How Google Reviews Code & Faire's Performance Boost with Nextjs

Hello!

Welcome to the first August issue of my newsletter. This week, we're looking into the latest trends shaping the industry. Between the awe-inspiring advancements of Neuralink and Reddit’s conflict with AI, you’ll also find plenty of insights on leadership and scalability to benefit from.

Let’s tackle the eternal developer struggle: tech debt. Learn how to prevent it and take a page out of Google’s book to learn how to make code reviews painless.

Relax, grab your coffee, and dive into the newest issue of Frictionless.

In the Queue

• How Nextjs Boosted Faire’s Performance

• Top 5 Java Security Practices

• Can PWA Transform Your Strategy?

• Reddit’s War on AI

• Elon Musk on Neuralink Advancement and Future of Humanity

Reduce Friction

Boosting User Experience of the eCommerce Platform with React Native and Expo

User feedback is crucial for the success of any platform, and Payhip’s case only proves it. After reviewing comments from their users, pointing out the delay between receiving notifications and the fact the company was only available on the web, Payhip decided it was time to go mobile.   

How to Build and Run Your Exec Team

Every leader needs a strong team to achieve success. But finding the right people with complementary skills and personalities takes more than just gut feeling. If you’re looking to ensure your future exec team will be a great asset, don’t shy away from accountability and strategic thinking.

How a CTO Can Reduce Friction Amongst Teams

When assumptions and misunderstandings take root, collaboration falters and innovation suffers. The causes of conflict can range from unconscious bias to misaligned goals, but there are practical strategies that will help CTOs turn friction into collaboration.

Organization Architecture

The shape of your organization’s internal structure might have a bigger impact on its fate than things like budget or headcount. Why? Because it can directly influence your reliability. Without a way to fix a faulty organization architecture, you might find yourself facing a long battle. 

Google's Secret to Painless Code Reviews

While code reviews are essential, they can be time-consuming and challenging. Google leverages AI to streamline the process, reducing the burden on human reviewers and ultimately boosting productivity. The results are increased productivity and less friction.  

Deepen Your Expertise 

The Case Against Building Your Own SSO and SCIM

Building a Single Sign-On (SSO) and System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) at your company might feel tempting at times, but consider if it’s a good choice. While custom systems grant you a greater degree of freedom, the cost and time needed to implement them might not be as worthwhile.

Boosting Performance: Faire’s Transition to Nextjs

For an online marketplace like Faire speed is a critical factor, which keeps both the vendors and customers happy. While the website’s engineering team implemented numerous fixes to make sure purchases can be made smoothly, perhaps the greatest improvement was the site’s migration to Nextjs. 

Building a Crypto Wallet App with React Native

The demand for sophisticated and secure cryptowallets is ever-growing, prompting many cryptocurrency owners to look into building a custom solutions. React Native offers a compelling framework for building cross-platform crypto wallets by combining performance, security, and great user experience.

5 JavaScript Security Best Practices for 2024

As JavaScript’s popularity grows, so does the need to make it more secure. It’s more than a matter of patching up exploitable holes in your code - ensuring your system is always up to date can go a long way in making sure hackers won’t be able to target your company or project.

Durable Cache and The Quest for Fast, Fresh Content

The choice between Server Side Rendering (SSR), Static Site Generators (SSG), and Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) is a cause of many sleepless nights for web developers. To deliver users high-quality content, some decide to chase after the newest tools and solutions, while others are happy to use established practices. Each of those strategies has pros and cons, but durable caching can ensure fresh content without compromising page speed. 

Increase Scalability

"20% for Tech Debt" Doesn't Work

In the constant race towards innovation, very few companies have the time to pause and look back at their code. What worked a year ago could have become an outdated mess your devs have to deal with daily, but what if you decide to postpone necessary tidying up? That’s how you acquire tech debt. Going for the 20% for Tech Debt rule could be helpful, but you can unintentionally set yourself up for more problems than expected. 

Achieving Feature Rollouts with Ultra-Low Latency And Zero Impact to Conversion

A popular US food delivery service Beyond Menu, decided to scale their development with the use of feature flags. Gradual rollouts, instant rollbacks, A/B testing, trunk-based development, and easier internal and external collaborations sounded tempting, but Beyond Menu needed a solution that would work with the React-based components of their site. This is why they decided to turn towards Vercel's Edge Config and Hypertune.  

Rapid Innovation in Vehicle Connectivity is Creating New Developer Roles

As connectivity improves, cars are becoming more intelligent, efficient, and personalized. From autonomous driving to over-the-air updates, the automotive industry is undergoing a digital transformation, which inspires changes in the tech industry by creating new developer roles and responsibilities.

How Google Handles JavaScript Throughout the Indexing Process

JavaScript and Google don’t always get along when it comes to page indexing for SEO purposes, which leads to the mistaken belief that Google can’t render client-side JavaScript or treats JavaScript pages differently. Vercel decided to abolish those myths once and for all to prove Google’s rendering has long since evolved its indexing capabilities.

Just Cool

Reddit CEO Says Microsoft Needs to Pay to Search The Site

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman demands payment from Microsoft, Anthropic, and Perplexity for their AI accessing Reddit content without permission. The site has already taken steps to block these companies from accessing its content, and Huffman is demanding a new model for how search engines and AI companies should compensate content creators.

Elon Musk: Neuralink and the Future of Humanity | Lex Fridman Podcast

The newest episode of Lex Fridman Podcast is a treat for all tech aficionados following the newest developments in neuroscience. Elon Musk reveals plans for the future of Neuralink and the groundbreaking research behind the brain chips pioneered by the company. Fair warning - make sure you have at least 8 hours of free time!

Let’s stay in touch! 📨 

Do you have any comments about this newsletter issue or questions you want to ask? Drop me a message or book a meeting.