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That’s it, we are going!

Isn’t nice to be able to get away and let loose for a bit? Well, we decided enough is enough, we are going! We are going for a company trip! Next question, where?

Vietnam? China? Indonesia? We did our research on all three places and the thing that took our breath away was the Volcano Trekking. We read reviews and saw amazing pictures taken by other fellow trekkers of the place we are going to go, Indonesia.

We planned the following route that would maximize our time in Indonesia. Surabaya -> Mountt Bromo -> Madakaripura Waterfall -> Ijen Crater -> Jagir Waterfall -> Bali

We had such a great time that we just had to share our experience with you! So we sat down and recounted the tale of our trip to Indonesia. Here’s how it went:-

Day 1 – 10.30 am

We were all due to meet at the Airport at 10.30am. Everyone reached on time, but when we were about to pass the gates, Young Wei realised his phone was gone! Long story short, he left it on the passenger seat of the Grab car that had taken us to the airport. Somehow he managed to get hold of the Grab driver and get his phone delivered back to his house. “Phew”. But that meant he didn’t have his phone the whole trip-we wonder if this was why he was so chatty throughout the trip.

Day 1 – 2.30 pm

We touched down in Surabaya, Indonesia (what time?). Upon our arrival at the airport, we were greeted by our Tour Guide, Zein Alabidin. Zein was a cool guy and was really helpful with getting us things we needed for the trip. We headed out to get to get our SIM cards because he mentioned that airport rates could be expensive and it was better to go to one of the local stores in town. On the way, he took us for Nasi Padang, an equivalent to our Malaysia Mixed Rice. Delicious!

We then headed to our first destination, Mount Bromo. It took a good 4 to 5 hours by car (we just slept the whole way) before we got to our destination. Boy, was it cold!. We Malaysians were definitely not used to the 12℃ weather. after we bundled ourselves up, we still felt chilled to the bone. Anyhow, we checked into our hotel, had dinner and slept for a bit.

Day 2 – 12.00 am We got up and left our hotel at around midnight en route to Mount Penanjakan to see the Milky Way and wait for sunrise. Again, the cold hit us hard; 12℃, people! We were definitely no match for it. Poor Jazzy wasn’t feeling so hot cause she slept at 3am the day before and we only got a little sleep before starting our day.

Sadly, we didn’t get to see the Milky Way because of the weather, even though we dragged our sleep-deprived selves out at 12 just for it…(sighs). While waiting, we did get to eat some instant noodles and have a some teh tarik at stores up at the mountains.

Day 2 – 5.30 am At this point of time, the top of the peak was packed with tourists. Everyone started making their way up to catch sunrise. Being there for 5 hours in the cold, we manage to catch sunrise. Was it worth it? Yes it was! The view of the sunrise was magnificent, and the bright light shining towards the Volcanos showed how beautiful Mount Bromo was.

Day 2 – 6.00 am Onward with our adventure, we rode jeeps over to Mount Bromo. Before we headed to climb the Mountain, our tour guide brought us to the wide area surrounding the Volcanoes to capture some of the best views in that area.

Up next, climbing up Mount Bromo. A choice we needed to make was to walk up or to take a horse up! It was a trip full of firsts for many of us and riding a horse being one of those firsts.

We didn’t actually hike much (I’m sure our tired selves were more than okay with that), we actually rode horses halfway up then went up a flight of stairs to the crater.

We reached the crater. It was steep and scary, one fall, and you will be tumbling down. Most of us stop midway as we couldn’t take the height challenge. Only a few of us daredevils dared to go around the whole thing though, (Kah Yan and Su Lin).

Day 2 – 8.00 am We adjourned down to our hotels and got breakfast, and our tour guide brought us to our next destination the Madakaripura Waterfall. It was so deep in that we had to ride our motorbikes in to reach half the journey into the waterfall. After that, It’s at 1km walk from the entrance of the waterfall.

At 200 meters, the waterfall cascaded with a loud thundering sound that echoed off the canyon walls. It might have been the rain that had caused the wind to be stronger than usual but the waterfall was so strong that we thought we’d fly off if we weren’t careful! Our cheers and laughter were drowned out as we got drenched by the mighty waterfall, our raincoats useless against the sheer power of it.

The view, was just amazing! Never have we seen such beauty in mother nature. Well worth the walk in.

Day 2 – 10.00 am Time for us to head to our next challenge, Mount Ijen. It was a good 5 to 6 hour drive over to our hotel. We checked in and turned in for the night only to rouse, once again, at night to start out ‘day’. As you can imagine, we actually started getting messed up with which day it was because we kept starting at night through the next day.

Day 3 – 12.00 am Wiping the sleepiness from our eyes, we made our way to Mount Ijen. It was a two hour drive from our hotel and the tour was scheduled to start at midnight. You may be wondering why midnight; well, the reason for that simply lies in the fact that at night, the sulphur on Mount Ijen burns blue and we wanted to witness that.

This mountain was way more challenging than the previous one, we hiked from 1am to 8am. Crazy, right? But that’s mostly cause we lingered about for quite some time. It was 3km up and another 1km down to get to our destination; Patricia had some problems going down because she has a fear of heights and it wasn’t an easy path but she made it in the end. There, we witness the blue hues of the burning sulphur in the early hours of the morning and we’d show you pictures of it but they don’t do it justice.

After Mount Ijen, we got some grub and headed over to another waterfall, Jagir Waterfall. This one wasn’t as strong as Madakaripura Waterfall but it was great all the same. Some of us decided to take a dip in the cold water, it definitely was refreshing after such a long hike.

The dip in the waterfall was much needed as we were so tired from the hike up and down to the crater. Up next, lunch! Before we left for our next destination, we mentioned to our guide we wanted to try BAKSO. It’s similar to our beef ball noodles in Malaysia, but somehow there was something special to it Bakso meant meatball and bakso beranak was a giant meatball with 7 little meatballs and an egg inside it. The thing that kept us curious was, there was basko in different months. For example, Bakso 3 bulan, 6 bulan, 9 bulan. We realised that the longer the months, the bigger the bakso will be. Was it delicious? Heck yeah it was!

That was it, that concluded our trip at Surabaya! We had to bid good-bye to Zein. Honestly speaking, he was really a great guy. Soon Seng manage to connect with him and got to know about his background. He actually does some blogging work in Indonesian, and the reason he took up this tour guide was because he wanted meet new people around the world. He also wanted to pursue English in University next year and we are hoping the best for him. If anyone is thinking of taking this trip to Surabaya, check out Ijen Pepe Tour, and request Zein as your tour guide! You won’t be sorry!

Zein is the guy who’s at the most left of the picture squatting down.

  After bidding our goodbyes, our next location, Bali. We took a ferry ride from Surabaya to Bali. Honestly, most of the day was mainly spent commuting. When we got to Bali, it took us about 10 hours to get to our hotel. Why’s that you ask? Well, because it was Nyepi Day. So Nyepi Day is a day of silence to commemorate every Saka new year, basically their equivalent of new years day. They have a parade as well, which was the reason why it took us so long to reach out hotel cause most roads were either jammed or blocked. But it was alright, we had a good time participating in their parade.

