What are payment gateways?

A payment system is a software used for payment processing on the Internet or through mobile apps. It acts as an interface between a website or a seller's mobile app. A licensed bank-member of Visa/MasterCard as a subsidiary bank can process transactions with credit cards for an online business. As a rule, a payment system is used for different payment methods , but we suggest using credit card payments as an example.

A payment system encrypts confidential credit card data to guarantee that the confidential information is transferred reliably between the user, seller and acquiring bank.

Payment systems play an important role in the performance of transactions performing as well as in payment authorization between the seller and purchaser. And they can serve both as online payment methods for small business and large business.

Choose your payment method online

This system performs a few tasks for transaction completion:

Encryption

A browser protects data transferred from the user to the provider's server. Then the system delivers data about the transaction of the payment process used by the acquiring bank.

Request for authorization

The system transfers data about the requested transaction to the issuing bank. After this, an authorization request is confirmed or rejected.

Fill in order

Once the payment system receives a reply to the request, it transfers the request to the website or mobile app to process different methods of payment.

Actually, this process lasts only for a few seconds. It is not as long as its description. Apart from payment processing, payment gateway providers perform other functions as well. They perform protection against fraud by verifying the recipient's address, verification of the address of a credit card holder, geolocation identification, and verification by scanning fingerprints etc.

Those who are familiar with e-commerce can note that the main goal is not only to identify what payment platform is better but also determine other factors you should consider to understand what platform will better fit your demands. Let's check particularities of some of them.

Comparison of payment gateways: Stripe vs PayPal vs Braintree

Braintree will be the first on our list of payment gateway comparison .

Braintree

PayPal purchased Braintree in 2013. One of the main problems with PayPal was in a redirection of the user from the seller's website to the PayPal server, and it required the user to be a registered service user. It was a reason for discontent from both parties, so the purchase of Braintree solved the problem.

Online payment platform Braintree provides developers with SDKs and adjusted API interfaces in six programming languages as well as with ready-made solutions for baskets. PayPal's Commerce feature, that was launched recently, means that dealers can integrate Purchase buttons into such apps like Pinterest or Facebook Messenger. Stripe's Relay feature may look similar to it. Braintree also has a phone support that is available for all customers.

Braintree website: pay with a few clicks

Braintree doesn't charge a monthly payment for processing payments either. It charges a commission for a transaction at the rate of 2.9% from transaction amount plus 30 cents per transaction. Braintree provides users with a special offer where your commission will be covered starting from $50.000 you processed.

If the amount you process exceeds $80,000 per month, you can get a discount.

If you receive PayPal via Braintree, you have no Braintree charges, but you will get PayPal payments.

If you receive Bitcoin via Braintree Coinbase option, your first processing in Coinbase with an amount of $1 million is free. After this, you will pay 1% of commission for conversion and 0.15% of the fee.

Some of famous clients of Braintree online payment gateway are Airbnb, Dropbox, Uber, Casper, Yelp, and others.

PayPal

PayPal can become a good alternative to other integrated payment systems in your web or mobile app. Of course, it can be integrated as the main solution, however, a lot of brands consider it as an alternative since some users don't want their credit card data to be stored on each trading platform where they made an order. PayPal is supported by all platforms. Since PayPal makes redirections to its website, you don't need a payment gateway integration . In case you want to add PayPal Express, redirection will be skipped, and Express API will submit all required information.

PayPal system on your tablet

Also, there is no necessity to pay a subscription fee. A standard rate is 3.4% plus 30 cents for a transaction. If the amount you receive monthly exceeds $3.000, you will be able to apply for PayPal Merchant Rate that reduces your fees when you increase sales. Thus, you can pay 2.4% of the standard rate depending on sales for the previous month. So, this is how payment gateway works .

Famous PayPal clients are Walmart, eBay, Adobe, and others.

Stripe

Processing payments in Stripe is conducted via its own servers. Therefore, there is no necessity to store confidential data and think about its compatibility with the PCI. Stripe's system verifies fraud on its own. Stripe offers libraries to developers in six programming languages from Java to Go as well as many community libraries.

It is worth noting that Stripe has many third-party integrations that don't require development skills, hosting or complicated adjustment from your side, like Shopify does it, for example.

But you may require a developer for the integration of this payment system into the app. Besides, if you need to add payment system into the website, there are ready-made JavaScript libraries, and also iOS and Android SDKs for mobile apps that support Apple Pay and Android Pay respectively. Stripe supports more than 100 currencies and it offers a few methods of online payment . Apart from debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, and Android Pay, Stripe support Bitcoin and Amex Express Checkout.

Stripe payment gateway to use

There won't be redirection for customers from your website. Verification will be conducted on the computer and optimized for mobile devices. In 2015, Stripe added a Relay product that allows developers to create a Purchase button in the third-party apps like Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Also, only Stripe allows users to receive payment via AliPay.

Stripe offers a standard fee to all users - 2.9% from each transaction plus 30 cents per transaction. It also provides discounts for enterprises that receive more than $80.000 per month. Also, Stripe allows users to make Bitcoin payments up to 5 bitcoins per day that equal to $625. This service also charges 0.8% from the transaction amount.

Famous clients of Stripe are Lyft, Instacart, Postmates, KhahAcademy, and Grab etc.

Full research - PayPal Vs Stripe Vs Braintree

I have no doubts that each of you can recognize the brand represented on the cover picture of this article. However, what factors contribute to the fact that practically every person in the world can recognize these two words on a red background? That's all a matter of brand identity development intended to explain the company's mission to customers and bring a positive experience.

In this article, we will tell you about the importance of branding, give several examples of successful campaigns, as well as some tips on how to brand your product on a budget.

What is branding in business?

The first thing you should understand is that branding does not exactly have to do with the logo, name, trademark or any other symbol of your company. Moreover, it cannot exist within the department of marketing only. I would say that all of these are nothing more than just components of brand development strategy but not the only things affecting it.

So, what is branding actually? Commonly, it is focused on the creation of awareness for a company, as well as the products or services it provides customers. In other words, branding contributes to the creation of the brand's image in your customers' minds.

Well, if not a slogan or logo then what helps customers form this image? That's the reasonable question with a little-blurred answer. In short, your brand's image depends on the total amount of all the impressions your customers get when interacting with anything connected with your business.

This way, the impressions the customers get can be based on a bunch of factors such as interaction with your product, the company or you personally. The last point is actually the reason why entrepreneurs all over the world start blogging and being interviewed actively. They are developing personal brand that way and to be closer to their target audience at the same time.

Each interaction tells customers something about your brand. So, if they're convinced a product or a service is advanced and innovative those traits become a part of your brand in their minds. Let's say that if you have a beautiful and easy to use e-commerce website , your brand may be perceived as experienced or even world-class. In contrast, if your design is poor and inconvenient you may look cheap and amateurish for your customers.

A few words about the design importance (Source: Kinesis )

Importance of branding to an organization

Nowadays, it is hard to underestimate the influence of a robust brand since the fight for customers is getting more intense each year. So, you should pay attention to brand building strategy since this process leads to a better understanding of business objectives, as well as allows you to align your marketing strategy.

