[BAWD #69] OSCAFest22: What Next?

Mar 30, 2022

Hello there 👋🏾,

I trust you had a blissful week? The prestigious Open Source Festival 2022 ended last week after a three days marathon of learning, workshops, virtual talks, physical talks, keynote speeches, food, swags, networking, and much more. If you missed out, you could follow up with the highlights from the #OSCAFest22 hashtag on Twitter or watch the live stream at the end of this letter. One key takeaway from the entire conference is that open source is much more than just the source code we’re building together; it’s the people we’re building, the growth we’re nurturing, the lives we’re changing, and the community we’re becoming... Btw, here’s a friendly reminder that you should not let all you learned waste away; you should act now, make new plans, revive old plans, water yourself, and take your career to the next point. Until the next one ✌🏾.

If you love the content I share, please forward this email, share it on social media or invite your friends to subscribe. I’ll also appreciate your feedback or suggestion(s); thanks!

Using code as documentation to save time and share context by Monica Powell.
Pillars of Impact for Web Engineers by Tejas Olakunle Kumar.
Rebuilding A Large E-Commerce Website With Next.js (Case Study) by Jonne Kats.
What Web Designers Can Do To Speed Up Mobile Websites by Suzanne Scacca.
How to hone your new superpower: teaching by Monica Powell.
I want to mock with you by Anjana Vakil.
Optimizing Google Fonts Performance by Danny Cooper.
How to master advanced TypeScript patterns by Pierre-Antoine Mills.
Helping Browsers Optimize With The CSS Contain Property by Rachel Andrew.
How to Make any Website Shoppable with Commerce Layer by Bolaji Ayodeji.
Those HTML Attributes You Never Use by Louis Lazaris.
Good Design Is All About Good Timing by Vitaly Friedman.

Featured Productivity Articles ✍🏾🦅

The 5 Rs of Note Taking by Ali Abdaal.
The Ultimate Productivity Hack is Saying No by James Clear.
How I Attained Persistent Self-Love, or, I Demand Deep Okayness For Everyone by Sasha Chapin.
The NF30 Challenge: Go Notification Free for 30 Days by Steve Pavlina.

Product of the Week ✨

Igbo API is an API exposing Igbo words, definitions, and more, making the process of learning Igbo more accessible to the Nigerian diaspora and beyond.

Good Tidings 🔊

Thanks to everyone who attended my Version Control with Git and GitHub workshop at #OSCAFest22. Here’s the slide with links to all resources. You can also apply to get the GitHub Student Developer Pack which gives you access to the best developer tools and courses for FREE using this link.
With 18 startups, Nigeria 🇳🇬 is the 3rd most represented country in YCombinator Winter 2022 batch 💚.
While technical writing is profitable for the growth of a developer's technical and soft skill(s), it's also beneficial for other developers reading the content. In this slide, you can learn how to go beyond just "writing" to “automating” your writing processes to increase efficiency, maximize time, and produce more quality content.
You can get the Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) certification + KubeCon EU using the discount code KCNA4OSCA22 courtesy of Chris from Cloud Native Computing Foundation.
We’re hiring a Senior Software Engineer with 3+ years of relevant work experience at Commerce Layer. You can learn more and apply here.
Udacity and ALX are still providing 20,000 fully-funded Cloud, Data, and Programming scholarships to 60,000 African Youth between the ages of 18 to 35 in Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, and South Africa.
Are you looking for open-source projects to contribute to? We have a couple of Javascript and Typescript you can contribute to on Commerce Layer’s GitHub organization.
Kickstart your career in tech with opportunities in software engineering as a Youth Service Corp Member in Nigeria with Interswitch. To apply, send a one-page summary outlining your skills and capabilities to NYSC_careers@interswitchgroup.com.
Here’s a fantastic Java 17 course that provides a comprehensive overview of Java basics, decision and repetition structures, methods, and objects.
Here’s a curated list of project-based programming tutorials you can use to learn how to build applications from scratch.
You can still apply for a scholarship to attend the annual Grace Hopper Celebration (the world’s largest gathering of women technologists) in the United States this year.
Joe's Jobs curates the best product, engineering, design, open-source, etc., roles at exciting startups.
Here's a recommendation of the top five websites to find remote jobs for different fields in tech.
Want to learn how to build multi-market ecommerce experiences with headless commerce APIs? Then you should check out the Commerce Layer developer’s hub or join the slack community.

Dev Term of the day 💾

Agile: is an iterative approach to project management and software development that helps teams deliver products incrementally in small consumable units. Learn more here (text) or here (video).

Book Recommendations

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert.
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough.
How to Develop a Super Power Memory by Harry Lorayne.
A Quest for Godliness — The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life by J.I. Packer.

Featured Tweets and Videos 😍

Here are some tweets I think are cool and some of my favorite videos from YouTube this week.

Sahil Bloom @SahilBloom

If you’re building your career… Prioritize these core principles:

Tejas in 🇵🇱 Warsaw @TejasKumar_

The truth is Nigeria’s developer community is incredible and anyone who either doesn’t invest in the people or thinks otherwise is objectively wrong.

Arlemi @arlemi

While talking with attendees from #OSCAFest22 last week, I shared a few resources from @getpostman to learn more about APIs or to get more involved in the space. Here's a quick thread summarising these resources, there's something for everyone! ⬇

Babafemi O'tega; First Of Her Name @O_tega

I don't usually open the videos my mum posts on our family group because, African mum, but I'm glad I opened this one

nader dabit (🧱, 🚀) | sha.eth | nader.sol @dabit3

You earn between $1,000 to ~$500,000 by participating in web3 grants programs. This is a great way to learn & get your foot in the door with web3 without making it your full time job. Also, you don't have to be a developer! ✨ Here are 20 projects with great grant programs:

Paul Graham @paulg

There are 18 Nigerian startups in the current YC batch. That's at least 80 founders per year. Think how powerful the Nigerian YC alumni network will be in 10 years. And it will almost certainly be a force for good, because they'll all have been making something people want.

⬇️: Open Source Community Africa Live Stream | OSCA 2022 | DAY 2

⬇️: 7 Side Hustles You Can Start in 2022

⬇️: How to Win Friends and Influence People with API First

Quote of the day 💙

“The concept of “mentorship” has become too formal. Asking someone to be your mentor feels like a big commitment. Instead, build a Personal Board of Advisors; a diverse group of 5-10 people you can go to for questions, advice, or feedback.”–Sahil Bloom

That's all for this letter. It will help if you forward this email to your friends. Also, if you've not subscribed yet, kindly subscribe below 😊. See you next week Sunday and stay safe!

Shout out to my current Patrons: Maya Shavin, Angie Jones, Sarah Drasner, Blessing Akpan, Samson Goddy, Obinna Odirionye, and Alabo Briggs.

Become a Patron 😉

Bolaji Ayodeji's Weekly Digest

Discussion about this post