João Alves
@joaoqalves.net
2x Dad. Husband. Head of Engineering @Adevinta. Building abistama.com and rotahog.com
Opinions are my own. Writes in PT/ES/EN/CAT
Opinions are my own. Writes in PT/ES/EN/CAT
“Meta evaluating AI fluency” is making people mad about micromanagement.
Using metrics as prompts, not targets, can solve issues and boost performance. Like DORA metrics at Adevinta, AI fluency needs clarity. Full article: world.hey.com/joaoqalves/...
Using metrics as prompts, not targets, can solve issues and boost performance. Like DORA metrics at Adevinta, AI fluency needs clarity. Full article: world.hey.com/joaoqalves/...
AI adoption needs light, not hope
As per last week’s rumors, Meta will judge employee performance based on AI skills. Nothing new. Other companies, like Zapier, have even published what they expect “AI fluency” for all new hires: Every time a company announces “AI usage dashboards,” people get mad. My timeline on X gets full of surveillance, micromanagement, and bullsh...
world.hey.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:09 AM
“Meta evaluating AI fluency” is making people mad about micromanagement.
Using metrics as prompts, not targets, can solve issues and boost performance. Like DORA metrics at Adevinta, AI fluency needs clarity. Full article: world.hey.com/joaoqalves/...
Using metrics as prompts, not targets, can solve issues and boost performance. Like DORA metrics at Adevinta, AI fluency needs clarity. Full article: world.hey.com/joaoqalves/...
Managing EN/ES accounts and blogs with diverse content is more challenging than I anticipated, but I’m really enjoying it.
Tomorrow, I'll post about how Meta and others are measuring AI adoption and making it a requirement in performance reviews. Stay tuned!
Tomorrow, I'll post about how Meta and others are measuring AI adoption and making it a requirement in performance reviews. Stay tuned!
November 17, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Managing EN/ES accounts and blogs with diverse content is more challenging than I anticipated, but I’m really enjoying it.
Tomorrow, I'll post about how Meta and others are measuring AI adoption and making it a requirement in performance reviews. Stay tuned!
Tomorrow, I'll post about how Meta and others are measuring AI adoption and making it a requirement in performance reviews. Stay tuned!
Hoy lanzo “El doble clic” en mi blog. Cada semana compartiré lecturas, charlas y enlaces que me hayan gustado.
Perspectivas de @paoramen.com, @eferro.net, @elwatto.bsky.social y más!
Si te gustan la tecnología, los productos y las startups, ¡te interesará! 👇
Perspectivas de @paoramen.com, @eferro.net, @elwatto.bsky.social y más!
Si te gustan la tecnología, los productos y las startups, ¡te interesará! 👇
El doble clic — Semana del 17 de noviembre
Ideas, artículos y descubrimientos de la semana
enespanol.joaoqalves.net
November 17, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Hoy lanzo “El doble clic” en mi blog. Cada semana compartiré lecturas, charlas y enlaces que me hayan gustado.
Perspectivas de @paoramen.com, @eferro.net, @elwatto.bsky.social y más!
Si te gustan la tecnología, los productos y las startups, ¡te interesará! 👇
Perspectivas de @paoramen.com, @eferro.net, @elwatto.bsky.social y más!
Si te gustan la tecnología, los productos y las startups, ¡te interesará! 👇
Mi tesis sobre la IA: abarata picar código y desplaza el valor hacia el criterio. Habrá mucho “software fast-food”, pero también una mayor necesidad de expertos que sepan diseñar, integrar y tomar decisiones.
open.substack.com/pub/esjoaoqa...
open.substack.com/pub/esjoaoqa...
Cuando el software se vuelve “fast food”
La nueva frontera no es programar, sino decidir qué merece construirse
open.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Mi tesis sobre la IA: abarata picar código y desplaza el valor hacia el criterio. Habrá mucho “software fast-food”, pero también una mayor necesidad de expertos que sepan diseñar, integrar y tomar decisiones.
open.substack.com/pub/esjoaoqa...
open.substack.com/pub/esjoaoqa...
More updated than ever. 2020s engineering leaders must be more into the details. That’s a feature and not a bug.
“Servant leadership” (misapplied) created a lot of peace time engineering leaders.