Efficient brand marketing is able to generate new loyal customers along with increased revenue. Except for customer loyalty, it also brings loyal employees since a strong brand gives people something to believe in. Nevertheless, the brand effectivity can be measured not only by the number of purchases but the experience it provides customers with as well.

Let's consider the example of Coca-Cola and Pepsi as confirmation that shows the real power of branding, as well as how to create brand awareness correctly. In 1975, the marketers from Pepsi conducted a curious campaign. They proposed to people in various public places drink two sips of cola from cups that were not marked. After, they were asked which drink they liked most of all. Almost everyone has chosen the cup with Pepsi inside, so the winner was obvious.

The thing is that despite the fact consumers considered Pepsi to be better, Coca-Cola was dominating over Pepsi in market share. So does now, over 40 years after this campaign .

Scholars decided to study physiological reasons on why that choice was made by consumers. Without going into medical details, they conducted their tests with the help of a machine, tracking brain activity.

At first, they were sticking to the original conditions - participants had no idea what they were drinking. The outcomes were exactly the same as after the campaign in 1975 - they liked Pepsi more but now it was proven by the machine.

On the next stage of their research, scientists told participants what exactly they were going to drink. Then, the machine defined that Coke was the winner. As it turned out, drinking the known beverage our brain does not evaluate the taste itself, but memories and experience connected with a particular brand. Scientists pointed out that was the consequences of branding .

Interesting, huh? That is one of the best brand stories showing the importance of branding and it seems like several new reasons to start thinking through your branding strategy. By the way, this example of brand power is applicable to any sphere, be it the digital industry with its mobile apps and games or even farming with its foodstuff.

Emotions that drive customers to purchase (Source: SMITH )

Well, today is the day.1 March 2018.  The first day of final voting. 28 February 2018 was “technically” the last day of the primary elections.  Originally, you should have already paid the fee for running for office and created you profile and platform for office.  You also should have uploaded your CV/Resume and ID Card.

On 27 February 2018, CEC Publishes Regulations on Final Voting for Members of Parliament .  This document outlines the voting for the 1 to 9 March timeframe and the fee promissory letter.  This letter must be submitted during the 1 to 9 March time frame and must be paid by April 1 ^st .  Presumably the first Parliament of Asgardia will be announced/formed on 1 April 2018.  I will have commend the CEC as they have given candidates, on a case by case basis, the option to make payment arrangements beyond the 1 April 2018 date.

Also, there is a significant new but reasonable requirement contained in the document:

“An official statement that is not older than two weeks issued by respective authorities of the country of residence that he/she has no criminal record .”  Also, Agardia reserves the right to run an international criminal background check.

I believe we have really gotten to the point where the rubber is meeting the road and this shared dream of ours is about to take its first steps. There has been plenty of surprises along the way and as I write this there may be one or two more but we must keep our eyes on Dr. Ashurbeyli’s and our collective dream.  We must keep our heads high as this is something that has never been done.  We are not putting forth career [corrupt] politicians.  We are putting forth a Parliament of, for and by the people.  It is a truly idealistic and fresh new approach to governance.

We the Parliament have much work ahead of us but together we can!

“Asgardia.  One People and One Vision.  Together We Can.”

You can read my platform here: https://asgardia.space/en/user/6562/profile/view/

The connection between a seller and a customer has always been difficult before a mobile boom. Everything has changed since weve gotten used to having everything we need in a smartphone. Now, you can acquire users just by sitting at home or from any part of the world. Some customers prefer to order used things in their area instead of paying an arm and leg for long distance shipping. And if you are interested in a mobile solution development for local customers and sellers, well try to explain how to create such a solution the best possible way.

We know that the leading applications to sell stuff locally are LetGo, Caurousell and OfferUp.

The OfferUp developers claim that their users spend approximately 25 minutes a day in their app, just like for Instagram and Snapchat. The use of mobile applications is growing in all business areas and its a great opportunity for a P2P e-commerce market to create your own marketplace mobile app . The secret to success is simple. The easier and more comfortable the way you connect a customer and a seller is, the more successful your application will be.

Best local selling apps

The common feature of the apps like Offer Up , Carousell and LetGo is that they allow a seller to give goods free of charge. Its a great way to get rid of some small items, which you cant sell on eBay because the service charges a commission for every transaction.

LetGo app allows you to sell stuff online in a particular area quickly and easily. The service is so easy to use you can sign up via a Facebook account. And because the system cares about the security of the platform, social registration gives an opportunity to check the data of all users. Customers and sellers communicate in the chat on the platform. And you can upload photos of the items you want to sell immediately using the built-in camera in the app.

Let Go app

Carousell is one of the best marketplace apps, where you can find anything from cosmetics to automobiles. The system works similar to LetGo. A user has to upload 4 photos of an item and its description. Built-in chat, convenient search options, with the help of this application you can sell not only in your area but in other areas too. The app is also integrated with social networks, so a user can share ads there. However, Carousell marketplace has one distinction, you cant pay here. A customer can either meet with seller personally or use such services as PayPal, for instance. By doing this, service allows users to use whichever payment most convenient for them.

Carousell application

OfferUp app is the biggest marketplace for local customers and sellers. The app provides security because it allows every user to build their reputation on their profile page. Just like on eBay, users can rate a person after a deal. As well as that, customers can join their service TryYou and add their ID to prove the authenticity of a profile. The system provides a security chat but the deals are conducted personally.

Offer Up app

Business model of apps like Offer Up, LetGo and Carousell

How does OfferUp work ? These services have lots of things in common and work pretty similar. And one of these similarities is a business model which, as they claim, they dont have. These selling apps dont charge the commission for registration, profile creation, and not even for the number of ads. More than that, they dont take a commission for a deal. OfferUp developers intended to earn exclusively on advertising to keep the service free and available for everyone.

Yet, if you want to create an app like LetGo, Carousell or Offerup, we suggest you taking into consideration some of these monetization strategies.

Local marketplace app monetization strategies

Online transactions

If customers can pay via your app, you can charge a fixed price or a percent of every deal. Its easy to do with some third-party services like Stripe, for instance.

In-app-purchases

What is meant here is the ability to buy some special offers, or sellers can pay to place their ads at the top.

Delivery

Your service can also be a mediator allowing sellers to expand the trading territory.

Internal ads

An opportunity to publish action offers, special offers and a system of internal recommendations.

How great it is if there are people around you with the same passion as you have? What if your passion is a game and you need a partner but all your friends either too busy or just dont like it? Well, if you are keen on golf then we have some great news for you. Because we managed to create an app that helps users not only find a competitor for a game but much much more. Let us tell you how it all started...

How it all began

Once upon a time, there was a Swiss guy who was fond of golf. He liked playing golf with his wife but he wanted to find more experienced players in his area. So he tried to find such an app. And when he realized that there is no such, he decided to make it. He hired a development team and they made an application for him. Unfortunately, our future client met men of no scruples so his software simply didnt work.

