DEV Community: Calypso

What Do I Even Say? (Spoiler: Literally Anything)

Calypso — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 01:41:30 +0000

If you've ever stared at a blank screen wondering "What should I even post?" - you're not alone. We assume our content has to be polished, viral, or groundbreaking to be worth sharing. But really? You just have to start - by being real, being consistent, and talking about what you know.

When I first started posting online, I was overthinking everything - trying to figure out what topics people would care about, how to make it sound "worth reading," and worrying if I'd be annoying by showing up too much. But here's what I've learned:

You're not going to please everyone. And you don't need to.

The best content I've created has come from just talking about what I know and what I'm going through. Whether it's something I'm learning, a challenge I'm facing, or a cool event I went to - being real, honest, and a little vulnerable helps people connect with what you're saying.

When I first started posting, I kept it simple:
I'd talk about an event I went to - what it was, who I met, the conversations I had, and what stood out to me. That was it. Just my experience. My perspective. And that's what made it interesting - because it was real.

If you're thinking about getting started, here's my biggest advice:
Just start.

Talk about what you're doing right now. A project you're working on. Something that went well - or didn't. Share a snippet of code. Share the issue you're stuck on. Let people in.

Because the more you post, the more natural it becomes.
Consistency is key. (Still working on that one myself!)
But I've noticed that when I see someone posting regularly, I'm more likely to engage, follow, and be curious about what they're up to. It builds familiarity. It builds community.

A few tips that have helped me:

Break up your text. Big walls of text are hard to get through. Add photos, screenshots, or graphics - especially if you're writing about code. Show your process. Let people see what you're working on.

Teach what you're learning. Even a simple tutorial - like how to pass props in React - can help someone else. You don't have to be an expert to teach. You just have to be a little ahead of someone else.

Stay current. Platforms like Bluesky and Twitter are great for keeping up with new tools, frameworks, and tech trends. When something new drops and you try it, share your experience. People love seeing how others are using new tools in real time.

And if you're building a product or side project, build in public.
Share your progress. What worked. What didn't. What tools you used. What problems you're running into. The tech community is full of people who genuinely want to help. But they can't help if they don't know what you're working on.

Been to a conference recently? Great - write about it!
Who did you meet? What were the best talks? What did you take away from it? What do you hope to gain from going to more events like that?

Found a cool new AI tool? Talk about it!
What does it do? Why is it useful? How did it help you?

All of these are great content ideas. And once you start, more ideas will follow. Seriously, just getting the first one out there is the hardest part.

And if you ever feel stuck?
Use ChatGPT (or whatever tool you like) to help brainstorm. I do it all the time. I'll put in what I'm interested in, what I want to talk about, and what kind of content I want to create - and it helps me come up with a list of possible topics or outlines to get started.

But here's my one big tip: don't let AI write the content for you.
It can help with planning, editing, and structure - but your voice, your experience, your story? That's the heart of your content. People can tell when something isn't real, and genuine content will always hit harder than something polished but empty.

So share what you know. Be honest. Be consistent. And don't overthink it.

You've already got everything you need to start.

From Nervous Newcomer to Community Organizer

Calypso — Thu, 01 May 2025 19:30:11 +0000

This week was packed with some amazing events that left me feeling inspired and connected. It started with DevOps Days Atlanta, followed by a local meetup at Tech Square, and then the AI Agent Hack Night hosted by MCP at Atlanta Tech Village.

At DevOps Days, I was excited to see my friend Nerando speak. His talks are always insightful and refreshingly honest — he never tries to be anything he’s not. I really admire that about him. He’s open about his journey in tech, and his content resonates whether you’re just starting out or have years of experience. I also caught some really fun and engaging Ignite Talks from Katie, Chris, and Jason. For those unfamiliar, Ignite talks involve presenting with auto-advancing slides every 15 seconds — it’s fast-paced and you don’t realize how quick 15 seconds goes until you’re trying to fit meaningful content into each slide!

