Historical Note: This is the inaugural post of Desinerd.com, published on July 4, 2007—Independence Day seemed fitting for launching an independent tech blog! Reading it now, 18 years later, is a fascinating time capsule of the Web 2.0 era. The technologies have evolved dramatically, but the core mission remains surprisingly constant.
Hello, tech enthusiasts and innovators!
Welcome to Desinerd.com, your new go-to destination for all things tech and beyond. I’m Dipankar Sarkar, an open source hacker and indie entrepreneur, and I’m thrilled to launch this digital space where we’ll explore the cutting edge of technology together.
The Tech Landscape of 2007
Before diving into what this blog will cover, let me paint a picture of the moment we’re in:
The Web 2.0 Era is in Full Swing:
- Facebook just opened to everyone (September 2006)
- Twitter launched 16 months ago and is still finding its voice
- The iPhone just launched last month (June 29, 2007)
- Ruby on Rails is the hottest web framework
- AJAX is revolutionizing web applications
- Social networks are exploding: MySpace, Facebook, Friendster compete fiercely
The Open Source Movement is Maturing:
- Linux is gaining serious enterprise adoption
- Mozilla Firefox is challenging IE’s dominance
- WordPress powers millions of blogs
- LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python) is standard
- Git was created just two years ago (2005)
The Mobile Revolution is Beginning:
- Feature phones dominate
- BlackBerry rules enterprise email
- iPhone promises to change everything
- “Mobile web” means WAP sites
- Apps don’t exist yet (App Store launches in 2008)
The startup scene is vibrant:
- “Don’t be evil” Google is everyone’s favorite company
- Web 2.0 startups proliferate (many will die in the coming years)
- Venture capital flows freely (pre-2008 crash)
- “Long tail” and “wisdom of crowds” are hot concepts
This is the world Desinerd.com launches into.
What You Can Expect from Desinerd.com
1. Web 2.0 and Beyond
We’ll dive deep into the latest web technologies, discussing their impact and potential.
What “Web 2.0” Means in 2007:
- User-generated content (blogs, wikis, forums)
- AJAX for dynamic, desktop-like web experiences
- APIs and mashups (mixing data from multiple sources)
- Social features baked into everything
- Tags instead of hierarchies
- Perpetual beta (ship early, iterate constantly)
Technologies I’m Excited About:
- Django and Rails: Convention over configuration is genius
- jQuery: Making JavaScript actually pleasant to write
- REST APIs: Clean, simple, scalable
- Microformats: Semantic web without the complexity
- OpenID: Decentralized identity could change everything
- RSS: Syndication is how I consume all content
I’ll be exploring these technologies hands-on and sharing what I learn.
2. Open Source Insights
As an avid open source contributor, I’ll share projects, tips, and the philosophy behind the open source movement.
Why Open Source Matters:
The cathedral vs. bazaar debate has been won. Open source isn’t just ideologically superior—it produces better software. Here’s why I’m all-in:
Better Code Through Transparency:
- Open code gets more eyes, more review, more improvement
- Security through openness, not obscurity
- Standing on the shoulders of giants instead of reinventing wheels
Community Over Corporation:
- No vendor lock-in
- Community-driven features vs. profit-driven features
- Contributors from around the world
Learning Opportunities:
- Read the source of great projects
- Contribute and get feedback from experts
- Build portfolio and reputation
My Open Source Journey: I’ve been contributing to various projects and plan to launch my own soon. I’ll document the process here—the good, the bad, and the merge conflicts.
3. Indie Entrepreneurship
Follow my journey and learn from my experiences as we navigate the exciting world of tech startups.
The Indie Hacker Philosophy:
You don’t need venture capital to build something meaningful. You don’t need a team of 50. You need:
- A real problem to solve
- Technical skills to build a solution
- Hustle to find users
- Persistence to iterate until it works
What I’m Building:
I’m working on several ideas in the social/web 2.0 space. Some will succeed. Most will fail. I’ll share it all:
- Early ideas and prototypes
- User acquisition strategies
- Technical architecture decisions
- Metrics and growth (or lack thereof)
- Pivots and failures
The Reality of Solo Development:
Building alone is hard. You’re:
- Developer AND designer AND marketer AND support
- Working nights and weekends around day job
- Motivated purely by vision (no paycheck yet)
- Competing with funded teams
But it’s also incredibly freeing. You move fast, make decisions instantly, and own everything you create.
4. Hardware Reviews
Get hands-on perspectives on the latest gadgets and tech hardware.
The Gadget Landscape:
We’re in a golden age of gadgets. New devices launch constantly, each promising to revolutionize how we work and play.
What I’ll Review:
- Laptops and desktops (particularly Linux-friendly hardware)
- Mobile phones (smartphones are just emerging)
- Cameras and media players
- Networking equipment
- Developer tools and peripherals
My Review Philosophy:
- Hands-on usage, not spec sheets
- Focus on real-world scenarios
- Linux compatibility (crucial for my workflow)
- Value for money
- Long-term reliability, not just first impressions
Currently Testing: I’m planning to get the new iPhone and will share an honest review from a developer’s perspective.
5. Collaboration Opportunities
I’m always looking to connect with like-minded individuals. Let’s build something amazing together!
What I’m Looking For:
Co-founders: If you’re technical and share the indie hacker ethos, let’s talk. I have ideas. You have ideas. Together we might have a business.
Open source contributors: Working on anything interesting? Need help? Want to collaborate on a new project?
Fellow bloggers: Let’s share audiences. Cross-link. Guest post. Build this Web 2.0 community together.
