ReadMe Sri Lanka

The anchor butter fiasco was a case of horrible design. In this episode, we take a look at why design should be taken seriously and how to avoid obvious slip-ups. ***** Design Symposium: https://www.readme.lk/design-symposium/ dbrand on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dbrand Dialog App Challenge: https://www.readme.lk/tech-school-kids-dialog-app-challenge/ The Bad Take: https://anchor.fm/the-bad-take

So we recently met up with Ali Haris and his team behind Maldives' SparkHub initiative. Here's how the conversation went.

uki is a full scholarship based Accelerator program for Coding in Jaffna. A joint initiative by Yarl IT Hub and SERVE Foundation, uki is one that is aimed at those who don’t have access to university education or any other form of vocational education. Two years after our initial coverage we wanted to know what uki has been upto.

The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka, or better known as ICTA, has a host of projects in the pipeline with each project targeting a different segment of the IT industry in Sri Lanka. In case you're not sure what these are exactly, have a listen to this one. ImagineIF: https://www.readme.lk/imagineif-colombo-uni/

One of the panel discussions at Disrupt Asia 2018 titled, "Strategy and Policy: Will It Change Anything?" highlighted on the impact of strategy and policy in the IT industry. Part of the discussion brought up was the recently published Strategy and Policy document. Here's what Mangala Karunaratne from Calcey Technologies had to share with us.

Ever thought one day you'll be able to consult your doctor in just 3 taps? That's exactly oDos is doing. The team even won $1 million in seed funding last year. We caught up with the co-Founders Heshan Fernando and Inshard Naizer at this year's Disrupt Asia. ODoc $1M funding: https://bit.ly/2B91NyB

Over the past decade, with the growth of social media we've witnessed the rise of social media influencers. Out of this, YouTubers play a prominent role. Even in Sri Lanka, Youtubers have been making a name for themselves. Andro Dollar is one of them. Andro Dollar: https://bit.ly/2OCYO3x

Innovation. We've heard the term being thrown around in a lot of discussions, particularly ones related to startups. But what would it take to integrate innovation into corporates?

Aloka Gunasekara is the Program Manager of StartupX Foundry, one of the more recent startup accelerators in Colombo. Aloka shares his thoughts with us on the current startup scene. StartupX Foundry: https://bit.ly/2vIhmIy

Arimac's Chamira Jayasinghe is no stranger to the gaming scene in Sri Lanka. After all, Arimac released a game of their own some time back. We thought of picking his brain on the recently seen surge in the gaming industry in Sri Lanka. Kanchadyudha: https://bit.ly/2KRRqP8 Extraction Valley: https://bit.ly/2uZb9Ye

The eSports industry in Sri Lanka has been one of steady growth over the years. Raveen Wijayatilake, CEO of Gamer.lk resonates this fact owing to the growing enthusiasm towards eSports. History of Gamer.lk: https://bit.ly/2OA0vyr PlayExpo: https://bit.ly/2MbJqOF

Adhisha Gammanpila is the co-Founder of SurfEdge Technologies. He is also a student at the University of Sri Jayawardenapura. We bumped into Adhisha at Disrupt Asia 2018 and decided to have a chat. If you're an aspiring entrepreneur out there, do have a listen to this episode.

All the way from Germany, Chris Doering is part of the Venture Frontier Lanka team, one that's dedicated towards uplifting the startup ecosystem in Sri Lanka. Here's what Chris had to share with us. Venture Frontier Lanka: https://www.readme.lk/venture-frontier-lanka-jaffna/

Ray Newal is the Managing Director of Techstars, India. Now Techstars isn't exactly a new name, thanks to all the Startup Weekends we've had here in Sri Lanka. We met Ray right before we made our way to Disrupt Asia 2018. This is what we had to share. Techstars Bangalore: https://www.techstars.com/bangalore-program/

Surveillance. It's one of the most debated topics today. Particularly because of the increasing concern over issues of privacy, security over convenience. On this week's #ReaderPod episode, we take a glimpse at the present situation. ***** Cyber bulling: https://www.readme.lk/ugly-stories-sri-lankan-cyberbullying/ Cambridge Analytica: https://www.readme.lk/facebook-cambridge-analytica-sri-lanka/ Facebook ban: https://www.readme.lk/facebook-social-media-ban-implications/

Hackathons have been around for quite some time. Even in Sri Lanka, it's popular, particularly among the university crowd. We recently caught up with Ratish Narayanan, Regional Manager South Asia, AngelHack, to talk all things hackathon. Here's the latest of ReaderPod. Enjoy! In case you're confused about what AngelHack is: https://www.readme.lk/angelhack-sri-lanka-2017/

