Last week, I attended a networking event, which made me remember how uncomfortable those events are for me. If there is a forcing function to meet someone new, like sitting at the same table, I do just fine. If not, I can’t pull myself together to talk to a stranger. I ended up leaving an hour early to escape the awkwardness.
Software Engineering ⚙️
magic-regexp: A compiled-away, type-safe, readable RegExp alternative
I talked a few times that the compile-time JS tooling is getting more powerful. This library is another example of that. It lets you write regex in type-safe DSL and replaces it with a plain regular expression during the compile time.
Facebook has started to encrypt links to counter privacy-improving URL Stripping
It’s a common practice for online services to add tracking parameters to the linked URL like “utm_medium,” “_branch_match_id,” etc. Privacy-focused browsers offer the option to strip those tracking parameters. The author reports that Facebook started encrypting the tracking parameters with the URL so that removing those parameters is impossible. I couldn’t find them myself, but maybe it’s being A/B tested. Still, another step backward for privacy.
People ❤️
Lifestyles
It’s not always possible to be intrinsically motivated at work. But I still find it important to pause, examine what drives me, and adjust my priorities.
What are your company’s anti-values?
If it’s not painful, it’s not prioritization. By extension, if you see no failure mode in your company’s culture, you don’t have culture.
Weaponizing Amazon Leadership Principles
Culture is impossible to describe in a few words like “freedom and responsibility” or “customer obsession.” So it’s easy to misunderstand and appropriate them for whatever we want at the moment. For example, at Netflix, I saw different folks misuse “freedom and responsibility” to make short-sighted decisions, optimizing locally. How can we continue to educate ourselves and our colleagues?
Business 💰
Netflix to Partner With Microsoft on New Ad Supported Subscription Plan
Microsoft will not only provide the technology but the sales team to Netflix. I am curious how the member base will change once the free, ad-supported plan becomes available. I suspect the average revenue per user will go down, especially in developing countries.
BMW starts selling heated seat subscriptions for $18 a month
Last week, I shared a VPN company moving away from the subscription model despite its benefit. But BMW couldn’t pass up on the opportunity for a steady cash stream.
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