Matt Cone

Being a tech nerd, of course I hopped on to the #Fediverse. On Mastodon, which is my preferred Fedi platform, I get to literally build my own feed rather than have an algorithm do it for me. So far, I love it as I have total control over my feeds 😆. On top of that I get to keep my "social graph". That said, there are many other options such as Bluesky. Some platforms such as Threads and WordPress.com already connects to the Fediverse. The Fediverse is not mainstream yet, but is this the future of #SocialMedia ? https://lnkd.in/gqRCnmKc

7

1 Comment

I caught up with the talented Marnie Robbins the other day. We talked about business and stuff but it reminds me talking to a People and Culture professional how important one phrase is in work: "Understand each other" In software development that spans everything from documentation to technical jargon to interpersonal comms in a Remote world. They say your people are your most important asset. How you get the most of and for your people is making sure they have the ability and tools to not just communicate, but to UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER.

6

1 Comment

Sometimes you have to stop and appreciate the flowers. This week I was in south Texas for some inspections, with an excessive heat warning. I saw these wild flowers at one inspection and had to appreciate the “fringe” benefits of work. Enjoy life. FE2, LLC #losscontrol #investigativeengineering #AgribusinessSolutions #AgribusinessRisk #EngineeringDetectives #ProblemSolversInEngineering #EvidenceBasedEngineering #risksolutions

27

4 Comments

This is an all-to-common scenario for software testing/QA folks. Thorough testing upfront saves time, money, and user headaches in the long run. Let testers find the bugs before launch instead of angry users finding them afterwards. 'Part of the problem, according to the GAO, is that early testing was rushed, and department officials signed off on testing reviews “though significant work had not yet been completed.”' https://lnkd.in/eUUZBZgX #softwaretesting #QA #qualityassurance #fafsa

5

User (highest mileage segment) feed-back at its finest :-)

2

Update: I received my Humane $699 refund weeks ago, after seeing a review of the Humane #AIPin. I decided not to go through with this technology/device after seeing the unremarkable capabilities on a YouTube review by Marques Brownlee - thanks for the timely review! Maybe it's just too early? Humane, the company behind the highly-anticipated #AI Pin wearable device, is reportedly exploring a potential sale just weeks after its launch. The magnetic device, which was marketed as a "smartphone killer", faced criticism for issues with reliability, practicality, and an additional $24/month subscription fee. Despite this, #Humane is seeking a sale price between $750M and $1B, despite its rocky debut. The company has raised $230M from notable investors, including Sam Altman, and was valued at $850M last year before the AI Pin's launch. This news raises questions about the future of wearables, including the AI Pin, rabbit inc.'s #r1, and others (which was decimated in a review from #YouTube investigator #coffeezilla from #Texas). Despite their promising potential, wearables have yet to see widespread adoption. With AI rapidly advancing and Siri 2.0 on the way, it's possible that smartphones might evolve to be the only AI device users really need. What do you think the future holds for wearables? #artificialintelligence #AIandML #LLMs #ann #artificialnueralnetworks #wearables #wearabletech #innovation #startups #entrepreneurship #startupchallenges #rabbitr1

4

2 Comments

Today's publication day for WORLD ON THE BRINK, Dmitri Alperovitch's new book, which I helped write over the last year. Every book I’ve written surprises me in unexpected ways and working on this was no exception—I learned a fascinating amount about Chinese politics, the nuts and bolts of the US defense industry, and Taiwan’s history. (SPOILER ALERT: It’s never actually belonged to China!) If you’re interested in geopolitics or technology, I hope you’ll pick this up. Here's a bit more about the book and how it came to be: https://lnkd.in/eK89CKCC

48

2 Comments

I like to ask technical folks during interview about their biggest professional failure. The answer can be pretty revealing, showing if the person is comfortable admitting mistakes or prefers a vague response. And let’s be honest, a vague answer isn’t great—because we all mess up, and it’s key to recognize and learn from those moments. It’s a bonus when a candidate shares not only what went wrong but also what they learned, without me having to ask a follow-up question. I don’t mind sharing my own failures in those conversations. It helps the person feel at ease and shows that I’m not afraid to admit my own mistakes as a potential manager. So here’s one of mine: Once upon a time, when I was a young engineer, I worked on a mission-critical PCRF/PCEF system for a mobile carrier. For those unfamiliar with this setup, it handles deep packet inspection (PCEF) of mobile internet traffic, sets bandwidth limits, and reports data for charging the customer. For instance, your mobile plan might not count data for Facebook or Apple Music, but you’ve got 100GB for everything else. The system had two parts: Cisco CSG acting as the DPI and a vendor-developed PCRF. Back then, 3G was just starting, and many customers still used phones running on the WAP protocol. Part of my job was reconfiguring the Cisco device—usually to update DPI settings—during the night service window, like 2 AM. The process required me to copy and paste a config file from Notepad. WAP traffic was the priciest, and one night, I forgot to include either a comma or a semicolon before that section. The PCRF stopped recognizing it as chargeable, and the issue wasn’t caught until the customer saw a drop in charges the next day. It took us a while to spot the mistake. After fixing it, I promised I’d never mess it up again—but guess what? Two or three weeks later, I did it again. I was frustrated, and after a tough chat with my manager, we had to apologize to a very angry customer. The next day, I realized that if it happened twice, it could easily happen again, whether by me or someone else. So, I spent 2-3 weeks writing a Perl script to verify consistency between Cisco configurations and the PCRF. We added this step to our process, and we all slept better afterward. A nice side benefit was that my Perl skills improved, and I even reused parts of that script years later as a PS engineer. So, how do you feel about sharing your failures?