Some people would have considered it as a fail. However, our customer is a very persistent and purposeful gentleman. He hired a technical consultant and they started looking for someone experienced and reliable who they could trust. Thats how they found us.

The client wrote us in a support chat with the request to check his existing application and say if we can fix it. Unfortunately, the code of an existing app was written badly and so we couldnt use it at all. We offered to develop the app from the scratch and this is how it all began.

Functionality description

First of all, we prepared all the documentation to the projec t. The estimation was 3 500 hours because the project was going to be vast. The customer wanted to develop iOS and Android apps at the same time plus an admin panel with lots of functionality. But first things first, lets take a look at the functionality of the applications.

The app itself has three modes. The first mode allows users find competitors and arrange time and place for a game without bets. In a second mode, you find a competitor set time and place and you set a prize for a winner. It can be either money or anything else you both agreed with. And the third mode is a dating mode, where you may find a competitor you can date with.

The app has free and paid accounts. A user can register with the help of an email, Linkedin or Facebook.

MatchPlayer - app for golf players all around the world

In the app, there is a live chat to talk to a person without living the app. But the most interesting (and the most complex) feature was a search engine with multiple filters in each mode . For instance, if you are looking for a partner, you can indicate two locations - your home and a club you play in. You can also search people by age, gender, time and dates a person is available for a game and ranking (because if you are a pro, you may not want to play with an amateur). In a dating mode, there are even more filters. Among all others, here you can indicate desirable weight and height of a person you want to date with.

After you have played with your competitor you enter your score into a table. Your competitor has to the results of a game. If he or she doesnt, they appeal to admin.

Here you can also find newsfeed. It is formed with the posts from users which means that every user can post a picture, text or share an interesting link. Admin can also post here some news about the application. The application supports two languages, English and German.

Best application for golf players

In the app, you can do much more than just search for other golf fans. For instance, you can shop here. Yes, thats right, you can purchase golf items right in the app. What is more, you can even book a golf tour to another country via the app !

Travelling mode in MatchPlayer

But that was just a tip of the iceberg. The most interesting is a part which users dont see. Its an admin panel that is packed with lots of analytical and statistics functionality. An Admin can check scores of each player and see different statistics ranking tables based on a particular golf club or region or country. He also manages promo codes that allow new users to get a premium account. Ads management (admin does it by himself). Users management, news management, golf club import and export ( there are more than 24 thousand of golf clubs in the app ), users export and much more.

Read also article Golf App Development

The attempt to erase the borders between websites and mobile apps is still relevant. The feature implemented by Google that is called Instant Apps, intended to remove this obstacle. What if you could partially replace websites with apps? That's how this technology works. It allows users to use apps without installing them. Are you already intrigued? Let's find out what all that stuff is about.

What is Instant Apps technology?

Let's take a closer look at what Google Instant Apps technology is capable of. Instant Apps were announced at the conference Google I/O 2016. One-year later, at I/O 2017, the company officially declared that developers can start using this technology for their projects.

The concept that was realized in this technology allows programmers to develop applications that can be launched directly from Google Play without the necessity to be installed. When launching, the software written for this technology acts similarly to web apps. These apps are dynamically loaded, and after the work is completed -- they do not remain in the system. An ordinary link is enough to launch the software supporting Instant Apps.

Let's say you are searching for certain goods on the web by using your Android-powered smartphone or tablet. As soon as you find an attractive link in the search results and tap on it, your device will load a so-called minimal version of a full app that the website already has on Google Play. It may contain the minimum set of features like information about the product and the 'Buy' button or adopt more of a variety of features from original app.

In order to adopt your app to this technology, you should build an app with an easily detachable part that can be downloaded separately. At the same time, it is not necessary to build a new branch of code. The main thing is to call the Instant Apps Android programming interfaces to the right place. The rest is Google's magic. When the search engine decides that it is the right moment to show the app instead of a website -- it will make a query to Google Play to run the application.

Android Instant Apps example

Besides, Android Instant Apps can use the same technologies as ordinary apps that are installed on users' devices. Talking about compatibility issues, the technology supports devices with Android 4.1 and higher. In turn, they should also have the current set of Google Play services. Of course, the solution that Google provides us with does not give the full functionality of an app. Nevertheless, it allows users to dramatically save time and facilitate interaction with the Android ecosystem.

By the way, developers are willing to choose those features that will be accessible when Instant App mode is on. Moreover, you do not have to re-write the software code. It is enough to make some corrections in order to make the app run properly. With the launch of Android Studio 3.0, the company has provided mobile developers with all the necessary tools to modulate their apps. So, to get Android Instant Apps SDK you should have the version of Android Studio no lower than 3.0.

What about load time and traffic? Nowadays, a lot of websites are obese. It is not uncommon to meet a resource consuming 10MB of your users' traffic and even more sometimes. Such sizes are almost entire applications. Taking into account the fact that Instant Apps are only a part of the original app, their size tends to be smaller.

Full article - Android Instant Apps: Introduction to Cutting-Edge Technology from Google

In light of Decree 15 we are discussing how to implement a self-sustaining economy for Asgardia. As stated in my platform I am not an economist but I will offer the following idea as a piece of the puzzle to financial self-sustainability.

I would like for us to explore becoming the next Amazon. I am sure at this point you are thinking I am out of my mind but please hear me out. Also we are brainstorming at this point.

My thought here is that instead of Asgardians buying items from Amazon and other places we can buy it from Asgardia. Implementing a sales tax that is lower than other countries to incentivize purchasing from Asgardia and also will inflow revenue of the taxes plus profit on products.

An alternate version of this plan is for Asgardia to enter into partnership with Amazon or other retailers. Asgardia would get a portion of the sales to Asgardians.

Also, is NGO Asgardia eligible for smile. Amazon.com? With this a portion of purchases are returned to Asgardia. It's a small amount but it's better than a poke in the eye and doable now maybe.

So what do you think of this idea?

In light of Decree 15 we are discussing how to implement a self-sustaining economy for Asgardia. As stated in my platform I am not an economist but I will offer the following idea as a piece of the puzzle to financial self-sustainability.

I would like for us to explore becoming the next Amazon. I am sure at this point you are thinking I am out of my mind but please hear me out. Also we are brainstorming at this point.

My thought here is that instead of Asgardians buying items from Amazon and other places we can buy it from Asgardia. Implementing a sales tax that is lower than other countries to incentivize purchasing from Asgardia and also will inflow revenue of the taxes plus profit on products.

An alternate version of this plan is for Asgardia to enter into partnership with Amazon or other retailers. Asgardia would get a portion of the sales to Asgardians.

Also, is NGO Asgardia eligible for smile. Amazon.com? With this a portion of purchases are returned to Asgardia. It's a small amount but it's better than a poke in the eye and doable now maybe.

So what do you think of this idea?

What is GitHub: first source code repository

GitHub - a social repository for open source code projects that use Git for source code versions control. This host site is a distributed file version management systems. Linus Torvalds created this project for Linux kernel development control. Such projects like Chromium, jQuery, PHP, MediaWiki etc. use Git. Good news - this free software is released under GNU GPL license version 2!