//originally published on 07/06/2018// This week we decided to twist things up a bit and talk about something we rarely bring into the discussion. Sri Lanka's postal service. We talk about how we're doing in terms of postal services and how we compare in the modern environment. ***** Singapore Post: https://www.singpost.com/business/ecommerce-solutions Malaysia: https://www.ft.com/content/c7975d7c-6243-11e8-90c2-9563a0613e56

Uber Intercity isn't exactly something new. But for us Sri Lankans it sort of is. We thought of pitting this new Uber service against some of the other local ride-hailing apps that provide this service. On the other side of things, we take a look at net neutrality and how it affects Sri Lanka. For more details, you can check out a few of our articles below, Uber Intercity: www.readme.lk/exploring-sri-lank…er-pickme-taxiyak/ Net Neutrality: www.readme.lk/net-neutrality-sri-lanka/

This week we talk about GDPR, why there's such a fuss around it. We also touched on the whole Disney - Fox deal, where Disney and Comcast attempt to bring 21st Century Fox under their wing. Here's episode number 7 from our podcast series. Enjoy! Disney - Comcast fight: https://www.readme.lk/comcast-spoil-disney-fox-deal/ GDPR: https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/25/17393766/facebook-google-gdpr-lawsuit-max-schrems-europe

It's episode 6. We touch on Facebook's recent Boost Your Business event, Mobitel and Sri Lanka Telecom's breakup. We also talk about the kids behind the Smart Walking Stick concept as well. On the international front, we talk about YouTube's own version of Spotify. Smart Walking Stick: http://www.readme.lk/smart-walking-stick/ SLT & Mobitel: https://www.facebook.com/readmelk/videos/1891538517561677/ YouTube Music: https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/17/17364056/youtube-music-premium-google-launch

This week has been pretty much dominated by Google, thanks to all the announcements they've made at the recently concluded Google I/O 2018. Here, we take a look at some of the highlights from the event, along with a few local announcements made at the 2 Google I/O Extended Sri Lanka events this year. Google Duplex: https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/10/17342414/google-duplex-ai-assistant-voice-calling-identify-itself-update Kanchayudha: http://www.readme.lk/kanchayudha-expectations/ Sharanyan's Story: http://www.readme.lk/extremeseo-story/ Gajaman Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlVEqs4-SPQ

It's episode number 4. This week, we talk about ICTA's new director board with Prof. Rohan Samarajiva taking the helm as its Chairman. We also talk about Uinspire, a digital academy that teaches blockchain to Jaffna students. We also touch on a couple of projects Google has been working on as well. Google's historical project: www.readme.lk/open-heritage-project-google-cyark/ RCS2's Sri Lankan history project: www.readme.lk/rcs2-technologies-lidar/ Grasshopper app: play.google.com/store/apps/detail…ea120.grasshopper Inter-uni eSports: www.readme.lk/inter-university-e…championship-2018/

It's been a slow week for us here. But one event took the limelight across the global tech industry. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the congress to testify. In our 3rd episode we take brief look at some of the things discussed over these hearings. we also touch on how the recent Kandy riots as well. Here's episode no. 3 of ReaderPod. Enjoy! Facebook's issues through the years: techcrunch.com/2018/04/10/a-brie…rbergs-testimony/ Kandy riots, the legal implications of the SM ban: http://www.readme.lk/facebook-social-media-ban-implications/

On our 2nd episode of ReaderPod, we take a look at the Sri Lankan government's Open Data efforts, registering companies online with eROC, Redline's new store and more. You can find the relevant articles to everything we discussed below. Redline's new store: www.readme.lk/redline-technologi…ew-flagship-store/ Midrange Pixel: www.readme.lk/mid-range-pixel-smartphone/ eROC: www.readme.lk/eroc-company-registration/ SL Gov Open Data: www.readme.lk/open-data-ideas-fo…lankan-government/ (we wrote about this back in 2015) Also, Digital Health project: www.readme.lk/digital-health-project/

In our very first episode of ReaderPod, we talk about Hutch finally going 4G, Dialog and Mobitel investing in IoT and Huawei's crazy phone cameras. We also talk a bit about how Uber sold off its Southeast Asian operations to Grab and how it affects countries like Sri Lanka. Enjoy! Do let us know what you think about the episode. You find the relevant articles from the discussion below, Hutch 4G: www.readme.lk/hutch-launching-4g-sri-lanka/ Koombiyo Game: www.readme.lk/kodex-building-koombiyo/ Dialog IoT Lab: www.readme.lk/dialog-iot-lab-sri…lankan-developers/ Huawei Y9: www.readme.lk/huawei-y9-review/ Also, Uber protest: www.readme.lk/silent-voices-against-uber/