Have you ever wanted to become an influencer as an open-source developer?
If yes, I invite you to follow the some of proven strategies listed below that will enable you to not only making a difference in the 'open source ecosystem' but also get recognized as an influencer while doing so!
1. Solve Problems others have
In software development, we run into problems all the time and the first thing most people do is to search for them online. Consider sharing your knowledge with others by posting questions and answers on any of the following websites. These websites allow the individual with the best 'question' or 'answer' to earn points which oftentimes leads to recognition/rewards as well.
- StackExchange sites e.g StackOverflow
- Quora
- Community Developer Forums such as RingCentral's Game Changer program
2. Educate to make Complex Simple
There is a great demand for knowledge base articles such as 'how to' tutorials, best practice guides, tip/tricks, and screencast-based tutorials. A lot of such content already exists however often it's not up to date, lacks quality or simplicity.
New and better ways of explaining technical concepts and ideas are always in demand by developers.
Personal or company blog is always the best as it helps you and your company's brand showcase technical thought leadership.
Popular Tech Blogs (Dev.to, HackerNoon, DZone, Smashing Magazine, CodePen, etc) are all looking for educational content.
YouTube, Twitch: Live streaming with audience engagement or creating a series of short how-to videos make for great content that can be easily consumed on video platforms is a great way to share knowledge specially if you are not shy to showcase your personality on camera.
Organizer / Give Talks, Workshops: Meetups, Conferences both virtual and in-person are always in need of speakers and often put our call for proposals that anyone with a decent idea can submit.
Books, Academic Journals: If you enjoy doing deep research, consider writing books or submitting your work in academic journals such as those published by ACM.
3. Contribute back to Open Source
Open Source Contributions: GitHub](https://github.com) is a great place to show your open source projects, give back to your favorite projects and be recognized while doing so. Most projects can benefit at minimum by a nice README document which is up-to-date information on how to use it/build it, etc. No change is too small for a maintainer so consider sending pull requests to thank the contributors.
Author a library or tool : If you enjoy writing code then consider packaging and releasing your code as a library or tool that can make a certain task easier for developers. You can publish them for your favorite language in places, Here are instructions for npm and maven central
4. Be Passionate & Creative
Don't be shy to share your authentic self. Being authentic is the best way to gain trust with your audience which means disclosing your biases, communicating passionately, etc.
Developers often need to be inspired by technology, especially if it's "novel" or "complicated". Consider explain complicated topics it in creative ways such as demo videos, through-provoking tweets, infographics/doodles, comics, or even magic tricks. Social Media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and websites like Reddit and Hacker News are excellent places to share.
5. Mentor others
One common myth around mentorships is that one has to be the 'the expert' to mentor, this is not true, you just need to care about others and know little bit more than the mentee to guide them down the right path. If you get an opportunity to mentor/teach in person that is also a great way to share knowledge, especially with new developers, and show them the rope and best practices.
Finally remember to bring a great attitude to your work such as that of empathy and respect for the developers at large.
Be persistent to share your knowledge even when you don't receive social media likes/shares as being able to deliver consistently is one sure-shot way of succeeding. Good luck in your journey :)
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