April 2014 Summaries

At Zapier, the company behind an app automation platform, they have successfully integrated over 312 apps since June 2012 and continue to add new integrations at a rapid pace. To effectively market these integrations, Zapier has developed a process that includes understanding the objective of the integration, identifying the partner's key customer benefit, being specific with marketing requests, securing a partner page and making it look pretty, offering to write copy, including a guest post, asking for in-app messaging, email to users, reciprocating all co-marketing activity, providing art assets, outlining their process, offering examples, recording metrics, logging best practices, following up post-launch, finding ways to continue co-marketing, and what has worked best for them is to have a partner-focused guide that outlines these tactics.

Zapier's engineering team has enhanced their continuous integration (CI) setup using a combination of Jenkins, Docker, and the GitHub Commit API to streamline their development process, which follows the GitHub Flow model. This setup triggers tests automatically whenever a pull request is opened or a new commit is added, using the GitHub Pull Request Builder plugin for Jenkins, ensuring that features are "potentially shippable" when pushed to the develop branch. Docker is utilized to run applications in isolated containers, preventing dependency conflicts and simplifying the CI server environment by replacing traditional system libraries and applications. The team has implemented dedicated Jenkins jobs to build Docker images and run tests for Python and Node.js applications, with periodic tests ensuring long-term project integrity. To manage Docker containers and images efficiently, they employ Shipyard, providing a graphical interface for container management. While this custom setup may not suit all organizations, it reflects the growing integration of Docker in CI environments, with alternatives like the Docker Plugin for Jenkins and Drone CI available for consideration.

Hudl, a sports software company, has adopted a corporate value called "#RealTalk" which emphasizes open and honest communication, transparency, and respectful feedback. The value was inspired by the co-founders' initial clients, NFL and Division I coaches, who are known for delivering blunt feedback. Hudl's management team uses #RealTalk to give employees honest feedback during performance reviews, hiring processes, and customer support interactions. The company values transparency in all aspects of its operations, including financial reports and business challenges. To adopt #RealTalk in their organization, Wirtz advises starting with the top management team, using a hashtag mechanism, being consistent, and not tolerating surprises. Despite its importance, Hudl still struggles to deliver #RealTalk internally, but has seen positive reactions from customers who appreciate the honesty.

While to-do lists can be useful for task organization, they often lead to frustration and overwhelm due to their limitations. Research shows that having too many tasks on a list can cause anxiety and decreased productivity, as our brains tend to focus on uncompleted tasks rather than making plans. Additionally, our brain's tendency to remember uncompleted tasks, known as the Zeigarnik effect, can also hinder progress. Furthermore, unexpected interruptions and changes in our daily lives make it difficult for to-do lists to handle. However, turning to a "done list" - a record of accomplishments - can provide boosts of motivation and insight, helping to balance out the shortcomings of traditional to-do lists. By keeping a done list, individuals can gain perspective, build self-knowledge, and improve their planning abilities.

"Creativity is just connecting things." Steve Jobs said this apparently and I love it because it really illustrates my point. A beautiful office space doesn't make people creative, it's more of a byproduct of creativity. Companies are legal entities, they're not creative. They're just pieces of paper. It's these people who want to be creative. People want to be connected. But focusing on connecting leads companies to worry about gadgets, software tools and office furniture. Without things you have nothing to connect. If you want a creative environment, you need to make an environment where you can constantly make people make things, over and over again—it's all about the things. Things could be design, code, copy or more explicitly, a product sketch, new app prototype or poem. Take away time. The one variable you can tweak where it really doesn't matter what industry you're in—it's the most effective variable in my opinion—is time. Take away time. Doing so makes employees re-think meetings, procrastination temptation and inefficient processes. Follow a four-week cycle. This is composed of little one-week bursts of energy—I believe that people can focus for just one week on a project, and that's it. Make "things" by giving your team intense focus. The result: miraculous things start to happen. Consider the cost of leadership time. If you're the leader of the group and you take away their time to help them build things, you have to balance the equation by giving time. Be a bumblebee. I always call myself a little bumblebee. I buzz around from desk to desk and I ask people, 'What are you working on?' Focus on connecting is missing the point. The important word in this one sentence is 'things.' Without things you have nothing to connect. If you want a creative environment, you need to make an environment where you can constantly make people make things, over and over again—it's all about the things."

The recently launched Product Hunt site surfaces a variety of resources, including web and mobile app showcases, user interface design tips, and product best practices. The platform's co-founder Ryan Hoover started the site because he enjoys discussing new products with fellow entrepreneurs and founders. Today, Product Hunt features 14 curated sites grouped by focus, including Web App User Onboarding & User Interface, Mobile App User Onboarding & User Interface, and App Design & Copy. These resources aim to provide valuable insights and tools for founders, investors, and startup entrepreneurs to improve their work or educate themselves. By sharing these shared resources, Product Hunt aims to become a go-to platform for product enthusiasts.

Google is not holding a Pokémon Challenge or installing Nest in Virgin America lanes, but April Fools' Day has come and gone. Instead, companies use humor year-round to engage their site visitors and customers, strengthening the consumer's relationship with their brand. Online form software Wufoo aims to make its users smile by reflecting a friendly personality from the start, while email marketing software Mailchimp uses humor laced into copy and easter eggs to transform mundane tasks into experiences people look forward to. Companies like Wufoo, Mailchimp, Zapier, Photojojo, Groupon, Storenvy, RJMetrics, Kayak, Wistia, Hipmunk, Speek, Zendesk, and Dwolla use humor in various aspects of their online presence, from sign-up forms and newsletters to team pages, blogs, load screens, success screens, 404 pages, search results, easter eggs, contests, and more. Humor strengthens the consumer's relationship with a brand and can lead to positive outcomes such as increased engagement, customer loyalty, and word-of-mouth marketing. By incorporating humor into their online presence, companies can create memorable experiences that set them apart from competitors.