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Ranting

  • Store Conversion? More like Store Distraction.

    Apple’s polished and carefully curated Benchmark Metrics are an illusion, designed to impress on paper but often disconnected from real-world performance. In other words, BS.

    Apple lays out a glossy percentile system, letting you compare your app’s metrics to others in the same category. It shows if you’re brushing shoulders with top performers (the 75th percentile) or stuck somewhere near the bottom (the 25th percentile). On the surface, it sounds super handy, like a leaderboard in a video game. In reality, some reports can be misleading. Sure, it feels good when you see your app “performing as well as top apps,” until you realize some numbers can be skewed by ads, special promotions, and other wildcards that don’t reflect genuine traction.

    I discovered that the hard way while tinkering on Smart Keys, an AI-powered keyboard I’ve been building to help people (especially myself) type faster and smarter. I was feeling way too proud of myself as I rearranged screenshots, polished keywords, and declared I’d cracked the code. The numbers insisted I was beating the top apps by a mile. Then I realized I was clinging to a metric that was all style, zero substance.

    I obsessed over four data points, hoping my “genius” would unlock the secrets of the App Store. Here’s the quick breakdown, served with a side of humble pie.

    1. Store Conversion: The most BS of all

    I treated this like my personal high score, proudly pointing at it like it was proof I had the Midas touch. Turns out it’s mostly driven by ads, the brute force of a solid marketing push, and unpredictable factors like being featured on popular blogs.

    You can test every ASO tweak in the book, but nothing outdoes a well-funded campaign. That dose of reality bruised my ego, especially when I realized I’d been celebrating a metric that anyone with a decent ad budget could inflate.

    2. Proceeds per Paying User: Almost BS

    This one fooled me for a while. It’s like checking your salary and forgetting about rent. Sure, “Proceeds per Paying User” looks impressive at a glance, but it hides the reality of how much you spent to acquire those users. If each paying user costs you three times what they bring in, you’re basically throwing money into a bonfire.

    Nothing bursts your revenue bubble faster than realizing your lunch budget is leftover ramen packets because you blew all your cash on ads.

    3. Crashes: Gold

    This is where I got a much-needed wake-up call. Smart Keys had an onboarding crash bug that nearly drowned my starry-eyed dreams. On a small team, testing across all devices and iOS versions is no walk in the park, so the crash rate ended up being my loudest alarm. It let me catch the bug before a wave of 1-star reviews hit.

    I’d rather stub my toe in the dark than face that. Crashes might not look sexy on a dashboard, but they show you if your app is on fire before everyone runs for the exits.

    4. Retention (D1, D7, D28): Be patient

    This one’s a slow burn that checks if people actually come back for more. Early on, I’d glance at the retention numbers and assume folks would stick around forever.

    Then I got a reality check: trial periods, paywalls, or freemium strategies can skew these stats, and retention is a marathon, not a sprint. I’m still catching my breath, but at least I know if people keep showing up, I’m doing something right.

    The truth is, these metrics can make you feel important, but they don’t tell the whole story. I’ve been learning more from watching the folks at Every and other brave souls building in public. They share real stories about triumphs and ugly mistakes, ASO magic tricks, and it’s oddly comforting to see the raw, unfiltered process.

    I’m trying to do the same here with Smart Keys, focusing on real-world user feedback that directly shapes my updates and features. If you’re curious how all this no-BS talk translates into an actual product, give Smart Keys a try, or keep an eye on my #BuildingInPublic journey to see how it evolves.

    Is any of these metrics relevant to you? Which metric should I dive into next?

    Have a good week filled with no-BS insights.
    (っ-,-)つ𐂃

  • No-BS Friday Metrics: Store Conversion Rate

    App Store gurus love to talk about ASO tricks and how to squeeze every bit of conversion juice from the app store. But what if I told you it doesn’t really matter?

    Smart Keys store conversion rate is over 50% while the best apps barely scrape 8%. So either I’m a wizard or this is a BS metric.

    We, app builders, love the idea that some ASO tweak will be the magic bullet. A better subtitle, the right screenshots, a catchy promo text. Sure, those things help a little, but I’m sorry to say that you may be spending your time on the wrong task, they won’t move the needle in a meaningful way.

    Then what? What actually happened in October that store conversion sky rocketed? What’s the big ASO secret?

    It’s a three-letter word: Ads. No ASO magic tricks, no growth hacks, no overcomplicated strategy. just Ads iterations that started working well.

    So is this store conversion rate relevant? not really. It looks good on a dashboard, to brag, but that’s about it. Focus on what actually drives growth, not vanity metrics that make you feel good but don’t pay the bills.

