#API development experts

[webeside101]

API Solutions by Webeside Technology: Connecting Your Business to Success

Webeside Technology provides advanced API integration solutions to help businesses streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and foster growth. Our team of experts delivers customized, seamless API connections that improve workflows and drive innovation. Whether you're looking to integrate new platforms or optimize existing systems, we offer reliable, scalable solutions tailored to your needs. Trust Webeside Technology to connect your business to success with powerful API integrations that unlock new opportunities and boost productivity.

[buildoffshore44]

Hire Kajabi Developers to Take Your Business Online with Confidence

Ready to bring your business online? Our experienced Kajabi developers help you launch confidently with professional designs and seamless functionality. As a Kajabi website expert, we specialize in building high-converting online courses, membership sites, and digital storefronts. We tailor every element to match your brand, ensuring a smooth and impactful user experience. Whether you're starting from scratch or upgrading your current site, we provide the expertise you need to succeed online. Leap into digital business with a reliable team you can trust.

[umanologicinc]

How to Integrate ChatGPT into Your Application: A Step-by-Step Guide

In today’s digital era, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a crucial part of business solutions. One of the most impactful AI tools is ChatGPT – a powerful language model created by OpenAI that can simulate human-like conversations. Integrating ChatGPT into your application can revolutionize your business by automating customer support, enhancing user engagement, and providing personalized interactions.

This guide will walk you through the process of integrating ChatGPT into your application step by step. Whether you're an app developer, a business owner, or someone interested in AI technologies, this guide will provide the information you need to get started.

1 . Understand Your Requirements Before you dive into integrating ChatGPT, it’s essential to define the goals you want to achieve with AI in your application. Do you want to automate customer service, create virtual assistants, or enable advanced conversational interfaces? Understanding your objectives will help determine how you should use ChatGPT within your application.

If you're unsure about which AI features will benefit your business most, consulting with experts can help. Umano Logic, based in Canada, specializes in understanding client needs and offering the right ChatGPT integration solutions for your business.

2 . Understand Your Requirements

Before jumping into integrating ChatGPT, it is vital to establish the purpose you intend to fulfill with AI within your application. Do you wish to automate customer support, develop virtual assistants, or facilitate sophisticated conversational interfaces? Knowing your objectives will assist in determining how to utilize ChatGPT within your application.

If you're not sure which AI capabilities will most help your business, talking to experts can. Umano Logic, a Canadian company, is experienced at getting to know client needs and providing the appropriate ChatGPT integration solutions for your business. 3 . Set Up the API OpenAI offers a friendly API to bring ChatGPT into your program. The API provides access to strong language models and lets you customize the AI to your individual requirements.

Following is a step-by-step summary of what needs to be done:

Get your API key from OpenAI: Register on OpenAI and grab your API key.

Install libraries: Depending upon your programming language, install OpenAI client libraries.

Configure the API: Create parameters for creating AI responses from user input.

The technical implementation may look daunting, but since we have the seasoned team of Umano Logic, we can assist you with each step of the way and make sure that the integration is completely smooth and seamless.

4 . Design the User Interface

With the backend installed, the second step is designing how the users will interact with the ChatGPT. The user interface (UI) should be intuitive and user-friendly with simple, understandable options for the users to begin chatting with the AI.

Remember the following when designing the UI:

User-friendly chat window

Quick response buttons

Personalized interaction based on user input

At Umano Logic, we can assist you in creating a clean, minimal, and efficient UI that maximizes the user experience and makes using AI seamless. 5 . Train and Customize ChatGPT

Although ChatGPT comes with pre-trained models, you might want to fine-tune it for your specific business needs. You can train the model to understand your products, services, and industry-specific terminology. This ensures that users get the most relevant answers when they interact with the AI.

Customizing ChatGPT can greatly improve the quality of the interactions and make the AI feel more natural and intuitive. Umano Logic offers training and customization services to make sure the AI understands your business and communicates effectively with users.

6 . Test and Refine

Once everything is set up, it's important to test the integration thoroughly. Test the ChatGPT interactions, making sure the responses are accurate, relevant, and helpful. The feedback from users will be invaluable in refining and improving the AI system.

At Umano Logic, we offer comprehensive testing services to ensure that your ChatGPT integration works flawlessly. Our experts will help you monitor the system and make improvements to keep the AI model in top shape.

7. Monitor and Improve

After launching the integration, it’s essential to continuously monitor how the AI performs. Regular monitoring helps identify any issues early, while also providing insights into how users are interacting with ChatGPT. You can use this information to improve responses and adapt the AI to better suit your business goals.

Conclusion:

Adding ChatGPT to your application isn't a trend it's a wise step toward business modernisation and improved customer experiences. From response automation to personalised assistance, ChatGPT can enable you to serve users more professionally and efficiently. The process might look technical, but if guided correctly, it's an easy task.

At Umano Logic, we're experts at ensuring businesses everywhere in Canada can seamlessly integrate AI tools such as ChatGPT into their sites. Whether you're a new startup looking to innovate with new technology or a long-established business wanting to take your customer care to the next level, our staff is here to guide you through each stage, from planning and installation to testing and beyond.

