developers | Internet Marketing Blog

Seven keys for building a successful API

A website isn't the only interface through which companies can interact with their customers and users. Thanks in some part to the success of companies that have used APIs to help build significant business value, a growing number of companies in both the B2C and B2B markets are building and launching their own APIs.

Most APIs, of course, aren't going to achieve Facebook-like success, and companies often make fundamental mistakes when developing an API strategy.

by Patricio Robles 19 November 2012 15:22pm 0 comments

Mobile developers love HTML5, but for the wrong reasons?

Facebook may have dropped HTML5 for native to build a better iOS app, but despite the social network's high-profile breakup, a new survey of more than 4,000 developers indicates that HTML5 is not down and out.

In fact, it's far from it according to mobile app development software vendor Kendo, which found that 94% of mobile developers it polled are either using HTML5 today or plan to use it this year.

by Patricio Robles 08 November 2012 13:02pm 0 comments

Six ways to make your nightmare client less nightmarish

Can you turn a grumpy developer into a happy developer? In many cases, the answer is 'Absolutely!', but when it comes to client-service provider relationships, service providers often have legitimate complaints about their clients.

So can service providers turn their nightmare clients into dream clients? In many case, the answer is the same: absolutely!

by Patricio Robles 05 November 2012 16:30pm 6 comments

Six ways to make your grumpy developer less grumpy

In cities like San Francisco and New York, developers are living large. The latest internet boom has produced a new crop of billion-dollar internet giants and countless startups.

But outside of the hottest markets, the notion that developers are often grumpy and difficult to work with is still common.

Needless to say, most developers are normal people (read: not chemically imbalanced) and the bedside manner of any given developer is probably just as variable as any other professional.

by Patricio Robles 02 November 2012 15:01pm 27 comments

Twitter experiments with advertiser surveys

With over a billion dollars in funding and speculation that it could be headed toward an IPO in the not-too-distant future, it's no surprise that Twitter's efforts to monetize its user base have increased substantially in the past year.

The latest ad offering Twitter is experimenting with? Surveys.

by Patricio Robles 04 October 2012 14:51pm 0 comments

Will designers get a gold rush of their own?

There's arguably never been a better time to be a developer.

Looking for a full-time job? If you have the chops, they are plentiful, and if you're in a hot market, salaries are high. Not interested in the nine-to-five routine? Freelance opportunities abound and investors are still pouring big bucks into startups, with many focusing on backing entrepreneurial engineers who can turn their ideas into code.

But if all success on the web and mobile internet required was a few hundred thousand lines of awesome Ruby code, a few NoSQL databases here and there and a clever Amazon AWS-based architecture, there would be a lot more Facebooks out there.

What's missing for many companies? One word: design.

by Patricio Robles 02 October 2012 20:23pm 4 comments

Five harmful mobile myths

As mobile's prominence has grown, so too have the myths about what it takes to create and execute on a successful mobile strategy.

Given the size of the mobile opportunity, the size of the challenges and the speed with which mobile ecosystems are evolving, it's not surprising that many of these myths are accepted at face value. Unfortunately for companies trying to make mobile progress, some of these myths are detrimental.

by Patricio Robles 25 September 2012 14:01pm 2 comments

Should brands be worried about Twitter's new iPad app?

Ask any executive at a popular consumer internet company about mobile, and chances are she will tell you largely the same thing: mobile is absolutely crucial. For many companies, upstarts and established players alike, that means one thing: getting mobile apps right.

But while some of the biggest names in social seem to be moving in the right direction vis-à-vis their mobile apps, one may be moving in the wrong direction.

by Patricio Robles 20 September 2012 14:27pm 2 comments

Five legitimate use cases for NoSQL databases

NoSQL may be one of the most overhyped technology trends in the past couple of years, and a growing number of companies that left their relational databases behind for a NoSQL fling are rethinking their decisions.

Yet organizations continue to adopt NoSQL solutions and investors are still eager to pour money into vendors behind the most popular of them.

Are they crazy, or has some of the NoSQL skepticism been overdone?

The truth of the matter is that, hype aside, there is a role for NoSQL solutions to play in a world consumed by data, and increasingly companies are making smart decisions about when to use relational databases and when to turn to their NoSQL cousins.

by Patricio Robles 06 September 2012 14:57pm 0 comments

Five ways to prevent your employees being poached

Recruiting is a difficult task for many companies today. Recruiting mistakes are easy to make, and thanks to the demand for workers with digital skill sets, competition for talent is fierce.

That competition isn't only making it harder for companies to find and recruit the employees they need to grow their businesses, it's also increasing one of the things that keeps many CEOs awake at night: employee poaching.

by Patricio Robles 17 August 2012 16:13pm 14 comments