Hand-Picked Content
A Site Not Gentrified
Podcast, 30 min
The founder of Craigslist shares how he accidentally built a multi-million dollar business. The site still looks and works practically the same as it did in the early days, one of the few remaining corners of the early internet that hasn’t been “gentrified.”
Craig Newmark frequently uses the word “vibe” to describe the unique culture at the company. He realized early on that he wasn’t the type to lead a company, so he hired a manager and continued working in customer service as a regular agent.
A look at building a business differently and staying true to an original vision despite massive success.
The Myth of 10X Productivity
Blog, 15 min
An engineer questions the claim that AI makes developers 10x more productive. This technical article examines vibe-coding, agentic software development, and AI-assisted coding from the perspective of a seasoned developer. It’s not an anti-AI piece, it’s arguing for a balanced approach.
Hack your workflow
The AI OS
ChatGPT announced apps inside ChatGPT. This creates a way to interact with external apps you have accounts with without leaving the chat interface.
Only a few showcase apps are available today, but they demonstrate the concept:
- play music in Spotify,
- create social media graphics in Canva,
- or plan travel with Expedia,
all from within ChatGPT. No more switching contexts or opening separate tools.
This could turn into something big, think iOS App Store or Google Play Store, but for AI assistants. An advantage ChatGPT has right now compared to other major AI platforms.
FYI: ChatGPT Apps are not available in the EU yet.
Tools & Apps
Personalized Courses On Demand
Learning
Oboe turns any topic into a learning journey. Type in what you want to learn say, “Bonsai care” or “Vergan cooking fundamentals” and it generates a structured course with different materials, including quizzes. The interface offers multiple learning styles: listen, read, or interact.
The concept is solid: AI-powered personalized education that adapts to how you learn best. In practice, it’s still experimental. The content tends toward general overviews rather than deep dives, and there aren’t many customization options yet. Free to use.
Mobile Apps Vibed
Product Building
DreamFlow is a vibe-coding platform specifically built for creating mobile apps for Android and iOS. You can work three ways: start with prompts, use the visual editor, or switch to code view. Choose your comfort level.
Fresh Reflections
How Tos, opinions, thoughts.
Everything all at once
All AI assistants are evolving into general-purpose tools, handling more use cases every day. The latest example: Claude Imagine. With this new feature just a click away inside Claude, you can vibe-code (prototype) an app without opening specialty tools like Lovable. I tested this feature and built a prototype time tracking app to see how it performs. The results? Pretty impressive.
Meaningful Connected Platforms
Remember MCP (Model Context Protocol) from last issue? I published a full how-to that shows the immediate benefit.
I connected our project management tool directly to Claude via MCP, and now I can pull up project info, work through ideas with Claude, update tasks, all without switching tabs or losing context.
MCP isn’t getting much attention, probably because it sounds technical and complicated. It’s not. The setup is straightforward, and the payoff is immediate. If you’re using AI assistants regularly and juggling multiple work tools, this is worth checking out.
Classifieds
Wispr Flow really boosts productivity
Talking to computers instead of typing has been a decade-old dream. Now, thanks to AI, it finally works with Wispr Flow.
The Smart Email Marketing Alternative
EmailOctopus is the email software perfect for creators and small businesses. Simple, intuitive, world-class support – all at a fair price point. And this newsletter also runs on EmailOctopus.
AI Video Avatars You Can Watch
HeyGen is the most popular AI video generator app. Upload a photo or video of yourself and instantly create your AI avatar that tells your story. Review
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Off-Topic Links
The Next Four Years
AI Storytelling
A self-generating story updated every 24 hours based on the US news cycle. AI writes the entire story, and it is updated as political developments unfold.