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TIKTOK OWNER BYTEDANCE LAUNCHES NEW VIDEO SEARCH TOOL

ByteDance has introduced Douyin Search, an app for searching short video content on China's version of TikTok, directly competing with Baidu's search dominance.

TRUMP'S NEW CRYPTO BUSINESS TO OFFER ACCESS TO 'HIGH-YIELD' INVESTMENTS

Donald Trump's new crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, is a DeFi platform that offers "high-yield" investment opportunities. Trump is heavily promoting it as part of his broader crypto-related initiatives. The project is linked to his recent efforts to position the U.S. as a global leader in cryptocurrency if he wins the presidency.

CRYPTO.COM TAPS STANDARD CHARTERED TO EXPAND GLOBAL FIAT SERVICES

Crypto.com is partnering with Standard Chartered to expand access to multiple fiat currencies including USD, euros, and Dirhams through a new retail services business managed from its regional hub in Dubai. Servicing 90 countries, this collaboration aligns with the UAE's economic diversification goals and marks a significant step in Crypto.com's global expansion strategy.

INTRODUCING ABSTRACT GLOBAL WALLET

AGW is a smart wallet that uses account abstraction features to create a seamless user experience. It uses Privy's embedded wallet solution as its default signer and plans to allow control using existing EOAs and passkeys. The wallet uses Paymasters for gasless transactions and has a developer SDK to create one-click login experiences.

STORY'S FIRST PUBLIC TESTNET, ILIAD, IS LIVE

Instead of merely promising a public testnet, Story Protocol delivered it directly to users. This thread lists the first batch of apps that are available for users to try, with many more to come.

STATE OF @1INCH Q2'24

1inch saw a 12% increase in daily average volume in Q2 2024, reaching $450 million. Key metrics include a 59% rise in transactions, a 280% surge in volume on Base, and a 2% increase in 1INCH tokens staked.

WHY DEFI?

Decentralized finance is a return to the core principles of finance, offering transparent and non-discriminatory access to financial services. It democratizes lending, trading, and other activities traditionally restricted to accredited investors. DeFi's core functions of lending and trading are foundational to economic growth and represent pure forms of income generation.

EIGENLAYER CRYPTO CONSUMER APP VISION

Perpetual credible commitments allow for enforceable, verifiable promises to be made to users over long time horizons. Examples include Bitcoin, with the commitments being the total supply and full ownership. It could be used for new non-financial use cases like a DoorDash that guarantees its take rate or a game where a reward pool is shared with players.

A DEFENSE OF TEE FUD

While concerning, the recent Intel SGX key breach does not invalidate the security model of Trusted Execution Environments. TEEs offer privacy for zero-knowledge proof generation and can run various cryptographic algorithms securely. Despite the breach setback, TEEs remain a crucial component in the security approach for sensitive computations in the blockchain industry.

TON SUFFERS A SECOND OUTAGE

TON suffered another outage on Wednesday.

BITCOIN DEFI PROTOCOL THRESHOLD PROPOSES TBTC MERGER TO 'SAVE' WBTC

The Threshold Bitcoin DeFi protocol is proposing a merger with WBTC, hoping to improve security and stability in response to concerns over WBTC's new custodial arrangements involving Justin Sun's BiT Global.

EKUBO: STARKNET'S GOLDEN CHILD

Ekubo, a Starknet-native AMM, stands out with its unique token distribution and advanced features.

CRYPTO SCAMS ARE RAPIDLY EVOLVING BEYOND PIG BUTCHERING

Crypto scams are evolving to require less time to be successful, shifting from elaborate Ponzi schemes to quick, targeted scams.

EL SALVADOR'S BUKELE SAYS ‘BITCOIN HASN'T HAD THE WIDESPREAD ADOPTION WE HOPED FOR'

Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, said that the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador has not met expectations, although he still views it as a net positive for its economy.

CHIME PROVES THAT FINANCIAL BRANDING DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BORING

Chime's recent brand refresh for its mobile banking service presents a visually engaging and playful identity that disrupts typical corporate finance trends. It struck a balance by refining its existing brand features while ensuring its essence of empowerment remained intact. The transformation resulted in a comforting and accessible rebrand, showcasing a significant evolution without losing its core values.

