Is Google App Engine the easy way out?

Question

I'm one man shop, creating a social site. If my site becomes popular, will the tech gods (i.e. techcrunch, mashable, etc.) look down on me for using Google App Engine instead of creating and developing my own cutting edge infrastructure from scratch?

Answer 1

No. "Don't reinvent the wheel" is one of the core tenets of programming; this goes for infrastructure too - if GAE fits your infrastructure needs, then go for it.

Answer 2

Answer #1: No, TechCrunch et al often report favorably on sites that use fashionable cloud computing services as their back end.

Answer #2: Who the heck cares what the so-called "Tech Gods" think about your implementation details? What matters is whether you can efficiently build a service that customers want at a profitable margin. The opinions of wannabe and never-were journalists are irrelevant to a business plan and in any case nothing impresses like actual success.

Answer 3

There are a number of sites using Google App Engine that get pretty good buzz. One is WalkScore.com

Answer 4

1. Techcrunch, mashable et al. are not tech gods.
2. It's about being cost-effective. If GAE is right for you, then go for it.
3. You shouldn't worry about what others might think about the infrastructure of your site. Focus on the content/service that you are going to provide and what others might think about that instead.

Answer 5

Perhaps if you considered it from a different angle? If you develop your site with GAE you should end up with an application that can scale quickly to meet increasing traffic. If your site becomes popular, you will certainly be 'looked down upon' by the tech gods if the site starts falling over.

As everyone else has said, if GAE is a good fit for your site/app, use it. 99% of your users won't even know the difference.

Answer 6

Why would it matter? unless you are getting the sort of traffic that facebook is getting why do you want to waste so much time trying to redo what could be done sucessfully. And if it flops no big loss.

And TechCrunch = not TechGods. What a Heretic!