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The HackerNoon Newsletter: Profit-hungry Corporations Own Your Most Intimate Data (1/30/2025)

2025-01-31 00:04:36

How are you, hacker?


🪐 What’s happening in tech today, January 30, 2025?


The HackerNoon Newsletter brings the HackerNoon homepage straight to your inbox. On this day, Charles I, King of England, was executed in 1649, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist. Gandhi in 1948, and we present you with these top quality stories. From DARPA’s Bold AI Plan to Stop Money Laundering in Its Tracks to Hybrid Work is Frustrating—Heres What Employers Can Do Instead, let’s dive right in.

Design Shifts at HackerNoon: Streamlined Top Nav, Quick Search and Settings Dashboard 🚀


By @product [ 2 Min read ] HackerNoon has just rolled out a major update to its design. The new design includes a revamped Top Nav, Quick Search and a new Settings Dashboard. Read More.

Profit-hungry Corporations Own Your Most Intimate Data


By @juancguerrero [ 3 Min read ] In 2025, we shouldnt be trusting our bodies most intimate data to closed systems run by profit-hungry corporations. Read More.

Hybrid Work is Frustrating—Heres What Employers Can Do Instead


By @vrateek [ 5 Min read ] The key to successful RTO is see it from a difference lens — to make it an opportunity to re-design a new work and employee experience. Read More.

DARPA’s Bold AI Plan to Stop Money Laundering in Its Tracks


By @thesociable [ 3 Min read ] DARPA’s A3ML program aims to eliminate global money laundering, but could its algorithms be weaponized for precrime purposes, affecting privacy and crypto? Read More.

Could China’s DeepSeek Shatter the ‘More GPUs, More Power’ Theory?


By @linked_do [ 9 Min read ] It’s early 2025, and we may already be witnessing a redefining moment for AI as we’ve come to know it in the last couple of years. Read More.


🧑‍💻 What happened in your world this week?

It's been said that writing can help consolidate technical knowledge, establish credibility, and contribute to emerging community standards. Feeling stuck? We got you covered ⬇️⬇️⬇️


ANSWER THESE GREATEST INTERVIEW QUESTIONS OF ALL TIME


We hope you enjoy this worth of free reading material. Feel free to forward this email to a nerdy friend who'll love you for it.See you on Planet Internet! With love, The HackerNoon Team ✌️


HackerNoon Decoded 2024: Celebrating Our Management Community!

2025-01-31 00:00:12

Welcome to HackerNoon Decoded: Management Edition—the ultimate recap of the stories, writers, and trends that defined your 2024!

\

In The World Of Management, You Wrote The Rulebook For Excellence

\ ‘Call your manager!’ Jeez, Karen, okay! We know you want management tips, but no need to be unhinged.

\ If this was your top tech category, you're already part of the 0.54% HackerNoon community diving into the nitty-gritty of our management stories.

\

\

:::tip Dive into Your HackerNoon 2024 Decoded—Explore Your Data On Your Profile Page Now!

:::


Most Read Management Stories

Here are the 10 stories that had Management feeling extra in 2024:

  1. Human-centric Crisis Management: Nurturing Resilient Teams in Hi-tech Environments by Dmitry Bagdasaryan
  2. MIT Has Released a Bunch of Free Courses: Discover 5 To Boost Your Tech Career by Amply
  3. How To Go From Manager to Leader by Vinita Bansal
  4. Behavioral Interview: The Guide to Fitting In by Slava Petrochenko
  5. Importance of Mentoring in Digital Tech by Kate Grizik
  6. Meta’s Software Engineer Levels Explained by Alex Rashkov
  7. A Dozen (or so) Learnings From 15 Years of Software Incident Management by Arjun
  8. Unhappy With Your Manager? Fix It Without Changing Jobs by Slava Petrochenko
  9. What Skills Will Help You Become a Good Development Team Leader? by Aleksandr Guzenko
  10. Good Managers Know to Not Make These Mistakes by Vinita Bansal

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Top 10 Management Enthusiasts

These readers couldn't get enough of Management content:

  1. Ann Kuss
  2. Công Nguyễn
  3. Alex Rashkov
  4. @孙波undefined_a3ij9etg
  5. Andrii Poddubnyi
  6. @markzoopark
  7. @hacker-cm4ubmcwx0002bz0fh06jbfip
  8. Pascal Teho
  9. @hacker-cm4ubmcxc000ebz0fe0iz6svu
  10. Simon Hough