If you're prepared to introduce AI into your app and remain ahead of the digital curve, call Umano Logic today. Let's craft intelligent, beneficial, and forward-thinking solutions collectively.

Visit Now to learn more about ChatGPT Integration

visit:: https://www.umanologic.ca/chatgpt-integration-service-edmonton

[bizople]

Odoo Construction ERP Software - Optimize and Streamline Construction Management Process

The construction industry has seen a revolution thanks to Odoo ERP, which provides a complete solution for streamlining and optimizing intricate management procedures. Effective coordination is a crucial difficulty in construction projects because of the numerous players, complex workflows, and copious documentation involved. An all-in-one solution that addresses the full project lifecycle, from initial bidding to project completion, is offered by Odoo's modular approach. 

Odoo helps construction organizations improve collaboration, guarantee on-time project delivery, and stay within budget by integrating essential activities including project planning, procurement, inventory, human resources, and accounting. An Odoo expert company can further assist in tailoring the system to meet specific needs. This blog article examines how Odoo ERP can transform construction management by resolving important issues and opening up new opportunities.

What is an Odoo ERP Construction Management Software

Odoo ERP Construction Management Software is a customized solution made to combine and optimize a number of construction company activities. It makes use of Odoo's modular architecture to provide a range of applications tailored to the particular requirements of the construction sector. 

From initial planning and bidding to execution, resource allocation, and final completion, this program offers a comprehensive platform for managing the full project lifecycle. Odoo ERP facilitates stakeholder cooperation, increases project visibility, and guarantees effective resource use by centralizing data and procedures. An Odoo development company can help construction companies to make data-driven decisions, optimize operations, and increase profitability by efficiently managing costs, schedules, and resources.

Features of Optimizing Odoo For Your Construction Management System

You may maximize a number of Odoo features to improve your construction management system. Odoo customization services may increase productivity, simplify operations, and take greater control of your building processes by customizing Odoo to fit the unique requirements of your projects. Odoo's adaptability enables modification and the incorporation of certain tools, guaranteeing that every facet of your projects is efficiently managed.

Project Management: Plan, execute, and monitor projects with detailed timelines and task assignments, using Gantt charts and Kanban views for visual progress tracking.

Procurement Management: Automate purchasing, manage supplier contracts, generate purchase orders, and track deliveries to ensure materials are available when needed.

Inventory Management: Track stock levels in real-time, reducing material shortages and ensuring smooth project execution with advanced warehouse management.

Financial Management: Manage budgeting, cost control, billing, and payments with a comprehensive suite of accounting tools, ensuring accurate financial recording.

Human Resources: Manage employee records, track time and attendance, process payroll, and ensure compliance with labor laws for a large workforce.

Estimating: Create Bills of Quantities (BOQs) with a cost calculation engine that integrates with supplier databases for real-time pricing updates.

Reporting and Analytics: Generate real-time reports and analytics to monitor project performance, identify bottlenecks, and make data-driven decisions.

Major Challenges in Construction Management that Hinder Project Growth

Numerous obstacles that construction management must overcome might impede the progress of a project, especially in the absence of an integrated ERP system like Odoo. An Odoo integrator can help mitigate delays, cost overruns, and decreased profitability that can result from ineffective procedures, poor communication, and inadequate resource management.

Lack of Real-Time Visibility: Difficulty in tracking project progress and material availability in real-time, leading to delays and miscommunication.

Inefficient Resource Allocation: Poor coordination of resources, resulting in underutilization or shortages, and increased project costs.

Inaccurate Cost Estimation: Inability to accurately estimate project costs, leading to budget overruns and reduced profitability.

Poor Communication: Lack of seamless communication between project teams, subcontractors, and suppliers, causing misunderstandings and delays.

Inventory Management Issues: Inadequate tracking of inventory, leading to material shortages, overstocking, and increased waste.

Inadequate Document Control: Difficulty in managing and organizing project-related documents, resulting in errors and compliance issues.

Resolving these issues is essential to enhancing project results and encouraging long-term expansion in the building sector. Odoo implementation services can help mitigate these challenges. Businesses frequently find it difficult to keep control and visibility over their operations in the absence of a strong system to handle these complexities.

Important Odoo ERP Modules for Construction Management Industry Success

Numerous modules provided by Odoo ERP are necessary for success in the construction management sector. These modules provide you better control over project funds and resources, streamline operations, and enhance communication. 

Key Odoo ERP Modules for Construction ManagementProject: Manages project timelines, tasks, and resources, providing real-time visibility into project status and progress.

Accounting: Handles financial transactions, budgeting, invoicing, and reporting, ensuring accurate financial management.

Inventory: Tracks material stock levels, manages procurement, and optimizes warehouse operations to prevent shortages and overstocking.

Sales: Manages customer relationships, sales orders, and contracts, streamlining the sales process.

Purchase: Automates the purchasing process, manages supplier contracts, and tracks deliveries.

Human Resources: Manages employee records, time and attendance, payroll, and compliance.

Quality: Ensures quality control throughout the project lifecycle, managing inspections, tests, and certifications.

