, what happens to y when x increases or decreases. 

Following equation is used to determine the covariance measure.

Correlation coefficient is the measure that tells how strong the linear relation is between X and Y variables. It is termed as r value that determines the quality of a model. The parameter is represented by p or r values. 

Population correlation is denoted by ρ (rho)

Sample correlation is denoted by r.

Following equation is used to determine the correlation coefficient measure for population data.

In real life data analytics, the correlation measure is calculated on sampling distribution. There are a couple of reasons why the sampling is used for analytics.

The physical impossibility of checking all items in the population.

The cost of studying all the items in a population.

The sample results are usually adequate.

Contacting the whole population would often be time consuming.

Features of ρ and r

Unit free and ranges between -1 and 1

The closer to -1, the stronger the negative linear relationship

The closer to 1, the stronger the positive linear relationship

The closer to 0, the weaker the linear relationship

Negative Linear Relationship 

Positive Linear Relationship 

Relationship Not Linear

No Relationship

Tools used to do Regression Analysis

Following software tools are the most used in performing Regression Analysis. The oldest tool is Microsoft Excel. 

SAS (www.sas.com/)

SPSS (http://www-01.ibm.com/software/analytics/spss/ )

R (http://www.r-project.org/)

Microsoft Excel (http://office.microsoft.com/en-in/)

As the spectrum of analytics is widened, dataset volume has increased, the data scientists have started using Python.

We will see a case study to run regression analysis in Excel.

Case Study

An Auto Insurance company having the data of “Loss” amount and policy related information. The company wants to know the factors responsible for losses in multivariate fashion using a regression model.

Prior to running the regression model, following things needs to be in place.

Variable identification –

Identifying the dependent (response) variable.

Identifying the independent (explanatory) variables.

Variable categorization (e.g. Numeric, Categorical, Discrete, Continuous etc.)

Creation of Data Dictionary

Response variable exploration

Distribution analysis

Percentiles

Variance 

Frequency distribution

Outlier treatment

Identify the outliers/threshold limit

Cap/floor the values at the thresholds

Independent variable analyses

Identify the prospective independent variables (that can explain response variable)

Bivariate analysis of response variable against independent variables

Variable treatment /transformation

Grouping of distinct values/levels

Mathematical transformation e.g. log, splines etc.

After performing the above data related activities, the last step is iterative in terms of running the regression.

Fitting the regression (first time)

Check for correlation between independent variables

This is to take care of Multicollinearity

Variable selection

Check for the most suitable transformed variable

Select the transformation giving the best fit

Reject the statistically insignificant variables

Fitting the regression (iteration)

Analysis of results

Model comparison

Model performance check

Actual vs Predicted comparison

Steps to do regression analysis in Excel

We will perform the following steps in Excel with reference to the case study explained in the section above.

Data Analysis

Step 1. Snapshot of Data and Data Description

The above data contains policy holders’ and loss amount information (variables)

Policy Number

Age

Years of Driving Experience

Number of Vehicles

Gender

Married

Vehicle Age

Fuel Type

Losses (Dependent/Response Variable)

A Data Dictionary is formed as below.

Sl #Variable NameVariable DescriptionValues StoredVariable Type1Policy NumberUnique Policy NumberUnique value identifying the policyIdentifier2AgeAge of Policy holder16, 17,…,70Numerical (Discrete)3Years of Driving ExperienceYears of Driving Experience of the Policy holder0,1,….,53Numerical (Discrete)4Number of VehiclesNumber of Vehicles insured under the policy1,2,3,4Numerical (Discrete)5GenderGender of the Policy holderF, MCategorical (Binary)6MarriedMarital status of the Policy holderMarried, SingleCategorical (binary)7Vehicle AgeAge of vehicle insured under the policy0,1,…,15Numerical (Discrete)8Fuel TypeFuel type of the vehicle insuredD, PCategorical (Binary)9LossesLoss amount claimed under the policyRange: 13- 3500Numerical (Continuous)

Step 2. Frequency Distribution – Loss amount

Step 3. Calculate Capped Losses using grouped frequency distribution

Step 3. Perform variable analysis in Excel. The first bivariate profiling we will do for Age vs. Capped Loss for policies.

Step 4. The second bivariate profiling we will do for Years of Driving Experience vs. Capped Loss for policies.

Step 5. The next bivariate profiling we will do for Gender vs. Capped Loss for policies.

Step 6. The next bivariate profiling we will do for Marital Status vs. Capped Loss for policies.

Step 7: The next bivariate profiling we will do for Vehicle Age vs. Capped Loss for policies.

Step 8: The next bivariate profiling we will do for Vehicle Age Band vs. Capped Loss for policies.

Step 9: The next bivariate profiling we will do for Vehicles vs. Capped Loss for policies.

Step 10: The next bivariate profiling we will do for Fuel Type vs. Capped Loss for policies.

Preparing Excel for Regression Analysis

Step 1: Open Office icon from the toolbar.

Step 2: Go to Excel Options.

Step 3: Click Add-Ins.

Step 4: From the Manage drop-down, select Excel Add-ins.

Step 5: Select the Analysis Toolpak check box and the Solver Add-in check box.

Step 6: Select the Data tab. Click Data Analysis. 

Step 7: In the Data Analysis dialog box, click Regression.

Step 8: Select the data cell reference range. Click OK.

Step 9: See the summary results as below.

Step 10: Picking up the variables based on the following activities.

We will perform the following tests to select by running :

Multicollinearity

Banding of variables

Statistical significance of variables tested

List of independent variables:

Age

Age Band

Years of Driving Experience

Number of Vehicles

Gender

Married

Vehicle Age

Vehicle Age Band

Fuel Type

“Age” and “Years of Driving Experience” are highly correlated (Correlation Coefficient = 0.9972). We can use either of the variables in regression.

Fit two separate models using either of the variables one at a time. Check for goodness of fit (R2 in this case).  The variable producing higher R2 gets accepted.

Age

Regression Statistics (Age)Multiple R0.475766R Square0.226354Adjusted R Square0.226303Standard Error201.2306Observations15290

Years of Driving Experience

Regression Statistics(Yrs Driving Experience)Multiple R0.475273R Square0.225885Adjusted R Square0.225834Standard Error201.2916Observations15290

R2 for Age > R2 for Years of Driving Experience

Reject Years of Driving Experience

Banding of Variables

Investigate whether to use “Age” or “Age band”

Fit regression independently using “Age” and “Age Band”

Before fitting regression, “Age Band” needs to be converted to numerical form from categorical. Replace “Age Band” values with “Average Age” for the particular band.

Age BandSum of Age# PoliciesAverage Age16-25      93,770.0     4,563.0                 20.6 26-59    270,793.0     6,384.0                 42.4 60+    282,636.0     4,343.0                 65.1 

Regressions results using “Age” and “Average Age”

Regression Statistics (Age)Multiple R0.475766R Square0.226354Adjusted R Square0.226303Standard Error201.2306Observations15290

Regression Statistics (Average Age)Multiple R0.509969R Square0.260068Adjusted R Square0.26002Standard Error196.7971Observations15290

R2 for Average Age > R2 for Age

Select “Average Age”

Investigate whether to use “Vehicle Age” or “Vehicle Age band”

Fit regression independently using “Vehicle Age” and “Vehicle Age Band”

Before fitting regression, “Vehicle Age Band” needs to be converted to numerical form from categorical. Replace “Vehicle Age Band” values with “Vehicle Average Age” for the particular band.

Vehicle Age BandSum of Vehicle Age# PoliciesAverage Vehicle Age0-5                            9,229                 3,688 2.506-10                          44,298                 5,523 8.0211+                          78,819                 6,079 12.97

Regressions results using “Vehicle Age” and “Average Vehicle Age”

Regression Statistics (Vehicle Age)Multiple R0.289431325R Square0.083770492Adjusted R Square0.083710561Standard Error218.9903277Observations15290

Regression Statistics (Average  Vehicle Age)Multiple R0.303099405R Square0.09186925Adjusted R Square0.091809848Standard Error218.0203272Observations15290

R2 for Average Vehicle Age > R2 for Vehicle Age

Select “Average Vehicle Age”

Now, we have identified the variables that can be used in fitting the regression model.

Age Band in the form of “Average Age” of the band (selected out of “Age” and  “Age Band”). Also got selected over “Years of Driving Experience”.

Number of Vehicles

Gender

Married

Vehicle Age Band in the form of “Average Vehicle Age” of the band (selected out of “Vehicle Age” and  “Vehicle Age Band”). 

Fuel Type

Step 11: Categorical variables to be converted to their numerical equivalent (0,1)

Gender (F = 0 and M = 1) 

Married (Married = 0 and Single = 1)

Fuel Type (P = 0, D = 1)

Snapshot of the final data on which we will run the multivariate regression.

Step 11: Run Regression. 

Summary of Output

SUMMARY  OUTPUT  Regression StatisticsMultiple R0.865972274R Square0.749907979Adjusted R Square0.749809794Standard Error114.4310136Observations15290ANOVA dfSSMSFSignificance FRegression6600073213.5100012202.37637.7510880Residual15283200122584.413094.45688Total15289800195798    CoefficientsStandard Errort StatP-valueLower 95%Upper 95%Lower 95.0%Upper 95.0%Intercept624.565295.29192118.022330.00000614.19249634.93809614.19249634.93809Avg Age-5.559740.06546-84.938890.00000-5.68804-5.43144-5.68804-5.43144Number of Vehicles0.178750.970390.184200.85386-1.723332.08082-1.723332.08082Gender Dummy50.883261.8908126.910840.0000047.1770554.5894747.1770554.58947Married Dummy78.398371.9214840.801060.0000074.6320482.1646974.6320482.16469Avg Vehicle Age-15.142200.26734-56.639870.00000-15.66623-14.61818-15.66623-14.61818Fuel Type Dummy267.935592.7484597.486140.00000262.54830273.32287262.54830273.32287

Results Interpretation

Significant Test

Significance test of coefficients based on Normal distribution

H0: b is no different that 0 (i.e. 0 is the coefficient when the variable is not included in regression)

H1: b is different than 0 

Test statistic, Z = (b-0)/σ  (at 95% two tailed confidence interval, Z = 1.96)

Confidence interval = (b – 1.96 * σ, b + 1.96 * σ)

For the variable to be significant, the interval must not contain “0”.

Example1: Avg Age.

Confidence interval = (-5.560-1.96*0.065, -5.560+1.96*0.065) = (-5.688, -5.431)

No zero in the interval. Hence, significant.

Example2: Number of Vehicles

Confidence interval = (0.179-1.96*0.970, 0.179+1.96*0.970) = (-1.723, 2.080)

Zero is present in the interval. Hence, insignificant.

Summary output after removing insignificant variables.

Predicted Losses = 625.004932715948 – 5.5596551344537 * Avg Age + 50.8828923910091 * Gender Dummy + 78.4016899779131 * Married Dummy -15.1420259903571 * Avg Vehicle Age + 267.935139741526 * Fuel Type Dummy

Interpretation

Takeaway

Running regression in Excel gives you more confidence on your model as you are running each step manually. It is a time consuming and lengthy process, but you get to learn more on datasets and output summary. Other tools such as R, SAS and Python give you quick results but you will not be able to know the algorithm behind the code that is executed and have given you the results.

[endenogatai]

Meet the first wave of speakers & enter your startup for The Europas Awards, 25 June

Excitement for The Europas Awards for European Tech Startups is hotting up. Here are the first wave of speakers and judges — and more are coming!

The Awards – which have been running for over 10 years – will be held on 25 June 2020 in London, U.K. on the front lawn of the Geffrye Museum in Hoxton, London — creating a fantastic and fun garden party atmosphere in the heart of London’s tech startup scene.

TechCrunch is once more the exclusive media sponsor of the awards and conference, alongside The Pathfounder.

The application form to enter is here.

We’re scouting for the top late-stage seed and Series A startups in 22 categories.

You can nominate a startup, accelerator or venture investor that you think deserves to be recognized for their achievements in the last 12 months.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 25 March 2020

For the 2020 awards, we’ve overhauled the categories to a set that we believe better reflects the range of innovation, diversity and ambition we see in the European startups being built and launched today. This year we are particularly looking at startups that are able to address the SDGs/Globals Boals.

The Europas Awards The Europas Awards results are based on voting by experts, experienced founders, hand-picked investors and the industry itself.

But the key to it is that there are no “off-limits areas” at The Europas, so attendees can mingle easily with VIPs.