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Top 10 Management Writers

These prolific writers shaped our content landscape:

  1. Vinita Bansal
  2. @heuristicsearch
  3. Leon Adato
  4. Viktor Didenchuk
  5. Amply
  6. Scott D. Clary
  7. Jon Stojan Media
  8. Dev Leader
  9. Alex Rashkov
  10. Slava Petrochenko

\ Take advantage of this recap and catch up on some of the most-read stories, subscribe to your favorite writers, or start writing yourself— try this writing template. You too could make this list by next year!

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Thank You, Hacker!

We want to take a moment to thank you for your continued support and for choosing HackerNoon as your go-to platform for all things tech. Your engagement, feedback, and passion for sharing knowledge have helped make HackerNoon what it is today. We're grateful to have you as part of this incredible community, and we can’t wait to see what you’ll achieve with us in 2025 and beyond! \n

:::info Curious about HackerNoon’s Global Decoded? Check out the blog post here!

:::

:::tip Dive into Your HackerNoon 2024 Decoded—Explore Your Data On Your Profile Page Now!

:::

\ Happy HackerNoon Decoded!

Design Shifts at HackerNoon: Streamlined Top Nav, Quick Search and Settings Dashboard 🚀

2025-01-31 00:00:08

Hey there! We've been busy at HackerNoon, rolling out some slick design updates to make your experience even better. Let's dive into the revamped Top Nav, Quick Search, and the all-new Settings Dashboard. Let’s dive in!

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Streamlined Top Navigation

Navigating our top menu is now simpler than ever! All primary navigation options are conveniently available on the top bar, with additional links accessible via the 'More' button in the side menu. In this side menu, you'll also find secondary links to favorite features like our Merch Shop, Startups of The Year, Learn Repo, and Help Section.

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:::info You can also access our Top Nav by clicking the three-lined icon at the top right corner of your screen.

:::

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Quick Search’s New Look

Have you used our search tool lately? If not, now’s the perfect time to try it out!

With its sleek new design, you can:

:::tip Learn more about our search function here.

:::

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New Settings Dashboard

Our devs just rolled out a major update to our settings dashboard, designed to give you more control and a smoother experience. Explore an all-new design and improved UX that makes managing your HackerNoon account simpler than ever.

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Here’s what you can do:

  • Profile Page: Update essential information like your name, handle, bio, location, and avatar. Manage your social links, and calls to action and showcase your work history.

  • Email Settings: Stay in control of your subscriptions, from marketing newsletters to TechBriefs.

  • Rewards Tab: Check out ongoing Writing Contests and review your past awards.

  • Web3: Connect your wallet, mint your HackerNoon name, and access stories backed on Arweave.

  • Other Settings:

  • Account: Personalize your experience by allowing us to curate content that matters to you.

  • Appearance: Customize your HackerNoon look with different themes.

  • Terms: Access our terms of service anytime.

  • Contact Support: Easily send your queries to our support team.

  • Logout: Log out with just one click.

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All your settings, simplified and streamlined on one page—easily manage your HackerNoon presence!

\ We hope these tweaks make your time on HackerNoon smoother and more enjoyable. Give them a spin and let us know what you think!

\

:::tip Subscribe to HackerNoon's Product Updates account to stay in the loop on our latest feature deployments.

:::

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Profit-hungry Corporations Own Your Most Intimate Data

2025-01-31 00:00:03

They want you to pay $400 for a smart ring. Then they want you to pay monthly to access your own health data. Then they want you to trust them to keep that data safe – forever.

\ Here's the uncomfortable truth: Your most intimate health data is locked in a beautiful, overpriced prison.

\ While Oura, Samsung, and Ultrahuman compete to build the prettiest handcuffs, they're all missing something crucial: In 2025, we shouldn't be trusting our bodies' most intimate data to closed systems run by profit-hungry corporations.

\ Think about it. Right now:

\

  • Oura charges you $349, then demands a subscription to access your own data

  • Samsung locks you into their ecosystem, excluding iOS users entirely

  • Ultrahuman offers "raw data access" – but only to selected partners

    \

But here's what the wearable industry doesn't want you to understand: We have all the technology to build something better.

