All New WordPress.com

Screen Shot 2015-11-23 at 10.07.31 AM

Almost 2 years ago, I wrote about how the future of WordPress needed to be a REST-based API, with a JavaScript client on top of that. There were even public rumors that, gasp, we were thinking about porting WordPress to Node.js. Well, while that’s not exactly true, it’s closer to the truth than a lot of people probably realized.

We are in fact using Node.js to power part of WordPress.com now. If you go to https://wordpress.com while logged in, your request is handled by a Node.js server, and the entire UI is written in JavaScript, although the majority of it is actually React.js. Unless you end up back in wp-admin, your admin/editing/posting/dashboard experience on WordPress.com is now handled entirely (well, almost; we’re still working on some pieces still) with JavaScript.

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The Art of Crafting a 15-Word Strategy Statement

https://hbr.org/2014/02/the-art-of-crafting-a-15-word-strategy-statement

The Art of Crafting a 15-Word Strategy Statement

In the January issue of HBR, Roger Martin sets out some rules for avoiding common mistakes in strategy making. As he writes in “The Big Lie of Strategic Planning“, the first rule is “keep the strategy statement simple.” Rather than a long, often vague document, the company’s strategy should summarize the chosen target customers and the value proposition in one page.

I couldn’t agree more. In my consulting work, I take this idea even further by asking my clients to summarize their strategy in less than 15 words. This statement must identify the target customer, the value proposition, and how the latter fits two requirements:

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How I Structured Engineering Teams at LinkedIn and AdMob for Success

http://firstround.com/review/how-i-structured-engineering-teams-at-linkedin-and-admob-for-success/

How I Structured Engineering Teams at LinkedIn and AdMob for Success

Picture a startup in the middle of hyper-growth. It’s adding engineers to keep up, but because its team is outgrowing the limited process it has in place, its product release cadence starts to slow. It’s taking longer to check-in and deploy code. Features — then entire products — stop making it all the way to customers.

Now imagine that same company recently hit the 100-million user mark, posted $90 million in revenue the previous quarter and is about to go public in the next quarter at a valuation of $2.5 billion. That’s the situation LinkedIn was staring down in 2011.

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How the Hell do I Prioritize Work, Blog & Find Balance? | Bothsides of the Table

http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2015/07/14/how-the-hell-do-i-prioritize-work-blog-find-balance/

How the Hell do I Prioritize Work, Blog & Find Balance? | Bothsides of the Table

How the Hell do I Prioritize Work, Blog & Find Balance?

I noticed this post today from Ezra Galston titled “Dear Brad, Fred & Mark: How The Hell Do You Do It?”

The premise is that either I have some magical solutions that allow me to produce a lot of content or I’m super human.

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Meet the ecomodernists: ignorant of history and paradoxically old-fashioned

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2015/sep/24/meet-the-ecomodernists-ignorant-of-history-and-paradoxically-old-fashioned

Meet the ecomodernists: ignorant of history and paradoxically old-fashioned

People walk on the road from Seguin in the commune of Kenscoff, Haiti. The country has lost 98% of its vegetation due to illegal logging for wood and charcoal.

Photograph: Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images

Beware of simple solutions to complex problems. That is a crucial lesson from history; a lesson that intelligent people in every age keep failing to learn.

On Thursday, a group of people who call themselves Ecomodernists launch their manifesto in the UK. The media loves them, not least because some of what they say chimes with dominant political and economic narratives. So you will doubtless be hearing a lot about them.

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What Great Managers Do

https://hbr.org/2005/03/what-great-managers-do

What Great Managers Do

“The best boss I ever had.” That’s a phrase most of us have said or heard at some point, but what does it mean? What sets the great boss apart from the average boss? The literature is rife with provocative writing about the qualities of managers and leaders and whether the two differ, but little has been said about what happens in the thousands of daily interactions and decisions that allows managers to get the best out of their people and win their devotion. What do great managers actually do?