Timeline of The Europas Awards deadlines:

Submissions now open! 25 March 2020 – Submissions close 14 April – Public voting begins 25 April – Public voting ends 8 June – Shortlist Announced 25 June – Awards evening, winners announced

Amazing networking

We’re also shaking up the awards dinner itself. There are more opportunities to network. Our awards ceremony this year will be in the setting of a garden lawn party, where you’ll be able to meet and mingle more easily, with free-flowing drinks and a wide selection of street food (including vegetarian/vegan). The ceremony itself will last less than 45 minutes, with the rest of the time dedicated to networking. If you’d like to talk about sponsoring or exhibiting, please contact Claire Dobson on claire@thepathfounder.com

Instead of thousands and thousands of people, think of a great summer event with the most interesting and useful people in the industry, including key investors and leading entrepreneurs.

The Europas Awards have been going for the last 10 years, and we’re the only independent and editorially driven event to recognise the European tech startup scene. The winners have been featured in Reuters, Bloomberg, VentureBeat, Forbes, Tech.eu, The Memo, Smart Company, CNET, many others — and of course, TechCrunch.

• No secret VIP rooms, which means you get to interact with the speakers

• Key founders and investors attending

• Journalists from major tech titles, newspapers and business broadcasters

The Pathfounder Afternoon Workshops In the afternoon prior to the awards we will be holding a special, premium content event, The PathFounder, designed be a “fast download” into the London tech scene for European founders looking to raise money or re-locate to London. Sessions include “How to Craft Your Story”; “Term Sheets”; “Building a Shareholding Structure”; Investor Panel; Meet the Press; and a session from former Europas winners. Followed by the awards and after-party!

The Europas “Diversity Pass” We’d like to encourage more diversity in tech! That’s why we’ve set aside a block of free tickets to ensure that pre-seed female and BAME founders are represented at The Europas. This limited tranche of free tickets ensures that we include more women and people of colour who are specifically “pre-seed” or “seed-stage” tech startup founders. If you are a women/BAME founder, apply here for a chance to be considered for one of the limited free diversity passes to the event.

Meet the first set of our 20 speakers and judges:

Anne Boden CEO Starling Bank Anne Boden is founder and CEO of Starling Bank, a fast-growing UK digital bank targeting millions of users who live their lives on their phones. After a distinguished career in senior leadership at some of the world’s best-known financial heavyweights, she set out to build her own mobile bank from scratch in 2014. Today, Starling has opened more than one million current accounts for individuals and small businesses and raised hundreds of millions of pounds in backing. Anne was awarded an MBE for services to financial technology in 2018.

Nate Lanxon (Speaker) Editor and Tech Correspondent Bloomberg Nate is an editor and tech correspondent for Bloomberg, based in London. For over a decade, he has particularly focussed on the consumer technology sector, and the trends shaping the global industry. Previous to this, he was Senior Editor at Bloomberg Media and was head of digital editorial for Bloomberg.com in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Nate had held numerous roles across the most respected titles in tech, including stints as editor of WIRED.co.uk, Editor-in-Chief of Ars Technica UK, and Senior Editor at CBS-owned CNET. Nate launched his professional career as a journalist by founding a small tech and gaming website called Tech’s Message, which is now the name of his weekly technology podcast hosted at natelanxon.com.

Tania Boler CEO and founder Elvie Tania is an internationally recognized women’s health expert and has held leadership positions for various global NGOs and the United Nations. Passionate about challenging taboo women’s issues, Tania founded Elvie in 2013, partnering with Alexander Asseily to create a global hub of connected health and lifestyle products for women.

Kieran O’Neill CEO + Co-founder Thread Thread makes it easy for guys to dress well. They combine expert stylists with powerful AI to recommend the perfect clothes for each person. Thread is used by over 1 million men in the UK, and has raised $35m from top investors including Balderton Capital, the founders of DeepMind, and the billionaire former owner of Warner Music. Prior to Thread, Kieran founded one of the first video sharing websites aged 15 and sold it for $1.25M aged 19. He was then CEO and co-founder of Playfire, the largest social network for gamers, which he grew to 1.5 million customers before being acquired in 2012. He’s a member of the Forbes, Drapers and Financial Times 30 Under 30 lists.

Clare Jones Chief Commercial Officer what3words Clare is the Chief Commercial Officer of what3words; prior to this, her background was in the development and growth of social enterprises and in impact investment. Clare was featured in the 2019 Forbes 30 under 30 list for technology and is involved with London companies tackling social/environmental challenges. Clare also volunteers with the Streetlink project, doing health outreach work with vulnerable women in South London.

Luca Bocchio Principal Accel Luca Bocchio joined Accel in 2018 and focuses on consumer internet, fintech, and software businesses. Luca led Accel’s investment in Luko, Bryter and Brumbrum. Luca also helped lead Accel’s investment and ongoing work in Sennder. Prior to Accel, Luca was with H14, where he invested in global early and growth stage opportunities, such as Deliveroo, GetYourGuide, Flixbus, SumUp, and SecretEscapes. Luca previously advised technology, industrial, and consumer companies on strategy with Bain & Co. in Europe and Asia. Luca is from Italy and graduated from LIUC University.

Bernhard Niesner CEO busuu Bernhard Niesner, Co-Founder and CEO, Busuu Bernhard co-founded Busuu in 2008 following an MBA project and has since led the company to become the world’s largest community for language learning, with more than 90 million users across the globe. Before starting Busuu, Bernhard worked as a consultant at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. He graduated summa cum laude in International Business from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and holds an MBA with honours from IE Business School. Bernhard is an active mentor and business angel in the startup community and an advisor to the Austrian Government on education affairs. Bernhard recently received the ‘EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 UK Awards’ in the ‘Disruptor’ category.

Chris Morton CEO and founder Lyst Chris is the founder and CEO of Lyst, the world’s biggest fashion search platform used by 104 million shoppers each year. Including over 6 million products from brands including Burberry, Fendi, Gucci, Prada and Saint Laurent, Lyst offers shoppers convenience and unparalleled choice in one place. Launched in London in 2010, Lyst’s investors include LVMH, 14W, Balderton and Accel Partners. Prior to founding Lyst, Chris was an investor at Benchmark Capital and Balderton Capital in London, focusing on the early-stage consumer internet space. He holds an MA in Physics and Philosophy from Cambridge University.

Husayn Kassai CEO and co-founder Onfido Husayn Kassai is the Onfido CEO and Co-Founder. Onfido helps businesses digitally onboard users by verifying any government ID and comparing it with the person’s facial biometrics. Founded in 2012, Onfido has grown to a team of 300 across SF, NYC and London; received over $100m in funding from Salesforce, Microsoft and others; and works with over 1,500 fintech, banking and marketplace clients globally. Husayn is a WEF Tech Pioneer; a Forbes Contributor; and Forbes’ “30 Under 30”. He has a BA in Economics and Management from Keble College, Oxford.

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[localbizlift]

Meet the b2b videoconferencing startup that’s gone crazy for online dating

Founder Andreas Kröpfl has spent almost a decade hard-grafting in the b2b unified communications space, building a videoconferencing business with a patented single-stream system and a claim of no ‘drop-offs’ thanks to “unique low-bandwidth technology”.

His Austria-based startup’s current web-based videoconferencing system, eyeson (née Visocon), which launched in 2018, has had some nice traction since launch, as he tells it, garnering a few million customers and getting a nomination nod as a Gartner Cool Vendor last year.

Eyeson’s website touts ‘no hassle, no, lag, no downloads’ video calls. Pricing options for the target b2b users run the gamut from freelance pro to full-blown enterprise. While the business itself has pulled in a smidge less than $7M in investor funding over the years.

But when TechCrunch came across Kröpfl last December, pitching hard in startup alley at Disrupt Berlin, he was most keen to talk about something else entirely: Video dating.

That’s because last summer the team decided to branch out by building their own video dating app, reusing their core streaming tech for a consumer-focused social experiment. And after a period of internal beta testing — which hopefully wasn’t too awkward within a small (up-til-then) b2b-focused team — they launched an experimental dating app in November in India.

The app, called Ahoi, is now generating 100,000 video calls and 250,000 swipes per day, says Kröpfl.

This is where he breaks into a giggle. The traction has been crazy, he says. 

In the staid world of business videoconferencing you can imagine eyeson’s team eyeing the booming growth of certain consumer-focused video products rather enviously.

Per Kröpfl, they had certainly noticed different desires among their existing users — which pushed them to experiment. “We saw that private people like the simple fun features (GIF reactions, …) and that business meetings were more focused on ‘drop-off’ [rates] and business features,” he tells us. “To improve both in one product was not working any more. So eyeson goes business plus SaaS.”

“Cloning eyeson but make it social,” is how he sums up the experiment. 

Ahoi is very evidently an MVP at this stage. It also looks like a pretty brave and/or foolish (depending on your view) full-bore plunge into video dating, with nothing so sophisticated as a privacy screen to prevent any, er, unwanted blushes… (Whereas safety screening is an element we’ve recently seen elsewhere in the category — see: Blindlee.)

There’s also seemingly no way for users to specify the gender they wish to talk to.

Instead, Ahoi users state interests by selecting emoji stickers — such as a car, cat, tennis racket, games console or globetrotter. And, well, it goes without saying that even if you like cars a lot you’re unlikely to change your sexual orientation over the category.

There are no generic emoji that could be used to specify a sexual interest in men or women. But, er, there’s a horse…

Such limits may explain why Ahoi is generating so many early swipes — and rather fewer actual calls — in that the activity sums to (mostly) men looking for women to videochat with and being matched with, er, men.

And frustration, sexual or otherwise, probably isn’t the greatest service to try and sell.

Still, Kröpfl reckons they’ve landed on a winning formula that makes handy reuse of their core videoconferencing tech — letting them growth hack in a totally new category. Swipe right to video date.

“People are disappointed by perfect profiles on Tinder and the reality when meeting people,” he posits. “Wasted time. Especially women do not want to be stalked by men pretending to be someone else. We solve both by a real live conversation where only after a call both can decide to be connected or never see each other again.”

Notably, marketing around the app does talk rather fuzzily about it being a way to “find new pals”.

So while Kröpfl frames the experiment as dating, the reality of the product is more ‘open to options’. Think of it as a bit like Chatroulette — just with slightly more control (in that you have a few seconds to decide if you don’t want to talk to the next in-app match).

The very short countdown timer (you get just five seconds to opt out of a matched video chat) is very likely generating a fair number of unintended calls. Though such high velocity matching might appeal to a certain kind of speed dating addict.

Kröpfl says Ahoi has been seeing up to 20,000 new users added daily. They’re bullishly targeting 3M+ users this year, and already toying with ideas for turning video dates into a money spinner by offering stuff like premium subscriptions and/or video ads. He says the plan is to turn Ahoi into a business “step by step”.

“Everyone loves to make his profile better,” he suggests, floating monetization options down the line. Quality filtering for a fee is another possibility (“everyone is annoyed by being connected to the wrong people”).

They picked India for the test launch because it has a lot of people on the same timezone, a large active mobile user-base and cheap marketing is still “easily possible”. He also says that dating apps seemed popular there, in their experience. (Albeit, the team presumably didn’t have a great deal of relevant experience in this category — given Ahoi is an experiment.)

The intent is also to open Ahoi up to other markets in time too, once they get more accustomed to dealing with all the traffic. Kröpfl notes they had to briefly take the app off the store last month, as they worked on adding more server capability.

“It is very early and we were not prepared for this usage,” he says, admitting they’ve been “struggling to work on early feedbacks”. “We had to make it invisible temporarily — to improve server capacity and stability.”

The contrast in pace of uptake between the stolid (but revenue-generating) world of business meeting-fuelled videoconferencing and catnip consumer dating — which is money-sucking unless or until you can hit a critical mass of usage and get the chance to try applying monetization strategies — does sound like it’s been rather irresistible to Kröpfl.

Asked what it feels like to go from one category to the other he says “crazy, surprised and thrilling”, adding: “It is somehow also frustrating when all the intense b2b work is not as closely interesting to people as Ahoi is. But amazing that it is possible thanks to an extremely focused and experienced team. I love it.” 

TechCrunch’s Manish Singh agreed to brave the local video dating app waters in India to check Ahoi out for us.

He reported back not having seen any women using the app. Which we imagine might be a problem for Ahoi’s longer term prospects — at least in that market.

“I spoke with one guy, who said his friend told him about the app. He said he joined to talk to girls but so far, he is only getting matched with boys,” said Singh. “I saw several names appear on the app, but all of them were boys, too.”

He told us he was left wondering “why people are on these apps, and why they have so much free time on a weekday”.

For ‘people’ it seems safe to conclude that most of Ahoi’s early adopters are men. As the Wall Street Journal reported back in 2018, India’s women are famously cool on dating apps — in that they’re mostly not on them. (We asked Kröpfl about Ahoi’s gender breakdown but he didn’t immediately get back to us on that.)

That market quirk means those female users who are on dating apps tend to get bombarded with messages from all the lonely heart guys with not much to swipe. Which, in turn, could make a video dating app like Ahoi an unattractive prospect to female users — if there’s any risk at all of being inundated with video chats.

