Tweets

@_rchase_ So sneaky! Your boss will never know!

✅ Mixpanel removed from http://Transistor.fm. It already feels faster! 🎉

(Tomorrow I’ll remove it from the web app)

@Shpigford 😍 so much better than mars

Listening to @mattragland’s creator journey, I’m reminded that (in almost every case) new opportunities come from connections.

It’s who you know,
and who knows you.

You build trust, reputation, and connections through your work, and through your involvement in community.

@Shpigford Thanks for sharing this Josh. Nice to see the real humanity of folks. We’re all so similar when you get down to it.

@earthlingworks I'm just over here focused on earning USD.

Bootstrapping is different from VC-funded/public companies:

1. Scale needed for profitability: a bootstrapped SaaS can be really small (1-2 people). No investors to appease!

2. Runway: bootstrapped founders don't have a lot of money. They don't have years to "find their way."

Contrary to popular belief, many devs (especially dev managers!) have a low pain tolerance and would much rather pay someone to make things easier, faster, less stressful, etc... https://twitter.com/joshuaanderton/status/1214345595567009793

I'm discussing “Money and emptiness ” with @r00k in about 6-7 mins on @joinclubhouse. Join us! https://www.joinclubhouse.com/event/myXd5XjD

If you’re looking for a good podcast to listen to this weekend:

@Radiolab has this absolutely delightful mystery that involves Russian subs, the Swedish military, and what happens when you have a culture of secrecy.

https://overcast.fm/+Jhto0g

@mattlady 1. I’m endlessly curious about other people’s internal lives... so yes.

2. Developing my sense of purpose and esteem outside of work (wish I’d started this earlier)

3. Strong ideology (especially religion).

@noahwbragg https://smartmockups.com/

Plus: many old incumbents have crusty, slow software (with bad UX).

Enterprise customers have to put up with it, but SMBs want more:

"They don't have the features I want."
"The features I want are stuck in $999 enterprise plans."
"This software is unusable and expensive."

Interesting read from @packyM:

“How Twitter got its groove back”

Twitter is definitely well-poised to take advantage of the creator economy.

https://notboring.substack.com/p/how-twitter-got-its-groove-back

@Kantrowitz Some folks in this thread don’t seem to know that @TwitterSpaces already exists, and it’s already very good:

https://transistor.fm/spaces-clubhouse/

@theothercole I have opinions on that too. 😜

I’m still not convinced that social audio will replace (or significantly reduce) podcast listening.

It’s less “audio entertainment” and more “networking event.”

Also: live entertainment scales in certain niches (video games) but not others.

More info here.

(Note, I'll be publishing these videos publicly so everyone can learn. 👍)

@dr @MrBeastYT @airrack @laurDIY @justmaiko @CollinsKey Today I experienced my first @TwitterSpaces (I've been on Clubhouse for a few months).

I honestly think Twitter's going to win this one:

https://transistor.fm/spaces-clubhouse/

2. When I open my podcast app, it's almost guaranteed there will be something I want to listen to.

But 9/10 I open the Clubhouse app and there's nothing I want to listen to (or participate in).

@christophrumpel I think the Shure MV7 is the best bet now.

https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/

What are the best podcast recommendation services?

I’d say:

1. @podysseyapp (“Fans also like,” “Related playlists,” “More from...”)

2. @ApplePodcasts (“More from...,” “You might also like”)

What are some awesome Canadian merchants/shops I should check out?

(Doing some online Christmas shopping today 🎄🎁)

Wow. In San Francisco, “the median rent for a studio apartment dropped 35%.”

This is a massive sea change.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-08/san-francisco-apartment-rents-drop-35-as-tech-embraces-remote-work-during-covid

@jasonfried @dhh @VelocityWong @shildner

I couldn't find "podcasting cone" but I did find "podcasting shade."

The risk with one-time sales is you can have a reasonable launch ($10k - $30k) but then have it peter out.

