AlikeApp Blog

At Alike, we've spent the last couple of years working hard to build amazing mobile experiences to delight our customers, which is why we're thrilled to announce some big news: we're joining Yahoo! Mobile.

We’ve always been passionate about the growing power of intelligent mobile experiences. We believe that distilled information, deeply personalized and made accessible anytime and anywhere, is what makes mobile experiences a part of our customers’ daily lives.

In Yahoo! we've found a team as excited about this vision as we are, and who are serious about making it real. We're super excited to join Yahoo!'s mobile team, where we can march toward that vision faster than ever.

As of today, we will no longer support the Alike Nearby iPhone and Web apps. Thank you to all our customers, partners, investors, and advisors who’ve supported us from day one! We’ve taken a big step on our journey, and we could not have done it without your support.

Looking forward to starting our new chapter at Yahoo!

This was some craving, and it was consuming my soul.

I was craving real Texas style barbecue the other day.  Really craving it, and I was not messing around about where to get it.  I wanted authentic, slow smoked brisket with a good smoke ring and some great sauce.  And I wanted that served up with beans and fried okra.  This was some craving, and it was consuming my soul.  I had no idea where to get this in California, and with gas prices these days, driving to Texas was out of the question.  Then my 'aha' moment happened, and I pulled up my AlikeApp.  As I mentioned before, I was not messing around here, so I searched for restaurants that were like Louie Mueller Barbecue, in Taylor, TX.  This is legendary barbecue, so my expectations were high.  The AlikeApp suggested that I eat at Dickey's Barbecue Pit, in Campbell, CA.  Sounds good to me, I thought, but deep down I expected to be disappointed.  I know I shouldn't be so cynical, but this craving was deep.

This past Friday, I was in the Halloween spirit.  My favorite place to go for Halloween when I lived in Los Angeles was the Prince O Whales in Playa del Rey, they host live bands, and it sure is lively when the clientele is costumed!  The only problem is that I am now living in San Jose.  I quickly pulled up my AlikeApp and went to town.  It turns out that there is an Irish pub in the San Pedro Square district of San Jose.  It is called O'Flaherty's Irish Pub . They host live music, and they were fully decked out for Halloween!  This place sounded perfect, and was mere blocks from where I was getting off work, so I turned my wheel towards San Pedro Square!

This is the band Growwler, at O'Flaherty's Irish Pub, they really rocked the house! (Check out the cool decorations in the background!)

 ”In my mind, I pictured that scene from Willy Wonka of the chocolate river, and my mouth began to water.”

  I had some time to kill yesterday, in San Francisco, before the PandoMonthly fireside chat with Kevin Systrom, and my sweet tooth was getting the best of me.  I pulled up the Alike App, and searched for chocolate.  The first result was intriguing, tempting even.  The result was ‘The San Francisco Chocolate Factory’.  In my mind, I pictured that scene from Willy Wonka of the chocolate river, and my mouth began to water.  After a short walk, this is what I came across:

I figured that this place could definately be home to a chocolate river, so I ventured inside.  Upon opening the door, I was transported into a world of chocolate, in the form of a charming, dedicated chocolate shop.  The man behind the counter was welcoming, immediately making offers of chocolate samples, which I accepted with delight.  He explained the subtle differences between cocoa levels in the chocolates.  His expertise opened my eyes to the many flavors of the chocolate palate.

There were chocolates of every variety, even those selected to pair with other foods.  The selection that stood out most to me was the wine paired section.  Different chocolates chosen by sommeliers and chocolate experts to be paired with specific wines.  Amazing, to say the least.  This is a magical place for any chocolate lover, and a fantastic place for gifts of anyone who loves a chocolate lover.

Other selections from the Alike App for chocolate in San Francisco that I cannot wait to try are:

Charles Chocolates

Bridge Brands Chocolates

Cocoabella Chocolates

"Climbing the front stairs of the bright violet Victorian is enough exercise to justify making your burrito 'super'..."

I have been using the Alike App to find exciting new places to eat in the San Jose area.  This week, I was craving a burrito.  I was led here, and I must say, I liked it... a lot!  I will be looking for burrito places that are Alike this one from now on!  I am sorry to say that I devoured my lunch so fast that I did not get a picture of it...  Sometimes my stomach gets the best of me.

Looking for a fine burrito in San Jose? Look no further than Iguana's Taqueria. Not only are they home of the infamous Burritozilla (see photo below), they also make a fantastic reasonably sized burrito.

