DEV Community: Jenn Johnsey

Major League Hacking (MLH) Partners with Google Cloud’s Gemini to Foster AI-Native Engineering Education

Jenn Johnsey — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 14:48:00 +0000

We are thrilled to announce a new partnership between Major League Hacking (MLH) and Google Cloud. Over 3 years, we will be integrating Google Cloud’s latest Gemini models across our network of more than 4,000 community chapters with the goal of fostering a new generation of engineers who see AI as an integral part of their creative toolbox. We know competition is intensifying between AI platforms and that developer mindshare matters more than ever. Our own data shows Google Cloud’s Gemini models are experiencing the fastest growth in actual usage among next-gen developers, suggesting hands-on experience drives adoption more effectively than brand awareness alone.

How Major League Hacking & Google Cloud’s Gemini Will Work Together

We’re excited to start integrating Google’s Gemini models into MLH’s network of engineers, where 1 in 3 Computer Science grads each year are members of the MLH Community. It’s a central tenet of MLH that we understand real learning rarely takes place in a classroom–it takes place on the ground, in real situations where you learn to code and build, and create new things with the latest tools. Having these models at your fingertips will make MLH community members more equipped to build for the future.

While there is a three-phase plan in place to reach as many of our members as we can, the adoption of these AI models will take time to fully deploy. In Phase One, we will feature the models at 250+ MLH hackathons through dedicated prizes, workshops, and developer resources. Phase Two will amplify this initial utilization of the models with conferences and custom coding challenges so that more engineers are able to work directly with the models in real time. In Phase Three, Google’s Gemini models will be embedded into daily programming activities through local chapter meetups and hack nights.

It is our hope that we will be able to move through the phases of this plan in a way that gets Google’s Gemini models into the hands of engineers swiftly so that our communities can grow even as the technology becomes more and more advanced.

AI Model Exposure Builds Engineers of the Future

MLH is dedicated to creating educational opportunities for software creators and engineers at all levels of the learning experience. We know AI is already transforming software development, and early exposure to AI platforms during university years increasingly determines which tools developers will adopt throughout their careers.

We also know that diversity in engineering sectors matters. Exposing MLH’s diverse tech education community to these tools early is vital to ensuring the pipeline to professional software development remains as diverse as software users are. With nearly 50% of the MLH community identifying as non-male and two-thirds as people of color – significantly more diverse than traditional Computer Science programs – we are uniquely positioned to have an outsized effect on driving diversity in the industry. And our members span 93 countries, giving this partnership and Google’s Gemini models global reach among emerging developers.

MLH communities are passionate and driven to excellence. We can’t wait to see what our local chapters use Google Gemini models to build in the coming months and years. If you’re looking for a local instance of Major League Hacking, explore our upcoming hackathons and join us!

The post Major League Hacking (MLH) Partners with Google Cloud’s Gemini to Foster AI-Native Engineering Education appeared first on Major League Hacking News.

Recap and Rambles of Last Week #2

Jenn Johnsey — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 19:57:12 +0000

I know firsthand how everything can seem insurmountable. But in the end, we’re left with what matters: our health and our relationships.

For our family, last week was a reminder of how quickly priorities can shift. My mind was reeling with ideas for Recap and Rambles #2, all of which came to a halt with a family medical emergency. We’re okay, and thank you to everyone who accommodated our adjusted schedules and last-minute cancellations.

As I sit with a blank page, ready to list this week’s lessons, one word comes to mind: gratitude.

Lesson 1️⃣: All the planning in the world can’t stop life from… well, life-ing.

Hard times can find ways of hitting us when we’re already down. But what if we leaned into the good moments to get through the bad?

Over the years, I’ve had an on-and-off practice of writing three things I’m grateful for, especially on the tough days. It’s helped me keep everything balanced and resist that insurmountable weight. This week, I had three gratitude reminders on repeat each day:

• I’m grateful we’re alive.
• I’m grateful we have a roof over our heads.
• I’m grateful for the chance for tomorrow.

I’ve found that these small pieces of gratitude are often more challenging to find on shitty days, especially if I’m in a rut. Gratitude on those days might look more like:

• I’m grateful that car let me in instead of cutting me off in traffic.
• I’m grateful my tea tasted especially good this morning.
• I’m grateful I can hug my loved ones.

These small moments of gratitude keep hope alive, even during tough times. And yes, sometimes I still need to scream, “I don’t give a shit—this just hurts!” when the pain is overwhelming. It’s whatever helps in the moment. All of it helps me restart my goals, planning, and tasks with grace for the next opportunity.