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The Dash, Bragi’s in-ear assistant, wants to make you healthier and happier (Wired UK)

http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2015/11/features/bragi-in-ear-assistant

The Dash, Bragi’s in-ear assistant, wants to make you healthier and happier (Wired UK)

Thursday 29 October 2015

From a cramped office in Munich, Nikolaj Hviid is busy creating Europe’s most ambitious consumer hardware product. It’s a device so complex that not even Apple or Google have tried something similar. And its fans love it. Even without seeing it.

The Dash is an in-ear combination of wireless earbud, MP3 player, fitness tracker, personal coach and real-time heart and blood monitor. Its barely promoted Kickstarter campaign reached its $260,000 (£170,000) goal within two days and had hit $3.4m by the time it closed two months later — a then European record.

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Open Source Culture

http://whilefalse.blogspot.com/2015/10/open-source-culture.html

Open Source Culture

One of the biggest achievements of my career to date, one of the biggest impacts that I have made so far, happened almost as an after-thought. On March 26th of 2015, I released publicly the engineering ladder that the team created for Rent the Runway. I want to reflect on that for a moment because I keep hearing more and more people refer to this ladder.

Why has the Rent the Runway ladder been so viral? I’ve been told that companies from Kickstarter to Slack to Lyft and beyond have used it to inspire discussion and serve as a starting point. Why now?

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Decoding leadership: What really matters

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/leading_in_the_21st_century/decoding_leadership_what_really_matters

Decoding leadership: What really matters

New research suggests that the secret to developing effective leaders is to encourage four types of behavior.

Telling CEOs these days that leadership drives performance is a bit like saying that oxygen is necessary to breathe. Over 90 percent of CEOs are already planning to increase investment in leadership development because they see it as the single most important human-capital issue their organizations face. 1.The State of Human Capital 2012—False Summit: Why the Human Capital Function Still Has Far to Go (PDF–1,204KB), a joint report from The Conference Board and McKinsey, October 2012. And they’re right to do so: earlier McKinsey research has consistently shown that good leadership is a critical part of organizational health, which is an important driver of shareholder returns. 2.See Aaron De Smet, Bill Schaninger, and Matthew Smith, “The hidden value of organizational health—and how to capture it,” McKinsey Quarterly, April 2014.

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::..: glen.nu :.: ramblings :.: on code review :.::

http://glen.nu/ramblings/oncodereview.php

::..: glen.nu :.: ramblings :.: on code review :.::

I wrote this in March 2014 when I was managing the User Lookup Service team at Twitter, to codify our theory of and approach to code review, and to try to establish some basic best practices. It’s not intended to tell you or your team how to operate, merely to describe how I think about it, and how important I feel good, timely code review is to both the quality and throughput of a team’s code.

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Our company’s in-house band(s) slay! #a8cgm @automattic

Our company’s in-house band(s) slay! #a8cgm @automattic

Our company’s in-house band(s) slay! #a8cgm @automattic

40.6861698-111.5560886

Posted on Instagram 9:08 pm, October 18, 2015 jQuery(document).ready(function(){ var gmap_m3d93deb90212ad424468dc41bb9d52ad = { positions : { 405 : new google.maps.LatLng( ‘40.686169773’, ‘-111.556088621’ ) }, bounds : new google.maps.LatLngBounds(), // empty for now, we’ll dynamically extend it later map : new google.maps.Map( document.getElementById( ‘gmap_m3d93deb90212ad424468dc41bb9d52ad’ ), { mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP, center: new google.maps.LatLng( 0, 0 ), zoom: 16 // Seems to be a good zoom for a single point } ), markers : {}, }; // end of gmap // Extend the bounds of interest based on our positions for ( var m in gmap_m3d93deb90212ad424468dc41bb9d52ad.positions ) { gmap_m3d93deb90212ad424468dc41bb9d52ad.bounds.extend( gmap_m3d93deb90212ad424468dc41bb9d52ad.positions[m] ); } // Render markers for ( var m in gmap_m3d93deb90212ad424468dc41bb9d52ad.positions ) { gmap_m3d93deb90212ad424468dc41bb9d52ad.markers[m] = new google.maps.Marker( { clickable: true, map : gmap_m3d93deb90212ad424468dc41bb9d52ad.map, position : gmap_m3d93deb90212ad424468dc41bb9d52ad.positions[m] } ); } // Redraw map to fit our new marker-based bounds gmap_m3d93deb90212ad424468dc41bb9d52ad.map.setCenter( gmap_m3d93deb90212ad424468dc41bb9d52ad.positions[405] ); });

Much excite. Such wow!