Climbing the front stairs of the bright violet Victorian is enough exercise to justify making your burrito 'super', meaning the expert behind the counter will stuff that thing with extra everything, and guacamole. I recommend the chipotle chicken to accompany the heaping piles of Spanish rice and refried beans.

The interior is fun, with bright paint, iguana motifs and posters inviting hungry customers to local music shows. The Victorian style furniture has been 'SJified' with brilliant graffiti. This is a genuine San Jose experience. If you don't believe me, just ask Adam Richmond, host of the Travel Channel show Man vs. Food, he wolfed down a Burritozilla on national television.

If you happen to be in San Jose on a burrito fueled culinary adventure, be sure to give the following places a try, as suggested by the Alike App:

La Victoria Taqueria

Taqueria San Jose

The weird truth behind the world's yummiest 99cent noodles!

Pretty much everyone nowadays carries around a smartphone. I mean, why not have one? They're great for texting, checking email, browsing the web, playing games, making calls, listening to music, and countless other functions. In fact, smartphones can do so much that there are probably several "hidden" features you've never even heard of. 

So, without further adieu--

10. Change the signal strength reader from bars to a numerical figure (iphone)

Dial *3001#12345#* and then hold the lock button until the "slide to power off screen" appears. Once on that screen, hold the home button until you reach your main page again. Now your signal strength will be viewed as a numerical figure, which you can change back and forth from the original bar format by simply tapping. The closer the number is to 0, the stronger signal you have.

Voila. You now have a much more accurate smartphone.

9. Enable direct power-off (android)

Dial *#*#7594#*#* to enable this. You will no longer have to select between airplane mode, silent mode, and power off when trying to turn off your phone. 

8. Make your own vibration patterns (iphone)

Go to settings > general > accessibility and enable custom vibrations. Then go to settings > sounds > vibration patterns and make one to your own preference. (Changing the duration is a great prank...just putting that out there)

7. Create backup files (android)

Dial *#*#273283*255*663282*#*#*  to open up a screen where you can backup-save image, video, and sound files. 

6. Add words to your phone's dictionary, as well as shortcuts for those words (iphone)

Go to settings > general > keyboard > add new shortcut. At this page, type the word you wish to add in the "phrase" section. Once added the iphone will recognize this as a legitimate word, and even insert it as a suggestion if you type something similar. By adding a shortcut, you can type the shortcut and it will auto-correct into its respective phrase. For example, if I put "hello" as the phrase and "h" as the shortcut, typing "h" in a text would auto-change to "hello." 

Great for making typing more efficient and pulling pranks on your friends.

5. Fix broken buttons...kinda (iphone)

If your volume control, home, or lock buttons jam and stop working, you can go to settings > general > accessibility > assistive touch. Turn this option on and a circle will appear that can be used to lock the phone and perform various other tasks. 

4. Delete cookies (blackberry)

Not sure why you would have still have this phone halfway into 2012, but hold alt and type "lglg." From there you can delete any cookies you might have installed, making your phone run faster and more smoothly. 

3. Perform a factory data reset (android)

Dial *#*#7780#*#* and select "Reset phone." This will clear applications, google account settings, and system data/settings. The SD card files and system software will remain untouched. Useful if you're giving your phone away.

2. Silence or reject an incoming call (iphone)

If you're getting called in an inappropriate situation and want to quickly stop the noise without actually answering and quickly hanging up, you can tap the sleep button once to silence the call or tap twice to completely reject it. 

1. Get help during emergencies (any phone really)

Dial 911 and speak with the operator. Help will be on the way, completely free of charge! 

It’s undeniable—there are simply fewer women than men in the various fields of engineering. In the software/technology industry particularly, there exists between a 5:1 and 10:1 ratio of men to women. This disparity is made worse by the fact that female engineers have double the chance of men to leave their respective fields, when enrollment already has a very low percentage of female students. As a result of decades of this gender bias, nearly every possible STEM-related profession (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), contains gender ratios which reflect blatant male dominance.

The exact cause of this difference in female representation has been heatedly debated. Is it a result of social, psychological, and biological factors, the lack of effort to recruit and retain female engineers, or a combination of both?

From the social/psychological standpoint, women experience a greater emphasis on developing social skills during childhood. This, combined with the stereotype that engineers are introverted, nerdy, and socially awkward, cause many women to believe they’ll be more comfortable in respectively relevant jobs such as teaching, human resources, and marketing.

There also exists the notion that the lack of female participation in engineering fields results from biological factors. Some consider men to be better linear and logical thinkers, finding women to actually be physically incapable of performing the tasks required in such professions, namely due to lacking the spatial memory required in understanding high-level mathematics. The fact that women who enroll in an engineering program have a higher success rate than men in obtaining their engineering degrees however, almost completely disproves this theory. The problem isn’t that women are unable to complete the requirements associated with these jobs—the problem is that women simply aren’t making the decision to.