Users and beta testers: I ship fast and iterate. Need people willing to try rough prototypes and provide honest feedback.
My Collaboration Style:
- Async-first (email, IM, forums)
- Open communication
- Rapid iteration
- Shared ownership
- Open source by default
6. Tech Trends Analysis
Stay ahead of the curve with in-depth analysis of emerging technologies and their potential impact.
Trends I’m Watching in 2007:
The Mobile Revolution: The iPhone just launched. It’s gorgeous but expensive ($499-$599!) and limited (no 3G, no apps yet). But I think it represents the future. Mobile internet will be huge.
Social Networks: Facebook is growing explosively among college students. Will it expand beyond that demographic? Twitter is interesting but feels like a toy. Could microblogging actually matter?
Cloud Computing: Amazon just launched EC2 and S3. Renting computing power instead of buying servers could change everything for startups. No more colo costs!
Video Online: YouTube was acquired by Google last year for $1.65B. Online video is exploding. Bandwidth is getting cheaper. Quality is improving. Traditional TV should be worried.
Semantic Web: Will microformats and RDFa finally make machine-readable web content a reality? Or is it solving a problem nobody has?
What This Blog Won’t Be
Let me set expectations clearly:
Not a News Aggregator: Plenty of sites cover daily tech news. I’ll focus on analysis, tutorials, and personal experiences.
Not Vendor-Neutral: I have strong opinions. I love open source. I prefer Linux. I think proprietary formats hurt the web. You’ll know where I stand.
Not Always Timely: I’m one person with a day job. Posts will come when I have something meaningful to say, not on a rigid schedule.
Not Monetization-Focused: This blog exists to share knowledge and build community, not to generate ad revenue. If it makes money someday, great. But that’s not the goal.
The Desinerd Philosophy
Desinerd is a portmanteau of “Desi” (South Asian) and “nerd.” It reflects my identity: an Indian technologist navigating the global tech landscape.
Core Values:
- Open over closed: Open source, open standards, open communication
- Teaching through learning: I learn by explaining
- Building over talking: Ship code, not PowerPoints
- Community over competition: Rising tide lifts all boats
- Authenticity over polish: Real experiences, honest failures
Who Is This Blog For?
You’ll love Desinerd.com if you:
- Care about open source and open standards
- Build things (code, hardware, businesses)
- Value deep dives over superficial coverage
- Appreciate honest analysis over hype
- Want to connect with fellow builders
You might not enjoy it if you:
- Prefer quick news summaries
- Love proprietary ecosystems
- Hate strong opinions
- Want daily content (I write when I have something to say)
The Technical Setup
For fellow bloggers curious about the stack:
Platform: WordPress 2.2 (just released in May!) Hosting: Shared hosting (keeping costs low) Theme: Custom-designed (I value unique aesthetics) Comments: Native WordPress (fostering community discussion) Analytics: Google Analytics (understanding audience) Monetization: None currently (might add tasteful ads later)
I’ll likely share detailed posts about WordPress optimization, plugin development, and theme customization as I learn.
Content Roadmap
Coming Soon:
- In-depth iPhone review from a developer’s perspective
- Building a Facebook app: tutorial series
- My favorite open source tools for web development
- Django vs. Rails: honest comparison
- How to get started with Linux (for the curious)
- Web 2.0 design patterns and anti-patterns
Join the Journey
Desinerd.com is more than just a blog; it’s a community for those passionate about technology and innovation. Whether you’re a seasoned developer, a curious beginner, or somewhere in between, there’s something here for you.
How to Follow
RSS Feed: Subscribe to get every post delivered to your feed reader (RSS is how everyone consumes blogs in 2007—if you’re not using a feed reader, start!)
Email: Sign up for occasional email digests
Social Bookmarking: I’ll share posts on del.icio.us, Digg, and StumbleUpon
Comments: Every post allows comments. Join the discussion!
Your Role
This blog succeeds only if you participate:
- Comment: Share your perspective, challenge my assumptions
- Share: Digg posts you like, bookmark on del.icio.us
- Link: Blog about topics I raise, link back, let’s build conversation
- Suggest: What do you want me to write about?
A Promise to You
I commit to:
- ✅ Write from experience, not speculation
- ✅ Share failures alongside successes
- ✅ Respond to comments and emails
- ✅ Open-source code when possible
- ✅ Admit mistakes and post corrections
- ✅ Maintain this space for the long haul
Closing Thoughts
It’s July 4, 2007. The tech world is exploding with possibilities. Web 2.0 promises to democratize content creation and consumption. Open source is proving that community-driven development works. Startups can launch with minimal capital. The barriers have never been lower.
This is an exciting time to be a technologist.
Desinerd.com is my contribution to this moment. A place to document the journey, share what I learn, and connect with fellow builders.
I don’t know exactly where this goes. Maybe it becomes a valuable resource for hundreds. Maybe it’s just a personal journal with a handful of readers. Either way, I’m committing to showing up consistently and sharing honestly.
Let’s shape the future of tech together, one post at a time.
Welcome to Desinerd.com – where innovation meets insight!
What about you? What brought you to this blog? What tech topics are you most excited about in 2007? Drop a comment and let’s start the conversation!
Subscribe: Grab the RSS feed and never miss a post. This is just the beginning.
2025 Update: Looking back 18 years later, it’s fascinating to see what predictions held true. The mobile revolution happened (though more dramatically than imagined). Social networks exploded (then imploded, then consolidated). Cloud computing became default. Many Web 2.0 startups died (including some I built). But the core mission—building, sharing, learning in public—remains unchanged. Thanks for being part of this journey, whether you joined in 2007 or today.