First, a disclaimer. This is some really seriously guerilla video. Paul Mooney was kind enough to bust out his video camera and film my keynote at Devscovery in NYC this last Monday. (This was the same trip where I hung out at the Fog Creek offices and did a "Hanselminutes on Channel 9" video.)
Paul edited the video and put it up on Blip.tv. Here's a link to the WMV file if you want to download it. You can also watch it embedded at Neuronspark. He put a lot of work into the editing, so thank you Paul for your community efforts!
I was a little silly so it was a lot more informal then most of my talks. I ran it like a classroom/university lecture with a lot of interactivity. Basically, the talk was loose, so be aware.
One of the things that I liked about this talk was that the talk was largely influenced by a StackOverflow question. The idea was to make a talk about Social Networking using a Social Networking site. I also think, that while the question isn't a programming-specific question, it's a good example of all things community (crowd-sourced)-related.
People voted on the best answer, some voted to shut down the question completely (!), comments broke out in the question and some answers, and the question was eventually turned into a "community wiki" question with collective ownership.
Here's a snapshot of the StackOverflow question (in case it's edited). Forgive the self-quoting:
How can social networking sites make you a better developer? I am giving a keynote at Devscovery tomorrow at 9am. The title is "Social Networking for Developers." It's 90 minutes long and I don't want to waste anyone's time.
Everyone I talk to who uses Twitter, Blogs, StackOverflow, etc, says that these sites make them "better developers." However, few are able to qualify HOW and fewer will are able to quantify HOW MUCH better. Is it just about getting answers to questions? Is it about the developer's third place? Help me, O Stack Overflow, O great social network of developers, with my Keynote on Social Networking. ;) What makes developers, usually an anti-social bunch, strive to use the internet for social purposes? How do Social Networking sites help you better do your job?
Everyone I talk to who uses Twitter, Blogs, StackOverflow, etc, says that these sites make them "better developers." However, few are able to qualify HOW and fewer will are able to quantify HOW MUCH better.
Is it just about getting answers to questions? Is it about the developer's third place?
Help me, O Stack Overflow, O great social network of developers, with my Keynote on Social Networking. ;)
What makes developers, usually an anti-social bunch, strive to use the internet for social purposes?
How do Social Networking sites help you better do your job?
And here's the answer with the most votes, from Rob P.:
Social Networks are loaded with people who will remind you not to wait until the night before a talk to ask such questions :) But seriously, I think the biggest thing it does is remind people what a good developer can be. If you are someone who enjoys to go for a jog 2-3 times a week, you could very easily be the best runner you know. You might think that what you do is at or near the limit of what anyone could expect to do. Until you go to a 5k filled with other serious runners. Then you realize where you stand. As a younger/not so great developer - I used to think I was a great developer. I was the best developer in my family, the best developer of all my friends and when I finally got into programming classes at school, I was the best then. Even in college. And, honestly, even in a lot of the jobs I've had. The reminder that there are other people out there who really are leaps and bounds ahead of me and the exposure to things I didn't know existed or were possible - gives me something to strive for.
But seriously, I think the biggest thing it does is remind people what a good developer can be. If you are someone who enjoys to go for a jog 2-3 times a week, you could very easily be the best runner you know. You might think that what you do is at or near the limit of what anyone could expect to do.
Until you go to a 5k filled with other serious runners. Then you realize where you stand.
As a younger/not so great developer - I used to think I was a great developer. I was the best developer in my family, the best developer of all my friends and when I finally got into programming classes at school, I was the best then. Even in college. And, honestly, even in a lot of the jobs I've had.
The reminder that there are other people out there who really are leaps and bounds ahead of me and the exposure to things I didn't know existed or were possible - gives me something to strive for.
The answers and resulting discussion, along with some tips I've developed on blogging added up to a fun talk where I eventually ran out of time. I hope to give this talk again in a more organized and formal setting in the future.
Enjoy!
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