Weekly Roundup Series September 2020

Dinakaran Sankaranarayanan

Posted

Weekly Roundup Series September 2020

Weekly Round-Up for the week ending 20th Sep, 2020

1. Clean Code - 5 Key Takeaways

“Clean Code” was published in 2008, and over recent years, it has consistently ranked as one of the top five highest-selling books on Amazon. The author, affectionately known as “Uncle Bob,” was one of the original authors of the Agile Manifesto and has some serious credentials. The book has achieved an average rating of 4.4 on Goodreads from over 13,000 ratings. Suffice to say, it’s one of those books every programmer should read.

https://medium.com/better-programming/clean-code-5-essential-takeaways-2a0b17ccd05c

2. Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention - Podcast

TL;DR Culture eats Strategy for Breakfast

Great podcast about the Culture of Reinvention with Netflix CEO.

” In this episode, originally recorded for the Commonwealth Club of California, Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hasting talks about his new book “No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention” with a16z co-founder and fellow author Ben Horowitz, who also wrote a bestselling book about culture last year.

During the conversation, Reed tells the story of Netflix’s evolution and his management philosophy, including the hard lesson he learned about what happens when you optimize for efficiency at the expense of creative talent. He also explains why sometimes a more narrow market focus is better for growth and shares the tactics that have helped Netflix expand globally and translate a culture of innovation across different countries, from Japan to Brazil to America.”

https://a16z.com/2020/09/15/a16z-podcast-designing-a-culture-of-reinvention/

3. Elon Musk’s Learning Process

“Rule #1 — Make sure you’re building a tree of knowledge

Rule #2 — You can’t remember what you can’t connect

It is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree — make sure you understand the fundamental principles, i.e. the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to.”

https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/elon-musks-2-rules-for-learning-anything-faster-cf9a79fba35

4. AWS Free Tier - How , when and what?

“Is the AWS Free Tier really free? No. No! Oh my god no. It absolutely is not.The AWS Free Tier is free in the same way that a table saw is childproof. If you blindly rush in to use an AWS service with the expectation that you won’t be charged, you’re likely to lose a hand in the process. Let’s dive into exactly what “free” means in this context.”

https://www.lastweekinaws.com/blog/is-the-aws-free-tier-really-free/

5. Understanding Kafka - Cool animations FTW

I love all attempts being made using Digital Tools that help us to understand concepts better. This is one such example. Visualizations are bit over the top, that I felt nervous whether the animations would show up correctly, but then this is fun and nicely done. What is Kafka produced by IBM Cloud?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj9CDZm0Glc

6.Apple Online Store launching in India next week

Have you ever felt the need for Apple Online Store where one can customize the MacBook configurations depending on the need? While other countries had this option earlier, India was left behind. This means either one has to reach out to a friend across the border to order and bring one. And now this will change. I hope the price difference is not insane.

https://www.livemint.com/technology/tech-news/apple-s-first-online-store-in-india-launches-next-week-11600357929198.html

7.Thums up vs Cola Wars

Fascinating thread that chronicles the story of Indian beverage drink , Thums Up.

“For over 35 years, Thums up ruled the Indian soft drink market. This iconic brand overcame international brands like Pepsi & Coke, local brands like Campa Cola & even a brand launched by the Indian government: Double 7. A thread on the history of Thums up and Indian cola wars”

Twitter Thread. https://twitter.com/zhr_jafri/status/1307279945970774016

8. Cultivating Serendipity Mindset

“Cultivating serendipity looking at the world with open eyes and seeing opportunities others don’t. It’s not just about being in the right place at the right time and having something happen to us, but rather a process in which we can be actively involved”

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-serendipity-mindset-how-to-make-your-own-luck


Weekly Round-Up for the week ending 13th Sep, 2020

1. The Social Dilemma, a documentary on the perils of Social Media and smartphone addiction

Watched ‘The Social Dilemma’ on Netflix, a documentary about how social media and technology tend to manipulate people’s attention, feelings and has the potential to destroy people/ democracy. From the same people who created these technologies and now wanting to take recourse. For a long time I believed, It is not the Technology stupid, it is we who are using it wrong. Although there is a truth to it, over the last year, I have slowly changed my opinion around this. Less screen time, less scrolling and less everything is the only solution now. We all need Digital Detox

https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81254224

2. Netflix CEO Hastings’ new book “No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention”

Reed Hastings, Co-CEO of Netflix, shares his top 5 Lessons Learned over the years. Get a deeper dive into these insights in the book “No Rules Rules,” written by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer, available for order at norulesrules.com . Five key takeaways from the book here.

