Up and Running

There were a few hiccups this afternoon, but we now have CommunityWalk up and running on its new servers. This new setup should handle CommunityWalk's growth for some time to come.

In addition to new servers we've been working hard over the past few weeks to make the site more usable and professional looking. There are quite a few changes that you'll notice right away (the bubble's design has changed, there is a new wizard when you create maps, all settings pages got a face lift, etc). If anyone has any feedback, positive or negative, please let me know so that I can figure out what needs more work and what is good.

There's more to come. I am trying to ramp up the effort on CommunityWalk to try build on the fantastic response I've heard from so many people using CommunityWalk. I have many plans to come, so stay tuned!

Move In Progress

We are in the process of moving the servers as we speak. There are a number of issues that we are working through right now. Hopefully everything will be back up and snappy soon. Sorry about the inconvenience this might be causing anyone.

Server Upgrade

I will be moving CommunityWalk over to its new servers today, so there may be a few outages over the course of the day. I will try to minimize the downtime as much as possible.

I will also be releasing some changes to the site. Mostly focused around a redesign of the bubble that pops up above each marker on the map. I've also built out a wizard to help people get started with their maps. Personally I usually hate wizards, but in this case it really seems to help people start using the application more quickly. I've tried to make it quick and painless so you can get on your way, but if it is too annoying for anyone please let me know so that I can try to make it better.

I'll write more about the changes later. They are pretty obvious, though, so you should notice them as soon as we get the application moved on to the new servers.

Mestdagh's Travels

I have to say I am a little jealous of the Mestdaghs. Judging from their map, Mestdagh's travels in 2006, they are quite adventurous. I only hope that I can be as adventurous when I have a family. It looks like a lot of fun!

CommunityWalk Map - Mestdagh's travels in 2006

CommunityWalk Is Hiring

CommunityWalk is ramping up and is looking for a great developer to join the team. The developer should be in the San Francisco/Bay Area, or able to commute easily to downtown San Francisco. Here is the job description I've been posting on various job boards around the Internet.


Lead Developer

Based on Market St in San Francisco (near all forms of public transportation), CommunityWalk is building a revolutionary suite of mapping services that bring simple and personalizable map functionality to a broad range of users and applications.

We are an agile software company, utilizing advanced development and testing processes, allowing us to iterate quickly and produce high quality products.

We are looking for a great programmer who thrives in a dynamic and fast-paced environment. The candidate must be self-motivated, a fast learner and an excellent communicator.

We prize passion, intelligence, humility, and a great sense of humor. These are necessary qualities for success when pair programming in this very social startup environment.

Requirements:
Five+ years experience building dynamic, scalable web applications that provide a great user experience. Ideal candidates will have in-depth familiarity with:
- Javascript
- Ruby on Rails
- CSS, DHTML
- MySql

Email jobs@communitywalk.com with a brief cover letter and a resume if you are interested in this position.

Someone's World

Every now and then I come across a map that provides a real unique view into a place I will likely never get a chance to visit. I really love these maps, that provide a glimpse into someone's world and I find it tremendously interesting.

Today I came across one called, "I See Muncie", that has some great photos of everything under the sun in Muncie, Indiana. Check it out.

CommunityWalk Map - I See Muncie

Server Outage

This morning CommunityWalk experienced a server outage from 4 AM PST until 8 AM PST. Over the past few months CommunityWalk has seen a significant increase in traffic such that the current infrastructure is quickly becoming incapable of handling it. Today's outage was the result of this problem. Fortunately I recognized this problem a month ago and began setting up a new infrastructure to handle the increased load. Unfortunately, there have been some problems getting the proper equipment and setting it up, such that CommunityWalk has still not been switched over.

I apologize to anyone who experienced the outage. I realize that it is tremendously annoying. I promise that getting CommunityWalk up and running on the more robust infrastructure (which should handle CommunityWalk's growth for a long time), is the absolute highest priority right now. I fully expect to have it up and running by early next week.

Again sorry about the inconvenience.

- Jared