GAMERS ARE ALREADY MOCKING THE RUMORED PS5 PRO DESIGN

Rumors about the PS5 Pro have circulated since the PS5's release in 2020. The PS5 Pro packaging was recently leaked. It resembles the PS5 Slim with only one significant design addition. The leak has caught the attention of gamers and sparked curiosity.

APPLE SPORTS IS READY FOR ALL KINDS OF FOOTBALL

The Apple Sports app has been updated with new designs for the football season, offering live scores and play-by-play updates for NFL and college games directly on your iPhone or Apple Watch lock screen. It features a new "dynamic drive tracker" that visualizes the ball's position. Apple plans to introduce a dropdown navigation menu and improved search features later this year to enhance usability and discovery of matches across various leagues.

SLACK HIDES COMPLEXITY TO CREATE EFFORTLESS ONBOARDING

Slack's onboarding simplifies complexities, making it accessible but potentially chaotic later due to a lack of workspace organization. While the company uses subtle nudges like pre-filling workspace names and prompts for customization, the absence of decision-making can result in disorganized channels.

IF YOU WANT TO TEST THE FUNDAMENTALS OF YOUR DESIGN, TAKE OFF YOUR GLASSES

Users tend to scan rather than read. The "Blurred Vision" rule helps designers identify focal points and potential issues in the visual hierarchy, guiding them to refine their work before user testing.

VISUAL QUALITY CONTROL

Visual Quality Control ensures features are correctly implemented before release in software development, enhancing user experience and reducing errors. While beneficial, it can become a bottleneck if poorly integrated. Effective communication, strategic ticket selection, and collaboration between designers and engineers are crucial for successful Visual QC integration.

CONVERT GIFS TO ANIMATED FAVICONS

Upload a GIF and convert it into an animated favicon for free.

ALPHA COLORS GENERATOR

Alphredo generates translucent colors that visually match their opaque counterparts on any background. It offers tools for importing, exporting, and adjusting color saturation.

AI-OPTIMIZED CREATIVE THINKING

Brainglue is an AI assistant designed to enhance creative thinking and communication. It features specialized workflows, visual tools, and access to leading AI models.

LIGHTNING STRIKES WITH NOMAD'S DESIGNS FOR SPORTS BETTING BRAND BETANO

Betano collaborated with Nomad Studio to create a playful yet responsible brand identity centered around a lightning bolt logo symbolizing rapid payouts and the excitement of iGaming. The new identity, which features surreal illustrations by Ed McGowan, prepares Betano for Euro 2024 and Copa América 2024 as a global partner and jersey sponsor.

DESIGNER AND ILLUSTRATOR JULIA WAND ON HER LOVE OF NATURE AND WHY SKETCHING IS CRUCIAL

Julia Wand is a designer and illustrator who blends graphic design with illustration. Her work emphasizes the importance of typography, design rules, and color theory. Wand's creative process starts with spontaneous sketching and then moves on to structured brainstorming. She draws inspiration from nature, daily life, and social media.

ARE DESIGN SYSTEMS JUST A BANDAID?

Design systems provide the basic building blocks and help teams complete work faster and more consistently. However, if an organization's core problems are deeper than an efficiency boost, it might only be a bandaid to a broken bone.

TAKE A NOSTALGIC DIVE THROUGH A VISUAL CASSETTE TAPE ARCHIVE

"Tapedeck" is a visual archive that documents diverse cassette tapes from the 1960s to 1990s, celebrating their design, cultural impact, and legacy in music history.

THE ARTISTIC JOURNEY BEHIND MAKING DUSTBORN'S DYSTOPIAN, STYLISED AMERICAN ROADTRIP

Dustborn's living comic art style combines a retro-futuristic aesthetic with satirical themes in a dystopian, alternate US.

ARIZONA'S GORGEOUS REBRAND REMINDS TOURISTS IT'S MORE THAN THE GRAND CANYON

Arizona's new tourism logo features turquoise, copper, and customizable icons, reflecting the state's diverse landscapes and culture beyond the Grand Canyon.

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ENERGY'S NEXT FRONTIER: KNOWING YOUR CUSTOMER

The energy industry has undergone significant changes in recent years, with deregulation, the rise of renewables, and the proliferation of distributed energy resources (DERs) leading to increased volatility in energy pricing. As a result, energy companies must now focus on understanding their customers' profitability and load profiles to mitigate risks and incentivize beneficial customer behavior. Despite the growing need for customer intelligence tools in the energy sector, the industry currently lacks verticalized solutions to help companies optimize their customer relationships and profitability.

