Highgroove featured on the Ruby on Rails Podcast

Posted in Scout, PlaceShout, Business | no comments

Derek

28

Mar

We recently sat down with Geoffrey Grosenbach for the Ruby on Rails Podcast and talked about Scout, PlaceShout, working as a remote team, and balancing client work with internal projects.

Listen to the Podcast

Facebookin' with Ruby on Rails

Posted in Ruby on Rails, Business | no comments

Derek

12

Nov

Andre and I recently finished the initial launch of Placeshout’s Facebook application. There are several “getting started” tutorials available on building Facebook applications with Ruby on Rails, but there were quite a few issues we ran into that are beyond a “How To” blog entry.

If you are building your first Facebook application, expect very slow going at the start. I’d take your time estimate and double it. Here’s why:

• It takes some time to grasp Facebook in a multi-developer environment. You need to create separate Facebook applications with different names using different tunneling ports. You’ll also need to create several test accounts. Inevitably, I installed one application when I meant to install another. Getting our version control system setup for our development boxes and production system took some time.

• Understanding how Facebook handles sessions. We ran into several issues – knowing when to require an app install vs. a login, handling an app install redirect inside an iFrame application, etc.

• We ended up using a combination of Rails’ #respond_to and unique Facebook-only actions to handle requests. Many of our pages were quite different in Facebook, and trying to fit format-handling in the existing actions only made things more confusing.

• Testing was a pain. Because we integrated with Placeshout.com, we needed to integrate user accounts. Planning and testing integration steps took quite a bit of time. Facebook and rFacebook have some testing conventions, but that’s like saying that because the speedometer in my Ford Escape goes up to 120 MPH, it can go 120 MPH.

• The rFacebook gem and plugin were our weapons of choice. I don’t have any complaints. We modified several pieces of code to fit our application – including creating a user and installing the application, but that’s not out-of-the-ordinary. The rFacebook team has done a solid job in a short amount of time.

In the end, it felt a lot like traveling to a non-English speaking country – at the start it’s difficult to get basic things accomplished. Once you get in a groove though, you enjoy the scenery and forget that at one time, you didn’t throw up when drinking tap water.

Highgroove's New Clothes

Posted in Business | 3 comments

CBQ

08

Nov

You may have noticed a change of scenery on the Highgroove Studios site, and (for those of you not in feedreaders) this blog.

We’ve taken a good look back at where Highgroove has been, and a bigger look at where we’re going.

• We’ve got Andre Lewis (also known as Rails guru, technology expert, published author, geo-location extraordinaire, Alcatraz-swimmer, nice guy). Andre has joined the Highgroove team as a Partner.
• We’ve got products. Placeshout and Scout (limited client-only) are up and kicking!
• We’ve got vision. We’re still focusing on our sweet spot – solving complex problems with simple solutions. Making web applications easier to use. Making technology easier to understand. Embracing constraints. Leveraging Ruby and the Ruby on Rails framework.
• We’ve got great clients. Fortune 500s, government agencies, educational institutions, DemoGOD winners, Salesforce-award-winners, and very happy companies of all sizes and shapes.

Check out our new site, and let us know what you think at hello@highgroove.com.

Atlanta and Silicon Valley

Posted in San Francisco, Atlanta, Business | 1 comment  | 1 trackback

Derek

09

Jun

Atlanta Technology Executive (and recent friend) Scott Burkett blogged recently on what Atlanta can do to emulate the entrepreneurial environment of Silicon Valley. Having lived in both areas, I’ve had a chance to meet and work with many remarkable entrepreneurs.

I think Scott hit many of the comparisons between Atlanta and Silicon Valley on the head. Atlanta is full of smart engineers, isn’t as forgiving to entrepreneurial failures, and like Silicon Valley, does a great job celebrating entrepreneurial heroes.

However, I don’t think the key to sparking innovation in Atlanta is tied to things like tax exemptions, venture funds, and cheap office space. When a company can start worrying about those things, they are already on their way. Innovation comes much earlier on in the process.

What are the biggest differences I’ve seen between Silicon Valley and Atlanta?

Read more...