I planned to do a writeup on the talks @ FOWA Dublin, but Dave Concannon did such a great job that I could not add too much without re-iterating what he said, so I’d like to concentrate on just one talk instead, which totally blew me away: Creating Software in the Real World by David Heinmeier Hansson.
Let me start with a bit of background – as a Rails developer for almost 3 years now, this was obviously not the first time I heard about David, 37signals, their Getting Real principles, business practices etc. – however, this was the first time I have seen him live, delivering a great talk. And it made a huge difference.
If you happen to know me, you probably know that I am not a guy who gets ecstatic because someone is an alleged rock star, ninja, pirate or zen master, even if he happens to be author of something as significant as Ruby on Rails which I think is the greatest piece of software since Prince of Persia. I had my own reservations wrt David (a slew of blog posts about him suggest that he is kind of a controversial character to say the least: the potty-mouth Dane, the F-bomb terrorist who always has a curse or two up his sleeve for good measure, brings on the vitriol first and ask questions later etc. etc.) After seeing him perform live, I am quite sure that most of these negative comments are either taken out of context, coming from the sour grape camp or are just plain wrong. Sure, David is not a grail knight when it comes to defending his stance – that’s one of the reasons why he keeps building kick-ass stuff like Rails or Basecamp. He totally pwn3d the stage from the very beginning, and even if I wanted to be very critical, I just could not see that he is the douchebag suggested by his critics.
It also became clear to me that DHH != (only) Rails. While he is often primarily described as the author of the Rails framework, that’s a gross oversimplification of the big picture. I think Rails is “just” the side effect of David’s passion to create web apps in a getting real way. Above everything else, he is a guy with a vision who gets things done, no matter what does it cost – e.g. writing a web framework in Ruby (the language he found the most “getting real” style when he needed to implement Basecamp).
OK enough rambling – here is the summary of the talk (I certainly could not get everything, but I am trying my best)
* “We don’t have 200k RSS subscribers because of my deliciously swirly hair” – a central question (asked also during the Q/A session): how on the earth did Basecamp and other 37signals products become so popular? All of a sudden, they emerged from nowhere! As David points out, it was not that ‘out of the blue’ as it looks like. When they started with Basecamp, they already had 2000 subscribers on their blog, Signal vs Noise, so they built a channel which through they could advertise themselves.
This advice meshes with one of my favorite points from Getting Real which goes something like “Just start doing something”. Really. Start blogging. Creating/contributing to open source software. Get on twitter. Let your voice be heard! You probably won’t have thousands of listeners right away, that’s OK – it takes time. But you can start today!
* “Fuck the real world” – probably the tagline this speech will be remembered for. Taken out of context, DHH critics have yet another flickr snapshot where they can demonstrate arrogant F-bomb usage, good for nothing. Bullshit. It was designed and “dropped” perfectly, kicking off the whole talk! David’s advice is to stop listening to “advice” which goes like “yeah, this is a great idea/concept/whatever, but it will not survive in the real world”. Sure, Rails didn’t look like a great idea when Java and PHP have been the bee’s knees. Today no one (except the hard-core sour-grape Java/PHP/COBOL fanboys) would argue that it made a big impact on how web software is developed (call it web2.0 if you like). David said that none of their current apps passed the “real world” (in the sarcastic sense) test – and look where they arrived.
* “I didn’t start coding when I was 6, but 21, and Jason (Fried) started business school later too” – David de-bunked the myth that you have to be a “natural” to accomplish great things. True, quite a few of the IT related success stories start with “I got my first Sinclair ZX Spectrum/Commodore/Atari/Amiga when I was 4, started coding in xyzBasic at the age of 5, roocked fooBasic at 7 etc. While this is all great, and certainly a big help if one happens to become a professional coder later, it’s certainly not the only path to victory. There is no such thing as “starting out too late”. Just make sure you start today.
* “Forget the _advice_ that you shouldn’t build too simple software” – “Good bye to bloat”, “Simple, focused software that does just what you need and nothing you don’t” are rules 37signals are living by, not just pretending. If you check out their award-winning software, used by over a million people today, you’ll notice that despite of their age (several years) they are still simple pieces of focused apps. That’s one of the secret sauces of 37signals: if it works for them, why shouldn’t it work for you? The point is to create something usable, not bloated.
* “Would I pay for this app?” – a great reality check they are asking themselves all the time. If you wouldn’t pay for such a product, why would anyone else?
* “Running your own business = the power to say no – You should be able to say “no” and stick to your vision rather than trying to add all the bells and whistles required by the customers. Note that this does not mean you should refuse / reject all the requests – some of them are really great, but eventually *you* have to decide which ones to keep and which ones to boot (because they just don’t fit into your vision).
* “startup is a category I hate – you have to build a business” – another great point. It’s so trendy to found start-ups today, it almost sounds like a game for grown-ups. (It’s not, I founded two of them myself and it was the hardest part of my professional life so far. Compared to a startup, regular freelancing / contracting feels like a walk in the park :-)). You have to plan for long term, have real goals, start making money as soon as possible (vs. wait for google or another Silicon Valley dude with a lot of money), get real. It’s not a game, it’s a business.
* “You don’t need rock stars, but a rock star environment. Your employees are not stupid” – argues that the environment your company is in matters more than the individuals. With a great company culture where you respect and trust your employees (e.g. 37signal employees get a company credit card, with one policy – use it reasonably! wow) your team will live up to their full potential. By creating and nurturing an atmosphere of growth, you won’t have to micromanage everybody and everything – don’t treat your employees as idiots, because they are not.
* “An idea is so small part of a business that it’s almost a rounding error” – So true. I have so many ideas right now, that it would take months to prototype them – but that would eventually become an endless process, because during prototyping I would get new ideas, etc. Ideas are cheap, everyone has them. The question is whether you have the skills and perseverance to make them happen.
