From humble BlogSpot beginnings to millions of pageviews a month, TechRaptor has grown beyond CEO and Founder Rutledge Daugette’s expectations.

We sit down with Rutledge in this episode of the Craft of Code podcast to hear his story, including all the challenges he’s come up against while scaling his website. After experiencing hosting issues thanks to his fast traffic growth, Rutledge turned to Linode for its flexibility, cost, and support.

In this episode, he explains what it’s been like working with Linode and why having a slow and steady approach to scaling has been key to his success.

In this episode, we discussed:

• How TechRaptor first began
• Rutledge’s early goals for the website
• The problems in the gaming website industry
• How TechRaptor navigated hosting and traffic challenges
• How Rutledge built a virtual private server as a solution
• Why Rutledge picked Linode to partner with
• Why using Linode has enabled TechRaptor to grow
• Advice for other content creators
• Why Rutledge prefers to pick partners over vendors

You can find out more by visiting https://www.linode.com/craft-of-code/

Important Links & Mentions

TechRaptor: https://techraptor.net/

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Large organizations use multiple cloud providers to meet increasingly growing needs for things like better economics and redundancy and find a better fit for their application and data workloads. But smaller organizations don’t have the budget or resources to manage custom-built platforms that make multicloud possible. So what can they do?

That’s where Zeet comes in. Zeet launched to help developers create reusable, self-serve cloud infrastructure. CEO and Co-Founder Johnny Dallas joined the Craft of Code podcast to tell us all about it.

Johnny explores the idea of the multicloud, how his users build multicloud solutions, why platform engineering is so important, and how Zeet worked closely with LiveKit. We also hear his top advice for anyone working in the DevOps or platform engineering space on how to combat multicloud challenges.

In this episode, we discussed:

• How Zeet first got started
• Why Zeet takes an unorthodox approach to multicloud
• What platform engineering is and how it differs from DevOps
• Different ways Zeet clients are using multicloud
• How Zeet worked with LiveKit to deliver the performance they needed
• Johnny’s advice for clients and those facing multicloud challenges

You can find out more by visiting https://www.linode.com/craft-of-code/

Important Links & Mentions

Zeet: https://zeet.co/

Follow Zeet on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeet_co

Zeet on Discord: https://discord.com/invite/F6hWtCV

Connect with Johnny on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theonlyjohnny/

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Think about the last time you went online to ship a package. You begin to enter your address at checkout and BAM…the address bar auto-populates.

Things have changed since the early days of e-commerce and your favorite companies are using sophisticated data intelligence technology to pinpoint your exact address and provide their best possible service. Many are doing this with a platform called Smarty.

Founded in 2011 as Smarty Streets, they are used by huge corporations like Microsoft, Netflix and even NASA to process “colossal amounts of location data at breakneck speed”, as explained on their website.

In season 3, episode 7, we are joined by Smarty’s founder, CEO and CTO, Jonathan Oliver.

Jonathan discusses how he began coding at age 8, his route into the industry and how the industry has evolved since the 1990s.

Plus, he takes us back to the early days of Smarty and mapping technology and touches on Smarty’s partnership with Linode.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Jonathan was introduced to coding at age 8
• How the industry has changed since the 1990s
• Challenges Jonathan faces in his job
• How he started Smarty Streets
• Why the company rebranded to Smarty
• Smarty’s involvement with Linode
• Smarty’s tech choices

You can find out more by visiting https://www.linode.com/craft-of-code/

Important Links & Mentions

• Smarty: https://www.smarty.com/
• Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-oliver-2ab0533/?trk=pub-pbmap
• Follow Jonathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonathan_oliver?lang=en
• Linode – Jonathan Oliver Customer Story: https://www.linode.com/content/jonathan-oliver-customer-story/

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Enterprises face a huge data management challenge today. But, as AI continues to create an overwhelming amount of data for companies to manage and analyze, it begs the question…

…who is in charge of all this data and how do they keep it safe?

Privacy is at the top of everyone’s watchlist right now, and this Craft of Code guest understands the challenges we face all too well.

Daphne Muller, Manager of Alliances, Ecosystem & Support at Nextcloud, joins the show to discuss what Nextcloud are doing to give organizations more private collaboration tools based on open source technology.

Plus, she explains her thoughts on the unnecessary collection of data, data decentralization, and why Linode and Nextcloud are a match made in heaven.

In this episode, we discussed:

• Why Daphne wrote her thesis on unnecessary data collection
• How decentralization links to innovation, privacy, and price
• Why organizations want to take back control of their data
• The real reason alternatives are so hot right now
• Why big tech is “shaking” – the four pillars
• Daphne’s thoughts on what companies should be wary of
• What makes Nextcloud so different

You can find out more by visiting https://www.linode.com/craft-of-code/

Important Links & Mentions

• Nextcloud: https://nextcloud.com/
• Connect with Daphne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daphne-muller/

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When developer Savvas Agisilaou, aka Savvy, wanted an easier way to moderate images in Discord chats, he set about to develop DeGore.

