T Minus 1

I can't help but feel that we're not quite ready for tomorrow's event.

We had our first run-through at the actual theatre this afternoon, and it was somewhat disheartening. I guess I was being a tad too optimistic.


People running around getting things set-up on stage

In the past two weeks, I've noticed some interesting relationship dynamics at work in one of the teams in this production. Rather than go into excruciating detail, I think it's sufficient to say that these last 14 days have been eye-opening because I've learned new things about both old and new friends.

I've also repeatedly come to the conclusion that the best way to deal with a frustrating situation is to make sure you're not contributing to the problem.

When someone acts in a way that seems out of line, it's so easy to give into negative emotions and use that as an excuse to flake out yourself. This kind of mirroring activity really does not help at all, and only serves to make the situation worse for everyone involved.

Of course, it takes a different kind of discipline to control anger and irritation. I never said it would be easy! haha!

Suspended

I was so surprised to receive this BBC news alert via Twitter:

bbcworld: Mobile-phone text messaging in Cambodia is suspended, supposedly to protect voters during local elections. http://tinyurl.com/2w5jph

Wow. Can you imagine that happening in the Philippines, where texting is already quite literally a way of life, and where we actually call today's youth GenTxt (Generation Text)?

Wouldn't it be easier to just go after the people who are broadcasting political text messages on a massive scale and stop them from doing so? Or better yet, charge them fines for doing so?

I hope our very own Comelec does not get any bright ideas from this for our May elections.

Stiff Competition

I just read a post by Ryan Carson, where he notes that someone has put up a job ad looking for a developer to make a clone of one of his products, Drop Send.

I think that job ad highlights one of more interesting things about web applications -- it takes very little effort for someone to check out and copy a successful product, especially since many web applications offer free trials and all you need is a valid email address to sign-up.

When you find people unexpectedly nipping at your heels, the old open source dictum "release early, release often" suddenly sounds like a good idea.

After all, the most obvious (though not the easiest) way to distinguish yourself from a sea of "me-too" players is to stay one step ahead by introducing something new and relevant to your application; existing users will find your product exciting again, and the buzz that the new features generates can bring in new users.

I am reminded of Joel Spolsky's blogpost where he came right out and said: "I can tell you that nothing we have ever done at Fog Creek has increased our revenue more than releasing a new version with more features."

Just goes to show how dangerous it is to rest on your laurels.