4 ms·

The problem with these "I made this X in 5 minutes" announcements is that frequently, it looks like you made it in five minutes (and I don't mean that in a good

by sequoia 15y ago

The problem with these "I made this X in 5 minutes" announcements is that frequently, it looks like you made it in five minutes (and I don't mean that in a good way). This phrasing " I did X in Y time" is obviously meant to highlight one's skill and speed, but if the product looks crappy, the forest is missed for the trees. I think this is a neat collection of frontend tools to make your Jekyll (or other static) blog snazzy. It's a good article in that respect: "Here are all the tools you need for a full featured Jekyll blog." But making the point of it being a "fast setup", as someone else pointed out, is a weak point, since wordpress and others are just as fast or faster.

sgaither 15y ago
true...I've been wanting to try out jekyll and even though it looks slower than a login/3rd-party setup it's still demonstrably easy, from this post...so that's extra incentive to give it a go.
erjjones 15y ago
Thanks for the feedback. I should have focused more on how open source allows us to now create and publish these types of applications more efficiently.
- kappaknight 15y ago
  Why not build something more useful than a blog then? Reinventing the wheel seems like a poor use of time.
  - erjjones 15y ago
    I have lots of ideas, sometimes you just have to start somewhere. Since I hadn't made GitHub user page that is just where I choose to start. Thanks for your feedback.
    - kappaknight 15y ago
      Sure thing. You seem like a very enthusiastic and detail oriented guy - I'm sure you'll create something cool for us to check out soon.
      - erjjones 15y ago
        Thanks. That is the plan.
kappaknight 15y ago
What am I missing here? WordPress lets you build a blog in 5 minutes.
- erjjones 15y ago
  I'm a GitHub guy so I wanted to use my username GitHub page.
jenius 15y ago
I couldn't agree more and was about to make a comment like this. Bootstrap does not mean that you don't need a designer or time to think about UX, and it makes me ill to see all these sites coming out with no thought put into design or ux that are boostrapped and they say "hey look how great this is, and how fast I made it!" Straight up default bootstrap is even worse in my eyes than craigslist style css. It's overused, and it's not enough to impress anymore. Take 6 more days, talk to a designer, and make this a real blog.
- camerondaigle 15y ago
  FWIW, I tell most developers I know to not stress out about their personal blog design and just focus on the value of content. The vast majority of default/built-in blog layouts are just fine. You're not a designer, you're not seeking to show off your design chops with a custom layout – just write good articles. That said, this particular sort of design where it's not a standard blog theme and not a custom design, but is just tweaked Bootstrap just seems neither here nor there.
  - nollidge 15y ago
    That's true to some extent, but I think it's worth to throw in a couple personalizations to avoid looking totally cookie-cutter. I think most readers would be OK seeing something looking bootstrappy, but not with something that is pure unmodified boostrap.
- jcc80 15y ago
  I know what you mean about bootstrap. On the other hand, nobody I know would have any idea what it is. One of my friends the other day who wants to do a startup had no idea what Wordpress is. I had to pretend not to be completely floored, lest I insult him. If the blog will be targeted towards more savvy tech folk like yourself, then I kinda see your point. If it's not going to speak to that niche then I say go forth with bootstrap! edit: and I'm sure he'll customize as he goes.
- bhousel 15y ago
  Why the bootstrap hate? Do you really think this guy should hire a designer for his personal blog? Even if he did want to do his blog in "craigslist style css"... Why do you care?
zackzackzack 15y ago
For those using octopress, here is a way to customize your blog so that it will stand out more and address the five minute easy set up problem. This will add like, 2 minutes, tops, to the minimum set up time, but it will be fairly unique. http://zacharymaril.com/blog/2012/02/24/please-please-octopress/ http://zacharymaril.com/blog/2012/02/24/please-please-octopr...
amirmc 15y ago
"This phrasing 'I did X in Y time' is obviously meant to highlight one's skill and speed, ..." Nope. It can also mean "Look how easy it is to get started". That was my interpretation.
bicknergseng 15y ago
Yah my first reaction after reading his post was hmm... watch me make a WordPress blog in 30 seconds. There are so many tools and templates and bootstraps out there to create a website in 10 minutes. The title definitely should have been something along the lines of what you suggested. I was vaguely hoping the article was going to be about a mindhack for getting out fast blog posts. I can create the blog layout in 10 minutes, but the content is much more difficult sometimes.

