Build and Learn

In this episode, we reconnect for season 3, after a short hiatus to chat about life in Developer Relations (DevRel) at bigger companies, the avalanche of meetings that come with onboarding, the rollercoaster of prepping for big events like GDC, and the ongoing quest to create top-tier documentation and SDKs. We swap tips for maximizing AI tools, reflect on building the DevRel muscle from scratch, and share some fun side stories about local AI models, the surprising details that delight developers, and the importance of building reusable content for conferences.

Topics Covered

1. DevRel at a Big Company
   • Balancing one-on-ones, onboarding tasks, and project management meetings.
   • Strategies for politely pruning your calendar so actual work gets done.
   • Why dev advocates end up as “tummelers,” making sure every voice is heard in a bustling org.
2. GDC & Conference Prep
   • The crunch leading up to a big event—workshops, talks, documentation updates, and unexpected scope creep.
   • Juggling multiple presentations and deciding what content should be reusable or recorded.
   • First steps planning DevRel activities for major company conferences.
3. Flavor Variations of Dev Advocacy
   • Comparing DevRel at a self-serve startup (like Stripe) vs. an enterprise environment where devs aren’t always the decision-makers.
   • How to navigate new responsibilities, from establishing YouTube channels to championing better docs platforms.
4. SDK Generation & Documentation Challenges
   • The pros and cons of self-built vs. third-party, auto-generated SDKs.
   • Maintaining a polished, dev-friendly experience across multiple languages.
   • Cleaning up an OpenAPI spec, ensuring thorough examples and descriptions.
   • Balancing “thin vs. full-featured” SDK approaches (retries, pagination, error handling, oh my!).
5. Insights on Tools & AI
   • How many AI services are too many AI services? (ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Descript, ElevenLabs, local LLaMa, etc.)
   • Encouraging new coders (like Logan!) to lean on AI-driven dev tools and embrace prompt engineering.
   • Will auto-generated SDKs eventually make handcrafted clients obsolete? Maybe…but not quite yet.
6. Write the Docs
   • Excitement around giving a talk at the Write the Docs conference on open-source documentation.
   • Lessons learned from letting the community contribute PRs, and how it all ties back to building dev relationships.
7. Fun Developer Delights
   • Appreciating the “little things” in product design—from underscore-only API keys that copy easily, to IKEA coffee mugs that drain flawlessly in dishwashers.
   • Why it’s worth fighting for extra developer-experience polish (and how that shapes product love).

Resources Mentioned

• Write the Docs
  https://www.writethedocs.org
• OpenAPI Initiative
  https://www.openapis.org
• ReadMe (API Documentation Platform)
  https://readme.com
• Fern (SDK Generation)
  https://www.fernapi.com
• Speakeasy (SDK Generation)
  https://www.speakeasyapi.dev
• Stainless (SDK Generation)
  https://stainlessapi.com
• Orbit (Community Tools)
  https://orbit.love
• Stripe
  https://stripe.com
• Descript
  https://www.descript.com
• ElevenLabs
  https://elevenlabs.io
• Anthropic
  https://www.anthropic.com
• Vercel’s v0 (AI App Builder)
  https://v0.dev

This week we talk about travel from a tech/gear lens and learning game development.

•  CJ is back from Italy 
  • apple pay, currency conversion, splitwise, train, google maps, translation apps, tour headsets
  • Colin's food tip: Topjaw on youtube
  • Airalo for esim
  • Train travel in europe is amazing!
  • One-bag travel, having an extra smaller bag
    • Pack Hacker
• Colin learning Unity
  • Flappy bird tutorial
• CJ is winding down from Craftwork, what's next!
• Interviews and AI
• Advent of Code 2024!

In this episode, we discuss the WordPress vs. WP Engine drama. We also chat about Discord Activities, the new way to embed games and experiences directly in Discord.

Resources

• https://replicate.com/ 
• https://mikecann.co.uk/posts/battletabs-global-launch-on-discord-activities
• https://a16z.com/discord-activities-social-gaming/
• Tech Crunch Wordpress Drama Explained https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/07/wordpress-vs-wp-engine-drama-explained/

CJ and Colin chat about AI tools and coding environments. Pros and cons, daily workflows, and challenges of various AI-driven coding tools like VS Code, Cursor, and Copilot.

We also talk about the broader implications of AI in content generation, particularly on platforms like LinkedIn, and emphasize maintaining a human touch in communication to avoid hollow, AI-generated content.

- Avante nvim plugin
- Cursor
- Github Copilot 

In this episode, you'll learn about the PARA Method for organizing your notes and tasks, emphasizing the importance of balancing craftsmanship with delivering real customer value. Discover insights from Pieter Levels' success with straightforward tech stacks and recurring revenue from multiple startups. The discussion covers the power of building in public, optimizing productivity with personal CRMs and AI tools, and managing digital notes using Obsidian and Logseq. Tune in to explore practical challenges and solutions for enhancing your workflow and staying connected.

