Will the Flickr Founders Return?

Recently  I learned that Stewart Butterfield — who along with his wife, Caterina Fake,  co-founded one of the most interesting and exciting startups to usher in the ‘Web 2.0′ era — has resigned from Yahoo, the current owners of that business. His letter of resignation was posted on Jon Gruber’s Daring Fireball, and I couldn’t resist reprinting it here; It’s a scream:

From: Stewart Butterfield
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 10:57 AM
To: Brad Garlinghouse
Subject: Resignation

Dear Brad,

As you know, tin is in my blood. For generations my family has worked with this most useful of metals. When I joined Yahoo back in ‘21, it was a sheet-tin concern of great momentum, growth and innovation. I knew it was the place for me.

Over the decades as the company grew and expanded, first into dyes and punches, into copper, corrugated steel, synthesized rubber, piping, milling equipment, engines, instruments, weaponry, and so on, I still felt at home, because tin was the core of the business.

After the war, as we continued to branch out in electronics, all manner of aeronautical frames, hulls and bodies, computing and tabulating machines, precision controls, and later, farther afield — real estate, brewing, consumer finance, grain processing, lighting and salty snacks - I took it in stride, for there was still a place for me.

Since the late 80s, as the general manufacturing, oil exploration & refining, logistics, and hotel & casino divisions rose to prominence, I have felt somewhat sidelined. By the time of the internet revolution and our expansions into Web Sites, I have been cast adrift. I tried to roll with the times, but nary a sheet of tin has rolled of our own production lines in over 30 years.

I don’t know what you and the other executives have planned for this company, but I know that my ability to contribute has dwindled to near-nothing, and not entirely because of my advancing age. Therefore, with a heavy heart, I recognize that it is time for me to and the company to part ways.

In my 87 years service, I’ve accomplished many feats, shared in the ups and downs, made great friends, and learned a tremendous amount (who would have thought that Electronic Mail would come to supplant the nation’s own great and venerable post!?) but there is a new generation now and it would be unfair not to give them a chance. Those that started in the make-work programs of the depression, on the GI programs in the late 40s, and even those young baby boomers need their own try, without us old ‘uns standing in the way.

So, please accept my resignation, effective July 12. And I don’t need no fancy parties or gold watches (I still have the one from ‘61 and ‘76). 1 will be spending more time with my family, tending to my small but growing alpaca herd and, of course, getting back to working with tin, my first love.

Your old tin-smithing friend and colleague,

- Stewart Butterfield

(In case you didn’t get the gag, Stewart Butterfield is 35 years old)

It’s worth noting that a Facebook group has been formed, called BringCaterinaAndStewartHome. The Web site Strutta is handling the domain http://www.BringCaterinaAndStewartHome where people are posting photos of our beautiful city and pointing out the strengths of the place, hoping to woo these two back.

Frankly, I’d like to see them return as well. They are, in a way, the prodigal son and daughter of the tech scene here.  Flickr has always been held up as The Great Vancouver Tech Success Story, and I would imagine that it has emboldened its share of startups in Yaletown and Gastown. Since I arrived shortly after they left, I always felt like I missed out on some of the joie de vivre that Ludicorp brought to Vancouver. Indeed, I even had given some thought as to showing up on their doorstep while we were making plans in Cambridge, and I remember my disappointment as I saw the photos of the good-bye party a few months before we were to make the move (Doh!).

With a letter of resignation as witty and clever as that one, and a track record unequaled by most of the techies of Vancouver, we could use a guy like that around here.

A Final Reckoning on WWDC ‘08

Now that I’ve had some time to think about last week (besides the event I reported on in the previous posting), I thought it would be good to offer some lasting impressions. While I’m not a computer programmer, I understand most of the concepts behind the discipline. That said, much of Apple’s Developer Conference was geared toward programmers for whom code is second nature. Many of the sessions I attended dealt with code, whether or not the description of the session said so or not (I was particularly disappointed when a session which was described as ‘Building User Interfaces for the iPhone with Interface Builder’ was really more about when you should load some of those User Interface elements into memory, and how to achieve this in your code.)

I was able to understand nearly all of what was said in the main User Interface session for the iPhone, which was, in a way, more about the scope and scale that one should expect for applications written for it. Not surprisingly, the key concept that so many developers miss now and will miss in the coming months and years is that it makes no sense to bring all of what a desktop application does to the iPhone. Try to do that, and you’ll end up with a product that is hard to use, not all that useful, and full of features that simply don’t fit in such a small footprint (in memory or screen). I don’t think I’m violating any NDAs here when I relate this, because its so patently obvious. Nevertheless, I’m sure there is already some corporation out there that is faithfully trying to cram 20-30 screens of functionality into this hand-held device, because they have the misconception that a computer is a computer, no matter how small.

