Just a bit flatter - MVP, Flat Design and Bootstrap on Codediv.com

On my new personal coding tutorial website Code Div , I started fast and quick prototyped the website within 2 hours of exploring the idea, with the help of Twitter Bootstrap and Flat Design. If there's one thing I learnt from Stanford is rapid prototyping. Even our education system - the quarter system- is a constant chasing of cloud.

How to get to the MVP (minimal viable product fast) is perhaps on the mind of every Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Growth Hack... what is that?

The best talk I have heard at Stanford was from material science and design school: prototype generates discussions, and help obtain feedback. Without MVP, we are all but idea people... brilliant, but that's about it. Later on use of MakerBot and 3DPrinting reenforced the idea of using prototyping.

How it is possible that I got the website up and running in 2 hours? Previous I built a Rails Twitter App in 2 days. Okay it wasn't really like Twitter, but that thing worked with 140 characters and allow you to post comments like no other!

I'd be happy to go into details but here's the quick and dirty tip collection, so that the blog post does not run on:

1. Twitter Bootstrap as the first pass of design standard for a new born website
2. Flat Design that focuses on clarity of the information, comparison, call to action, and color schemes that still speak personal, startup, without screaming enterprise and boring, but requires very little design money
3. MVP focus on the core functionalities, even if the backend is not ready yet! My view of the backend is that, without a good architectural solution, the back-end does more harm than good. Until the website is ready security wise to take people's passwords, just DON'T.
4. Do not reinvent the wheel. If there's one thing I learnt as a consultant is that, tested and credible solutions win in Production (deployed websites), experiment in hackathons, but don't go crazy on your real website.

Some flat design pics from CodeDiv.com
This is the 2nd iteration.

The list flat design is worth quite a mention, because it is night and day compare to a flat ordered list, even if styled partially with Twitter Bootstrap. Imagine, the above image, compared with below, the bare bone list....

• 1 Currently costs $5 for an entire year. May increase later
• 2 Cloud hosted video library updated frequently
• 3 Extra media, infographs distributed via MailChimp & Youtube
• 4 Limited time offer of personalized contents & page
• 5 Gears towards new beginners of web development
• 6 Payment info securely handled by PayPal, no info retained
• 7 No sketchy automatic renewal
• 8 Purchase is final, refund will NOT be granted
• 9 Planned topics: HTML | CSS | JavaScript | jQuery | AJAX
• 10 Planned: Ruby | Ruby on Rails | PHP | CodeIgniter
• 11 Planned: jQuery Mobile | PhoneGap | API
• 12 Priority topic: plan for web development bootcamps
• 13 Priority topic: navigate the career world, in-depth analysis
• 14 One-time annual subscription for $5, expires after one year
• 15 A growing collection of video & media resources

Yikes don't even bother with the blob below

And at one point all jumbled up like : Currently costs $5 for an entire year. May increase later. Cloud hosted video library updated frequently. Extra media, infographs distributed via MailChimp & Youtub Limited time offer of personalized contents & page Gears towards new beginners of web development Payment info securely handled by PayPal, no info retaine  No sketchy automatic renewal Purchase is final, refund will NOT be granted Planned topics: HTML | CSS | JavaScript | jQuery | AJAX  Planned: Ruby | Ruby on Rails | PHP | CodeIgniter  Planned: jQuery Mobile | PhoneGap | API  Priority topic: plan for web development bootcamps  Priority topic: navigate the career world, in-depth analysis  One-time annual subscription for $5, expires after one year A growing collection of video & media resoureces

Founding of CodeDiv

Last week, I founded www.codediv.com the ultimate resource (video collection and multi-media analysis) I am putting together after a result of my learning to code journey!

Top topics that I cover include: bootcamps, popular technologies, choosing languages,  understanding different bootcamp shops, setting up basic technologies

Why? There's a noble purpose behind it. I make plenty of the videos free and resources free for all visitors. The price is super cheap for the video collection. This is aiming to introduce all to programming. My philosophy is that, I don't want to repeat or dare to compare myself to all the great tutorial sites out there. I won't do that. But I figured out how to use short cuts and be very smart at analyzing info. That's what I can teach that others cannot.