The mission of GitHub is to make the development process quick and captivating, especially when a few individuals simultaneously are working on the same task. Apart from being a good tool, GitHub is a large educational source. This service includes more than 21 million of code hosts. So let's take a look at GitHub features .

GitHub benefits

GitHub is gaining the lead, in our opinion. And you should check out its strong sides to find out why.

Bug tracking

GitHub integrates this feature to simplify search and bugs fixing. To understand what should be done, a developer just opens the dashboard of each project and filters the information. Questions can also be sorted according to their popularity, update time and so forth. This software also has a convenient user interface that makes it source No.1 among the IT-developers. It can be an answer to your question 'Why should I use GitHub ?'

Find your project easily

GitHub allows finding easily open source code projects. Also, you can find an information concerning learning and searching of open source code projects and making them into groups. In addition, GitHub shows trend repositories and sort them by days, weeks, or months.

Meet new developers

Some thousands of new developers worldwide join the large network of GitHub users to share their experience and express ideas.

Share your experience

Gists allows users to share code, text fragments, or any information with other developers. It can be used for text exchange, and gists work as git repositories, therefore you can just bifurcate them and update their versions. So if you use it in open source code website , it can be a real alternative.

Coordinate your projects together

GitHub has effective and clear features for team management. Thus, that the efforts of people engaged in working on the project are easily coordinated through this source. In this case, the outcome of the work is high.

Integrated code search

GitHub supports code search whether it be from a specific project or a website. Moreover, this platform has a perfect SEO, so users can find any code string located in public repositories.

High compatibility

Most cloud hosting services perfectly match GitHub. Any project located on this source code hosting can be customized for these services within a few seconds.

Weak sides

• Only premium users can use all GitHub repositories. The price for using this service is rather high. Nevertheless, the quality of service it provides is worth the candle.
• Restrictions on file size . The repository can host information up to 1 Gb and file size cannot exceed 100 Mb.

GitHub page: find the code you need

What is GitLab: its meaning and features

Developed on the basis of Git version control system, GitLab is one of the best web platforms for hosting project source codes. Although GitLab is similar to GitHub in terms of functionality, it seems to be a better choice for teamwork than its famous counterpart and GitLab features may be different somewhat.

GitLab exists in two forms. The first one is SAAS - website with open registration, and the second one is an individual solution GitLab Community Edition. They both can be perfectly customized to any service.

GitLab benefits: reasons to use GitLab

What's interesting can you find on GitLab?

Free service

Users can find an unlimited number of private repositories in GitLab. This service is completely free. Nevertheless, there is a notification that users will have to pay for storing files that exceed 10 Gb in their size.

Open source code repository

GitLab software is available under the license with an open source code.

Free hosting

There is a Community Edition - free source code repository for Debian, Ubuntu and CentOS computers. Enterprise Edition is a paid solution that adds proprietary features over Community Edition, improving integration with other online tools, server options management, workflow management as well as authentication and integration with authorization.

Bug tracking mechanism

GitLab has an effective integrated bug tracking mechanism. Users can create tasks, comment and close them.

Files editing in the web interface

Editing of files is possible directly in the web interface and you can do it without loading of the repository. So if you need to make small changes in an open source code websites , this way is that what you need.

LDAP integration

Full integration with LDAP . Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is an app protocol for access and support of distributed directories services around the Internet. GitLab EE adds additional features such as support of several LDAP servers and group synchronization.

Its drawbacks

• The interface is rather slow - switching from one page to another takes some time.
• Technical problems with repositories are quite frequent.

GitLab platform to use source code hosting

What is BitBucket: third participant in a race

BitBucket can be called as a real worthy competitor to GitHub. Why BitBucket? Different operating systems support this platform. You just need to create to register on the official website and then you can create your personal account. In fact, it is based on a source code management mechanism. You can simultaneously use the code with integrated comments, and also make requests, manage and share your Git repositories. It is possible to create a flexible deployment model for any team. Moreover, you can get access to private and public repositories without any difficulties.

BitBucket advantages

And, finally, BitBucket comes into play!

Free for small teams

If your team includes no more than 5 individuals, you can get an unlimited number of free private repositories. So, this source code repository hosting doesn't charge a fee for each private repository, it charges a fee only for a number of repositories in total.

Query management system

BitBucket is provided with an integrated system of query management.

Authentication via GitHub

BitBucket supports social media and authentication via GitHub.

Integrated JIRA tool

Bug tracking tool JIRA is developed by Atlassian. You may be acquainted with the previous result of their work - BitBucket service. When the components of bug tracking are integrated, JIRA automatically updates information about problems when a new commit is performed in a BitBucket repository and here BitBucket benefits are obvious.

Repositories importing

Importing of existing repositories. Great feature, isn't it?

Discounts for students and teachers

Atlassian suggests student licenses for students and teachers for Atlassian products developed for educational purposes. BitBucket is included, therefore students and teachers can have unlimited private repositories with an unlimited number of participants.

Disadvantages

• Private repositories are free for a team with 5 members and fewer. If the team is larger, it will be necessary to pay for each additional team member.
• The only way of search is to launch repository and find it locally or use external apps.
• Not so stable as GitHub. Some problems during a work session may slow down the process.

Use Atlassian BitBucket for team work

GitHub vs BitBucket vs GitLab

I want to ask the question about your family's reaction to you embracing Asgardia?  My wife thinks I am crazy and this weekend when I was filling out the paperwork to renew my passport so that if elected to parliament I can travel to Vienna, Austria.  Her mom asked she is going with me to which my wife quipped, "No, somebody has to be here to contact the State Department when my husband gets kidnapped."  I responded, "well, you are my emergency contact with the State Department."

She has also admonished our kids to not mention to their classmates that daddy is running for parliament.

On a more serious note, I have explained to her the vision behind Asgardia.  She still thinks the whole idea of Asgardia is crazy talk even though she passively supports me in that she does not try to interfere with me pursuing this "dream."  She see that this idea is important to me and out of love she lets me pursue the dream.

So my question for you the reader, how has your family responded to your pursuit of this dream of Asgardia?  Are they supporting you, indifferent or actively trying to get you to stop?  What do you think it will take for them to see it as real?  Will the first Parliament meeting in Vienna be enough or will it take recognition by another country?  What do you think?

The digital evolution has touched many spheres of activities and the legal industry is not an exception. The popularity of mobile devices is increasing rapidly and has already surpassed desktops, so it is almost impossible to find a person who doesn't use a smartphone. The latest research conducted by Hootsuite shows that mobile phones make up 50% of global traffic having increased 30% in the last year, while desktops take 45% with a decrease of 20% .

Respectively, being the demanded product, mobile app developers provide these devices with tons of useful applications intended to solve a wide spectrum of problems. In other words, mobile apps can be used for any industry, it is only a matter of finding the right approach.

In this article, we will consider some reasons for legal companies to create their own law apps, as well as features it should have.