15

5 Comments

Don't be deceived by the "pretty box" syndrome in IT Asset Disposition. Not all providers are certified to handle your sensitive data responsibly. Choose Reclamere's DS360 Secure Cart Program. Trust experience, not appearances: https://lnkd.in/gMECHXRr #ITAD #DataSecurity #VendorManagement #CertifiedDestruction #Reclamere

8

Years ago, a manager of mine told me I needed to learn how to work with ambiguity. It was terrible advice. Don’t get me wrong. Ambiguity is a constant in many work environments. And I’ve heard many other managers give similar advice to their reports that mine gave to me. But the message is poor; it implies that ambiguity is something you’ll just have to put up with. Now, I would give different advice. I would say: “You should have a high intolerance for ambiguity. And when you encounter it, you should do everything you can to eliminate it.” I don’t want to “deal” with ambiguity, any more than I want to “deal” with a weed in a garden. I want to get rid of it and take steps to ensure it doesn’t come back. That’s how you make progress.

58

10 Comments

Novation, a music gear manufacturer, impressed me with their support ticket process. While the initial portion of the auto-reply was standard, what wowed me as a technical communicator/strategist was that they included a list of self-service help resources in the email along with the ability to close my support ticket here directly if these solved my issue. While chatbots are common in most companies to deflect support tickets via self-serve content, this method could complement them and improve those numbers quite a bit. Well done Focusrite!

22

1 Comment

I got caught in the trap I so often warn others about. I heard the word "demo," and my SE brain immediately attached all of the SE pre-concieved notions to it. And no one on my team had a chance to talk with the prospect before the meeting. How does this continue to happen? Do salespeople do it on purpose? So the SE on my team came to me. And I went to the sales leader. And created a lot of drama for nothing. In the Six Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers, Chris White reminds us that most of the issues between AE and SE aren't communication problems - they're *interpretation* problems. As in, I used my SE brain to interpret the AE's communication. And I was wrong. I needed to realize who was communicating and adjust how I think about it. So next time you hear something and think "that doesn't make any sense!", try stepping back and interpreting differently. It may help you avoid some useless drama. And we could all benefit from that 😀 #salesengineer #solutionsconsultant #partner #sixhabitsofhese *Cheesy picture included to evoke emotional response*

35

6 Comments

The product launch is going to be full of announcements that are shared with you, recent, and unlock your favorite functionality! Learn about the best of cloud business intelligence by tuning in next week! https://lnkd.in/g6kEbfDR

5

I have a DiceEngine for rolling standard RPG dice, but what if I have 9 choices? I don’t have a 9-sided MathRock! The Requirements have changed!!! Oh nooo! OHHH NOOOO! What if I treat my sets of choices as a deck of cards instead? Hmmm…. Is it worth panicking about? Maybe, if you don’t already have a logical place to make that change. Luckily, I spent all that time at the beginning of the project thinking about what kinds of behavior are and aren’t likely to need changes as I go. Adding a CardShuffler component to my DiceEngine was actually relatively trivial. (Which, upon reflection I should have named differently, but oh well.) We also got to see Dependency Injection in action. I’ll be expanding on this concept this afternoon at 1:00 pm, over on Twitch. Watch me handle that needed change, without tears. Link’s in the comments. #thatDeveloperDad #liveCoding #cSharp #dotNet #requirementChanges #volatilityBasedDesign #toTheRescue

5

11 Comments

Hey awesome people! Do you have contacts in the book publishing industry? I self published a novel a few years ago, and I recently finished a draft of the sequel. I have two more books planned for the series. I'm interested in looking into formal publisher arrangements, but I know it's unlikely without knowing the right people. I'm uncomfortable bragging about stuff like this, but let's just say that the push to get this series to more people is coming from the early readers. *I* was fine slapping it on Amazon and calling it a day, lol. Feels like a longshot, but you never know! **Edit: I'm aware of many services that help with self publishing. For the purposes of this post I'm referring to the classic publishing process.

23

8 Comments