And even if there are enough in-app controls to prevent unwelcome inundation by default, women also might not feel like they want their profile to be seen by scores of men simply by merit of being signed up to an app — as seems inevitable if the gender balance is so skewed.

Add to that, if the local perception among single women is that men on dating apps are generally a turn-off — because they’re too eager/forward — then jumping into any unmoderated video chat is probably not the kind of safe space these women are looking for.

No matter, Kröpfl and his team are clearly having far too much fun growth hacking in an unfamiliar, high velocity consumer category to sweat the detail. 

What’s driving Ahoi’s growth right now? “Performance marketing mainly,” he says, pointing also to “viral engagement by sharing and liking profiles”.

Notably, there are a lot of reviews of Ahoi on Google Play already — an unusual amount for such an early app. Many of them appear to be five star write-ups from accounts with European-sounding names and a sometimes robotic grasp of language.

“Eventhough Ahoi has been developed recently, it had high quality for user about calling, making friends and widing your knowlegde [sic],” writes one reviewer with atrocious spelling whose account is attached to the name ‘Dustin Stephens.’

“Talking with like minded people and same favor will creat a fun and interesting atmosphere. Ahoi will manage for you to call like condition above,” says another apparently happy but not entirely clear user, going by the name ‘Elisa Herring’.

There’s also a ‘Madeleine Mcghin’, whose profile uses a photo of the similarly named child who infamously disappeared during a holiday in Portugal in 2007. “My experience with this app was awesome,” this individual writes. “It gives me the option to find new people in every country.”

Another less instantly tasteless five-star reviewer, ‘Stefania Lucchini’, leaves a more surreal form of praise. “A good app and it will bring you extra income, I would say it’s a great opportunity to have AHOI and be a part of it but it’s that it will automatically ban you even if you don’t show it. Marketing. body part, there are still 5 stars for me,” she (or, well, ‘it’) writes.

Among the plethora of dubious five-star reviews a couple of one-star dunks stand out — not least because they come from accounts with names that sound like they might actually come from India. “Waste u r time,” says one of these, who uses the name Prajal Pradhan.

This pithy drop-kick has been given a full 72 thumbs-up by other Play Store users.

[un-enfant-immature]

Meet the b2b videoconferencing startup that’s gone crazy for online dating

Founder Andreas Kröpfl has spent almost a decade hard-grafting in the b2b unified communications space, building a videoconferencing business with a patented single-stream system and a claim of no ‘drop-offs’ thanks to “unique low-bandwidth technology”.

His Austria-based startup’s current web-based videoconferencing system, eyeson (née Visocon), which launched in 2018, has had some nice traction since launch, as he tells it, garnering a few million customers and getting a nomination nod as a Gartner Cool Vendor last year.

Eyeson’s website touts ‘no hassle, no, lag, no downloads’ video calls. Pricing options for the target b2b users run the gamut from freelance pro to full-blown enterprise. While the business itself has pulled in a smidge less than $7M in investor funding over the years.

But when TechCrunch came across Kröpfl last December, pitching hard in startup alley at Disrupt Berlin, he was most keen to talk about something else entirely: Video dating.

That’s because last summer the team decided to branch out by building their own video dating app, reusing their core streaming tech for a consumer-focused social experiment. And after a period of internal beta testing — which hopefully wasn’t too awkward within a small (up-til-then) b2b-focused team — they launched an experimental dating app in November in India.

The app, called Ahoi, is now generating 100,000 video calls and 250,000 swipes per day, says Kröpfl.

This is where he breaks into a giggle. The traction has been crazy, he says. 

In the staid world of business videoconferencing you can imagine eyeson’s team eyeing the booming growth of certain consumer-focused video products rather enviously.

Per Kröpfl, they had certainly noticed different desires among their existing users — which pushed them to experiment. “We saw that private people like the simple fun features (GIF reactions, …) and that business meetings were more focused on ‘drop-off’ [rates] and business features,” he tells us. “To improve both in one product was not working any more. So eyeson goes business plus SaaS.”

“Cloning eyeson but make it social,” is how he sums up the experiment. 

Ahoi is very evidently an MVP at this stage. It also looks like a pretty brave and/or foolish (depending on your view) full-bore plunge into video dating, with nothing so sophisticated as a privacy screen to prevent any, er, unwanted blushes… (Whereas safety screening is an element we’ve recently seen elsewhere in the category — see: Blindlee.)

There’s also seemingly no way for users to specify the gender they wish to talk to.

Instead, Ahoi users state interests by selecting emoji stickers — such as a car, cat, tennis racket, games console or globetrotter. And, well, it goes without saying that even if you like cars a lot you’re unlikely to change your sexual orientation over the category.

There are no generic emoji that could be used to specify a sexual interest in men or women. But, er, there’s a horse…

Such limits may explain why Ahoi is generating so many early swipes — and rather fewer actual calls — in that the activity sums to (mostly) men looking for women to videochat with and being matched with, er, men.

And frustration, sexual or otherwise, probably isn’t the greatest service to try and sell.

Still, Kröpfl reckons they’ve landed on a winning formula that makes handy reuse of their core videoconferencing tech — letting them growth hack in a totally new category. Swipe right to video date.

“People are disappointed by perfect profiles on Tinder and the reality when meeting people,” he posits. “Wasted time. Especially women do not want to be stalked by men pretending to be someone else. We solve both by a real live conversation where only after a call both can decide to be connected or never see each other again.”

Notably, marketing around the app does talk rather fuzzily about it being a way to “find new pals”.

So while Kröpfl frames the experiment as dating, the reality of the product is more ‘open to options’. Think of it as a bit like Chatroulette — just with slightly more control (in that you have a few seconds to decide if you don’t want to talk to the next in-app match).

The very short countdown timer (you get just five seconds to opt out of a matched video chat) is very likely generating a fair number of unintended calls. Though such high velocity matching might appeal to a certain kind of speed dating addict.

Kröpfl says Ahoi has been seeing up to 20,000 new users added daily. They’re bullishly targeting 3M+ users this year, and already toying with ideas for turning video dates into a money spinner by offering stuff like premium subscriptions and/or video ads. He says the plan is to turn Ahoi into a business “step by step”.

“Everyone loves to make his profile better,” he suggests, floating monetization options down the line. Quality filtering for a fee is another possibility (“everyone is annoyed by being connected to the wrong people”).

They picked India for the test launch because it has a lot of people on the same timezone, a large active mobile user-base and cheap marketing is still “easily possible”. He also says that dating apps seemed popular there, in their experience. (Albeit, the team presumably didn’t have a great deal of relevant experience in this category — given Ahoi is an experiment.)

The intent is also to open Ahoi up to other markets in time too, once they get more accustomed to dealing with all the traffic. Kröpfl notes they had to briefly take the app off the store last month, as they worked on adding more server capability.

“It is very early and we were not prepared for this usage,” he says, admitting they’ve been “struggling to work on early feedbacks”. “We had to make it invisible temporarily — to improve server capacity and stability.”

The contrast in pace of uptake between the stolid (but revenue-generating) world of business meeting-fuelled videoconferencing and catnip consumer dating — which is money-sucking unless or until you can hit a critical mass of usage and get the chance to try applying monetization strategies — does sound like it’s been rather irresistible to Kröpfl.

Asked what it feels like to go from one category to the other he says “crazy, surprised and thrilling”, adding: “It is somehow also frustrating when all the intense b2b work is not as closely interesting to people as Ahoi is. But amazing that it is possible thanks to an extremely focused and experienced team. I love it.” 

TechCrunch’s Manish Singh agreed to brave the local video dating app waters in India to check Ahoi out for us.

He reported back not having seen any women using the app. Which we imagine might be a problem for Ahoi’s longer term prospects — at least in that market.

“I spoke with one guy, who said his friend told him about the app. He said he joined to talk to girls but so far, he is only getting matched with boys,” said Singh. “I saw several names appear on the app, but all of them were boys, too.”

He told us he was left wondering “why people are on these apps, and why they have so much free time on a weekday”.

For ‘people’ it seems safe to conclude that most of Ahoi’s early adopters are men. As the Wall Street Journal reported back in 2018, India’s women are famously cool on dating apps — in that they’re mostly not on them. (We asked Kröpfl about Ahoi’s gender breakdown but he didn’t immediately get back to us on that.)

That market quirk means those female users who are on dating apps tend to get bombarded with messages from all the lonely heart guys with not much to swipe. Which, in turn, could make a video dating app like Ahoi an unattractive prospect to female users — if there’s any risk at all of being inundated with video chats.

And even if there are enough in-app controls to prevent unwelcome inundation by default, women also might not feel like they want their profile to be seen by scores of men simply by merit of being signed up to an app — as seems inevitable if the gender balance is so skewed.

Add to that, if the local perception among single women is that men on dating apps are generally a turn-off — because they’re too eager/forward — then jumping into any unmoderated video chat is probably not the kind of safe space these women are looking for.

No matter, Kröpfl and his team are clearly having far too much fun growth hacking in an unfamiliar, high velocity consumer category to sweat the detail. 

What’s driving Ahoi’s growth right now? “Performance marketing mainly,” he says, pointing also to “viral engagement by sharing and liking profiles”.

Notably, there are a lot of reviews of Ahoi on Google Play already — an unusual amount for such an early app. Many of them appear to be five star write-ups from accounts with European-sounding names and a sometimes robotic grasp of language.

“Eventhough Ahoi has been developed recently, it had high quality for user about calling, making friends and widing your knowlegde [sic],” writes one reviewer with atrocious spelling whose account is attached to the name ‘Dustin Stephens.’

“Talking with like minded people and same favor will creat a fun and interesting atmosphere. Ahoi will manage for you to call like condition above,” says another apparently happy but not entirely clear user, going by the name ‘Elisa Herring’.

There’s also a ‘Madeleine Mcghin’, whose profile uses a photo of the similarly named child who infamously disappeared during a holiday in Portugal in 2007. “My experience with this app was awesome,” this individual writes. “It gives me the option to find new people in every country.”

Another less instantly tasteless five-star reviewer, ‘Stefania Lucchini’, leaves a more surreal form of praise. “A good app and it will bring you extra income, I would say it’s a great opportunity to have AHOI and be a part of it but it’s that it will automatically ban you even if you don’t show it. Marketing. body part, there are still 5 stars for me,” she (or, well, ‘it’) writes.

Among the plethora of dubious five-star reviews a couple of one-star dunks stand out — not least because they come from accounts with names that sound like they might actually come from India. “Waste u r time,” says one of these, who uses the name Prajal Pradhan.

This pithy drop-kick has been given a full 72 thumbs-up by other Play Store users.

[pmsocialmedia]

Meet the b2b videoconferencing startup that’s gone crazy for online dating

Founder Andreas Kröpfl has spent almost a decade hard-grafting in the b2b unified communications space, building a videoconferencing business with a patented single-stream system and a claim of no ‘drop-offs’ thanks to “unique low-bandwidth technology”.

His Austria-based startup’s current web-based videoconferencing system, eyeson (née Visocon), which launched in 2018, has had some nice traction since launch, as he tells it, garnering a few million customers and getting a nomination nod as a Gartner Cool Vendor last year.

Eyeson’s website touts ‘no hassle, no, lag, no downloads’ video calls. Pricing options for the target b2b users run the gamut from freelance pro to full-blown enterprise. While the business itself has pulled in a smidge less than $7M in investor funding over the years.

But when TechCrunch came across Kröpfl last December, pitching hard in startup alley at Disrupt Berlin, he was most keen to talk about something else entirely: Video dating.

That’s because last summer the team decided to branch out by building their own video dating app, reusing their core streaming tech for a consumer-focused social experiment. And after a period of internal beta testing — which hopefully wasn’t too awkward within a small (up-til-then) b2b-focused team — they launched an experimental dating app in November in India.

The app, called Ahoi, is now generating 100,000 video calls and 250,000 swipes per day, says Kröpfl.

This is where he breaks into a giggle. The traction has been crazy, he says. 

In the staid world of business videoconferencing you can imagine eyeson’s team eyeing the booming growth of certain consumer-focused video products rather enviously.

Per Kröpfl, they had certainly noticed different desires among their existing users — which pushed them to experiment. “We saw that private people like the simple fun features (GIF reactions, …) and that business meetings were more focused on ‘drop-off’ [rates] and business features,” he tells us. “To improve both in one product was not working any more. So eyeson goes business plus SaaS.”

“Cloning eyeson but make it social,” is how he sums up the experiment. 

Ahoi is very evidently an MVP at this stage. It also looks like a pretty brave and/or foolish (depending on your view) full-bore plunge into video dating, with nothing so sophisticated as a privacy screen to prevent any, er, unwanted blushes… (Whereas safety screening is an element we’ve recently seen elsewhere in the category — see: Blindlee.)