    That’s it for today. Next Friday, I’ll dive into retention, the real deal.

    Have a no-BS weekend. See ya. ✌️

  • STEM needs more role models

    STEM could use more diverse voices, and I’ve found stories of people breaking barriers and inspiring change:

    • Dr. Jessica Esquivel – A physicist and co-founder of Oyanova Enterprises, she’s reshaping STEAM education by focusing on culture and community.
    • Markemia Peterson – An Enterprise Technical Specialist Consultant at Microsoft, proving you can bring your full self to STEM and succeed.
    • Jocelyn Mata – A geophysics and computer science student aiming to work for NASA.

    STEM isn’t just for one type of person—it’s for anyone willing to take up space and make a difference. These stories are proof.

  • Did Apple copy me?

    As a non-native speaker, I relied heavily on Grammarly for years. I couldn’t write a simple text without its proofreading capabilities. Recently, though, I found myself turning to ChatGPT with a simple prompt: “proofread this.” It did a much better job, but the constant copy-pasting was a hassle. I tried various AI keyboards, but most were just Grammarly copycats—constantly nudging me about comma placements or suggesting rewrites because my message “wasn’t clear.” All I wanted was a tool that would handle this for me, effortlessly.

    I even started counting the clicks it took to proofread a simple text—21 clicks, to be exact. And still, the result felt off, often using the Portuguese text structures that didn’t quite fit.

    So, about two months ago, I decided to experiment with iOS Keyboard Extensions to build my own solution. I just wanted a single button on top of my keyboard to proofread my text. One click and bam, done. The feature itself was simple to build, the real challenge was creating a good keyboard. When you build a keyboard extension on iOS, you have to design the entire keyboard. That’s when I discovered KeyboardKit, an open-source project by Daniel Saidi, that saved me months of development.

    But in this space, there aren’t many competitive barriers to building keyboards apps—there are hundreds, if not thousands, of these apps out there. Only a few make real money (millions/month), while the rest flood the App Store. I knew that without a hefty marketing budget, this would be a fun personal experiment, possibly leading to something else down the line.

    I was happy with my MVP, to me was better than Grammarly already, so I started adding more features: keys that could convert a text to a casual tone, shortening it, generating pickup lines, even creating a “speak like a tech mogul” key. 🤦, I went overboard and ended up with over 150 new keys on my keyboard.

    Last week, I launched it to some close friends and ESL students to get their feedback. The response was full of amazing ideas, but the keyboard experience and autocorrection still lag behind the native iOS keyboard.

    Then, I had a thought: when Apple inevitably launches their LLM, they’ll likely integrate a native writing tool. And when they do, it’s going to be a game-changer—at least for someone like me. Fast forward, and here we are: iOS 18 will include a native proofreading tool across both desktop and mobile. One click, and bam—your text is proofread everywhere, without any hassle.

    And that’s just one of the new features in iOS 18. If you’re eager to explore Apple Intelligence and other new tools, download the iOS 18 beta.

    But if you want to give Smart Keys a try, the second-best writing tool 🥸, download it here: https://smartkeys.so/

    That’s it, I’m left wondering, with barriers to entry lower than ever, what will separate leaders from the pack in AI tech?

  • No gimmicks, please!

    Want to boost your team’s productivity? Here’s an amazing list of strategies that I’ve been incorporating during the last 2 years.

    – Incentives to increase commuting by bike: Encourage cycling to work. It’s not just good for the environment, but those endorphins from exercise can elevate mood and improve focus. 🌿🚴‍♂️

    – Longer lunch times for a quick walk: Allow your team to enjoy a walk after lunch. This reduces the insulin spike and helps maintain energy levels throughout the afternoon. 🍃🏃‍♀️

    – Nature time: Promote spending time outdoors. Being in nature reduces stress and boosts creativity, leading to more innovative problem-solving. 🌳✨

    There are no gimmicks, gamification, or digital tools that will do better than that.

    Today, I had the pleasure of participating in #BikeToWhateverDay, and it was a powerful reminder of how these elements can significantly enhance our mental and physical well-being.

    A big thank you to Bike East Bay for organizing this event and to the fantastic team I met along the way: GU Energy Labs, Backroads, and Sustainable Contra Costa. Your dedication made this experience unforgettable and impactful. 🙌🚴‍♂️

    Let’s incorporate more outdoor activities into our routines to foster a happier, healthier, and more productive work environment. Together, we can pedal towards a sustainable and successful future! 🌍💚