Benefits of having a law firm software

At the first glance, the creation of a mobile solution for your law firm may seem to be senseless. However, let's just look at things from a different angle. A mobile app is not just a way to improve your customers' experience but a solution with powerful marketing potential as well.

Let's consider several main points in favor of having a software for law firms.

It is a global standard nowadays

Just look around, there are thousand of world-known companies from different industries that already use mobile apps as a mean to build loyalty, advertise a brand or provide their customers with a cutting-edge experience.

Companies that already have mobile app strategies

You may say that the companies listed above have unbelievably huge budgets, so they can afford to have an app. However, the IT market is growing and it is not as difficult nowadays to find affordable app developers as it was during some time after the introduction of Android and iOS.

The law firms that have got law apps already are on their way to learn how to deal with the opportunities that bring mobile solutions efficiently. That means they are one step ahead of their competitors that have no app.

Apps are perfect for content

There are dozens of activities that law firms are faced with daily. All of them can be optimized for an app to conveniently access a certain type of a content. Such content can be guidebooks, charts for law comparison, various calculators, recruitment and client training tools etc.

Your customers want an app

According to statistics, over 76% of adult Internet users within the US are searching for a lawyer with the help of online resources and 36% of them search via their smartphones or tablets. Studies show that users prefer using mobile apps over mobile-friendly websites .

We can see that they spend 86% of the time on mobile apps and only 14% on searching the web. Moreover, the average time that users spend on apps is increasing from year to year, unlike browsing that is decreasing.

Time spent on different app categories

As it was already mentioned, the core of a successful law apps is a well-thought out approach to customers, including features and information they would like to have access to.

This way, many branded apps of law firms are providing their users with an opportunity to get updates concerning their case right in the app in order not to let their customers drown in an ocean of emails. Moreover, if there is something urgent to say, your iOS/ Android developers can set up push notifications.

Types of legal mobile apps

Now, when you are aware of some advantages of creating law apps, it is high time to decide on a type of application depending on your preferences, mobile strategy and/or sphere of activity. Generally, law apps can be divided into ones needed for a company's inner processes or for ones that are more customer-oriented.

Building an app for lawyers

Obviously, the functionality of law firm software may vary and depend on a company's needs. However, you should remember that the cost to develop an app for lawyers is fully based on features you expect to see there. Underneath, you can find several variants of utilization that your lawyer application can be applied for:

• Promotion of a firm
• Generation of referrals
• Customers retention and loyalty encouragement
• Efficient time and money management

In order to help you determine the appropriate functionality and type of your software for lawyers, we turned to research conducted by Fliplet to provide you with more statistics of your possible competitors.

So, according to the study, event apps take the leading position having 59% of the total law firms apps developed in 2016 or 2017. Reference/content marketing applications take 27.4% and they are followed by interactive tools that have 10.9% . The client support apps take only 9.6% .

Moreover, in the same research, we have found some curious figures concerning law firms and legal apps for lawyers , you can look through them on the picture below.

Statistics showing the growth of legal apps (Source: Fliplet )

As you can see, the types of legal apps are not limited to solutions for customers. A high percentage of apps are focused on being used by the company's employees.

Creation of software for attorneys

Around 91% of all attorney specialists apply apps for their professional needs. Generally, the main features intended to facilitate the daily duties of legal sphere workers are the following:

• Communication with colleagues
• Recruiting tools
• Organizers (e.g. calendar, meeting scheduling, bookings and so on)
• Transformation of voice into the text
• Storing, sharing and managing documents

Besides, these types of law apps for iPhone and Android can be used to give your partners access to certain information or the company's services. Additionally, you can implement a feature that allows you to sign contracts in electronic format. That feature is able to save a lot of time and increase efficiency.

Another feature contributing to increasing efficiency is a document library. By implementing it in your app, you allow your employees to work on documents on the go.

Also, to avoid long searches of particular laws in heavy books, you can simply integrate them into your app and look through them every time you need, having the device at hand.

Creation of legal apps oriented to customers

Basically, law firm apps were just a kind of brochures and could not propose many really valuable features and opportunities for their users. However, with the development of the IT industry, it became understood that apps have the great potential for providing better service.

In our time, when the quality of service has become one of the main ways to win the competition, mobile apps unleashed their potential driving more loyalty and credibility to brands.

The multiple studies conducted over recent years show that it is more convenient for modern customers to set up a meeting in written form rather than pick up a phone. So, if you want your application for lawyer or user to be valuable for users, this feature is a must.

However, not only scheduling appointments may be useful for your users. You can also provide them with an opportunity to access all the relevant information about their case.

The list of basic features for legal apps for lawyers and users oriented to customers is the following:

• Synchronization between an app and website
• Push notifications for keeping customers informed In-built chat
• Support of cloud storages for sending files (e.g. Dropbox)
• FAQs and different supporting materials
• 
  

Full article about law apps

Greetings Asgardia, please visit the link below to view my platform video:

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Are you planning to develop your own app? Software development companies can come to the rescue when you face certain pitfalls on your way. But before choosing the app development company, first, you must determine what your app should be. That is you need to find the correct strategy applicable in your case.

There is no a single good and unique mobile app strategy that would be appropriate for everybody. You should remember that everything depends on your specific requirements. Considering and analyzing them, you can find something special for you app development . Are you ready to find out?

Step 1: Native app vs hybrid app or why not a cross platform?

Let’s start from the very beginning - that is from the selection of the app type. What platform you will choose, and what platform type will be more acceptable for you.

Mobile website, mobile app - they are different. Each of them serves its goal, but the app can be more advantageous at the expense of wider capabilities and high responsive interface. This interface makes it possible to interact with a smartphone or tablet in a more comfortable way. Furthermore, such app can work without a permanent Internet connection.

For today, there are native and cross-platform mobile app development alternatives. Each of these approaches has its particularity that critically affects a final result. Let’s check strong and weak sides of these two approaches to understand what technology is better.

Native app

What is a native app ? Native apps such as an Internet browser, address book, media player and other software installed by default provide a basic level of a smartphone using.

The app can be called native when programmers use one specific language for the specific platform - Java for Android, Swift for iOS etc. Native apps can interact with all services and options of a smartphone like a camera, microphone, geolocation, accelerometer etc. In a short, these apps are in their element.

Cross-platform app development

Think about a mobile website that doesn’t need to connect to the Internet all the time. As for its design, it is closer to cross-platform. Therefore, it can be referred to a mobile app instead of a website.

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are usually used for the development of such apps. Mobile websites are developed in the same way. Cross-platform application is targeted for all platforms and adapted to the majority of devices since a browser engine is used for its functioning.

Hybrid app

However, if we speak about the solution of specific tasks, it would be much more efficient to combine these approaches - apply cross-platform advantages of HTML for a content design , but create native control elements and menu spending not so much money and time. That is what hybrid apps are.