There’s also seemingly no way for users to specify the gender they wish to talk to.

Instead, Ahoi users state interests by selecting emoji stickers — such as a car, cat, tennis racket, games console or globetrotter. And, well, it goes without saying that even if you like cars a lot you’re unlikely to change your sexual orientation over the category.

There are no generic emoji that could be used to specify a sexual interest in men or women. But, er, there’s a horse…

Such limits may explain why Ahoi is generating so many early swipes — and rather fewer actual calls — in that the activity sums to (mostly) men looking for women to videochat with and being matched with, er, men.

And frustration, sexual or otherwise, probably isn’t the greatest service to try and sell.

Still, Kröpfl reckons they’ve landed on a winning formula that makes handy reuse of their core videoconferencing tech — letting them growth hack in a totally new category. Swipe right to video date.

“People are disappointed by perfect profiles on Tinder and the reality when meeting people,” he posits. “Wasted time. Especially women do not want to be stalked by men pretending to be someone else. We solve both by a real live conversation where only after a call both can decide to be connected or never see each other again.”

Notably, marketing around the app does talk rather fuzzily about it being a way to “find new pals”.

So while Kröpfl frames the experiment as dating, the reality of the product is more ‘open to options’. Think of it as a bit like Chatroulette — just with slightly more control (in that you have a few seconds to decide if you don’t want to talk to the next in-app match).

The very short countdown timer (you get just five seconds to opt out of a matched video chat) is very likely generating a fair number of unintended calls. Though such high velocity matching might appeal to a certain kind of speed dating addict.

Kröpfl says Ahoi has been seeing up to 20,000 new users added daily. They’re bullishly targeting 3M+ users this year, and already toying with ideas for turning video dates into a money spinner by offering stuff like premium subscriptions and/or video ads. He says the plan is to turn Ahoi into a business “step by step”.

“Everyone loves to make his profile better,” he suggests, floating monetization options down the line. Quality filtering for a fee is another possibility (“everyone is annoyed by being connected to the wrong people”).

They picked India for the test launch because it has a lot of people on the same timezone, a large active mobile user-base and cheap marketing is still “easily possible”. He also says that dating apps seemed popular there, in their experience. (Albeit, the team presumably didn’t have a great deal of relevant experience in this category — given Ahoi is an experiment.)

The intent is also to open Ahoi up to other markets in time too, once they get more accustomed to dealing with all the traffic. Kröpfl notes they had to briefly take the app off the store last month, as they worked on adding more server capability.

“It is very early and we were not prepared for this usage,” he says, admitting they’ve been “struggling to work on early feedbacks”. “We had to make it invisible temporarily — to improve server capacity and stability.”

The contrast in pace of uptake between the stolid (but revenue-generating) world of business meeting-fuelled videoconferencing and catnip consumer dating — which is money-sucking unless or until you can hit a critical mass of usage and get the chance to try applying monetization strategies — does sound like it’s been rather irresistible to Kröpfl.

Asked what it feels like to go from one category to the other he says “crazy, surprised and thrilling”, adding: “It is somehow also frustrating when all the intense b2b work is not as closely interesting to people as Ahoi is. But amazing that it is possible thanks to an extremely focused and experienced team. I love it.” 

TechCrunch’s Manish Singh agreed to brave the local video dating app waters in India to check Ahoi out for us.

He reported back not having seen any women using the app. Which we imagine might be a problem for Ahoi’s longer term prospects — at least in that market.

“I spoke with one guy, who said his friend told him about the app. He said he joined to talk to girls but so far, he is only getting matched with boys,” said Singh. “I saw several names appear on the app, but all of them were boys, too.”

He told us he was left wondering “why people are on these apps, and why they have so much free time on a weekday”.

For ‘people’ it seems safe to conclude that most of Ahoi’s early adopters are men. As the Wall Street Journal reported back in 2018, India’s women are famously cool on dating apps — in that they’re mostly not on them. (We asked Kröpfl about Ahoi’s gender breakdown but he didn’t immediately get back to us on that.)

That market quirk means those female users who are on dating apps tend to get bombarded with messages from all the lonely heart guys with not much to swipe. Which, in turn, could make a video dating app like Ahoi an unattractive prospect to female users — if there’s any risk at all of being inundated with video chats.

And even if there are enough in-app controls to prevent unwelcome inundation by default, women also might not feel like they want their profile to be seen by scores of men simply by merit of being signed up to an app — as seems inevitable if the gender balance is so skewed.

Add to that, if the local perception among single women is that men on dating apps are generally a turn-off — because they’re too eager/forward — then jumping into any unmoderated video chat is probably not the kind of safe space these women are looking for.

No matter, Kröpfl and his team are clearly having far too much fun growth hacking in an unfamiliar, high velocity consumer category to sweat the detail. 

What’s driving Ahoi’s growth right now? “Performance marketing mainly,” he says, pointing also to “viral engagement by sharing and liking profiles”.

Notably, there are a lot of reviews of Ahoi on Google Play already — an unusual amount for such an early app. Many of them appear to be five star write-ups from accounts with European-sounding names and a sometimes robotic grasp of language.

“Eventhough Ahoi has been developed recently, it had high quality for user about calling, making friends and widing your knowlegde [sic],” writes one reviewer with atrocious spelling whose account is attached to the name ‘Dustin Stephens.’

“Talking with like minded people and same favor will creat a fun and interesting atmosphere. Ahoi will manage for you to call like condition above,” says another apparently happy but not entirely clear user, going by the name ‘Elisa Herring’.

There’s also a ‘Madeleine Mcghin’, whose profile uses a photo of the similarly named child who infamously disappeared during a holiday in Portugal in 2007. “My experience with this app was awesome,” this individual writes. “It gives me the option to find new people in every country.”

Another less instantly tasteless five-star reviewer, ‘Stefania Lucchini’, leaves a more surreal form of praise. “A good app and it will bring you extra income, I would say it’s a great opportunity to have AHOI and be a part of it but it’s that it will automatically ban you even if you don’t show it. Marketing. body part, there are still 5 stars for me,” she (or, well, ‘it’) writes.

Among the plethora of dubious five-star reviews a couple of one-star dunks stand out — not least because they come from accounts with names that sound like they might actually come from India. “Waste u r time,” says one of these, who uses the name Prajal Pradhan.

This pithy drop-kick has been given a full 72 thumbs-up by other Play Store users.

via Social – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/37lUijC

[magzoso-tech]

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/meet-the-b2b-videoconferencing-startup-thats-gone-crazy-for-online-dating/

Meet the b2b videoconferencing startup that’s gone crazy for online dating

Founder Andreas Kröpfl has spent almost a decade hard-grafting in the b2b unified communications space, building a videoconferencing business with a patented single-stream system and a claim of no ‘drop-offs’ thanks to “unique low-bandwidth technology”.

His Austria-based startup’s current web-based videoconferencing system, eyeson (née Visocon), which launched in 2018, has had some nice traction since launch, as he tells it, garnering a few million customers and getting a nomination nod as a Gartner Cool Vendor last year.

Eyeson’s website touts ‘no hassle, no, lag, no downloads’ video calls. Pricing options for the target b2b users run the gamut from freelance pro to full-blown enterprise. While the business itself has pulled in a smidge less than $7M in investor funding over the years.

But when TechCrunch came across Kröpfl last December, pitching hard in startup alley at Disrupt Berlin, he was most keen to talk about something else entirely: Video dating.

That’s because last summer the team decided to branch out by building their own video dating app, reusing their core streaming tech for a consumer-focused social experiment. And after a period of internal beta testing — which hopefully wasn’t too awkward within a small (up-til-then) b2b-focused team — they launched an experimental dating app in November in India.

The app, called Ahoi, is now generating 100,000 video calls and 250,000 swipes per day, says Kröpfl.

This is where he breaks into a giggle. The traction has been crazy, he says. 

In the staid world of business videoconferencing you can imagine eyeson’s team eyeing the booming growth of certain consumer-focused video products rather enviously.

Per Kröpfl, they had certainly noticed different desires among their existing users — which pushed them to experiment. “We saw that private people like the simple fun features (GIF reactions, …) and that business meetings were more focused on ‘drop-off’ [rates] and business features,” he tells us. “To improve both in one product was not working any more. So eyeson goes business plus SaaS.”

“Cloning eyeson but make it social,” is how he sums up the experiment. 

Ahoi is very evidently an MVP at this stage. It also looks like a pretty brave and/or foolish (depending on your view) full-bore plunge into video dating, with nothing so sophisticated as a privacy screen to prevent any, er, unwanted blushes… (Whereas safety screening is an element we’ve recently seen elsewhere in the category — see: Blindlee.)

There’s also seemingly no way for users to specify the gender they wish to talk to.

Instead, Ahoi users state interests by selecting emoji stickers — such as a car, cat, tennis racket, games console or globetrotter. And, well, it goes without saying that even if you like cars a lot you’re unlikely to change your sexual orientation over the category.

There are no generic emoji that could be used to specify a sexual interest in men or women. But, er, there’s a horse…

Such limits may explain why Ahoi is generating so many early swipes — and rather fewer actual calls — in that the activity sums to (mostly) men looking for women to videochat with and being matched with, er, men.

And frustration, sexual or otherwise, probably isn’t the greatest service to try and sell.

Still, Kröpfl reckons they’ve landed on a winning formula that makes handy reuse of their core videoconferencing tech — letting them growth hack in a totally new category. Swipe right to video date.

“People are disappointed by perfect profiles on Tinder and the reality when meeting people,” he posits. “Wasted time. Especially women do not want to be stalked by men pretending to be someone else. We solve both by a real live conversation where only after a call both can decide to be connected or never see each other again.”

Notably, marketing around the app does talk rather fuzzily about it being a way to “find new pals”.

So while Kröpfl frames the experiment as dating, the reality of the product is more ‘open to options’. Think of it as a bit like Chatroulette — just with slightly more control (in that you have a few seconds to decide if you don’t want to talk to the next in-app match).

The very short countdown timer (you get just five seconds to opt out of a matched video chat) is very likely generating a fair number of unintended calls. Though such high velocity matching might appeal to a certain kind of speed dating addict.

Kröpfl says Ahoi has been seeing up to 20,000 new users added daily. They’re bullishly targeting 3M+ users this year, and already toying with ideas for turning video dates into a money spinner by offering stuff like premium subscriptions and/or video ads. He says the plan is to turn Ahoi into a business “step by step”.

“Everyone loves to make his profile better,” he suggests, floating monetization options down the line. Quality filtering for a fee is another possibility (“everyone is annoyed by being connected to the wrong people”).

They picked India for the test launch because it has a lot of people on the same timezone, a large active mobile user-base and cheap marketing is still “easily possible”. He also says that dating apps seemed popular there, in their experience. (Albeit, the team presumably didn’t have a great deal of relevant experience in this category — given Ahoi is an experiment.)

The intent is also to open Ahoi up to other markets in time too, once they get more accustomed to dealing with all the traffic. Kröpfl notes they had to briefly take the app off the store last month, as they worked on adding more server capability.

“It is very early and we were not prepared for this usage,” he says, admitting they’ve been “struggling to work on early feedbacks”. “We had to make it invisible temporarily — to improve server capacity and stability.”

The contrast in pace of uptake between the stolid (but revenue-generating) world of business meeting-fuelled videoconferencing and catnip consumer dating — which is money-sucking unless or until you can hit a critical mass of usage and get the chance to try applying monetization strategies — does sound like it’s been rather irresistible to Kröpfl.

Asked what it feels like to go from one category to the other he says “crazy, surprised and thrilling”, adding: “It is somehow also frustrating when all the intense b2b work is not as closely interesting to people as Ahoi is. But amazing that it is possible thanks to an extremely focused and experienced team. I love it.” 

TechCrunch’s Manish Singh agreed to brave the local video dating app waters in India to check Ahoi out for us.

He reported back not having seen any women using the app. Which we imagine might be a problem for Ahoi’s longer term prospects — at least in that market.

“I spoke with one guy, who said his friend told him about the app. He said he joined to talk to girls but so far, he is only getting matched with boys,” said Singh. “I saw several names appear on the app, but all of them were boys, too.”

He told us he was left wondering “why people are on these apps, and why they have so much free time on a weekday”.

For ‘people’ it seems safe to conclude that most of Ahoi’s early adopters are men. As the Wall Street Journal reported back in 2018, India’s women are famously cool on dating apps — in that they’re mostly not on them. (We asked Kröpfl about Ahoi’s gender breakdown but he didn’t immediately get back to us on that.)

That market quirk means those female users who are on dating apps tend to get bombarded with messages from all the lonely heart guys with not much to swipe. Which, in turn, could make a video dating app like Ahoi an unattractive prospect to female users — if there’s any risk at all of being inundated with video chats.