Day 4 Nyepi Day was kind of a blessing in disguise because we had to cancel all our plans and it gave a chance to rest at our hotel. On this auspicious day, everyone, tourists included, are meant to refrain from activities and making noise. We just stayed in our hotel and chatted amongst ourselves. We went swimming, had a massage, had a good buffet lunch and breakfast. Some of us also ended up doing Yoga. It was truly rejuvenating.

Oh, we also got to star gaze! Because we’re not allowed to use lights on this day, the stars were on full display and easily seen; something almost unheard of nowadays. Again, pictures wouldn’t do the sight justice.

Day 5 This is our last day before we depart back to Kuala Lumpur, we managed to get our flights delayed to a later time due to Nyepi day. With that, we needed to have a look at the famous bali beach.

Before we headed to the airport, we squeezed in a quick stop at a temple. It was a Hindu temple called Uluwatu Temple. You know the pictures by the cliffs posted by all the people that have been to Bali? Yeah, that’s where the temple is located. So, of course we took pictures too! Who could resist such a sight?

From there, we went to the airport and caught our flight back to KL. Bye-bye, Indonesia.

In a Nutshell It was honestly just amazing. To be surrounded by the beauty of nature and by good company, what more could one ask for? Although we didn’t get enough sleep throughout most of the trip, it didn’t matter because we still had a blast. Smiles, laughter, and conversations fill our memories of Indonesia along with the amazing scenery.

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The Competitors Analysis

What?

So you may be wondering what exactly is a competitor analysis? Well, simply put, a competitive analysis is used evaluate your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses; it also plays an important role in your marketing strategy.

Why?

The main reason companies do a competitive analysis is to assess their competitors and find out their competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. By learning more about your competitors you can also learn from them; you can gain insight on why customers may be choosing your competitor over you or what your competitors are doing right and wrong. A competitive analysis helps you figure out your competitors’ weaknesses and you could use that to your advantage.

How?

While I’m sure everyone will have different ways of doing it, this here’s how I did a competitive analysis for The Techy Hub.

Identifying Competitors

First, I had to identify The Techy Hub’s competitors. Because I had no knowledge about any other web or app development companies in Malaysia I did what any smart person would and turned to Uncle Google for help. I just typed in ‘web development Malaysia’ and ‘web design Malaysia’ and ta-da, a bunch of results popped up but I only choose the first few companies on the long list.

Getting Info

After choosing the companies, I tried to get as much information as I could on each of the companies. I tried to get as much info as I could on their company which I managed to find after some digging. Honestly, with Google, you can find just about anything about most companies especially if the company is quite well-known, there’ll usually be a lot of information online.

I went through their website to see the list services they offer. I also took a look at their portfolio to see which companies they’ve worked with and what they’ve done. I had to even look at how their Facebook Pages were doing. That somehow shows how healthy they are on social media.

Compile & Analyse

With the help of Uncle Google, finding information was a breeze; I even managed to find the number of employees each company has as well as their client retention rate. Now, just what did I do with all that info? Well, it’s simple—compile it and started doing the analysis.

Using all that information I’ve gotten on our competitors, I compared it to The Techy Hub. For example, I compared the list of services as well as the content on their social media account(s). I found out their strengths (what they’re doing well or doing better than us) and their weaknesses (what they’re lacking or doing wrong). Also, it’s important to point out what competitors are doing differently. What are they doing that sets them apart from your own company?

Conclusion

In conclusion, a competitive analysis can help you assess your competitors as well as the current market. It was my first time doing a competitive analysis and I’ve never been one who was good at researching but the steps on how to do it are pretty straightforward and with the help of Uncle Google I was able to get a lot of relevant information and did an alright analysis. With competitors analysis done, next up, Big Data analysis!

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Who Am I? I’m An Intern

Prologue

Hello there! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Ranko and I’m currently studying for my Diploma in Mass Communication. An internship is a compulsory part of my course so here I am at The Techy Hub.

I had been dreading the internship portion of my course just because I’d have to make so many choices from what field to go into to which company to apply for. It was important, my lecturers told all of us as we were briefed on what to expect, to choose a company you feel comfortable with because you’ll be there every day for the next few months. Decisions, decisions; so many to make and all of them having a significant impact on me.

The entire semester before our internship period, I was asked countless of times ‘So where are you going to intern?’ by lecturers and peers alike. I really didn’t want to think about it and kept trying to put it off but I knew I had to do it else I wouldn’t find a company in time. So I forced myself to sit down and write up a resume and cover letter. Going through the long list of suggested companies my college provided, I looked up all the companies that had what I was looking for, a ‘copywriters wanted’ written in the description. I had a few criteria in mind: close to home or easy to commute via public transportation, seems chill and looked interesting.

Chapter 1: The Interview

The Techy Hub was one of the few places that caught my eye and met all my criteria so I dropped Soon Seng an email. I felt a little nervous and giddy as if I’d just texted my crush when I hit ‘send’ on the email. I had hoped I would come off sounding professional and composed though that was a far cry from my true self. Thankfully, both Soon Seng and the other company I had contacted got back to me and we set up an interview time.

On the day of the interview with Soon Seng, I felt extremely nervous; I usually get major anxiety over things like this so it wasn’t surprising. The other interview I had was extremely short, I’d say it lasted about five minutes so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one. Like a good interviewee, I arrived early and was ushered into what looked like a meeting room by Soon Seng.

Palms sweaty and heart beating fast, both from the nerves, I answered all of Soon Seng’s questions as best as I could, which meant with the least amount of stuttering. He asked about my studies and told me about his studies. It was just a lot of questions and inquiring on his part. By the end of it, he had assigned me a writing task and I felt that whether or not I got offered an intern position at The Techy Hub was riding on how well I did this assignment.

Chapter 2: The Experience

Relief flooded through me when I got the email from Soon Seng offering me an intern position at The Techy Hub. So now that I’ve got the position, I just had to mentally prepare myself (easier said than done). The fact that I would be an intern soon didn’t even settle in my mind until the day before I would actually start.

I showed up to the office early not knowing what to expect. Would they have me do menial work like making coffee and run errands? I guess, in my mind, that’s what an intern did. To my surprise, as I was given a rundown of the tasks that I would have to complete over the next three months, it seemed that they would be giving me a lot of work.

Writing blog posts and pitches filled my three months here. It really helped me improve my writing skills and learn about new things since I was usually writing about topics that I was unfamiliar with. While I had first thought that I’d be overwhelmed with the amount of work I’d have to do, I took things one step at a time and it honestly wasn’t that bad. But that was mostly because I had a lot of help.

Chapter 3: The People

By a lot of help, I mean that there was another intern working with me. Chris is his name and he left a month before I did (the traitor). He’s older than me so he had more experience and helped me out a lot, I’m grateful for that, but he had the worst puns. We got along well and were fast friends since we saw each other almost every day of the week. I think without Chris, I probably would have been so lost and lonely so I have to thank him for all his terrible jokes and for making those first two months pretty fun.

