Buffer reposted this
A peek behind the scenes of how Buffer handles real-time data ingestion from Dinos (Konstantinos) Theodorou.
Building real-time integrations with social media platforms feels like trying to drink from a waterfall🚰 I’ve spent over 10 years working with data ingestion pipelines and third-party integrations. It’s not the only thing I do, and I’m far from an expert, but it’s an area I keep coming back to. The one thing that still excites and humbles me at the same time, is real-time or near-real-time data ingestion. At Buffer we integrate with real-time event sources (streams and webhooks) wherever possible. Today, we process ~45M events daily and we keep expanding. To some, that number might feel small, to others it might sound huge, but they are our numbers, and they keep growing as we add more integrations and support more users. 📈 Engineering-wise, it feels like drinking from a waterfall. Messy, not always controlled, but the freshness is unmatched. Similarly in our product, the responsiveness and freshness of information just puts a big smile on my face, and I believe on our users as well. We are bringing more of these integrations soon, where applicable and makes sense. 👀 Looking at you, LinkedIn and Bluesky.
