Programming insights to Storytelling, it's all here.
Sean is 22 years old. He loves Linkin Park. Just the other day, listening to the radio on his way to work, he heard that Linkin Park had a new album he wasn't aware of. He was thinking about this piece of news all day and was distracted from the very work he was supposed to do.
If I take money out of my pocket and buy a laptop, when I get home I expect it to work. I expect it to do exactly what I want and I believe that is not too much too ask. It's not a surprise to anyone, we can all agree on this. It's an investment with a guaranteed return.
If there is one thing the rest of the internet and I are guilty of, it is creating content. Most people who get started on the web think the key to success is to create a website and people will pour in. Eventually they learn that no one cares about their website. SEO consulting companies always have the same recipe: link building and content. The Holy grail of the internet.
I was driving down Sepulveda Blvd near LAX when I stopped at a red light. It was one of those lights that just wouldn't turn green. There were very few cars, and I thought about going through the red light, but, I wasn't in a hurry.
As a non programmer, when you read the stories of all the famous nerds, the first thing you do is go on amazon and shop for programming books. Most titles are confusing, you only wish to know which book Zuckerburg was reading so you can create your own bookface as quick as possible. After much confusion, you call your programmer friend and ask for a book recommendation. Of course his response is to not get a book, all the stuff is on the Internet already.
In the past 5 years, I have not received a single negative performance review. For every company I worked for, the manager had to be reminded by a third party or me that my review is due. We would go in a small meeting room and he would say good things about me then say something like "I will talk to bob about giving you a raise". The interesting part is if I was to ask them what I was working on they would have no idea.
I tried using Coffeescript, looks like it was not made for me. So it is a language with a not so simple syntax that is supposed to compile back to JavaScript. The selling point is, if you come from a OOP background, it makes working with JavaScript easier. The catch is you need to know JavaScript first.
Search is an important feature on a website. When my few readers want to look for a particular passage on my blog, they use the search box. It used to be powered by Google Search, but I have since then changed it to my own home-brewed version not because I can do better but because it was an interesting challenge.
I had the chance to implement more than my fair share of AB tests. I used Google Web Optimizer, Visual Web Optimizer, Optimizely, an internal AB test suite, and even wrote my own at some point. I do not claim to be an expert in anyway because there are a too many ways to interpret the results. I cannot tell you the right way to track conversion but I sure can tell you when the metrics are completely irrelevant.
Working as a programmer, I've had the chance to interview quite a few people. The best candidates where never the ones that knew the answers. As the interviewee, my direct and short answers did not help me get the job either. My experience tells me that in order to get a job, you have to do a little more then know what a Singleton is.