Kur Win, what can I say about him? He enjoys spilling hot liquids near my space and super derpy. He’s un-funnily funny and good at what he does. He was my main source of knowledge when it came to the whole Marketing shebang. Kur Win was a mentor, advisor and I’m glad to have picked up a couple of things from him

So, Soon Seng is pretty great. He always told us that he wanted every intern to learn something before they left. He never made us do things for no reason, there was always something to learn from our experience. It was through his constructive criticism that Chris and I managed to improve ourselves.

Epilogue

I don’t regret choosing to intern at The Techy Hub. I’ve learned a lot and have experienced what it’s like to work in an office. I’ve picked up on some things that I didn’t learn in college. I’ll go back to college, hopefully, a little more matured and a little more experienced. I’m truly grateful for this experience.

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Bye, Bye, Bye (To The Interns)

It’s always so difficult to say goodbye to interns. Today we bid farewell to not one, not two, but three interns! You can just imagine how torn up we are over this. As always, we got them to talk about their experience here.

There is a lot to like about The Techy Hub but Seelic’s favourite part was the freedom here and both he and Li Sheng agree that the people here are great. Chris, on the other hand, likes the free lunches; yes folks, we have free welcome and farewell lunches. Who doesn’t like free food?

Chris Chia

Chris said that during his time here he has learned a lot through his hands-on experience that he didn’t in university. He believes that what he has learned here will help him in the future. Chris’s most memorable here was when we went on a hike at Broga Hill last month. He also said that the atmosphere at the office is nice and since the team isn’t too big, it’s easier to work together. We have a small team but we have enough people to still produce quality content. In the future, he hopes to work at a startup that focuses on one specific product/service such as dahmakan.

Shum Seelic

Seelic isn’t much of a talker but he still had some things to say about his time here. Like Chris, his most memorable here was the Broga Hill hike. He’s not very sure how his time here will help him in the future but he has some plans. He has one more semester to complete before attaining his degree and in the future, he wants to try going overseas after working locally for a few years.

Ong Li Sheng

During his time here, Li Sheng said he’s gained a lot of insight on how different technology work. He also got the chance to go through the process of taking on a project from meeting the client to carrying out the work. The people here are good, he said, and Soon Seng is very considerate in the sense that he never pushed them too hard, he knew their skill level and worked around that.

Thankfully, it isn’t goodbye forever because Chris and Seelic will be returning as full-time Techies. Li Sheng still has one last semester to go and had been offered a position here but he still hasn’t decided yet so he’ll be using that one semester to really think it over. But we certainly do hope that he comes back.

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Who Are The Techies Ep 3

It’s been swell folks, but this week’s episode will be the final for Who Are The Techies (sobs). We have Soong Seng, Jazzy and Kyle! 

Ee Soon Seng

Here’s our dear Managing Director, Soon Seng. He started The Techy Hub after getting bored working for an agency for 3 years. He wasn’t feeling challenged enough at his old agency and he wanted to have a more flexible schedule—that folks is how The Techy Hub came about. The original concept for The Techy Hub was to be a space for freelancers, sort of like a coworking space but they’d work on projects together as well. However, that didn’t idea didn’t work so well so they switched it up and brought in their first two interns—Patricia and Michelle!  

Soon Seng would describe himself as techy, resilient, and lazy at times. We’d like to add on the word noble because that’s what he is! He might seem really chill but he works longer hours than anyone. His working hours extend till night time and he even works on the weekends! He really loves teaching people which is why he really treasures the internship program we have. He said he wants every intern to learn something during their time here.

His dreams are to build a dog farm, or dog shelter, where he’d let all the strays he finds stay there. Another dream of his is global domination…with an empire of programmers!

Jazzy Poh

Here’s Jazzy! Jazzy is the Head of Front End Development here, and she’s been here since last February. She used to work with Soon Seng in another agency so she’s known him for a long time. Jazzy used to do web design but didn’t like it much so she made the switch over to coding which she learned from her previous company.

So here is what she likes about working here: she likes how the team is small because sometimes communication is a problem if the team is too big.  

She’s our very own linguist who can speak Korean and Japanese, and she’s currently learning Thai. She loved travelling and has been to various countries in Southeast Asia, but her dream destinations are Iceland and Machu Picchu!

Kyle Tong

Last but not least is our Network Specialist, Kyle! He used to work in the same marketing agency as Soon Seng before deciding to come over to The Techy Hub. The words he used to describe himself are lazy (lol), easy-going, quiet (though we don’t really agree with this). Something else we don’t really agree with is how he claims that is introverted. He said that no one ever believes him when he tells them and we don’t either! Trust us, if you’ve met him you wouldn’t believe him either.

Get ready for this one because you’ll be thinking he’s a swell guy after reading this. He took in a dog that was dumped in front of his house; she had a collar so he could only assume that the poor thing was dumped by her owners. He said she was terrified but after a week of him and his parents feeding her, she finally came around. What a nice thing to do!

He said dog food is more expensive than his so if he could be any animal, he’d be a dog. His dream is to win the lottery and get rich, he’d use that money to travel the world.

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I Was A Lost Boy, Now I’m a Smart Boy

My name is Chris. I am a marketing and public relations student who was looking for something meaningful to do during my summer break. I was honestly looking to get a job as a waiter or kitchen staff because I have always been passionate about food (baking in particular). However, with less than 2 months to work, it was difficult to find a place willing to hire me.

Fortunately for me, I knew Soon Seng. Long story short, I ended getting an opportunity to intern as a digital marketing/copywriting intern here at the Techy Hub (thanks, Soon Seng for the opportunity). Marketing was honestly the last thing I wanted to do (funny since I am a marketing student). But the time I spent here has been really meaningful and has made me enjoy marketing a little more.

The Humans

One of the many things that made this internship really fun and meaningful are the people who I got to meet. Since it is a small office, I got to know everyone, especially my co-intern, Ranko and boss/advisor person, Kur Win.

Ranko is one of those people who has the lamest puns in the history of the world (her puns hurt). The type that you want to try and laugh at but sometimes it just hurts. She has been the closest person I worked with throughout my internship. She is very annoying that way but has made working here fun.

She has been really helpful in helping me do certain tasks when lazy and even taught me how to use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. We pitched together, made a lot of inside jokes together and amongst other things, struggled with certain tasks together. Grateful to have a co-worker who helped make work seem less dull.

The next person in Kur Win. He is a man who is always very derpy and tends to enjoy spilling liquids near us. Despite him being the way he is, Kur Win is quite smart at digital marketing. He may have studied something else in university, but his digital marketing knowledge is amazing. He’s really quiet until you start talking to him (I think at least). You can talk to him about A LOT of different topics.

Kur Win, for as much as he could be, was patient when teaching us about digital marketing. He likes to sigh at us, but I think we, Ranko and I, are his favourite interns! Grateful that he’s a patient guy considering how blur I am on most days.

Things I Picked Up

No. 1

One of the many things that I’ve learned here is how digital marketing works. More specifically, I got a more hands-on experience in doing search engine optimisation (SEO) and social media advertisements. It is quite refreshing for me as a marketing student to learn the more modern methods of marketing. I say it is refreshing because I have yet to learn about digital marketing, so all these new tactics and concepts are very interesting.