MARKETING ADVICE FROM OPENAI'S AND STRIPE'S FIRST MARKETING HIRE

Krithika Muthukumar, a seasoned startup marketer who has held leadership roles at companies like Stripe, Retool, and OpenAI, emphasizes in this post the importance of a marketer's diagnostic skills in identifying unique opportunities and challenges for each company. She outlines key attributes to look for when hiring a startup's first marketer, such as curiosity about the product, a T-shaped skill set, and the ability to focus on meaningful metrics rather than vanity numbers.

THE FOUNDER'S GUIDE TO DESIGN PARTNERS

Design partners are companies that work closely with startups to co-create and provide feedback on products, often in the early stages of development or when expanding into new markets. Founders should prioritize design partners with a strong pain point in the area the startup is addressing, as this urgency will drive their engagement and representativeness of the wider target customer. Establishing clear expectations, timelines, and pricing structures is crucial for successful design partnerships, while maintaining flexibility and avoiding over-commitment to any single partner.

HOW TO DO THINGS THAT DON'T SCALE

Early-stage startups often employ creative, unscalable tactics to drive growth and build their company culture. These tactics, ranging from guerrilla marketing and in-person activations to manual forecasting and building features, can be highly effective in acquiring and retaining customers, fostering a strong company culture, and refining the product offering.

MARKETING 101 FOR AI STARTUPS

Effective marketing is crucial for the success of AI startups in today's competitive landscape. To drive growth, startups should strategically leverage various marketing channels, tailor their approach based on the target audience's awareness level, and optimize their landing pages to clearly communicate the unique benefits of their AI solution while addressing common concerns and building trust.

WARREN BUFFETT'S LOVER PARADOX: REDEFINING SUCCESS

Warren Buffett's thought-provoking question, "Would you rather be the world's best lover, but have everyone think you're the worst, or would you rather be the world's worst lover, but have everyone think you're the best?", highlights the dichotomy between inner satisfaction and external validation. Founders often face the challenge of balancing their personal measures of success, such as product impact and team development, with the allure of outward symbols of success like funding rounds and media accolades. By staying true to their core values, setting meaningful internal benchmarks, and making authentic choices aligned with their long-term vision, founders can navigate this tug-of-war and achieve true success on their own terms.

SF ACCELERATORS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

A shortlist of SF-based accelerators with open applications, from YC to Techstars and 500 Global.

GPTENGINEER

Chat with AI to build web apps. Sync with GitHub. One-click deploy.

PLAYGROUND

Design like a pro: t-shirts, logos, posters, memes, and more.

THE LOOKING GLASS: THE CURSE OF PERFECT

The concept of perfection is often tied to societal expectations and formulas for success, but it can often be an unattainable and ever-changing goal. True fulfillment comes from embracing imperfections and finding personal meaning. In the end, perfection is not about achieving a flawless state, but about finding contentment in the midst of life's imperfections.

DREAMS OF PREMIUM REVENUE MULTIPLES

Revenue multiples, calculated as enterprise value divided by revenue, are a quick way to compare the valuations of cloud companies. However, this metric has limitations as it only considers near-term revenue and ignores important factors like growth endurance, profitability, and unit economics, which can vary significantly among cloud businesses. Investors should be cautious when using revenue multiples as the sole basis for valuation, as companies with different financial profiles may warrant different multiples relative to their specific characteristics.

BABYLIST: A SLEEPING GIANT IN THE PARENTING ECONOMY

Babylist, founded by Natalie Gordon in 2011, became a major player in the parenting industry by offering a versatile online registry that allows expectant parents to add items from any retailer. The company has achieved significant growth, processing over $1 billion in gross merchandise value and surpassing $400 million in sales in 2023, largely without substantial venture capital investment. Babylist has expanded its offerings to include content creation, insurance navigation, and wishlists while leveraging strategic distribution channels like Pinterest and benefiting from increased online engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BRIGHTEN UP A ROOM

Leaving a situation at the right moment can have a positive impact on everyone involved.

HOW, AND WHEN, YOU CAN GET A VC FROM “MAYBE” TO “YES”

Venture capitalists often give a "maybe" response to startups, which usually means "no" due to the high volume of pitches they receive and the limited number of investments they make.

OPENAI IN TALKS TO RAISE AT $100 BILLION VALUATION

OpenAI is in discussions to secure funding that would value the company at over $100 billion.

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