Michael Richardson

How are Cincinnati (and beyond) tech companies actually using AI? We're running a short survey to find out. We'll publish the results and use them to shape local events + Momentum Dev Con this October. ~5 minutes: forms.gle/36Wc62gaSBzLrL…

@housecor @elonmusk 100% this

> I’m reading an interesting X post > Get interrupted > Return to X and it automatically refreshes, so the post I was reading disappears This needs fixed @elonmusk

I talk money with my developer friends. Here’s why. Years ago I was managing a dev team full-time and contracting on the side. My friend named Lee walked into my office and asked “What’s your hourly contracting rate?” His question caught me off-guard. I was raised to not talk about money. My dad said “it’s taboo”. But since I knew Lee well, I reluctantly told him: “I charge $50/hour”. He cringed and immediately said “you’re not charging enough. I charge $150/hour.” That blew my mind. We were similar ages and had similar levels of experience, yet he was charging 3x my rate! This conversation changed my life. In my next sales call, I quoted $150/hour and held my breath. The response? “Sure, that works”. Wow. It was that easy all along?! I was floored. Over the years I quoted higher rates many times when my plate was full. Nearly every client simply said “Sure, that works”. These days I have many friends who own their own business. We talk money so we know our pricing is right. Remember: Bosses are often less price sensitive than individuals because they’re spending someone else’s money. And choosing the more expensive contractor is often considered “safer” because the higher price infers they’re better. Price is a story. My old price said “I’m economical”. Lee helped me tell a new story. “I’m expensive, and I’m worth it.”

Two hard truths in 2025: 1. AI has a lot of fundamental problems. 🚩Uses "stolen" training data 🚩Enables new nefarious purposes 🚩May fill the internet with noise 🚩Creates new security holes 🚩Its capabilities are often exaggerated 🚩Requires lots of energy 🚩Concerning environmental implications 🚩Disrupts the job market 🚩Reduces creative motivation 🚩Encourages generating and shipping slop 🚩Concentrates power with a few companies 🚩Creating a financial bubble 🚩May lead to world annihilation 2. AI is useful. If I'm unwilling to use it, I'll soon be unemployable.

@housecor en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuhari?w…

Junior: Learns the rules Mid: Follows the rules Senior: Knows when to break the rules

🚀 We’re officially ONE MONTH AWAY from the Momentum Developer Conference 2025! ✅ Mark your calendar ✅ Call your friends ✅ Grab your ticket today: @9Ok4/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">whova.com/portal/registr…

@housecor I suspect that they will be so valuable that people will be willing to pay it

I’m eager to see how LLM usage changes when the venture capital money dries up. People think it’s expensive today, but it’s actually artificially cheap. It’s heavily subsidized today. What tasks will still be practical/affordable when LLMs have to turn a profit?

Tonight’s the night – Early Bird ends at midnight. Secure your spot for 35 epic sessions before prices go up. @9Ok4/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">whova.com/portal/registr…

Early Bird pricing for Momentum 2025 ends tomorrow at midnight. 🎟️ 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆: $199 ⏳ 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: $229 Only 𝟲𝟬𝟬 seats and they’re 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁. Don’t miss your chance to secure your spot at Cincy's biggest Dev event. 🎫 @9Ok4/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">whova.com/portal/registr…

@patio11 I've always wondered the going rate for podcast ads. Thanks for being frank about it.

Also: we've got a few open ad slots in Q3. Our most successful advertisers historically are fintech or B2B SaaS companies. Format is yours truly doing an ad read; I'll optionally write the copy. Starts at low five figures. Send me an email if you'd like to talk to sales.

The newest Complex Systems podcast episode is with Adam Jarvis, discussing local government, delivering projects which touch atoms, budgeting, organizational scar tissue that limits effectiveness, and much more. Also: we're producing some video episodes, including this one.

@brucehubbard is confirmed for the Momentum Developer Conference this October!

@housecor is joining our lineup! Cory is a Pluralsight author, 11-time Microsoft MVP, and international speaker. He is founder of reactjsconsulting, where he helps companies transition to React. He has trained over 10,000 software devs at conferences and businesses worldwide.

Amy Norris is joining us for our Professional Skills talks at Momentume Dev Con this year! Don't forget to grab your tickets at the lowest price this year: @9Ok4/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">whova.com/portal/registr…

@housecor This was the promise of meteor.js about 10 years ago. Any idea why that failed to find success?

I just read "Sync Engines are the Future" and this insight is powerful: Tech shifts happen when one part of the stack collapses with another. 6 examples: 1. Web apps collapsed cross-platform development. Instead of developing two or three versions of your app, you now develop one, available everywhere. 2. Node.js collapsed client and server development. You can use one language instead of two. 3. Docker collapsed the distinction between dev and prod. 4. React's JSX collapsed HTML and JS. 5. Tailwind collapsed JS and CSS. 6. Local-First collapses the DB and the server. You write to a local DB, and it handles the sync.

@GergelyOrosz Please correct me if I'm wrong but I understand that the vast majority of that cut goes to the credit card issuers and others in the processing pipeline.

And Stripe probably generates ~$15M/year from Cursor, and growing very quickly! ($500M ARR, Stripe's take is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction) Shows why it made so much sense for Stripe to become the "no-brainer choice for startups when starting out" They grow with the business....

The tech stack at Cursor Plus: - App: TypeScript+Electron - Backend: TS, Rust, Node - Infra: AWS, Azure, GCP Interesting to learn: they love Turbopuffer, Warpstream, Datadog, like PagerDuty, Vercel, Linear From today's @Pragmatic_Eng at newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/cursor

Momentum DevCon returns on 10/16/25. 600+ devs & tech leaders, under one roof. Put your brand in the room before they’re gone—email sponsors@momentumdevcon.com for the deck.

24 hours remaining! Last chance to share your big idea before we branch and merge to the next phase! #MomentumDevCon Submit here: buff.ly/4LPtMeP

72 hours to submit your proposal! Don't let imposter syndrome win—your knowledge is valuable and we want to hear from you! #MomentumDevCon

@housecor You earned that shirt!

Just boarded flight to Brussels! Sitting in first class has me feeling young and out of place. These people seem like they have second homes in Aspen. I’m sporting a free conference T-shirt

Flying first class overseas for the first time today. Going to post my experience in this thread. The day begins with the Delta Sky Lounge in KC.

@housecor I'm just glad that it got there before you left. 😆

@AnAccidentalDev Thanks Michael! And thanks again for your thoughtful gift!