To do something I enjoyed as a high school student (writing) and combining it with digital marketing has sparked my interests. I may not be a very skilled writer, but learning how to write blogs and different types of contents have been great. It helps me see a more interesting side of marketing besides the usual things I have studied.

In the process of learning to blog, we had to experiment with different things ourselves. We had to constantly share our posts on Facebook and monitor the interaction. After that, we had to experiment with the featured image, titles, meta descriptions and a series of other factors. All of that just to find out how to increase interactivity or why a post did poorly.

No. 2

Another thing that I have picked up here is better confidence when presenting/pitching. The main difference between doing here and in university is that there is no guide. Our first presentation was on a very unfamiliar topic and without a guide which made it all the more difficult and confusing. Thanks for the really honest and constructive feedback we received, I have more confidence in approaching these kinds of things.

I honestly have a long way to go in building my self-confidence in pitching. But I am glad that I got to do it here and get really honest feedback. Thank you to all my colleagues who gave me feedback.

No. 3

There was also looking into how to search for clients, bloggers, and how to evaluate websites. With a series of tools and a lot of time and effort, these were the hardest tasks to do. Aside from using the tools to help do a basic evaluation, I feel that learning how to evaluate a website, its designs and functions and other features were fairly difficult. There are many areas to cover before making a proper judgement.

Everything that was taught to me during this short period of time has been great. I understand digital marketing slightly better, and I know how parts of it work.

Overall

While thinking about it, the one thing I realize is that the work I was given, is not just for the sake of being done. Each and every task I had to do all had a reason behind it. Every single task was very much real. There is not very much spoon-feeding here.

While Soon Seng and Kur Win may have guided me in the beginning, they do expect us to do our work properly. Like I shared earlier, there is a lot of honesty and constructive criticism. They are also always open and ready to listen to our feedback or to answer our questions. All of this really helped me learn.

The best part is that, even as an intern, you are really treated like an employee. Not once was I asked to do any jobs that a paperboy would be asked. You would think you would not get much from interning in such a small office.

Yet, the three words I would use to sum up my experience here are these:-

Purposeful, Fun, Contented.

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Why is Listening So Important? Here are Some Reasons Why

We often walk into places so full of noise. A coffee shop, a mall, our workplaces and even our own homes. Noises and sounds surround us. One thing that we can gain from listening to these noises and sounds is information. This is called learning through listening.

Listening has been one of the key methods in learning for a very long time. Going beyond education, it helps people understand others better, it builds trust and also makes others feel important. It is one of the key skills that can make or break a situation.

One general aspect of listening includes voice pitch, tones of voices and speed of the speaker (also known as paralinguistic). You can tell if a person in happy, sad or frustrated by just paying attention to paralinguistic.

Listening helps you become more aware of your surroundings. You hear your pet dog bark aggressively, that would probably mean there is danger nearby. You hear someone scream, that person probably needs help (or saw a flying cockroach).

One key category of listening that has truly played a role to me as a marketing student is active listening. Active listening, in short, is basically a process of properly listening then responding. These responses are usually follow up questions to try and gain a perfect understanding of what the speaker is saying.

The process of active listening plays a huge role in understanding a person’s wants and needs. It also helps us understand how we can make people feel more satisfied. You can even tell if a person likes or dislikes something by how they speak over a phone call.

Wise words from the Dalai Lama (Picture Credit: Quotlr)

My (intern) colleague and I recently got the opportunity to sit in a meeting with a potential client for the Techy Hub. Watching the whole process was very interesting. We were very intrigued with how well a short 40 minutes or so meeting went. The clients who walked in looking fairly nervous walked out with smiles on their faces with a sense of confidence.

Some really great take away points that we’d like to share are these:

1) The 60:40 Rule

Listen to everything (Picture Credit: The Perfect Small Office

This rule is really simple. Based on what we observed, listen 60% of the time and talk 40% of the time. Now it gets a little trickier, whatever is spoken should be of relevance. You do not want to bombard them with so much overwhelming information and/or jargon.

You should share with them the relevant information based on what they have said. Along the whole process, it is also important that you ask them follow-up questions. For example, “Based on what you said, this is how I understand it”, make sure you understand them completely before doing anything else! (Remember the Dalai Lama quote?)

2) Patience

Time (Picture Credit: FluentU)

Most of us also probably have dealt with people who talk too much and/or demand the world when they ask for something. That can honestly just make us want to close our ears and walk away. But we should not. However, we should feel that it is important to be very patient with your clients.

Sometimes they will spout the most demanding and unreasonable requests in the world. Or they could even be suggesting the most impossible and unrealistic requests or take hours to get to the point. However, don’t lose your cool.

Breathe, listen, digest then explain to them in a patient and calm manner as to why something will not work. If you explain it in a calm manner, you get to build the amount of confidence that they have in you. It also shows that you respect their requests (especially when they approach you for your service).

3) Listening Shows You Care

Listening to your customers (Picture Credit: Sales Manager LLC)

Everyone knows the key to gaining a loyal client is to have them trust you and you gain their trust by building a relationship with them (a professional one, mind you). So instead of just talking about your company and it’s services, listen to what your client has to say. Listen to their problems and their needs so you can better serve them. By listening, it shows them that you really do care about them and it’ll have them trust you.

If they take time to meet you personally and to lay out their ideas, it means that they are really serious. When you show you care, it adds a sense of a personal touch to the situation. Remember! It is important to make sure they leave looking happy or satisfied with the discussion!

Establishing a good relationship with your client may lead to you gaining a loyal customer so talk less and listen more!

Concluding Thoughts

In the end, I think all of us know that listening is essential in many situations. From studying to delivering a service and many others. However, despite how easy it is to list out the facts or say we will commit to listening. It is a skill that takes time to be developed. Trying to become a better listener is a tough thing to do.

One of the first things I had to make myself do to become a better listener is to be aware. Be aware of whether you are talking more if you’re interrupting them or if you are constantly spacing out. Once you’ve become more self aware in this area, you can slowly improve. So I do hope this has encouraged you or provided you with some insights.

That said, we here at The Techy Hub commit to always listening to your needs and wants. You can check out our services here.

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Who Are The Techies Episode 2

Gather around good folks because we’re back with another episode of Who Are The Techies! This week we have with us Patricia, Michelle and Aimen!

Patricia Wong

Here’s Patricia!

Patricia is our—wait for it—Junior Front End Web Developer extraordinaire! What a mouth full. Patricia was discovered in one of those cool movie methods.  She was discovered at her graduate showcase. Soon Seng attended her showcase but they did not exactly meet there. Instead, Soon Seng personally contacted her and they video chatted and she ended up taking the job offer to work here. Fun fact: This is her first job! She likes how everyone in The Techy Hub is friendly and how we all go out for lunch together—we really do!

She describes herself to be quiet and shy but she’s our go-to person when looking for recommendations for the latest k-dramas to watch! When she’s not busy catching up on her k-dramas, she likes to sleep. Don’t we all, really? If she could have any superpowers, she’d want to be able to teleport because you could go anywhere you wanted to (and also because of the amazing airfares).

Her goal is so simple yet understandable. And that is to be able to retire young and to enjoy her life travelling, eating and maybe catching up on the never-ending list of Korean dramas!