This coming week…

I am still playing catch up from last week, please have patience with me 😅 and I’ll be livestreaming about Warp on Teach Jenn Tech on Thursday, hope you can join us!

Last week I asked about what lesson you learned, this week, what is something you’re grateful for?

Recap and rambles of last week #1

Jenn Johnsey — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 03:45:49 +0000

I have the urge to overthink this blog to prevent myself from posting it. My thoughts start with, what do I name such a blog? It’s not entirely just Teach Jenn Tech, nor Shit2TalkAbout. I want to write about lessons learned last week. Start taking the lessons I’ve learned and share my gratitude with all of the beautiful humans of the world.

Lesson 1: Starting something is the scariest part of the process.

As I said before, I have a knack for overthinking the process to prevent myself from starting. This week's overthink was the fact that I’m unemployed and should have a shit ton of time on my hands, so therefore creating videos, blogs, shorts, and livestreaming will be EASY on top of looking for a job, interviewing, and networking. Oh wait, there’s also taking my father-in-law to all of his doctor's appointments and running errands. Last week, I didn’t get a chance to catch up on any video games until today, SUNDAY! 😫

If I put enough pressure on myself with having too much to do and not enough time to be creative or tell myself I’m not smart enough to think of witty videos to be an overnight success, then there’s no fear of what other will think.

Adding to it, if I tell myself that teachjenntech.com, shit2talkabout.com, and jennjunod.com all need to be completed to do all of this, I will infact, NEVER need to share any of this with the world.

Bringing it back around, I’m starting. I’ve given myself all the excuses in the world and there will always be more excuses waiting. What’s stopping you from starting your next thing?

Lesson 2: Databases are hard and I FINALLY figured out how to put one of my shows into a database!

With recent changes in my life, I am working on cutting expenses. Hello Astro goodbye SquareSpace for shit2talkabout.com (new site not published yet).

While working on setting up this Accessible Astro theme, I was determined to get the show’s episode in a database. You know, episode number, title, quote, podcast embed, and transcript. Oy vey. ChatGPT and I went through the rounds trying to figure out what I wanted to do, but we got there!

The episode details are there!

I was suggested to use Turso, which ended up being really cool. Thank you, humans, in the Astro Discord!
I liked using Turso after the initial setup; it was really easy to create a table within the database using Drizzle

And then adding records from drizzle too

Turso & Astro work well together 🤩

Major wins that I was stuck on for a while were how to fix the dates since I write them differently so often:

// Format the date consistently (e.g., "April 25, 2024")
const formattedDate = new Date(post.date).toLocaleDateString('en-US', {
  year: 'numeric',
  month: 'long',
  day: 'numeric',
});

And how to use the episode number as the post title for the url which I used as part of the API

export async function getStaticPaths() {
  const posts = await fetchPosts();

  return posts.map((post) => {
    return {
      params: { post: post.id.toLowerCase() }, // Use `id` for the URL path
      props: { post },
    };
  });
}

Repo if you’re curious: https://github.com/jennjunod/s2ta

Lesson 3: It’s good to network even when I want to close in on myself and hermit.

Among the dr appts, hacking on websites, and applying for jobs, there were coffee chats. As emotionally draining the week had been, these coffee chats filled my cup and helped me also think of new ideas.

Like Angie is the best to info dump on 😅 I love when she says “So if I’m hearing you right it sounds like…” and she takes my scatter brain to one sentence. It’s amazing how good she is at that. If you’re curious, Angie helped me realize how much I appreciate the good AI has done for my own accessibility.

I would highly recommend Yurii's Between Two Watercoolers on fridays! The song I added to the playlist was the confidence booster everyone needs after getting laid off! 💯

“I am by Baby Tate”

Catching up with others has helped me not feel so alone, especially since becoming unemployed. It’s been a struggle to be open about wanting help yet there are so many that want to see me win, and thank you. They, me, we, want to see you win too!

Lesson 4: Planning the next day helped me accomplish my goals.

Every night while my fiance is playing Madden, I tell him what’s on my list for the next day as I write it down. It makes the next day seem much more manageable.

The piece that was so effective for me to see was what I was moving from each day to the next, avoiding it. You may have guessed it, other than laundry, I hate laundry, it was telling myself to create videos, blogs, shorts, and live streaming will be EASY. It wasn’t easy for me. I’m scared, drawing blanks, and posting this to get started. Content is a lot of work. Putting myself out there again is hard.

But as I told my friends at the gym, I’m going through my post breakup glow up since I got dumped from my job. It’s time to level up and see what I can do.

Four lessons last week and realizing there is even more I could add about how CSS and I will EVENTUALLY be friends, I’m not sure when but we will.

