opencredo: "a guide to becoming famous within it"

A guide to becoming famous within i.t.

Daniel Bryant

@danielbryantuk

OpencRedo

Agenda

• What does it mean to be famous (within i.t.)?

• How do we become 'famous'?

• Things to watch out for

• Create a plan

17/03/2017 @danielbryantuk

What does it mean to be famous within I.T.?


What does it mean to be famous in I.T.?


...Or is it more like?


...Or maybe?


For many of us, it'S probably more like...


However, there are benefits for being 'known'

• Recognition for your hard work

• Building a Brand (for you and your company)

• Invitations to participate (engage in debate, 'create the future')

• Build your network and career

• Additional opportunities (learning, travel etc)


So, how do you get famous?

(Caveat: This is just my experience, and I'm not really famous)


So, how do you get famous?

• Define clear goals

• Systematically approach conferences, orgs, people...

• Practice, practice, practice

• Be 'omnichannel' (sorry...)

• Build a brand

• Develop your network


Define clear goals

• Start with 'why?'

• Useful tools

– Brain storming

– Impact mapping

– Empathy mapping

• Be S.M.A.R.T.


Systematically approach conferences, orgs, people...

1. Convert goals to actionable plan

2. Create abstracts/synopsis and get feedback

3. Submit early and often (and follow up)

4. Be tenacious, you will be rejected many times

5. Ask for feedback from the organisers


Practice, practice, practice (speaking)

• Public speaking is not natural for many of us

• Practice – cat/duck, partner/friend, team, company, meetup, small conf, medium...

• Video yourself - and watch it!!

• Listen to feedback and adapt


Stuff that still trips me up (when speaking)

• A/V failures

• Hearing my own voice with delay

• Not seeing the audience (webinar, bright lights etc)

• Strange looks from the audience

• Drinking water

• Taking a pause (no one actually notices)


Be 'omnichannel' (sorry...)

• The fastest way to get recognised is to be a triple threat

– Good at Public speaking

– Regularly Writing articles/tutorial

– Sharing good examples of Coding / Tech

• There are also multiple distribution 'brands' to be aware of


Brand value (This is simply my opinion!)

• Global tier– Qcon, o'Reilly, Goto, craftconf, manning, infoq, high scalability, devops.com

• National tier– Devoxx, Jax, Javaone, skillsmatter, packt, tech beacon, dzone guides, TNS

• Regional tier– Local conferences / meetups, Self-publication


Work your way to the top

• Target lower tiers (for an easier ride)

– Systematically work your way upwards

• Leverage successes

– Share everything on Social media (well, not everything...)

– Links to material on all future submissions

– Target interesting people (with care) and share your stuff


Work your way to the top

• Don'T underestimate the value of mentors

– I owe so much to people who have helped me in my career

• Try to get involved with organising conferences/reports

– No better way to learn than seeing from the other side

– Reviewing cfp submissions was a game-changer for me


My journey - Some personal anecdotes

1. Local meetups

– Work on projects e.g. betterrev

2. Javaone (riding the coat tails)

3. Devoxx

– help on PC was a gamechanger

4. Dzone guides

5. Manning reviews

6. Work with Skillsmatter

7. Craftconf

– Saw value of social media

8. Qcon

– Introduction via infoq

9. o'reilly (via books, articles)

10. And Finally Goto!


Build a brand

• Be known for something– Golang

– Microservices

– Leadership

• Marketing 101– Easier to market a well-defined brand/product

– Niche products are easier to explain


There are Different Types of talks

• Tech exploration

• Case studies

• Themed

– Tech E.g. architecture, clean coding, containers

– Biz/Soft skills E.g. strategy, empathy, project management

• Thought leadership


Creating a talk

1. Brainstorm / Impact mapping

2. Get a second opinion

3. Create outline (build the story)

4. Fill in details

5. Practice (out loud)

6. Reflect and feedback


Books


Cfp submission guidelines

• Sell your idea - be clear and succinct

• Show awareness of topic, but Avoid over-use of buzzwords

• Demonstrate clear learning outcomes or takeaways

• Bullet points are your friend

• Double-check submissions (T&C confirm, text formatting etc)


Develop your network

• Sounds cynical, but meeting people within your industry can be thought on as part of your job / role / career progression

• Therefore, be systematic about the approach

– Have goals

– Always introduce yourself and Explain who you are

– Make the elevator pitch / Ask how you can help


Levels of Networking at conferences and meetups

1. Have a good chat with someone

– Show appreciation, but don't oversell (try not to be a fanboy/fangirl)

– Ask how you can help them

2. Quick intro / ask a question

3. Engage via social media


Worth saying one more time...

You can go along way by asking how you can help someone!


Diversity

• Slightly ironic, since I am a steriotype of i.t. mainstream...

– But we can all make a difference

– Be aware, take action

• If you consider yourself from a diverse/under-represented

group within it, this can open up more doors (if you want)


Being a good citizen

• Be respectful at conferences, and in writing, social media etc

– No inappropriate jokes, pictures, or memes

– He/him -> they/them

– Guys -> folks, people, the team

• Bottom line: be mindful, follow the golden rule, Don'T be an idiot!


Fame antipatterns

• Being known for the wrong thing

• Bad attitude - 'I know best' / being dogmatic

• Not building on prior art or referencing existing work


Let'S wrap this up...


In summary

• Define clear goals

• Systematically approach conferences, orgs, people...

• Practice, practice, practice

• Be 'omnichannel' (sorry...)

• Build a brand

• Develop your network


Thanks

• Questions?

• Contact me:

– [email protected]

–@danielbryantuk


opencredo: "a guide to becoming famous within it"

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