Michelle Ng

This cheery, always-smiling and joyful girl is Michelle.

Amongst other words that describe her are serene, positive, and cheerful. She was recruited by Soon Seng as the Junior Art Director Michelle during her final year of university. Michelle, once an intern, has become one of the first Techies here. Just like our Art Director, Kah Yan, Michelle’s most memorable experience here was preparing for the Inkredible sales day. She said it was because she had the chance to try out new things and learned a lot. We are glad that she enjoyed going out of her comfort zone to prepare for something very different.

Michelle likes going on adventures to different places and exploring the world one place at a time. It’s no wonder her favourite movie is Jumanji! The one thing that she dreams of doing is to one day get the chance to travel around Europe. To learn about the culture and to experience life in a different place. Adventure!

Her goals? To learn beyond what she already knows and her dream is to someday start her own fashion brand. Michelle, don’t forget us when you’re famous!

Aimen Sasi

Aimen here is our Back End Developer from Libya. He first came to Malaysia five years ago when he decided to tag along with his father who was coming here for work. Needless to say, Aimen really liked it here so he decided to stay. He has a big heart for Malaysia and has an even bigger heart for programming (spoiler alert—he’s really good at it).

He was introduced to Soon Seng by a friend he had met at boot camp and that’s how he started working at The Techy Hub. He chose to work here because it gave him the opportunity to gain experience at coding, expose himself to real life application and improve his problem-solving skills. His most memorable experience was working with his first company called MoneyMatch, he’s proud to be one of the pioneers for what it is now.

The three words he’d use to describe himself are shy, fast-learner, and problem-solver. If there is any one language that he learns really fast, it would be the coding and programming language. While he’s not coding the next greatest app, he’s at home catching up the latest tv series. Aimen’s goal in the future is to be part of something big. Something that can help change the world. What a stand up guy!

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Our Pitch Perfect Experience

The Task

Us interns are wet behind the ears but we were tasked with pitching a marketing strategy as well as a potential client to approach. You can imagine the amount of pressure and nerves we felt while preparing for this. We felt like our lives were on the line—okay, maybe that’s a little too dramatic, but you get what we mean.

With what little knowledge we had, we dived right into the task and did our research. Our boss made it very clear that this pitch would be the real deal and we had to do it as if speaking to a client, it would be a way for us to gain experience and learn. Not gonna lie, we did end up leaving most of the work undone till d-day, but that was mostly because we had other tasks to do.

Besides this, the fact that we were so inexperienced only caused us to be even more nervous and unconfident in what we were pitching. Everyone knows you can’t sell anything if you have no confidence! So needless to say, it ended up an utter failure. However, Soon Seng gave us a lot of feedback and constructive criticism.

So firstly, our slides were horrendous; some of the pictures were pixelated and of poor taste.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Secondly, there was no real structure to our slides, therefore, our presenting was all over the place. Our points also weren’t clear so it wasn’t easily understood.

The biggest problem, however, was our confidence. At the end of our presentation when Soon Seng asked us how confident we were in our ability to get the client we suggested, we admitted our chances were really low. Soon Seng really emphasised on how much we needed to work on our confidence.

With all that in mind, we headed back to the drawing board. Three days and three nights we spent on our new and improved pitch—just kidding, we only had two days to work on everything. This time, we didn’t wait until last minute and started with redoing our slides as well as making sure that our points were more clear and concise.

Two days later, it was showtime. This time, we had an actual structure to our presentation and made sure to show that with our slides. We had more information as well. The confidence part, well, that still wasn’t really there but it was definitely better than the first time around. To us, it was a big relief to hear that we improved.

The Take-Away

Chris

My head felt like there were needles poking into it. Every breath I took burned my lungs. My heart pounded like would at a rock concert. The hope of surviving the day was lost. It felt like I had lost everything.

Everything I said above is an exaggerated expression of how failure felt like. My background is in marketing and public relations. You would think that research and pitching would be normal and easy for me. You are wrong (at least in my case). The whole experience of “pitching to a client” could not have felt any worse.

However, if there is one thing that was great about failing is that there was opportunity to learn.

One of my key takeaway points from the experience is to do research on the important things. Every bit of information on your potential client’s business activity or websites is important. Focusing solely on SEO made it difficult to do research on the company (limited my own thinking). Learning about how Google and the potential client’s website affects SEO among other factors helped us understand our task better. It also helped me build confidence in pitching knowing what I am actually talking about.

Another key point that I took away from the experience is to be specific. When presenting data to a client or any person in general, you need to be very specific. It is very important to highlight the key points in images or statistics. It is important to direct the listener to what you are talking about and to present things that they want to know. It helps them understand your point and prevents frustration from searching through your slides.

Finally, the whole experience has really made me realize how important experience really is. From failure comes success. Our atrocious first presentation helped us come back strong. We do, we learn then we improve. There is definitely a sense of dread that comes from failing, but only through persevering through the tough times can we build character.

Ranko

As opposed to my partner, I come from a mass communication background and have significantly less experience in the field of marketing. Also, I’m much less dramatic than he is (no she is not).

Sure I’ve done presentations before, it’s something that one often does while in college or university. It’s certainly normal to get nervous before one because your grades are on the line each time you do a presentation. However, being told to pitch as if pitching to an actual client is way more nerve-wracking.

Nevertheless, here are a couple of things I took away from this whole experience.

Confidence—it’s everything when it comes to pitching. You need to be confident in what you’re trying to sell in order to make the client trust you. If you’re confident in your products or services, it’ll make the client think you’re not good enough and you won’t get hired. My confidence when pitching is definitely something I need to work on and I have to not let the nerves get to me.

Be specific—you don’t want to risk confusing others or yourself. Everything has to be clear-cut and concise, slides are just a tool to help you better illustrate a point but they have to be arranged in a way that can be easily stood while still containing a significant amount of information. During our first sorry excuse for a presentation we definitely just dumped all the information we had which resulted in us confusing people. It’s definitely important to structure the entire presentation and have all your points ready.

A learning experience—every experience is chance to learn something. There’s still much we need to work on but what’s important is that we have learned our weaknesses through our failure of a pitch and we managed to improve in the second one. Whether you experience failure or success, what’s important is that you take something away from it.

There’s still much to learn and much to work on but hopefully, we’ll do much better next time.

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An Intern Bids Us Farewell

The Techy Hub loves interns, there’s no doubt about it. We even have a dedicated page just to feature our lovely interns! Our goal is to make sure every intern that works here learns something and of course, we can learn a thing or two from them too. We value what they contribute to our company and after being their teachers for a few months, it’s always hard to see them go but all good things must come to an end.

Today we say goodbye to our Back End Development intern Jeremy. Here’s what he had to say about his time here at The Techy Hub.

Although his time here was short, he says he still managed to learn a lot in two months. Jeremy was assigned to work on a mobile application, it was his first time developing a mobile app and he was learning a new computing language at the same time! Just like anyone, Jeremy had a hard time with it at first but soon got the hang of it.