On Tuesday night, we held our monthly meetup, a collaboration between Modern Web, Atlanta JavaScript, Refactr.Tech, VueJS Atlanta, and ReactATL. This meetup is one of my favorite parts of the month. The community here is amazing — friendly, welcoming, and full of people who genuinely want to connect. It’s always great to see new faces, but there’s also something special about seeing the familiar ones who keep coming back. It really feels like we’re building something meaningful here in Atlanta.

The talks that night were incredible. We had a fireside chat with David from FanDuel about engineering leadership — how he transitioned into that role and what it takes to succeed in it. He emphasized the importance of empathy and the need to step away from the code sometimes to help others grow. Then, Max from GitHub gave a talk about navigating and contributing to open-source projects, which was super informative. We wrapped up with a fun and nerdy presentation by Michael from Thinkwell Technology Services, who shared how he built a RAG-powered bot to judge rules in Magic: The Gathering. As a fellow nerd, I was all in for that talk.

On Wednesday, I headed to the AI Agent Hack Night with MCP, not really knowing what to expect — or even what MCP (Model Context Protocol) was. Thankfully, they gave a great explanation. We learned about an AI agent called Codename Goose, which can automate tasks. We even got free credits to try it out ourselves! The challenge was to create a photo filter using Goose. As someone who uses Windows and doesn’t have a Mac, I hit a few roadblocks, but another attendee helped me get everything set up in PowerShell. While I’m still figuring things out, I learned a lot and made some valuable connections along the way. We ended the night with food and casual conversations at a local restaurant — it was the perfect way to wind down.

Reflecting on the past year, I’ve realized how powerful consistency and showing up can be. There’s a big difference between simply knowing people in your network and building genuine, lasting connections. I’m so grateful for the friendships I’ve formed — people I can bond with not just over tech, but over shared hobbies like gaming, Legos, and anime. Turns out, a lot of folks in tech are huge nerds — no surprise there — and I absolutely love it.

It’s wild to think that just over a year ago, I didn’t know anyone here. I was the new person at events, nervous to talk to anyone and unsure of my place in the tech world. But I took a deep breath and did it anyway. Like Nerando said during his talk, someone once told him, “Do it scared.” You don’t have to be fearless — you just need to be brave enough to take small steps.

If you’re feeling anxious about attending an event, start small. Find one group you really enjoy and keep showing up. Connect with one person at the first meetup, two people at the next, and just keep building from there. The more you show up, the easier it becomes. And as your network grows, connections will naturally multiply.

Today, I know so many people working in tech — not just in Atlanta, but around the world. Some connections came from conferences, others from online spaces like Slack and social media. I’ve also found that the best connections happen when you go in with no expectations. Don’t attend with the goal of landing a job or finding a mentor — go in wanting to make a real human connection. The rest will follow.

And if you’re in Atlanta and nervous about attending your first event, reach out to me. I’d be more than happy to be your emotional support buddy. Sometimes all it takes is having one person by your side to make a space feel a little less intimidating.

Coming from a background in education and theater, I’ve always found joy in helping people grow — and I plan to keep doing that in tech. Whether it’s encouraging someone in their journey or connecting them with their next mentor, I’m here for it.

My First Time Speaking at a Tech Conference: Orlando Code Camp Recap

Calypso — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 22:04:32 +0000

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend Orlando Code Camp — and for the first time, I wasn’t just an attendee, I was a speaker. The event is organized by the Orlando .NET User Group. It’s completely free to attend, thanks to generous sponsors, and features a wide range of sessions across multiple tracks — from deep technical dives to industry insights — delivered by speakers from all over the tech and software development landscape. It was an experience I’ll never forget, filled with amazing conversations, inspiring talks, and a whole lot of personal growth.

The Road to Orlando
I made the trip down Friday morning with a friend of mine who was also speaking at the conference. We arrived just in time for the speaker dinner that evening. It was such a welcoming experience — delicious food, great conversations, and even a cute little umbrella as a speaker gift (which came in handy on the way home). I had the chance to connect with other speakers, hear about their backgrounds, and learn what topics they were presenting on. I also chatted with some of the event sponsors, who were not only supportive but also genuinely interested in the community.

