
<YouTube youTubeId="V2izYekSSwY" />

From [Google I/O 2021](https://io.google/2021/): In this session, we (I) discuss marketing activities that help users discover and engage with what you’ve built on Google Assistant, as well as some updates to monetization features for Conversational Actions.


Driving a successful launch for Conversational Actions


<YouTube youTubeId="HX1bMuoZ6II" />

As a part of my work as a DevRel lead for Google Assistant, I did a guest segment on VOICE Talks in August of 2021, talking about why UX research for voice-first experiences is so crucial.


VOICE Talks August 2021: Trust the researchers for voice-first UX


<YouTube youTubeId="cw1wlHV4hGk" />

Tools like Eleventy, Hugo, Gatsby, Svelte, and others have given developers a superpower for quickly developing content-driven, easily manageable web properties. It's an exciting frontier for developers who are also content creators, but for non-technical creators, our favorite toolchains can feel like a labyrinth of indecipherable choices.

In this talk, we'll discuss our role in promoting the creator economy. We'll talk about the opportunity we have as developers in helping to democratize content creation for everyone, and the importance of creating a more robust, archival internet.

[Check out the slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XFJ_nQfPnX0oPOUezOEwVKLZFtptTKemtGg41RJPisQ)


JAM Stack, SSGs, and their role in empowering the creator economy


<YouTube youTubeId="OaF_WhzNAKQ" />

From my work as a Developer Advocate on the Google Assistant team, this tutorial explains the difference between _shortcuts_ and _dynamic shortcuts_ for Android, and how to use Assistant to take advantage of this functionality.


Push dynamic shortcuts to Assistant


<YouTube youTubeId="lxviLXXvs3A" />

A brief, 2-minute Demo from [Google I/O 2021](https://io.google/2021/): learn how to create your first App Action for an Android app, which lets you connect your app's features to Google Assistant


How to create your first App Action


<YouTube youTubeId="z6l-V-EOGNY" />

A quick demo from [Google I/O 2021](https://io.google/2021/): we take a look at some user experience (UX) changes for card verification code (CVC) confirmation and new payment method entry for payments on smart screens.


New Transaction Features for Smart Displays


<Image
  publicId="external-references/fullstack-dev-article-aquent/cover"
  alt="Article screenshot: What the Heck is a Fullstack Developer? Aquent UK blog"
/>

An interview with my former employer (and parent company of [Gymnasium](https://www.thegymnasium.com/)), [Aquent](https://aquent.com) about my thoughts on what it means to be a Fullstack Developer.

Description from the article:

<Aside>
  To shed light onto what is for many a mysterious role—Full Stack Developer—we
  talked to our own Star of the Full Stack, Mike Bifulco. Currently the Director
  of Technology for Aquent Gymnasium, he was previously a User Experience Lead
  and Program Manager at Microsoft.
</Aside>

Full article is available to read on [Aquent UK's blog](https://aquent.co.uk/blog/what-the-heck-is-a-full-stack-developer).


What the Heck is a Fullstack Developer? Aquent UK


<Image
  publicId="external-references/proximity-acquires-smpl/cover"
  alt="A screenshot from a press release announcing proximity acquiring smpl"
/>

In early 2020, [smpl](https://smpl.io) was acquired by [Proximity](https://proximity.space). I was cofounder and CEO of smpl - we proudly helped independent coworking spaces manage their communities with automated billing, invoicing, and community management. It was a wild ride, and I couldn't have done it without my two amazing cofounders.

We were acquired by our biggest competitor, Proximity, who are continuing the dream by creating a network of amazing, independently owned coworking spaces around the world.

[Read the press release about the acquisition](https://www.proximity.space/news/proximity-acquires-smpl-software/) to find out more.

There is another (paywalled) article on [Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-a-coworking-software-deal-proximity-buys-smpl-2020-4) about the acquisition, too!

[More about smpl](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/smpl-llc) on Crunchbase.

Tools we used to build smpl:

- [Firebase](https://firebase.google.com/)
- [Stripe](https://www.stripe.com)
- [React](https://reactjs.org)
- [Intercom](https://intercom.com)
- [LogRocket](https://logrocket.com)


Proximity Acquires SMPL Software


<Image
  publicId="external-references/matter-a-whole-thing/cover"
  alt="Cover slide: MATTER - a whole thing about design"
/>

From a talk I gave at my then-home-base [Hygge Coworking](https://wearehygge.com/) at a community event. The thesis: we're all designers, and you should give a damn about the things you put into the world.

Slides are [available on slideshare](https://www.slideshare.net/mbifulco1/matter-a-whole-thing-about-design).