While Jeremy has had experience in programming whilst in university, compared to the short programs he worked on previously, the one he worked on during his internship was on a larger scale. He said he never had to put so much thought into a program before; the small intricate details of a single function were still new to him.

Amongst other things, Jeremy also learned the importance of having a version control of an application; it helps if there’s a problem with the application, it allows him to start again from when it was still running smoothly instead of spending hours debugging it. He also got the chance to collaborate with other developers, he said. They were patient with him when teaching and guiding him which he is very thankful for it.

Before signing off, Jeremy thanks everyone for being so patient and tolerant with him. It was a great experience working here, he says, the company be small but everyone has big hearts and passion for their work.

Well Jeremy, it’s with heavy hearts that we bid you farewell and wish you all the best in the future.

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Who Are The Techies Ep. 1

Hello good folks! Ever wondered what kind of people our Techies are? Well, we’re here to satisfy your curiosity with our new mini-series called—drum roll, please—Who Are The Techies! This mini-series will consist of three parts in which we’ve written a little about our Techies; their goals for the future, what they like about working at The Techy Hub, etc.

On this week’s episode of Who Are The Techies, we have Young Wei, Kah Yan, and Kur Win!

Low Young Wei

Young Wei here is our trusty accountant who’s an OG at The Techy Hub and started way back in 2016 with Kyle and Soon Seng. He was in an accounting firm for two years prior to working at The Techy Hub. He said that the environment in the office is nice and likes how everyone is close to each other. He also enjoys the freedom and how there is no need for formalities when speaking to one another; everyone talks to each other in a relaxed manner and we joke around (like a lot).

Young Wei likes dogs but he owns both a cat and dog! And yes, they do get along; we asked. His hobbies include sleeping and playing football. But of course, he never sleeps in the office! Nor does he play football here.

His current favourite movie is The Greatest Showman, he said it’s really good. If he won the lottery he’d invest some of the money and use some to travel. His goals for the future is to start a family.  

Kah Yan Lim 

Kah Yan studied Advertising & Design and decided to join The Techy Hub because the digital industry is new to her and she wanted to try her hand at it. Our Art Director describes herself as cheerful, short, and fun! Her most memorable memory while working here was the Inkredible sales day, she enjoyed helping prepare the office for it.

Something not many people know about her is that she likes to sing and swim. She’s very much an outdoorsy person preferring to be out and about rather than watching videos online like most of us do. She likes dogs and used to own one but couldn’t properly care for it so she chose to, sadly, give it away. *sobs*

Kah Yan is a talented artist and one of her wishes is for more people to see her artwork. You can check out her artwork on her Instagram: kikiyaya_

Lau Kur Win

Here’s our Marketing Man, Kur Win! He decided to join The Techy Hub to gain experience with websites and more types of niches, he said it really helps to know more about a client’s website. What’s his most memorable moment working here you ask? Well, it’s when he was surprised on his birthday! He said there have been many funny moments since we always have a good time in the office. When asked to describe himself in three words he said ‘I don’t know’.

He likes reading non-fiction books in his downtime, he likes to learn from them. His hobbies include reading, of course, and playing football. If he were to win the lottery most of the money would go into investments ‘as any smart person would do’, and the other portion would go into traveling and getting good food. One of his favourite movies is Gladiator, he said it was ‘good’.

His dream? To leave the interview…

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Bad Genius: Knowledge Maketh Money

(Warning: This post contains some spoilers for the movie).

Knowledge is defined as the skills and information that is gained through experience or education. There are endless things in the world that we can fill our minds with. We can explore the world and use what we have learned to make daily tasks more interesting or easier. It is essentially one of the greatest tools for success when used right.

We see much of this show by Lynn in the movie, Bad Genius.

Just in case you haven’t watched the movie. Here is a very short summary of the movie:

Lynn is a genius in her studies. She initially gave answers to her friend, Grace, during a test. She then gets roped into a whole scheme of charging students to help them cheat in their exams. It eventually reaches the level of an internationally standardized entry exams called the STIC exams (something like the SATs) where she makes millions.

In other words, Lynn uses her brains to earn money.

Now, while most of us want to become millionaires, we do not encourage or condone the act of cheating to do so. However, we have plucked out some nuggets from the movie which we want to share with you.

1) Knowledge Trumps All

The British Library: Second largest library in the world (Picture Credit: The Malaysian Times)

Remember those days of trying to squeeze a semester or a years’ worth of information in a day before exams? I’m sure that most of us have. At some point you probably said “why do I need to learn how to calculate x(2x – 5) = 2x – 1”, and then you realized you needed it to become an engineer, a researcher or a pilot.

But enough of conventional reasoning (at least to me). We know that to become a doctor you need to know biology and to become a lawyer, you need to study law.

But let us look at something different, cooking. Contestants on MasterChef are often presented with very common ingredients like potatoes. Each contestant somehow comes up with unique dishes while we sit at home thinking of frying them into French fries. Not forgetting that none of them are professional chefs.

Expanding your knowledge allows you to create many opportunities and advantages. Just like Lynn, she started with knowledge based on academics and learned how to run a business (sort off). You and I may not become the best at one thing but there is a quote which I find really powerful. That is:

“Jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”

2) The Smarter You Are, The More Shots You Call

Princess Leia: One of the top rebel leaders in Star Wars. (Picture Credit: The Daily Mail UK)

Remember how you thought “nerds” were always at the mercy of “bullies” in high school? Well, that is the total opposite in the working world. As commonly quoted, knowledge is definitely power. It is even recognized and thought as one of the main sources of power in management studies (Expert Power).

However, do not fully assume that all smart people are guaranteed success and power in life. Having knowledge is one thing, applying it is a whole different topic.

Anyway, as someone new or a fresh grad in a company, you often start at the more basic ranks in a company. From there you work your way up and you learn things. As you learn things (and work hard), you slowly find yourself becoming a leader. So long as you have people working for you, you are a “leader”.

At this point, you are looked up to as a leader because you know what to do, when to do something and some best practices. You can share all you’ve learned with your juniors and know how to do it because you were once in their shoes.

In the case of Lynn, she knew what the people wanted and she knew how to use that to her advantage. She knew students needed answers and she knew Bank needed the money. So she leveraged on that to earn money.

Knowledge is a powerful tool. In a business, knowing and keeping up with societal trends, expectations, and wants can help a company grow. You give the people what they want, you build up your reputation and you grow.

3. Keep Calm and Think

Breath and then think (Picture Credits: HundredMelanie on Deviant Art)

You feel an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, breathlessness, and franticness. Then suddenly you see your life flash before your eyes! (Too much drama). These are all common symptoms of stress.

When you are stressed out, everything seems like it is out of control. You will not be able to focus and that is when you struggle.

Imagine having to complete a task for your colleagues in 30 minutes but have to do it discreetly while your boss walks around. That is what Lynn did. With what time she had left, she did her best to stay calm. She finished up the second exam paper set and got the answers to her “friends” just in time.

Imagine if she had lost her cool and went berserk. She would not have finished the task. Life is often full of stressful situations. How you and I choose to react to it makes a world of difference. If you can collect your thoughts, you can overcome those situations.

Some tips to help you would be to get enough rest (whether at night or in between tasks) and to remember to breathe properly.