Let’s check out hybrid apps example . A customer needs ordinary news feed where only images and text will be available. Considering it, a developer decides to apply a cross-platform alternative. However, when a client needs his app to contain a huge amount of data and process sound and graphics, the process turns out to be more complicated. To implement it, developers need to write a native code for each specific platform. Thus, a cross-platform app turns into a hybrid app.

What app type is better?

So what is better?

You should develop a native app if:

• your app must have a free interaction with all smartphone services;
• you need to have an app with high responsiveness;
• your app must function in offline mode;
• the hardware part of devices must be used in a most efficient way.

You can create a cross-platform app if:

• you don’t need a high app response;
• an app doesn’t have complicated animation and doesn’t make calculations;
• an app needs an instant Internet connection to upload a content;
• you need to convert your website into the app for not a high price.

Considering all the above, you can see that you should understand what aim you follow when you want to create an app. It will help you choose the correct app type, no matter whether it be cross-platform or hybrid mobile app .

But if you are still hesitating, our developers can help you choose the best alternative for your project and turn it into reality as well.

Step 2: Responsive app and how to increase responsiveness

But If you made a decision and have a strong intention to create a native app for the mobile device, then you must pay rapt attention to the app responsiveness. It is very important and now we will explain it to you in detail.

What is an app responsiveness ? Website interface must function very quickly. Beyond any doubt, long waiting for a web page loading annoys everybody. That is why it is necessary to take care of quick loading of the page.

Also, responsiveness means some type of cooperation with users. In other words, it means that an interface should inform users about what happens. For instance, you push a “Send message” button. If the message is sent with the help of AJAX , it would be preferable to display a status like “Sending...” or “Sent”. When users see the process, they feel more comfortable.

If we speak about Android operating system, there is a feature when the system shows ANR window (App Not Responding) if an app doesn’t respond. The window suggests the user shut down the app or wait. But when you develop an app, responsiveness requirement is critical for it to cut out an ANR dialog window appearance as much as possible. So your app launch strategy should include this point in any case.

App Not Responding window

Usually, the system shows ANR if an app doesn’t respond to the user’s actions. As a rule, response time in 100-200 ms is a threshold for the perceptible slowing of the app.

There are some hints how to avoid ANR and make your app responsive in a higher grade:

• If your app is performing some tasks, let it display progress status showing how much is done and how much is to be done. You can use such widget as ProgressBar ;
• If your app has a long initial phase of launch and initialization, consider a capability to show a splash screen or make the rendering of the main page faster showing that loading is in the process and meanwhile fill all required information. In a short, users want to see that app is working, not lagging, and they should know that the process will be finished soon successfully;
• Use performance tools to determine weak points in your app responsiveness.

Therefore, when you start developing your app, you must understand that if your app is slow and lagging, it will never attract users. It will only gain bad reputation since users don’t like to wait. They want everything to get quickly, mind it.

Read more in the full article about Mobile app strategy

Neural networks in finance & insurance

Let's move to other spheres where neural networks are popular - finance and insurance.

Neural networks in finance

The main purpose for using artificial neural networks in the sphere of finance and banking is their capability of forecasting. Analyzing the big scope of appropriate information, neural networks are able to make predictions. Moreover, the more information that was analyzed, the more accurate the prediction will be. Forecasts are extremely important for this sphere of activity.

Neural networks in business forecasting serve as a powerful tool for predicting exchange and stock rates and many others. However, that's not the only area where artificial neural networks have found an application within this sphere.

Banks are used to give loans in accordance with their statistical data about a person. Generally, the software is driven by statistical techniques but things have changed. Nowadays all statistical data is calculated by artificial neural networks and based on the result the final decision is made.

The neural networks in finance and investing are quite widespread. A company not only has fewer expenses but gets a system that is able to learn and improve its identification of credit risks.

Neural networks in the field of insurance

The insurance industry has got absolutely new 'superpowers' for tracing insured and non-insured events. For example, some insurance companies already use GPS tracking in order to find the client's car in case of a carjacking. Also, they keep an eye on speeding and that, in turn, may affect the insurance rate.

Artificial neural networks have also found their place in this industry. They are used to segment policyholders into groups that help companies to find out an appropriate pricing.

Another application of artificial neural networks is related to fraud detection since they are able to be taught to detect fraudulent claims, as well as strange circumstances.

Also, neural networks can be useful when it comes to the retention of customers. Since the competition in this industry is tough, every customer is important to a company. With the help of neural networks, insurance companies are able to detect the reason why the customer left by means of analyzing his or her history. Also, they can be applied for managing special offerings for certain groups of customers to motivate them to stay.

Artificial neural networks in insurance

Neural networks in telecommunications & management

It seems like the time for our last couples of spheres. They are telecommunications and operations management.

Neural networks in telecommunications

This technology in the sphere of telecommunications is able to cover quite a big range of areas. Their forecasting capabilities are used to conduct analysis of customers, as well as call data. That's needed to predict the reasons and moment when customers move to another company.

Also, the forecasting capabilities of artificial neural networks are used for defining the efficiency of upcoming promotional campaigns and searching for the clients who are likely to bring the most profit.

Except for these cases, they are also used for real-time analysis of network traffic in order to optimize routing and increase the service quality and much more.

Neural networks in the field of operations management

The sphere of manufacturing has been greatly automatized for the last couples of decades. With the development of the IT sphere, employees working in factories have got inner mobile applications intended to increase their efficiency, while the machinery got an artificial intelligence.

Artificial neural networks are successfully used for different types of scheduling. Manufacturers have started using neural networks for scheduling their machinery, lines of assembly and so on. The technology is also used to solve other problems connected with scheduling. For instance, to establish a timetable, schedule of a project or the schedule of multiprocessors.

Another artificial network example is their usage in manufacturing processes which sometimes covers a wide range of activities, including the control and scheduling of the whole floor's work or even improving the system of manufacturing itself.

Nowadays, mainly all manufacturers use robotic tools to control the quality of their products. For example, some of them use cameras to identify defective products. The artificial neural network behind this camera is able to learn over time, so the number of unnoticed defective products will be reduced in the future.

So, artificial neural networks are capable of being used not only in the IT industry but in other fields of activity as well.

Today I am touching on the topic of the media and how they have woefully failed democracies around the world and in particularly my beloved homeland the United States.

In the article THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN A DEMOCRACY by George A. Krimsky he quotes Thomas Jefferson:

"If it were left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

He then goes on to say, "The implication of those words is that self-governance is more essential than governance itself.  Not so absurd, perhaps, if you had just fought a war against an oppressive government."

The wisdom of Thomas Jefferson is as important today as it was then.  The role of our media is to objectively and in a non-partisan manner keep the government in check by reporting the facts without bias or slant to the people so that the people can decide on what to do...ostensibly via free speech, peaceful free expression and the ballot box.

Here in America our press has utterly defiled themselves by 90 percent acting as the media wing of the Democrat Party and the other 10 percent acting as the media wing of the Republican Party.  Both sides are wrong and have failed the people because they refuse to report just the facts without prejudice and/or slant.  As the media goes so does the society they control through TV, Print, Radio and Online Media.  The media is polarized and American society reflects this same polarization.  It appears that party affiliation is more important that being American.