Matter - a whole thing about design


<YouTube youTubeId="ukPI1zlxKqg" />

From my days working as Technical Director of [thegymnasium.com](https://thegymnasium.com): a 5-minute tutorial (lovingly referred to as a **Take 5**) showing how you can use GitHub pages to host your very own website.

The full tutorial (with additional reference material) is available **for free** on [The Gymnasium](https://thegymnasium.com/courses/take5/publishing-your-first-github-pages-website)

Gymnasium is a treasure - if you like this, get yourself a free account at [thegymnasium.com/register](https://thegymnasium.com/register), and start learning at your own pace today!


Publishing Your First GitHub Pages Website - Gymnasium Take 5


<Image
  publicId="external-references/the-perils-of-obedience/cover"
  alt="title slide: The Perils of Obedience, by Mike Bifulco"
/>

These are slides from a lightning talk I gave at a local conference in 2018.

I explain the Milgram Experiment, how absolutely terrifying it is, and how understanding Cognitive Psychology and Social Sciences can help us make the world a better place.

I also implore the audience to go register to vote. [turbovote.org](https://turbovote.org). Go do it!

Slides [available on Slideshare](https://www.slideshare.net/mbifulco1/the-perils-of-obedience) if you're interested in perusing.


Lightning Talk: The Perils of Obedience


<Image
  publicId="external-references/design-matters-zero-day/cover"
  alt="title slide: Design Matters, Hygge Zero day"
/>

These are slides from an empassioned talk I gave about design during a community event called Zero Day at [Hygge Coworking](https://wearehygge.com) in Charlotte, NC, USA.

The thesis: good design is important, and you should be paying attention to good-and-bad design in the world around you. Contributing to making the world better for everyone **is** everyone's job.

Slides [are available on SlideShare](https://www.slideshare.net/mbifulco1/design-matters-hygge-zero-day-93804671)


Design Matters, Hygge Zero day


<Image
  publicId="external-references/50-most-powerful-startups-in-charlotte/cover"
  alt="Screenshot: 50 Most powerful startups in Charlotte article by Axios Charlotte"
/>

I was cofounder and CEO of [smpl](https://smpl.io), a SaaS startup helping independent-scale coworking operators automate their business. We were featured in a 2017 Article by Axios Charlotte (then called **The Charlotte Agenda**) as one of the most powerful (lol) startups in town. Pretty cool!


50 Most Powerful startups in Charlotte


<Image
  publicId="external-references/edx-comprehensive-theming/cover"
  alt="Cover slide: Edx Comprehensive Theming tutorial, by Mike Bifulco"
/>

A talk I gave at Stanford University in 2016 on Comprehensive Theming for [Open EdX](https://open.edx.org).

Slides [are available on Slideshare](https://www.slideshare.net/mbifulco1/edx-comprehensive-tutorial)


Edx Comprehensive Theming Tutorial


<YouTube youTubeId="2VJmjmESvMo" />

(My talk starts at 5 minutes and 43 seconds into the video)

From [Open EdX Conf 2016](https://open.edx.org), this is a lightning talk I gave on our strategy for student support at [Gymnasium](https://thegymnasium.com), while I served as Technical Director there.


Open EdX, Slack, and Intercom


<Image
  publicId="external-references/30-under-30-2016/cover"
  alt="Photo of me being recognized as one of Charlotte's 30 under 30 in 2016"
/>

Not much on the web about this these days, but if you really want to go spelunking, here's a Wayback Machine link from late 2016 that's captured the gist of it. [Wayback Machine: Top 30 Under 30 Future Leaders of Charlotte, Elevate Lifestyle 2016](http://web.archive.org/web/20161115035530/http://elevatelifestyle.com/30-under-30-2016), and an [old facebook event](https://www.facebook.com/events/1088933411127102/).


Top 30 Under 30 Future Leaders of Charlotte - Elevate Lifestyle 2016


<Image publicId="external-references/your-app-is-ugly/cover" />

A rehash of a talk on the basics of design and aesthetics, covering color theory, swiss design, and some of the historical roots of modern design.

Authored with Andrew Miller, Jeremy Osborn, and Leah Cunningham

Slides [are available on SlideShare](https://www.slideshare.net/mbifulco1/your-app-is-ugly)


Your App is Ugly


<YouTube youTubeId="5DiJ_2Bz2hM" />

(My part starts at 13m47s, but you should watch the whole thing!)

This is a talk I gave during [Open Edx Conf 2016](https://open.edx.org) with my colleagues, comrades, and brothers in arms Andrew Miller and Jeremy Osborn, talking about how we built Gymnasium while actively experimenting with formulas for an effective MOOC.


