Nicole Duncan

Gong generates a massive amount of data. If you don't have managers who are dedicated to using it for coaching and deal reviews every week, it just becomes a very expensive recording library. The tool is only as good as the process you build around it. It's not a silver bullet.

The dream of a universal avatar is great, but the reality is a bit fragmented. The art style of my Ready Player Me avatar doesn't always match the game I'm using it in, which can be jarring. Also, many of the most popular games (like Roblox or Fortnite) have their own closed systems. It's a great platform, but it needs wider adoption to be truly 'metaverse-ready'.

Supabase gives you a raw Postgres instance, which is great power but also responsibility. Unlike Firebase's NoSQL store, you have to think about migrations, indexes, and vacuuming. The platform helps, but you can't be completely ignorant of database management. For the price (and the generous free tier), it's unbeatable.

It does one thing well: posting content. But in 2025, I need more. The lack of robust inbox management for comments and DMs means I still have to log into native apps to engage. It's a publishing tool, not a full social management suite. Good for the price, but I'm outgrowing it.

Jira feels like it was designed for project managers, not for the people actually doing the work. Creating and updating tickets is a chore, with dozens of fields to fill out. I spend more time managing my Jira board than I do writing code. Simpler tools like Linear or Shortcut are much more developer-friendly.

I’ve tried Copilot inside VS Code, but Cursor feels like it was built around AI from the ground up. The chat understands my whole project and can refactor multiple files in one go. The diff-based suggestions are fantastic—you see exactly what will change before applying. It’s become my main editor for all greenfield work.

Next.js has made building React apps enjoyable again. The App Router took some getting used to, but the performance gains from Server Components are real. Integrated routing, image optimization, and SSR capabilities out of the box mean I don't have to glue together 10 different libraries to start a project. It's comprehensive.