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My name is Maksim Zhirnov. I’m a Growth Marketing Expert & MarTech Engineer. I help tech companies scale through data-driven marketing strategies, powered by my engineering background. I love building marketing systems that drive growth and sharing insights on the intersection of technology and customer acquisition.
Database Query Optimization for High-Traffic Systems: A Practical Guide

Database Query Optimization for High-Traffic Systems: A Practical Guide

If your database is a restaurant during dinner rush, then unoptimized queries are like ordering a custom meal while a line of hungry customers wraps around the block. Let’s fix that. High-traffic web applications face a peculiar problem: they’re victims of their own success. More users means more queries, and more queries mean your database either gets faster or becomes the bottleneck that ruins everyone’s evening. The good news? Database optimization is a science, not black magic, and we’re about to demystify it....

November 16, 2025 · 12 min · 2494 words · Maxim Zhirnov
Dark Pattern Programming: Why Your Clever Trick Today Could Cost You Millions Tomorrow

Dark Pattern Programming: Why Your Clever Trick Today Could Cost You Millions Tomorrow

You know that moment when you’re building a feature and your PM says, “Just make it a little harder to cancel”? Or when a designer suggests auto-checking that opt-in box? Yeah. That’s the moment your company might be setting itself up for six or seven figures in regulatory fines. Welcome to the world of dark patterns—where what feels like clever product design meets the cold, hard reality of modern consumer protection law....

November 16, 2025 · 12 min · 2523 words · Maxim Zhirnov
Building a Recommendation Engine for Online Courses: A Practical Guide to Collaborative Filtering

Building a Recommendation Engine for Online Courses: A Practical Guide to Collaborative Filtering

Remember that moment when you discovered a YouTube video that was exactly what you needed? That wasn’t magic—it was math. And today, we’re going to build something remarkably similar for online courses. If you’ve ever wondered how platforms like Coursera or Udemy seem to know what you want to learn next, buckle up. We’re diving into the beautiful world of collaborative filtering. Why Recommendation Systems Matter (And Why They’re Not Just Hype) Let’s be real: the internet has too many courses....

November 15, 2025 · 9 min · 1778 words · Maxim Zhirnov
Building Slack Bots on Node.js with Bolt API: From Zero to Production

Building Slack Bots on Node.js with Bolt API: From Zero to Production

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a developer’s procrastination meets a company’s communication platform, you get a Slack bot. And let me tell you—building one is far more fun than it should be. In this guide, we’re going to dive deep into the art and science of creating powerful Slack bots using Node.js and the Slack Bolt API. Whether you’re automating mundane tasks, querying databases, or just making your team’s life easier (and slightly more entertaining), this comprehensive walkthrough will get you there....

November 14, 2025 · 10 min · 2017 words · Maxim Zhirnov
Surveillance Capitalism in IoT: Your Smart Home is Listening, and Yes, It's as Bad as It Sounds

Surveillance Capitalism in IoT: Your Smart Home is Listening, and Yes, It's as Bad as It Sounds

You know that moment when you’re talking to your partner about needing new shoes, and then suddenly you’re seeing shoe ads everywhere? Funny coincidence, right? Wrong. That’s not a coincidence—that’s infrastructure. Sophisticated, invisible infrastructure designed to harvest every whisper in your home and convert it into behavioral predictions worth billions. Welcome to the age of surveillance capitalism in your living room. The Uncomfortable Truth About Smart Homes Let’s start with the uncomfortable admission: your smart home isn’t really yours....

November 14, 2025 · 13 min · 2728 words · Maxim Zhirnov