Steff.me

A little while back I bought a book called Getting Real. Due to exams and work, I have only just gotten around to read it. Getting Real is a very interesting book written by the guys at 37signals. I don’t want to belittle the book by saying it’s just “tips and tricks”, however this short book (at just under two-hundred pages) contains a collection of knowledge that would be beneficial to know.

I think it’s obvious that I really did enjoy this book and found it not only interesting to see the methods a successful company use but as a guide for helping me when I start playing in this area (Getting Real on my ideas).

The book is aimed at developing web applications from a standpoint of “just do it”. Why write a functional specification when you can mock up the site or write a story on what the app is meant to do? This book is about “Getting Real” and just getting on with it. Despite the fact it is aimed at web applications, a lot of the “tips” in the book can be applied to many walks of life and for that reason it’s worth giving it a read. Even though I bought the paperback edition of this book, Getting Real is available free to read online, so go check it out.

So why did I make the time to finally sit down and read the book?

I’m going to the Future of Web Apps event in London. I figured I may as well try to get into it a bit more before attending the conferences; my entire summer has been spent creating a “custom” Linux distribution for Transition Consulting Limited, so I really do need the change back to the web. I have a few ideas jotted down on a notebook of mine that have sat there for quite some time; inspired by the book I’ve decided it’s time to do something about them.

Compared to the normal conference price of £245 + VAT, the student pass is just £75 + VAT and so I just couldn’t resist going! As I’m a student for just one more year (unless I do another degree..), I figured I may as well make the most of the discounts.

Confirmed speakers for the FOWA event include Matt Mullenweg (WordPress), Om Malik (GigaOM) and Kevin Rose (digg / Pownce), just to name a few. The event is taking place from October the 3rd to October 5th and is filled with talks by people in the industry for the first two days, followed by a workshop day on the last day. Unfortunately, the student pass doesn’t give me access to the workshop day but I’m still excited.

Oh and for anyone who is a Diggnation fan, there’s a live filming on the first day of the conferences at 19:30. Personally, I can’t wait!

If anyone has read “Getting Real”, let me know what you thought of it. Have you read any good related books? Also, is anyone is attending the FOWA event?