The website itself is an learning and teaching experience. I am using very cool technology to improve it progressively.

Thanks for checking it out. Tweet me @i_stanford I will personally answer your questions, and point you to the best resources for you.

Best rhetorical expressions found in the wild

Reciprocal help and support:
"You scratch my back, I scratch your. (think monkeys)"

Unleashed my official noob beginner coding website!

Check it out here and kickstart your code learning experience :-)

Code Div(a)

Levo League - an online community for aspiring young women

Levo League was founded on the East Coast a few years ago by two impressive young women, one of them Caroline Ghosn had Stanford connections so I was tweeting about Levo League since pretty much day one.

I watched it grow:  it always had a professional, minimalistic front end design, even an online virtual office at one point, then the photography got really good, professional, lightbox effects. And then the office hours kicked in, upvoting Levo as the ultimate place for young women to seek advice and see what successful women and men in business and technology have to offer.

It is so extraordinary to see that intelligent young women need to look no further to find perfectly welcoming and open communities designed specifically for them. If they seek, they shall find the path to success. That is a truly American spirit. You want it, work for it and get it.

Check out all these great resources for the future you:

• Levo League
• Levo League interview with Warren Buffet
• Others
• Lean In circles

Accidental coder accidental fluffy poet

Two thirty a.m.

Gauss five zero five zero

Written in Ruby

Call self until base

Ruby recursion practice

Loops and then breaks (It loops in then out)

All European startup event in Berlin! Pitch Competition with 30,000 cash

http://hy.co/

30,000 Euros for grabs

Deadline is May 12th

All European

Startup event in Berlin

Pitch competition

Cash prize

hy! is an event series aiming to connect the global startup community and immerse guests in the culturally rich and vibrant startup hub of Berlin. The event will feature awesome entertainment, interesting dialogues on entrepreneurship and innovation, and a pitch competition among a small number of exciting European companies.

Looking for startups all over Europe to apply to our pitch competition. We're giving away €30,000 in cash, a tour of Silicon Valley, and more. Plus finalists will receive a lot of media coverage for their startup and get a chance to mingle with top leaders and investors in tech. It's a great opportunity without strings attached. Deadline is on May 12th.

Innovation at PayPal - ebay Inc? Yes way!

At bay area GGD, that is girl geek dinner, #ebayggd, at the door, you get a glass, and a business card case, then this mysterious sign up sheet. I signed up. It was almost compulsive, didn't think twice about it. Then when the time arrived, I couldn't find a cup to drink, so I went to the tour... yeah, wtf

Then we were led from the 2161 town hall to the PayPal building ... then some innovation center/lab sign, then we were in...

A W Hotel like diving room, with all the modern furnitures, decors, huge flower bundles that you can imagine, except it is a very bright, white is the predominate color and theme.

Our host asks everyone to sit down and watch him present on a big iPhone like screen (those huge ones at a Apple Store window pane). He dresses like a hipster designer... i.e. he dresses better than everyone else that is a developer in the building.

He showed up pinterest like tabulation of sales list, great drag, and drop, swipe and even some "wand waving" motions on the gesture enabled screen for demo. He goes on explaining the persona of the average mother that would shop in the living room, or even on TV (in the near future of everywhere commerce).

He explains that user will get recommendations that are relevant, personalized, even realtime (an offer they just retrieved from TV interactive ad), and even a personalized profile that includes more than demographic info : you can see all the items that you have bought and even estimating their resale price.

Before long, we were hustled into another room where a well-dressed lady in designer style print clothes explain how PayPal's mobile app will work in a burger venue. Much like Square, you can open a tab, you can check in via PayPal (non-social, no sharing) or you can share socially, and get seated (on the restaurant facing version), get special promotions, and most importantly you can pay and just leave.

What if you are in a rush? You are really going to appreciate the future of this app.

There's more, you see a mock-up fully setup market, an outdoor clothing shop, even a theater. What a great scenario, interactive, high-tech demo location and setup. You almost feel like you are in a SPA or therapy session.

It reminded me of the once existed Stanford creativity room in Tressider student center. Oh wow. Way to go PayPal and the ebay Inc. reinvented. As a seller as well as a developer. I was hyped.