DEV Community: The Future Team

Just Announced: Future Writing Challenge Winners!

Jess Lee — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 14:21:16 +0000

Back in February, we invited the DEV community and budding Future Community to take part in our very first Future Writing Challenge, hosted on Future — our new subforem built for creative minds exploring what’s next in tech, culture, and beyond.

The prompt was simple, yet expansive:

Write a letter to friends and family on what to expect with how technology is changing things.

From speculative fiction to sharp essays on digital life, the responses were thoughtful, inspiring, and future-forward. And now…

The winners have been announced!

Jess Lee for The Future Team

Apr 10 '25

Announcing the Winners of Our First Writing Challenge 🏆

#futurechallenge

Comments 4

2 min read

Head over to Future to check out the winning submissions, revisit your favorites, or dive into new ones you may have missed.

What is Future?

Future is a space for curiosity — where we imagine what’s ahead and examine how technology is shaping our world. If you’re into storytelling, trendspotting, or bold predictions, it’s a great place to contribute your voice.

Thanks to everyone who participated — and stay tuned! More creative challenges are on the horizon.

Announcing the Winners of Our First Writing Challenge 🏆

Jess Lee — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 20:35:21 +0000

The results are in! We’re thrilled to announce the winners of our very first Future Writing Challenge.

From letters written to future generations to deep dives into transformative tech, all the submissions shared were thoughtful, imaginative, and thought-provoking takes on how technology is changing things.

Reading the submissions were a real treat and we are grateful to everyone who participated. We hope you had fun during the process!

Without further ado, our winners:

Overall Prompt Winner

@amartadey shares a heartfelt and vivid vision of the future that explores the future of transportation and touches on carbon footprint, nuclear power, the economy, and more!

Amarta Dey

Mar 29 '25

Cars Can't Fly, But Trains Can: A Letter from 2040

#futurechallenge

Comments

5 min read

It's personal, speculative, and grounded in real-world potential. A must-read.

Ripple Effects Winner

@boglarkasebestyen writes a letter to their peers around the future of language learning.

Boglárka Sebestyén

Mar 6 '25

✨The Future of Online Language Learning 📚📲

#futurechallenge #devchallenge #ai #writing

Comments

6 min read

This essay digs into the implications of emerging technology on education and how it may open doors across cultures.

Explain Like I'm Five Winner

Communicating complex topics clearly is no easy feat—and @pranavjana's playful letter about quantum chips nails it.

Pranav jana

Mar 23 '25

A Fun Letter to My 5-Year-Old Brother About the Majorana Quantum Chip

#discuss #futurechallenge #computerscience #microsoft

Comments

3 min read

It’s sweet, surprisingly informative, and just plain fun.

There were so many wonderful submissions, we hope you give them all a read:

#futurechallenge Follow

This is the official tag for submissions and announcements related to Future Challenges.

What's Next?

We hope you continue to share your thoughts on the Future in this subforem! In whatever format you like, no letter requirements. 😅

And of course, we'll be hosting more challenges so stay tuned.

Thanks again and see you next time!

Join Future’s First Writing Challenge!

Jess Lee — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 17:02:50 +0000

We are so excited to share Future’s first writing challenge with everyone here on DEV. Future is our new subforem for talking about cutting-edge technologies that influence our careers, day-to-day lives, culture, and everything in between.

We would like Future to be a friendly place to stay informed about technology, but from a lens that is not strictly about software development and how it affects our industry. This challenge is a call to kickstart some dialogue which we can share broadly with friends and family.

You can learn more about future and how subforems fit into our overall vision for the community in our original announcement:

The Future of...

Ben Halpern for The DEV Team ・ Jan 31 '25

#forem #ai #science #blockchain

Future Writing Challenge

Future Challenges are formatted similarly to DEV Challenges, with our usual suspects: prompts and prizes! Our first Future challenge is a writing challenge designed to leverage your technical expertise while enabling knowledge sharing amongst our less technical friends and family.

We have just one prompt for this challenge but three ways to win!

The Prompt

Write a letter to friends and family on what to expect with how technology is changing things.

You are welcome to be as broad or specific as you wish as long as your topic is within the scope of what technology touches. We encourage you not to focus on software development specifically, but instead leverage your technical expertise to focus on areas that will impact the friends and family you are writing to.

There are two additional prize categories you could focus on as well.

How To Participate

Read our full announcement post on Future for details on how to participate:

Announcing Our Very First Writing Challenge: How Is Technology Changing Things?

Jess Lee for The Future Team ・ Feb 26 '25

#futurechallenge #ai #web3 #discuss

Good luck to all the writers!!

Reminder: Future is now available to post on in general, and forem.com can be used to see a feed from both spaces.

Happy writing!

Announcing Our Very First Writing Challenge: How Is Technology Changing Things?

Jess Lee — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 16:38:12 +0000

We are so excited to announce our first-ever challenge on Future!

Running through March 30, the Future Writing Challenge provides an opportunity to share your knowledge, perspective, and rumination about the future with your friends, family, and community.

There is one prompt for this challenge but three ways to win. All winners will receive an exclusive Future badge, bragging rights, a gift to the Forem shop, and more!

Read on for the details.

Our Prompt

Write a letter to friends and family on what to expect with how technology is changing things.

Additional Prize Categories

For those who like a bit of structure or initial inspiration, we have two additional prize categories for you to consider:

Explain Like I'm Five: Awarded to a submission that conveys their message in simple, fun language that even a five-year-old could understand. Think colorful examples, simple analogies, and an engaging, warm tone that makes the future of technology accessible to our youngest readers.
Ripple Effects: Awarded to a submission that thoughtfully explores how technology is reshaping our culture and social norms. This letter should provide insight into how our shared human experiences—from education and work to dating and community—are evolving in response to technological change, and offer perspective on navigating these shifts.

Judging Criteria and Prizes

All three prompts will be judged on the following:

Style and Presentation
Clarity
Originality

All Participants with a valid submission will receive a completion badge on their Forem profile.

How To Participate

In order to participate, you will need to publish a post using the below submission template.

Submission Template

Please review our full rules, guidelines, and FAQ page on the official challenge page before submitting so you understand our participation guidelines and official contests rules such eligibility requirements.

Important Dates

February 26: Future Writing Challenge begins!
March 30: Submissions due at 11:59 PM PDT
April 10: Winners Announced

We hope you enjoy this exercise, and we can’t wait to read your thoughts! Questions about the challenge? Ask them below.

Good luck and happy writing!