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I'm Daniel Berezovsky, co-founder of sMiles. AMA ⚡
7961 sats \ 44 comments \ @dberezovsky 29 Sep 2022 bitcoin
Hey awesome Stacker News community 👋
I'm Daniel Berezovsky, co-founder of sMiles. AMA ⚡
Happy to chat about sMiles and answer any questions you might have. Some of you may have already heard about how sMiles gives users a zero entry barrier to stack sats, but here's a quick intro:
⚡ The sMiles app let's you earn sats - fractions of Bitcoin - for walking, shopping, playing games, and completing surveys - on iPhone and Android! ⚡ We're building the simplest way to get you into Bitcoin and the Lightning network (literally just walk with sMiles and discover more ways to earn sats) ⚡ It's fun to earn daily sats rewards for things you already do ⚡ You can share your rewards with other sMiles friends
Let's stay healthy and stack sats!
Download: https://www.smilesbitcoin.com/
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253 sats \ 6 replies \ @tomlaies 29 Sep 2022
Why do I have to open the app daily to get the rewards? Don't you get my data anyway even if I open the app only once a month?
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022
We are not in the business of selling your data. We want to create an environment where you will be interested to open sMiles and see what is the best way to earn more Bitcoin today. We are working on adding more ways to earn more sats.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @tomlaies 29 Sep 2022
So where is the money coming from? Are you a charity that gives away free data?
That sounds worse, not better. Are you aware of that?
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13 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022
sMiles earns money in several ways - which we then convert into BTC to give back to users:
  1. Ads (not intrusive)
  2. Paid surveys
  3. User Shopping
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Natalia 29 Sep 2022
I did not open the app daily, my phone did not even have Internet, and the app was working fine for me. And this is what I like the most: earning sats without doing anything extra, just walking.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @zuspotirko 29 Sep 2022
No, you only get the sats on the days that you open the app before 23:59. If you don't open the app for a week you'll have a flat line for a week.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Natalia 29 Sep 2022
ohhh 👀 interesting!!
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197 sats \ 1 reply \ @michaelocrowley 29 Sep 2022 freebie
Why Chess puzzles?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022
We love chess!
With sMiles users can exercise body and brain :)
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291 sats \ 0 replies \ @lindaeoshell 24 Nov 2022 freebie
🌺🌺Hi there smiles
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188 sats \ 0 replies \ @alpacachino 5 Oct 2022 freebie
What's next for sMiles?
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100 sats \ 4 replies \ @bitcoingraffiti 29 Sep 2022
Favorite Sci-Fi novel?
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1 sat \ 3 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov is pretty good
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @bitcoingraffiti 29 Sep 2022
You really love it? What's great about it?
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1 sat \ 1 reply \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022
It’s deep and explores many of the fundamental human values, while connecting it to robots. If you think about AI and where it might take us in the future, this is a worthwhile read (like other Asimov stories).
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @bitcoingraffiti 29 Sep 2022
Thank you.
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @TheBTCManual 29 Sep 2022
Great app, I've been using it daily, I am wondering how you plan to scale it up, we've seen so many altcoins trying this reward for fitness data model fail big time I think the latest was called STEPN, how will sMiles continue to gather a user base especially outside us bitcoiners
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022
We are not looking for a get rich quick model with an altcoin.
We are sure that Bitcoin and the Lightning network are a solid backbone to build an ecosystem where everyone will win big time and for the long term. It will be true for bitcoiners and non-bitcoiners as well. In fact we want to gamify the process of earning sats so much that it will be fun for absolutely everyone.
Like Pokemon GO with integrated bitcoin micropayments.
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @BlokchainB 29 Sep 2022
Why the name smiles?
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230 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022
sMiles = satoshi + miles
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @F 29 Sep 2022
Hi thanks for doing this AMA.
What are you looking forward to the most in future Bitcoin developments?
In what ways has building sMiles been unexpectedly rewarding?
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022 freebie
Great questions.
