joshuago’s Bookmarks

You've got an amazing service but nobody knows about it. Nobody knows the benefits of building on your API. You have a classic chicken and egg problem. The trick is to think of your API as a product and as a business in and of itself, which means you have to understand how to market it, build awareness, and drive market adoption. And don't be afraid to cannibalize your product in the process.

The economic downturn in the United States has had an unexpected consequence for startups – it has created more of them. Young and old, innovators who are unemployed or underemployed now face less risk in starting a company. They have a lot less to lose and a lot more to gain.

Why does it matter whether we get the Puritans right or not? The simple answer is that it matters because our civil society depends, as theirs did, on linking an ethics of the common good with the uses of power.

Why are the enterprise people so confused? Why don’t they just quickly adopt the best products without requiring complex sales processes?

A great overview of the current state of affairs as concerns software documentation. Emphasizes DRY and automatic code generation, two widely known but oft-ignored ideas. An excellent reminder even for software engineers who have heard it all before. Recommended for regular review.

Building useful, utilitarian applications is embedded deep in Google's DNA, and this is why they haven't succeeded at building social applications. They're not out to set up frivolous gimmicks because their core values dictate that they do good by their users, not make it easier for them to whittle away their time.

A good conversation thread about how programmers can produce great visual design, inspired by the results of Rails Rumble 2010.

People are not really stupid, it is just that you know a lot more. Don’t let knowledge blind you.

The social value of tags on Del.icio.us is only a happy side-effect. Even though most of the ink spilled about Del.icio.us is about the social value, it’s really not the reason why people use it.

I bet there are some high-income taxpayers whose services you enjoy.