Grand Larseny

Daring Fireball is losing its edge.

For those who may read this who don’t know, there’s a website that’s become very popular with folks who love technology called Daring Fireball. It’s been available for readers since 2002; I’ve been a regular reader since about 2004. It is authored by one man, John Gruber. I doubt he’ll ever read this.

I have loved reading his site mainly because he states what I’m feeling about technology in good, concrete terms, and elaborates on what subtle movements by companies can mean in the long term. He is seldom wrong in his predictions. I don’t think he can handle not being the underdog, though.

Over the past few months I’ve been following along with both is writing at Daring Fireball and his regular talk show, appropriately titled The Talk Show and there is a greater undercurrent of carelessness than usual. I’ve found his writing to always be brave and honest; part of being honest is stating things as directly as possible and part of being brave is only caring about the listener you have in mind. John seems to be exceptional at this part; only caring about being honest for his intended listener.

My problem is that he seems to be caring about less and less these days. Either that or I don’t care about what he writes as much. To me, it’s an interesting case of being a victim of good fortune.

Everything John does revolves to some extent around Apple. Apple has become the largest corporation in history. Apple is now the incumbant. When you are the incumbant you are treated differently; rebels take on a different shape when they assume power. John has been a very successful rebel online, writing honestly and bravely about the up-and-coming Apple. Now that Apple has the power, the shape of John’s writing is changing in my mind.

Windows and Intel are shrinking dramatically. Yep. And?

RIM is history. About right to me; this is old news.

And then there’s the Claim Chowder¹ that just keeps rolling in. Very, very old. People say stupid things, this is not news.

So now that I’ve sufficiently buried the lede, let me tell you what I think should happen. John should do what I think all successful entities should try to do: be honest and brave and open about the future. Where does he see Apple going and why is Apple going to be the best? The pieces that still resonate with me are future oriented; subtle stings at ailing companies don’t make me laugh anymore.

Psychologically speaking there are different positions you have to take when you are the majority versus when you are the minority in order to resonate with people. The minority states its case as loudly as possible and never acknowledges the opposition’s points as even potentially valid. The majority acts magnanomous in victory and emphasizes its plan. I believe in the past John’s posts followed the minority position very well.

Daring Fireball is no longer a minority blog, it’s time for it to accept success.

Usage is like oxygen for ideas.

via Matt Mullenweg.

Now that BrewControl has launched I’m able to think about how to optimize the way I release software.  I think this quote is incredibly valuable.  You probably don’t have to be in my shoes to understand why.

When you develop a product, you can become so insulated from the outside world in how you view that product.  You are invested in the small details, because you want to get the small details right, because that’s how great products are made.  Since our brain doesn’t see all levels at once we will miss the big picture of how the thing is working if we know the dozen little details that must be addressed.  We can’t do both.

Getting people who want to use the product to use it is oxygen.  It breathes life into a project.  It makes you happier to work on it and it helps the project grow in the right direction.  The sooner my project gets oxygen the sooner it transforms from great to really great.

Yes, friends, the hour has finally come!  You can purchase BrewControl at any conveniently located iPhone or iTunes.  Just do a search for BrewControl or click this link.

Ratings are your friends, too.  Well, as the developer, your ratings are my friend.  But they look good on you too!

BrewControl 1.0 is done and waiting final approval for the app store.  It is one sexy app, but still a bit immature.  Gotta refine just a couple points before I can be happy and move onto bigger additional features.  I’ve got ideas, baby, I’ve got ideas.

My new project now seems to be trying to get the news out.  It’s kinda interesting in that I actually enjoy telling folk about the app.  It’s not hard or unnatural.  This is what I was looking for.

Incidentally, you can follow @BrewControl on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BrewControl or visit the website at http://brewcontrolapp.com   And I’ll have that link to the app store as soon as it’s available.