00:00 Introduction and Catching Up
00:20 Lex Friedman and Pieter Levels Interview Discussion
01:09 Frameworks and Developer Influencers
03:08 Peter's Success and Indie Hacking
05:23 Building and Shipping Products
05:43 Marketing and Influencer Impact
13:23 Personal Knowledge Management
22:25 Exploring Obsidian and PARA
23:02 Organizing Projects and Areas
23:43 Daily Logs and Workflows
26:42 Handling Digital Scraps and Notes
30:31 Plugins and Syncing Issues
34:34 AI Tools for Meetings and Transcriptions
38:07 AI Code Editors and Future Discussions
39:37 Conclusion and Next Week's Teaser

In this episode, Colin and CJ discuss their audio and video setups, ideal microphones, cameras, and software for content creation. They dive into the specifics of the equipment they use and recommend budget-friendly options for those just getting started. Additionally, they touch upon some useful applications and tools that streamline their workflows, and discuss their experience with various developer-related projects.

Our Daily Drivers
1. Shure SM7B
2. Shure SM58
3. Cloudlifter
4. Triton Fethead
5. Scarlett Solo
6. Eleven Labs
7. YouTube Studio
8. Google Experimental Music Effects
9. Descript
10. Apple Studio Display
11. Sony A6100
12. Elgato Camlink
13. Elgato Key Lights
14. Elgato Streamdeck
15. OBS
16. Audio-Technica ATR2500
17. Shure MV7
18. Handmirror app
19. Cleanshot
20. Skitch
21. Warp
22. Neovim
23. iTerm2
24. OhMyZsh
25. Alacritty
26. VS Code
27. ngrok
28. zoxide
29. eza
30. fzf
31. Raycast
32. Fantastical
33. Textmate
34. CJ's /uses page

Find more audio gear at Podcast Method

In this episode, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ruby on Rails, reflecting on its impact and vibrant community. We share Rails origin stories from the late 2000s and early 2010s. You'll hear about different companies' reading and writing cultures, including practices like decision documents, meeting notes, and internal newsletters.

You'll hear updates on current projects, with Colin discussing a major documentation initiative and the challenges of balancing meta-work with actual work. CJ provides an update on a large-scale refactoring project, detailing the process of converting enums to models across various parts of the codebase. You'll also get book recommendations, including "The PARA Method" about note-taking and personal knowledge management, and "Unreasonable Hospitality" which explores creating exceptional customer experiences.

Finally, we discuss the concept of "unreasonable hospitality" and how to delight customers through thoughtful, personalized interactions.

Resources

• Unreasonable Hospitality - https://www.amazon.com/Unreasonable-Hospitality-Remarkable-Giving-People/dp/0593418573
• PARA method - https://fortelabs.com/blog/para/ 
• Amazon's working backwards - https://www.productplan.com/glossary/working-backward-amazon-method/ 

We discuss visiting NYC, DevRelCon, red-eye flights, and why enums are terrible.

Some of the bits and bobs mentioned in this episode:
- DevRelCon
- Chef's Table (S2E1 Grant Achatz) / Alinea
- Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
- CJ enumerating lessons about enums

We're celebrating our 50th episode and two years of podcasting. In this milestone episode, we reflect on what has kept us consistent, our laid-back approach to podcasting, and give a shoutout to you! We also explore how social media affects consumer behavior and share tips for managing digital consumption and mental health.

You'll also hear about our latest projects, including optimizing Redis for better performance in our Rails app and our current work at Discord and Craftwork. Plus, we dive into the world of AI tools for content creation, using them to create engaging short-form videos. Thanks for joining us on this journey!

Resources
* Money with Katie - https://moneywithkatie.com/ 
* Mostly Technical - https://mostlytechnical.com/
* Bootstrapped Web - https://bootstrappedweb.com/ 
* Syntax - https://syntax.fm/
* APIs You Wont Hate - https://apisyouwonthate.com/
* The Bike Shed - https://bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/ 

Colin has a fitness update: working on the lungs, breathing and stress in general. CJ is digging into enums and converting them to models at Craftwork. More to come on that topic soon. Colin continues to avoid building Coworking Software (to everyone's applause) and CJ is digging back into James Clear's Atomic Habits.

• Colin: Fitness update / massage / breathing 
• CJ: Big refactor from an enum to a model - evolving pricing models
• CJ's sleek lidar mop vacuum 
• Colin: Coworking Software Update: not building anything, trying out Joan
• Colin: Internal discussion on Webhooks
• CJ: rereading Atomic Habits
• Colin mentions some Obsidian (more on that to come in future episodes)