\ Let's break down what they don't want you to know:

  1. The sensors? Off-the-shelf components

  2. The algorithms? Many are open source

  3. The infrastructure? DePIN solved that

  4. The incentives? Web3 cracked that code

    \

The real innovation isn't in building better sensors – it's in liberating the data they collect.

Here's where DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) changes everything:

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  • Open source hardware specifications

  • Decentralized data storage

  • Token-incentivized development

  • Community governance

  • API-first approach

    \

The market isn't just ready. It's screaming for disruption.

\ Think bigger than just another smart ring. We're talking about:

  • Users owning their health data (actually owning, not renting)

  • Developers building without permission

  • Communities governing features

  • Researchers accessing anonymized data pools

  • Everyone getting paid for their contributions

    \

But here's the billion-dollar insight: The value isn't in the hardware. It's in the network.

\ Imagine a smart ring where:

  1. Hardware is open source and auditable
  2. Data is encrypted and user-controlled
  3. Features are community-driven
  4. Value flows to all participants
  5. Innovation is permissionless

\ It's not just possible. It's inevitable.

The playbook is simple:

  • Open source the hardware designs
  • Decentralize the data storage
  • Tokenize the incentives
  • Democratize the development
  • Liberate the APIs

So why isn't anyone building it?

Simple: Because the incumbents are too invested in their walled gardens, and the rebels haven't realized the opportunity yet.

The real crime isn't that nobody's building it. It's that we've accepted the status quo for so long.

\ Every day we wait:

  • Personal health data gets more siloed
  • Users lose more control
  • Innovation gets more stifled
  • The opportunity gets bigger

\ The next great Web3 project won't be another DeFi protocol or NFT marketplace.

It'll be the liberation of our most intimate data.

\ Think about it:

  • DePIN provides the infrastructure

  • Web3 provides the incentives

  • Open source provides the trust

  • Community provides the innovation

    \

The blueprint exists. The technology exists. The market exists.

\ All we need is someone brave enough to build it.

\ Welcome to the future of health tracking. Your body's API is waiting to be freed.

\ Are you ready to build it?

\ The $1B market is waiting. The tools are ready. The users are desperate.

\ The only question is: Who will be the first to DePIN our health?

Meet COOCO, The BD School, and ClikinTech: HackerNoon Startups of The Week

2025-01-30 23:30:07

Welcome back to another edition of HackerNoon Startups of The Week! Each week, the HackerNoon team showcases a list of startups from our Startups of The Year database. All these startups have been nominated as one of the best in their respective category or region.

\ This week, we’re happy to bring you COOCO, The BD School, and ClikinTech!

:::tip Want to be nominated for HackerNoon’s Startups of The Year? Learn how here.

:::

Meet the Startups of The Week!

COOCO

Coming home from a long day of work and having to cook can get tiring quickly, but it doesn’t have to. That’s where COOCO steps in. Register the ingredients that you currently have in your fridge, and COOCO will recommend recipes based on those ingredients. On top of that, it can help you come up with meal plans based on your preferences.

\ COOCO was nominated for Startup of the Year in the Messaging & Communications and the Blogging categories.

:::tip Support COOCO - Vote here!

:::

The BD School

There are plenty of educational platforms where you can learn about math, coding, and most other things. But how many educational platforms are solely dedicated to teaching about business development? The BD School has courses to teach you about soft skills, cold outreach, and more.

\ The BD School is nominated for Startup of the Year in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and is also nominated in the Training and Consulting category.

:::tip Support The BD School - Vote here!

:::

ClikinTech

With so many software development companies out there, it’s hard to choose the right one. So, how about choosing the one that has had over 220 clients and has worked on 486 projects? ClikinTech has spent over 1,320 hours helping businesses reach their full potential by providing services such as mobile app development and integrating AI and ML.

\ Based in Kolkata, WB, India, ClikinTech was nominated for Startup of the Year in the Marketing Category.

:::tip Support ClikinTech - Vote here!

:::

Featured Interview of the Week

If your startup was nominated in any category, you can publish an interview for free where you can talk about your startup, the services it provides, and why people should check it out and vote for it. But the first step in doing that is to create a business page on HackerNoon. With this, you can create and edit your own Evergreen Tech Company News Page, plus be included in our Tech Companies ranking.