Two really rewarding and exciting discoveries while building sMiles:
  1. Users messaging us how much they love sMiles and that it incentivizes them to walk more, and get more bitcoin rewards (even if it's only a couple sats)
  2. Users value sats much more than cents
Personally I'm super bullish on Lightning long term. The amount of talent coming into the ecosystem, independently of the current BTC price is amazing. I see better and better consumer apps being built using the bitcoin payment rails, which is frequently the first entry for the average consumer. There will be several big companies in this space, and perhaps one which will change the world.
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @kr 29 Sep 2022
Have you spoken with any health insurance companies about paying your users more for walking?
Something like an opt-in program where users can earn $5-$10 in sats every month for staying active (and thus being a lower risk for health insurers)?
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429 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022 freebie
Yes, this is a great way to stimulate a net positive outcome for everyone! A win for users because they walk more and live longer and healthier lives. A win for health insurances, because they reduce cases and other claims, with reduced health risks of their clients.
Health insurances in most countries operate on a legacy software stack and slow decision making. At the same time I believe that mid term, insurances will transform. The best incentive for a healthy lifestyle is Bitcoin (much better than any points program, or reduced insurance rates).
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30 sats \ 1 reply \ @ken 29 Sep 2022
Gotta sMile, Daniel is here Going to make just one thing clear: If you want to make it, listen dear: Stack sats before you drink some beer
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022
Great poetry with a nugget of wisdom!
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35 sats \ 3 replies \ @k00b 29 Sep 2022
What's the most surprising thing you've learned building sMiles?
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100 sats \ 2 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022 freebie
Great question!
There were a couple things which were interesting and surprising.
  • We can actually incentivize people to walk more, and be more healthy, through a small Bitcoin incentive.
  • Once we added chess as an in-app game, we discovered it to be very popular. Users love to play chess games or solve chess puzzles, and receive sats rewards for them.
  • Onboarding Lightning users is much quicker than anticipated, but there is still work to be done to make it super easy for the average consumer
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 29 Sep 2022
Still work to be done to make it super easy for the average consumer
What are some of your plans for making it super easy for the average consumer?
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022
Some of the things we already did, like enabling users to earn bitcoin simply for walking, as well as gamifying and simplifying UI. It's important for us that users can find ways to get familiar with everyday earning, before doing a significant action like a purchase.
And there are other things which we are working on the UI / UX side.
Sometimes, the connection to, and education about Lightning still plays a role. For example we get questions like "how can withdraw my sats to my Coinbase wallet".
This means that many still have a singular point of entry into Bitcoin, which is frequently a company like Coinbase.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @based 29 Sep 2022
Does the app require location permissions to function or does it respect user privacy?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 30 Sep 2022
The location permission is optional. However it’s likely that we will reward more accurate location with more sats in the future.
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @shyfire 29 Sep 2022
Feature requests: make the wheel spin as fast as Fold's
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @dberezovsky OP 30 Sep 2022
Satoshi’s Wheel spin time upgrade coming!
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @shyfire 30 Sep 2022
❤️
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @thrown 29 Sep 2022
anyone have a referral code that they want me to sign up with?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022
Thanks for trying out sMiles!
You can use: dani480
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 29 Sep 2022
What's the hardest problem you've solved at sMiles?
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022
To have multiple ways of earning bitcoin, under a simple intuitive interface.
On the backend: security and scalability
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @lpop4254 29 Sep 2022
Does this app available to all country
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260 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022 freebie
Currently sMiles is available in North America, the EU, and a couple other countries. We plan on increasing the number of available countries in the future!
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @lindaeoshell 21 Nov 2022 freebie
Thank smiles🌺❤️
100 sats \ 1 reply \ @Natalia 29 Sep 2022
deleted by author
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @dberezovsky OP 29 Sep 2022 freebie
That's a great point.
sMiles earns money in several ways - which we then convert into BTC to give back to users:
  1. Ads (not intrusive)
  2. Paid surveys
  3. User Shopping
I agree that there are too many ads oftentimes, with users traditionally receiving $0 for viewing them. At the same time we have to realize that ads are a part of how products can remain free to use.
We want to give users the best way earn bitcoin in as many ways as possible, including paying you for your attention (ads).
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