Construction organizations may increase productivity, cut expenses, and guarantee projects are finished on schedule and under budget by integrating these modules. Because Odoo is modular, businesses may choose and use the modules that best suit their requirements, developing a customized solution for their particular problems.

Future Trends in Odoo ERP Solutions for Modern Construction Management Software

Odoo ERP systems are adjusting to meet new opportunities and challenges as the construction sector undergoes constant change. Odoo mobile applications & Future developments in Odoo ERP for construction management will center on using cutting-edge technologies to boost productivity, facilitate better decision-making, and stimulate creativity.

AI-Powered Analytics: Utilizing artificial intelligence to analyze project data, predict potential risks, and optimize resource allocation for better decision-making.

IoT Integration: Connecting IoT devices to monitor equipment performance, track material usage, and improve site safety through real-time data collection and analysis.

BIM Integration: Integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) software with Odoo ERP to enhance project visualization, improve collaboration, and reduce design errors.

Mobile Accessibility: Enhancing mobile capabilities to allow project managers and field workers to access real-time data, update tasks, and communicate seamlessly from any location.

Cloud-Based Solutions: Increasing adoption of cloud-based Odoo ERP solutions to improve scalability, reduce IT infrastructure costs, and enable remote access to project data.

Sustainable Practices: Incorporating sustainability metrics into Odoo ERP to track environmental impact, manage green building materials, and promote eco-friendly construction practices. Construction organizations may maintain their competitiveness, streamline their processes, and attain sustainable growth by adopting these trends. Because Odoo is open-source, it can be updated and improved continuously, keeping the platform at the forefront of technical developments in the construction sector.

Conclusion 

A strong and adaptable tool for streamlining and optimizing construction management procedures is Odoo Construction ERP Software. Odoo facilitates collaboration, increases productivity, and guarantees that projects are finished on schedule and under budget by combining a number of activities, from financial management to project planning. Construction businesses may overcome obstacles and achieve sustainable growth in a changing sector by embracing Odoo.

[wingedcandywasteland]

Hire Node JS Developer

Hire Node.js Developer for Scalable and High-Performance Web Solutions

In today’s competitive digital landscape, businesses need robust, scalable, and efficient solutions to keep up with the demands of modern users. Node.js has emerged as a game-changing JavaScript runtime environment, enabling developers to create highly scalable, high-performance applications. If you’re looking to hire Node.js developers to bring your ideas to life, Balkrushna Technologies is here to help.

Our expert Node.js developers specialize in building dynamic and scalable web applications that meet the diverse needs of businesses worldwide. Whether you're looking to develop a real-time application, a high-traffic API, or a full-scale enterprise solution, our team has the expertise and experience to deliver results that exceed your expectations.

Why Hire Node.js Developer from Balkrushna Technologies?

At Balkrushna Technologies, we offer top-tier Node.js development services with a focus on delivering fast, scalable, and secure web applications. Here’s why you should consider hiring our Node.js developers:

Expertise and ExperienceOur team of skilled Node.js developers has years of experience working on projects ranging from simple applications to complex, large-scale systems. We leverage the power of Node.js to deliver web applications that perform seamlessly, even under heavy traffic.

Scalable Solutions for Your BusinessNode.js is known for its ability to handle multiple simultaneous connections efficiently. Our developers use this to build applications that can easily scale as your business grows, ensuring that your application can handle more users, more data, and more complexity without compromising performance.

Rapid Development and DeploymentWith our agile development process, we ensure faster time-to-market for your Node.js projects. Our developers are adept at using various Node.js frameworks (like Express.js and Koa.js) to streamline development, ensuring that you get a fully functional product in less time.

Cross-Platform CompatibilityWhether you need to build a web application or mobile backend, Node.js is highly flexible, allowing for the development of applications that run across different platforms. We create cross-platform solutions that are efficient, responsive, and reliable.

Full-Stack DevelopmentAt Balkrushna Technologies, we offer full-stack development services using Node.js for both frontend and backend development. This ensures a seamless and unified development experience, with faster integration and better performance.

Our Node.js Development Services

Our Node.js development services cover a wide range of business needs, from small-scale projects to enterprise-level solutions:

Custom Node.js Web DevelopmentWe build custom, high-performance web applications tailored to meet your specific business requirements. Whether you need a content management system, a custom e-commerce platform, or a business-critical web app, our developers will create a solution that fits your needs.

Real-Time ApplicationsNode.js excels in real-time web apps, such as chat applications, collaborative tools, and gaming platforms. We specialize in building real-time solutions that are interactive, efficient, and user-friendly.

API Development and IntegrationWith Node.js, we create fast and scalable RESTful APIs that integrate with third-party services and systems, enabling you to extend the functionality of your application and provide seamless experiences for your users.

Node.js Migration ServicesIf you are looking to migrate your existing application to Node.js for improved scalability and performance, our team can help. We ensure a smooth migration process, with minimal downtime and maximum efficiency.

Ongoing Maintenance and SupportPost-launch, we offer comprehensive maintenance and support services to ensure that your Node.js applications continue to run smoothly and are always up-to-date with the latest security patches and performance improvements.

