Disqus - Latest Comments for joemccann

Re: Running Telegram Bot with Node.js and Azure Functions | Dmitry Rogozhny (Dzmitry Rahozhny)

joemccann — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 11:24:02 -0000

You skipped the webhook URL part. What is the value? Where do you set it?

Re: Silicon Valley’s Information Assymetry Problem

joemccann — Sun, 05 May 2019 11:52:10 -0000

As a Founder (and former CEO) of a fully distributed/decentralized company, NodeSource (the Node.js Company) I can attest to everything you're saying.

We started the company in 2013 and didn't even have an office for almost 3 years. Global distribution. 24 hour coverage. Exchange rate benefits (strong dollar/weak local currency). Crazy passionate people worldwide that wanted to work on Node.js. After getting an office (from pressure from investors) we closed it up after a couple of years. Didn't make sense.

Most of the advice entrepreneurs receive from VC's is totally wrong...and it isn't wrong in substance, it's wrong in timing, which is arguably more important.

Re: Roundup: The best (and worst!) April Fools’ Day pranks in the tech world ever

joemccann — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 11:10:16 -0000

Nailed it

https://nodesource.com/blog...

Re: Flickr cofounder's new startup is called Slack, and it just raised $42M | VentureBeat | Deals | by Richard Byrne Reilly

joemccann — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 20:15:53 -0000

Best comms product ever built. Happy to pay them.

Re: WhatsApp Shows How Phone Carriers Lost Out on $33 Billion

joemccann — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 09:36:43 -0000

Yup, wrote about this months ago:

Why Over The Top Messaging Is Mobile's Newest Monetization Platform

http://subprint.com/blog/wh...

Re: But Apple does not pursue profits either!

joemccann — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 10:06:51 -0000

The user as the ultimate adjudicator does not imply user-driven or user-oriented? Please explain.

You don't have to explain debt issuance's tax benefits; you left out the part that rates are extremely low and it makes total sense...to Apple, not the users.

Systematically modifying connectors on a regular cadence certainly speaks to progress, but evaluate the ratio of pleased users vs. unhappy users at the changes to the connectors. You are in the minority, sir.

Icahn, debt issuance, etc. has directly, nothing to do with the article except it has a lot to do with business models and profit as a motivator...not users.

If one casts a wide enough net for how Apple is a "user-oriented, user-first" business, then the aforementioned items are captured as well.

Re: But Apple does not pursue profits either!

joemccann — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 07:22:03 -0000

"Apple still values the user as the ultimate adjudicator of its actions."

Issuing debt with that much cash on their balance sheet is user-driven? Swapping out adapters/connectors every few years to embolden partners' (makers of peripherals) business is user-driven? Acknowledging Icahn's share buyback program is user-driven?

I respect your position, but I respectfully disagree.

Re: How To Use iBeacons in iOS 7 to Enhance Your Apps

joemccann — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 20:49:35 -0000

Excellent tutorial.

Re: The Rise of Mobile Messaging Service as Game Distributor

joemccann — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 09:54:07 -0000

Wrote about this 5 months ago

http://subprint.com/blog/wh...

Why Over The Top Messaging Is Mobile's Newest Monetization Platform

Re: Mobile is eating the world, autumn 2013 edition

joemccann — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 08:01:28 -0000

Excellent work, yet again, Ben.

Re: Irregardless

joemccann — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 17:26:08 -0000

Well if you work in financial services, trading or investment banking, leverage does in fact have very different meaning. In business, yes, it's lame.

Re: Nginx Load Balancer and Reverse Proxy for Node.js Applications On Digital Ocean

joemccann — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 09:51:01 -0000

Great tip, Chris! I was _just_ looking into that as I'm going to look to a similar setup for Dillinger.io which requires session affinity.

Re: The Data-Driven Future Of Journalism - by Owen Thomas

joemccann — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 08:19:27 -0000

Two articles you should read:

Data Is The Most Valuable Commodity On Earth

http://subprint.com/blog/da...

The Need for New Metrics

http://subprint.com/blog/th...

Re: SXSW PanelPicker

joemccann — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 12:08:02 -0000

This is a no brainer. Should *definitely* be at SXSW.

Re: Nexus phones are ringers — Benedict Evans

joemccann — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 10:46:55 -0000

Welcome to Open Source.

And frankly, I don't think any shareholder has a care in the world that the gap you're proposing exists. If that's a key metric for you, then that's fair, but the percentage of people that are with you are probably close to the same percentage of Nexus users.

Finally, to assert that Nexus wouldn't exist if their was no failure is hyperbolic. Every dev I know owns a Nexus device. Every dev I know that works at Google owns a Nexus device. This is the target. Not consumers at Best Buy.

Nexus is the baseline for developers upon which to build. Winning developer mindshare is critical to any open source software project's success. Android is gaining it by having top notch devices that have all the bells and whistles of the latest version of Android. This is what devs want and surely a device of these sorts needs to exist to enable more devs and increase dev mindshare.

Re: Nexus phones are ringers — Benedict Evans

joemccann — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 10:38:35 -0000

Google does not *own* Android - it is open source and any OEM or indy developer is free to do with it as they please.

