“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - Walt Disney

Staying Inspired

The Power of Tech Communities

Thanks to Jon, Lee, Boon

& all the wonderful volunteers!

"Kansas City Developers Conference cultivates community among techies"
- via Startland News

Jennifer Wadella

@likeOMGitsFEDAY

  • JavaScript Developer
  • Accidental Community Organizer
  • Founder of Kansas City Women in Technology
    • CoderDojoKC
    • Coding & Cupcakes
    • Coding & Cocktails
  • Midwest Dev Chat Currator

Conference Hype

Are You Inspired?

How will you feel the day after?

And Monday?

And Tuesday?

And Wednesday?
And the next week?

How long will you stay inspired?

What Now?

Hello World.

Can you remember your first moment?




Coding & Cupcakes, May 2015

Are You Inspired?

How do you get that inspiration back?

Communities to the rescue!

Why do Communities do this for us?

Maslow's Hierarchy

Communities help you find your people.

Community

com·mu·ni·ty [kuh-myoo-ni-tee]

a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists

Examples

  • work teams
  • disciplines
  • online communities
  • user groups

How to get involved

  • Make connections. "networking for developers"
  • Lunch it up. And invite the new person!
  • Evangelize your workplace.
  • Get on social media.
  • Answer questions.
  • Actually go to stuff...

The KC Tech Ecosystem

KC User Groups | fwdkc

Are You Inspired?

Do you want to start your own community?

Tips for Building Communities

  1. Just ask.
  2. Become an email master.
  3. Communicate well.
  4. Be consistent.
  5. Prioritize the needs of your community.
  6. Don't be afraid to delegate or change the guard.

Next Steps

  • Check out the user group tables outside.
  • Join a slack channel: Midwest Dev Chat 700 devs & growing
  • Come to the attendee party.

Attendee Party

No Other Pub

7-9pm

Stay Inspired <3

Slides available at https://tehfedaykin.github.io/StayInspired