Then, it's like squeezing juice from a squeezed lemon. 🍋

But, if you get a really good launch ($100k - $500k) you have the margin to figure out how to make it sustainable

Often, founders try to impose a price based on how much value *they* think their product provides.

(Much of the "value-based pricing" movement was focused on creators "charging what they're worth.")

But that's backward.

Ultimately, it's "what is the customer willing to pay?"

Usually, the question isn't:

"Where do I find customers?"

It's:

"Why aren't customers finding me?"

Wow. Congrats on 20 year @Wildbit!

Their leadership, people, and mission are inspiring to @jonbuda and I. https://twitter.com/natalienagele/status/1320788649269743620

Initially, we thought it'd be a podcast about Product Management (we were both PMs at the time).

But, it quickly became clear that we were both interested in building and launching our own products.

(This was the 🌱 of things to come)

I should mention: Kyle and I had only hung out a few times in-person.

I'd recently moved away from Edmonton, and hadn't talked to him in a few months.

If he hadn't taken the initiative to reach out, my life might have turned out a lot different! 😜

💯 https://twitter.com/arvidkahl/status/1306730234738282497

The idea you choose to work on actually matters a lot:

https://justinjackson.ca/good-ideas

@tylertringas Yup. I’m with you on this one. 💯

https://justinjackson.ca/good-ideas

This is something @hankgreen talked about on @nwquah’s show:

Right now, podcasting is a unique, quirk, creative community (with multiple ways for podcasters to monetize).

If Spotify owns the whole channel, creators lose their autonomy.

https://overcast.fm/+cIA1PNoN0

If you’re looking to launch a podcast, I’ve just updated this checklist for you:

https://transistor.fm/checklist/

What's the last tweet you bookmarked, saved, or shared with someone else?

Devs evolved; moved on to new langs and frameworks.

https://twitter.com/metastash/status/1312860612511305728?s=20

I’m in #vernonbc, and I can’t sleep because of the smoke. 😩

I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in Portland right now. Sending you folks lots of ❤️.

🎯 https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1272644281509900288

"Swimming with the current" is about responding to the way people actually *do* things; not:

- the way they say they'd like to do things,
- or, the way we wish they would do things.

It's incredibly difficult to change existing customer behavior.

Example: you might wish that more people would "shop local," but if folks don't mind driving 45 minutes to the mall, it's unlikely your individual efforts will make a difference.

https://justinjackson.ca/customer-behavior

If you're good at making 🍰 and 🥧, but there's 10x more demand for 🍰, why would you make 🥧?

@chasewreeves Canada. 🇨🇦

@petersuhm @arvidkahl Here's @kylefox and I back in 2012 😉

https://www.productpeople.tv/episodes/ep03-building-mvp-apps-with-wordpress-part-1

If don’t have any ideas on how you’re going to reach people, that’s a bad sign. (You probably don’t belong in that market)

What kinds of tweets do they like?
What podcasts do they listen to?
What search terms do they use?
What newsletters do they read?
What events do they go to?

From 2017: "the market you choose will determine most of your growth."

https://youtu.be/cVNYcj5HkLA

Many aspiring bootstrapped SaaS founders are former consultants, who are used to getting a few leads per month.

The fundamentals of SaaS are different.

You can't dedicate significant resources to nurturing just a few leads a month.

I wonder how much influence copywriting actually has on someone's intent to buy *in the moment*.

How many people land on a website for the first time, read the copy, and then click "buy?"

Exactly! Having multiple billing profiles only creates confusion and complexity.

https://twitter.com/dchymko/status/1274046110298865664?s=21 https://twitter.com/dchymko/status/1274046110298865664

@rajmaliuk @marcelpociot @LaravelPodcast @taylorotwell @laracasts There are many!

@CartHook
@laravelforge
@usefathom
@SnapShooterio

Here’s the tl;dr: the climate might be more sensitive than we thought.

“The more we learn, the more fragile the Earth system seems to be and the faster we need to move towards decarbonising the economy.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/13/climate-worst-case-scenarios-clouds-scientists-global-heating

Secondary thought: why would this be different than what we’ve seen in video streaming?

