The Butterfly.js Effect

This talk was first presented at JSConf US 2018 in partnership with Julian Duque - https://2018.jsconf.us/speakers/juan-buritica-and-julian-duque/

This talk will serve three purposes. First, it will tell the story of the creation of the JavaScript community in Colombia and its journey to becoming one of the largest Spanish-speaking JS communities in the world. It will highlight and explore the impact this community has had on the region, and how it set the stage for other communities to build upon. Finally, it will provide insight into the challenges of building a community in a developing nation where the tech ecosystem is not established, providing a summary of lessons learned which other communities in developing nations can use as a blueprint in their regions.

We aim to discuss starting meetups in cities or small towns, the impact of the JavaScript community on individuals including organizers, speakers, and attendees, creative sponsorship ideas, cost structures, financing challenges, diversity, inclusion and the use of international networks to support local initiatives.

The deck template and styling by the amazing Lilondra - https://twitter.com/lilondra

Transcript

1. The Butterfly.js Effect
   JSConf US 2018
   

   View Slide

2. Julián Duque
   Juan Pablo Buriticá
   @buritica @julian_duque
   VP Eng - Splice Solutions Architect - NodeSource
   

   View Slide

3. It has been said that something as
   small as the flutter of a butterfly's
   wing can ultimately cause a
   typhoon halfway around the world.
   Chaos Theory
   “
   

   View Slide

4. We come from far away
   to tell you a story...
   

   View Slide

5. ... one we'd put
   under the magical
   realism genre if you
   asked us 8 years ago.
   

   View Slide

6. This is the story of how six
   individuals set off a
   community typhoon they
   would've never imagined ...
   

   View Slide

7. View Slide

8. View Slide

9. View Slide

10. View Slide

11. View Slide

12. View Slide

13. View Slide

14. View Slide

15. View Slide

16. View Slide

17. View Slide

18. View Slide

19. View Slide

20. View Slide

21. View Slide

22. ENHANCE
    

    View Slide

23. View Slide

24. ENHANCE
    

    View Slide

25. View Slide

26. View Slide

27. View Slide

28. View Slide

29. View Slide

30. View Slide

31. View Slide

32. View Slide

33. View Slide

34. View Slide

35. View Slide

36. View Slide

37. View Slide

38. View Slide

39. View Slide

40. View Slide

41. View Slide

42. View Slide

43. View Slide

44. We have mirrored
    developed tech
    ecosystems,
    despite having
    inadequate
    infrastructure.
    

    View Slide

45. Diversity &
    inclusion have
    been part of our
    plan from day one
    

    View Slide

46. We have built
    a platform
    

    View Slide

47. Today, the Colombian
    developer community is
    recognized world-wide.
    

    View Slide

48. And thousands of Colombian
    programmers are learning
    connected to each other
    

    View Slide

49. Why is this so
    magical?
    

    View Slide

50. Please, close
    your eyes
    

    View Slide

51. What is the first thing
    that comes to mind
    when you hear
    Colombia?
    

    View Slide

52. ... yup, our not-so-
    peaceful history
    precedes us.
    

    View Slide

53. So we're on a
    mission ...
    

    View Slide

54. ...to build a developer community that
    helps Colombia leave it's past behind...
    

    View Slide

55. ... by exposing the local community to
    modern techniques, tools, processes, and
    technologies that power the open web.
    

    View Slide

56. ... highlighting the effort of community
    members who promote the growth of an
    inclusive and respectful community.
    

    View Slide

57. ... and generating social impact by making
    knowledge accessible to as many Colombians
    and Hispanic-Americans as possible.
    

    View Slide

58. How can you do
    the same?
    

    View Slide

59. View Slide

60. View Slide

61. View Slide

62. What we've
    learned ...
    

    View Slide

63. Use your privilege
    as a bridge
    

    View Slide

64. Speakers
    

    View Slide

65. One or two well known
    speakers make all the
    difference when starting
    

    View Slide

66. View Slide

67. ENHANCE
    

    View Slide

68. View Slide

69. Speakers
    Ambassadors
    

    View Slide

70. View Slide

71. Sponsors
    

    View Slide

72. At first, local sponsors will love to
    "partner" with you ...
    

    View Slide

73. At first, local sponsors will love to
    "partner" with you ...
    ... but you can't pay airline tickets
    or hotels with favors.
    