And even if there are enough in-app controls to prevent unwelcome inundation by default, women also might not feel like they want their profile to be seen by scores of men simply by merit of being signed up to an app — as seems inevitable if the gender balance is so skewed.

Add to that, if the local perception among single women is that men on dating apps are generally a turn-off — because they’re too eager/forward — then jumping into any unmoderated video chat is probably not the kind of safe space these women are looking for.

No matter, Kröpfl and his team are clearly having far too much fun growth hacking in an unfamiliar, high velocity consumer category to sweat the detail. 

What’s driving Ahoi’s growth right now? “Performance marketing mainly,” he says, pointing also to “viral engagement by sharing and liking profiles”.

Notably, there are a lot of reviews of Ahoi on Google Play already — an unusual amount for such an early app. Many of them appear to be five star write-ups from accounts with European-sounding names and a sometimes robotic grasp of language.

“Eventhough Ahoi has been developed recently, it had high quality for user about calling, making friends and widing your knowlegde [sic],” writes one reviewer with atrocious spelling whose account is attached to the name ‘Dustin Stephens.’

“Talking with like minded people and same favor will creat a fun and interesting atmosphere. Ahoi will manage for you to call like condition above,” says another apparently happy but not entirely clear user, going by the name ‘Elisa Herring’.

There’s also a ‘Madeleine Mcghin’, whose profile uses a photo of the similarly named child who infamously disappeared during a holiday in Portugal in 2007. “My experience with this app was awesome,” this individual writes. “It gives me the option to find new people in every country.”

Another less instantly tasteless five-star reviewer, ‘Stefania Lucchini’, leaves a more surreal form of praise. “A good app and it will bring you extra income, I would say it’s a great opportunity to have AHOI and be a part of it but it’s that it will automatically ban you even if you don’t show it. Marketing. body part, there are still 5 stars for me,” she (or, well, ‘it’) writes.

Among the plethora of dubious five-star reviews a couple of one-star dunks stand out — not least because they come from accounts with names that sound like they might actually come from India. “Waste u r time,” says one of these, who uses the name Prajal Pradhan.

This pithy drop-kick has been given a full 72 thumbs-up by other Play Store users.

[tristanleggett]

The Polish Software House that Wants to Forge the Future [Marketing Study]

With an employee growth of 67% in the last 2 years and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 212%, this Polish software house is on a roll.

We're the witnesses of a spectacular growth for Tooploox.

Tooploox is the place where innovation happens.

Hiring scientists from universities across Europe and even Stanford, Tooploox has chosen its weapon: Artificial Intelligence.

They are moving beyond the outsourcing stereotype and they are embracing the future.

Next, we’ll dig into its marketing secrets and see how the company manages to position itself in a very noisy market.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Tooploox Polish Software House - Short Overview

Tooploox Marketing Strategies Reverse Engineered

Tooploox Traffic Acquisition

Content Marketing

Tooploox Community Involvement

Employer branding and hiring

Wrap Up

In almost six years and Tooploox has grown from three people to 110 (by april 2018).

Its business development team was created beginning with 2016. Quite impressive so far, but what followed, see below.

Tooploox Polish Software House - Short Overview

From Deloitte, to Financial Times, to Clutch, everyone has heard of Tooploox.

Big players in tourism, healthcare, consumer goods or education have shaken hands with Tooploox: Lufthansa, ING Bank, Royal Carribean, homebook.pl.

The projects varied from app design to experimenting with beacons.

What do their clients say about them? See next:

High-level project management skills

Flexibility

Open to feedback

Customer-focus

Results-oriented

Next in our blog post, we’ll find out how:

Content marketing should go hand in hand with outbound sales

Employer branding is a must in a crowded market

Community involvement is a always a go-to

Tooploox Marketing Strategies Reverse Engineered

Less than 7 years on the market, 4 offices (one in Berlin) and a revenue of EUR 3M+ in 2016: Tooploox is growing steadily with the help of sales, marketing, and a good product-market fit.

Since we’re a digital marketing agency, we’ll focus on the strategies that Tooploox employs to market themselves.

Brand Awareness at Tooploox

One of the youngest companies we’ve analyzed so far (founded in 2012), Tooploox has amazed CEE with its phenomenal revenue growth during 2013-2016. Thus, it ranked 4th in Deloitte’s Tech Fast 50 CEE 2017.

And let’s not forget the Financial Times award aforementioned.

Tooploox is among the selected SMEs to participate in the Future Unicorn Award, an award with the purpose to highlight innovative SMEs that have the potential to become Europe’s next unicorns. The award is compiled by asking all the national trade associations affiliated with Digital Europe to nominate a single SME from their country.

Another recognition worth mentioning: Tooploox became a member of the Fast Growth Icons Network 2019. This community works as invitation-only, the selected companies have to show considerable traction in terms of revenue, users & funding. The typical member is growing by 50% per annum.

Now, Tooploox wants to position itself as a fast growing tech company as well as an innovative one. Just take a look at its advisory board: scientists, professors, PhDs.

The Tooploox Website

The Tooploox website is clean and breathable, and it's brand new, they've redesigned it recently.

Does it answer the questions of a potential client? Let’s check it out.

What do you do?

It’s not quite clear from the above the fold copy, which says “We build digital products for your success".

When scrolling down, you get this:

Why should I trust you?

Here are some of our clients:

And they’ve built a team of scientists that have graduated from big universities such as Stanford, this should enforce some trust.

How can I contact you?

Via phone or website form.

In terms of conversion rate optimization, Tooploox is using Hotjar, so they intend to map out the user behavior on their website, and probably optimize around it.

Tooploox Traffic Acquisition

Direct and search traffic account for more than 90% of the website traffic.

In terms of direct traffic, it's above 15%.

Like in the case of Poznan's software houses, we can assume that this high percentage could be the effect of:

branding efforts within offline events

referral traffic not tagged

sales reps activities (they have 2 team members involved in business development), and are looking to hire 2 new ones.

Content Marketing

The main blog categories are Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Culture, Design, Mobile, Technology, Web. The Culture topic is aiming to build employer branding.

All the blog posts get shared to Medium too.

The most popular pages on the website are blog pages:

Further on, if we look at their most important keywords, we see that there isn’t yet a clear cluster of keywords trying to rank high.

We see that tech content is written by tech-skilled people, just like Jeremy here, who is an AI engineer.

But not everything revolves around blogging in content marketing.

Tooploox also features short case studies that show off their expertise.

Now, let’s take a look at some long-form content examples from Tooploox.

What we’ve got here is...research papers. Computer vision, neural networks...heavy stuff. This content is not gated, no leads are being collected, you just download it freely.

Backlinks to Support Content Marketing

Next, in order to rank organically, having good original content ain't good enough. Backlinks are a must.

For Tooploox, the backlinks are looking good. We’ve got website and blogs with a domain-rating above 70 that link back to the Tooploox hompepage, mainly, or blog.

So, we’ve got meetup.com linking back, techstars.com, designrush.com, they all have tech-related content, which is good for Tooploox.

Another good link comes from jobs.lever.co.

So, intended or not, listing meetups on meetups.com or jobs on lever.co, means high-quality do-follow-links.

Tooploox Paid Traffic Acquisition

While content strategy pushes forward AI, machine learning related content, the paid marketing strategies have a different approach.

With its Google search ads, Tooploox is promoting the web and custom software development services.

Tooploox also uses Facebook in its promotional efforts: they’ve boosted posts for job hiring promotion.

Tooploox Social Presence

With more than three billion people around the world using social media every month, this is not a passing trend.

Be it for employer branding, for getting new leads and customers, or for connecting with stakeholders, all of the software houses we’ve analyzed so far are active on most popular of the social media channels out there.

For Tooploox, the social media strategies are mostly about employer branding and building brand awareness.

Tooploox Facebook Page

Facebook’s posts are headed mostly around building employer branding. Job opportunities, blog content - it’s all on Facebook.

Events and celebrations are not forgotten either, like the announcement for their AI residency program or other speaking gigs they attend to.

The average engagement/post is 14, which comes close to the data we found for the rest of the software houses.

Instagram

It’s no news that the Instagram account is employer branding focused. It’s very usual in the market.

In the Tooploox case, the employer branding purpose is obvious from the profile bio that links to a blog article. This article is a bit special, it talks about a new management system implemented at Tooploox: the holacracy.

This system doesn’t develop specific hierarchical levels in a company but empowers each and every team member. Everyone is aligned with the company’s mission and goals and can get involved in the decision making process.

Pretty neat I’d say, I’m curious if this hook is really working when dealing with hiring.

Next in the line, what else do we see on the Instagram page?

There is also some client-oriented content like illustrations and designs did by Tooploox

or awards they’ve won:

Aaaand, check this one: proving their AI skills on a trending topic - Game of Thrones.

LinkedIn

On its LinkedIn profile Tooploox shares blog posts they’ve created, info on products they've built, news from the industry and a lot of hiring opportunities.

Also, events are not neglected.

The focus is split between employee oriented and client oriented.

Twitter

On Twitter, the Tooploox messaging goes two ways:

building employer-branding: through promoting employee-related events, job opportunities, meetups they organize.

is mostly speaking of hiring opportunities and events they go to or host.

customer acquisition: through building awareness around the brand, proving they are experts in the field and that they deserve their partners' trust.

See this tweet, for example. It establishes Tooploox as a true machine learning connoisseur:

And there’s another tweet that shows that Tooploox is really involved in the community and where the idea of expertise in machine learning is reinforced:

Dribbble

The Dribbble profile could make a lot of software houses feel envy, because of the high engagement.

They are showing off their product design skills through showcasing animations, illustrations, apps they’ve designed.

They are also promoting their blog posts, whenever they have the chance so that they show their blog content to a whole new audience.

Also, whenever possible, Tooploox is also promoting job offers. And where should you go when you want to hire someone in the product team? On Dribbble, of course. Good product designers should be showcasing their designs here and might even be a fan of yours.

Tooploox Community Involvement

The community involvement for Tooploox goes two ways:

Organizing events: meetups, workshops, open office

Attending conferences and speaking gigs

In an ever-crowded market, with fierce competition both for clients and employees, you just can’t sit still in a corner and wait for a miracle.

You have to go out there and make a name for yourself.

And Tooploox definitely understands this: they speak at gigs, sponsor events, hold hackathons and workshops.

Employer branding and hiring

Former employees speak very favorably about Tooploox on Glassdoor, praising:

The startup atmosphere

Opportunities to learn and develop

Good benefits

Some argue that because of the rapid growth some, the atmosphere has been ruined, and there is not a lot of room for promotion. This is the answer he got on Glassdoor from the management team.

Tooploox wants is looking to expand its team of engineers.

but has also developed a fellowship called the “AI Residency Program”.

Most of the software houses we’ve analyzed so far use images or text in their social media posting with employer branding purposes. Tooploox wanted to twist things a little bit. Hiring a bunch of professionals, they’ve designed a really appealing hiring video.

Tooploox Employer branding video, starring Leon the Cat

Another interesting fact, during a hackathon back in 2017 an idea came to light, Thanksy. Lately they brought it to light: an app that integrates with Slack that works as an engaging and unique way to say thank you. The purpose: strengthening the company's values. It's story, here.

Wrap Up

Employer branding and AI expansion, this is the Tooploox focus.

While other software houses are entirely advocating for mobile, other for web development, others for e-commerce software, Tooploox bets on machine learning and AI.

From the marketing point of view, Tooploox teaches us that:

Find your niche, from web development, design, blockchain, AI, there's room for everyone, as long as you do a good job

Employer branding is essential when you want to build the scientist team you dream of

Outbound sales are no longer enough, a content strategy should go hand in hand with it

Community involvement, if done well, can open the doors for you to clients and employees

Hope you enjoyed our case study. There are more to come. So, don't go anywhere.

We've got software houses stories made in Poznan, Wroclaw. Krakow's and Warsaw's success stories are on their way.