So I’m curious, what’s one lesson you learned last week?

The Breakdown of Serverless

Jenn Johnsey — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 00:56:53 +0000

Technology has come a long way since only being able to store 1.44 megabytes on a floppy disk! Yet, until serverless computing revolutionized the approach to resource capabilities, developers still had to think about how to maintain, scale, monitor, and the capacity of a server. If a developer needed to expand the limitations of the server they were on, it was not a simple upgrade. The server needed physical storage to upgrade and manual migration of content. EEEK! Think about the possibilities of data loss. No thank you!

Now that we understand some of the struggles of traditional computing structures, we’ll dive into what makes serverless so revolutionary. Take a look at the graphic below. It’ll help with the visualization of how bare metal servers have evolved to serverless.

What is serverless computing?

“Overview. Serverless is a cloud-native development model that allows developers to build and run applications without having to manage servers. There are still servers in serverless, but they are abstracted away from app development.” Thanks RedHat

We have come a far way even from servers that would be called “Bare Metal”. Meaning, someone would physically need to manage the server and keep the infrastructure running. This is where the term, server admin comes in. The server admin would not only need to manage the hardware, but they may also need to manage databases, operating systems, storage, and other resources. Many times, if there needed to be more resources, the server admin would need to physically make changes to the hardware. The hardware to be stored, the servers would be stacked upon each other vertically and have rows upon rows which made the server room. That is also where the term bare metal came from since the hardware was on a metal shelf.

Up next, Virtual Servers became the next best. A hosting provider is responsible for physically managing the server but the server admin would only need to handle the software side of things such as managing databases, operating systems, storage, and other resources.

Containers are still highly used today such as Docker or Kubernetes. Containers are like boxes that hold all the code, libraries, and dependencies needed to run an application. The container can be put on any computer or server, and it will run the same way. Someone would still want to be managing the containers and the infrastructure they run on (e.g., servers, operating systems, etc.).

Finally, the magic we have now, Serverless. You don't have to worry about the infrastructure. The cloud provider runs your code when it's needed and charges you based on how many resources you use. You don't have to worry about scaling or maintaining servers. You are only responsible for writing your code and uploading it to the cloud. 🎉
Serverless functions & pay-per-use

Before going into how cool the pay-per-use structure that serverless computing uses are, we must talk about serverless functions. To picture serverless functions, imagine each time a user action is implemented or changes in the state of the system, serverless will analyze the resources needed and allocate those resources for implementation. Examples of a user action or change in the state of a function could be anywhere from clicking a button to creating a new file.
Another thing that makes serverless so radically different, is that it uses pay-per-use based on the used serverless functions instead of a set quantity that needs to be prepaid for use. Pay-per-use would enable a developer to only need to worry about creating the application and code which revolutionizes concerns about time to execute projects and downtime due to working on the server.
It is important to be aware that there are several types of serverless computing as well as popular cloud providers that offer serverless computing platforms.

A few of the types of serverless computing include:

Functions-as-a-service (FaaS)
Backend-as-a-service (BaaS)
Containers-as-a-service (CaaS)
Event-driven computing
Database-as-a-service (DBaaS)

Some cloud providers that offer serverless platforms are:
Amazon Web Services (AWS) with its AWS Lambda service
Microsoft Azure with its Azure Functions service
Google Cloud with its Cloud Functions service
Cloudflare with its CF Workers which include serverless edge functions

Conclusion

Serverless computing, a cloud-based development model, is revolutionizing the way we write and deploy apps. The evolution of traditional computing to serverless computing showcases how using serverless computing allows developers to save time, money, and resources. Serverless functions enable pay-per-use, by not needing to physically expand a server in anticipation of what their needs would be.

Again, serverless computing can be more cost-effective and efficient than traditional computing models, but it also has some potential drawbacks such as vendor lock-in and the need for specialized skills which will be covered in another article.

How to update your default terminal directory in macOS

Jenn Johnsey — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 03:49:11 +0000

When starting up a terminal on your Mac, are you annoyed with always having to cd wherever you go? Here’s where to start to make your default folder open whenever you open terminal!