Benefits of Hiring Node.js Developers from Balkrushna Technologies

Cost-Effective Solutions: Get high-quality Node.js development services at competitive rates, providing great value for your investment.

Global Reach: We serve clients across India, the USA, and the UK, ensuring that your project is handled with a global perspective.

Transparent Communication: We believe in clear, consistent communication, ensuring that you are always in the loop with project progress and milestones.

Tailored Solutions: Every business is unique, and we develop custom Node.js applications that are aligned with your specific business goals and objectives.

Focus on Security: We adhere to best practices in Node.js development, implementing strong security protocols to safeguard your applications from vulnerabilities.

How to Hire Node.js Developers from Balkrushna Technologies?

Hiring Node.js developers at Balkrushna is simple and hassle-free. Here’s how you can get started:

Share Your Project Requirements: Tell us about your project, its goals, and your technical requirements.

Select Your Developer: Based on your project needs, we’ll match you with a dedicated Node.js developer who is best suited for the job.

Start Development: Once the developer is onboard, the project kicks off, and we follow an agile process for quick delivery.

Post-Launch Support: We ensure continuous support and maintenance for your Node.js application to keep it up-to-date and secure.

FAQs About Hiring Node.js Developers

1. What makes Node.js a good choice for my project?

Node.js is ideal for real-time applications, high-traffic APIs, and applications requiring fast data processing. It allows for fast, scalable development with a non-blocking architecture that ensures high performance even under heavy loads.

2. Can I hire Node.js developers on a full-time or part-time basis?

Yes, you can hire our Node.js developers on a full-time, part-time, or hourly basis depending on your project requirements.

3. How do I communicate with my hired Node.js developer?

You’ll have direct communication with your developer through emails, project management tools, and scheduled meetings to ensure seamless collaboration.

4. Can you handle large-scale projects with Node.js?

Absolutely! Our developers have experience working on large-scale applications and are well-equipped to handle complex, high-performance projects.

Contact Us Today to Hire Node.js Developers

Are you ready to take your web application to the next level with Node.js? At Balkrushna Technologies, we’re ready to help you build scalable, high-performance web applications that grow with your business.

Visit: https://balkrushna.com/hire-nodejs-developers Email: info@balkrushna.com Phone: +91-8320022319

[connectinfosofttech]

Custom REST API Development Solutions | Connect Infosoft

Connect Infosoft offers top-tier REST API development services, catering to diverse business needs. Our seasoned developers excel in crafting robust APIs that power web and mobile applications, ensuring seamless communication between various systems. We specialize in creating secure, scalable, and high-performance REST APIs that adhere to industry standards and best practices. Whether you need API development from scratch, API integration, or API maintenance services, we have the expertise to deliver tailored solutions. Trust Connect Infosoft for cutting-edge REST API development that enhances your digital ecosystem.

[d3teck]

How to Improve the User Experience on an E-Commerce Site

Creating a world-class user experience for visitors to your e-commerce site is not just a luxury in the modern digital age of rising online shopping, it is also a need. Your ability to comprehend your audience and successfully optimize your website will determine the success of your e-commerce business. Using phrases like website traffic analysis, e-commerce software, and e-commerce marketing services, we'll discuss five critical techniques in this blog post to improve the user experience on your e-commerce site.

Know your client

Understanding your target demographic in-depth is one of the key aspects in optimising the user experience on your e-commerce site. An essential tool in this case is website traffic analysis. Use analytics to learn more about the demographics, behaviour, and preferences of your visitors. You may efficiently modify your website using this information to fit their demands. It's about giving your users a tailored experience that they enjoy. The sales and total conversion rate from the website will be very low if it is not tailored to the preferences and interests of the target audience. Be careful to take into account the particular requirements of your clients.

READ MORE

[dipanshutechsolutions]

Laravel API development services|Laravel e-commerce development company|Laravel web app development agency|Laravel migration and upgrade services|Laravel performance optimization services

Project Planning and Architecture:

Define the project scope, objectives, and requirements.

Choose an appropriate architecture pattern (e.g., MVC) for your application.

Plan the database schema and relationships.

Laravel Installation and Setup:

Install Laravel using Composer.

Configure the environment and database settings in the .env file.

Authentication and Authorization:

Implement user authentication and authorization using Laravel's built-in tools or packages like Laravel Passport or Laravel Breeze.

Database Design and Migration:

Define your database schema using Laravel's migration and schema builder.

Use Eloquent ORM for interacting with the database.

[ourjobagency]

Most software product development companies would like to use the WSO2 platform to design, deploy, and manage APIs. If youngsters choose WSO2 platform job opportunities, they can get a bright future.

[umanologicinc]

How to Integrate ChatGPT into Your Application: A Step-by-Step Guide

In today’s digital era, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a crucial part of business solutions. One of the most impactful AI tools is ChatGPT – a powerful language model created by OpenAI that can simulate human-like conversations. Integrating ChatGPT into your application can revolutionize your business by automating customer support, enhancing user engagement, and providing personalized interactions.