by sequoia 15y ago

sgaither 15y ago

true...I've been wanting to try out jekyll and even though it looks slower than a login/3rd-party setup it's still demonstrably easy, from this post...so that's extra incentive to give it a go.

erjjones 15y ago

Thanks for the feedback. I should have focused more on how open source allows us to now create and publish these types of applications more efficiently.

kappaknight 15y ago
Why not build something more useful than a blog then? Reinventing the wheel seems like a poor use of time.
- erjjones 15y ago
  I have lots of ideas, sometimes you just have to start somewhere. Since I hadn't made GitHub user page that is just where I choose to start. Thanks for your feedback.
  - kappaknight 15y ago
    Sure thing. You seem like a very enthusiastic and detail oriented guy - I'm sure you'll create something cool for us to check out soon.
    - erjjones 15y ago
      Thanks. That is the plan.

kappaknight 15y ago

What am I missing here? WordPress lets you build a blog in 5 minutes.

erjjones 15y ago
I'm a GitHub guy so I wanted to use my username GitHub page.

jenius 15y ago

I couldn't agree more and was about to make a comment like this. Bootstrap does not mean that you don't need a designer or time to think about UX, and it makes me ill to see all these sites coming out with no thought put into design or ux that are boostrapped and they say "hey look how great this is, and how fast I made it!" Straight up default bootstrap is even worse in my eyes than craigslist style css. It's overused, and it's not enough to impress anymore. Take 6 more days, talk to a designer, and make this a real blog.

camerondaigle 15y ago
FWIW, I tell most developers I know to not stress out about their personal blog design and just focus on the value of content. The vast majority of default/built-in blog layouts are just fine. You're not a designer, you're not seeking to show off your design chops with a custom layout – just write good articles. That said, this particular sort of design where it's not a standard blog theme and not a custom design, but is just tweaked Bootstrap just seems neither here nor there.
- nollidge 15y ago
  That's true to some extent, but I think it's worth to throw in a couple personalizations to avoid looking totally cookie-cutter. I think most readers would be OK seeing something looking bootstrappy, but not with something that is pure unmodified boostrap.
jcc80 15y ago
I know what you mean about bootstrap. On the other hand, nobody I know would have any idea what it is. One of my friends the other day who wants to do a startup had no idea what Wordpress is. I had to pretend not to be completely floored, lest I insult him. If the blog will be targeted towards more savvy tech folk like yourself, then I kinda see your point. If it's not going to speak to that niche then I say go forth with bootstrap! edit: and I'm sure he'll customize as he goes.
bhousel 15y ago
Why the bootstrap hate? Do you really think this guy should hire a designer for his personal blog? Even if he did want to do his blog in "craigslist style css"... Why do you care?

zackzackzack 15y ago

For those using octopress, here is a way to customize your blog so that it will stand out more and address the five minute easy set up problem. This will add like, 2 minutes, tops, to the minimum set up time, but it will be fairly unique. http://zacharymaril.com/blog/2012/02/24/please-please-octopress/ http://zacharymaril.com/blog/2012/02/24/please-please-octopr...

amirmc 15y ago

"This phrasing 'I did X in Y time' is obviously meant to highlight one's skill and speed, ..." Nope. It can also mean "Look how easy it is to get started". That was my interpretation.

bicknergseng 15y ago

Yah my first reaction after reading his post was hmm... watch me make a WordPress blog in 30 seconds. There are so many tools and templates and bootstraps out there to create a website in 10 minutes. The title definitely should have been something along the lines of what you suggested. I was vaguely hoping the article was going to be about a mindhack for getting out fast blog posts. I can create the blog layout in 10 minutes, but the content is much more difficult sometimes.