So what’s the point? Why should companies make an effort to increase the number of women they employ?

The exact cause of this difference in female representation has been heatedly debated. Is it a result of social, psychological, and biological factors, the lack of effort to recruit and retain female engineers, or a combination of both? Firstly, your customers are gender balanced. In the past decades, innovative in technology has impacted and influenced various countries, ethnic groups, and cultures—there is no discrimination in the target market. It only makes sense then, if these products are sold to both men and women at an equal rate, to include at least a somewhat equal participation of both men and women in the companies which built these products. Female participation in the design and development process will bring deeper insights into half of the targeted customer base.

Secondly, having a more equal ratio between men and women increases the productivity, environment, and overall success of a company. A study by Sander Hoogendoorn, Hessel Oosterbeek, and Mirjam van Praag showed that companies with a 55% female worker-base were on average more profitable, satisfactory, and cooperative than those that were male dominated.

Women interact very differently from men in a work environment; it’s why gender neutrality can cause such drastic changes. In “Gender and Collaboration,” authors Sandra Ingram and Anne Parker state that “females find self-identity through collaboration and relationships.” Compared to men who interact with each other in an authoritative manner, most women are much more focused on developing relationships. As a result of these different mindsets, women are found to greatly improve the sense of community within an office, resulting in greater efficiency and dedication among employees. Differences in thought process extend to being able to approach problems differently, often resulting in new, innovative solutions. Additionally, a greater social inclination and focus help to establish a better customer relationship, whether through personal interaction or marketing plans.

Finally, the low percentage of existing female engineers continue their profession due to their passion and dedication. The fact that they willingly represent the minority in such a tough and biased field reflects that they are very good at what they do. Why wouldn’t you want to hire them?

What could we (computer developers) possibly have to do with adorable animals? Well, actually a lot more than you'd think.

The truth is, everybody loves cute animals; whether your 9 or 89, Bobo (our name for the cat immediately below) will always be awwwww-worthy. In fact, the ASPCA reports that today in America over 65% of households own pets, not to mention that a google search of "cute animals" will  generate over 233,000,000 results. It seems pretty clear--everyone has a weakness for cuddly critters. And yes, those numbers were in base 10. 

Precisely as a result of this new found, unanimous, animal-loving craze, the marketing world has been sent spinning with a surge of new companies that are utilizing furry friends as brand mascots and logos. Shockingly, the masterminds behind the scenes are none other than most technical, geeky guys around:  hackers!  (that's us!)

Who would have guessed? 

It's undeniable that we LOVE cute animals. By just looking at just a few software logos--

        Survey Monkey              Mail Chimp                    Task Rabbit               

                 gitHub                              Beluga                              Hipmonk

--you can find loads of cuddly animals, from bunnies to...beluga whales? 

Anyways, take gitHub, for instance. gitHub is a code management and provisioning tool which is about as cute and cuddly as a code management and provisioning tool. Yet despite the product, their logo is an incredibly cute, baby kitten! How do kitties relate to code management and provisioning tools, you ask? The short answer is: they don’t. 

The long answer is: they do. According to MSNBC, baby animal pictures trigger the brain’s pleasure center, creating a sensation similar to the one experienced when eating chocolate or engaging in other rewarding activities. Basically, people naturally enjoy looking at cute animals, and these good feelings are in turn associated with the respective companies.

                                 By using lovable animal mascots to draw viewers to our sites, we developers set ourselves apart from the frustrating bombardment of internet pop-ups, spam, and general advertisement.

  Alright, so the obvious marketing benefits are nice, but why do we ACTUALLY love cute animals? Well developers are mostly a grossly misunderstood group of people. The fact that we enjoy spending time in front of a computer for a good portion of the day does in no way reflect apathy towards common interests. Deep down, behind the layers of plaid (or whatever said person happens to be wearing), we adore cute things for the exact same reason as everyone else with a heart. 

                    The reason being that viewing them triggers the release of the neurotransmitters dopamine and seratonin, thus inducing a sense of pleasure and reward within the nucleus accumbens and other cortical/subcortical regions of the cerebrum.                                                                                     

Finally, there's the obvious fashion appeal. Super cute animal clothing makes for some serious swag, right?

            Right. 

To sign up for alike and witness some more unbelievably cute animals, go to www.alikeapp.com/.

  Know of any other companies with adorable animal logos? Comment below, we'd love to hear from you!

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