Full post on world.hey.com/joaoqalves/...
“Servant leadership” (misapplied) created a lot of peace time engineering leaders.
Full post on world.hey.com/joaoqalves/...
November 9, 2025 at 9:21 AM
More updated than ever. 2020s engineering leaders must be more into the details. That’s a feature and not a bug.
“Servant leadership” (misapplied) created a lot of peace time engineering leaders.
Full post on world.hey.com/joaoqalves/...
“Servant leadership” (misapplied) created a lot of peace time engineering leaders.
Full post on world.hey.com/joaoqalves/...
On the AI Agents vs workflows, my mental model is a sports team.
* An agent is like a player knowing specific skills (speed, dribbling, …)
* A workflow is like a tactic, using AI agents to achieve a goal (eg, score)
* An agent is like a player knowing specific skills (speed, dribbling, …)
* A workflow is like a tactic, using AI agents to achieve a goal (eg, score)
November 3, 2025 at 6:58 AM
On the AI Agents vs workflows, my mental model is a sports team.
* An agent is like a player knowing specific skills (speed, dribbling, …)
* A workflow is like a tactic, using AI agents to achieve a goal (eg, score)
* An agent is like a player knowing specific skills (speed, dribbling, …)
* A workflow is like a tactic, using AI agents to achieve a goal (eg, score)
Cloud/FinOps Pro Tip: run Claud Code on AWS Bedrock, as they have the models available. Two benefits:
1. Built-in access control with AWS and temporary credentials.
2. It contributes to your AWS expenditure/commitment, allowing you to leverage this cost for volume discounts.
1. Built-in access control with AWS and temporary credentials.
2. It contributes to your AWS expenditure/commitment, allowing you to leverage this cost for volume discounts.
November 2, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Cloud/FinOps Pro Tip: run Claud Code on AWS Bedrock, as they have the models available. Two benefits:
1. Built-in access control with AWS and temporary credentials.
2. It contributes to your AWS expenditure/commitment, allowing you to leverage this cost for volume discounts.
1. Built-in access control with AWS and temporary credentials.
2. It contributes to your AWS expenditure/commitment, allowing you to leverage this cost for volume discounts.
“How do you write so many articles in such a short time frame? You must be using AI”
Nope. I use Grammarly to (re-)write as I’m not a native English guy. I use ChatGPT mainly to create an illustration, as otherwise HEY World (my blogging provider) puts my photo on it.
Nope. I use Grammarly to (re-)write as I’m not a native English guy. I use ChatGPT mainly to create an illustration, as otherwise HEY World (my blogging provider) puts my photo on it.
October 31, 2025 at 4:00 PM
“How do you write so many articles in such a short time frame? You must be using AI”
Nope. I use Grammarly to (re-)write as I’m not a native English guy. I use ChatGPT mainly to create an illustration, as otherwise HEY World (my blogging provider) puts my photo on it.
Nope. I use Grammarly to (re-)write as I’m not a native English guy. I use ChatGPT mainly to create an illustration, as otherwise HEY World (my blogging provider) puts my photo on it.
"538 microservices? What a mess."
Four years ago, I wrote Disasters I've Seen in a Microservices World. I thought by now we'd have solved most of them.
We didn't. We just learned to live with the chaos. Link below 👇
Four years ago, I wrote Disasters I've Seen in a Microservices World. I thought by now we'd have solved most of them.
We didn't. We just learned to live with the chaos. Link below 👇
October 29, 2025 at 10:51 AM
"538 microservices? What a mess."
Four years ago, I wrote Disasters I've Seen in a Microservices World. I thought by now we'd have solved most of them.
We didn't. We just learned to live with the chaos. Link below 👇
Four years ago, I wrote Disasters I've Seen in a Microservices World. I thought by now we'd have solved most of them.
We didn't. We just learned to live with the chaos. Link below 👇
I've written a sequel to "Disasters I've Seen in a Microservices World," my most-read blog post. Ten disasters later, it's still chaotic, and with the rise of AI agents, it's bound to get worse. Planning to publish soon. Anyone want to read it before I do?
