iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Duckbill's Chief Cloud Economist Corey Quinn on why the gap between Amazon's infrastructure and its higher order applications exists — and whether it's likely to close. Learn more: duckbillhq.com

011

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Amazon uses Isengard internally so their engineers never have to manage AWS accounts the way customers do. If they had to live that pain, it'd get fixed fast. Open source it or stop using it. Learn more: duckbillhq.com

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

AI support works when it answers correctly and routes to a human fast when it doesn't. It doesn't work when it's a gauntlet before customers can reach a person. Most deployments are the second one. Learn more: duckbillhq.com

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Lots of noise about AI infrastructure reshaping the landscape. The more interesting question is who's holding the foundation while all of that plays out. Learn more: duckbillhq.com

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Cloud got so good at hiding complexity that we forgot the complexity exists. Easy became the assumption -- and that assumption is where expensive surprises live. Learn more: duckbillhq.com

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

"Cloud is too expensive, let's build a data center." An AZ is a data center. Four AZs is four data centers. You're not simplifying -- you're trading resilience for a single point of failure. Learn more: duckbillhq.com

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Most large cloud customers assume they have more leverage than they do, and more time than they have. $30M+ a year with a renewal in six months? You're already behind. Learn more: duckbillhq.com

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

You're not paid to have an interesting infrastructure; you're paid to solve a business problem. Good infrastructure is boring infrastructure. Put it in a container, let Kubernetes handle it, and focus your creativity on something that actually makes money. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Our cost optimization philosophy fits on an index card. Step one? Turn that shit off. After that: store less data, stop moving it around like a nervous dad at a barbecue, and don't treat the cloud like your old data center. #finops

010

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Have a new GenAI project and stressing about the cost? Stop it. If it's a flop, you'll turn it off (peak efficiency!). If it's a success, optimizing it is a problem for Future You. For now, focus on innovation, not pinching pennies. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

"Cloud is for startups; real companies run in data centers." This take ignores the cost of hiring people, that no one at scale pays retail, and the priceless value of options. Thinking it's a simple math problem? That's an adorable level of confidence. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

What AWS service is so bad we'd consider it a credible threat in a hostage negotiation? The Managed NAT Gateway. It's not the hourly fee; it's the outrageous per-GB processing charge. You could store data in S3 for three months for the same price. It's a financial crime. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Every AWS bill tells a story, and Kafka is almost always the bad guy. Why? It loves racking up astronomical data transfer charges by chatting with itself across different AZs. It's all painfully obvious once you know to look for it—which is the whole problem, isn't it? #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

The internet is losing its mind over Figma's half-billion-dollar AWS bill. But that's only 12% of their Cost of Revenue, which is phenomenal. And Figma doesn't hire idiots. Judging a massive cloud bill without any context is... a bold look. #finops

010

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Does your business partner insist on inverting their trackpad? There is a solution for this sociopathic behavior. We offer a simple, proportional response to one of the greatest sins in modern computing. It involves a burlap sack and a firm commitment to corrective action. #YouveBeenDuckbilled

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Setting FinOps KPIs sounds smart. In reality, it's a great way to watch an engineer waste three weeks to "save" $45. People will always game the metric, even if it makes zero business sense. Think your team is above that? Bless your heart. #finops

010

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

So you asked a chatbot to fix your AWS bill. What could possibly go wrong? It'll suggest a "one size fits all" policy that works for most things. For the rest? You've just signed up for catastrophic fees. An AI without context is a financial arsonist. #finops

010

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

You use a CDN like CloudFront to save money on data transfer, right? Adorable. In many cases, you can pay more than sending it directly. It all depends on the geographic lottery of where your users are. Welcome to AWS billing. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Trench warfare was a miserable, protracted conflict. So is cleaning up your AWS account after junior engineers "fix" the Terraform state and then quit. Now you get to spend your days hunting for the expensive, orphaned resources they left behind. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

The Israelites wandered for 40 years seeking the promised land. Your finance team is on a similar journey trying to decode the "EC2-Other" charge on the AWS bill. Spoiler: there is no promised land at the end of this quest. There are only support tickets. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

When Moses saw the golden calf, he shattered the tablets in rage. That's our reaction to seeing S3 cross-region replication on all buckets. It's a form of financial idolatry that creates horrifyingly large bills. That kind of confidence is... a choice. #finops

010

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

A word of advice for your next AWS migration, courtesy of the Old Testament: don't look back. Specifically, don't look back at your data transfer bill, or you too will be turned into a pillar of expensive, artisanal pink Himalayan salt. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Sure, pressurizing a bathroom with a poorly installed bidet is bad. But you know what's worse? Enabling S3 object versioning across the board and forgetting about it. You're creating a data graveyard that will haunt your monthly bill. The therapy will feel like a bargain. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

We believe in radical honesty. The kind that makes you tell a friend his kombucha "tastes like divorce." In that spirit: you don't need four RDS read replicas. Your app just isn't that popular, Greg. It's time to stop over-provisioning for your ego. #finops

010

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

God told Noah to build the ark once. He didn't give him 47 attempts with a buggy IaC template. Every failed run that leaves abandoned resources is a cardinal sin of cloud waste. It's time to repent. Build your infrastructure like you mean it. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