Mr. Krimsky also states:

“A self-governing society, by definition, needs to make its own decisions. It cannot do that without hard information, leavened with an open exchange of views. Abraham Lincoln articulated this concept most succinctly when he said: "Let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe."”

The American Media, and I suspect the media in other free societies, too often in today’s climate ignores the facts in favor of pushing their own agenda be it liberalism or conservatism.  Some of the disturbing traits of this media that I see are:

•    Describing one side as intolerant while given their side a pass on their intolerance

•    Not fact check or reporting questionable information as facts

•    Reporting minorities acting a certain way as rioting but when the dominate race engage in the same behavior it is reported as reverie

•    Reporting embarrassing facts that are not relevant to the public discussion for the sole purpose of discrediting and/or humiliating the target

I call on and challenge our future Asgardian Media to hold to the fundamental principles to reporting the fact and nothing but the facts.  I challenge my fellow Asgardian Citizens to not allow the polarization of the media as we see within the world today.  I will step out on to thin ice and state that the one obligation that government should place on the free press is that it only report the facts and let the people decide what to do with those facts.  The media cannot favor one side over the other.  It must be a neutral and dispassionate guardian of the government on behalf of the people of Asgardia.

If we allow the Asgardian Media to act in the same manner as the media of the earth nations are conducting themselves we will soon follow them into the same pit of division and polarization.

What say you? Lets have a discussion.

Candidate for Parliament:

https://asgardia.space/en/user/6562/profile/view/

What is an app constructor ?

App constructor or app builder without coding is a service that creates mobile applications. Using such a program you don't need to have any technical or programming skills. The service does everything by itself, all you need to do is to indicate what features and designs you would like to see in your product. There are three main types of applications that mobile app builders and app constructors create.

Applications which you can create using online app builder

Web apps

Web apps created by an app constructor are not program products. They are special websites that act and look like native mobile apps. To get access to such apps you need to have a browser installed on a smartphone and an Internet connection. These applications are based on HTML5 technology. Such web apps don't fit all the projects. They can work with some news and blog applications but not with shops and other high load sites.

Hybrid apps

It is another type of applications generated by app builders. Hybrid apps partly use the functionality of a native application and partly functionality of a web app. What people like in these types of mobile apps is that they cover more than one platform and cost less than the development of two native apps. Yet, those were all benefits of these applications.

Native apps

Is the best option in mobile development. They cover only one platform which they are perfectly designed for. If you choose between a web app, hybrid or native, native development is the way you should go. But don't think that a native app created by a person and a native app created by a constructor are the same. It's not like that. But, well talk about this later.

Comparing man-made and constructor's app

The thing we are trying to explain in this article is that you will never get a fully-functioning, smooth and solid application with an app builder or app constructor. Yes, you can create an app with their help. Yes, it will have some set of functionality and will actually work. But, there is a long list of issues which you would get if you choose this service instead of a hybrid app. Lets consider them one by one.

Web apps (HTML)

Web apps based on HTML5 technology may attract you because they are cheap, fast to create and they will work on any mobile platform. Yet, here are the drawbacks:

Web app drawbacks

Can't be published in stores . Remember that your app (and as we have already clarified is not actually a mobile app) will not be accepted in App Store and Google Play. Of course, you may find some stores and publish your application there but you need to understand that the number of visitors to such stores is minor compared to the traditional ones. And if you wanted to promote app via App Store or Google Play, you ll not be able to do it with this type of application.

Difficult to integrate a payment gateway . It is one more minus of these apps. The thing is that it is more difficult to integrate payment or any other third party service into such an app than into a native one.

Smartphone utilities dont work in such apps . An HTML5 app doesnt have full access to the hardware platform, unlike native applications. It means that in your app there wont be camera features, GPS, NFC, gyroscope and other utilities enabled that could make your application fun and more interesting.

No off-line mode . As you might have guessed, a browser page will not work without an Internet connection.

Hybrid apps

Lots of companies are attracted to the idea of paying less and getting an app which can work on different platforms and be developed quickly. But, think twice before agreeing on such an option. Here's why:

Hybrid apps faults

Design . iOS and Android platforms have their design guidelines. Of course, they are different and of course, an app with the design for Android platform won't meet the requirements of iOS Human Interaction Guidelines. And, of course, the features designed specifically for iOS platform won't work correctly on Android.

Utilities . Just like the previous type of automatically constructed applications, Hybrid apps also have very limited access to a smartphone utilities. And even if you got access to them, the performance speed would be just awful.

Native apps created with an app constructor

Now, you may start thinking that the native app is the best option (which is really true). However, a native app developed by a person and native app constructed by an app constructor or an online app builder are two dramatically different things. Here is why:

Functionality . Imagine that you prepare a salad. You have a cucumber, a tomato and some cheese. Nothing more. You can take only two ingredients or even one but not four because there is no ingredient number four, only three of them. The same here. You are limited with a short list of features which you can include into your application. If you have an innovative idea (or at least not a trivial one) you can not implement it. The application will be absolutely templated.

Code quality . It actually looks like a salad. You add a little bit of this and a little bit of that. In an online mobile app maker, you choose features but not the way they will interact with each other. You will not get any documentation to your code and will not be able to change it.

What is carpool and how does it work?

Ridesharing or carpooling is the type of a ride when a driver picks up passengers that go the same way he goes, and they reimburse fuel costs. The trip can be referred to rideshare services only if it meets the following conditions:

• car owner doesn't provide passengers with on-demand services. It means that he or she will go to the required destination in any case, regardless of whether he has fellow companions or not;
• car owner just saves on fuels costs but he or she doesn't earn money on it;
• since this service implies that passengers share a ride, they must participate in the sharing of a total ride cost. In most cases, the cost of fuel is shared between all companions. But also a driver can look for companions not for financial sharing, but for people who have a driving license. When there are 2 or more drivers in the car, it is possible to have a bit rest during the trip. Moreover, a good companion is good for chatting during the long road not to fall asleep.

Carpool app example - how it looks

So what is rideshare ? The main idea is to save on fuel cost and organize a group of people to go with. Owing to the Internet and GPS technologies, it is not difficult to find companions. However, you shouldn't forget about precautionary measures and nuances of this service.

Now then, a short summary of the service goal:

• a driver fills in the form in a rideshare app and places the information about his or her destination point;
• passengers find this route on a Web, get in touch with a driver and discuss details;
• passengers have the same traveling route;
• driver saves on fuel cost, and passenger feels more comfortable than in bus or train.

Advantages and disadvantages of carpooling

Nothing has only positive sides. Carpooling service is not an exception to the rule. So let's consider weak and strong sides of ridesharing services.