Gymnasium - Building the plane while flying it


<Vimeo vimeoId="84388498" />

This is a talk I gave at [Blend Conf](http://2013.blendconf.com/speakers/mike-bifulco/) in Charlotte, NC USA in 2013, when I was working for [Microsoft](https://microsoft.com) as a UX Designer. If you're interested in learning how to design apps for a version of Windows that came out in 2012, this is your day!

Slides are [available on Slideshare](https://www.slideshare.net/mbifulco1/designing-windows-81-apps-from-the-ground-up)


Designing Windows 8.1 apps, from the ground up


On my walk this morning, I found myself wondering what it's going to be like when things go back to normal.

If you've ever read the book Hatchet, there is a boy in the book named Brian who is stranded alone in the wilderness with only a hatchet for survival. I read it when I was in middle school - the main plot line in the book illustrates is how difficult solo survival can be. At the very end of the book is about Brian's experience going the grocery store for the first time after he's rescued, and what it feels like when he's thrust back into a world where the food at his fingertips is endlessly plentiful.

He suddenly sees the grocery store as a fruitful oasis of fresh produce, and snacks, and meat, and all the things he could ever want — thing that he just straight up didn't have while he was stranded alone.

What it's going to be like when the world comes back together? What are going to be the things that I have back in my life that I'll have missed?

I'm looking forward to finding out what my grocery store is. I'm looking forward to having something-like-normal back, and I'm looking forward to being able to appreciate those things.

Lately I’ve been trying to center myself on that.

I’d like to encourage you to center yourself on some of those things, as well as the things that you have right now that are going well (no matter how small they might be!). Hopefully, some things in your life are working out still.

For me, at least those things are the things that keep me going right now.

## There’s still great work being done

These are a few things I’ve found useful this week from far and wide

- 📉 [HealthData.org](https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections) has a frequently updated view of how each of the 50 states + DC are flattening the curve, as compared to hospital capacity. A remarkably well-done data visualization, but a sobering reminder of where we’re at.
- 🎨 [Dracula](https://draculatheme.com/visual-studio-code/) is a color theme made for VS Code (and many other editors) which is based on great color theory, and is frequently and lovingly updated.
- 🌲 [Offset.earth](https://offset.earth/?r=5d386c6667bad5001010ffae) is a wonderful service which will let you donate a couple bucks a month to offsetting your carbon footprint by funding the planting of new trees and other Gold Standard approved projects.

I hope you have a great day.

Talk soon!


On normalcy


Hey there - I’m [Mike Bifulco](https://twitter.com/irreverentmike). I’m a programmer, designer, entrepreneur, author, and podcaster… and I’ve been working remotely as the Technical Director for [Gymnasium](https://thegymnasium.com) (an online code school) since 2015, contributor to [Workfrom](https://workfrom.co) since 2016, and cofounder of [smpl](https://smpl.io) (software for independent coworking companies) since 2017.

My guess is that if you’re reading this, you’re a newly remote worker, due to the rapid and terrifying expansion of the COVID19 Pandemic. I’m not here share medical advice; if that’s what you’re after, there’s far better places to look.

This publication is meant to help all of us who are suddenly tasked with doing our job from somewhere uncomfortable. Let’s talk about working from home.

I’ll be sending out periodic updates with some stream-of-consciousness thoughts on working remotely, or living in the world in 2020, or being human… whatever feels like it makes sense.

Primarily, I’ll share a few things which might be helpful to you right now.

Stuffing work-life into your home-life
As I see it, making remote work work isn’t easy. It took me quite a while to get used to. Save yourself some trouble, and do these things first:

- 🖥 Separate work from home. When you’re working, you should feel like you’re working. Don’t set up in front of the TV with Netflix on. Give yourself a nice, clean place to work from, and situate yourself there only when you’re working. If you live in a small space, this may mean transforming your coffee table or dining table to work-mode during your working hours.
- ⏲ Give yourself a schedule. Do you normally work from 9-5? Make it so, at least to start! Remote working can mean an extremely flexible lifestyle, for sure, but it will probably also cause a massive dive in your productivity, at least at first. Do yourself a favor and stick to your normal work hours for a few days, until you get into the swing of things.
- 🗣 Communicate with your people. If you share your living space with other people, it’s best to be extremely forthcoming about what you need to get work done. Don’t do well with distractions? Explain that to them. Do you need to be sure your kids won’t barge in on video calls? Tell them! Communicating is fun and nice, and you’re going to need to do a whole lot of it.

That’s all for now. If there’s anything I can do to help you or the people that matter to you figure this all out, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line [@irreverentmike](https://twitter.com/irreverentmike).

(If this was helpful, I’d love it if you’d share it with someone who might also like it!)

This post is a sample from one of my weekly newsletters.  If you liked it, you can also subscribe to my newsletter Tiny Improvements here 👇🏼




#Tiny Improvements