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Is questions asked really a good metric? StackOverflow actively discourages asking duplicate questions, and all the easy newbie questions haven't changed in a
by rio517 9y ago
Is questions asked really a good metric? StackOverflow actively discourages asking duplicate questions, and all the easy newbie questions haven't changed in a while, it seems inevitable that certain technologies appear to decline. I feel like traffic to questions, searches or other metrics would be a better indicator.
In particular, is facebook api usage really in decline? I'd be very surprised. For language/platform specific technologies, I would imagine if there were a decline the market for devs would get less tight. I'd argue that days a vacancy is open is a much better indicator than even raw number of job postings.
- oelmekki 9y agoThis is a question I usually ask too when I see those used in articles to evaluate a tech's popularity, but for the first time (afaik), it has been addressed in this article, in the section "Do question visits tell a different story?". Spoiler: they do not.
- moxious 9y agoNo metrics are perfect, this is a good one I think for trying to get at developer mindshare. Actual API usage (number of calls) I think is not useful at all. If heavy volume is concentrated in a declining number of apps using the Facebook API (just an example, I don't know) I think API usage can go up while mindshare is dropping.
- Joeri 9y agoIs questions asked really a good metric? StackOverflow actively discourages asking duplicate questions, and all the easy newbie questions haven't changed in a while, it seems inevitable that certain technologies appear to decline. This is addressed in the article. There have been 1.4 million javascript questions asked and the pace is increasing, which indicates that it's hard to exhaust a subject. I think it makes sense facebook api usage is in decline given that the game devs have moved away from it. I also don't think days a vacancy is open is a good metric, because having been on the hiring side of trying to find Delphi developers I can assure you it is very tough. Plenty of people have relevant experience, but none of them want those jobs because they think it is career suicide.
- jordiburgos 9y agoI think other measures would be more suitable. Currently I am working with Mongoose and MongoDB. All the answers I find in StackOverflow are more than 2 years old.
- francesca 9y agoI see the most recent question answered 5 minutes ago (https://stackoverflow.com/search?tab=newest&q=mongoose%20 https://stackoverflow.com/search?tab=newest&q=mongoose%20).
- jordiburgos 9y agoI didn't mean all the questions.