[This is a slightly modified version of an internal travel blog post I wrote for the Vend crew] After a couple of nights of 4-hour jet lagged sleeps, I caught the F-train subway from my sister’s house (near Prospect Park) to Downtown Brooklyn. Turns out that the inside of the Brooklyn Marriot is the same… Continue reading QCon NYC Day One: No Sleep Til Brooklyn
Where are the Developers?
The amazing recruiting team at Vend have hired a few awesome software developers to add to our already incredible team. But it is hard work. Really, really bloody hard. So hard that I sometimes wonder what we’re doing wrong. Are we looking for the right people? Are we sending the right messages to attract those people? I’ve been thinking… Continue reading Where are the Developers?
Politics and Social Media
I’m hoping for a change of government in New Zealand come September, but not for the reason you may assume. Back in 2008 when John Key came to power, Twitter was barely kicking off and Granny Herald had about 40 or 50 thousand more subscribers than today. I genuinely can’t remember being involved in any real-time… Continue reading Politics and Social Media
Sphero 2: Not just a toy
I saw my first Sphero at Microsoft’s BUILD conference in 2013. Sphero wasn’t new at the time, but after seeing it in action I just had to have one. Who wouldn’t want a silly robotic ball that you can control with your smartphone? Fast-forward 12 months and the revised Sphero 2 is on my desk.… Continue reading Sphero 2: Not just a toy
Trust
Here’s the thing: the problems you need to solve as a technical manager are by definition non-technical. You need to create an environment in which the engineering team can execute to their potential, and otherwise get out of the way. The last thing you need is technical authority