The infrequently updated blog of Matt Kirman. Founder & web app developer. Rubyist. Dangerous with coffee.

Articles tagged: #facebook

What I Learned from Zuckerberg’s Mistakes

I’ve been an avid reader of Jason Calacanis‘ various newsletters for some time, not least for the sheer amount of work he puts into each and every one.

In his latest newsletter he offers a suggestion as to why Facebook is perceived as either evil, clueless or just plain unlucky when it comes to releasing new products:

Facebook’s success — and mistakes — are based on its developer-driven culture, not because Zuckerberg is some evil mastermind.

The Zuckerberg Doctrine: Developers design products with significantly improved speed and functionality compared to product managers and designers, outweighing potential mistakes and drawbacks.

And in this world, speed is everything. We shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes at the cost of innovation. New Year Resolution anyone?

You can sign up for Jason’s free newsletter here.

 

Facebook Places launches in the UK

Well it looks like Facebook Places has just launched in the UK. Worryingly this was brought to my attention by my newsfeed showing that one of my distant friends (who shall remain nameless) has just checked-in to his house. Let’s just hope that place isn’t publicly available, though I doubt it as it’s listed as a “Local Business”. Way to go Facebook.

How to recreate the Konami code in Javascript

Facebook has featured in social media blogs recently for adding a Konami code Easter egg to their home page. In this blog post I show you how to add similar “functionality” to your site using Javascript.

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Why fee is better than free

There is a major problem with the approach of many internet based companies. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as much a fan of them as anybody, but if they want to survive they need to get smart. And fast.

Very simply, the majority of internet based companies are not self-sufficient. Without massive injections of cash from their investors/founders they would not survive their first year in business. This is due to their inability to raise any revenue from their user base.

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