That night, my friend gave me a preview of his talk — an intro to Vue.js — and I learned so much. As someone who primarily works in React, I was impressed with how intuitive Vue seemed. Watching him demo features and break down the framework sparked my curiosity. It left me really motivated to dive into Vue.js myself.

Conference Day
Despite a long day of driving and socializing, I couldn’t fall asleep that night. I didn’t feel nervous, but maybe the adrenaline of giving my first talk had something to do with it. We woke up early the next morning and headed to the venue.

My talk was scheduled for the afternoon, so I spent the morning exploring. I stopped by sponsor booths, caught up with people I’d met the night before, and attended a few other sessions.

One of the talks I went to was about using generative AI to improve soft skills. The speaker demonstrated how to role-play different workplace scenarios with AI — assigning it temperaments like “disgruntled” or “satisfied” — and then using speech-to-text to interact in real time. After the exchange, the AI would provide feedback on how you handled the situation. It was honestly mind-blowing. He also talked about using AI to build custom learning modules, tailored to your style and pace, which I think is such a cool use case.

As someone whose talk was centered around giving and receiving feedback, this AI session gave me so many ideas. I’m definitely considering incorporating some of these tools into future versions of my talk — whether it’s practicing difficult conversations or using AI to help interpret or reframe feedback in a constructive way.

Owning Your Skillset
I also caught a fascinating (and super fun) talk comparing open source communities to cults. Yes, cults! The parallels were more real than you’d expect — and the delivery had the whole room engaged and laughing.

Later in the day, I watched another friend give his talk, titled “Skills to Bills: A User’s Guide to Demonstrated Competency.” It was a practical and empowering guide on how developers can not only build technical skills, but also communicate them with confidence.

He broke the session down into four core pillars:

Speak to it: how to talk about your work — whether it’s from your job, personal projects, or open source contributions.
Build it: recognizing that experience can be built outside traditional roles.
Share it: leveraging platforms like social media to showcase what you know.
Handle it: addressing the emotional side, like imposter syndrome, that can hold you back from sharing your expertise.

By the end, attendees walked away with actionable tips to not only do the work, but talk about it, share it, and own it.

Soft Skills, Strong Impact
To my surprise (and excitement), the room for my talk was completely packed. I could tell that a lot of folks attending were genuinely interested in improving their soft skills — something that often doesn’t get the spotlight in technical conferences. My talk focused on feedback — how to give it, how to receive it, and how to foster healthier communication in our workplaces.

This was my first time delivering this particular presentation, and I ran through it quicker than I expected. I ended up using just over half my allotted time for the main content, but the real magic happened during the Q&A.

We had an amazing discussion that went right up to the end of my session. People opened up about their fears of rejection, struggles with receiving critical feedback, and experiences navigating feedback in both tech and life. I was able to share my own journey, coming from an arts background and moving into tech, dealing with everything from imposter syndrome to rejection sensitivity. I also shared what I’ve learned through my roles as a professor and mentor — how to give feedback that’s not only honest but supportive.

That moment of connection — with people opening up, asking hard questions, and feeling safe to explore those topics — was incredibly powerful. We probably could’ve talked for another hour.

Looking Ahead
Orlando Code Camp was an unforgettable experience. Speaking for the first time at a conference taught me so much — not just about public speaking, but about community, vulnerability, and how much we all want to learn and grow.

I’m already looking forward to my next conference later this month: Atlanta Cloud Conference on April 26th, where I’ll be giving a talk titled “404 Community Not Found? Let’s Fix That!” After everything I experienced at Orlando Code Camp, I feel more inspired than ever to keep showing up, sharing what I’ve learned, and learning from others.

Thanks for following along, and if you’re thinking about speaking at a conference — do it. You never know who needs to hear what you have to say.