For TV, folks just switch between Netflix, Prime, Apple+ to get the content they want.

So how do us folks who didn’t go Harvard, put ourselves in a place to spot new opportunities?

Well, we now have access to online communities. This might be the big leveler. If you’re curious about a sector of the economy, there’s probably an online community dedicated to it.

Society needs to rethink its priorities. https://twitter.com/callmevlad/status/1259976600356941824

“We are, admittedly, doing some cursor shenanigans.” – @r00k

@hnshah I think http://Whereby.com and Google Meet are the ones I use the most.

@jasonfried Yup. And it’s in those “esteem” and “self-actualization” phases that we’re able to finally think outside of ourselves, look outwards, and think long-term about our communities.

Desperation creates a scenario where everyone is scrambling to meet their own needs.

So encouraging you to see folks like @AndyHunter777 and @Bookshop_Org creating a viable alternative to Amazon that supports local bookstores.

https://www.insidehook.com/article/books/bookshop-independent-bookstores-amazon

Power of the internet: I put an idea out in public. Within a few hours, I've received 4-5 DMs from people working on solutions here. 💪

Encouraged to hear from folks already in motion working on solutions for local businesses. 🙌 https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1243649515837521921

@marvindanig @CT_Bergstrom @aginnt Yup. 🎯 Exactly!

This 1000x https://t.co/401B3thVBj

@nbashaw It’s testing.

We need to look at all these numbers as:

“Cases as a % of tests”

And then we need to consider if they’re only testing those with extreme symptoms (which seems to be the case in most places)

Very helpful to hear the actual symptoms of #COVID19, as described by a nurse on the frontlines.

(From the excellent @sciencevs podcast).

Listen here:
https://gimletmedia.com/shows/science-vs/49hrjne

“What are our needs for happiness? We need to walk, just as birds need to fly. We need to be around other people. We need beauty. We need contact with nature. And most of all, we need not to be excluded. We need to feel some sort of equality.” – @EnriquePenalosa

💯 More margin = better life + better business.

(http://justinjackson.ca/margin) https://twitter.com/randfish/status/1234604776567885824

I wrote a post that expands on these ideas:

"Ultimately, your product's potential is determined by the size, momentum, and characteristics of your market."

https://justinjackson.ca/surfing

If Apple “created demand” for the iPhone, why can’t they replicate that success across all their products?

Because they can’t define the size and shape of demand! That’s my point.

There were pre-existing market conditions in the smartphone market that Apple benefitted from.

Eating chips.

Wow. This is how you make a podcast trailer!

Eager to listen to @latifnasser’s new show. 👍 https://twitter.com/Radiolab/status/1224710879477993473

This whole thread is 🤯.

Nathan is operating at a scale I can’t even comprehend.

https://twitter.com/nathanbarry/status/1223650937329221632?s=21

I just added some "frequently asked questions" about podcasting here.

#faqs" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast#faqs

What did I miss? 🤔

Wow. “We’ve scorched our gut.”

Great episode of ⁦@tortoise⁩ podcast.

Never thought that looking at our gut microbiome would be so fascinating.

Be right back, going to buy more spinach. 🥗 https://overcast.fm/+VWTfF2k-U

"The striking thing is just how old most of the important ideas are. [However], for every good idea, there are many, many different ways of expressing it. I’m happy we live in a world where there are many different ways to teach and express fundamental ideas." – @ScottHYoung

A few that come to mind:

- Kale: was originally used for decorative uses, but was repositioned as health food in the 1990s.
- Lacroix: hipsters looking to cut back on sugar helped reposition the brand, and triple the company’s revenue.

Yes, sometimes, I want a product/service that’s specific to me (“lawyers who specialize in SaaS”)

But a lot of the software we use every day is “niche agnostic:”

- project management
- video editing
- accounting
- payments
- calendar
- email

There’s a dualism like this inside of most good ideas. https://twitter.com/JamesClear/status/1215310715449487360

For most of us, it’s normal to fly multiple times per year for conferences, meetings, and retreats.

