Allen Holub
@allenholub.bsky.social
Author, international speaker, consultant, software architect, kitchen-sink wrangler.
If you're about to start a sentence with "I shouldn't say this, but" don't say it!
November 12, 2025 at 2:37 AM
If you're about to start a sentence with "I shouldn't say this, but" don't say it!
The solution to layoffs is starting your own company. It is not as difficult as people think. You do not need (or want) VC funding. You do not need (or want) a large, complex product or to solve a huge problem.
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November 10, 2025 at 7:00 PM
The solution to layoffs is starting your own company. It is not as difficult as people think. You do not need (or want) VC funding. You do not need (or want) a large, complex product or to solve a huge problem.
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Disagreements are not problems. They are opportunities to learn. For example, when I have to prove something that seems intuitively correct to me, I have to drill deeply into things like hard numbers.
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November 9, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Disagreements are not problems. They are opportunities to learn. For example, when I have to prove something that seems intuitively correct to me, I have to drill deeply into things like hard numbers.
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Reposted by Allen Holub
This is heartbreaking. The people causing this are fucking monsters.
With SNAP benefits going out late, nonprofits are begging for pet food donations to prevent desperate owners from surrendering their dogs and cats to animal shelters.
Families on SNAP worry about not just feeding themselves but also their pets
With SNAP benefits going out late, nonprofits are begging for pet food donations to prevent desperate owners from surrendering their dogs and cats to animal shelters.
bit.ly
November 8, 2025 at 5:31 PM
This is heartbreaking. The people causing this are fucking monsters.
To my thinking, "Scrum Master" is not a role. It's a collection of "accountabilities" (to use the makes-me-shudder Scrum Guide terminology) that can be distributed across the team.
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November 6, 2025 at 4:25 PM
To my thinking, "Scrum Master" is not a role. It's a collection of "accountabilities" (to use the makes-me-shudder Scrum Guide terminology) that can be distributed across the team.
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November 5, 2025 at 6:14 PM
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Reposted by Allen Holub
Building Ikea furniture this weekend reminded me of two challenging life facts:
* If it's not aligned, more force won't help.
* If it's aligned, more force won't help.
Take that, #996.
* If it's not aligned, more force won't help.
* If it's aligned, more force won't help.
Take that, #996.
November 3, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Building Ikea furniture this weekend reminded me of two challenging life facts:
* If it's not aligned, more force won't help.
* If it's aligned, more force won't help.
Take that, #996.
* If it's not aligned, more force won't help.
* If it's aligned, more force won't help.
Take that, #996.
One piece of common wisdom that I've come to disagree with is "do the most complicated thing first." In a waterfall world, that's a risk-reduction strategy, but in an incremental development context, it's actually the opposite.
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November 2, 2025 at 4:58 PM
One piece of common wisdom that I've come to disagree with is "do the most complicated thing first." In a waterfall world, that's a risk-reduction strategy, but in an incremental development context, it's actually the opposite.
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I've always hated the Apple-style infinitely-long animated web pages where the scroll wheel just moves stuff around on the page rather than scrolling. All that does is add confusion and make me work harder to see actual content.
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November 1, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I've always hated the Apple-style infinitely-long animated web pages where the scroll wheel just moves stuff around on the page rather than scrolling. All that does is add confusion and make me work harder to see actual content.
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I regularly hear about people pushing (and creating PRs) for essentially unreviewed AI-generated work. A "vibe coder" who accepts what the LLM creates without thought is causing more problems than they're worth. It is the responsibility of whoever is using an LLM to write the code to:
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October 29, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I regularly hear about people pushing (and creating PRs) for essentially unreviewed AI-generated work. A "vibe coder" who accepts what the LLM creates without thought is causing more problems than they're worth. It is the responsibility of whoever is using an LLM to write the code to:
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I’ve been thinking about the exuberance (and often hostility) surrounding vibe coding vs other techniques. Vibe coding is not particularly more efficient or productive than other approaches (as many studies show)—it’s just different.
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October 26, 2025 at 6:01 PM
I’ve been thinking about the exuberance (and often hostility) surrounding vibe coding vs other techniques. Vibe coding is not particularly more efficient or productive than other approaches (as many studies show)—it’s just different.
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Yesterday, I posted that the "fail fast" mantra doesn't sit well with me [https://t.ly/fXEzJ]. One thing I don't like about that maxim is the framing. To me, everything we do is an experiment.
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"Fail fast" is not a viable approach to software construction. There's no benefit in constant failure. What we want to do is succeed fast. Do that with small batches and frequent corrections based on… | Allen Holub | 48 comments
"Fail fast" is not a viable approach to software construction. There's no benefit in constant failure. What we want to do is succeed fast. Do that with small batches and frequent corrections based on feedback. That's not "failure," it's just part of the process.
Software-by-throwing-spaghetti-against-the-wall, something implicit in that "fail fast" mantra, is not viable. | 48 comments on LinkedIn
t.ly
October 23, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Yesterday, I posted that the "fail fast" mantra doesn't sit well with me [https://t.ly/fXEzJ]. One thing I don't like about that maxim is the framing. To me, everything we do is an experiment.
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"Fail fast" is not a viable approach to software construction. There's no benefit in constant failure. What we want to do is succeed fast. Do that with small batches and frequent corrections based on feedback. That's not "failure," it's just part of the process.
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October 22, 2025 at 7:06 PM
"Fail fast" is not a viable approach to software construction. There's no benefit in constant failure. What we want to do is succeed fast. Do that with small batches and frequent corrections based on feedback. That's not "failure," it's just part of the process.
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Never put security in the hands of amatuers—that includes both product people and "experienced" (but not in security) programmers.
On a recent trip to Europe, I made the mistake of logging onto a US web site without using a VPN.
