When people ask me what is the most exciting thing I see going on right now, I tell them about how influencers are becoming more and more vertically integrated. Huh?

So I finally learned how to properly code (backend). I had learned VB and Python before, screwed around with ruby, but never made a real app from scratch. Here's how/why I learned to use Django (the Python web framework).

Why?

If you're building a business on the Internet, you have to not only have an understanding of what's being built, but you have to get your hands dirty. Not to mention, you can't have technical people shaking their heads at what comes out of your mouth when you do try to sound like you know what you're talking about. It's also nice to not have to say "if only I had someone who could build me this." Go build the basic prototype yourself, then get it re-done by someone who knows what they're really doing.

How

I started learning Ruby on Rails over a year ago and it never clicked. That's because I was putting the cart before the horse by learning the framework without any knowledge of the language. Big mistake. I recommend anyone pick up a book on Python or Ruby before diving into Django or Rails. 

My last semester at Penn I took a class on Python, which ultimately dictated to my decision to learn its web counterpart, Django. I learned by obsessing over the tutorials on djangoproject.com. Before doing either of these things, I highly recommend learning about databases by messing around with MySQL. A good way to learn SQL is on w3schools.com. If you can't take a class on a good scripting language, then pick up a book like the "Dive Into" series.

Motivation

It really helps to learn at the same time as a friend who can pressure you into actually shipping a product. Thanks to my big homie Boris Silver, I was able to better motivate myself to learn and ship.

It also helps to build using APIs of a service you use a lot, which brings out more passion. Build something you've always wanted to see done with that particular service. Be selfish!

The hack

I built Samplespotting.com because I found myself always trying to discover the samples used by my favorite producers in their hip hop beats. I was also obsessed with the potential to curate music with Spotify metadata across the web. So, I built an API from scratch that searches The-Breaks.com for samples. After that, I integrated the Spotify API to build my queries and lookup the results on The-Breaks.com API I built. I then built the frontend in JQuery with some help from my good friend at General Assembly, Jason Jho.                                                     

This is a big leap towards me becoming more technically proficient. I now have the confidence to try to learn more complex, fancy things if need be. And with that, I leave you this:

http://open.spotify.com/track/22ngk2DRBy7audIugfYDKd           

The past four years have been quite the journey at Wharton. Pursuing the career I was passionate about would have been quite the challenge if it weren't for the support and mentorship from certain key individuals. I am extremely lucky to have identified and sought these people out for advice throughout my time in Philadelphia. When people talk about Penn fostering great entrepreneurs, they're referring to this group. I'd like to publicly thank them for all they've done for me and others like myself during my time at Penn. They have always been supportive, but most importantly, they have challenged me more than anyone else in my environment. (I hope I'm not forgetting anyone).

We will continue to grow with each other over the years, as this is just the very beginning of our journey. 

Thank you to...

Suzanne Diamond for teaching me about my strengths and weaknesses. 

Brett Topche for his sensibility when it comes to internet startups and his undying loyalty and enthusiasm towards Penn students like myself. 

Michael Aaronson for showing me that anything is possible with a Penn degree.

Kartik Hosanagar for sharing his startup experiences and inspiring so many peers to go out and start companies.

Kevin Werbach for sharing his perspective on the fundamentals of the internet that are the basis for all innovation. 

Stephen Goodman for the generosity of his valuable time.

Dr. William Hamilton for teaching me that relationships are everything.

Alexey Komissarouk for his belief in a Penn as an eastern hub for tech.

Ayaka Nonaka for her creative genius and willingness to help n00bs.

Roberto Medri for helping build a real community that cares for each other.

Simon Lu for always lending a helping hand.

Cherif Habib for stressing the importance of humor.

Phil Cortes for reinforcing the importance of composure.

Yujin Chung for stressing the significance of analytical rigor.

Meredith Perry & Nora Dweck for the JFDI motto.

Corey Pierson for blazing a trail for me.

Adriano Blaranu for showing me how to be lean.

Rob Do for supplementing the other half of my brain.

Peng Fei for introducing me to China.

Boris Silver for inspiring me to do what I love most right now.

Jon Treble for making me feel smart.

Alex Chernyak for teaching me how to hustle. 

Joe Cohen for making me realize I'm too old.

Justin Meltzer for carrying on my vision for IMG.  

Jacob Schulman for the lowdown on the latest hardware.

Sam Oldak for believing in my crazy ideas.

Bruce Easley (Drexel exception) for a critical eye.

and all the haters, because without you I wouldn't be doing anything right.

Update: I'm obviously missing all of my friends on here who don't work in tech. While you offer great support for my crazy ideas and are amazing, you are probably going into finance or something. You know who you are, and I may write about you all some other time.

One way to understand the proximity layer within the mobile stack is through Spimes. Sci fi author Bruce Sterling defines Spimes as objects that are trackable through space and time. More specifically:

"A Spime is a location-aware, environment-aware, self-logging, self-documenting, uniquely identified object that flings off data about itself and its environment in great quantities. A universe of Spimes is an informational universe, and it is the use of this information that informs the most exciting part of Sterling's argument."

In 2011, the closest thing we have to Spimes are smartphones. This data emission allows for the creation of new marketplaces, applications, and services. At this years SXSW, I saw what I would refer to as a proximity-based utopian oasis. Only for this brief period was I able to leverage the efficiency of local, realtime markets like Zaarly and the serendipity of talking other bored nerds on my phone with Yobongo. It all worked at SXSW, but seemed to dissolve as soon as I left Austin. With all the negative feedback on the lack of nearby users on the new Color app, it seemed smart for these apps to lock out the majority of users outside of a geofence.

But where do we go from here? The real staying power of these apps will be determined when they can sustain themselves across many cities. I myself have been thinking a lot about hyperlocal network effects.

In forming what my friend Boris Bogatin from NearVerse calls "disposable social networks," I believe there are a number of degrees of proximity. The first is the immediate people in your vicinity. This is the space Color is trying to tackle first. Then you have a broader radius that may cover your apartment or office building. On the outer circle, you have people within a few blocks of each other. This is the realm in which Meet Gatsby and Agora, both SMS-based foursquare mashups, are tackling. These apps look to see if there are two people within a few blocks with each other who should be meeting each other based on an interest graph extrapolated from data such as mutual twitter followers, foursquare checkins, and Facebook interests. Again, the same network effects come into play. You won't receive any introductions if neither you nor anyone around you has signed up. In order for these services to work at scale, they have to have enough people using it so that the recommendations are useful.

There's certainly a hyperlocal funnel. At the top of the funnel you have a global user base. As you make your way down the funnel, these users are separated by location, and then interest. In order to squeeze just one good match out of the funnel, there needs to be a large sample of users within a location. That's why letting a proximity-based app open to the entire internet at first is risky. It can leave people with a poor first-time experience. If, however, there is a strong enough single player mode that doesn't rely on any other nearby users, these problems can be more easily overcome. This is what we are thinking about in forming the MeepMe dating experience.

Newbmedia is going live for the Super Bowl!

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