Advantages of carpooling:

• The main advantage of rideshare solutions is cost saving, of course. Depending on the agreement, a ride can be twice as cheap than traveling by conventional way;
• Don't forget that your car it is not a gas cost only. There are some cost items for the maintenance, repair, parts replacement in your vehicle. If you reduce the time of car utilization, you reduce these costs;
• A fewer number of cars on the road can reduce the CO2 emission in the roads and make the air we breathe cleaner;
• Saving time. Fewer cars - fewer traffic jams. That is to say, it is possible to reach a destination point faster and find a parking place.
• Meeting new people. Traveling together allows you to find good friends.

Disadvantages of carpooling:

• Indecent passengers. Some people can try to discount the price or even ask the driver to visit the place that is not on the scheduled route. And it is important to screen out such individuals at the very beginning of traveling.
• Indecent drivers. Unfortunately, some drivers can play an unfair game as well. For example, drivers that take 5-6 people in a small car and ask for a high price.
• In some cases, a driver has to pick up each companion separately. It increases the time of traveling.
• Passengers can be not satisfied with the driving style of a car owner. In turn, the driver can be annoyed with an excessive volubility of companions, their untidiness or lack of manners.

Strong and weak sides of ridesharing

Yesterday I was at a parent meeting in regard to a play that my daughters are being cast in. Toward the end of the meeting one of the ladies up front awkwardly interrupted the director and handed her a cell phone.  There was a fellow parent in Hawaii on vacation.  The director looked at the phone and then somberly told us that apparently a “ballistic missile was headed towards Hawaii.”  Shock and disbelief immediately spread across the room.  We stopped what we were doing and all prayed for the protection of the people of Hawaii and that this might me a false report.

I immediately thought how does this happen?  North Korea’s Kin Jung-un cannot really be this crazy to launch a missile at Hawaii?  Is the missile conventional or nuclear?  What will become of the people of Hawaii and how many will be killed?  Will the President and then Congress have the courage to respond in kind against who ever launched the missile?

After the above thoughts processed I began to wonder why we were not receiving phone alerts and I started to go to the news sites on my cell phone and nothing.  I then began to think ok this must be a hoax.  Before I could confirm it to be a hoax someone from the back of the room announced it was a false alarm.  That brought much relief but the emotions were already there and not to be easily turned off.  Even one day later and when I read the articles about the event the emotions felt yesterday flow back to the surface.

So why am I sharing this with you? First and foremost because this event was a cold reminder of why Asgardians and the People of Earth must always strive for peace.  For 38 minutes the cost of war was going to be paid by the citizens of Hawaii.  It would be only the 3 ^rd civilian population in the history of man to be struck by a nuclear weapon. Today, videos have emerged and we get to see the panic in the streets and probably most haunting is the parent putting a young girl down a man-hole. She could be heard saying “I don’t want to go down there.”  The sheer loss of life would be staggering, the injured and dying would be heart breaking beyond measure.  How would we be able to care for all of them and at some point start the healing process? How do we feed and house that number of people.  Radiation sickness would have lasted for generations.  Many generations of children would be born with birth defects due to mothers and fathers being exposed to radiation.

The above paragraph should always be in the minds of our government leaders as they carryout domestic and foreign affairs. We are one people; human beings bleeding red blood.  The universal desire of all people is to live in peace, to be able to provide for one’s self and family.  To help our neighbor when needed and to be helped when needed.  I believe this to be the universal desire of men and women all over the world regardless of skin color or nationality.  These are the ideals we should be working for and with this guiding principle we should be able to achieve a lasting peace and prosperity (as I just defined in this paragraph) for all.

Asgardia, One People and One Vision. Together We Can.

Candidate For Parliament:

https://asgardia.space/en/blog/22849-candidate-for-parliament/

Today I want to reflect on a certain magazine’s Person of the Year, “The Silence Breakers.”  Here in the United States Hollywood and news outlets are being rocked by the exposure of powerful mean allegedly sexually harassing women with whom they have power over in the workplace.  Note that some of these men have admitted to their abhorrent and illegal behavior.  Victimized women are finally being heard as they speak out against alleged sexual harassment and in many cases sexual assault.  As I think back, I guess this coming out started with Roger Ailes and Bill O’reilly of Foxnews who resigned in shame after their alleged sexual harassment and multi-million dollar settlements were exposed.

From Hollywood the poster child of this sickening behavior today is Harvey Weinstein.  This has sparked a national soul searching as to the value we place on women within the workplace and what is the proper conduct toward women in the workplace.  Clearly this is not the first time the issue has been a part of the national debate and quite frankly I am shocked and disgusted at the behavior and particularly in the year 2017/2018.  I really thought we as a society had, particularly in the workplace, evolved to the point that we as males understood and valued women as equals and the unique abilities they bring to the workplace.  Clearly in certain segment of our society and in the workplace this is/was not the case.

In my younger years I worked as nurse for 8 years. Clearly nursing is dominated by women and some of the smartest and hardest working individuals I have ever worked with then and now are/were women.  It is of note for me personally I never faced any sort of harassment from my female colleagues during my nursing years.  It is a shame that women have to face harassment when it is a male dominated workplace.

Here is my golden rules for the workplace and male/female interactions:

1. If a man has any sort of power over a woman within the workplace there cannot be a relationship or pursuit of a relationship because you cannot guarantee that the woman’s participation is not coerced because of his authority over her.
2. We as coworkers must speak out when we witness acts/signs of sexual harassment.
3. Employers on an annual basis must provide the anti-harassment and equal employment policy to all employees.
4. Employers must develop a workplace culture that does not tolerate such behaviors.
5. Employers must investigate all complaints of harassment and punish severely if not terminate individuals found in violation of the anti-harassment and equal employment policies.

I believe these golden rules will serve Asgardia well.  Today I have focused on the plight of women but the above also applies, although to a much lesser extent, to men as well since the vast majority of employers are male dominated.

Asgardia, One People and One Vision. Together We Can.

Candidate for Parliament

Today I want to touch on one of the major tenants of Asgardia's three part concept statement by Dr. Ashurbeyli:

"Asgardia is also unique from a philosophical aspect – to serve entire humanity and each and everyone, regardless of his or her personal welfare and the prosperity of the country where they happened to be born."

How do I as a citizen of Asgardia demonstrate the concept of humanity towards my fellow Asgardians and citizens of the Earth nations?  After all what do I have to offer you might ask?  Back in 2008 I asked this same question.  The principle answer is:

"Do what you can within your sphere of influence."

Ok, what does that mean? For me it meant that back on January 27, 2008 I would take my personal funds  and open a KIVA account. KIVA provides micro-loans to individuals in developing parts of the world.

From the KIVA website:

"By lending as little as $25 on Kiva, anyone can help a borrower start or grow a business, go to school, access clean energy or realize their potential. For some, it’s a matter of survival..."

My micro-loan was to woman in Nigeria to help with her restaurant to buy a deep freezer so she could sell iced water and blocks of ice.  Since 2008 I have continued to lend knowing that I am doing my part to give back to humanity.

My 2017 impact is as follows:

There are many ways to serve humanity and this is only one way of doing it.  Fellow Asgardian, how will you serve humanity?

Asgardia, One People and One Vision. Together We Can.

https://asgardia.space/en/blog/22849-candidate-for-parliament/