Here are some really helpful tips to help you cope with stressful situations.

4) Knowledge is a Game of Business

The Evolution of Phones (Picture Credit: Easy Technology Now)

I want you to take a few seconds to focus your attention on the device you are looking at right now (your phone or pc). Now think about how you can access the internet and do so many other things. Finally, think about how many different companies have basically earned money from you.

Most people would always think of ways to earn money. In Bad Genius, Lynn saw an opportunity to make money off helping others cheat.  She knew what they wanted, and she found a way to deliver it (from flying to Australia, texting in toilets and making fake puke).

The world we live in revolves around knowledge. We read, we learn, we experience and then we develop (well some people do). On your phone, you are already unconsciously supporting a whole bunch of companies. From your telco provider, internet service provider, companies advertising through games or YouTube videos and so on.

All these companies were started by someone (or a few of them) who had an idea. They had a lightbulb moment and then they researched and developed something. And now they are making money off you or the products and services you use.

How many of us really thought it’d be possible to make face-scanning a feature to unlock a phone? Or even simpler, designing a mechanical pencil with weights in it (a “shaker”) would make a world of a difference when people used it.

A little bit of interest and knowledge somewhere could lead to something new. I personally love going back to food the industry. At how something small like adding coloring to food inspired interesting creations like the rainbow grilled cheese sandwich (which was a thing at some point).

New ideas can be born from even the most basic of knowledge in something.

Concluding Thoughts

Once again, knowledge is important. It can be hard to find inspiration now but do not be discouraged. Life is an eternal journey of learning. You might find something that inspires you along the way. You might even become the next Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg.

Never stop learning, and never feel disheartened if someone claims to know more than you. We each have different interests, but should not limit our learning to that one area. Go explore the world (or the internet) and discover new things. Knowledge is not limited to anyone.

I conclude with this one key message to everyone out there:

You should keep learning new things and expand your knowledge. Find something that you are truly passionate about or are inspired by and work more on that. Leverage your personal interests and knowledge and grow!

All the best in your future, dear reader.

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Vision 2018

A new year is a new chance to do better. 2017 was a rocky year riddled obstacles, but we at The Techy Hub are onto bigger and better things this year. Our first change of the year was moving from Web development to App development, and there will be more changes to come.

“Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all that I can?”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Personal growth; we all know how important it is. But just how exactly does an employee’s personal growth benefit the company? We’ll tell you how!

As the people inside a company grow, so does the company itself. We encourage the concept of work hard, play hard; Techies are encouraged to maintain a healthy balance between our work life and personal life as we believe it will help with personal development. As we better and groom ourselves to be stronger by honing our skills, it benefits the company as well.

Also, our senior Techies will be taking the junior Techies under their wings and guiding them through this maze we call our job. This is no easy task but what better way to teach new Techies than by showering them with our wisdom.

“Never venture, never win!”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

We all love new things, don’t we? Which is why we’re looking to introduce new concepts and bring new trends to the table. For example, cryptocurrency is something we might be dipping our toes into. On the creative aspect of things, we’re going to try out some new designs for websites and apps. What kinds of designs, you ask? Why don’t you contact us to find out!

“We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Another step towards improvement will be by reaching out to more bloggers for content writing. Who better to go to than experts like bloggers? They know what works and what doesn’t, we hope to pick up on some of their tips and tricks.

“Great results, can be achieved with small forces.”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

As we talked about in this post, we have an appetite for knowledge; specifically in technology. In order to sate our appetite, we’d like to collaborate with other companies and learn from them. Having leverage over another company’s clients is also a plus point! We’re also looking to form strategic partnerships and barter in terms of services.  

In Conclusion

In conclusion, we’re looking to try out new things and expand our knowledge in order to build ourselves up. 2018 will be a year for us to scale to new heights and build our team. With our heads facing front, we’re looking forward to what the future brings us.

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An Appetite for Knowledge in Technology

When doing a thousand piece puzzle, you match one piece to another perfectly and now you only have another 998 pieces to go, great! Our knowledge of technology is almost exactly the same. The only difference is that there are more than 998 different things to learn. In fact, technology evolves so fast that it can seem like an impossible task to keep up with it all. You finally buy yourself an iPhone 6 and in the blink of an eye, the iPhone X is released and your phone and its features seem obsolete.

The reality is that technology surrounds us and we surround ourselves with technology. So many babies are already born with phones in their faces, the sea of knowledge is readily available online and other things like cameras, cars, watches and endless other things are evolving. “But I don’t think it’s important to keep up with technology because I’m happy with what I have,” you tell yourself. Denying it would be like denying the fact that we grow older each year.

As a company which embraces technology, we also acknowledge that there is so much more to learn. One key reason that grows our appetites to learn more is that we look forward to growing as a company so we can meet the needs of our potential and current clients. We also want to help everyone in our company to grow.

But worry not, I shall share some reasons on why you should develop that appetite for knowledge in technology.

1. To Keep Up with the Age of Technology

The Struggle is Real (Picture Credit: ImgFlip)

As mentioned earlier, there are already too many things to learn about technology and it will still continue to evolve and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. For most of us, trying to keep up with every single thing may be too overwhelming and thus some of us may have thrown in the towel. Pick that towel up because it is now the age of technology and we should not give up!

However, one should not give up that easily as falling behind in this world of technology could lead to a whole series of problems we would not want to deal with. For example, most jobs today require people to know the basics of using a computer and Microsoft office tools which some people do not even know how to use. So the better your knowledge in using these tools, the high chance you have of getting employed. Read more about it here.

Here at the Techy Hub, something that we do is that we are trying to keep up with the demands and the times. We have spent the past couple of months going back to the books and embracing as much knowledge as we can in moving from web to app development.

We have relooked at the way each hybrid, native and web apps work. Now we want to focus on growing by using our knowledge on app development to grow as a company. You can read more about the different apps here.

You could start by just knowing more about the things you own such as your phone and laptops. Over time they can really provide other benefits such as conversation topics with others, potential subject of interest to pursue in future, free knowledge, being more updated on times and a better understanding of the things you own (which could help you save money) and many other things. 

2. Technology Helps us Stay Ahead of Others

Youtube Star Logan Paul (Photo Credit: Daily Beast)

Logan Paul is one of the fastest rising stars of the internet. Despite the recent backlash he received over what he did in Japan, he is still a good example of getting ahead of the game. Logan (his personality aside) managed to utilize Vine (a popular video-sharing app by Twitter which has since been discontinued as of January 2017) and garnered so much fame and popularity which he brought over to YouTube and it has translated into his career and has become one of the most successful YouTubers in the world.

Here at The Techy Hub, we have monitored a trend and demand for one the most sought-after skills, App Development. By adapting to meet the demand for app development, we hope to improve our skill sets to become a developer for other companies.

We look to help other companies meet these trends. For example, most users use their phones to surf the internet. We seek to help companies transform their websites into mobile-friendly websites which could lead to a conversion.

One of the benefits of technology are the endless opportunities you can find if you try hard enough. Not all of us can be like Logan Paul and become a millionaire within years. But who knows, if you choose to learn more about technology, you could one day spot an opportunity and turn in to a millionaire within years as well!

