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Insightful post, thank you. I feel like Wikipedia is the only really high-traffic non-profit, but they're doing something that requires a lot less engineering
by WA 10y ago
Insightful post, thank you.
I feel like Wikipedia is the only really high-traffic non-profit, but they're doing something that requires a lot less engineering (ie. most of the page can be easily cached and is the same for all users vs. Twitter).
WhatsApp comes to mind as an example of complex engineering (storing and delivering messages for millions) and they pulled it off with a small team at first. And more: once the core product is established/engineered, do you need as many people to maintain it?
- user5994461 10y agoWhatsApp is a simple, single purpose app. It's not a complex engineering problem at all. Maybe it could be if it were done in the year 2000. It is not nowadays. [Granted, there is still work to be done to make a decent product, they had great people and they executed very well.]
- majewsky 10y agoAnd isn't Twitter a simple, single-purpose app, too? (At least before they purchased Vine and Periscope.)
- user5994461 10y agoTwitter and Wikipedia were created more than 10 years ago. It was way more challenging at the time. Just think about the infrastructure for example. There was no SoftLayer/AWS to save your ass. You had to handle servers/hardware on your own. That alone could use a (small) company.