* “you have to build massive popularity slowly” – Probably my most favorite point of the talk. As a small business owner, startup founder and entrepreneur I found out on my own skin several times that it’s relatively easy to start something – be it a startup, a blog, an open source project, a client assignment, a relationship/marriage/organization/company/habbit/just about anything. The trick is to keep pushing with the initial vigor (at least) once you reach the plateau – for a long time, until the breakthrough comes (you finish your project, your blog gets picked up, your startup is featured on techcrunch, etc.) That’s one of the main things that sets successful ventures apart from non-succesful ones. Everybody has ideas. Everybody can start. A few of them can finish because it takes time and perseverance. You have to believe in yourself and your idea to make it through, as long as it takes.
Unfortunately this summary can’t capture the atmosphere of the talk – as far as I can tell, the room was on fire, everybody was charged up and motivated by this speech (I can’t imagine who wouldn’t be). For me it was worth the price of the conference alone. Massive thanks to David!
Reed bed technology has a low price of entry
and minimal daily functional and upkeep costs. Their payloads are spread out over the entire dump body
in order to maintain the weight requirements of the federal bridge laws.
Today there are various insulation materials that are used directly over the exterior of
the tire before the finish is applied.
Reed bed technology has a low price of entry and minimal daily functional and upkeep
costs. Their payloads are spread out over the entire dump body
in order to maintain the weight requirements of the federal
bridge laws. Nitrogen-deficient grass invites the growth of moss.
The entire effect of these rugs to a room should be considered when purchasing one.
Most of the time, when the topic is all about wastewater and sewage, the image people often get is that of bad smells and all
that grime. Tiny video cameras are sometimes used to probe intricate pipes to pinpoint hidden leaks and problems.
“The old saying used to be diagnosed and adios, and now that spectrum has completely changed. Good cholesterol or HDL helps your body rid itself of dietary cholesterol. Do a simple search on Google or Amazon for a keyword like “dog supplements” and instantly you will get hundreds of thousands of results.
Most of those supplements work by stopping the cause of baldness.
Sometimes eating of bad calories result in making the dieter
overweight which is really a matter of concern because it
directly targets the working efficiency of its user.
You may think that purchasing vegetables at a farmers market is healthier
but you must be sure they use organic farming methods otherwise you may as well go to the local supermarket.
Most people would like natural instead of synthetic vitamins.
You can even check out the customer reviews, and
start availing more information, about those products. ‘Were the
supplements tested independently for purity and strength.
Brain O Brain capsules tackle stress and produce high level of energy,
the herbs used in the preparation of these capsules contain iron in high amount which enhances the capacity oxygen carrying of the blood by increasing the number of red blood cells.
Dog glucosamine can also cure a dogs inflamed discs, sciatic nerve and inflamed joints-conditions that are
usually connected with aging. Another important fact why this disease is treated
differently from conventional illnesses and why adrenal fatigue supplements are different from conventional medicine lays in the spectrum which it deals with.
Most people would like natural instead of synthetic vitamins.
Almost all bodies anticipate that bodybuilding supplements is an above allotment
of the blueprint back it comes to accretion beef mass. Research strongly suggests that people with
high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids in their blood experience positive brain qualities such as fewer signs of blood flow obstructions and fewer episodes of Dementia.
Also, you should start with a low dosage and work your way up.
In fact the height of a teenager increases dramatically.
As after the tiring workouts session the body of bodybuilder is malnourished then the requirements of
post workout supplements increases.
Brain O Brain capsules tackle stress and produce high level of energy, the herbs used in the preparation of these capsules contain iron in high amount which enhances the capacity oxygen carrying of the blood by increasing the number of red blood cells.
Good cholesterol or HDL helps your body rid itself of
dietary cholesterol. You may think that purchasing vegetables at a farmers market is healthier but you must be sure they use organic farming methods otherwise
you may as well go to the local supermarket.
In just a few days, you can have your shop up and running with Zen Cart.
Small claims court cases are much cheaper than superior court
cases for both the plaintiff (the person doing the suing) and the defendant (the person being sued) because the parties are
not allowed to have any attorneys represent
them and other rules that simplify the lawsuit process, making the whole thing much cheaper,
faster, and easier. However, there are certain things
which can assist you differentiate which one is best and which is not.
Another 10% do it kind of well although not at a professional stage.
Not only do you want lots of people to visit your website
but you also want your visitors to stay on your site and see if the deal is worthwhile by simply checking out your site.
However, there are certain things which can assist you differentiate which
one is best and which is not.
It won’t necessarily cost less to get your site this way, but it does provide a way to spread the cost over time.
No software to buy, no code to learn, all you need is to be
a little Internet savvy and know how to click your mouse.
You can manipulate movie clips to animate your buttons to make them perform
different functions.
This is how quite a few website owners make substantial 6 and 7 figure incomes each year.
The website navigation should cater to both the users and the
search engine bots. The website templates
are well-equipped with HTML coding which could result into better looking websites in minor budget
also.
This is especially useful if the person you’re inquiring about has a less than common name.
Small claims court cases are much cheaper than superior court cases for both the plaintiff (the person doing the suing) and the defendant (the person being sued) because the parties are not allowed to have any attorneys represent them and other rules that simplify the lawsuit process,
making the whole thing much cheaper, faster, and easier. Once each
item on the list of services is defined, select all of the individual items for that list, click the
Home tab on the ribbon and choose Bullets again to turn the bulleted list formatting back on for that block of text as shown below:.
???? ???????! Timing is everything. Users had to go through this severe disillusionment before anything like Rails could have every been accepted. If it wasn’t DHH, it would have been someone else. Its the message and timing of it, not the messenger that is generally more important.