3. Convenience and Communication

Links that Modern Communication (Picture Credit: Your Story)

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are some examples of applications we use every day. One of the few things they have in common is that they make communication much easier. They give us the ability to connect and communicate with people all around the world.

Technology has also provided us with a means of added conveniences in not only communication but other aspects of our lives. For example, we can now do so many things online ranging from shopping to banking and even to get a bachelor’s degree as opposed to the traditional methods of having to taking a number at the bank or going through the sea of shops called a shopping mall.

Now, have you ever visited websites where it was almost impossible to navigate through? Or maybe the website was just so dull and not mobile friendly? Well, that is because some companies do not opt for responsive websites.

Responsive websites are sites that are optimized to fit your needs to view a website conveniently through your phones. That is one of the things we do here, we help companies develop modern, intriguing and mobile friend sites for people. Have a look at our portfolio for yourselves.

It does not take very much time learning all the simpler and ready-to-use aspects of technology such as phone applications or the internet in general. As humans, we always look for ways to make things easier and open up more time for ourselves. On that note, it is important to understand how to use these things and even how they work. There will definitely be a time in future where everything is digitalized and we will eventually need to learn and adapt to the change.

4. You Can’t Escape Technology

Give me one too! (Picture Credit: Mutually)

“What the heck?!” you say to yourself as you look at the picture above. Isn’t it funny that our grandparents (or even parents) who are already in their golden years are trying their best to grip certain aspects of technology? We all know this to be true, the world around us is evolving, even the older ones are forced to learn about it. Even more so for those who are still working. Once again, we cannot escape technology. And if you can’t beat it, join it!

The main point here is that, whether or not we like it, we will always be surrounded by technology. Be it computers, phone applications, televisions and even the fans in our houses, these are all parts of technology. For our own good, we should start now. Better late than never right?

Concluding Thoughts

There are perhaps more thought-provoking and deeper reasoning for why you should learn about technology but these are the simplest reasons I can give. There are so many other things we could all learn about technology. That is why I encourage you to at the very least, learn more about the technology that surrounds you.

Start small with understanding how to use your computer and phones better. Then slowly move on and read more about other tech related things. If you are interested in reading more about various aspects of technology, Google is just a few clicks away!

The post An Appetite for Knowledge in Technology appeared first on The Techy Hub.

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Why We Moved From Web to Apps

From Web to Apps, Why?

It’s been 3 years, we are moving from Web development to App development. We’re adding new services with App development being one of them!

As the great Benjamin Franklin once said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”

The Techy Hub is certainly not finished; in fact, we’ve just begun. We are able to adapt to new changes in the field, and it helps us stay relevant. Technology is ever evolving and we strive to evolve along with it, which is the main reason for this move.

According to Forbes, App developing is one of the top tech skills that’s in high demand for 2018. Mobile app downloads across iOS and Android hit nearly 25 billion in 2017, so this piece of news is not surprising. Therefore, we sincerely believe this move will enable us to broaden our client list which we’re very much looking forward to!

What Is A Mobile App?

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First off, let’s get into what exactly is a mobile app; essentially, an app is a software you can download and access on a smartphone. As long as you own a smartphone, you probably use multiple apps in your daily life. For youngsters and older people alike, mobile apps have become an essential part of life; watching videos, social networking and even banking are all done via mobile apps. Downloading apps are as easy as ABC. Just head on over to the app store, a couple of taps and you’re good to go.

Fun fact: Did you know that the Nokia 6110 Snake was the first mobile app created?

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The Main Options

Now that you have an idea of what a mobile app is, it’s time to talk about the options you have when developing it. There are three main options when it comes to mobile apps: responsive website, native apps and hybrid apps.

1. Responsive Website

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A responsive website is essentially a mobile-friendly version of a website. Your website will look good on either a desktop or mobile browser. Non-responsive websites are sure to give the user a headache if they access it through a smartphone.

While this option seems like the simpler route, there are major drawbacks to it. The main one being that the user has to be constantly connected to wifi or using mobile data in order to access the website whereas both native and hybrid apps have the option to store information on the device itself, therefore not needing any network connectivity.

2. Native Apps

Native apps are designed to run only on specified mobile operating systems; a native app developed for iOS will not run on Android.

One of the biggest benefits of this option is that the app will run more smoothly. Since it’s designed to only run on a specified operating system, all the specs of that system have been accounted for. If you hire good developers—i.e. The Techy Hub—you most likely won’t be getting any complaints about the app being wonky, which is a definitely a bonus!

The drawback of this option is that if you should choose to make the app available on other devices, it’ll have to be redeveloped for other operating systems which makes it more time consuming and expensive.

3. Hybrid Apps

Unlike native apps, hybrid apps are designed to run on multiple operating systems. By using plugins, your app will still be able to access a phone’s native capabilities such as the camera.

A hybrid app will be able to run on different operating systems which means it’ll save money and time to develop—who doesn’t like that? Not that your users will really care but they shouldn’t be able to tell if the app is actually hybrid or native. Again, that’s only if you have good developers. *cough cough* The Techy Hub *cough*

However, for large-scale applications being on a hybrid can be a nightmare. Take Facebook, for example, they used to be a hybrid app but migrated to native. Mark Zuckerberg even said, “The biggest mistake we’ve made as a company was betting on HTML5 over native.” HTML5 is a code language that can be used to develop hybrid apps.

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What Are The Benefits of An App?

So why should your company have an app? What’s the benefit of having an app rather than a website? Fret not, we’re here to tell you about them!

1. Performance

Looking for something on a website may take longer to load but apps are proven to be faster due to how they store information as mentioned before. This will help make the user’s job easier with a quick in and out of the app; everyone knows less frustration equals satisfied user.

2. New Demographic

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While having an app can help with keeping existing customers interested in your company, it can also help pull in new customers of a younger demographic; namely, the younger tech-savvy generation.

3. Convenience

With people getting increasingly impatient nowadays, everyone wants things done as quickly as possible so needing to access a browser on a laptop or even their phones is usually seen as a hassle. So why go through all that trouble when an app is located right on your home screen? Needless to say, apps provide a lot more convenience, just one or two taps and you’re ready to go!

4. Customization

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On the technical side of things, apps have even more to offer. One word—customization; for both your company and customers. From colors to the interface, an app can be designed any way your company sees fit. So much freedom! You can even add in options that allow the user to chat with a customer service representative.

On the user’s side, you can provide them with the option to customise the app to their liking by tuning it to their own preferences; for example, choosing what will appear on their homepage, tweaking the colors to the basic layout.

5. Serves As a Reminder

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Seeing as how the app is something the user will see every time they unlock their phone, it can also serve as a constant reminder about your company which may prompt them to scroll through it to see what’s new. It’ll be like waving in their faces and saying ‘Hi, we’re still here!’.

 Conclusion

We hope this post has helped you understand a little more about mobile apps; what they are and their benefits. Ultimately, the decision to develop an app depends on your company and the services it provides, but with almost everything in our world being digitized why not get ahead of the game by having an app? 

If you’re interested or would like to inquire more, feel free to contact us!

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