The overarching principle that Apple made sure was mentioned in nearly every session, was that programmers should use the model-view-controller (MVC) architectural pattern for building their software (I won’t go into much detail about it, but it’s essentially a way of organizing what your software program does, so that you separate the logic and data from user interface, making it is easier to modify either the look of the program or the underlying business rules without one affecting the other. For more information about where MVC comes from and who uses it besides Apple [Java Swing, JSF, Microsoft Foundation Classes - who call it "Document/View architecture", DRUPAL, Joomla, the list goes on and on.], check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model-view-controller).

The other thing that Apple made sure was the case in every session: Everyone had to be very well prepared and extremely polished. Unlike some conferences and conventions that I’ve attended, the level of quality control for this one was extraordinary: Nearly every single presenter was an Apple employee, and I learned from one of them just prior to their session that each presenter had several weeks of rehearsals, sometimes twice a week in the months leading up to WWDC. Since nearly every presenter had a lot of information to share, the result was a breakneck pace for all sessions. Forget about trying to duplicate their demos of developer tools, much of this was worked out to the last second without any pauses, with snippets of key programming code at the ready to paste in at key moments, like one of Julia Child’s finished dishes sitting in the oven, ready for the final minutes of the show on The French Chef. Nothing was left to chance; No demo ever failed to work. At the end of each session, the entire team who worked on that piece of software or area went to the stage, and answered questions from attendees, who were directed to 4 microphones at very places in each room. Each and every session, both presentation and all questions and answers, were recorded and should be available as pocasts on the Apple Developer web site for attendees to review (and you can bet they’ll need to).

Besides the sessions themselves, it was an exhausting experience from the sheer number of attendees (as I’ve mentioned before, over 5,000 of them). That meant waiting in line for everything, be it food, getting into sessions (when it paid to be lined up about 30 minutes before the start), tables, desks or chairs through Moscone West, or even the escalators between levels. It was about 95% male, and the standard attire was jeans and black t-shirt. Just about every attendee had a laptop (99% Macbook Pro), and an iPhone. What does a wireless network serving that many wireless customers look like? Check this geek porn out (as usual, click each to see a larger image):

For all but the largest presentation rooms, there were power strips duct-taped to the chair legs at regular intervals, and there were several ‘lounge’ like spaces with beanbag chairs, tables, desks, iMacs (if you didn’t have yours with you), and Industrial-Strength Wireless Network repeaters, set up at the perimeters of the interior of the building like force-field generators you see in Sci-Fi movies.

While I did meet up with a few people I knew (or knew of, by reputation or from getting in touch with them prior to the event), for the most part I was among strangers. I did my best so socialize, but it goes without saying that Software Developers, for the most part, are not exactly ‘people’ persons. Many of them would probably much rather code than chat, or if they do chat, it’s through a keyboard.

The second to last evening featured a huge party at the nearby Yerba Buena Gardens, one of my favourite places in San Francisco. It’s a large open park bounded by the Yerba Buena Arts Center, the Moscone Convention Center, and the Metreon, Sony’s attempt at a sort of Entertainment Mall which is starting to show its age. The food consisted of several stations serving everything from Sushi to Foccacia-Pizza to Chinese Stewed Short-Ribs and Stir-Fried Noodles. The entertainment was The Barenaked Ladies, which must have cost Apple some significant amount of money. Given their success lately, I guess they could afford it. It was nice to see some recognition that they were Canadian, and they made some nerdy jokes about those of us to the north with iPhones being criminals. They started with their arguably their biggest hit, One Week, which even I recognized. I’ll bet they are sick of playing it, but the crowd was appreciative.

In the end, I’m not sure if I’ll attend WWDC next year. While I did get some valuable information, I’d say that about 50% of what I got was in the ‘nice to know’ category, and it’s a pretty expensive (and draining) event for that sort of knowledge. Still, I don’t regret having been to this one, and I’m hoping that what I learned and who I met will translate to some work at some point in the future. You can never tell.

Greetings from WWDC

I finally have a free moment where I’m not in a conference session, am awake, and have Internet. (More about that in a bit).