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[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/adele-beyonce-show-women-support/

Adele, Beyonce show how women should support each other

We live in a world that is not nice to women. We saw this fact play out during the 2016 presidential election when Hillary Clinton went head to head with number 45, Donald Trump. He was mean to her, to say the least, and sadly women were too. I cannot tell you how many times I personally heard women express their thoughts on Clinton’s inability to run the country simply because she is a woman. If it is not a man coming down on us, telling us we aren’t good enough, creating horrible standards for us to uphold, orchestrating a patriarchy that still, to this day, makes it incredibly hard for most women to break through that “glass ceiling, it’s our sistren showing no faith in what we do. Women have a bad track record with not being “nice” to other women. That’s why Adele showing her support of Beyoncé’s work at this year’s Grammys is a lesson that every woman who calls herself a feminist should learn. The first thing she said when she accepted the award for Album of the Year was, “I can’t possibly accept this award … I’m very humbled, and I’m very grateful … but my artist of my life is Beyoncé. And this album to me, the Lemonade album, is just so monumental.” Adele exhibited great solidarity when she addressed the fact that Beyoncé, whose Lemonade album was one of the highlights of 2016, deserved the recognition of winning Album of the Year. I could get into the many argued reasons why Beyoncé did not win one of the most coveted Grammy categories, but that’s a whole other article. This is about women and the need for us to genuinely support each other. It is also about intersectional feminism. Now, I have heard some women of color say that what she did wasn’t enough, or it was empty or “no thank you, we don’t need your charity,” and those that have that mindset are missing the big picture. Similarly, white women who think that Adele did too much, was out of line or was “riding Beyoncé” also need to take a step back and take a cue from her book of feminism. Intersectionality within the movement is paramount. It starts with gestures like Adele’s because feminism must become more encompassing. As many feel today, the movement, largely led by white women, marginalizes women of color and doesn’t give us an outlet to talk about the connection between racial inequality and gender inequality. In short, it minimizes the fact that the two are related. Nonetheless, when those with the power use it to speak up, it brings us all closer to true equality. This is how it starts. It happens when those who have the privilege take the reigns of bringing attention to the things that are wrong in the world. Now, Beyoncé is a powerhouse, and that’s not just me speaking from the perspective of a BeyHive fan girl. So, she really doesn’t need anyone to tell her that she is a significant part of pop culture or to take up for her for that matter. I am convinced that Adele knows that. But that didn’t stop her from drawing attention to the fact that the work Beyoncé did, the whole visual aspect of the work that she did (Lemonade was nominated for four Emmys) deserved the recognition. It deserved to win. The critically acclaimed album didn’t just have fans reeling; it garnered the praise of those within the industry as well. Which brings into question what exactly do the voting members of The Recording Academy look for when considering a nominee’s worthiness? Is it the mass appeal of the work or the message, which many white people would argue, in the case of Lemonade, is offensive. And for those who don’t understand the true definition of racism, they’d even say it is racist. I am in such awe of the respect that Beyoncé and Adele have for each other not just as singers, but also as women. It is a model that all women should employ. Is it about competition? For sure. I mean, if you don’t have anyone to challenge you then how can you really go from level to level? Competition is healthy. However, I have seen it tear too many women down. I have seen it tear too many women apart. Competition for the purposes of pushing one another to be their best selves is important, but the kind that blinds us to the issues is debilitating. It is going to take more than a superstar like Adele openly admitting that someone like Beyoncé was gypped to change things in an institution like the Grammys. Nonetheless, this is an instance of solidarity that stands as a powerful moment for women and an important one for 2017.

Movie TV Tech Geeks News

[drcontrarian]

The New Normal - From a Real World Perspective

I think it is pretty ironic that our attitudes towards toilet paper reveal what shitty humans we are.

And it is ably demonstrated by ‘everyman-and-his-dog’ offering advice on the Post-Covid world and inane ‘tips to transform yourself in a crisis’ that masquerade as marketing advice; as if these pundits have experience in the effects of the pandemic.

On the  plus side, true blue capitalists are hard to keep down and it is good fun to watch.

But that does not mean we can’t grapple with some of the issues we are all facing. I thought a useful approach would be to attempt to identify some of the underlying fundamentals that may indicate the direction/ momentum of change.

And then, just because I hate the generic ‘consultant-speak’ like ‘become more responsive’ and ‘identify strategic opportunities’ as the ‘changes’ we should embrace, I will instead offer specific, detailed tactical changes that may or may not play out, but are worth thinking about.‘ 

Before we get to the short-term (Part B)changes that will manifest post-pandemic 2020, consider the broader socio-economic context (Part A) that it will play out in.

PART A: Macro Changes

There are a few drivers that are shaping the landscape of our future.

ONE: Major changes information technology has brought about

The Guardian published a piece in 2017 that presaged the end of capitalism.

“First, it has reduced the need for work, blurred the edges between work and free time and loosened the relationship between work and wages. The coming wave of automation, currently stalled because our social infrastructure cannot bear the consequences, will hugely diminish the amount of work needed – not just to subsist but to provide a decent life for all.

Second, information is corroding the market’s ability to form prices correctly. That is because markets are based on scarcity while information is abundant. The system’s defence mechanism is to form monopolies – the giant tech companies – on a scale not seen in the past 200 years, yet they cannot last. By building business models and share valuations based on the capture and privatisation of all socially produced information, such firms are constructing a fragile corporate edifice at odds with the most basic need of humanity, which is to use ideas freely.

Third, we’re seeing the spontaneous rise of collaborative production: goods, services and organisations are appearing that no longer respond to the dictates of the market and the managerial hierarchy. The biggest information product in the world – Wikipedia – is made by volunteers for free, abolishing the encyclopedia business and depriving the advertising industry of an estimated $3bn a year in revenue.”

TWO: It’s what people want

It is what people want, probably in response to the helplessness that is induced by ONE above.

Recently, the ABC (Australia) published a piece that observed that senior officials from the governing (conservative) party as well as members of the community took exception to the way people were hoarding and ‘profiteering’ by arbitraging the shortages wrt to everyday items like toilet paper.

Seeking out gaps in the market and exploiting price anomalies are the everyday activities of anyone involved in any kind of trade, from shopkeepers and grocery wholesalers to money market high-flyers who trade synthetic derivatives of complex financial instruments.

As a free-market economy, successive governments of all persuasions for the past half-century have embraced the idea that government should not run commercial enterprise. They've preached privatisation, asset recycling and the fundamental belief that free trade and minimal government intervention will maximise wealth and lift society as a whole.

Traditionally conservative governments are responding in ways that left-leaning/ socialist regimes could until recently only dream of. Tom Quiggan said this in an article on ThinkSpot:

“The current government led response to the pandemic and the financial crisis appears to be panic driven. Momentum is growing behind the idea that governments should be able to bail out every individual and every industry that is facing financial stress. While this is normatively appealing, it is unsustainable for anything beyond a few weeks and unlikely to be productive. Throwing money at failing systems is how we got to the financial crisis we are in now. It also means that debt and taxes are virtually guaranteed to increase in the next years or services will have to be cut dramatically.   

The children of today are the tax payers of tomorrow and they will suffer immensely if the system is not fixed.

These massive bailouts will have the effect of rewarding those who made poor decisions and wound up in debt. They will punish the prudent who were saving money during the perceived good times.  This will fuel yet another divide in society as the prudent and hard working become distressed or angry at being fleeced (again) to support the imprudent and wasteful.

Quiggan is essentially heralding the undesirable consequences if the traditional conservative/ libertarian approach to the economy is not upheld. But it is not, and even the most casual observer will recognise this in the communities we live in.

One cannot possibly believe that traditional, industrial capitalism will not be transformed into something completely different. We are creating a new normal and we don’t quite know what it is.

Whether it is labelled as a ‘neo-socialism’ or a ‘neo-capitalism’ does not matter, but it is one where trade is less free and the government (or some central bureaucracy) holds power over supply. Because the government has played the role of payer and lender of last resort, why not payer and lender of every resort. Debt jubilees/ Universal Basic Income and the like are the nature of things to come.

It is either that, or war.

Cryptocurrency is the dark horse. It could undermine the power of a central authority and give people unfettered freedom to move money around at will, without knowledge or intervention of any government. It will likely be regulated before it fulfills its potential.

It should be exciting, but I find it scary. And the reason for that is philosophical. I don’t have faith in man’s ability to create something good out of this.

THREE: It is the nature of Man

(You can safely skip the next paragraph because it is a philosophical justification for my overall pessimism.)

From a religious philosophical perspective people are cast as ‘sinners’. Sinners are (by definition) those who ‘miss the mark’. If you want to get an idea of what the global culture is like (what it values) then simply look at the aggregate of what ‘trends’ on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Half the world’s population are on those platforms, so that is as representative a sample size as you can get. 

What Nietsche meant when he declared God dead, is summarised by Mark Sayers:

“What we are experiencing is not the eradication of God from the Western mind but the enthroning of self as the greatest authority.”

Now what could go wrong when those who ‘miss the mark’ become the ‘authority’? 

The first two observations about the changes happening are probably uncontroversial. My pessimism about the quality of that future outcome is arguable if you have faith that humans on the whole always improve things ; i.e we are progressive in a way that leads to a (greater) good or at least better.

I am pessimistic about Man’s ability to create a positive/ beneficial world when it becomes untethered from the Judeo-Christian fundamentals. Even if the idea of religion and God sits uncomfortable with you, any objective observer of history cannot realistically deny that ‘western civilization (and all of our laws) are founded upon these Christian foundations.

Whether we would be better or worse off when we divorce our societies from these belief systems is a matter of opinion (and I don’t need to debate that here) - but I offer it as my rationale for being sceptical about a humanistic framework as the basis for lasting stable societies.

PART B: Micro Changes

John Batistich writes in Smart Company predicting the following changes in the retail environment:

Consolidation (specifically in Supermarkets)

Higher concentration

Fewer stores

Online step-change

One department store

Two discount department stores

More local

Rent reversions

Percentage rent

Make expenses variable

Cash economy declines

Cashflow management

New concepts

Most of these observations are simple, legitimate extrapolations of current trends, so I will limit my commentary to a few observations:

Rent reversions will be at unprecedented levels for many categories in many areas - I predict that it will be up to 50%. (This will place pressure on Superannuation funds’ returns, adding to economic woes, and pressure on Boomers to remain in the workforce.)

Making rents/expenses variable is something that I long advocated (see Beat of the Mall). This pandemic has proven that risks can’t be isolated to between categories/ sectors and that variable rent is a sensible way of synchronising the timing of economic fluctuations (good and bad) between members of a supply chain.

The downside is that one person’s variable expenses is another person’s variable income. Variable incomes are typically associated with higher risks and higher risks are features of an unstable ecosystem.

In an article in QSR Magazine Micha Magid the co-founder of Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque (US fast-casual concept) , is brave enough to nominate fairly specific outcomes. I smummarised those in a previous post.

They are worth reading because they are very specific, practical outcomes that are articulated. For example:

Approximately 25 percent of all restaurants remain indefinitely closed with 90 percent of the closures hitting independently owned locations.

Delivery focused restaurant brands do very well into the end of the year.

Great ethnic restaurants become increasingly harder to find

The salad chains underperform the rebound as raw food still caries caution in the national psyche. 

I would like to add a few more specific prognostications to this list as it applies to the hospitality sector:

The return to ‘business as usual’ will be a gradual process, initially driven simply by people getting frustrated with isolation, and then once restrictions are lifted, the high unemployment rate will depress spend. (A recession or worse is actually likely).

Retailers will start practicing surge pricing

Consumers will hate queuing, so ordering ahead, table ordering and click and collect will continue to grow

A greater focus on food safety & hygiene (keep cups may lose momentum)

Unreasonable demands for small (uneconomical) deliveries - accepted during the pandemic - will prove the undoing of many restaurants

Price of meals will escalate to accommodate rising input prices (drought, fires etc) and unsustainable delivery costs as competition is reduced and the remaining operators have more flexibility.

In response to the above, consumer demands and expectations around customisation and health will put pressure on production times and costs.

The life cycle of new concepts will shorten, making innovation nonviable for landlords whose capital contributions allowed many concepts to be born

[haroldgross]

New Post has been published on Harold Gross: The 5a.m. Critic

New Post has been published on http://literaryends.com/hgblog/oscars-2020-final-call/

Oscars 2020 (final call)

Another awards season is nearly complete. And with all of the other ceremonies out of the way from SAG to BAFTA, DGA, WGA, Annies, Eddies, PGA, done, there is data and trends and confusions to add just a bit of drama and uncertainty to the mother of them all: Oscars.

So, with the nominations, conversations, and voting  period over, here are my final predictions of the night of glitz and glitter…

Actress in a Leading Role

Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story) Siorse Ronan (Little Women) Charlize Theron (Bombshell) Renee Zellwegger (Judy)

My choice: Renee Zellwegger (Judy) Likely winner: Renee Zellwegger (Judy)

This is pretty much a slam-dunk based on the previous ceremonies this year. And it is an amazing performance.

Actor in a Leading Role

Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory) Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood) Adam Driver (Marriage Story) Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)

My choice: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) Likely winner: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

To my great joy, this is also a slam-dunk. The movie floored me, Phoenix in particular. But I never expected it to grab the attention of the industry this way since it is, at its heart, genre. It’s nice to be surprised sometimes.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell) Laura Dern (Marriage Story) Scarlett Johannson (Jojo Rabbit) Florence Pugh (Little Women) Margot Robbie (Bombshell)

My choice: Florence Pugh (Little Women) Likely winner: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

I’ve never doubted Dern would take this statuette, but I’m not sure she’s the best choice. I think Pugh did more in her role. But Dern is a powerhouse in Marriage Story and she’s had everyone’s attention since the awards began rolling out.