Much excite. Such wow!

Much excite. Such wow!

40.6861698-111.5560886

Posted on Instagram 8:23 pm, October 18, 2015 jQuery(document).ready(function(){ var gmap_m27ebf7b3c082e44515199e53d8f09093 = { positions : { 822 : new google.maps.LatLng( ‘40.686169773’, ‘-111.556088621’ ) }, bounds : new google.maps.LatLngBounds(), // empty for now, we’ll dynamically extend it later map : new google.maps.Map( document.getElementById( ‘gmap_m27ebf7b3c082e44515199e53d8f09093’ ), { mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP, center: new google.maps.LatLng( 0, 0 ), zoom: 16 // Seems to be a good zoom for a single point } ), markers : {}, }; // end of gmap // Extend the bounds of interest based on our positions for ( var m in gmap_m27ebf7b3c082e44515199e53d8f09093.positions ) { gmap_m27ebf7b3c082e44515199e53d8f09093.bounds.extend( gmap_m27ebf7b3c082e44515199e53d8f09093.positions[m] ); } // Render markers for ( var m in gmap_m27ebf7b3c082e44515199e53d8f09093.positions ) { gmap_m27ebf7b3c082e44515199e53d8f09093.markers[m] = new google.maps.Marker( { clickable: true, map : gmap_m27ebf7b3c082e44515199e53d8f09093.map, position : gmap_m27ebf7b3c082e44515199e53d8f09093.positions[m] } ); } // Redraw map to fit our new marker-based bounds gmap_m27ebf7b3c082e44515199e53d8f09093.map.setCenter( gmap_m27ebf7b3c082e44515199e53d8f09093.positions[822] ); });

There are a lot of us now #a8cgm

There are a lot of us now #a8cgm

There are a lot of us now #a8cgm

40.6853018-111.5566372

Posted on Instagram 1:34 pm, October 13, 2015 jQuery(document).ready(function(){ var gmap_m05ca837d1612bdf5e898943e1eba090f = { positions : { 304 : new google.maps.LatLng( ‘40.685301808’, ‘-111.556637182’ ) }, bounds : new google.maps.LatLngBounds(), // empty for now, we’ll dynamically extend it later map : new google.maps.Map( document.getElementById( ‘gmap_m05ca837d1612bdf5e898943e1eba090f’ ), { mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP, center: new google.maps.LatLng( 0, 0 ), zoom: 16 // Seems to be a good zoom for a single point } ), markers : {}, }; // end of gmap // Extend the bounds of interest based on our positions for ( var m in gmap_m05ca837d1612bdf5e898943e1eba090f.positions ) { gmap_m05ca837d1612bdf5e898943e1eba090f.bounds.extend( gmap_m05ca837d1612bdf5e898943e1eba090f.positions[m] ); } // Render markers for ( var m in gmap_m05ca837d1612bdf5e898943e1eba090f.positions ) { gmap_m05ca837d1612bdf5e898943e1eba090f.markers[m] = new google.maps.Marker( { clickable: true, map : gmap_m05ca837d1612bdf5e898943e1eba090f.map, position : gmap_m05ca837d1612bdf5e898943e1eba090f.positions[m] } ); } // Redraw map to fit our new marker-based bounds gmap_m05ca837d1612bdf5e898943e1eba090f.map.setCenter( gmap_m05ca837d1612bdf5e898943e1eba090f.positions[304] ); });

