09 Jan 2026 #mondaylinks
Hey, there!
Here are 4 links I thought were worth sharing this week:
#1. AI makes coding and shipping nearly free. Side projects alone won’t help you stand out (7min). Maybe it’s time to double down on open source contributions or start a “learn and build in public” YouTube channel.
#2. Addy Osmani, a leader at Google, shared 21 lessons after a decade of coding (10min). The one that resonated the most? #6. “Coding doesn’t advocate for you.” Good code alone doesn’t make you a good coder, especially in the AI era.
#3. AI shows coding isn’t the bottleneck. A concept that isn’t new. Here’s a breakdown of why it’s never been the bottleneck (6min).
#4. Maybe juniors won’t say the same, but it’s a great time to be a coder (5min). Our job may be to design systems and let AI fill in the blanks. (That’s point #10 from that post)
And in case you missed it, I wrote on my blog about the “hiring is broken” law of coding blogs (2min) and the mantra to thrive in the AI era (2min).
(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… my new book, Street-Smart Coding: 30 lessons to help you code like a pro. From Googling to clear communication, it covers the lessons you don’t learn in tutorials. It’s now out on Kindle and paperback on Amazon.
Happy coding in 2026!
See you next time,
Cesar
08 Jan 2026 #coding
We no longer need to keep learning new programming languages.
If AI writes 90% of our code, becoming a polyglot coder isn’t valuable anymore.
Here’s what Gergely Orosz says in When AI Writes All Code,
…With AI writing most of the code, the advantage of knowing several languages will become less important when any engineer can jump into any codebase and ask the AI to implement a feature – which it will probably take a decent stab at. Even better, you can ask AI to explain parts of the codebase and quickly pick up a language much faster than without AI tools.
Obsessing over learning languages didn’t work for me. That was before AI.
Trying to master many languages was my biggest mistake as a new coder. Something else always made people stand out. And something else got me into trouble.
The real question is what skills matter.
Maybe AI is making us:
- Master one general-purpose language, like C or Go.
- Understand core principles: problem decomposition, clean code, and SOLID.
- Develop strong code-reading skills
Or maybe we should learn languages that challenge our thinking: Haskell, LISP, or a language from a different paradigm. Learning Java after C# doesn’t teach much. AI can generate code in “challenging” languages, but they build stronger problem-solving skills for prompting LLMs.
To stand out when AI shines at coding, we need to step beyond the IDE. We need teamwork, communication, and the broader skills I cover in Street-Smart Coding. It’s the roadmap I wish I had when starting out.
07 Jan 2026 #books #writing
As writers, your job is to adapt to how your readers consume words.
Why this matters: Content is free and abundant. We are drowning in emails, Slack messages, and beeps and buzzes. In seconds, we decide to read or keep scrolling.
A wall of text makes us stop reading. I learned that the hard way. And you and I do the same.
We don’t read, but skim.
Deliver fast. Say more with fewer words. That’s the big idea behind Smart Brevity, the digital version of the classic Elements of Style.
Here are six lessons to apply Smart Brevity:
#1. The one idea test. Start writing the one thing you want readers to know. Put it front and center. Then ask someone else if they can find it.
#2. Use headline, strong first line, “why,” and “go deeper.”
- Don’t make people choose what’s important. You tell them.
- Tell readers what your piece is about and if it’s for them.
- Use key phrases to guide skimmers. Phrases like “why this matters,” “the big picture,” or “backstory.”
In Mastery, Robert Greene used “Understand” to introduce big ideas. That’s a visual clue for skimmers.
#3. The bar & beach test. Write like a human. Don’t use any word you wouldn’t use in a bar or on the beach. No more “Dear LinkedIn network, I’m pleased to announce…“
#4. The “would you read it?” test. Once you’re done, ask yourself: “Would I read it if I hadn’t written it?” If not, why do you think someone else will?
#5. For email subject lines:
- Use 6 words and prefer one-syllable words.
- Emojis make your subject lines stand out.
#6. For presentations:
- Start and end with “if you remember one thing from this, …“
- Use 5 or 6 slides and one point per slide.
For fiction, we want authors to take us to new, imaginary worlds. But for emails, presentations, and social media posts, we need shorter, clear text. Even in non-fiction, why make readers flip through pages for one points? Brevity always wins!
06 Jan 2026 #writing #interview #coding
If you have a coding blog, sooner or later you’ll write a “hiring is broken” post.
Today on r/programming, I saw another one. I’ve written mine too.
Yes, we don’t know how to hire. Behavioral questions, LeetCode, take-homes, IQ tests…Every company has a different answer.
But our “hiring is broken” posts won’t change how big corporations interview. Decision-makers don’t read coders’ blogs.
Instead of venting into the void, why not share “here’s what I learned and what I wish I had done differently…” posts, including:
- The kind of interview
- Subjects you forgot to review
- What you like and dislike about the process
Keep blogging. One day, your blog becomes your portfolio, and interviews turn into discussions about your posts. That has happened to me only once.
Blogging won’t fix hiring overnight. But it can fix how you stand out. That’s why it’s one of the lessons in Street-Smart Coding, the roadmap I wish I had staring out.
05 Jan 2026 #coding
If AI can do it in minutes, it’s not special.
AI has made coding accessible. You don’t need a degree or bootcamp to have something working. A few prompts to an LLM can replace hours or days of work.
That’s good news…and bad news.
A portfolio with the same to-do apps no longer stands out. Anyone can do that with AI in a few minutes. Maybe the alternative is a “build/learn in public” YouTube channel. Or contributing to non-trivial open source projects.
A take-home challenge doesn’t work for hiring. Again. An easy task for AI. Maybe whiteboarding interviews won’t go away.
Only crafting clean code isn’t enough.
Don’t burn your copy of Clean Code. You still need to tell whether what AI spits out is good code.
But you need to do what AI can’t:
- Ownership when code breaks
- Collaboration to build trust
- Communication to present technical problems clearly
That’s what you can’t automate. Those skills worked 10 years ago and will work 10 years from now.
To help you build the skills to stand out, I wrote Street-Smart Coding—The roadmap I wish I had on my journey from junior to senior.