    View Slide

74. Ask for cash, or have them pay for
    expenses directly.
    

    View Slide

75. Find friends in "big" companies to
    help sponsor for love of the art.
    

    View Slide

76. Find friends in "big" companies to
    help sponsor for love of the art.
    They won't see your city/country
    as an interesting market yet.
    

    View Slide

77. $$$
    

    View Slide

78. It is very likely you will lose
    money in the first event...
    

    View Slide

79. It is very likely you will lose
    money in the first event...
    ... and the second ...
    

    View Slide

80. It is very likely you will lose
    money in the first event...
    ... and the second ...
    ... and the third.
    

    View Slide

81. Running a not-for-profit
    community doesn't mean you're
    running a charity.
    

    View Slide

82. Build an operating budget that will
    leave you with an emergency fund
    in the long run.
    

    View Slide

83. Here's a 2013 real budget example
    for you ...
    JSConf CO 2013 Budget
    * we lost money
    * we recovered in 2015
    

    View Slide

84. Leadership
    

    View Slide

85. Start with a small team.
    

    View Slide

86. View Slide

87. Once your event is sustainable,
    you can start training the future
    generation of organizers ...
    

    View Slide

88. View Slide

89. Give away your legos
    

    View Slide

90. Bridge a culture
    

    View Slide

91. Aspire to build a diverse,
    inclusive and accessible event
    from day one...
    

    View Slide

92. Aspire to build a diverse,
    inclusive and accessible event
    from day one...
    ... just make sure you can afford
    it.
    

    View Slide

93. Iterating towards a better future
    is better than going broke.
    

    View Slide

94. Affordable tickets > Food
    

    View Slide

95. Affordable tickets > Food
    Interpretation > Fancy Party
    

    View Slide

96. Localize diversity and
    inclusion, and
    accessibility.
    

    View Slide

97. Did you know that 100% of
    people born in Colombia are
    Latin-Americans?
    

    View Slide

98. Did you know that 100% of
    people born in Colombia are
    Latin-Americans?
    You get the gist ...
    

    View Slide

99. Draft a code of conduct from day
    one, it's like a package.json.
    

    View Slide

100. Draft a code of conduct from day
     one, it's like a package.json.
     Enforce it.
     

     View Slide

101. When it comes to diversifying,
     sponsoring > mentoring.
     

     View Slide

102. When it comes to diversifying,
     sponsoring > mentoring.
     Give people a framework,
     money, have their back, and
     back off.
     

     View Slide

103. View Slide

104. The Empanada Fund:
     30 min office hour to share
     meetup framework
     

     View Slide

105. The Empanada Fund:
     30 min office hour to share
     meetup framework
     @buritica sponsors empanadas
     & beverages for your first event
     

     View Slide

106. The Empanada Fund:
     Has helped start 30+ meetups in
     Central & South America
     

     View Slide

107. Starting & maintaining
     communities outside of tech
     hubs is:
     

     View Slide

108. Starting & maintaining
     communities outside of tech
     hubs is:
     Difficult
     

     View Slide

109. Starting & maintaining
     communities outside of tech
     hubs is:
     Difficult
     Mostly unrecognized
     

     View Slide

110. Starting & maintaining
     communities outside of tech
     hubs is:
     Difficult
     Mostly unrecognized
     A fuckton of work
     

     View Slide

111. Let's hear it for JSConf US organizers.
     

     View Slide

112. You won't make any money, and
     will likely lose some.
     

     View Slide

113. You won't make any money, and
     will likely lose some.
     But you will set off a chain of
     events that will benefit you even
     more.
     

