Tweets

It’s not a bad time to revisit the defining philosophy of the modern western world, and to ask whether it’s serving our best interests.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot

If Bezos wants to demonstrate real leadership, he should show up and a work full shift alongside his warehouse and grocery workers.

https://twitter.com/amazonnews/status/1248092828070301697

Vitally important thread: https://twitter.com/KHayhoe/status/1246474172647251974

There’s no sense in creating panic.

But ignorance is far worse.

We need to take this seriously.

https://twitter.com/lizspecht/status/1236095202630103040?s=21 https://twitter.com/LizSpecht/status/1236095202630103040

“This is worse than the flu. You want to flatten the epidemic. You don’t want a million people all getting sick in the same month. Social distancing helps decompress the demand on our medical system.” – @NAChristakis

Ok, I'm live! Doing some landing page teardowns with @mod_dot https://www.pscp.tv/w/cTaZeTM4NTU1MXwxbW54ZVF3b3FnUHhYaneF5BwraAxyJ0KP8csr_0WsjNB-IGa26hctL-wq-98=

“Employees that worry less about debt, healthcare, or where their next meal is coming from are happier, more productive employees.” https://kottke.org/20/02/what-happened-to-the-company-that-raised-minimum-wage-to-70kyr

What does responding the the “pull of the market” look like?

http://Tailwindui.com was just announced a few hours ago.

There are hundreds of tweets like this:

@steveschoger I like @TransistorFM on there. 👍

I did this interview with @jayacunzo, and he was nervous to release it. 😅

You can listen here to find out why. 😉
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-state-of-podcast-tech-with-justin-jackson-transistor/id1488946777?i=1000464487748

@statamic Ok. That was incredible. That static site generator --> Netlify IS THE FUTURE.

@nbashaw Nathan's helping me think about strategy like this:

"What bets are we going to make, and how are we going to make them wisely?"

Movements are created when leaders present a compelling vision of the future.

This can even work on a global scale.

When Kennedy decided to pursue the Apollo mission, it galvanized countries around the world to create space programs.

@tiggreen I really like the @statamic writing experience. 👍

If you’re interested in building remote tools, I wouldn’t be asking “how many remote workers are there?”

Instead, I’d ask: “how much was spent on remote tools in 2019? What types of tools were people spending money on? How many tools does a team use? Who makes those choices?”

@arvidkahl YESSSSSSS!!!

Interesting to think about why Disney+ feels like a good deal to me:

We watch a movie as a family almost every Friday. Often, that means renting something from Apple for $5.99.

Now, we can watch an episode of the Mandalorian every Friday instead (plus a huge catalog of movies)

In my experience, most progress is iterative.

Meaning: with consistent effort, you should be seeing consistent results over a reasonable timeframe.

Results accumulate gradually; they don't appear suddenly.

Like @nathanbarry says: “Sometimes, it’s good to leave a surplus of value on the table.”

https://nathanbarry.com/value/

I’m all for people earning more.

(And yes, some folks need to raise their prices)

But, without context, advice like “charge more!” and “use value-based pricing” isn’t helpful.

@ianlandsman I’m becoming increasingly wary of AirBnB as well.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43k7z3/nationwide-fake-host-scam-on-airbnb

@r00k ✌️ @jonbuda and I will be there

In practice, your company will need revenue growth just to keep pace with:

- Increase in business costs (2% each year is pretty conservative)
- Increase in cost-of-living costs (currently 2%-3%) for employees

If costs go up by 2%/year, revenue also needs to increase by 2%/year

@kevinleeme I say we all eat pancakes.

Incidentally, this doesn’t just affect small, indie podcasts.