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On a recent trip to Europe, I made the mistake of logging onto a US web site without using a VPN.
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October 20, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Never put security in the hands of amatuers—that includes both product people and "experienced" (but not in security) programmers.
On a recent trip to Europe, I made the mistake of logging onto a US web site without using a VPN.
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On a recent trip to Europe, I made the mistake of logging onto a US web site without using a VPN.
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More and more, I'm seeing AI-generated (or "enhanced") headshots everywhere from LinkedIn to dating sites. To me, at least, that is an immediate no. Relationships, be they employment or personal, are built on trust. An AI-genereated (or even "enhanced") photo is a lie, plain and simple.
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October 20, 2025 at 7:32 PM
More and more, I'm seeing AI-generated (or "enhanced") headshots everywhere from LinkedIn to dating sites. To me, at least, that is an immediate no. Relationships, be they employment or personal, are built on trust. An AI-genereated (or even "enhanced") photo is a lie, plain and simple.
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Reposted by Allen Holub
Okay, for the folks who asked: here's the majority AI view, writing up the reasonable, thoughtful view on AI that the vast majority of people in tech hold, that gets overshadowed by the bluster and hype of the tycoons trying to shill their nonsense. anildash.com/2025/10/17/t... Please share!
The Majority AI View - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
anildash.com
October 17, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Okay, for the folks who asked: here's the majority AI view, writing up the reasonable, thoughtful view on AI that the vast majority of people in tech hold, that gets overshadowed by the bluster and hype of the tycoons trying to shill their nonsense. anildash.com/2025/10/17/t... Please share!
Reposted by Allen Holub
Remember when i said we're living in the scariest parts of a Gibson novel thanks to a bunch of dudes who misunderstand Gibson's novels?
Well now I want to discuss the verified govt accounts spewing rightwing propaganda— possibly via a bot-run troll farm— & why you should block them for your safety.
Well now I want to discuss the verified govt accounts spewing rightwing propaganda— possibly via a bot-run troll farm— & why you should block them for your safety.
October 18, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Remember when i said we're living in the scariest parts of a Gibson novel thanks to a bunch of dudes who misunderstand Gibson's novels?
Well now I want to discuss the verified govt accounts spewing rightwing propaganda— possibly via a bot-run troll farm— & why you should block them for your safety.
Well now I want to discuss the verified govt accounts spewing rightwing propaganda— possibly via a bot-run troll farm— & why you should block them for your safety.
Reposted by Allen Holub
October 18, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Bear in mind that even after the dot-com bubble burst, we were still making websites. In fact, after the outsource-to-foreign-climes madness had worn off, wages were at a premium because a lot of people had left the industry in the interim, and the people who were left could ask for the stars.
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October 17, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Bear in mind that even after the dot-com bubble burst, we were still making websites. In fact, after the outsource-to-foreign-climes madness had worn off, wages were at a premium because a lot of people had left the industry in the interim, and the people who were left could ask for the stars.
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A periodic reminder that a "do you really want to do that" dialog is an abomination. Yes, I want to do that, or I wouldn't have asked the first time! Also, by the time that dialog pops up, I'm already annoyed because it's in the way of me getting back to whatever I was doing before.
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October 15, 2025 at 9:08 PM
A periodic reminder that a "do you really want to do that" dialog is an abomination. Yes, I want to do that, or I wouldn't have asked the first time! Also, by the time that dialog pops up, I'm already annoyed because it's in the way of me getting back to whatever I was doing before.
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Why is it that the people who seem to have the strongest negative opinions about Mob/Ensemble programming are usually the people who have never experienced it? The thing they imagine has nothing to do with the real thing, but that doesn't stop them from having opinions.
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October 13, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Why is it that the people who seem to have the strongest negative opinions about Mob/Ensemble programming are usually the people who have never experienced it? The thing they imagine has nothing to do with the real thing, but that doesn't stop them from having opinions.
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We all adhere to a *system* of work. That system may or may not be chaotic, but it's a system nonetheless: a collection of components and subsystems that work in concert to achieve a single goal—in our case, to produce a product.
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October 13, 2025 at 3:25 PM
We all adhere to a *system* of work. That system may or may not be chaotic, but it's a system nonetheless: a collection of components and subsystems that work in concert to achieve a single goal—in our case, to produce a product.
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Reposted by Allen Holub
Cursing is rarely a symbol of low class. It's often a mark of high authenticity.
Evidence: Swearing predicts higher rates of honesty and integrity. It signals a willingness to prize candor over courtesy.
A little profanity can show that you're being real and you do give a damn.
Evidence: Swearing predicts higher rates of honesty and integrity. It signals a willingness to prize candor over courtesy.
A little profanity can show that you're being real and you do give a damn.
October 12, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Cursing is rarely a symbol of low class. It's often a mark of high authenticity.
Evidence: Swearing predicts higher rates of honesty and integrity. It signals a willingness to prize candor over courtesy.
A little profanity can show that you're being real and you do give a damn.
Evidence: Swearing predicts higher rates of honesty and integrity. It signals a willingness to prize candor over courtesy.
A little profanity can show that you're being real and you do give a damn.
Reposted by Allen Holub
It’s the Feds making Portland look like a war zone— not the protesters.
And honestly, these protesters are brilliant. They’re flipping the whole authoritarian cosplay on its ass!
And honestly, these protesters are brilliant. They’re flipping the whole authoritarian cosplay on its ass!
October 12, 2025 at 12:47 AM
It’s the Feds making Portland look like a war zone— not the protesters.
And honestly, these protesters are brilliant. They’re flipping the whole authoritarian cosplay on its ass!
And honestly, these protesters are brilliant. They’re flipping the whole authoritarian cosplay on its ass!