Forget Distributed Systems. Build Distributed Companies!

The workplace for the 21st century developer is changing.

Driven by telecoms growth, remote working is no longer a difficult exception; it’s the hot new trend. People can live closer to their families and still get the job they want and this is nothing short of a revolution!

You better be prepared!

Transcript

1. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
   FORGET DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS.
   BUILD DISTRIBUTED COMPANIES!
   

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2. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
   DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS
   ARE EASY
   2
   

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3. PEOPLE PROBLEMS ARE HARD !!
   

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4. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
   BUILD DISTRIBUTED COMPANIES!
   

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5. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
   YORGOS
   5
   Software Engineer for ~ 15 years.
   Clean Code, OSS, Automation, Community.
   Working remotely for past 2 years
   Full-time remote for past 6 months
   

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6. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
   6
   Employees in 25 countries
   

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7. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
   7
   FOSS Communications Platform
   i.e. Real-Time Communications Middleware:
   ๏Programmable Voice,
   ๏Programmable Messaging &
   ๏Programmable Video.
   https://github.com/Restcomm
   

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8. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
   8
   3 founders live and work in 3 continents
   

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9. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
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   A fully distributed company:
   ✓No HQ.
   ✓No “local offices”.
   ✓Everyone free to work from wherever they are.
   ✓In their local timezone.
   

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10. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    THIS DOESN’T SOUND
    RIGHT…
    10
    

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11. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    11
    OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE
    

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12. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    OSS SHOULDN’T WORK!
    BECAUSE:
    12
    People get paid to work
    Small teams work best for software projects.
    Scaling software teams for given project X is difficult.
    Teams work in the same building.
    Teams need meetings to coordinate
    

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13. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    13
    VOLUNTARY WORK
    

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14. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    VOLUNTARY WORK
    14
    

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15. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    VOLUNTARY WORK
    15
    But…
    People…
    spend their free time
    “working” like this!
    

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16. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    VOLUNTARY WORK
    16
    VS
    

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17. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    17
    MOTIVATION
    

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18. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    18
    Work
    Fun
    

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19. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    19
    Motivation
    

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20. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    20
    SCALING PEOPLE IS HARD
    

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21. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    SCALING PPL?
    SURE!
    21
    

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22. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    LINUX KERNEL
    22
    • 15600 CONTRIBUTORS
    • 1400 COMPANIES
    • 4300 NEW CONTRIBUTORS IN 2017
    

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23. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    23
    OSS WILL NEVER CATCH ON
    

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24. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    IT ALREADY HAS.
    24
    

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25. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    25
    GEO-REDUNDANCY IS HARD
    

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26. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    DISTRIBUTED, IN NATURE
    26
    

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27. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    ACROSS TIMEZONES
    27
    No DM on GitHub.
    Instead:
    Simply exchanging notes on given topic (issue,
    Pull/Merge Request, code comment)
    

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28. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    ACROSS TIMEZONES
    28
    

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29. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    29
    

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30. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    30
    

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32. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    REMOTE WORKING
    32
    

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33. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    SOME KEY FACTS
    33
    Huge(!) demand in software developers today
    Big differences in economies of different countries
    Big companies want to reduce costs (outsourcing)
    People prefer to stay close to their families & friends
    Or, simply put, it’s NOT always the case that:
    placeWhereIdealJobIsLocated == placeWhereIwantMeAndMyFamilyToLive
    

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34. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    DEMAND
    34
    

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35. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    DEMAND
    35
    

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36. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    36
    

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37. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    SUPPLY
    37
    

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38. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    WHAT DOES
    THE “SUPPLY”
    LOOK LIKE?
    38
    ?
    

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39. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT
    SKILL FOR DEVS?
    39
    Algorithms & Data Structures
    Mathematics
    Learning
    Soft skills
    

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40. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    40
    smart people
    are born
    everywhere!
    (…not only where you choose to set up shop..)
    