Visit: https://www.umanologic.ca/chatgpt-integration-service-edmonton

[exeggcute]

the great reddit API meltdown of '23, or: this was always bound to happen

there's a lot of press about what's going on with reddit right now (app shutdowns, subreddit blackouts, the CEO continually putting his foot in his mouth), but I haven't seen as much stuff talking about how reddit got into this situation to begin with. so as a certified non-expert and Context Enjoyer I thought it might be helpful to lay things out as I understand them—a high-level view, surveying the whole landscape—in the wonderful world of startups, IPOs, and extremely angry users.

disclaimer that I am not a founder or VC (lmao), have yet to work at a company with a successful IPO, and am not a reddit employee or third-party reddit developer or even a subreddit moderator. I do work at a startup, know my way around an API or two, and have spent twelve regrettable years on reddit itself. which is to say that I make no promises of infallibility, but I hope you'll at least find all this interesting.

profit now or profit later

before you can really get into reddit as reddit, it helps to know a bit about startups (of which reddit is one). and before I launch into that, let me share my Three Types Of Websites framework, which is basically just a mental model about financial incentives that's helped me contextualize some of this stuff.

(1) website/software that does not exist to make money: relatively rare, for a variety of reasons, among them that it costs money to build and maintain a website in the first place. wikipedia is the evergreen example, although even wikipedia's been subject to criticism for how the wikimedia foundation pays out its employees and all that fun nonprofit stuff. what's important here is that even when making money is not the goal, money itself is still a factor, whether it's solicited via donations or it's just one guy paying out of pocket to host a hobby site. but websites in this category do, generally, offer free, no-strings-attached experiences to their users.

(I do want push back against the retrospective nostalgia of "everything on the internet used to be this way" because I don't think that was ever really true—look at AOL, the dotcom boom, the rise of banner ads. I distinctly remember that neopets had multiple corporate sponsors, including a cookie crisp-themed flash game. yahoo bought geocities for $3.6 billion; money's always been trading hands, obvious or not. it's indisputable that the internet is simply different now than it was ten or twenty years ago, and that monetization models themselves have largely changed as well (I have thoughts about this as it relates to web 1.0 vs web 2.0 and their associated costs/scale/etc.), but I think the only time people weren't trying to squeeze the internet for all the dimes it can offer was when the internet was first conceived as a tool for national defense.)

(2) website/software that exists to make money now: the type that requires the least explanation. mostly non-startup apps and services, including any random ecommerce storefront, mobile apps that cost three bucks to download, an MMO with a recurring subscription, or even a news website that runs banner ads and/or offers paid subscriptions. in most (but not all) cases, the "make money now" part is obvious, so these things don't feel free to us as users, even to the extent that they might have watered-down free versions or limited access free trials. no one's shocked when WoW offers another paid expansion packs because WoW's been around for two decades and has explicitly been trying to make money that whole time.

(3) website/software that exists to make money later: this is the fun one, and more common than you'd think. "make money later" is more or less the entire startup business model—I'll get into that in the next section—and is deployed with the expectation that you will make money at some point, but not always by means as obvious as "selling WoW expansions for forty bucks a pop."

companies in this category tend to have two closely entwined characteristics: they prioritize growth above all else, regardless of whether this growth is profitable in any way (now, or sometimes, ever), and they do this by offering users really cool and awesome shit at little to no cost (or, if not for free, then at least at a significant loss to the company).

so from a user perspective, these things either seem free or far cheaper than their competitors. but of course websites and software and apps and [blank]-as-a-service tools cost money to build and maintain, and that money has to come from somewhere, and the people supplying that money, generally, expect to get it back...

just not immediately.

startups, VCs, IPOs, and you

here's the extremely condensed "did NOT go to harvard business school" version of how a startup works:

(1) you have a cool idea.

(2) you convince some venture capitalists (also known as VCs) that your idea is cool. if they see the potential in what you're pitching, they'll give you money in exchange for partial ownership of your company—which means that if/when the company starts trading its stock publicly, these investors will own X numbers of shares that they can sell at any time. in other words, you get free money now (and you'll likely seek multiple "rounds" of investors over the years to sustain your company), but with the explicit expectations that these investors will get their payoff later, assuming you don't crash and burn before that happens.

during this phase, you want to do anything in your power to make your company appealing to investors so you can attract more of them and raise funds as needed. because you are definitely not bringing in the necessary revenue to offset operating costs by yourself.

it's also worth nothing that this is less about projecting the long-term profitability of your company than it's about its perceived profitability—i.e., VCs want to put their money behind a company that other people will also have confidence in, because that's what makes stock valuable, and VCs are in it for stock prices.

(3) there are two non-exclusive win conditions for your startup: you can get acquired, and you can have an IPO (also referred to as "going public"). these are often called "exit scenarios" and they benefit VCs and founders, as well as some employees. it's also possible for a company to get acquired, possibly even more than once, and then later go public.

acquisition: sell the whole damn thing to someone else. there are a million ways this can happen, some better than others, but in many cases this means anyone with ownership of the company (which includes both investors and employees who hold stock options) get their stock bought out by the acquiring company and end up with cash in hand. in varying amounts, of course. sometimes the founders walk away, sometimes the employees get laid off, but not always.

