Tech Advice and Wisdom from 11-Year Old Coder Moses Finlay

Hi, I'm Craig, welcome to the Treehouse Show. 0:00 The treehouse show is our weekly conversation with the Treehouse community. 0:02 We have a very special guest on the show today, Moses Finlay. 0:09 He is a student and a longtime fan of the Treehouse Show, and 0:13 the creator of many applications. 0:16 Most notably, the video note taking site, vdnote.com. 0:18 Yeah, did I forget to mention? 0:22 He's 11. 0:24 Moses, I am so happy to have you on the show today. 0:25 >> Yeah, it's good to be here. 0:28 I'm really excited. 0:29 >> Yeah, I heard that you're a fan of the show. 0:30 >> Yes, I am. 0:33 I watch it, like, almost every week. 0:33 >> That's awesome! 0:35 >> Yeah. >> So, we're so 0:36 lucky to have you on the show. 0:37 >> Yeah! >> I have a question for you. 0:38 How did you get started in technology? 0:41 >> Okay, well, for 0:43 all my life I've always loved knowing, building things and knowing how they work. 0:45 >> Okay. 0:50 >> And one day my dad was like, hey, you should get into programming. 0:51 >> Okay. 0:54 >> And I'm like, okay, that sounds really cool. 0:55 What is it? 0:57 >> How old were you? 0:58 >> I think I was, maybe eight. 1:00 >> Okay. 1:02 >> Yeah, so then he was like, okay, just basically, where are you? 1:03 Tell the computer what to do and you can build websites and stuff like that. 1:08 So we found this place called codecademy and 1:12 I started learning on there for a little while, and then, 1:14 I started playing on Treehouse because I found out and I'm like, this is amazing. 1:18 >> Okay. >> So, I've just been doing Treehouse for 1:23 the past year and a half, I think. 1:25 >> Wow! >> Or two years, yeah. 1:27 >> And so how old are you now? 1:28 >> I'm 11. >> You're 11 now, wow. 1:30 Okay, so you've got a lot of experience under your belt. 1:32 What are you taking on Treehouse? 1:36 >> So right now I'm learning JavaScript. 1:37 >> Okay. >> I'm going through the full stack 1:40 JavaScript track, yep. 1:41 >> Okay. Awesome, so 1:43 you have two years experience there. 1:43 So what sort of advice would you give to students that are learning JavaScript? 1:45 >> Okay, so, well first I would say find a great place to learn, Treehouse. 1:50 Treehouse is a great place. 1:54 Also, sometimes you might be down, and 1:56 I just say, if you have any questions just go to a forum. 1:59 >> Okay. >> Like Stack Overflow is a great one and 2:03 just ask questions. 2:05 Also sometimes you just need to just take a break. 2:07 >> That's a great, taking a break is great advice. 2:13 >> Yup. Taking a break, yeah. 2:15 Mm-hm. Yeah, just take a break and yeah. 2:16 >> Do you ever get frustrated? 2:19 >> [LAUGH] Yeah sometimes, but I just, if I have a question I just ask it and 2:21 then usually when I'm frustrated I just put it away, thing about it, and 2:28 then you know, once it comes to me or once I figure out the problem, 2:33 I'll go back- >> Right. 2:38 >> And it works! 2:39 >> Isn't that funny how that works? 2:40 >> Yeah, I know. 2:41 >> Like when you're really upset about something and you're focusing on it, but 2:41 when you walk away that's usually when it- >> One time, 2:44 there was this big bug in my program and I was like, what? 2:47 What's going on? 2:51 And then I just put it away, I went to bed, next morning light bulb. 2:53 A typo. 2:59 >> A typo, wow. 3:00 >> I was like thinking about my code and then like, it's a typo. 3:01 Or I just like typing the wrong thing out or I'm not doing it the right way. 3:07 You just. 3:11 Yeah, I usually just think about it and there's also lots of great experienced 3:12 programmers and I usually ask questions from them. 3:17 >> That's great. 3:20 Asking questions, I think, is a great advice and a lot of people, 3:21 sometimes feel like maybe you shouldn't ask questions, but you should. 