Reddit Scales to 100K Reads/Sec & Decade of Serverless

Hi!

The recent lawsuit between Elon Musk and OpenAI has certainly caught attention, but that's just the beginning of what we’ve got in store.

 As AWS Lambda turns 10, we take a look at the history of serverless architecture, analyze how AI affects our concept of storage, and learn from Reddit's scaling strategy, which allowed the platform to achieve 100K reads per second. 

Aside from that, we'll also see why the New York Public Library chose React for their ambitious project and listen to the new episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, where the Anthropic CEO shares some interesting insights. 

Take a seat, have a coffee, and enjoy reading this issue of Frictionless!

Also in the Queue

• Can Socrates Improve Your Meetings?

• Sanity Winter Release 2024

• Pros and Cons of Next.js

• DOJ Pressures Google

• Netflix’s Distributed Counter Abstraction

Reduce Friction

Socratic Questioning - "Meetings Are a Waste of Time"

At times meetings can feel like a time sink, but by asking thoughtful questions, you can challenge assumptions, uncover real issues, and transform unproductive discussions into valuable conversations.

p-Hacking your A/B tests

A/B tests are supposed to guide your decisions, but what if you’re unknowingly fooling yourself? It’s easier than you think to fall into p-hacking traps. Here’s how to spot the red flags and make sure your tests help you move the needle.

3 Leadership Lessons We Can Learn from Ethical Hackers

Ethical hackers don’t just protect systems but also challenge assumptions, think creatively, and adapt under pressure. These qualities apply to more than cybersecurity. They’re also powerful leadership traits. 

How to Build Consensus When Dealing with Detractors

Facing opposition doesn’t have to derail your progress. It can be an opportunity to strengthen your team. Different types of detractors require tailored approaches to win them over. Master them, and you’ll turn disagreements into productive collaboration.

Deepen Your Expertise

Pros and Cons of Next JS

Like most frameworks, Next.js has its advantages and disadvantages, but could it be the right fit for your project? Have a look at this guide, which breaks down its perks and limitations to help you decide.

Vercel: AI SDK 4.0

Vercel’s latest AI SDK makes integrating AI faster and easier. The release includes PDF support, integration with Claude’s functions, an updated chatbot template, and more. Have a look at what’s new in version 4.0 and how it can improve app development.

Scaling From Simple to Complex Cache: Challenges and Solutions

As data grows, so does the complexity of your caching systems. Scaling requires not only technical fixes but also strategic planning. Understanding the common challenges and how to approach them will help you prepare for technological growth.

Sanity Winter Release 2024

The newest release of Sanity is anything but boring. It introduces brand new tools, like automatic content mapping, a new visual editor for intuitive design, and a streamlined releases feature to easily manage and deploy content updates.

Pure Storage CTO: How AI is Changing Storage Demands

AI workloads are pushing the boundaries of what we know about storage. Rob Lee, CTO of Pure Storage, highlights the growing need for adaptable, open systems that can handle the demands of AI while avoiding vendor lock-in.

Increase Scalability

▶️ Lex Fridman Podcast | Dario Amodei: Anthropic CEO on Claude, AGI & the Future of AI & Humanity

In this episode of his legendary podcast, Lex Fridman invited Anthropic’s CEO to talk about AGI, Claude, the ethical challenges of AI development, and competition with giants like OpenAI and Google.

How Reddit Built a Metadata Store that Handles 100k Reads per Second

Managing media metadata for millions of users on a platform as popular as Reddit is no small task. To keep up, their team built a scalable system using sharded PostgreSQL, which was optimized for over 100,000 reads per second with ultra-low latency. 

OpenAI’s Tumultuous Early Years Revealed in Emails From Musk, Altman, and Others

OpenAI’s beginnings were anything but smooth, as revealed in emails exchanged between Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and others. These messages shed light on early collaborations, strategic disagreements, and the nonprofit-to-for-profit shift that defined its trajectory.

New York Public Library on Choosing React To Rebuild Website

The New York Public Library, one of the world’s largest public library systems, set out to rebuild its Digital Collections site to modernize its digital presence. By choosing React and Next.js, they’ve taken a major step toward improving scalability and preserving access to their invaluable collections.

Netflix’s Distributed Counter Abstraction

With millions of user interactions to track daily, Netflix faced the challenge of managing rapidly growing data. To address this problem, their team designed Distributed Counter Abstraction - a system to efficiently monitor and process large amounts of valuable data.

Visionary Gary Vaynerchuk Reveals the Big Tech Trends that Will Define the Future

Entrepreneur and digital marketing pioneer Gary Vaynerchuk shares his vision for the possible future of tech, including the rise of live social media shopping, AI’s role in content creation, and blockchain’s potential beyond NFTs.

Just Cool

AWS Lambda Turns 10: A Rare Look at the Doc that Started It

AWS Lambda, a serverless computing service that lets you run code without managing servers, is celebrating its 10th birthday. Take a look at the original vision that sparked the serverless revolution and how it changed cloud computing.

Justice Department Reportedly Pushing Google to Spin Off Chrome

The U.S. Department of Justice is pressuring Google to divest its Chrome browser as part of an antitrust push. This comes amid allegations of monopoly practices and discussions about separating Chrome or Android from Google’s core business.

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.