The flight down was uneventful. Needless to say, getting to the airport 2 hours ahead of time proved just enough to get me to the gate about 15 minutes before boarding started. Yes, check-in, baggage, customs, security and traversing the terminal ate up and hour and 45 minutes. Such are the joys of air travel in the 21st century…

Announcements noticed upon arriving at San Francisco Airport: “Military Personnel are invited to the Welcome Suite on level…(etc.)” “The current Terror Threat Level is Orange. Please report any Suspicious Looking Behavior to Airport Employees.” Yes, I’m back in the US of A.

As for getting Internet when not at the conference, when I booked the hotel, the description online was Britton Hotel, Internet in all rooms, a decent rate, and 4 blocks from the Moscone Convention Center. It turns out that was only half true. Yes, the rate is OK, and they are roughly 4 blocks (5 if you count the turn from 7th onto Howard Street). However, the Britton Hotel is mostly a pile of rubble, and rising from the ashes (with construction crews starting their work around 8AM each day) is The Good Hotel (yes, that’s the name), and Internet has been nearly non-existent. The pizza parlor that was supposed to be on the ground floor (another amenity I was looking for) is MIA. Fortunately, last night it finally kicked in around 11:00 PM.

That said, its now day 2 of the conference, and I’m trying to take in as much as I can, but it is the proverbial ‘drinking from a fire-hose’ syndrome. Steve Jobs’ Keynote (and announcement of the iPhone 3G and its arrival a month from tomorrow in Canada) was great fun, and today’s early session on developing web pages for Safari on the iPhone had so much information crammed into it that I could barely keep up.

There’s more, but I know after a point, there’s only so much you can take in. However, the wildest thing about this conference is the fact that there appear to be more laptops than humans, and the hardest thing to do is manage battery life. Fortunately, I’m starting to learn where the outlets and power strips are.

More to come.

Counting Down

In just six days, I’ll be heading down to San Francisco to attend Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (also known as WWDC). After all of these years, I’ve never been to one of these. I’ve been to more MacWorld Expos then I can count, and even attended 2 or 3 years of MacHack, the annual code-all-night-and-show-off-your-clever-kludge-in-the-morning event in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I’ve had programmer friends suggest I go to this, but it always seemed to come at a time where I was either on vacation or just returning from/just getting ready to go on vacation. Now, with San Francisco being a lot closer, and my luck this time (or bad luck, depending on how you look at it) of not working, I can finally see what all the fuss is about.

Boy, this year there is a lot of fuss. WWDC is entirely sold out. According to Steve Jobs’ keynote from 2007, there were over 5,000 attendees that year, 159 sessions, 94 hands-on labs and 1,200 Apple engineers on site. Jobs will be doing the keynote again this year, and the schedule for sessions already says there are well over 150 this year, in 3 tracks, iPhone, Mac, and IT. I plan on going to mostly the iPhone and Mac sessions, and there are a couple of key sessions on Wednesday morning regarding User Interfaces on the iPhone that I’m really looking forward to.

Tips from a Past Attendee

I noticed an entry online from someone who had attended last year, and they recommended, among other things:

Be Prepared
Bring a water bottle. The Odwalla juices on offer are *really* sweet and run out quickly, and there’s no way you are going to stay hydrated from drinking that and coffee/tea all day. There are plenty of water refill stations all over the Moscone.

Bring a jacket/jumper. Unless you come from Norway or Siberia, you’ll probably find the weather in San Francisco really chilly when the wind gets going. Dress in layers. Even if you don’t plan on getting out much, the labs and lunch areas are *really* cold at times too.

Bring extra cash for food…Unless you’re on a tight budget like me, bring extra cash for getting food outside of the Moscone if you want to keep your spirits up throughout the week. All food at the Moscone is cold, including breakfast. Lunch is served in plastic boxes.

Get to San Francisco early.(He includes some info about jet lag - not a problem for me, thank goodness).

If you plan on sightseeing around San Francisco, do it before WWDC instead of after. If you’re a developer, WWDC will give you a huge buzz and you won’t be able to resist quickly flying home after the conference is over to start working on the new stuff you’ve learned.

Have a blog or website? Put a picture of yourself or your team online.
There are loads of people who would love to talk to you about your product, your blog or your site during WWDC. The first step in making sure that people can even find you during the conference is to make sure they know what you look like in the first place.

(This one surprised me): Don’t waste time planning your schedule far in advance.
The session and lab time-schedules change during the conference. You may also change your mind about attending certain sessions during the week itself, so don’t waste too much time planning your schedule too far in advance. Just plan a rough guide during the plane and you should be set.

