Building in Public As A Creative.

Hi there 🥳

Welcome back to this space. Here I talk about Tech related topics, Faith Based Topics and My Journey as a Software Developer and Hacker ( Don't get too spooky, I mean hacking in the sense of learning and thinking the impossible).

I wanted to make this post to share what I have learnt about building in public, the why, the how and the benefits. I am not a Social Media Influencer but I sure have learned a lot as a Software Developer.

Are you ready?

What the Heck is Building in Public

Do you know how you would always get excited to share your creative projects back then in school? Yes! I am sure that day you were so happy to go to school because you had something new you had built or created and thought of how your friends could help you improve it. The whole class witnessed how your project evolved and gave contributions to it.

I wasn't a smart kid in school, but my memory of this feeling was when I wrote a rap song and was so excited because I had friends who could make beats with their pens and the desk. Yes, we always turned the class into a student studio😂. We would revise the rap song and try to make the best hit ever heard, only you never heard it😢.

I guess you have yours and I would love to hear it in the comment section (If you are not up for the whole Hashnode account thing, you can hit me up at @viceodev on Twitter).

Okay, back to what we are talking about...

Building in Public as a creative just means the same thing as those projects in school. You have something you created and want your friends to know about it. You want them to see how the project evolved and grew, You also want them to help you improve it. The difference is, this time your friends are on Social Media(Don't get too scared).

Yes, this time you are sharing with the world, not just with your friends and this is where it gets tricky. You think you need to write the best Software or you need to make the best Designs or you need to write the best article ever. Well not really!

The idea of growing in public assumes that you are just starting or have some experience and are still growing. You share your Journey with the world, right from when you started through when you get your desired outcome.

Why Should I Build in Public?

One of the amazing things about the recent strategy of recruitment in the tech space is that you can get a Job without applying for it.

You can build your clientele without putting up ads.

When you build in public, potential clients and companies see you evolve. They watch you grow from where you were at the time to where you will be when they pick interest in you. Moreso, you get to share your thought process and concepts with other creatives who could be more experienced than you and get very nice feedback that could help you skyrocket your career.

When you build in public you don't just have to build your career, you have the whole world to do that for and with you. You grow faster knowing that you are not alone and also find inspiration from those you will get to connect with and those who would love to connect with you.

How Should I Build in Public?

Building in public can seem super daunting if you are just getting into a particular field because you get confused about what to share. You think your progress is too small to be heard of but I promise you nothing is too small. Here are 5 tips you could use when building in public;

1. Join a Challenge.

I never really did this because I didn't know its importance or significance. I went through my novice phase without joining a challenge which I think would have made things move faster. One of the most common challenges around the tech space is #100daysof[activity]. The activity can be coding, designing, learning or something else. Most of the time, developers who join these coding challenges get jobs or offers immediately after it while others may take time. Remember, you are learning and sharing not scouting for jobs.

One of the major mistakes novice developers make is pursuing the validation of other people rather than learning from the experience. Often when you share your progress with a #100daysof[something] hashtag, you get cheers from other developers but that should not be your goal. Your reason for going through this challenge is to find individuals who make positive inputs to your growth. For example, when you make a post on Twitter, you should check out comments that point out things you could get better at. Look out for other developers who are doing the same as you and build your network.

2. Join a Community.

One of the best platforms that can facilitate your learning is a community relevant to what you are doing. Communities are great for learning and sharing. You get a lot of benefits from joining a community as they host a ton of helpful events including Hackathons, Challenges, Seminars/Webinars and Giveaways which will help you grow.

When scouting for a community, make sure you feel comfortable in it. If I am being honest, I am yet to find a community I am completely comfortable in. Just in case you know one, please mention it in the comment section or hit me up on Twitter at @viceodev.

You can find different communities in your area with a simple google search.

3. Attend Tech Events and Network.

One of the things that have helped me grow is attending Tech events where I get to hear from other developers about what they have done and are doing. I get insights into different spaces I never thought I had an interest in.

When attending Tech Events, be careful to network with those with who you share some passion or interests. One of the mistakes I made with Tech events is networking with random persons who after the meeting, we don't really keep a Healthy relationship.

Meeting people is great but keeping these relationships is greater.

4. Contribute to Open Source.

I am a big fan of Open Source, though I am yet to contribute which I think I will be doing soon enough. Contributing to Open Source is a great way to learn and grow in public. When companies scout for developers, they often seek Open Source projects you have built or contributed to.

One myth you need to debunk is that "Open Source Projects are for Advanced Developers". At every level of your career, there is an Open Source project you can work on.

Sharing useful content can be in form of a video, a blog post or even a social media Post. Sharing useful content for other developers is another way of giving back to the community and helping other people grow.

Your blog post can be about how you were able to solve a problem or optimize an existing one. Helping other people grow is another way of growing yourself.

There are a lot of other ideas on how to build in public but you can use these as a starting point and build on them as you move.

Thank you for sticking around till now. I hope this helped you in some way or form.

I would love to hear your thoughts in the Comment Section. If you have a question or contribution you can connect with me via Twitter at @viceodev.