Category: Industry
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Saying the same thing, differently
In the view of capital, developer experience is like creating steam-powered mills. Sure, there’s a risk of mangling the workers, but look how much more productive they are, and how it drives costs down for everyone!
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How guardrails enable you to work at AI speed
On December 10, I’m joining a bunch of cool people on a LeadDev panel to talk about guardrails and AI use. Register to join us! As we were doing the pre-panel discussion, I started thinking about the metaphor we were using. Guardrails are not uniquely American, but they are very American. We see them so…
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Git along now
Look around you. Do you feel like maybe it would be nice to be able to have relational databases in your nice safe DVCS? What about streaming releases? What about coders who might be scared about screwing up? Do you actually roll all your code libraries up into the version control, or do you reference…
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The Ambassador from Ruritania
Being a developer advocate is a bit like being an ambassador in another country. Your ceremonial roles sometimes hide your real negotiations and strategic power.
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Guardrails and Plimsoll Lines
In an era where we have to assume that our data is being collected, and the data we collect, I think we need to get more nuanced about our guardrails. We need to think about what the worst possible outcome is, and then what the worst likely outcome is. We need to consider the dangers in different…
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How long has this been going on?
It’s easy to feel like AI* was the domain of science fiction and IBM moonshots until ChatGPT burst onto the public consciousness like Kool-Aid Man. It’s easy, but it’s not correct. What even is AI? LLMs have been around a lot longer than that, fixing your spelling and grammar and missed semicolons at the end…
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Book review: Kill It With Fire, by Marianne Belotti
I read this book slowly, not because it is long, or difficult, but because it is incredibly thought-provoking. Belotti has spent time doing the grinding work of upgrading the brownest of fields, and has managed to retain a sense of curiosity and fresh thinking that comes through in every example. The book’s layout is clear,…
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The costs and benefits of incremental improvement
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, I got budget to build out a home studio to give talks in. It was about three thousand dollars, with a nice digital camera, a mic, pre-amp, and lights, and some bits and bobs. I even painted a wall in my basement. I’ve given a lot of talks…
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Platform engineering is the tool library of the enterprise
Last year I did a very cute talk about platform engineering through the lens of Animal Crossing, and talked about hospitality, and infrastructure, and what it should feel like to use an internal platform. Today I adjusted the brakes on my bike and trike. It involved significantly less swearing and bleeding than the last time…
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Leaving LaunchDarkly
Startup years are a little like dog years – 5 years at a startup is a lot of experience. When I started, I was employee 21, our office elevator was a bit dodgy, and we could all eat lunch together. Now LaunchDarkly is a globally-distributed organization with hundreds of employees. Over the years, I’ve gotten…