     View Slide

114. View Slide

115. You will also make amazing
     friends.
     

     View Slide

116. And your impact will go far and
     beyond.
     

     View Slide

117. Impact?
     

     View Slide

118. We've congregated the majority of
     community leaders and most
     active members in an invite only
     Slack.
     

     View Slide

119. We've congregated the majority of
     community leaders and most
     active members in an invite only
     Slack.
     We're now over 1500 and
     exploring ways of opening it up.
     

     View Slide

120. We've created an index of Colombian software
     meetups and noticed there's more than 50,000
     registered members.
     http://colombia-dev.org/meetups
     

     View Slide

121. The event framework we've built has been
     successfully replicated by events outside of
     those we've started.
     

     View Slide

122. ScaleConf CO, Hackdó Conf, DinosaurJS, and
     more to come…
     

     View Slide

123. View Slide

124. Specialized communities spread
     

     View Slide

125. We're establishing as a tech hub
     

     View Slide

126. Talent is growing, lives are
     being transformed…
     

     View Slide

127. We're becoming our own role
     models
     

     View Slide

128. Juli went global!
     

     View Slide

129. Friends from everywhere
     

     View Slide

130. We asked our community about
     the impact in their lives… here
     some responses
     

     View Slide

131. “On several occasions I had the chance to be a speaker, I
     did not have much experience as a dev at the
     beginning and had many insecurities that had acquired
     thanks to a "macho" boss, being a speaker when
     started in this community allowed me to overcome
     the fears completely and of course learned a lot
     technically to prepare for my career.
     Claudia Lagos - @ClaudiaLagosR
     

     View Slide

132. “For me it was very exciting to see people donate their time
     because they want others to have the necessary expertise
     to succeed, but not only about that, they also help us a lot
     to have better soft skills, through a code of conduct and
     open doors to tolerance and respect.
     I felt very inspired to follow that path to learn more and
     always want to give something back to the community!
     Alejandra Giraldo - @maleja111
     

     View Slide

133. “I think the best part of these communities is the networking
     through the inclusion of the entire community to share their
     knowledge together, a network of contacts that helps you in
     every possible level. As personal experience, being a young
     (16 years old) person I was able to give a talk in a conference
     and hence generate a network of vast contacts that helped
     reached the path to career success I was looking for.
     Samuel Burbano - @iosamuel
     

     View Slide

134. “In a social context like Colombia, a community is a great opportunity
     for those who have or think they have limited life and career choices.
     That's why I love the community, you can change lives. Teaching you
     not only technical skills but also empowering yourself to continue to
     improve the world individually and in society.
     PionerasDev certainly shaped my life in the most positive way without
     all the joint efforts of many people like Julián and Buriticá the story
     would have been different
     Laura Ciro - @ltciro
     

     View Slide

135. Find all responses at:
     http://impact.colombia-dev.org
     

     View Slide

136. Our family keeps growing and
     growing.
     

     View Slide

137. View Slide

138. The butterfly.js
     effect becomes
     a cycle
     

     View Slide

139. Scholarship >
     Speaker >
     Organizer
     

     View Slide

140. View Slide

141. View Slide

142. Stronger wings with
     every new member
     

     View Slide

143. Stronger wings with
     every new member
     Make more
     impactful
     typhoons
     

     View Slide

144. https://medium.com/@kosamari/well-planed-and-hard-worked-coincidence-in-colombia-7d49b67cd9b8
     

     View Slide

145. Thank you
     @kosamari
     

     View Slide

146. But… we don’t want to see this
     change only happening in
     Colombia.
     

     View Slide

147. But… we don’t want to see this
     change only happening in
     Colombia.
     We'd like it to spread
     

     View Slide

148. Here's where you come in
     

     View Slide

149. http://support.colombia-dev.org
     

     View Slide

150. The proceeds will go towards
     building resources and providing
     funds to new communities in Latin-
     America
     

     View Slide

151. We also had our butterflies
     

     View Slide

152. View Slide

153. @julian_duque
     @buritica
     GRACIAS
     

     View Slide