Again, let's focus on what I laid out -- your skewed interpretation of the term "dogfooding". Google is absolutely dogfooding *their* Android devices with *their* version of Android. This is undeniable.

When you say:

"...it is materially different from the experience that they get"

How is this Google's fault? Android is open source and there are literally thousands of Android devices and ROMs, but Google is to blame? You're REALLY reaching here.

Finally, I think we have a fundamental disagreement on what "the product" is. Android is an open source software project. Moreover, it is Apache 2.0 licensed, one of the most liberal and IP-protecting licenses available, where no entity can "own" the project. As someone who is heavily involved in OSS projects, I can assure you, Android is not "the product" Google is shipping. It can't be, especially when Android is open to any dev or OEM to fork and manipulate as they choose and the Apache 2.0 license actually forbids anyone from owning it!! You have to own something for it to be "your product".

Google devices *running* Android is an implementation *of* the Android OS. Just like Samsung devices running Android are an implementation of the Android OS, but on Samsung devices. This is how open source software projects work. You take the code, fork it and make use of it in *your* implementation. That is in fact the product.

Re: Nexus phones are ringers — Benedict Evans

joemccann — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 09:48:15 -0000

Exactly.

Re: Nexus phones are ringers — Benedict Evans

joemccann — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 09:32:30 -0000

Sorry, where exactly have they failed? Massive smartphone marketshare for Android and they dominate mobile search. What metrics are you using that show "failure"? Genuine question, Ben.

Re: Nexus phones are ringers — Benedict Evans

joemccann — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 09:14:46 -0000

Ben,

With all due respect, to say

"Nexus devices and 'official Google' devices are not Google's dog food. They're not what actual customers use."

is simply disingenuous. The Nexus line is in fact Google's line. Employees on the Android team work on Nexus devices. This is dogfooding, as a developer, I can assure you of this (FWIW). Implying that Google is not dogfooding because the experience is not what actual customers use distorts the definition of dogfooding.

My car, shipped from Germany, is the same experience Audi employees who test drive the cars experience....or is it? I added a Stasus exhaust and chip to my car to increase horsepower by 30%. My customization is now no longer what Audi tests against. Are they no longer dogfooding?

What about customized cars altogether? Based on your definition, anything the consumer experiences that Audi does not, invalidates their dogfooding. See the problem here?

Yes, most people don't customize their cars to the extent I do. They buy it as is.

But guess what, when someone buys a Samsung phone, they get a Samsung phone...not a Google phone.

When someone buys an HTC phone, they get an HTC phone...not a Google phone.

Is Google supposed to be dogfooding their competitors phones? That is counter to the definition of dogfooding.

Skewing the experience that most people get with what Google ships is foolish. OEMs take an open source product, fork it, skin it and make it their own. How is this Google's problem?

Re: Apple patents show 'iOS in the Car' plans are still on track

joemccann — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 12:26:24 -0000

Exactly. Wrote about these last year:

http://subprint.com/blog/it...

Re: How Advertisers Can Maximize Mobile Conversions

joemccann — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:59:21 -0000

This is a great article, but I want to point out anti-pattern in your piece, not to nitpick, but to inform other readers.

"Mobile is inherently an on-the-go medium..."

This is actually false. Mobile *allows* us to be on-the-go, but it turns out the majority of smartphone usage is in fact at home. http://hbr.org/2013/01/how-...

I think what is important in this paragraph is about short forms, is the UX. Typing in loads of information into a form on a smartphone is a poor experience and designers should focus on taps, swipes, dropdowns and even being smart like pre-filling certain fields (such as city or state) by using data such as their location.

Re: Google: Motorola's tattoos could replace passwords

joemccann — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:13:33 -0000

More on biometrics and how passwords are dead

http://subprint.com/blog/pa...

Re: Google+'s Best New Unadvertised Feature: Photo Search With Visual Recognition - Try It On Your Own Pictures And Be Amazed

joemccann — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:39:39 -0000

Yup Google ahead of the curve. Wrote about how badly Instagram needs this for brands.

http://subprint.com/blog/in...

Re: The New API Gold Rush - by Brian Proffitt

joemccann — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:57:02 -0000

bit.ly/be-dev-agnostic

How to be future friendly...

Re: What's Actually Wrong with Yahoo's Purchase of Summly

joemccann — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:16:55 -0000

Fantastic post. I agree with you for most of this for sure.

However, we, particularly the younger generation, are conditioning ourselves to short, infrequent, summarized life experiences *thru* technology. From SMS to Twitter to 6 second vine clips and in many cases, careless scrolling of a Facebook feed where one typically skips a post that appears to be more than one paragraph, our attention spans are that of fruit files. This is happening and an older, jaded generation can be the next batch of "back in my day" curmudgeons or except the fact that this is the direction we are headed, at least in the developed world.

I also want to point out how good a job Apple and other companies have created the false metric of app downloads. Usage is what is actually important but that is not only a non-trivial metric to measure, but it doesn't make for good marketing fodder. I was compelled to dive deeper and write a longer post particularly about this exact issue:

http://subprint.com/blog/ap...