In the End, 
It's All About People

In the daily struggle to keep current with tools and techniques, it's easy to forget that we're ultimately a people business. Let's take time off from the code to celebrate each other.

Dave Thomas

During the pandemic, pundits told us that in-person conferences would never recover; we'd all become accustomed to interacting with each other using badly lit images in blurry rectangles of pixels.

They were right, but also wrong.

It seems to me that, at least in tech, there are fewer mega-conferences. We don't often see 2,000+ developers lining up for fajitas in massive convention centers any more.

What we do see, though, is more and more smaller conferences, often in smaller cities. Maybe a few hundred people, maybe five or six hundred.

And I love that. Smaller conferences allow you to get to know people. You have the time to have conversations, and to start to build relationships. In the last year I've been to these smaller events in Bosnia, Greece, and Colorado, and at every one I've built new understandings based on deep and enjoyable conversations. Sure, I learned lots of tech stuff, but it was the people who made the events special. I came away from each refreshed and energized. I felt less overwhelmed, knowing that other people were facing the same issues as I was.

This week saw the last RailsConf. RailsConf is certainly not the only conference dedicated to Rails, nor is it the largest. But RailsConf was the first, and its growth over the years was a barometer for the worldwide adoption of Rails.

I couldn't make it, but I followed a lot of friends who did. And every one of them talked about the people, the conversations, and the memories. Joe Masilotti, author of our Hotwire Native book, released a simple yet profound app, RubyFriends. It's designed for these kinds of events. You create a profile, and it gives you a URL and a QR code. When you chat with people, then can scan your code to see your profile, and if they want to they can add you as a friend. And that's it. No posts, no transitive-closures of connections; just you and a list of people who wanted you to remember them.

The focus on people and relationships is what distinguishes great developers. Sure, they'll likely have technical chops. But their greatness comes from constantly remembering that they're creating value for people, and doing the best they can because the software they create impacts those people's lives.

The debate about the impact of generative AI on the industry rumbles on. But always remember, it's ultimately not about the code. It's about the people. Focus on that as a differentiator. Work on your personal network. Share what you do with others. Let the AI do the boring stuff while you do something it can't do... 

Be a person. 

Celebrating Our Communities

I've made many friends thanks to my involvement with the people behind the technologies we write about.

As a thank you, use the code celebrate when you check out to get 35% off any or all of our titles.°

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