Partition your laptop hard drive before you leave.
If Apple is going to give out a new developer seed during the conference, you won’t be able to resist installing it on your laptop. I’ve personally heard of two fellow attendees who, in the excitement of it all, installed the developer seed onto their existing Mac OS X installation without first backing up. Ouch. (Good thing this isn’t an issue for me).

Live close to the Moscone.
Attending technical sessions and labs all day is tiring work. Commuting for a long time after each day at WWDC will quickly sap your energy. Do yourself a favour, and don’t bum off your friend’s apartment on the other side of the city to save a few bucks. Get yourself a room somewhere close to the Moscone and get a lot more energy throughout the conference. (Check. I’ll be staying only about 4 blocks from Moscone this time.)

Business cards.
Whenever you receive a business card, write a description about the person on the back of the card as soon as possible.

You’ll thank me later when you’re on the plane, sorting through the huge stack of business cards you’ve received, and you’re trying to recall whether “Johnny Foobar” was the guy you met during lunch with an awesome new idea for your app, or the guy that you’re supposed to send a review license to. (I learned this one a long time ago)

Make use of the labs.
Your mileage may vary with the labs, but personally, i’ve got a huge amount of value out of the labs. Broken code got fixed, new features got implemented *on the spot* and magic developer dust was given out. It’s been awesome. (Again, probably more useful for a coder)

Talk to everyone around you.
The food at the Moscone may be tragic, but the lunchtime conversations are awesome when you manage to find the right group. If you’re an indie, you know how hard it can be to get a good technical discussion with anyone in real life, so you really owe it to yourself to find a good lunch group. The amount of energy and buzz you get out of it can carry you for a long way throughout the week.

Don’t limit yourself to lunch either. There’s great conversation to be found just standing in line. Just try not to do that at the long queues for the male restroom. (duly noted)

So there you have it. Thanks, Joe.

A Busy Saturday

9:45 AM - Apple Store Opening

We got to Pacific Centre Mall at about 9:30. There were about 50 people ahead of us in line. I found out later from John Biehler that the first guy in line had gotten there at 5:45 AM. After about 20 minutes, the line grew behind us to the end of the corner of Granville and West Georgia. After another few minutes, we moved in to the vestibule (before you get into the Mall, and waited another half our or so. Periodically, the Apple Store Staff, most of the young and about 75% of them guys, would come out and take pictures of the crowd, video them, (interview them in a few cases), and high-five them as they ran out. Finally, at right about 10:05, we were let in:

The staff were now in the store, and a line of them screamed and high-fived us as walked in the store, which was already packed. We each were given T-Shirts (very attractive black ones with Pacific Centre and the Apple Logo in small letters on the front). By comparison, the at the Apple Store opening in Boston years ago, the far more restrained East Coast New England staff merely applauded as we entered; there was no screaming or high-fiving.

We looked around and saw a lot of nice merchandise (nothing particularly extraordinary, though), talked to a few people in the crowds, and then headed out. It was fun to be part of the opening, but really, it was another Apple Store, and would certainly be a place that I visit many times in the future, so there was no need to purchase something in the throngs of people there. Sometimes the best part of an event is being able to say you were there. Besides, we had our next event to go to!

11:00 AM - Eat! Vancouver at BC Place

These photos are of the Barbecue Teams outside BC Place. Inside, we walked the aisles of the biggest food show in Canada. Your entrance fee is more than made up for in free samples to eat and take home, coupons, recipe books, bags and other goodies. Suffice it to say that we didn’t need to get lunch, and probably will have a light dinner as well. We also got lots of other free stuff, including razors, toothpaste, and tote bags. I always have fun at this show, and this year was no exception. Last year, the big product-type that everyone was pushing were all sorts of beverages. While there was still a lot of that this year, I’d have to say the big new addition was a lot more curries. Coconut curry was all the rage, and we must have tasted it at 3 or 4 different booths. Given the rising population of Asian immigrants in this town, it’s not all that surprising, but it’s making a good show even better, with more travel booths, more small family booths selling sauces and spice collections, and quite a few new vendors from Alberta and Manitoba. Canada’s ‘Queen of Maple’, Tracy Moore from Ontario was there, providing samples of some of the 77 products that she had created. (check out everythingmaple.com to see some of them).

We’re home now (and pooped!) Rather than hear Dame Evelyn Glennie (the famous deaf percussionist - yes, you read that right) play with the VSO tonight, I think we’ll try and go on Monday night.