The future of our community is YOU

Every day each one of us turns to community contributions to help us become better developers — blog posts, open source projects, conference talks, podcasts, and so much more. Can you imagine if these community resources didn’t exist?!

And while our community is strong today, it’s healthiest when it continues to grow from a broad set of interests, backgrounds, and opinions. That diversity and knowledge to keep our community strong can only come from one place: YOU.

I’ll share my thoughts about how this community has helped me (and others) grow, why that’s so important, and ultimately why it’s crucial for all of us to contribute. I’ll discuss five (or so) areas, each with some high-level tips to get you started, that we can all contribute to keeping our community strong and healthy.

The Android community has proven to be one of the most welcoming, friendly, helpful, generous groups I’ve ever encountered. Let’s keep it going!

Links:
- http://www.donnfelker.com/the-single-best-thing-you-can-do-for-your-career/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osVpqz10UP8

Thanks to these folks for their contributions that helped shape and reinforce the talk:
- https://twitter.com/jayohms
- https://twitter.com/queencodemonkey
- https://twitter.com/KellyShuster
- https://twitter.com/mandybess
- https://twitter.com/chiuki
- https://twitter.com/donnfelker
- https://twitter.com/chethaase
- https://twitter.com/sehurlburt
- https://twitter.com/crafty
- https://twitter.com/danlew42
- https://twitter.com/jessfraz

(Talk given at Chicago Robot 2018 on 4/13/2018).

Transcript

1. The future of our community is YOU dan@basecamp.com @dankim
2. ! Our wonderful, vibrant community
3. What if this community didn’t exist?
4. The future of our community
5. My (boring) story
6. This is Jay
7. & An incredibly rich community of teachers
8. Launched my work to new heights
9. We’ve all been touched by amazing contributions
10. We’ll always do better together
11. + Sustaining a community is hard work
12. Hundreds of hours of work
13. Android moves fast
14. Natural ebbs and flows to contributions
15. We need you!
16. ⚡ Your energy!
17. Your diverse perspectives!
18. “I have nothing new to say”
19. You’re 100% wrong!
20. Your life experiences are incredibly unique and valuable
21. Open, accessible, & encouraging
22. “Yes, you should totally propose a talk. Do it. End of story. If you have any questions let me know. You gotta go for it. Would love to help. You’ll do great! Let me know!”
23. An immensely rewarding experience
24. So you’re convinced, right?
25. Four ways you can contribute
26. ✍ 1. Writing
27. < It’s information dense
28. = It’s self-paced
29. It’s an excellent reference (basically forever)
32. Tip #1: Set some broad goals, not strict deadlines
33. Tip #2: Recognize the moments that motivate you
34. Tip #3: Have a strong opinion
35. 2. Speaking
36. It’s scary as hell & it’s a ton of work
37. E Speaking is the single best way to inspire and motivate
38. Opens up new opportunities!
39. “That one day led to many job offers…to do bigger and better things… I decided to jump and go work for myself as a consultant. How? All from speaking.” http://www.donnfelker.com/the-single-best-thing-you-can-do-for-your-career/
40. It’s “fun”!
41. Tip #1: There’s no right or wrong way to start
42. Tip #2: Be yourself on stage
43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osVpqz10UP8
44. Tip #3: Don’t forget, we’re rooting for you
45. 3. Mentoring
46. So many people need this
47. Setting up for long-term success
48. R So rewarding to see an individual grow
49. Tip #1: 100% expertise not required
50. Tip #2: Advertise yourself
53. & Tip #3: Provide guidance, not answers
54. T 4. Open source
55. You can make a huge impact
56. A powerful way to learn
57. An instant resume builder
58. Tip #1: Every little bit helps
59. Tip #2: Discussions are fine, code is better
60. Tip #3: Be friendly!
62. ✍ Writing Speaking Mentoring T Open Source
63. Remember, everyone is incredibly nice
64. A personal thank you
65. Thank you! dan@basecamp.com @dankim