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41. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    ECONOMICS
    41
    

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42. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    WORLD ECONOMICS
    42
    https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Developed_and_developing_countries.PNG
    

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43. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    GDP (PPP) PER CAPITA
    43
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_Per_Capita_in_2015.svg
    

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44. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    DEMAND SHAPES
    THE WORLD
    44
    

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45. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    DEMAND SHAPES THE WORLD
    45
    ppl flock to large cities, big centers (where they can find jobs)
    yet people want to:
    * live somewhere sunny / warm
    * live close to family & friends
    * live in a place that fits their lifestyle (family, going out, etc. )
    

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46. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    ONLINE PRESENCE
    CREATES TRUST
    46
    

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47. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    ONLINE PRESENCE
    Social Media:
    Twitter
    FB
    Instagram
    etc
    LinkedIn
    GitHub
    StackOverflow
    47
    

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48. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    REMOTE WORKING
    BENEFITS
    48
    

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49. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    NO COMMUTE!
    ok… maybe you’ll have to travel to an offsite…
    49
    

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50. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    COME AS YOU ARE
    50
    devs hate suits
    don’t judge a book by its cover (clothes)
    focus on the clothes / outfit that you feel comfortable in
    NOT your pyjamas
    

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51. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    CHOOSE YOUR WORKPLACE
    51
    go somewhere you feel creative.
    no more noisy colleagues
    no more open space offices
    

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52. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    FIND IT.
    THEN CHANGE IT.
    52
    

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53. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    CROSS-CULTURE ENVIRONMENT
    53
    meet people from every part of the
    world
    learn about different customs, habits,
    foods
    diversity is built-in, not bolted on
    

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54. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    UNDERSTAND
    LOCAL MARKETS
    54
    get to world domination faster
    understand how to localise
    native language speakers
    internationalization built-in
    

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55. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    LOCAL CONTACTS
    55
    networking in local meetups
    internationally distributed Alumni
    birds-eye view about current state of the world
    

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56. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    TRAVEL ! ! !
    56
    take work with you! Meet the
    world!
    Telestax CTO
    Digital Nomad (!= freelancer)
    

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57. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    A WORD ON DOCUMENTATION
    57
    

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58. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    REMOTE WORKING
    PITFALLS
    58
    

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59. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    SOME FORMALITIES
    59
    

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63. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    ASYNC
    COMMUNICATION
    63
    

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64. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    ASYNC COMMUNICATION
    you need to overcome the synchronous communication
    mindset
    blocking vs. non-blocking IO
    established communications pattern (letters)
    64
    

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65. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    WORKING FROM HOME
    65
    

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66. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    WORKING @ HOME
    wait a minute…
    isn’t home supposed to be where you don’t
    work… !?!?
    66
    

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67. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    WORKING @ HOME
    work-life balance
    when do you start/stop working?
    where do you work?
    when can the kids interrupt you?
    67
    

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68. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    WORKING @ HOME
    68
    

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69. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    WORKING @ HOME
    69
    

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70. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    WORKING @ HOME
    70
    #proTip: ^^ is just ONE option for
    remote working.
    

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71. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    REMOTE-FIRST VS.
    REMOTE-FRIENDLY
    are you the only remote guy/girl?
    just using Slack doesn’t make you remote-friendly
    71
    

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72. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    CONVINCED
    ALREADY?
    72
    

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73. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    IN GOOD COMPANY
    73
    

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74. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    HOW TO FIND A REMOTE JOB?
    • https://weworkremotely.com/
    • https://remoteok.io/
    • https://remote.co/
    • https://github.com/remoteintech/remote-jobs
    • https://github.com/justshiv/remote-first
    • https://stackoverflow.com/jobs/remote-developer-jobs
    74
    

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75. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    HOW TO GET A REMOTE JOB?
    75
    try some freelancing working from home. Maybe it’s not for
    you.
    get / show off some OSS experience!
    turn to local meetups to network with remote workers
    … usual tips for getting a job …
    

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76. >> Yorgos Saslis | @gsaslis | JavaDay Istanbul 2018
    THANK YOU!
    76
    Yorgos Saslis

    @gsaslis

    github.com/gsaslis
    

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