Hello there 👋🏾,

It's been a while since you heard from me, I've been well, and I hope you are too. I'll like to use this opportunity to welcome you to the new year, compliments friends. I wish you all the best as you pursue your old or new goals, and I hope you keep going and growing.

I bring you good tidings today! This is my first letter in 2021, so I'll try to summarize all I've been doing, building, and writing. I've revamped my newsletter, and a couple of things have changed:

• The layout and structure of the newsletter (I still hope to improve this before next week)

• Letters will now ship weekly every Friday.

• I've added new sections, and I hope you love them.

Please let me know what you think; I'll appreciate your feedback(s) and suggestion(s).

Featured Articles ✍️🏾

1. How to Ask Effective Questions: A Practical Guide for Developers

2. How to Create File Archives Using the Linux Tape Archive (TAR) Command

3. Introduction to Headless Content Management Systems

4. Writing Good Commit Messages: A Practical Guide

5. My First Interview Experience 👨🏾‍💻

6. Building a SlackBot with Node.js and SlackBots.js

7. How to Add a README file to your GitHub Profile

8. The Security Vulnerabilities of The Target="_Blank" Attribute

9. Image Optimization and Transformation with Cloudinary

10. Accessibility Auditing with Axe for automated Web UI testing

Featured Talks 🎙️

1. Optimizing Content Management with the Headless CMS

2. Effective Documentation: The Key to Open Source Growth

3. Beyond The Editor: Automating Your Writing Process​

4. The Growth Mindset, Dealing with Intelligence, Imposter Syndrome and Personal Growth​

5. Harnessing the power of the JAMstack with a Headless CMS​

Book Recommendations 📚

1. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

3. Jonathan Edwards on Knowing Christ by Jonathan Edwards

4. Getting Things Done by David Allen and Kathryn Allen

5. The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

Special Updates 🔊

1. I moved my blog from bolajiayodeji.com to blog.bolajiayodeji.com. This way, I can have my portfolio and some other personal stuff on my main domain. I've also cooked a quick website already (although it's a WIP). The source code is open-sourced; you can check it out.

2. I'm trying out Google's Firebase (and sibling tools). It's a new year, so I'm exploring more options and learning more.

3. A few months ago, I joined the distinguished team at Commerce Layer as a Developer Advocate. Commerce Layer is a headless commerce platform and order management system that lets you add global shopping capabilities to any website, mobile app, chatbot, or IoT device, with ease. Learn more or check out our developer resources to get started.

4. Want to understand what headless commerce is and if it's the right solution for your business? Check out our comprehensive headless commerce guide, which will walk you through the benefits of headless commerce compared to the traditional one and show you how Commerce Layer can help you go headless without pain.

5. I'm creating a curated list of resources about using the JAMstack. Do check it out and ensure to contribute if you get the time.

6. For most students, real-world developer tools can be cost-prohibitive. Check out the GitHub Student Developer Pack, which gives students free access to the best developer tools in one place so they can learn by doing. All you have to do is apply with a verifiable school-issued email address or upload documents (student id, admission letter, etc.) that prove your current student status.

7. I'm also creating a curated list of resources about technical writing. Do check it out and ensure to contribute if you get the time.

8. Check out Hashnode's Vercel Hackathon, an excellent way for developers to develop interesting ideas and level up their skills by building. A lot of prizes are up for grabs too!

9. Explore these structured learning paths to discover everything you need to know about building for the modern web.

10. I have a Patreon account, If you want to $upport my current and future work, do support me here.

Featured Tweets 😍

Cassidy @cassidoo

Jamstack is about building web applications in the same style as mobile applications: the UI is compiled, and then data is pulled in as needed.

5:59 PM ∙ Jan 19, 2021

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785Likes97Retweets

Bolaji Ayodeji @iambolajiayo

Don't spend your entire life waiting for the best time to make that move. Start making a conscious effort towards that goal, write that article, build that side-project, apply for that job, or ask that question today. The best time is always now! 💙

12:20 AM ∙ Jan 19, 2021

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160Likes31Retweets

Angie Jones @techgirl1908

Don't trust a test you've never seen fail 😏

4:11 PM ∙ Jan 21, 2021

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2,817Likes421Retweets

Quote of the day 💙

“Lack of confidence kills more dreams than lack of ability. Talent matters—especially at elite levels—but people talk themselves out of giving their best effort long before talent becomes the limiting factor. You're capable of more than you know. Don't be your own bottleneck.” ― James Clear

That's all for this letter. See you next week Friday and stay safe! Please forward this email to your friends. If you've not subscribed yet, kindly subscribe below. 😊

Shout out to my current Patrons: Maya Shavin, Angie Jones, and Ifeora Okechukwu.

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