We are halfway through 2023. I hope you’re all doing great and crushing your 2023 goals. Momentum has once again grown quite substantially since last week.

If you're returning, it's great to have you back!

If you’re new (~20% of you), welcome!

For my returners, you will notice a massive overhaul of this newsletter. I’ve taken our poll results, feedback from replies, and more into consideration as I redesigned the new structure of the Momentum newsletter, which is now as follows:

• Welcome Note. (You are here)

• No-Code Nook.

  • Reviews and tutorials for actual use cases. This will include why the tool is in the spotlight, how to get started, who it is for, and a few pro tips for using it effectively.

• SecurityBytes.

  • One straightforward, actionable tip for improving your security posture online and breaking down technical jargon and practical, real-world advice from a CyberSecurity professional.

• Tech Decoded.

  • Important tech concepts and topics are broken down and discussed.

• Quiz or Poll

  • One-click poll to see what you are thinking. Replies are encouraged but not required.

• Autopilot

  • Automation and AI-related tips relating to each week’s topics in the No-Code Nook, SecurityBytes, or Tech Decoded.

• Community Highlights

  • Questions, contributions, and show off your current projects. Let’s see what you’re thinking and working on.

What is Glideapps?

Glideapps is popular and super user-friendly because its prominent tagline is that you can build functional and attractive apps using Google Sheets or Excel.

You know how you use Excel or Google Sheets to store information, whether it's your personal budget, a list of your favorite movies, or the customer database for your small business? Glideapps takes that information and transforms it into a user-friendly mobile app, with zero coding required.

Here is a use case that we can all relate to.

A spreadsheet is a great way to stay organized and on top of your finances, but it might feel a bit unapproachable or even tedious to sift through rows and columns of numbers.

This is where you can use Glideapps.

You can import your Google Sheet into Glideapps and your own personal finance app is started.

You can customize it to make it your own like adding a new expense with just a tap, view your spending by category, and get an at-a-glance view of your monthly budget status.

You have the flexibility to customize your app to best fit your needs, all without needing to write a single line of code.

Also, because your app is linked to your Google Sheet, any updates you make in the app will automatically sync to your spreadsheet and vice versa. So you always have an updated record of your finances.

Basically, Glideapps can transform a plain, somewhat boring spreadsheet into a visually engaging, interactive, and easy-to-use personal budgeting tool.

Or, maybe you have always wanted to try to create an app. This is a great place to start.

Glideapps’ free plan is comprehensive enough to get started and learn the tool. You can even use the free version app if you are okay with a non-custom domain name. See Glideapps features here.

In the AutoPilot section below, I give you an idea to work on to try Glideapps.

Who is Glideapps for?

Glideapps is for regular people or businesses who would find it easier to interact with their data in an app than a spreadsheet. You can build portals, dashboards, directories, and more all starting from your own spreadsheets.

I’m one of many people reasonably competent in Excel and Google Sheets, but I’m lacking in knowledge of data structures. Glideapps will take your spreadsheet and import it as workable data.

Start Mastering Glideapps:

1. Pre-made templates are the best way to get acquainted. This ensures that you aren’t wasting time thinking of a design but learning how your spreadsheet data is used to populate various fields in the pre-built app. Templates are fully customizable but give you an excellent starting point. See Glideapps templates here.
   

2. You set themes, fonts, colors, and components and stay consistent throughout the app. This allows you to remain on-brand without trying.
   

3. Do you know how apps show loading screens, link to other pages, push notifications to your phone, etc?
   
   Instead of coding all of these to work together, in Glideapps, you plop down a button and click the actions button to either perform a single action or you can create custom action sequences which stream multiple actions together.
   
   Here is an example of an action sequence that I use in an app.

   
   Download Contacts Action:

Starting with something most of you are likely familiar with.

2FA/MFA (two-factor authentication and multi-factor authentication) are ways of verifying your identity when you log in with more than just a password.

For example, a code texted to your phone, a scan, or a device approval notification.

This makes it harder for malicious actors to access your account. Many services offer 2FA or MFA; you should enable it whenever possible. It's an easy and effective way to protect yourself online.

In 2023 these are no longer a bonus feature of a website or service.

They are required.

For MFA, I recommend either Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator. I use Microsoft Authenticator even for my Google accounts, so you aren’t limited to each ecosystem. With Microsoft Authenticator, I can trust the backups a little more, so I stay with it.

Download links:
Microsoft Authenticator: iOS | Android

Google Authenticator: iOS | Android

You've probably seen pop-ups on many websites asking you to accept cookies. But what are cookies, and what do you agree to when you click accept?

Cookies are small pieces of data that websites store on your browser when you visit them. They can be used for various purposes, such as remembering your preferences, tracking your online activity, or personalizing your experience.

For example, if you visit an online store and add some items to your cart, the website may use cookies to remember what you have selected and show you relevant products or offers. Or, if you visit a news website and choose your preferred language or region, the website may use cookies to display the content in your preferred settings.

Now should you accept cookies on websites?

When you accept cookies, you allow the website to access and use the data stored on your browser. This can have benefits, such as making the website faster and more relevant to you.

But it can also have drawbacks, such as exposing your personal information to third parties or affecting your privacy.

My rule of thumb is if it’s a website or service that I visit every day, then I accept the cookies. If not, I click don’t accept or ignore the prompt because I’m likely only temporarily on the page and won’t be revisiting frequently.

Here is a more in-depth look at Cookies.

Glideapps x AI

Glideapps has native integrations with other apps.
See all integrations.

Native integration means it has built-in ways for your app to interface with your favorite apps and tools without coding.

On the free version of Glideapps, you can integrate directly with OpenAI to create your own portal for your prompts.

Here’s an idea for you to work on a test with Glideapps.

Create a journaling app.

Each day the user can write about their day. When they submit the entry, OpenAI creates a summary of their day.

The user sees the date and the summary from OpenAI on the app's home screen.

Bonus Challenge: Say the user remembered something about that day and would like to edit that journal entry. Enable editing of the journal entries with the ability to have their day summarized again.

After completing this, you will have a better understanding of Glideapp’s features, and it will enable you to start working with AI.

If you have questions about doing this, reply to this email, and I will personally help you.

Please reply to this email and let me know your thoughts on the new format.

If it’s your first Momentum newsletter, let me know what you think!

That’s all for now.

If you have any questions or thoughts, don’t hesitate to reach out! Have a fantastic week!

Until next time,

Evan