Is Swag the Secret to Platform Adoption?

Turns out, T-shirts might matter more than YAML. In this post, I dig into how internal platforms benefit from strong branding - not just logos and names, but a clear identity and ethos that developers can rally behind. When your platform has a name people actually want to say out loud, and maybe a sticker they slap on their laptop, adoption gets a little easier.

In part two of our platform marketing series, Rit and I look at how teams like JPMorgan Chase and the U.S. Air Force use branding - complete with slogans, mascots, and yes, swag - to build loyalty and turn internal platforms into movements. A good brand makes your platform memorable; an ethos makes it meaningful. Together, they give developers a reason to care - and a way to explain why they care to others.

So before you obsess over provisioning pipelines, consider whether your platform has a vibe. Is it something people identify with? Would they wear the shirt? If not, it might be time to revisit the brand.

Check out more in the article. Eventually, we’ll get a white paper (PDF) out on this that’ll have a few more tactics, tips, and mini-case studies that are not in the articles.

Cords, Cyborgs & Cold Cases: Grandpa Dancy’s Operating System for Life

In this week’s Software Defined Interviews, we talk with Chris Dancy, a friend of mine from long ago. He let me wear his Google Glass. It was amazing:

He is always interesting and recently has been applying tech to solve simple problems at the city level. There’s also a lot of “most connected man in the world” talk.

Give it a listen, or watch the video if you’re into that kind of thing.

Relative to your interests

• I love this, uh, vibe for an app release video.

• The more senior engineers get, the more results matter - “as you become more senior, you’re increasingly graded on results. Interns are graded on effort.”

• How to Measure the ROI of AI Coding Assistants - Actual suggestions for doing it, not just pondering. // Also, good follow-up to the link last episode saying that asking for metrics is good way to pop the AI bubble.

• Kubernetes Complexity Realigns Platform Engineering Strategy - Turns out computer are always difficult.

• French Data Under U.S. Firms Is Not Protected From U.S. Government Access -

• Where Technology Executives Will Be Investing In 2026 - Looks like lots of datacenter buildout.

• Code was the least interesting part of my multi-agent app, and here’s what that means to me - Less time coding means more time designing and product managing.

• Architecting the MVP in the Age of AI

• How Pair Programming Enhanced Development Speed, Focus, and Flow

• Java licensing snafus cost millions, drive developers to open source - ”One-quarter of respondents said their organization spent between $50,000 and $100,000 resolving software non-compliance issues, while licensing issues cost 17% of surveyed organizations up to $1 million.”

• Beyond London Summit 2025: Decoding Google Cloud’s Scale Narrative - Summary of stated Google cloud strategy, from Bola.

• AI industry’s size obsession is killing ROI, engineer argues - Doing enterprises AI isn’t free in terms of time, money, opportunity cost, and risk. You need target things that have a pay off, an ROI. I hope that this will mean doing more, not cutting costs. That is growth, not firing people. Based on:

• Why I’m Betting Against AI Agents in 2025 (Despite Building Them) - ‘Meanwhile, the winners will be teams building constrained, domain-specific tools that use AI for the hard parts while maintaining human control or strict boundaries over critical decisions. Think less “autonomous everything” and more “extremely capable assistants with clear boundaries.”’

• How I use LLMs to learn new subjects - It’s good at well know facts, things that are mainstream or so niche that there is only one answer: “you should avoid asking the model for concrete details that don’t really matter, and if the model gives you details like that you shouldn’t trust them. But when the model is speaking about facts that do matter - facts that are load-bearing for many other things the model knows about - you can be relatively confident that you’re getting correct information.” // Also, nicely put: “models are not minds; instead they are role-playing a particular kind of helpful character. They prioritize consistent role-play above almost all other concerns.”

• Do conversations end when people want them to?

Get yourself an absurd milkshake.

Wastebook

• Don’t ask things in Reddit. That’s like a kindergartener asking a second grader where babies come from.

• I don’t think I have the right kind of drugs to appreciate this music.

• “Regional Car Dealership Rococo.” Interior design criticism.

• And: “if your tastes tend more toward a black polo neck or an unadorned steak (both fine things in themselves), you’ll never enjoy the Rococo.”

• “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” 1,000 fans.

• The conversation about AI slop is a lot about the content other people put in your face, not about one’s own AI use.

• “Made 58 waffles!” Here.

Logoff

I was in Manchester for the first time this week. Seems like a nice place. This signage at the airport is very big and very clear. I can’t find any references quickly enough, but I feel like sometime in the last 10 to 15 years, the UK got really into typefaces and making things clear, and, thus, usable. It’s worked!

I’m not in the market for a pipe, nor did I verify this, but according to this sign, could be that you can purchase smoking pipes in the Manchester Airport.

Also, downtown Manchester is full of kids. Well, college students. Just walking around, doing stuff. So much youth!