\ The interview template we’ll be checking out this week is the Startups of The Year 2024 Melbourne Interview. Using this interview, showcase your startup’s milestones and achievements, explain what it was like to build a startup in Melbourne, and explain how your startup is impacting the lives of the people of Melbourne.

https://hackernoon.com/meet-cooco-startups-of-the-year-2024-nominee?embedable=true

COOCO filled out the General Interview template, and here’s what they had to say about being nominated for Startup of the Year:

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Participating in HackerNoon's Startups of The Year is not just an accolade; it’s an opportunity to amplify our mission. We aim to connect with visionaries, partners, and users who share our passion for transforming the food landscape. This recognition will not only bolster our visibility but also inspire others to join our movement toward a more sustainable future.

\

:::tip Want to be featured on HackerNoon’s Startups of The Week? Share your startup’s story - use this interview template!

:::

Featured Startups Special Package

HackerNoon’s Startups of The Year is an amazing marketing opportunity that could do wonders for your startup. Whether your goal is to increase your brand awareness or lead generation, HackerNoon has startup-friendly packages to help your startup go even further. Let’s check out the Content Marketing package and what it has to offer.

Content Marketing: 10x Distribution!

Here’s what this package offers:

  • Your business page with your logo, introduction, call to action, and socials on HackerNoon.

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  • 3 stories published on HackerNoon, along with editorial support to enhance their impact.

  • Your articles are converted into audio stories and distributed via audio RSS feeds.

  • Each story is translated into 12 different languages.

  • Social media promotions of your stories.

    \

  • Multiple permanent placements on HackerNoon.

\

\

:::tip Learn more about this package here or book a meeting with us!

:::

\ That’s it for now. But next week, we’ll have 3 more incredible startups to showcase!

\ See you next time,

The HackerNoon Team


About HackerNoon’s Startups of The Year

Startups of The Year 2024 is HackerNoon’s flagship community-driven event celebrating startups, technology, and the spirit of innovation. Currently in its third iteration, the prestigious Internet award recognizes and celebrates tech startups of all shapes and sizes. This year, over 150,000 entities across 4200+ cities, 6 continents, and 100+ industries will participate in a bid to be crowned the best startup of the year! Millions of votes have been cast over the past few years, and many stories have been written about these daring and rising startups.

\ Visit our FAQ page to learn more.

\ Download our design assets here.

\ Check out the Startups of The Year Merch Shop here.

\ HackerNoon’s Startups of The Year is a branding opportunity unlike any other. Whether your goal is brand awareness or lead generation, HackerNoon has curated startup-friendly packages to solve your marketing challenges.

Meet Our Sponsors:

Wellfound: . At Wellfound, we're not just a job board—we're the place where top startup talent and the world's most exciting companies connect to build the future.

\ Hubspot: If you’re looking for a smart CRM platform that meets the needs of small businesses, look no further than HubSpot. Seamlessly connect your data, teams, and customers in one easy-to-use scalable platform that grows with your business.

\ Notion: Notion is trusted and loved by thousands of startups as their connected workspace—from building product roadmaps to tracking fundraising. Try Notion with unlimited AI, FREE for up to 6 months, to build and scale your company with one powerful tool. Get your offer now!

\ Algolia: Algolia NeuralSearch is the world's only combining powerful keyword and natural language processing in a single API.

Designing the Future: A UI/UX Journey with Roman Shimin

2025-01-30 21:23:57

Welcome to Designing the Future HackerNoon’s Interview series highlighting the works and careers of UI/UX designers the world over.


1. Describe your current role and tell us what you like most about it

I’m a UX/UI Design Lead at appello.co—a company that provides software development services to many clients, from startups to large government enterprises. What I love most is the fast-paced environment—each new client needs a fully working MVP design in a short amount of time. That challenge is what drives me: diving deep into domains like aviation cargo or agricultural drone management within just a couple of weeks to figure out how everything works and then turning that into a functional, user-friendly design.

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2. How did you get into UI/UX design?

I initially wanted to work in IT primarily for the flexibility of a remote job, which would allow me to travel. I first tried front-end development, but it wasn’t the right fit. That’s when I discovered UI design and found it fascinating. After a three-month course, I spent about two years doing a variety of freelance projects, including graphic design work like flyers and business cards. While that type of work was easier to land, my end goal was always UI/UX. Over time, I built up my portfolio with more substantial UI projects, which eventually led me to more serious clients and full-time roles.