On the latest episode of Startup, @abexlumberg said they had two main challenges:

- getting their shoes in front of more people
- finding new audiences for their shows

The problem with comparing yourself to the "big players" is you run the risk of trying to apply their practices to your business.

https://twitter.com/dhh/status/1177974040432037888

Wow. https://twitter.com/adam_keesling/status/1176992941488738304

Interesting idea for fighting climate change and air pollution:

A “frequent flyer levy,” where you’re allowed ”one tax-free flight per year but would pay progressively higher taxes on each additional flight taken.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/25/1-of-english-residents-take-one-fifth-of-overseas-flights-survey-shows

Three researchers (Lane RC, Ph.D., Hull JW, Ph.D., Foehrenbach) observed cases of this addiction to negativity.

They found that folks became "attached to and dependent on various forms of negative behaviors and destructive attitudes toward self and others."

A hurt, bitter, or resentful person will dig into these feelings; they'll be comforted by them.

"Our addiction to suffering is at some level driven by a desire to feel better." – @ncolier

In a perverse way, it feels "good" to feel bad.

Here's the link to the article from @anthilemoon:
https://nesslabs.com/time-anxiety

Example 1:

You see a lot of businesses are googling for “terms of service generator.”

You investigate, and notice that there’s no service built specifically for SaaS. In fact, “SaaS ToS generator” is the 2nd most popular search.

That might be a good product to build.

@ProductHunt Switched from WordPress to @statamic!

https://justinjackson.ca/new-website

VC-backed startups are trying to create wholesale changes in human behavior. They're not selling "software," they're selling "organizational change."

Bootstrapped startups are different. Founders have to identify a need that customers already know they have.

I'm answering questions/comments about our latest episode of @buildyoursaas on @podhuntapp right now:

https://podhunt.app/episodes/441/how-much-mrr-is-enough

Books live and die on the “big idea” they represent.

“The big idea” is the part folks will share when they’re out for drinks, or having coffee, or chatting in Slack.

If that central idea isn’t shareable, the book won’t be recommended.

When folks discover a new, compelling concept in a book, they want to share it with their friends.

Even if the rest of the book is just “ok,” the book still represents that “big idea” they want to share.

Again, this is just a metaphor!

But it’s a good reminder:

🍋 If you have a lemonade stand, it’s better to go somewhere hot, where there are a lot of thirsty people.

💻 If you want to make software, it’s better to go where there are a bunch of potential customers.

In most established product categories (which is where I think bootstrappers should be focusing), customers will naturally move towards the products they want. They don't need much convincing!

@adamwathan Don’t u just write:

php pretty please

On tomorrow's podcast: "bootstrapper's breakfast of champions." 🤣

https://saas.transistor.fm/subscribe

And this video from 2013 with me and Calacanis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY62KuoxWJ0

@joshuap @stauffermatt @adamwathan I came here to say: WAFFLES

@calebporzio @DCoulbourne @calebporzio also, love these call-outs from future you on your iPhone mic. 👌

Thanks to @BrockSky for being my model for this example.😉

(he's super handsome 🔥)

Humans are the proverbial frog being boiled.

This climate change news is deeply depressing. https://qz.com/1680797/the-global-consequences-of-julys-extreme-heatwaves/

🤣 https://t.co/HRjtmVnFex

That aspirational "self-serve app" where customers sign up and never need help is mostly a myth.

People want "Software as a Service" (with a heavy emphasis on the "Service" part).

@taylorotwell ability to turn my amplifier up to 11

@misterparker It's not enough to know if they dislike it. You want to know if they've actually tried to do something about it (and what they've tried).

If they haven't been motivated enough to try to solve it on their own, there's likely not enough there to build a product around.

Going to try to deploy this new @statamic site for Transistor to @laravelphp for the first time https://www.pscp.tv/w/b9P8-jM4NTU1MXwxTVl4TmRBUnBwUEd3uG1M3CQL3VPE7b-RRfMxxy4o8xCBjnntE5Tyye8PF_c=

Finishing up a new marketing site for @transistorfm (built with @statamic + @tailwindcss) https://www.pscp.tv/w/b9FxMjM4NTU1MXwxa3ZKcE9uRWtkb0dFI6AyEg-vqes4alQVqBXgx1dygtrc9LUNKHwOViAiPoY=

See also: the EU's proposed link tax.

