We just launched a fun little tool called Phantom Analyzer. It’s a 100% serverless tool that scans websites for hidden tracking pixels.
I want to talk about how we built it 👇
> Laravel Vapor
> ChipperCI for deployment
> SQS for queues
> DynamoDB for the database
We went with DynamoDB as we don’t want to worry about our database scaling!
> How will we scan websites for tracking pixels?
> How will we utilize the queue and check the job is done?
> How will we validate the URL?
Wait a minute...
Yes, out of the box, Browsershot already had what I needed. Are you kidding me?




> 1024MB of RAM
> 2048 of RAM for the queue (could likely reduce!)
> Warm of 500
> CLI Timeout of 180 seconds
Those settings all worked nicely.


More from Tech
These past few days I've been experimenting with something new that I want to use by myself.
Interestingly, this thread below has been written by that.
Let me show you how it looks like. 👇🏻
When you see localhost up there, you should know that it's truly an experiment! 😀
It's a dead-simple thread writer that will post a series of tweets a.k.a tweetstorm. ⚡️
I've been personally wanting it myself since few months ago, but neglected it intentionally to make sure it's something that I genuinely need.
So why is that important for me? 🙂
I've been a believer of a story. I tell stories all the time, whether it's in the real world or online like this. Our society has moved by that.
If you're interested by stories that move us, read Sapiens!
One of the stories that I've told was from the launch of Poster.
It's been launched multiple times this year, and Twitter has been my go-to place to tell the world about that.
Here comes my frustration.. 😤
Interestingly, this thread below has been written by that.
Let me show you how it looks like. 👇🏻
Recently I just refunded all Poster's sales from Gumroad. Being that said, I decided to not using that service anymore.
— Wilbert Liu \U0001f468\U0001f3fb\u200d\U0001f3a8 (@wilbertliu) November 19, 2018
Here's a little story \U0001f447\U0001f3fb
When you see localhost up there, you should know that it's truly an experiment! 😀

It's a dead-simple thread writer that will post a series of tweets a.k.a tweetstorm. ⚡️
I've been personally wanting it myself since few months ago, but neglected it intentionally to make sure it's something that I genuinely need.
So why is that important for me? 🙂
I've been a believer of a story. I tell stories all the time, whether it's in the real world or online like this. Our society has moved by that.
If you're interested by stories that move us, read Sapiens!
One of the stories that I've told was from the launch of Poster.
It's been launched multiple times this year, and Twitter has been my go-to place to tell the world about that.
Here comes my frustration.. 😤
Ok, I’ve told this story a few times, but maybe never here. Here we go. 🧵👇
I was about 6. I was in the car with my mother. We were driving a few hours from home to go to Orlando. My parents were letting me audition for a tv show. It would end up being my first job. I was very excited. But, in the meantime we drove and listened to Rush’s show.
There was some sort of trivia question they posed to the audience. I don’t remember what the riddle was, but I remember I knew the answer right away. It was phrased in this way that was somehow just simpler to see from a kid’s perspective. The answer was CAROUSEL. I was elated.
My mother was THRILLED. She insisted that we call Into the show using her “for emergencies only” giant cell phone. It was this phone:
I called in. The phone rang for a while, but someone answered. It was an impatient-sounding dude. The screener. I said I had the trivia answer. He wasn’t charmed, I could hear him rolling his eyes. He asked me what it was. I told him. “Please hold.”
Wish I had the audio of Rush Limbaugh telling me off on the phone on his show when I was six. In the meantime, RIP.
— Shannon Woodward (@shannonwoodward) February 17, 2021
I was about 6. I was in the car with my mother. We were driving a few hours from home to go to Orlando. My parents were letting me audition for a tv show. It would end up being my first job. I was very excited. But, in the meantime we drove and listened to Rush’s show.
There was some sort of trivia question they posed to the audience. I don’t remember what the riddle was, but I remember I knew the answer right away. It was phrased in this way that was somehow just simpler to see from a kid’s perspective. The answer was CAROUSEL. I was elated.
My mother was THRILLED. She insisted that we call Into the show using her “for emergencies only” giant cell phone. It was this phone:

I called in. The phone rang for a while, but someone answered. It was an impatient-sounding dude. The screener. I said I had the trivia answer. He wasn’t charmed, I could hear him rolling his eyes. He asked me what it was. I told him. “Please hold.”
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1/“What would need to be true for you to….X”
Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?
A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody:
2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to
- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal
3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:
Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.
Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.
4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?
To get clarity.
You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.
It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.
5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”
Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.
Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?
A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody:
Next level tactic when closing a sale, candidate, or investment:
— Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg) February 27, 2018
Ask: \u201cWhat needs to be true for you to be all in?\u201d
You'll usually get an explicit answer that you might not get otherwise. It also holds them accountable once the thing they need becomes true.
2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to
- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal
3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:
Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.
Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.
4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?
To get clarity.
You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.
It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.
5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”
Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.