Accurate Counting with Graphite and Statsd

We have been using statsd and Graphite at HootSuite to get visibility into the frequency of events within our technology stack for over a year now. And to great effect.

Why we love and use ZeroMQ at HootSuite

At HootSuite we are always on the lookout for technologies that will make our product better.

Recently we started exploring ZeroMQ (aka. ØMQ, 0MQ, ZMQ). In this post, I will describe why ZeroMQ fits right into our technology stack.

How to Run Tagged Scala Tests with SBT and ScalaTest

We use SBT to build all of our Scala projects, and we’re still scratching the
surface of what the tool can do. One thing we needed to do recently was to
separate a module’s tests (built on scalatest) into groups. This is possible
using…

VimShell

If you are a Vim user and are using a shell outside Vim such as bash or zsh, you’ve been wasting your time(\*1). Install [VimShell](https://github.com/shougo/vimshell) and use it for everything. It works particularly well on your local computer.

Automating our Scala Deploys with Ansible — Case Study

In my last [post](http://code.hootsuite.com/?p=209) I touched on why we started using [Ansible](http://ansible.cc). I will now try to show how all of our [Scala](http://www.scala-lang.org) project conventions and tools…

Automating our Scala Deploys with Ansible

Manually provisioning servers with all of a service’s Unix dependencies is time consuming, and repeating the steps on multiple instances can be error prone. Thankfully a number of automation tools exist to handle repeatable jobs for us. One such tool is…

Wordpress MultiSite and Vagrant

As a continual effort to empower every business unit at HootSuite to own and edit their content online, a month ago we put together a team to develop a scalable infrastructure to quickly spin up branded and functional Wordpress installation.

Advice for future HootDevs

On 5 March [HootSuite HR](https://twitter.com/hoothr) led the charge on [#HootHire](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23hoothire), an open-house recruitment event. I met many bright devs and designers interested in working for HootSuite. A number of candidates were either still in…

The Junk Drawer Problem: Quietly Migrating Data Without Downtime

Pretty much everyone has a junk drawer somewhere in their home
(surely I can’t be the only one?). You’ve got some elastic bands
in there, some matchbooks, some spare change, maybe a spare set of
keys.