IPO: short for "initial public offering," this is when the company starts trading its stocks publicly, which means anyone who wants to can start buying that company's stock, which really means that VCs (and employees with stock options) can turn that hypothetical money into real money by selling their company stock to interested buyers.

drawing from that, companies don't go for an IPO until they think their stock will actually be worth something (or else what's the point?)—specifically, worth more than the amount of money that investors poured into it. The Powers That Be will speculate about a company's IPO potential way ahead of time, which is where you'll hear stuff about companies who have an estimated IPO evaluation of (to pull a completely random example) $10B. actually I lied, that was not a random example, that was reddit's valuation back in 2021 lol. but a valuation is basically just "how much will people be interested in our stock?"

as such, in the time leading up to an IPO, it's really really important to do everything you can to make your company seem like a good investment (which is how you get stock prices up), usually by making the company's numbers look good. but! if you plan on cashing out, the long-term effects of your decisions aren't top of mind here. remember, the industry lingo is "exit scenario."

if all of this seems like a good short-term strategy for companies and their VCs, but an unsustainable model for anyone who's buying those stocks during the IPO, that's because it often is.

also worth noting that it's possible for a company to be technically unprofitable as a business (meaning their costs outstrip their revenue) and still trade enormously well on the stock market; uber is the perennial example of this. to the people who make money solely off of buying and selling stock, it literally does not matter that the actual rideshare model isn't netting any income—people think the stock is valuable, so it's valuable.

this is also why, for example, elon musk is richer than god: if he were only the CEO of tesla, the money he'd make from selling mediocre cars would be (comparatively, lol) minimal. but he's also one of tesla's angel investors, which means he holds a shitload of tesla stock, and tesla's stock has performed well since their IPO a decade ago (despite recent dips)—even if tesla itself has never been a huge moneymaker, public faith in the company's eventual success has kept them trading at high levels. granted, this also means most of musk's wealth is hypothetical and not liquid; if TSLA dropped to nothing, so would the value of all the stock he holds (and his net work with it).

what's an API, anyway?

to move in an entirely different direction: we can't get into reddit's API debacle without understanding what an API itself is.

an API (short for "application programming interface," not that it really matters) is a series of code instructions that independent developers can use to plug their shit into someone else's shit. like a series of tin cans on strings between two kids' treehouses, but for sending and receiving data.

APIs work by yoinking data directly from a company's servers instead of displaying anything visually to users. so I could use reddit's API to build my own app that takes the day's top r/AITA post and transcribes it into pig latin: my app is a bunch of lines of code, and some of those lines of code fetch data from reddit (and then transcribe that data into pig latin), and then my app displays the content to anyone who wants to see it, not reddit itself. as far as reddit is concerned, no additional human beings laid eyeballs on that r/AITA post, and reddit never had a chance to serve ads alongside the pig-latinized content in my app. (put a pin in this part—it'll be relevant later.)

but at its core, an API is really a type of protocol, which encompasses a broad category of formats and business models and so on. some APIs are completely free to use, like how anyone can build a discord bot (but you still have to host it yourself). some companies offer free APIs to third-party developers can build their own plugins, and then the company and the third-party dev split the profit on those plugins. some APIs have a free tier for hobbyists and a paid tier for big professional projects (like every weather API ever, lol). some APIs are strictly paid services because the API itself is the company's core offering.

reddit's financial foundations

okay thanks for sticking with me. I promise we're almost ready to be almost ready to talk about the current backlash.

reddit has always been a startup's startup from day one: its founders created the site after attending a startup incubator (which is basically a summer camp run by VCs) with the successful goal of creating a financially successful site. backed by that delicious y combinator money, reddit got acquired by conde nast only a year or two after its creation, which netted its founders a couple million each. this was back in like, 2006 by the way. in the time since that acquisition, reddit's gone through a bunch of additional funding rounds, including from big-name investors like a16z, peter thiel (yes, that guy), sam altman (yes, also that guy), sequoia, fidelity, and tencent. crunchbase says that they've raised a total of $1.3B in investor backing.

in all this time, reddit has never been a public company, or, strictly speaking, profitable.

APIs and third-party apps

reddit has offered free API access for basically as long as it's had a public API—remember, as a "make money later" company, their primary goal is growth, which means attracting as many users as possible to the platform. so letting anyone build an app or widget is (or really, was) in line with that goal.

as such, third-party reddit apps have been around forever. by third-party apps, I mean apps that use the reddit API to display actual reddit content in an unofficial wrapper. iirc reddit didn't even have an official mobile app until semi-recently, so many of these third-party mobile apps in particular just sprung up to meet an unmet need, and they've kept a small but dedicated userbase ever since. some people also prefer the user experience of the unofficial apps, especially since they offer extra settings to customize what you're seeing and few to no ads (and any ads these apps do display are to the benefit of the third-party developers, not reddit itself.)

