acpigeon

Subtle point, but your assumption (nearly everywhere else in this discussion as well) relies on paying for content before you've consumed it. I haven't heard much discussion on what happens if you remove that assumption.

If you could attach a frictionless transaction to a "Like" or "Kudos", I would be happy to pay $1 a pop or something reasonable for a well researched blog post after I've read it. Maybe not feasible for a wider public, but certainly might have niche acceptance.

It bothers me that the only paid model for content is to pay for the source. I enjoy some pieces the New York Times publishes, but I don't want to pay for the whole pipeline. I would however, be happy to pay something for individual pieces of quality content.

Additionally, much of the content I enjoy reading is produced by people not in it for the money, so there is no way to pay for it even if it did have monetary value to me.

The troubling fact from an investors perspective is that for a bit.ly, the domain is nearly essential. Investing in a company where such a valuable asset is vulnerable to the whims of a dictator or third-world bureaucrat is unwise, to say the least.

Say I take the Rails class. What's the learning curve from there to Sinatra? Better / worse than the other way?

Recent engineering "survivor" would probably be a more accurate description ;-) As I mentioned, I'm much more of a business-minded guy. Don't ask...

Sinatra is also based on Ruby yes? How does it differ specifically from Rails?

Rapid prototyping is exactly what I'm looking for. From what I'm hearing here it sounds like Rails is a great platform for that. Also looking at the MBA at some point ;-)

That's a helpful metaphor. What I'm looking for is a framework that can be used for rapid prototyping, and it sounds like rails fits the bill.

Indeed that's the plan. I guess everything I've heard about Ruby/Rails was about the combo so I thought they went together as a matter of course. Amiright?

Absolutely. It's all online through a community college, description below.

http://www.ed2go.com/monroe/online_course/rby/detail/Introdu...

For the record, the class is through a community college, course description here. I haven't really looked around at other possibilities, so any advice here is also appreciated. Thanks so much everyone for the help!

http://www.ed2go.com/monroe/online_course/rby/detail/Introdu...

Interesting. Wasn't aware of this particular functionality, definitely sounds engaging. Thanks!

Thanks for the resource! And indeed, it is exactly that "boot camp" motivation I would be looking for in deciding to take a class.

Excellent observation. It's exactly this sort of ready applicability that appeals to me about web tech. Thanks!

Agreed. Having been played for both "sides" at one point or another, I'm well aware of the tension.

It's a fact that there is credibility in having some knowledge of both the technical and business side of any operation, and it's definitely a part of my consideration in doing this.

That's a good point. I imagine that I would be able to pick up what I need to know as I go along, that's what would make taking the course interesting (sink or swim!).

Here's the course description I was looking at. I haven't really looked anywhere else but I'm sure there are more out there.

http://www.ed2go.com/monroe/online_course/rby/detail/Introdu...

Interesting... I had never thought of doing this as a way to develop a marketable skill. And as you say, even if I'm just able to put some basic code together, that would be a very useful ability to have in a startup environment where everyone has to wear multiple hats.

Thanks for the perspective!