Actor in a Supporting Role

Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes) Al Pacino (The Irishman) Joe Pesci (The Irishman) Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood)

My choice: Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) Likely winner: Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood)

Again, this was a category dominated from the top by a single person: Pitt. And it is a good performance in an otherwise awful movie (to my mind). But in terms of impact, Pesci and Hanks were the standouts for me. And while Pesci really is amazing (and has a slim chance of taking this) I feel like Hanks has been overlooked this year, as was his movie. Perhaps it was just too close to Rogers in reality to feel like a performance for most? Both he and Pesci hold their movies together, so really, either would be fine with me…but neither is going to beat Pitt.

Adapted Screenplay

The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women The Two Popes

My choice: Jojo Rabbit Likely winner: Little Women

My thinking on this has changed a lot in terms of who will win. The industry is definitely looking at this category differently than I expected… but also the previous awards hadn’t really grouped all of these together, so its a bit of a guess as to what happens. With Gerwig otherwise shut out, I think she’s got a chance for a consolation prize here. But Jojo has been showing momentum coming into the stretch (including winning the WGA) and it is the most inventive and unique of the tales overall (and Irishman is getting ignored).

Original Screenplay

Knives Out Marriage Story 1917 Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood Parasite

My choice: Parasite Likely winner: Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

I still don’t understand the critical love of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. It is a mess of a story and script that falls apart at the end. But it has overwhelming love from the Academy due to its subject matter and it has few other chances to win. But Parasite is likewise surging, so there could be a surprise of conscience and/or quality that tips the balance.

Directing

Martin Scorsese (The Irishman) Todd Phillips (Joker) Sam Mendes (1917) Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood) Bong Joon-ho (Parasite)

My choice: Todd Phillips (Joker) Likely winner: Sam Mendes (1917)

I’ve been back and forth on this category all season. Parasite is a brilliant and unexpected film, but it is also forced in some ways. The Irishman is a brilliant example of classic film-making, and manages to create a tiny, focused story out of an epic that flies along, even at 3.5 hours. It is a master-class in directing. But Joker pulls off the seeming impossible and, out of genre cloth, peels back the human condition in a way I’ve never seen before, and guided a performance that is devastating and utterly believable.

However, all that said, Mendes is going to take this for the audacity and technical execution of a story that, like Gravity before it, redefines what a movie can be. It doesn’t matter that it isn’t the best story, it is the scope and control he, as a director, had to manage in order to deliver his illusion. And it is bloody impressive.

Animated Feature Film

How To Train Your Dragon I Lost My Body Klaus Missing Link Toy Story 4

My choice: Klaus Likely winner: Klaus

OK, this is actually more of an open race this year than I originally thought. No one outside the guild expected Missing Link and Klaus to dominate the Annies this year. Frankly, though Missing Link pushed the tech, it wasn’t that great a movie. And I skipped Klaus till recently because, well, Klaus…just isn’t my thing. And while I loved I Lost My Body (and it picked up the top independent animation honor at the Annies), Klaus won me over as the best film overall.

That said, there is still a strong possibility that name recognition and Pixar are likely to dominate the Academy votes here (despite BAFTA agreeing with the Annies). But I’d be wonderfully happy and surprised to be wrong about that.

Best Picture

Ford V Ferrari The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women Marriage Story 1917 Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood Parasite

My choice: The Irishman Likely winner: 1917

Because of the preferential ballot, this is really still wide open. Anyone’s second or third choices could rise to the top if everyone’s second or third choice aligned.

In the end, I think Parasite gets International rather than making history as the first foreign language film to take Best Pic. I think Irishman gets snubbed because of Netflix, and I’m praying Once Upon a Time… just doesn’t get the votes as it doesn’t deserve it. But, more importantly, 1917 has been gaining momentum as the season wound down and it’s an impressive epic of a film that pushes the technology and the boundaries of expectation in a way that will likely get it over the top.

International Feature

Corpus Christi Honeyland Les Miserables Pain And Glory Parasite

My choice: Parasite Likely winner: Parasite

I don’t think there is any doubt at this point here, despite the excellent field of options.

Original Song

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” – Toy Story 4 “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” – Rocketman “I’m Standing With You” – Breakthrough “Into the Uknown” – Frozen 2 “Stand Up” – Harriet

My choice:  “Stand Up” – Harriet Likely winner: “Stand Up” – Harriet

Y’know, I really just don’t care out of this grouping. Nothing stood out for me or in the popular culture. Given the lack of diversity in the Oscars this year (and with no dispersions on her abilities or song), I think Erivo takes it.

Original Score

Joker (Hildur Guonadottir) Little Women (Alexandre Desplat) Marriage Story (Randy Newman) 1917 (Thomas Newman) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (John Williams)

My choice: Joker (Hildur Guonadottir) Likely winner: Joker (Hildur Guonadottir)

Documentary Feature

American Factory The Cave The Edge of Democracy For Sama Honeyland

My choice: The Cave Likely winner: The Cave

I have good reason for my pick other than the controversy surrounding the director’s fight with 45 getting her visa to attend the Oscars. You can’t buy that kind of publicity. But it is also getting a lot of positive attention as a film. But it could well lose to Honeyland, which has had some great recognition as well.

Documentary Short Subject

In The Absence Learning To Skateboard Life Overtakes Me St Louis Superman Walk, Run, Cha-Cha

My choice: ????? Likely winner: St Louis Superman

Live Action Short Film

Brotherhood Nefta Football Club The Neighbors’ Window Saria A Sister

My choice: ????? Likely winner: A Sister

No good reason for this choice as compared to The Neighbors’ Window, both of which have some nice buzz. Given the subjects of both, I’m just flipping the coin to A Sister.

Animated Short Film

Dcera (Daughter) Hair Love Kitbull Memorable Sister

My choice: ????? Likely winner: Kitbull

Why Kitbull? Pixar.

Cinematography

The Irishman Joker The Lighthouse 1917 Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

My choice: 1917 Likely winner: 1917

Film Editing

Ford V Ferrari The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Parasite

My choice: The Irishman Likely winner: Jojo Rabbit

After the Eddies this became a battle between Parasite and Jojo. Ultimately, I think Jojo had more complex challenges achieved more at an editing level. Then again Ford v Ferrari took the BAFTA, so they might pick this up as their only win for the evening.

Production Design

The Irishman Jojo Rabbit 1917 Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood Parasite

My choice: Parasite Likely winner: 1917

Honestly, I’m not sure what way this is going to break. Parasite has the most inventive design of the field (Jojo is fun, but not quite as sharply done), but 1917 recreates WWI down to such a level of detail it’s almost distracting.

Costume Design

The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

My choice: Little Women Likely winner: Little Women

This is one of the few places Little Women can take an award and the costumes are wonderful period pieces across a huge range of the era. That is usually what takes the prize.

Visual Effects

Avengers: Endgame The Irishman The Lion King 1917 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

My choice: The Irishman Likely winner: The Irishman

To recap my original argument, the invisibleness of The Irishmen’s f/x is what makes it stand out in this field. It’s biggest threat is 1917, which deserves it as well. It’s a small enough award that Netflix hate may not overwhelm sense.

Makeup and Hairstyling

Bombshell Joker Judy Maleficent: Mistress of Evil 1917

My choice: Bombshell Likely winner: Bombshell

Bombshell managed transformations the others didn’t, though Judy was certainly a magnificent effort.

Sound Mixing

Ad Astra Ford V Ferrari Joker 1917 Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

My choice: 1917 Likely winner: 1917

Sound Editing

Ford V Ferrari Joker 1917 Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

My choice: 1917 Likely winner: 1917

NOMINATIONS BY FILM

Provided just for reference, but certainly interesting to consider when considering who has the attention of the voters.

Joker (Warner Bros.) – 11 The Irishman (Netflix) – 10 1917 (Universal/Amblin Partners) – 10 Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (Sony Pictures Releasing) – 10 Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight) – 6 Little Women (Sony Pictures Releasing) – 6 Marriage Story (Netflix) – 6 Parasite (Neon) – 6 Ford v Ferrari (Disney) – 4 Bombshell (Lionsgate) – 3 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Disney) – 3 The Two Popes (Netflix) – 3 Harriet (Focus Features) – 2 Honeyland (Neon) 2 Judy (LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions) – 2 Pain and Glory (Sony Pictures Classics) – 2 Toy Story 4 (Disney) – 2

[sheminecrafts]

Meet the b2b videoconferencing startup that’s gone crazy for online dating

Founder Andreas Kröpfl has spent almost a decade hard-grafting in the b2b unified communications space, building a videoconferencing business with a patented single-stream system and a claim of no ‘drop-offs’ thanks to “unique low-bandwidth technology”.

His Austria-based startup’s current web-based videoconferencing system, eyeson (née Visocon), which launched in 2018, has had some nice traction since launch, as he tells it, garnering a few million customers and getting a nomination nod as a Gartner Cool Vendor last year.

Eyeson’s website touts ‘no hassle, no, lag, no downloads’ video calls. Pricing options for the target b2b users run the gamut from freelance pro to full-blown enterprise. While the business itself has pulled in a smidge less than $7M in investor funding over the years.

But when TechCrunch came across Kröpfl last December, pitching hard in startup alley at Disrupt Berlin, he was most keen to talk about something else entirely: Video dating.

That’s because last summer the team decided to branch out by building their own video dating app, reusing their core streaming tech for a consumer-focused social experiment. And after a period of internal beta testing — which hopefully wasn’t too awkward within a small (up-til-then) b2b-focused team — they launched an experimental dating app in November in India.

The app, called Ahoi, is now generating 100,000 video calls and 250,000 swipes per day, says Kröpfl.

This is where he breaks into a giggle. The traction has been crazy, he says. 

In the staid world of business videoconferencing you can imagine eyeson’s team eyeing the booming growth of certain consumer-focused video products rather enviously.

Per Kröpfl, they had certainly noticed different desires among their existing users — which pushed them to experiment. “We saw that private people like the simple fun features (GIF reactions, …) and that business meetings were more focused on ‘drop-off’ [rates] and business features,” he tells us. “To improve both in one product was not working any more. So eyeson goes business plus SaaS.”

“Cloning eyeson but make it social,” is how he sums up the experiment. 

Ahoi is very evidently an MVP at this stage. It also looks like a pretty brave and/or foolish (depending on your view) full-bore plunge into video dating, with nothing so sophisticated as a privacy screen to prevent any, er, unwanted blushes… (Whereas safety screening is an element we’ve recently seen elsewhere in the category — see: Blindlee.)

There’s also seemingly no way for users to specify the gender they wish to talk to.

Instead, Ahoi users state interests by selecting emoji stickers — such as a car, cat, tennis racket, games console or globetrotter. And, well, it goes without saying that even if you like cars a lot you’re unlikely to change your sexual orientation over the category.

There are no generic emoji that could be used to specify a sexual interest in men or women. But, er, there’s a horse…

Such limits may explain why Ahoi is generating so many early swipes — and rather fewer actual calls — in that the activity sums to (mostly) men looking for women to videochat with and being matched with, er, men.

And frustration, sexual or otherwise, probably isn’t the greatest service to try and sell.

Still, Kröpfl reckons they’ve landed on a winning formula that makes handy reuse of their core videoconferencing tech — letting them growth hack in a totally new category. Swipe right to video date.

“People are disappointed by perfect profiles on Tinder and the reality when meeting people,” he posits. “Wasted time. Especially women do not want to be stalked by men pretending to be someone else. We solve both by a real live conversation where only after a call both can decide to be connected or never see each other again.”

Notably, marketing around the app does talk rather fuzzily about it being a way to “find new pals”.

So while Kröpfl frames the experiment as dating, the reality of the product is more ‘open to options’. Think of it as a bit like Chatroulette — just with slightly more control (in that you have a few seconds to decide if you don’t want to talk to the next in-app match).

The very short countdown timer (you get just five seconds to opt out of a matched video chat) is very likely generating a fair number of unintended calls. Though such high velocity matching might appeal to a certain kind of speed dating addict.

Kröpfl says Ahoi has been seeing up to 20,000 new users added daily. They’re bullishly targeting 3M+ users this year, and already toying with ideas for turning video dates into a money spinner by offering stuff like premium subscriptions and/or video ads. He says the plan is to turn Ahoi into a business “step by step”.

“Everyone loves to make his profile better,” he suggests, floating monetization options down the line. Quality filtering for a fee is another possibility (“everyone is annoyed by being connected to the wrong people”).

