I <3 open source (and why you should too)

A lightning talk from CUSEC 2015 about why I open source and how it can be used to fight imposter syndrome. In reply to Julie Pagano's talk on imposter syndrome.

Transcript

1. I ❤️ open source and why you should too. @ryanseys A ⚡️ talk & reply to Julie Pagano
2. Review: Imposter Syndrome • They don’t share knowledge - they think they’re a bad programmer. • They don’t collaborate with others. • They don’t help with OSS - people can be nasty in open source sometimes. • They don’t apply for jobs. • Julie didn't try to apply for Google in college because she didn't think she was good enough.
3. Review: How to fight back! • Have a support system of people. • Track measurable progress. • Look at positives and avoid overly-negative people. • Help others. "This was one of the most helpful things to do." - Julie
4. Share knowledge • School projects are usually designed for knowledge-building. Open source those puppies! • Stupid little scripts that made your life easier. • Apps that help you help others. • "Speak less negatively about yourself." - Julie
5. Collaborate with others • Small changes to big projects have big impact. World- wide reach and large network potential. • People in open source are usually very helpful and willing to help. They can be a part of your support system. • Shopify - github.com/Shopify/dashing/pull/3
6. Help with OSS: Just feels good • Sweaty palms right before submitting a PR. • Warm, tingly feeling when your code lands. • Those sweet, sweet GitHub contributions. Track measurable progress.
7. Apply for jobs • No degree? No problem! Internships rock! • Public portfolio of awesome! (…and some shame) • Blindside Networks, Mozilla, Google! (people actually hire you to write open source??)
8. Help others • Give back to the community with pull requests. • Create new tools to help developers be awesome. Personally I love API client libraries. • Be the community. Be the support system.
9. Thanks ❤️ @ryanseys Questions?