October 28, 2025 at 10:45 AM
I've written a sequel to "Disasters I've Seen in a Microservices World," my most-read blog post. Ten disasters later, it's still chaotic, and with the rise of AI agents, it's bound to get worse. Planning to publish soon. Anyone want to read it before I do?
Sigo contando cosillas :) Hoy inauguro "Desde mi terminal". También en español, pero en formato largo.
Explico las razones de crear una cuenta específica para contenido en español. Si queréis leerlo, paso el enlace en el post de abajo.
enespanol.joaoqalves.net/p/la-desven...
Explico las razones de crear una cuenta específica para contenido en español. Si queréis leerlo, paso el enlace en el post de abajo.
enespanol.joaoqalves.net/p/la-desven...
La desventaja de ser plurilingüe
Lo complicado no es hablar varios idiomas, sino decidir en cuál contar tu historia
substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Sigo contando cosillas :) Hoy inauguro "Desde mi terminal". También en español, pero en formato largo.
Explico las razones de crear una cuenta específica para contenido en español. Si queréis leerlo, paso el enlace en el post de abajo.
enespanol.joaoqalves.net/p/la-desven...
Explico las razones de crear una cuenta específica para contenido en español. Si queréis leerlo, paso el enlace en el post de abajo.
enespanol.joaoqalves.net/p/la-desven...
Everyone talks about multi-cloud and reliability. Here’s what it looked like in practice when I joined Adevinta five years ago. The company had just agreed to acquire the eBay Classifieds Group, its secondhand marketplaces division. On the table: private cloud, GCP, and AWS.
October 24, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Everyone talks about multi-cloud and reliability. Here’s what it looked like in practice when I joined Adevinta five years ago. The company had just agreed to acquire the eBay Classifieds Group, its secondhand marketplaces division. On the table: private cloud, GCP, and AWS.
Meta laying off a chunk of the FAIR (frontier research AI lab) led by @ylecun was not in my bingo card for 2025. Any clues why? aftermath after acquisition of @alexandr_wang and the team?
October 23, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Meta laying off a chunk of the FAIR (frontier research AI lab) led by @ylecun was not in my bingo card for 2025. Any clues why? aftermath after acquisition of @alexandr_wang and the team?
.@karpathy says the best way to learn is to build things.
He’s right, but as engineers, we know that’s only half the story.
Writing, teaching, or preparing a talk forces you to understand what you have built.
That’s what this post is about. Link below 👇
He’s right, but as engineers, we know that’s only half the story.
Writing, teaching, or preparing a talk forces you to understand what you have built.
That’s what this post is about. Link below 👇
October 22, 2025 at 10:23 AM
.@karpathy says the best way to learn is to build things.
He’s right, but as engineers, we know that’s only half the story.
Writing, teaching, or preparing a talk forces you to understand what you have built.
That’s what this post is about. Link below 👇
He’s right, but as engineers, we know that’s only half the story.
Writing, teaching, or preparing a talk forces you to understand what you have built.
That’s what this post is about. Link below 👇
Today in the incident review meeting:
“We should prepare for AWS disasters. Multi-cloud.”
Checks numbers...
“Yeah, it’s cheaper to have the same downtime as AWS.” Every. Single. Time.
“We should prepare for AWS disasters. Multi-cloud.”
Checks numbers...
“Yeah, it’s cheaper to have the same downtime as AWS.” Every. Single. Time.
October 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Today in the incident review meeting:
“We should prepare for AWS disasters. Multi-cloud.”
Checks numbers...
“Yeah, it’s cheaper to have the same downtime as AWS.” Every. Single. Time.
“We should prepare for AWS disasters. Multi-cloud.”
Checks numbers...
“Yeah, it’s cheaper to have the same downtime as AWS.” Every. Single. Time.
Do you know these guys who intern 1-2 months at a company to fix "that one thing" that annoys them about a product? I need to do that @37signals. Goal 1: add subdomains to Hey World. Goal 2: Add a simple "Plausible-alike" analytics for the posts. That's it. The End.
October 20, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Do you know these guys who intern 1-2 months at a company to fix "that one thing" that annoys them about a product? I need to do that @37signals. Goal 1: add subdomains to Hey World. Goal 2: Add a simple "Plausible-alike" analytics for the posts. That's it. The End.