They picked India for the test launch because it has a lot of people on the same timezone, a large active mobile user-base and cheap marketing is still “easily possible”. He also says that dating apps seemed popular there, in their experience. (Albeit, the team presumably didn’t have a great deal of relevant experience in this category — given Ahoi is an experiment.)

The intent is also to open Ahoi up to other markets in time too, once they get more accustomed to dealing with all the traffic. Kröpfl notes they had to briefly take the app off the store last month, as they worked on adding more server capability.

“It is very early and we were not prepared for this usage,” he says, admitting they’ve been “struggling to work on early feedbacks”. “We had to make it invisible temporarily — to improve server capacity and stability.”

The contrast in pace of uptake between the stolid (but revenue-generating) world of business meeting-fuelled videoconferencing and catnip consumer dating — which is money-sucking unless or until you can hit a critical mass of usage and get the chance to try applying monetization strategies — does sound like it’s been rather irresistible to Kröpfl.

Asked what it feels like to go from one category to the other he says “crazy, surprised and thrilling”, adding: “It is somehow also frustrating when all the intense b2b work is not as closely interesting to people as Ahoi is. But amazing that it is possible thanks to an extremely focused and experienced team. I love it.” 

TechCrunch’s Manish Singh agreed to brave the local video dating app waters in India to check Ahoi out for us.

He reported back not having seen any women using the app. Which we imagine might be a problem for Ahoi’s longer term prospects — at least in that market.

“I spoke with one guy, who said his friend told him about the app. He said he joined to talk to girls but so far, he is only getting matched with boys,” said Singh. “I saw several names appear on the app, but all of them were boys, too.”

He told us he was left wondering “why people are on these apps, and why they have so much free time on a weekday”.

For ‘people’ it seems safe to conclude that most of Ahoi’s early adopters are men. As the Wall Street Journal reported back in 2018, India’s women are famously cool on dating apps — in that they’re mostly not on them. (We asked Kröpfl about Ahoi’s gender breakdown but he didn’t immediately get back to us on that.)

That market quirk means those female users who are on dating apps tend to get bombarded with messages from all the lonely heart guys with not much to swipe. Which, in turn, could make a video dating app like Ahoi an unattractive prospect to female users — if there’s any risk at all of being inundated with video chats.

And even if there are enough in-app controls to prevent unwelcome inundation by default, women also might not feel like they want their profile to be seen by scores of men simply by merit of being signed up to an app — as seems inevitable if the gender balance is so skewed.

Add to that, if the local perception among single women is that men on dating apps are generally a turn-off — because they’re too eager/forward — then jumping into any unmoderated video chat is probably not the kind of safe space these women are looking for.

No matter, Kröpfl and his team are clearly having far too much fun growth hacking in an unfamiliar, high velocity consumer category to sweat the detail. 

What’s driving Ahoi’s growth right now? “Performance marketing mainly,” he says, pointing also to “viral engagement by sharing and liking profiles”.

Notably, there are a lot of reviews of Ahoi on Google Play already — an unusual amount for such an early app. Many of them appear to be five star write-ups from accounts with European-sounding names and a sometimes robotic grasp of language.

“Eventhough Ahoi has been developed recently, it had high quality for user about calling, making friends and widing your knowlegde [sic],” writes one reviewer with atrocious spelling whose account is attached to the name ‘Dustin Stephens.’

“Talking with like minded people and same favor will creat a fun and interesting atmosphere. Ahoi will manage for you to call like condition above,” says another apparently happy but not entirely clear user, going by the name ‘Elisa Herring’.

There’s also a ‘Madeleine Mcghin’, whose profile uses a photo of the similarly named child who infamously disappeared during a holiday in Portugal in 2007. “My experience with this app was awesome,” this individual writes. “It gives me the option to find new people in every country.”

Another less instantly tasteless five-star reviewer, ‘Stefania Lucchini’, leaves a more surreal form of praise. “A good app and it will bring you extra income, I would say it’s a great opportunity to have AHOI and be a part of it but it’s that it will automatically ban you even if you don’t show it. Marketing. body part, there are still 5 stars for me,” she (or, well, ‘it’) writes.

Among the plethora of dubious five-star reviews a couple of one-star dunks stand out — not least because they come from accounts with names that sound like they might actually come from India. “Waste u r time,” says one of these, who uses the name Prajal Pradhan.

This pithy drop-kick has been given a full 72 thumbs-up by other Play Store users.

from iraidajzsmmwtv https://ift.tt/37lUijC via IFTTT

[endenogatai]

Meet the b2b videoconferencing startup that’s gone crazy for online dating

Founder Andreas Kröpfl has spent almost a decade hard-grafting in the b2b unified communications space, building a videoconferencing business with a patented single-stream system and a claim of no ‘drop-offs’ thanks to “unique low-bandwidth technology”.

His Austria-based startup’s current web-based videoconferencing system, eyeson (née Visocon), which launched in 2018, has had some nice traction since launch, as he tells it, garnering a few million customers and getting a nomination nod as a Gartner Cool Vendor last year.

Eyeson’s website touts ‘no hassle, no, lag, no downloads’ video calls. Pricing options for the target b2b users run the gamut from freelance pro to full-blown enterprise. While the business itself has pulled in a smidge less than $7M in investor funding over the years.

But when TechCrunch came across Kröpfl last December, pitching hard in startup alley at Disrupt Berlin, he was most keen to talk about something else entirely: Video dating.

That’s because last summer the team decided to branch out by building their own video dating app, reusing their core streaming tech for a consumer-focused social experiment. And after a period of internal beta testing — which hopefully wasn’t too awkward within a small (up-til-then) b2b-focused team — they launched an experimental dating app in November in India.

The app, called Ahoi, is now generating 100,000 video calls and 250,000 swipes per day, says Kröpfl.

This is where he breaks into a giggle. The traction has been crazy, he says. 

In the staid world of business videoconferencing you can imagine eyeson’s team eyeing the booming growth of certain consumer-focused video products rather enviously.

Per Kröpfl, they had certainly noticed different desires among their existing users — which pushed them to experiment. “We saw that private people like the simple fun features (GIF reactions, …) and that business meetings were more focused on ‘drop-off’ [rates] and business features,” he tells us. “To improve both in one product was not working any more. So eyeson goes business plus SaaS.”

“Cloning eyeson but make it social,” is how he sums up the experiment. 

Ahoi is very evidently an MVP at this stage. It also looks like a pretty brave and/or foolish (depending on your view) full-bore plunge into video dating, with nothing so sophisticated as a privacy screen to prevent any, er, unwanted blushes… (Whereas safety screening is an element we’ve recently seen elsewhere in the category — see: Blindlee.)

There’s also seemingly no way for users to specify the gender they wish to talk to.

Instead, Ahoi users state interests by selecting emoji stickers — such as a car, cat, tennis racket, games console or globetrotter. And, well, it goes without saying that even if you like cars a lot you’re unlikely to change your sexual orientation over the category.

There are no generic emoji that could be used to specify a sexual interest in men or women. But, er, there’s a horse…

Such limits may explain why Ahoi is generating so many early swipes — and rather fewer actual calls — in that the activity sums to (mostly) men looking for women to videochat with and being matched with, er, men.

And frustration, sexual or otherwise, probably isn’t the greatest service to try and sell.

Still, Kröpfl reckons they’ve landed on a winning formula that makes handy reuse of their core videoconferencing tech — letting them growth hack in a totally new category. Swipe right to video date.

“People are disappointed by perfect profiles on Tinder and the reality when meeting people,” he posits. “Wasted time. Especially women do not want to be stalked by men pretending to be someone else. We solve both by a real live conversation where only after a call both can decide to be connected or never see each other again.”

Notably, marketing around the app does talk rather fuzzily about it being a way to “find new pals”.

So while Kröpfl frames the experiment as dating, the reality of the product is more ‘open to options’. Think of it as a bit like Chatroulette — just with slightly more control (in that you have a few seconds to decide if you don’t want to talk to the next in-app match).

The very short countdown timer (you get just five seconds to opt out of a matched video chat) is very likely generating a fair number of unintended calls. Though such high velocity matching might appeal to a certain kind of speed dating addict.

Kröpfl says Ahoi has been seeing up to 20,000 new users added daily. They’re bullishly targeting 3M+ users this year, and already toying with ideas for turning video dates into a money spinner by offering stuff like premium subscriptions and/or video ads. He says the plan is to turn Ahoi into a business “step by step”.

“Everyone loves to make his profile better,” he suggests, floating monetization options down the line. Quality filtering for a fee is another possibility (“everyone is annoyed by being connected to the wrong people”).

They picked India for the test launch because it has a lot of people on the same timezone, a large active mobile user-base and cheap marketing is still “easily possible”. He also says that dating apps seemed popular there, in their experience. (Albeit, the team presumably didn’t have a great deal of relevant experience in this category — given Ahoi is an experiment.)

The intent is also to open Ahoi up to other markets in time too, once they get more accustomed to dealing with all the traffic. Kröpfl notes they had to briefly take the app off the store last month, as they worked on adding more server capability.

“It is very early and we were not prepared for this usage,” he says, admitting they’ve been “struggling to work on early feedbacks”. “We had to make it invisible temporarily — to improve server capacity and stability.”

The contrast in pace of uptake between the stolid (but revenue-generating) world of business meeting-fuelled videoconferencing and catnip consumer dating — which is money-sucking unless or until you can hit a critical mass of usage and get the chance to try applying monetization strategies — does sound like it’s been rather irresistible to Kröpfl.

Asked what it feels like to go from one category to the other he says “crazy, surprised and thrilling”, adding: “It is somehow also frustrating when all the intense b2b work is not as closely interesting to people as Ahoi is. But amazing that it is possible thanks to an extremely focused and experienced team. I love it.” 

TechCrunch’s Manish Singh agreed to brave the local video dating app waters in India to check Ahoi out for us.

He reported back not having seen any women using the app. Which we imagine might be a problem for Ahoi’s longer term prospects — at least in that market.

“I spoke with one guy, who said his friend told him about the app. He said he joined to talk to girls but so far, he is only getting matched with boys,” said Singh. “I saw several names appear on the app, but all of them were boys, too.”

He told us he was left wondering “why people are on these apps, and why they have so much free time on a weekday”.

For ‘people’ it seems safe to conclude that most of Ahoi’s early adopters are men. As the Wall Street Journal reported back in 2018, India’s women are famously cool on dating apps — in that they’re mostly not on them. (We asked Kröpfl about Ahoi’s gender breakdown but he didn’t immediately get back to us on that.)

That market quirk means those female users who are on dating apps tend to get bombarded with messages from all the lonely heart guys with not much to swipe. Which, in turn, could make a video dating app like Ahoi an unattractive prospect to female users — if there’s any risk at all of being inundated with video chats.

And even if there are enough in-app controls to prevent unwelcome inundation by default, women also might not feel like they want their profile to be seen by scores of men simply by merit of being signed up to an app — as seems inevitable if the gender balance is so skewed.

Add to that, if the local perception among single women is that men on dating apps are generally a turn-off — because they’re too eager/forward — then jumping into any unmoderated video chat is probably not the kind of safe space these women are looking for.

No matter, Kröpfl and his team are clearly having far too much fun growth hacking in an unfamiliar, high velocity consumer category to sweat the detail. 

What’s driving Ahoi’s growth right now? “Performance marketing mainly,” he says, pointing also to “viral engagement by sharing and liking profiles”.

Notably, there are a lot of reviews of Ahoi on Google Play already — an unusual amount for such an early app. Many of them appear to be five star write-ups from accounts with European-sounding names and a sometimes robotic grasp of language.

“Eventhough Ahoi has been developed recently, it had high quality for user about calling, making friends and widing your knowlegde [sic],” writes one reviewer with atrocious spelling whose account is attached to the name ‘Dustin Stephens.’

“Talking with like minded people and same favor will creat a fun and interesting atmosphere. Ahoi will manage for you to call like condition above,” says another apparently happy but not entirely clear user, going by the name ‘Elisa Herring’.

There’s also a ‘Madeleine Mcghin’, whose profile uses a photo of the similarly named child who infamously disappeared during a holiday in Portugal in 2007. “My experience with this app was awesome,” this individual writes. “It gives me the option to find new people in every country.”

Another less instantly tasteless five-star reviewer, ‘Stefania Lucchini’, leaves a more surreal form of praise. “A good app and it will bring you extra income, I would say it’s a great opportunity to have AHOI and be a part of it but it’s that it will automatically ban you even if you don’t show it. Marketing. body part, there are still 5 stars for me,” she (or, well, ‘it’) writes.

Among the plethora of dubious five-star reviews a couple of one-star dunks stand out — not least because they come from accounts with names that sound like they might actually come from India. “Waste u r time,” says one of these, who uses the name Prajal Pradhan.

This pithy drop-kick has been given a full 72 thumbs-up by other Play Store users.

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