My chariot to the #a8cgm

My chariot to the #a8cgm

My chariot to the #a8cgm

39.855096-104.673738

Posted on Instagram 2:08 pm, October 12, 2015 jQuery(document).ready(function(){ var gmap_mb6c58958255901810e9968130f3483cf = { positions : { 79 : new google.maps.LatLng( ‘39.855096’, ‘-104.673738’ ) }, bounds : new google.maps.LatLngBounds(), // empty for now, we’ll dynamically extend it later map : new google.maps.Map( document.getElementById( ‘gmap_mb6c58958255901810e9968130f3483cf’ ), { mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP, center: new google.maps.LatLng( 0, 0 ), zoom: 16 // Seems to be a good zoom for a single point } ), markers : {}, }; // end of gmap // Extend the bounds of interest based on our positions for ( var m in gmap_mb6c58958255901810e9968130f3483cf.positions ) { gmap_mb6c58958255901810e9968130f3483cf.bounds.extend( gmap_mb6c58958255901810e9968130f3483cf.positions[m] ); } // Render markers for ( var m in gmap_mb6c58958255901810e9968130f3483cf.positions ) { gmap_mb6c58958255901810e9968130f3483cf.markers[m] = new google.maps.Marker( { clickable: true, map : gmap_mb6c58958255901810e9968130f3483cf.map, position : gmap_mb6c58958255901810e9968130f3483cf.positions[m] } ); } // Redraw map to fit our new marker-based bounds gmap_mb6c58958255901810e9968130f3483cf.map.setCenter( gmap_mb6c58958255901810e9968130f3483cf.positions[79] ); });

Snacky time #bbq #omg

Snacky time #bbq #omg

Snacky time #bbq #omg

Posted on Instagram 7:44 pm, September 25, 2015 jQuery(document).ready(function(){ var gmap_m6801e6f370bf54ce302c7698d42bd099 = { positions : { 482 : new google.maps.LatLng( ‘39.7677224’, ‘-104.899998687’ ) }, bounds : new google.maps.LatLngBounds(), // empty for now, we’ll dynamically extend it later map : new google.maps.Map( document.getElementById( ‘gmap_m6801e6f370bf54ce302c7698d42bd099’ ), { mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP, center: new google.maps.LatLng( 0, 0 ), zoom: 16 // Seems to be a good zoom for a single point } ), markers : {}, }; // end of gmap // Extend the bounds of interest based on our positions for ( var m in gmap_m6801e6f370bf54ce302c7698d42bd099.positions ) { gmap_m6801e6f370bf54ce302c7698d42bd099.bounds.extend( gmap_m6801e6f370bf54ce302c7698d42bd099.positions[m] ); } // Render markers for ( var m in gmap_m6801e6f370bf54ce302c7698d42bd099.positions ) { gmap_m6801e6f370bf54ce302c7698d42bd099.markers[m] = new google.maps.Marker( { clickable: true, map : gmap_m6801e6f370bf54ce302c7698d42bd099.map, position : gmap_m6801e6f370bf54ce302c7698d42bd099.positions[m] } ); } // Redraw map to fit our new marker-based bounds gmap_m6801e6f370bf54ce302c7698d42bd099.map.setCenter( gmap_m6801e6f370bf54ce302c7698d42bd099.positions[482] ); });

Stanley Steamer #car #vintagecar #vintage

Stanley Steamer #car #vintagecar #vintage

Stanley Steamer #car #vintagecar #vintage

39.8230705-105.1677094

Posted on Instagram 3:58 pm, September 23, 2015 jQuery(document).ready(function(){ var gmap_m9fd8075be1e91c1f37f246b4b2763859 = { positions : { 344 : new google.maps.LatLng( ‘39.8230705’, ‘-105.1677094’ ) }, bounds : new google.maps.LatLngBounds(), // empty for now, we’ll dynamically extend it later map : new google.maps.Map( document.getElementById( ‘gmap_m9fd8075be1e91c1f37f246b4b2763859’ ), { mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP, center: new google.maps.LatLng( 0, 0 ), zoom: 16 // Seems to be a good zoom for a single point } ), markers : {}, }; // end of gmap // Extend the bounds of interest based on our positions for ( var m in gmap_m9fd8075be1e91c1f37f246b4b2763859.positions ) { gmap_m9fd8075be1e91c1f37f246b4b2763859.bounds.extend( gmap_m9fd8075be1e91c1f37f246b4b2763859.positions[m] ); } // Render markers for ( var m in gmap_m9fd8075be1e91c1f37f246b4b2763859.positions ) { gmap_m9fd8075be1e91c1f37f246b4b2763859.markers[m] = new google.maps.Marker( { clickable: true, map : gmap_m9fd8075be1e91c1f37f246b4b2763859.map, position : gmap_m9fd8075be1e91c1f37f246b4b2763859.positions[m] } ); } // Redraw map to fit our new marker-based bounds gmap_m9fd8075be1e91c1f37f246b4b2763859.map.setCenter( gmap_m9fd8075be1e91c1f37f246b4b2763859.positions[344] ); });