DeGore is an AI-powered image moderation bot that helps users take a break from manual moderation of images, GIFs, image links, and thumbnails sent in Discord servers.

Being an ambitious developer, Savvas wanted to scale his project but ran into issues with other hosting providers. That’s when he turned to Linode. With the power of Linode, Savvas was able to scale DeGore’s capabilities and keep up with demand. In this episode of the Craft of Code podcast, he explains how Linode’s features support DeGore, why he first developed it, and his big plans for the future.

In this episode, we discussed:

• Why Savvas developed DeGore
• The top challenges he faced in the early days
• How DeGore is different from other moderation bots
• Why Savvas chose the cloud to develop and host DeGore
• Savvas’ top Linode features and how they support DeGore’s needs
• What Savvas looks for in a hosting provider’s support
• Savvas’ top advice for other developers and entrepreneurs

You can find out more by visiting https://www.linode.com/craft-of-code/

Important Links & Mentions

• DeGore: https://discord.bots.gg/bots/862039253574746125
• Savvas’ website: https://savvydev.me/

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Are you proactive about cybersecurity in your organization? 

According to this Craft of Code guest, many organizations are actively putting safeguards and processes in place to protect themselves these days. But there’s still a way to go for others.  

David Safaii, CEO of Trilio, joins the podcast to talk about the importance of proactive and holistic cybersecurity and data protection practices. He explains a bit about Trilio’s process to help companies identify threats, protect themselves, and recover lost data.  

David also shares insights into the best data protection practices and why cybersecurity needs to be holistic and more of a team effort. 

In this episode, we discussed: 

• How David thinks about data protection 
• Why companies still fall victim to ransomware 
• Why Boston is a hub of innovation 
• How Trilio transitioned from OpenStack to Kubernetes 
• How malware and ransomware target cloud native environments 
• Best practices for organizations to protect themselves  
• Why cybersecurity is a team sport now   

You can find out more by visiting https://www.linode.com/craft-of-code/  

Important Links & Mentions  

• Trilio: https://trilio.io/  
• Connect with David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/safaii/  

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What is a game jam? Think of it like a hackathon, but instead of creating apps, people create online games in a pressure cooker environment. It's high-pressure, but also lots of fun, with healthy competition and collaboration for novice and experienced game developers alike.  

Ludum Dare (#LDJAM) provides a platform for this game jam community to come together and has been hosting game jams on Linode since 2015. Each jam attracts around 7,000-9,000 participants with no signs of slowing down.  

Scaling a website like Ludum Dare isn’t a simple task. In fact, the game jam site was a niche project that Co-Founder Mike Kasprzak found a little tough to get off the ground. He faced cost issues and performance problems – that’s until he decided to go with Linode. 

Mike joins this episode in season three of the Craft of Code podcast to share his story so far. He takes us back in time to 2015, when he first started working with Linode, coming from shared hosting. He explains what Linode helped with the most and how he’s scaled Ludum Dare to become a thriving community with solid support and reliable performance.  

In this episode, we discussed: 

• How Ludum Dare has grown over the years 
• How Ludum Dare maintains a relationship with its community  
• The challenges of starting on a shared host 
• How moving to Linode helped Ludum Dare cut costs and boost performance  
• Top Linode features  
• Overcoming obstacles while scaling 
• What’s next for Ludum Dare? 

You can find out more by visiting https://www.linode.com/craft-of-code/  

Important Links & Mentions  

• Ludum Dare: https://ludumdare.com/ 
• Follow Ludum Dare on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ludumdare  
• Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekasprzak/  
• Finding Gaming Magic and Running with It: https://www.linode.com/content/mike-kasprzak/  

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Breaking into the tech industry can be hard, especially if you’re from an underrepresented community.

This is something that Nathan Esquenazi, Co-Founder & CTO at CodePath, experienced first-hand once he left college, which led him to start CodePath.

CodePath is a non-profit that brings together employers, students, colleges, and businesses to eliminate the inequities in tech education. The aim is to increase diversity and the representation of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and low-income Computer Science students in top tech careers.

Nathan joins the Craft of Code podcast to discuss his mission for the company, what experiences led him to start CodePath, and what he hopes to achieve in the future. He also explains why he’s a proud Linode user – and has been for the last 16 years.

In this episode, we discussed:

• Why Nathan and his Co-Founder launched CodePath
• How Nathan’s college and early career days made him realize there were gaps in tech education
• What working in startups taught him about inequities in the workplace
• Nathan explains how CodePath helps students follow career path “archetypes”
• Why Nathan first started using Linode
• CodePath’s economic empowerment mission

You can find out more by visiting https://www.linode.com/craft-of-code/

Important Links & Mentions

• Connect with Nathan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nesquena/
• CodePath.org: https://www.codepath.org/

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