(let me add this preemptively: one solution I've seen proposed to the paid API backlash is that reddit should have third-party developers display reddit's ads in those third-party apps, but this isn't really possible or advisable due to boring adtech reasons I won't inflict on you here. source: just trust me bro)

in addition to mobile apps, there are also third-party tools that don’t replace the Official Reddit Viewing Experience but do offer auxiliary features like being able to mass-delete your post history, tools that make the site more accessible to people who use screen readers, and tools that help moderators of subreddits moderate more easily. not to mention a small army of reddit bots like u/AutoWikibot or u/RemindMebot (and then the bots that tally the number of people who reply to bot comments with “good bot” or “bad bot).

the number of people who use third-party apps is relatively small, but they arguably comprise some of reddit’s most dedicated users, which means that third-party apps are important to the people who keep reddit running and the people who supply reddit with high-quality content.

unpaid moderators and user-generated content

so reddit is sort of two things: reddit is a platform, but it’s also a community.

the platform is all the unsexy (or, if you like python, sexy) stuff under the hood that actually makes the damn thing work. this is what the company spends money building and maintaining and "owns." the community is all the stuff that happens on the platform: posts, people, petty squabbles. so the platform is where the content lives, but ultimately the content is the reason people use reddit—no one’s like “yeah, I spend time on here because the backend framework really impressed me."

and all of this content is supplied by users, which is not unique among social media platforms, but the content is also managed by users, which is. paid employees do not govern subreddits; unpaid volunteers do. and moderation is the only thing that keeps reddit even remotely tolerable—without someone to remove spam, ban annoying users, and (god willing) enforce rules against abuse and hate speech, a subreddit loses its appeal and therefore its users. not dissimilar to the situation we’re seeing play out at twitter, except at twitter it was the loss of paid moderators;  reddit is arguably in a more precarious position because they could lose this unpaid labor at any moment, and as an already-unprofitable company they absolutely cannot afford to implement paid labor as a substitute.

oh yeah? spell "IPO" backwards

so here we are, June 2023, and reddit is licking its lips in anticipation of a long-fabled IPO. which means it’s time to start fluffing themselves up for investors by cutting costs (yay, layoffs!) and seeking new avenues of profit, however small.

this brings us to the current controversy: reddit announced a new API pricing plan that more or less prevents anyone from using it for free.

from reddit's perspective, the ostensible benefits of charging for API access are twofold: first, there's direct profit to be made off of the developers who (may or may not) pay several thousand dollars a month to use it, and second, cutting off unsanctioned third-party mobile apps (possibly) funnels those apps' users back into the official reddit mobile app. and since users on third-party apps reap the benefit of reddit's site architecture (and hosting, and development, and all the other expenses the site itself incurs) without “earning” money for reddit by generating ad impressions, there’s a financial incentive at work here: even if only a small percentage of people use third-party apps, getting them to use the official app instead translates to increased ad revenue, however marginal.

(also worth mentioning that chatGPT and other LLMs were trained via tools that used reddit's API to scrape post and content data, and now that openAI is reaping the profits of that training without giving reddit any kickbacks, reddit probably wants to prevent repeats of this from happening in the future. if you want to train the next LLM, it's gonna cost you.)

of course, these changes only benefit reddit if they actually increase the company’s revenue and perceived value/growth—which is hard to do when your users (who are also the people who supply the content for other users to engage with, who are also the people who moderate your communities and make them fun to participate in) get really fucking pissed and threaten to walk.

pricing shenanigans

under the new API pricing plan, third-party developers are suddenly facing steep costs to maintain the apps and tools they’ve built.

most paid APIs are priced by volume: basically, the more data you send and receive, the more money it costs. so if your third-party app has a lot of users, you’ll have to make more API requests to fetch content for those users, and your app becomes more expensive to maintain. (this isn’t an issue if the tool you’re building also turns a profit, but most third-party reddit apps make little, if any, money.)

which is why, even though third-party apps capture a relatively small portion of reddit’s users, the developer of a popular third-party app called apollo recently learned that it would cost them about $20 million a year to keep the app running. and apollo actually offers some paid features (for extra in-app features independent of what reddit offers), but nowhere near enough to break even on those API costs.

so apollo, any many apps like it, were suddenly unable to keep their doors open under the new API pricing model and announced that they'd be forced to shut down.

backlash, blackout

plenty has been said already about the current subreddit blackouts—in like, official news outlets and everything—so this might be the least interesting section of my whole post lol. the short version is that enough redditors got pissed enough that they collectively decided to take subreddits “offline” in protest, either by making them read-only or making them completely inaccessible. their goal was to send a message, and that message was "if you piss us off and we bail, here's what reddit's gonna be like: a ghost town."

but, you may ask, if third-party apps only captured a small number of users in the first place, how was the backlash strong enough to result in a near-sitewide blackout? well, two reasons:

first and foremost, since moderators in particular are fond of third-party tools, and since moderators wield outsized power (as both the people who keep your site more or less civil, and as the people who can take a subreddit offline if they feel like it), it’s in your best interests to keep them happy. especially since they don’t get paid to do this job in the first place, won’t keep doing it if it gets too hard, and essentially have nothing to lose by stepping down.

then, to a lesser extent, the non-moderator users on third-party apps tend to be Power Users who’ve been on reddit since its inception, and as such likely supply a disproportionate amount of the high-quality content for other users to see (and for ads to be served alongside). if you drive away those users, you’re effectively kneecapping your overall site traffic (which is bad for Growth) and reducing the number/value of any ad impressions you can serve (which is bad for revenue).

also a secret third reason, which is that even people who use the official apps have no stake in a potential IPO, can smell the general unfairness of this whole situation, and would enjoy the schadenfreude of investors getting fucked over. not to mention that reddit’s current CEO has made a complete ass of himself and now everyone hates him and wants to see him suffer personally.