Just a terrible idea that ruins what's great about the web.

https://savethelink.org/me

@natekontny @shl don’t tell me that 😜

I think we’re still far from saturation.

Podcasts compete with listening to radio or music. People do that everywhere: in the car, on the bus, while walking, doing the dishes.

There are 36 million YouTube channels, and only 700k podcasts. Lots of room.

Another analogy: ☀️🍦

"The idea of a small niche (without competition) is appealing. But conversely, it's sure easy to sell ice cream at a crowded beach; even when you’re next to another ice cream stand." – @asmartbear (paraphrased)

When Airbnb showed up, hotels, hostels, and B&Bs were already fishing in those waters; they could see there was plenty of fish! 🐠

By the time ConvertKit showed up, MailChimp had already caught millions of fish. But that just meant it was a good fishing spot.

@adamd I don't think it's that hard (or weird).

I just want to be able to send my newsletter to current customers. 😜

In Zapier, you can do it like this:
1. "Create stripe subscription" > "Add to MailChimp list"
2. "Cancels subscription" > "Delete from MailChimp list"

BTW - if you're a dev who wants an easy way to create time estimates for your clients, check out @DeLongShot's app:

https://www.getcalculate.com/

If you're in Western Canada, and you're into podcasting, there are still some tickets left for @podsummit!

http://podsummit.com/

I'm curious: did your team recently switch software?

1. What instigated the change?
2. Who instigated the change?
3. How did the "change agent" facilitate the change?
4. What, ultimately, convinced the boss to make the change?

Hey Portland! I'm heading to the Zipper for lunch today with a few folks.

You're welcome to join us! We'll be there at 12:30pm.

"The lower the price, the less likely someone is to search for another solution to their problem. By keeping a nice value buffer you avoid customers even considering switching away from your product." – @nathanbarry

@traceymeagher Oh, I'm super thankful.

And I actually *enjoy* doing customer support most days. Helping folks make progress is motivating. 💪

I got a message from Russian Deadpool.

So many people (including me!) keep making this mistake in product emails https://www.pscp.tv/w/b3OyZjM4NTU1MXwxZFJLWk9hbWpCb0dCtKFALBe9VkX6Misk0UjVfNubdc95om6gOGVwRPwg8iM=

@mjwhansen Holy crap!

I spy:
@joeworkman @stefanbutlin @jonnyplatt @adamd @DeLongShot @misterparker @leogdion @brianball @DeanLJ. Who else is there? @yuzool? @jeremyvaught? (Hard to see in photo)

So sad I'm missing this! 😭

Glad the @megamaker crew got together. 🙌

@bentossell - @PairWithTuple ❤️
- VSCode LiveShare
- Doing live-streaming 😆

Anyone here on Android that can test http://Transistor.fm for me?

Really dug this chat between @dzohrob and @shessomickey.

So pumped on podcasting.

Excited to keep working on @TransistorFM! 🙌

https://overcast.fm/+Pj7HU3tKc

Will Luminary be the Netflix of podcasting?

@nwquah sets this up perfectly:

"Netflix’s original content journey was gradual. In contrast, Luminary is tasked with a pure dead-lift."

https://mailchi.mp/f7ddb884a2aa/hot-pod-399201?e=13f45501aa

@jayacunzo @shl I liked that one 😂

@pjrvs that's what the robots want u to think tho.

@MrSimonBennett i have a guide here:

https://justinjackson.ca/livestreaming

@StarrHorne I recommend @JamesCridland's guide here:
https://podnews.net/article/lufs-lkfs-for-podcasters

"The podcast industry has mostly standardized on -16 LUFS. This is the loudness level that Apple Podcasts ask for."