#vintagecar #vintage #car

#vintagecar #vintage #car

Posted on Instagram 3:57 pm, September 23, 2015 jQuery(document).ready(function(){ var gmap_m0adac7adb585056f4132b2c17bcab11c = { positions : { 20 : new google.maps.LatLng( ‘39.8230705’, ‘-105.1677094’ ) }, bounds : new google.maps.LatLngBounds(), // empty for now, we’ll dynamically extend it later map : new google.maps.Map( document.getElementById( ‘gmap_m0adac7adb585056f4132b2c17bcab11c’ ), { mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP, center: new google.maps.LatLng( 0, 0 ), zoom: 16 // Seems to be a good zoom for a single point } ), markers : {}, }; // end of gmap // Extend the bounds of interest based on our positions for ( var m in gmap_m0adac7adb585056f4132b2c17bcab11c.positions ) { gmap_m0adac7adb585056f4132b2c17bcab11c.bounds.extend( gmap_m0adac7adb585056f4132b2c17bcab11c.positions[m] ); } // Render markers for ( var m in gmap_m0adac7adb585056f4132b2c17bcab11c.positions ) { gmap_m0adac7adb585056f4132b2c17bcab11c.markers[m] = new google.maps.Marker( { clickable: true, map : gmap_m0adac7adb585056f4132b2c17bcab11c.map, position : gmap_m0adac7adb585056f4132b2c17bcab11c.positions[m] } ); } // Redraw map to fit our new marker-based bounds gmap_m0adac7adb585056f4132b2c17bcab11c.map.setCenter( gmap_m0adac7adb585056f4132b2c17bcab11c.positions[20] ); });

Backyard vibes #sky #clouds #tree

Backyard vibes #sky #clouds #tree

Posted on Instagram 4:11 pm, September 22, 2015 jQuery(document).ready(function(){ var gmap_m4ea5caadd7fdf65664f0b343c381f1fc = { positions : { 331 : new google.maps.LatLng( ‘39.7392’, ‘-104.984’ ) }, bounds : new google.maps.LatLngBounds(), // empty for now, we’ll dynamically extend it later map : new google.maps.Map( document.getElementById( ‘gmap_m4ea5caadd7fdf65664f0b343c381f1fc’ ), { mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP, center: new google.maps.LatLng( 0, 0 ), zoom: 16 // Seems to be a good zoom for a single point } ), markers : {}, }; // end of gmap // Extend the bounds of interest based on our positions for ( var m in gmap_m4ea5caadd7fdf65664f0b343c381f1fc.positions ) { gmap_m4ea5caadd7fdf65664f0b343c381f1fc.bounds.extend( gmap_m4ea5caadd7fdf65664f0b343c381f1fc.positions[m] ); } // Render markers for ( var m in gmap_m4ea5caadd7fdf65664f0b343c381f1fc.positions ) { gmap_m4ea5caadd7fdf65664f0b343c381f1fc.markers[m] = new google.maps.Marker( { clickable: true, map : gmap_m4ea5caadd7fdf65664f0b343c381f1fc.map, position : gmap_m4ea5caadd7fdf65664f0b343c381f1fc.positions[m] } ); } // Redraw map to fit our new marker-based bounds gmap_m4ea5caadd7fdf65664f0b343c381f1fc.map.setCenter( gmap_m4ea5caadd7fdf65664f0b343c381f1fc.positions[331] ); });