(granted, it seems like reddit may acquiesce slightly and grant free API access to a select set of moderation/accessibility tools, but at this point it comes across as an empty gesture.)

"later" is now "now"

TL;DR: this whole thing is a combination of many factors, specifically reddit being intensely user-driven and self-governed, but also a high-traffic site that costs a lot of money to run (why they willingly decided to start hosting video a few years back is beyond me...), while also being angled as a public stock market offering in the very near future. to some extent I understand why reddit’s CEO doubled down on the changes—he wants to look strong for investors—but he’s also made a fool of himself and cast a shadow of uncertainty onto reddit’s future, not to mention the PR nightmare surrounding all of this. and since arguably the most important thing in an IPO is how much faith people have in your company, I honestly think reddit would’ve fared better if they hadn’t gone nuclear with the API changes in the first place.

that said, I also think it’s a mistake to assume that reddit care (or needs to care) about its users in any meaningful way, or at least not as more than means to an end. if reddit shuts down in three years, but all of the people sitting on stock options right now cashed out at $120/share and escaped unscathed... that’s a success story! you got your money! VCs want to recoup their investment—they don’t care about longevity (at least not after they’re gone), user experience, or even sustained profit. those were never the forces driving them, because these were never the ultimate metrics of their success.

and to be clear: this isn’t unique to reddit. this is how pretty much all startups operate.

I talked about the difference between “make money now” companies and “make money later” companies, and what we’re experiencing is the painful transition from “later” to “now.” as users, this change is almost invisible until it’s already happened—it’s like a rug we didn’t even know existed gets pulled out from under us.

the pre-IPO honeymoon phase is awesome as a user, because companies have no expectation of profit, only growth. if you can rely on VC money to stay afloat, your only concern is building a user base, not squeezing a profit out of them. and to do that, you offer cool shit at a loss: everything’s chocolate and flowers and quarterly reports about the number of signups you’re getting!

...until you reach a critical mass of users, VCs want to cash in, and to prepare for that IPO leadership starts thinking of ways to make the website (appear) profitable and implements a bunch of shit that makes users go “wait, what?”

I also touched on this earlier, but I want to reiterate a bit here: I think the myth of the benign non-monetized internet of yore is exactly that—a myth. what has changed are the specific market factors behind these websites, and their scale, and the means by which they attempt to monetize their services and/or make their services look attractive to investors, and so from a user perspective things feel worse because the specific ways we’re getting squeezed have evolved. maybe they are even worse, at least in the ways that matter. but I’m also increasingly less surprised when this occurs, because making money is and has always been the goal for all of these ventures, regardless of how they try to do so.

[catboybiologist]

what made you create this blog?

Oh yay, I get to narcissisticly ramble about myself? Yaay!

I originally created a reddit account under this name waayyy back in 2021- I had been dipping my toes into being a "femboy" when the pandemic started, and posting pictures online was really my only outlet for sharing my femininity. I posted on a lot of femboy subreddits, 196, and dark souls shitposting subreddits, as well as occasionally commenting about science. My entire "gimmick" was trying to be a "cringe femboy" alongside having some scientific knowledge down my belt, kind of to lean into the "weird online poster is actually STEM expert" meme.

Tbh, I was in a really dark spot back then, and because of it, I got very "fuckit" about what I post and how. It's caused me issues occasionally, but most of my online behavior now is an extension of a carelessness about my online privacy that developed when I was desperate enough for any self expression to not care.

Over time, that's evolved into the online presence I have now. I made a tumblr blog when a lot of communities and users migrated off of reddit during the API changes, including an influx of users from r/196. I rode the wave of lots of people trying to keep the community together then just... kept posting? It continued to have its original use of self expression while I was boymoding- it was a place that I could post about being trans when I was closeted to most of the world. And yes, I could show off my looks a bit and get some validation

Now that I'm mostly living as a woman in my day to day life, I'm still here because the community is wonderful and I'm established here. I've made a lot of cool online friends, and I like the interaction and reach I get. Yes, part of that is pure attention seeking- but its also nice socially.

I don't really have a "purpose" for this blog at the moment, but I might move my online presence forward in some kind of way. I temporarily tried out twitch streaming, and it was really successful. I made the requirements for affiliate in literally the minimum number of streams possible, but I couldn't commit the time or keep a schedule cuz of grad school. I have lots of ideas for podcasts or written projects, but idk if they'll ever get off the ground, considering that I've been bouncing around outlines and rough drafts for random BS for years without any results.

Once I leave grad school later this year, some of that stuff might happen, but I genuinely have no idea.

[niotechone]

Cloud Computing: Definition, Benefits, Types, and Real-World Applications

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