Kla's twelve step plan to quit not making awsome web thingys

What can I say, there is A LOT to learn at this conference. Rather than spit out every detail of every talk, I'll do a quick mashup of what I've seen so far (mind the buzzword!)

1. Be open
More and more, customers want to see the inner workings of your project. When people give up their data, it is still their data. With whatever snazzy web contraption you have, it is your responsibility to take an ethical approach to what you do with that data. People also want to know that there is a personality behind the great functionality (nobody likes talking with automated phone bots). In a development sense, you need to keep your code clean and commented, you never know who will have to add or edit your masterpiece.

2. Successful projects start with good planning
It is the future now, we all have the tools to make cool stuff in the internet tubes. How you use those tools, and not the tools themselves is what can make or break your project. Nobody cares what brand of hammer you used to build your house. Also, You can't be successful unless you have an initial understanding of what success means for that particular project. This is applied to every line of code that I write. To put this in Fallon terms, how will the current function I am writing make the car go faster.

3. Keep it simple, stupid.
People are not idiots, but attention spans are on the decline in our "I want it now" society. Boil down your projects to what is really necessary and make those necessities the best that they can be. This is also an extension of the point 2 above. You need to have a goal in mind when starting an awesome web app, widget, etc. Just think, what does this piece of ones and zeros have that everybody will want and how do I make it the best possible experience that they can have. This also applies to design of your super cool web things. If something looks like It can't handle the users data properly, people will not just hand over that data. Decide in advance what your project needs to accomplish and keep your eye on the prize. Failure to do this will lead to bloated software, right Microsoft?

4. iphones are bad-ass and everyone here has them.
If your web thingy is truly cool, people will want to use it on-the-go, wherever they are. So why not let them? If you follow step 3, it should be simple to cut the fat from your robust piece of software and make a lighter mobile version of it. After given a step by step walkthru of a simple application that is driven by web services, I now have a base idea as to the application of my web-developement discipline to the iphone platform. it all makes sense now. I am no expert (yet) but its a start. I will soon blow the roof off this platform.

*as a side note the google android phone is a bit cooler in terms of its functionality, but I can't help it that the iphone is so damn sexy.

5. Walk a mile in your users shoes
Right off the bat you should ask yourself, how are my users going to get the data that I am trying to give them. Is the authentication process too lengthy or difficult? Are there unnecessary steps in place that exist purely to gather data that I don't really need? How does every link drill-down to the final destination? Again this all comes from good planning, even before one keystroke of code is pressed. Layout every avenue of the user experience before jumping into production and wasting time changing the whole thing later. If you leave a stone unturned, that stone could be the one that turns your whole awesome internet creation into a pile of rubble.

6. Fix it in "pre" not "post"
Every idea can be made better. Why not make it better from the start? Make yourself a "dream" list of all the things that you could possibly want your creation to accomplish. Your internet thingy may not actually save the whales or create world peace but you can define realistic goals that are pieces of an overall objective and plan for a clear avenue of improvement. For example, If you know you will eventually repurpose a block of data make sure that data is being collected and distributed in a manner that will be compatible with your future purpose as well as the current.

more to follow, after I digest my spider web of words that I call notes.