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3. What’s a design project you’re especially proud of, and why?

I’m especially proud of large-scale projects that have thousands of users. It’s exciting to realize that the product you designed is used by so many people—that’s a tangible way to see your impact. Also, the more complicated the project, the more satisfaction I get from truly understanding the client’s business model, structuring everything clearly, and delivering a solution that works.

\ Some highlights are below, these were complex, domain-specific challenges, and designing the user experience for them was incredibly rewarding:

\ A surgery-room monitoring system that tracks the operating environment.

\ A business process management platform.

\ A lab analytics application that uses AI to detect potential diseases from blood samples.

\ \

4. Tell us about a popular design trend you love (or hate)

I believe most trends have their place, but I’m not a fan of Neo Brutalism when it’s taken to the extreme. It often seems to disregard fundamental UX principles, making it tough to guide user attention or establish a clear hierarchy. While it can be visually striking, it’s not always practical for real-world applications, and I feel it’s mostly limited to platforms like Dribbble rather than actual production products.

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5. How do you balance creativity and user-friendliness in your projects?

User-friendliness always comes first. People outside of design might be surprised at how little “pure creativity” is involved on a day-to-day basis—so much of our job focuses on creating clear, usable experiences. We have to consider client branding (which can sometimes be restrictive) and collaborate closely with developers to ensure designs are technically feasible. I make sure that every feature I design can be explained to the dev team in their own terms. Within those constraints, there’s still some room for creativity, but user clarity and functionality must take precedence.

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6. What’s your favorite tool in your design toolkit, and why?

Since 2023, ChatGPT has been a game-changer for me. It’s extremely helpful at the start of a project for parsing lengthy briefs or user manuals that can be over 100 pages. It saves me hours by summarizing key points so I can quickly understand the client’s business.

Another use case is generating realistic content for mockups—relying on “Lorem Ipsum” everywhere is far less effective than using context-specific text. Realistic copy not only helps the client see you understand their business, but it also clarifies the logic for developers during implementation.

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7. Can you describe your design process, start to finish?

Some product designers might be surprised at our rapid timelines, but a typical design flow at our company can take as little as three weeks, from zero to a complete UI prototype:

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  1. Research & Discovery (Week 1):
  • Begin with a client brief and notes from our sales team.

  • Deep-dive into the client’s field, analyze competitors, and form an understanding of the user flow and information architecture.

  • Present this initial user flow to the client for feedback.

    \

  1. Wireframing (Week 2):
  • Transform the approved user flow into black-and-white wireframes, focusing on core screens and logical structure.

  • Share wireframes with the client, gather feedback, and make necessary revisions.

    \

  1. UI Design & Prototyping (Week 3):
  • Apply the client’s branding (or create one if needed) to the wireframes, polish the details, and design all secondary screens.

  • Build a clickable prototype of the final UI that the client often uses to pitch to investors or engage potential users.

    \

After these three weeks, I continued to support the development team—writing documentation, clarifying design decisions, and tweaking the UI as needed to ensure a smooth build.

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8. What’s the biggest mistake you made early in your career, and how did it affect your journey?

I don’t view them as mistakes but rather lessons I could have learned sooner. I wish I had networked more when I was starting out. Meeting people in the industry often leads to new projects or job opportunities. Also, I would have pushed myself to explore more adjacent fields—whether that’s learning more advanced design tools, understanding development constraints, or getting familiar with marketing. That broader knowledge is invaluable.

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9. What advice would you give to a designer at the beginning of their Journey?

Always position yourself as a professional. Even if you’re a beginner, back up every design decision with solid reasoning and user-focused logic. This helps prevent endless revisions from clients with their sometimes crazy ideas.

\ Also, put yourself out there—publish your designs, network, and stay curious. The more connections you make and the more feedback you receive, the faster you’ll grow.

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10. On a lighter note, what's your least favorite font and why?

I really hate Raleway. While it’s popular on Google Fonts, its numbers are inconsistently sized and aligned, which made it a nightmare on a project I once led. After designing everything, I realized the numeric characters were completely off and I had to spend a lot of time replacing the font across the entire project. It was a learning moment—but not a pleasant one!

Raleway

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That’s all!

Thanks again for taking our Designing the Future interview. Don’t forget to hit submit!

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