Global Nerdy

Click the picture to see it at full size.

Funny because it’s true.

This article also appears in the Shopify Technology Blog.

In the latest essay on his Posterous, I Have a Bad Feeling About This, Reg “raganwald” Braithwaite, posts his contribution to Uncensored: A Charitable Project to Support the Open Internet. In it, he writes:

My perspective is a little like that of C3PO in Star Wars, a minor character throwing his hands up in dismay at calamity and providing others with an interesting viewpoint on the great events of the last forty years.

Like any space opera, the story of information technology is a very simple one. It is played out in a myriad of different ways by a revolving cast of characters, but it always has its loveable heroes, its predictably nefarious villains, innocent civilians to be saved, and bumbling bureaucrats that aren’t inherently evil, but begin every story aiding the forces of darkness out of a misplaced belief they are preserving law and order in their corner of the galaxy.

In it, he encourages us – the rebels – to resist the collective empire of the MPAA, RIAA, Intellectual Ventures and those who would impose things like SOPA and PIPA and stifle technological progress in the name of preserving outdated business models. It’s a good read – go there now!

This article also appears in the Shopify Technology Blog.

Shopify’s going to SxSWi – the South by Southwest Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas! It runs from Friday, March 9th through Tuesday, March 13th and if you’re going to be there, we’d like to catch up with you! Among the Shopifolks who’ll be there will be:

• CEO and co-founder Tobias Lütke
• CPO (Chief Platform Officer) Harley Finkelstein
• Developer Advocate Edward Ocampo-Gooding
• Yours Truly, Platform Evangelist Joey deVilla

I’ll be speaking on the panel at the session titled 5 Brands Travel the US Inspiring Entrepreneurship. It’s a talk about the what, how and why behind the BarCamp Tour and the companies who were behind it (Batchbook, Grasshopper, Mailchimp, Shopify and Wufoo). Here’s the abstract for this talk:

Grasshopper, Mailchimp, Wufoo, Shopify, and Batchbook all joined forces in 2011 to create and execute the Barcamp Tour. We journeyed across the country together to work with 10 different entrepreneurial cities and help them put on a barcamp that would inspire / energize their communities. We shared our passions, listened to other peoples, and took in the unique character of each city we visited. Boy did we learn a lot. We would love to share those observations & experiences with you in hopes that you might take that passion back to your own community. We also wanted to explain why our 5 brands so strongly believe in free beer and hugs versus banner ads and trade shows. These word of mouth branding tactics have been a major part of all 5 of our company’s growth, and we are ready to share our secrets!

The session takes place on Sunday, March 11th. Usually, the Sunday slot is the kiss of death, but our talk takes place in the hangover-friendly timeslot: 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.. We’ll be presenting at the Omni Downtown Hotel (700 San Jacinto, at 8th Street) in the Lone Star room.

This article also appears in the Shopify Technology Blog.

Straightforward actions trump mealy-mouthed PR, sorry beats sophistry. Nicely done.

For the backstory, see this article: Led Down the Garden Path.