Ep. 25 | Developer Advocacy with Annie Sexton

Summary

In this episode of the Overcommitted podcast, host Brittany Ellich and co-hosts Erika, Bethany, and Jonathan Tamsut engage in a conversation with Annie Sexton, a developer advocate at fly.io. They explore Annie's unique journey into developer advocacy, her approach to education and community building, and the importance of teaching techniques in the tech industry. The discussion also delves into the role of AI in learning and development, as well as personal interests outside of software engineering, highlighting the multifaceted lives of software professionals.

Takeaways

• Annie Sexton transitioned from software engineering to developer advocacy through her passion for education.

• Developer advocacy involves community building, education, and marketing to developers.

• Education is a powerful tool for building trust with an audience.

• Asking basic questions is crucial for effective teaching and learning.

• AI can be a valuable resource for research and learning, but fact-checking is essential.

• Understanding the audience's knowledge level is key to effective communication.

• Annie emphasizes the importance of storytelling in education and advocacy.

• The journey to becoming a developer advocate can be unconventional and varied.

• Engaging content can attract a wider audience beyond just product promotion.

• Personal interests and hobbies contribute to a well-rounded life as a software engineer.

Links

• ⁠fly.io

• fly.io YouTube channel

• Annie’s YouTube channel

• Book: Deep Learning A Visual Approach

• Book: A City on Mars

• Show/Book: The Expanse

• Bluesky: @anniesexton.com

• Bluesky: for Annie’s comics

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tech book club Repo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Overcommitted Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Hosts

• ⁠⁠Overcommitted.dev⁠⁠⁠

• Bethany Janos

• ⁠⁠Brittany Ellich⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Eggyhead⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠Jonathan Tamsut