Rails Rumble '08: Redux
It's been a few weeks since Rob, Nic, Doug, and I competed in this year's RailsRumble - after the dust settled from the 48-hour competition we had created an app (Qflip) that went on to take 2nd place. From what I can remember, it was both fun and stressful - check out the Flickr photos for proof.
Doug shared his take from the event on the Viget Inspire blog and described a technique that I think shows a lot of promise for design and development teams working together:
Do you know what all the pages do? How they're structured, and what they communicate? Great, now build them. Using just markup and some gray backgrounds, you can make a working version of your site in no time flat.
I documented my experience over at Extend and reinforced the importance of "shipping":
...Our codes were far from perfect, but we realized that the real value was in getting a product out there that could be used in the way it was intended by a real audience. As a result we now have real feedback and focused ideas on how to make the application even better.
Since the event, we've increasingly seen continued usage and coverage of the application:
QFlip - Get strangers to influence your Netflix queue. Sounds scary, but you might end up with some interesting picks! Developed by the wonderfully named "Scatapult" team.
Qflip is an interesting service that uses Netflix’s open API to help subscribers make movie choices. What I like about this service:
- It’s quick and easy
- It provides value to my Netflix membership
- It’s fun in that it has an element of surprise and randomness
- It’s based on people, not algorithms
If you are a Netflix user with friends' of the same movie-renting persuasion, and you have an evil sense of humor, this is your app.
QFlip is a Netflix hack that enables other people to mess with your queue. I'm not brave enough to try it, but if you do let us know what you think in the comments.
We plan to continue working on the app and reacting to feedback that we get from our users. As part of that work, we will be extracting the Netflix-specific functionality into a publicly-available Gem. Stay tuned.