3:23 >> Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. 3:26 Don't feel like you shouldn't ask questions because, yeah. 3:28 >> Its kind of, is it easy to pick up? 3:33 Did you think it was easy? 3:35 >> Yes. 3:36 >> Okay. 3:37 >> Well no. 3:38 Sometimes I'd spend like a couple of hours just trying to figure 3:39 out- >> Okay. 3:42 >> Like something. 3:43 Because so like there would be like a bug in my code and 3:43 I'd like start digging through it. 3:48 >> Okay. >> And I eventually find out and 3:51 then that kind of just like helped me gets stronger. 3:53 >> Okay. >> And then like next time I'd be like. 3:57 >> How did you- >> That's easy, yeah. 3:59 >> So how did you find that, how did you keep going? 4:01 That's the advice that I was kind of looking for, but 4:03 I think you probably have some. 4:05 >> Like, like. >> You might not have thought of it 4:06 as advice before. 4:07 How do you keep going? 4:10 How do you keep going after [CROSSTALK] >> I don't know. 4:10 I love it, I love it a ton. 4:13 >> Okay. >> And. 4:15 I don't know, it just comes to me. 4:17 I just do it all the time. 4:19 >> Okay, why do you love it at time? 4:22 What do you love about programming? 4:23 >> Okay, you can build things. 4:25 You can tell the computer what to do and 4:26 the computer is a very, very powerful tool and it's just. 4:27 I just love it, because you can tell it what you do and build things, and 4:31 you know how it works. 4:35 And if you learn enough you can build anything. 4:36 >> Right. Anything. 4:38 Do you have a dream of, what would you like to build if you could? 4:39 >> Well, I don't know, maybe a social media. 4:44 >> Okay. >> That would be really cool. 4:49 >> Okay. 4:51 So, you showed me a little bit earlier a project that you were working on. 4:52 Can you talk about that? 4:56 >> Yeah, so I built this project called VDnote. 4:57 >> VDnote. 5:01 >> vdnote.com. 5:02 >> You got a website? 5:04 >> Yep it's on a website yep. 5:04 >> Wow. >> So, basically, 5:05 you can watch videos on my website by pasting the YouTube URL. 5:08 >> Okay. >> And then you can take notes 5:13 based on that. 5:14 >> So it plays the video in your website and you take notes with it. 5:15 >> Yep, and you can email the notes to yourself if you want and 5:18 I'm working on adding new features and stuff, so. 5:21 Yeah. 5:24 >> Wow, that's super cool. 5:24 What technology did you use? 5:26 >> Okay, so I used html, 5:27 CSS just to build the website structure and then I used JavaScript. 5:30 >> Okay. And did you learn all that stuff here? 5:34 >> Yes all of it. 5:37 >> Wow, that's super neat. 5:39 That's cool. 5:40 And so you're taking notes on any video. 5:41 >> Any video. >> Because you can paste any video 5:44 in there. 5:46 >> Yeah. Any video off YouTube. 5:47 I'm gonna work on adding other videos from other websites. 5:48 >> Okay. >> But currently just YouTube. 5:51 >> Cool, that is super neat. 5:53 So when you were building that app. 5:55 When you were building this VDNote.com, which is awesome that you have a website. 5:56 >> Yeah. >> Did you run into any problems? 6:00 >> Yes, so for the email thing. 6:03 So like you could add notes and 6:06 then if you remove a note, it would still show up in the email. 6:08 So I had to turn each thing into, just give it its own little ID. 6:13 So you could access that ID. 6:19 Every time you removed it you would completely remove it from the program. 6:21 >> Cool! >> And then it would remove it from 6:25 the email too. 6:26 >> Wow! 6:27 >> So, then it, yeah, so it works now, so- >> Nice! 6:28 >> Yeah. 6:31 >> Awesome! >> Yeah. 6:31 >> So, if you could do me a favor and users of vdnote.com, what's 6:32 something that they wouldn't know about you from just using your application? 