Also true:

https://twitter.com/tomzur/status/1092884997340651526

Nice. 👌

https://twitter.com/theworldindex/status/1090429065750892544?s=21

@rrhoover @ProductHunt Does this mean podcast discovery is coming back? 🙏

Can you change a customer’s behavior? Can you create demand out of nothing?

(I don’t believe you can - you can only respond to what’s already happening)

https://justinjackson.ca/customer-behavior

I'm testing something out with our Spotify integration. If you have Spotify, could you open this link and play it?

http://open.spotify.com/episode/79B8LkKVNazjt6QWE0yIl8

🎯 bullseye

https://twitter.com/ericjorgenson/status/993983978750214144?s=21

Second workout of 2019.

@corey_gwin @hnshah YOU CAN RUN AT 2X SPEED?!? 😮 🏃‍♂️💨

When asked, "How do you know if a company is going to be successful?", @Caterina answered:

"Find a parade and get in front of it."

❤️ this idea.

@tylertringas Have you heard Build Your SaaS yet? 😜

Was typing out a request to @jonbuda in Slack:

"Jon, I'm going to need you to look at this support case."

And then it hit me.

Oh no.

This sounds like...

One of the best books on building a SaaS ever written. 👍

https://twitter.com/garrettdimon/status/1067105513882730496

@Shpigford Christmas '97. This was my CD wishlist:

- @mxpx
- @SlickShoesBand
- @OCSupertones
- Value Pac
- The Cootees
- Ghoti Hook
- Ninety Pound Wuss

You can subscribe here and get it when it comes out:
http://www.productpeople.tv/subscribe

Want to ask me a question about SaaS, building a startup in 2018, or podcasting?

You can leave me a voicemail here: http://transistor.fm/voicemail (works best on desktop)

I'll be answering these questions on the next episode of "Build your SaaS" 👍

A few folks were reporting my site being down earlier.

Is it loading OK for you folks?

https://justinjackson.ca/

Here's another one that's been hanging over my head.

I had an early Google Apps account.

Initially, it was free, so I created a bunch of accounts for different things.

But when I had to start paying... each of those account cost me $5 / month.

Canceling all but 1.

I've been getting great responses to today's newsletter all day.

Thank you. 🙌

This person's reply was awesome but he made one assumption I wanted to correct here.

honestly i just want a macbook pro with a turbo button is that too much to ask.

Live now: I launched a new website using @statamic, @laravelforge. Here's my traffic so far. https://www.pscp.tv/w/bqY-XTM4NTU1MXwxRFh4eWFtYkVkWnhN4sxvZzslUJBJMb1Kwin37ZWl3IRBQu7LMAD2n1_8n1U=

🤔 "What happens when we stop forcing ourselves to meet preconceived notions of how to achieve success?" https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/27/sunday-review/allie-kieffer-weight-marathons-body.html

Found this old post, with a great @natekontny quote:

"When you’re working at something and trying to get better, it doesn’t feel good. (Like trying to do chin-ups for the first time). Eventually, if you do this long enough, you make progress.”

https://justinjackson.ca/dumb/

Thanks to the friends who joined me today:
* @typeoneerror from https://weareokidoki.com/
* @r00k from https://tuple.app
* @geekymedics
* @m1guelpf https://miguelpiedrafita.com/
* @hamstu from @buffer
* @patrickbjohnson https://pbj.me/
* @jurn_w from http://screely.com

Heads up:

Tomorrow is @marketingdevs' 3-year anniversary.

To celebrate I'll be doing a 24-hour sale.

Get notified by downloading this free chapter:
https://devmarketing.xyz/signup/

Live now: sharing an idea for a new web app I'd like to build (Maybe in @laravelphp?) https://www.pscp.tv/w/bozhjjM4NTU1MXwxbW5HZW9wWkViUHhY9Pzm4Dql1f0yFDWUiy2mw87CRFX2ZKJ7zDnpdrGyKA8=

We're no longer in beta, but we're on Betalist today. 😄

Please click this link and give us a ❤️!

https://betalist.com/startups/transistor-fm