The biblical figure Job suffered greatly, but at least he could blame a higher power. You, on the other hand, have only yourself to thank for the horrors of your AWS bill. Every trial is self-inflicted. Think this won't happen to you? Oh, there's a word for that. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

Remember how King Solomon offered to cut a baby in half? AWS does that every time you split a workload across multiple accounts. Sure, security loves the "isolation," but every new account is another place for horrifying costs to hide. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

The Battle of Antietam was the deadliest day in American history. A close second is the day your finance department discovers a smattering of on-demand instances spread across six AWS regions. Before you cause an accounting catastrophe, learn what to look for. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Should you use an AWS reseller? For the most part, no. But there are exactly three situations where they aren't a complete waste of time. If you're just buying AWS from them and getting nothing else, you've just added a useless—and expensive—middleman. #finops

072

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

So you want to know how your cloud spend stacks up against the competition? Great. Do you also want to be profoundly mediocre? Chasing benchmarks strips away everything unique about your business. Compete with the only company that matters: yourself, last month. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Want to start a FinOps program? The secret first step: do almost nothing. Just measure everything and show people the numbers. Let the gentle, persistent shame of a public dashboard work its magic. You'll be amazed how quickly costs go down. #finops

010

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Is your entire FinOps "team" just one person who looks perpetually haunted? The centralized vs. decentralized debate is a trap. The real answer is a hybrid "Cost Champions" model—like little sleeper agents of fiscal responsibility embedded in your teams. #finops

010

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Trying to negotiate with AWS when your spend is shrinking? You have the negotiating leverage of a wet napkin. The only winning move is not to play. Let your contract expire, slash your costs, and then come back to the table from a position of power. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Missed your AWS spend commitment? Don't panic. AWS has a neat trick with a hidden "available balance" that lets you kick that shortfall down the road, as long as you keep signing new deals. Learn how to play their game. #finops

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

📺 Live thing alert! We’ve negotiated $9bn in AWS contracts. What can we do for you? Join @mikejulian.com on the livestream with your horrifying bills, embarrassing questions, and big ideas. Launches at 10a PT: duckbillgroup.com/officehours

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Negotiating an AWS EDP? They’ve got all the cards, but you’ve got options. Let’s talk at our drop-in AWS negotiation clinic, 6/12, 10a PT. Register (it’s free!): duckbillgroup.com/officehours

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

🚨 Going live!🚨 Drop-in FinOps office hours start at 10:00a PDT. Join the stream with your questions, gossip, and horrifying bills. duckbillgroup.com/officehours

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

🚨 Live soon! Free FinOps Office Hours with @mikejulian.com. 10:00a PT, here => duckbillgroup.com/officehours

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

If it’s Thursday, it’s Duckbill’s FinOps Office Hours—a free drop-in clinic for your thorniest questions and most horrifying bills. Stop by! 10–10:30a PT. duckbillgroup.com/officehours

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

🚨 We’re live! Join our #FinOps experts for troubleshooting, Q&A, and chat. duckbillgroup.com/officehours

021

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

📺 Starting soon: Duckbill Group #FinOps office hours. Bring your questions and bills; we’ll be live at 10:00 PT. duckbillgroup.com/officehours

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

🗓️ TOMORROW (already!): Join our weekly FinOps Office Hours drop-in chat. 10:00–10:30, live and free duckbillgroup.com/officehours

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Don’t miss this: Duckbill Group FinOps Office Hours. We’ll tackle your bills and answer your questions. THURSDAY, 10:00a PT. Register (it’s free!): duckbillgroup.com/officehours

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

🚨Happening now🚨: Join @quinnypig.com for Duckbill Group Office Hours with free advice, #FinOps smarts, and Corey’s dramatic reading of your #AWS bill. Live on Twitch: twitch.tv/duckbillgroup

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Questions? Opinions? We’ll cover this on Thursday. Join @quinnypig.com for drop-in office hours: duckbillgroup.com/officehours

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Happening this week: Duckbill Group Office Hours with @quinnypig.com. Bring your hottest take, your scariest bill, and every #FinOps and #AWS question you’ve been too afraid to ask. THURSDAY, 10:00a PDT. Register: duckbillgroup.com/officehours

000

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Our AWS data transfer cost diagram is freshly updated with new services and pricing. Creating it meant digging through AWS docs (finding bugs!) and cornering their employees for answers. Now you can see precisely what it costs to move data. www.duckbillgroup.com/resources/

A terribly confusing infographic of AWS Data Transfer Costs. Lots of arrows and connected nodes. Look, I can’t explain this—that’s the whole point. Confused as hell? Get help at duckbillgroup.com

020

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

We’ve updated our AWS data transfer pricing diagram for 2025! It maps many of the main cost pathways based on the latest services and rates. Architecture choices drive costs—this diagram makes those connections crystal clear.

121

Duckbill @duckbillhq.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

Freshly updated: Our comprehensive AWS data transfer cost map. We've incorporated the latest services and pricing after untold hours deciphering documentation and questioning AWS staff. No more guessing what your architecture decisions will cost.

153