With new technology, new frameworks, new models, and new best practices coming at us every day, how can anyone become an expert in everything? This presentation talks about the danger of shiny new web methodologies and how to grow your expertise in a manageable way. Avoid yak shaving and solve real problems!

1. BEWARE
The
SHINY!
Martha Rotter
Friday 16 March 12

2. Beware the Shiny!
Martha Rotter
@martharotter
martha@woop.ie
Friday 16 March 12

3. How many of you have
said this in the last year:
(or month)
(or week)
Friday 16 March 12

4. I have really been
meaning to get
in to LESS.
Friday 16 March 12

5. Man, knowing
node.js would
be so useful!
Friday 16 March 12

6. I totally need to
pick up
some HAML.
Friday 16 March 12

7. Just thinking of
spending the
weekend learning
to build Android
apps
Friday 16 March 12

8. It’s time I finally
figured out SASS,
once and for all.
Friday 16 March 12

9. Thinking I might try
working
Knockout.js into my
next project.
Friday 16 March 12

10. I might spend the
next day or two
transferring all of
my databases into
CouchDB. Just to
try it out.
Friday 16 March 12

11. Well, I know
nothing about
Backbone. It’s time
to become an
expert. Today.
Oh, but first I just need
to understand
Underscore.js. That
shouldn’t take long...
Friday 16 March 12

12. WHAT’S THE
PROBLEM MARTHA?
Friday 16 March 12

13. Some rights reserved by marcus_jb1973
Friday 16 March 12

14. Some rights reserved by kk+
Friday 16 March 12

15. Some rights reserved by Ryan Hageman
Friday 16 March 12

16. Who would you hire?
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17. “‘Shiny’ is not a tangible metric.”
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18. Here’s another
problem.
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19. Friday 16 March 12

20. Were you an expert in:
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21. I’m not trying to keep
you from learning,
I promise
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22. Some rights reserved by La Citta Vita
Friday 16 March 12

23. How to build
sustainable skills?
Friday 16 March 12

24. Lessons I’ve Learned
from teaching web dev:
• Know the difference between “taking a
look”, “learning”, and “mastering”
• Taking a look means understanding its
purpose
• Learning means knowing how to use it
• Mastering means being able to handle
it in complex situations
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25. An Example...
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26. Some rights reserved by j u s t i n . z
Friday 16 March 12

27. Now is the time...
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28. STOP.
HOLD UP.
NO HAMMER TIME.
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29. Ask yourself:
• What’s the deadline for this project?
• Do I have a spare day or two (or three or
four) to try this out during the project? (If
not why are you considering jeopardizing
the project’s deadline?)
• Is this specific to this project or will I use
this technology again in some or many
future projects?
Friday 16 March 12

30. Evaluate
• If the answers to the questions lead you to
believe a) there is time, b) it won’t add to
the client’s costs, and c) you can still
complete it on time, go for it.
• If not, all is not lost. Find a weekend or
evening where you can work on it on a
personal project. Do NOT just do how-to
tutorials! Have an actual project!
Friday 16 March 12

31. Back to our example...
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32. This could go one of
two ways.
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33. the way we imagine it
will go when we decide
to add on a fun new
framework:
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34. Friday 16 March 12

35. and the way it sometimes works when you
try working with old, broken tutorials and
discover the method you need has had a bug
filed on it for 8 months with no activity and
no one is answering you on IRC.
You wake up at 4pm on a Thursday
afternoon on the floor in your hallway after
working straight through since Monday, and
you realize you need to start from scratch
to finish by 5pm tomorrow.
Friday 16 March 12

36. Some rights reserved by David Boyle
Friday 16 March 12

37. Let’s not do that, mkay?
Friday 16 March 12

38. Best Practices for the
Shiny
Friday 16 March 12

39. When you start learning
something new, have a
project in mind
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40. Remember shiny things
change often.
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41. Beware outdated help
documentation, tutorials &
blog posts
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42. When looking at something
new, think about how you
might use it
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43. Build on top of what you
already know. Create a
foundation.
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44. Find a partner in crime.
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45. Find the hideouts!
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46. Ask questions.
(And don’t do the “This might
sound really stupid but...”)
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47. Don’t try to learn it
all at once.
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48. Don’t be afraid to
invest in yourself.
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49. Pay attention to the world
around you.
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50. Remember: there’s nothing wrong
with shiny.
It’s what you build with it that
counts!
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51. Thanks!
Friday 16 March 12