And air pollution is getting worse; particularly with regards to global warming.

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/1/11/18177118/airlines-climate-change-emissions-travel

@teslainvernon What people don't realize is the new Mac Pro secretly transforms into an electric car.

If you're curious about private podcasting, I recorded a quick demo video here:

❤ https://twitter.com/tylertringas/status/1202006518067056642

Great newsletter from @nickd this morning:

"The key to positioning your business is to check your impulses. Move slowly. One has to say “no” to many very good ideas because they don’t serve the business’s market."

Great story and newsletter from @AliAbdaal this morning:

"There are things within our control, things partially in our control, and things outside our control. We’d all live happier lives if we focused only on the stuff we could control, and let the rest go."

Quick demo of our new @statamic website for http://transistor.fm https://www.pscp.tv/w/cJYONzM4NTU1MXwxTVl4TlBMbGdMcEd38ZLqmMbcMN0N_rtblI_yhilScRViIJaDjmInccpTUDE=

@pjrvs Sorry I missed your tweet.

I’m currently using coupons at Arby’s, and will be indisposed for the rest of the day.

You can reach me by calling Arby’s.

Apple Podcasts is probably doing the most for discoverability right now:

- editorialized homepage recommendations
- algorithm-driven recommendations (“You might also like...”)
- podcast charts (based on subscriber momentum)

It’s “OK,” but could definitely be improved.

It’s possible that podcast discovery will never have as much throughput as discovery on YouTube, Netflix, etc

Google search *might* change this, but I’m skeptical.

Podcasting is just a slower medium.

The way to reduce your risk, is to “reduce the number of things which have to go right.”

Beyond attracting initial customers, building an audience is also helpful because it improves:

1. Your connections: who you know, and who knows you.
2. Your skills: the value you can add to the world.

Getting this question a lot:

"What markets are growing, but still have the potential for a new business to grab market share?"

At home, we're getting ready for a French exchange student (who is coming to stay with us).

At @TransistorFM, we're starting the 3rd week of our 6-week dev cycle (inspired by @basecamp's "Shape Up"). Really encouraged so far; this new feature is 🔥.

Now: doing customer support!

I'm not sure what the right solution is for dealing with negative people online.

Here are my current thoughts:

1. Ignore people who are consistently toxic and negative.
2. For myself, be open to correction from my trusted friends: "Hey Justin, that wasn't nice."
3. Be kind.

Holloway & @dr_mitch_kusy make this point in their book:

"Toxic people are often self-righteous. [They] cannot find fault in themselves. This is the reason that explaining their behaviors to them often doesn’t work."

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00263ZLGW/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_AIwHDb4CJFW6Q

For me, going to therapy was the key to climbing out of my negativity.

With help, I was able to remove the resentment that had been festering inside me for years.

It wasn't until we'd dealt with the root pain that I was able to see clearly.

Example 2:

You work for an agency.

You notice that requests for “accessibility audits” is on the rise. You discover that new legislation requires it.

As you work with clients, you learn how to do the audits manually.

But it could be automated with software! Build that.

Hi, I’m Canadian.

@brhea It’s weird, this is something I’ve never felt. (I’ve been remote since 2012)

Maybe because I have local community at @coworkvernon, @ratiovernon, @startupvernon?

Ever wonder what it's like to work with a podcast editor?

(Better quality episodes, published faster!)

I'm chatting live with @iChris:
https://youtu.be/gxpeXhpZ4Sk

Markets move towards desired solutions naturally.

(Like folks lining up for ice cream on a hot summer's day).

Our ability to influence the market is much lower than you think.

It's better to build your product to conform to the direction the market is moving.

This project from @corey_gwin is a hoot!

https://xn--0ci4130n.fm/mijustin

Someone posted us to @podhuntapp!

Upvote and comment before the day ends! 🙏

https://podhunt.app/episodes/79/backlogs-make-you-feel-guilty-jason-fried