https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/netflix-reed-hastings-book-five-takeaways-no-rules-rules-1234752550/

3. Intelligent Minds Like Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos Embrace the Rule of Awkward Silence.

“That may sound like a lot for 10 to 20 seconds, but you’ll be surprised what your brain can accomplish once it’s given a little more time to do what it was designed to do: think things through. So, the next time someone asks you a challenging question, or even what seems on the surface to be a simple one, resist the temptation to respond with the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, embrace the rule of awkward silence, and think before you speak.”

https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/intelligent-minds-like-tim-cook-jeff-bezos-embrace-rule-of-awkward-silence-you-should-too.html

4. What startups can learn from Lego’s turnaround

“Sometimes simplicity, staying true to a company’s focus, deepening and engaging loyalty to customers, focus on product-innovation maybe all that is needed to be able to continue growing to new heights of success.”

https://medium.com/@VaniKola/the-kalaari-podcast-what-startups-can-learn-from-legos-turnaround-4b2418212df

5. Amazon is filled with fake reviews and it’s getting harder to spot them

“Since Amazon’s early days, reviews are the one big metric customers have relied on to determine the quality and authenticity of a product. Amazon’s listings often have hundreds or thousands of reviews, instead of the handful found on competing marketplaces. But many of those reviews can’t be trusted. Thousands of fake reviews have flooded Amazon, Walmart, eBay and others, as sales have skyrocketed.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/06/amazon-reviews-thousands-are-fake-heres-how-to-spot-them.html


Weekly Round-Up for the week ending 6th Sep, 2020

1. Google Genius $49 per month challenging college education

“Google, a company that has successfully “organized the world’s information,” is about to tackle an issue we’ve long endured but have never known what to do about: tech education.It’s not a secret that colleges and universities are struggling miserably to stay relevant in tech domains.”

https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/googles-genius-49-mo-course-is-about-to-replace-college-degrees-340f459aaa9b

2. Interesting observations on the Generalists vs Specialists

“The author’s research shows that generalists often find their path or true calling late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. As a result, they tend to be more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see.”

https://medium.com/@VaniKola/generalists-vs-specialists-7991d9129961

3. The Race to Build a ‘desi’ Super App

“Every tech CEO wants a Super App. In the post-Covid world, they want one. Yesterday. Google Pay is building one, WhatsApp needs one, Amazon is dabbling in it, Jio is putting one together, Flipkart (and Phonepe), and Paytm are the other contenders. And now, the venerable Tata Group — not to be left behind in the race for India’s trillion dollar digital economy — wants one.”

https://medium.com/@hchawlah/the-race-to-build-a-desi-super-app-847c9bd0ab7

4. AWS’s Go Build Bengaluru with the founders of Zwende to bring back culture of old-world artisanship

“Follow Dr. Werner Vogels, Amazon.com CTO, to the vibrant streets of Bengaluru, and meet Sujay Suresh and Innu Nevatia, founders of the company Zwende, who wanted to pair the creativity, customization, and accessibility of modern shoppers with the craft of skilled designers and makers. Learn how these two innovators are using technology to ensure a culture of old-world artisanship adapts to 21st-century life, and remains a sustainable, celebrated way to live in India. “

https://youtu.be/2n7bm0mteG0

5. Ikigai is the reason to be and reason to live

“The Japanese have a beautiful concept to guide their lives called ikigai. I learned it from karate masters on the beautiful Japanese islands of Okinawa. Researchers have claimed ikigai is the reason why the islands have the highest density of 100-year-olds in the world. Ikigai is the reason to be and reason to live.”

https://medium.com/mind-cafe/ikigai-the-most-misunderstood-secret-to-a-happy-life-5b47df466f1c

That’s all for this week folks.