6:38 >> You mean like me personally? 6:43 >> You personally, yeah. 6:45 >> Yeah, okay. 6:46 Well, I live in Hawaii. 6:46 >> Okay. 6:48 >> And I go surfing almost every day. 6:49 >> You go surfing? 6:50 Wow, okay. 6:51 >> Yeah, so yeah. 6:52 And I'm home schooled. 6:54 >> You're home schooled. 6:55 Awesome. 6:56 >> Yeah. >> Awesome, awesome. 6:56 >> Yeah. >> Have you built other apps, 6:58 other than your video? 7:00 >> Well, I'm working on getting some other ideas for apps. 7:03 >> Okay. >> But I do have my website. 7:06 >> Okay. >> Well, kind of like my portfolio website 7:08 where I post my projects in there. 7:10 >> Nice, awesome. 7:12 >> Yeah so- >> Let's share that out. 7:13 >> MosesFinlay.com. 7:15 >> MosesFinlay.com all right awesome. 7:16 >> Yeah. 7:17 >> Cool great. 7:18 When you see things like technology where it's headed right now, 7:19 so you see the self driving cars and 7:24 things like that do you have any ideas on what you'd like to see happen? 7:26 >> Well one thing that would be cool is like the computer could make programs and 7:31 make things just by itself. 7:35 >> Write itself. 7:37 >> That would be cool. 7:38 Have you seen those movies? 7:39 >> No, I don't think so. 7:41 >> Okay, cuz it gets kind of scary. 7:42 [LAUGH] >> Yeah. 7:44 Yeah. 7:46 >> Awesome. So, they could write their own thing. 7:49 >> I think that would be cool. 7:50 Yeah. >> Like, the computer makes its 7:52 own Facebook. 7:53 >> Yeah. Well, maybe not that. 7:54 >> So they could chat with each other. 7:55 >> That would be also be really complicated, but yeah, probably. 7:57 >> Right. >> That would be kind of cool. 8:00 >> Do you think the robots need to have a social media app? 8:01 [LAUGH] >> That would be like one of the coolest 8:04 things ever, like texting, what did you do today? 8:09 >> [LAUGH] >> Yeah, that would be really cool. 8:12 >> That's awesome. 8:15 All right, I really want to say thank you for being on the show. 8:17 You are such an inspiration to see you sticking with it and 8:20 being so, just showing that you can do it and stick with it. 8:23 I'm really excited to have you on here. 8:26 And please keep us updated on what you're doing 8:29 >> Okay, I will, yeah. 8:32 >> Because it's amazing. 8:32 I'm so impressed with everything you do. 8:33 >> Thank you. 8:35 >> Thanks for watching The Treehouse Show. 8:35 To get in touch with the show, reach out to me on Twitter or 8:37 hit us up in The Treehouse community. 8:39 See you next time. 8:41 Since Moses was in the office, 8:42 we figured we'd let him take a spin doing a screen cast. 8:43 Is there anything this kid can't do? 8:46 >> Hi everyone, my name is Moses and this is my website. 8:48 Right here, and I have some projects that you can view here. 8:53 What I really wanted to show you guys is this note taking app I made for videos. 8:58 And you can paste any YouTube URL for 9:01 any video you want, and can take notes based on that video. 9:04 So I have a video up here that I'll copy. 9:08 And then we can go over here, and paste that in here. 9:12 So then, the video shows up right here. 9:17 So now you can take notes based on the video. 9:22 You can take notes based on the video like this and then it just pops down here. 9:29 So you can just like basically take notes on any video you want. 9:33 Also I had a little bit of trouble making this, 9:36 like you could add notes like this and then when you would. 9:40 See. So when you look at this, there, 9:47 you could remove a note like this but it won't show up on email. 9:51 And I had to like give each note specifically an ID or 9:56 something to basically identify it. 10:00 So that when you would send the notes, they would pop up right here, even though, 10:03 I removed all those. 10:07 So, yeah, that's basically it. 10:08 So, yep. 10:10 [SOUND] 10:11