Many people don’t know, but AWS has a few services they run “globally” on us-east-1. So it’s not the same to have an outage there or in another big region (eg eu-west-1). Also likely the reason why Vercel and others are down
Half the internet seems to be down thanks to the us-aws-east-1 outage
Perplexity, Amazon .com, Signal all down (just 3 services I tried to use)
When aws-us-east-1 sneezes, the whole world feels it indeed
Perplexity, Amazon .com, Signal all down (just 3 services I tried to use)
When aws-us-east-1 sneezes, the whole world feels it indeed
October 20, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Many people don’t know, but AWS has a few services they run “globally” on us-east-1. So it’s not the same to have an outage there or in another big region (eg eu-west-1). Also likely the reason why Vercel and others are down
LLMs changed everything for me. I got my first money on @hirotahog, thanks to it. Before I had lots of ideas but with my limited time, I threw the towel before I went live. Now I go from idea to prod quickly and I try a lot of stuff. FAFO
October 20, 2025 at 6:44 AM
LLMs changed everything for me. I got my first money on @hirotahog, thanks to it. Before I had lots of ideas but with my limited time, I threw the towel before I went live. Now I go from idea to prod quickly and I try a lot of stuff. FAFO
At abistama.com, we’re cooking something new. 🧑🍳
October 19, 2025 at 10:06 AM
At abistama.com, we’re cooking something new. 🧑🍳
2025 is my "back to blogging" year! After 1.5 years of hiatus, I've written eight blog posts this year. The fun part for me? Talking about SaaS, Private Equity, being a Head of Eng, and more.
October 17, 2025 at 6:28 AM
2025 is my "back to blogging" year! After 1.5 years of hiatus, I've written eight blog posts this year. The fun part for me? Talking about SaaS, Private Equity, being a Head of Eng, and more.
I wrote a post, after @factorialapp's latest announcement: back in the office, five days a week 🔥 Remote is a tool, not dogma. Why? Juniors struggle, culture slips. Hybrid needs rules; remote edges, small teams. Tradeoffs. Full post below
October 16, 2025 at 9:22 AM
I wrote a post, after @factorialapp's latest announcement: back in the office, five days a week 🔥 Remote is a tool, not dogma. Why? Juniors struggle, culture slips. Hybrid needs rules; remote edges, small teams. Tradeoffs. Full post below
I’ve spent three years "vibe coding" with LLMs. Shipping side projects I’d never have had time to build otherwise. In terms of implementation, I agree with @iagolast and I don't feel it's "magic" anymore, but I do feel a lot more productive. Full post below.
October 9, 2025 at 9:03 AM
I’ve spent three years "vibe coding" with LLMs. Shipping side projects I’d never have had time to build otherwise. In terms of implementation, I agree with @iagolast and I don't feel it's "magic" anymore, but I do feel a lot more productive. Full post below.
Does anyone else notice how the trend of responding to "Oh, layoffs at company X. I'm sad for you" with "At company Y, we're hiring" feels a bit off? Companies often discuss "empathy" and then...
September 25, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Does anyone else notice how the trend of responding to "Oh, layoffs at company X. I'm sad for you" with "At company Y, we're hiring" feels a bit off? Companies often discuss "empathy" and then...
I built a Slack-to-Jira support bot a while ago. It sat on the shelf: useful, but not perfect.
Instead of letting it rot, I cleaned it up and open-sourced it. Inspired by @dhh, Omarchy, and the reminder that you can just share your work.
Wanna know more about it? 👇
Instead of letting it rot, I cleaned it up and open-sourced it. Inspired by @dhh, Omarchy, and the reminder that you can just share your work.
Wanna know more about it? 👇
August 26, 2025 at 8:07 AM
I built a Slack-to-Jira support bot a while ago. It sat on the shelf: useful, but not perfect.
Instead of letting it rot, I cleaned it up and open-sourced it. Inspired by @dhh, Omarchy, and the reminder that you can just share your work.
Wanna know more about it? 👇
Instead of letting it rot, I cleaned it up and open-sourced it. Inspired by @dhh, Omarchy, and the reminder that you can just share your work.
Wanna know more about it? 👇