Start by ensuring that you’re using zsh

There are a two ways to check your shell. ps -p $$ or echo "$SHELL"

ps -p $$ You'll see under CMD /bin/zsh

~ % ps -p $$
  PID TTY           TIME CMD
 8434 ttys001    0:00.14 -zsh

echo "$SHELL" to check your shell which will return /bin/zsh

~ % echo "$SHELL"
/bin/zsh
~ %

Seeing ‘zsh’ will tell you you’re good to go.
- If you’re not using zsh, check out how to change your default directory in bash
You can then go to the bottom of the .zschrc file and add the path to the default folder, for example, cd Desktop/code Keep reading to find steps on how to show and find your .zschrc file

Find the .zschrc file:

Open Finder > View > Select Show Path Bar
Once the path bar is updated at the bottom, select the first item. in this example, it is ‘Macintosh HD’

Show all file types:

At the same time press the “Command” + “Shift” + “.” (period) keys. That will show all file types to be able to find and update your .zschrc
In this example, it is located ‘Macintosh HD > Users > jennjunod > .zshrc

Open the .zshrc file

If having issues, change the application to open with to TextEdit

Add the default directory

Add the default directory at the bottom of the file

Check the code sample below to see where it would be added into the .zshrc file. All .zshrc files may look different mattering on what has been installed to the system.

# If you come from bash you might have to change your $PATH.
# export PATH=$HOME/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH

# Path to your oh-my-zsh installation.
export ZSH="$HOME/.oh-my-zsh"

# Set name of the theme to load --- if set to "random", it will
# load a random theme each time oh-my-zsh is loaded, in which case,
# to know which specific one was loaded, run: echo $RANDOM_THEME
# See https://github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/wiki/Themes
# ZSH_THEME="robbyrussell"
ZSH_THEME=mgutz

# Set list of themes to pick from when loading at random
# Setting this variable when ZSH_THEME=random will cause zsh to load
# a theme from this variable instead of looking in $ZSH/themes/
# If set to an empty array, this variable will have no effect.
# ZSH_THEME_RANDOM_CANDIDATES=( "robbyrussell" "agnoster" )

# Uncomment the following line to use case-sensitive completion.
# CASE_SENSITIVE="true"

# Uncomment the following line to use hyphen-insensitive completion.
# Case-sensitive completion must be off. _ and - will be interchangeable.
# HYPHEN_INSENSITIVE="true"

# Uncomment one of the following lines to change the auto-update behavior
# zstyle ':omz:update' mode disabled  # disable automatic updates
# zstyle ':omz:update' mode auto      # update automatically without asking
# zstyle ':omz:update' mode reminder  # just remind me to update when it's time

# Uncomment the following line to change how often to auto-update (in days).
# zstyle ':omz:update' frequency 13

# Uncomment the following line if pasting URLs and other text is messed up.
# DISABLE_MAGIC_FUNCTIONS="true"

# Uncomment the following line to disable colors in ls.
# DISABLE_LS_COLORS="true"

# Uncomment the following line to disable auto-setting terminal title.
# DISABLE_AUTO_TITLE="true"

# Uncomment the following line to enable command auto-correction.
# ENABLE_CORRECTION="true"

# Uncomment the following line to display red dots whilst waiting for completion.
# You can also set it to another string to have that shown instead of the default red dots.
# e.g. COMPLETION_WAITING_DOTS="%F{yellow}waiting...%f"
# Caution: this setting can cause issues with multiline prompts in zsh < 5.7.1 (see #5765)
# COMPLETION_WAITING_DOTS="true"

# Uncomment the following line if you want to disable marking untracked files
# under VCS as dirty. This makes repository status check for large repositories
# much, much faster.
# DISABLE_UNTRACKED_FILES_DIRTY="true"

# Uncomment the following line if you want to change the command execution time
# stamp shown in the history command output.
# You can set one of the optional three formats:
# "mm/dd/yyyy"|"dd.mm.yyyy"|"yyyy-mm-dd"
# or set a custom format using the strftime function format specifications,
#see 'man strftime' for details.
 #HIST_STAMPS="mm/dd/yyyy"

# Would you like to use another custom folder than $ZSH/custom?
# ZSH_CUSTOM=/path/to/new-custom-folder

# Which plugins would you like to load?
# Standard plugins can be found in $ZSH/plugins/
# Custom plugins may be added to $ZSH_CUSTOM/plugins/
# Example format: plugins=(rails git textmate ruby lighthouse)
# Add wisely, as too many plugins slow down shell startup.
plugins=(git)

source $ZSH/oh-my-zsh.sh

# User configuration

# export MANPATH="/usr/local/man:$MANPATH"

# You may need to manually set your language environment
# export LANG=en_US.UTF-8

# Preferred editor for local and remote sessions
# if [[ -n $SSH_CONNECTION ]]; then
#   export EDITOR='vim'
# else
#   export EDITOR='mvim'
# fi

# Compilation flags
# export ARCHFLAGS="-arch x86_64"

# Set personal aliases, overriding those provided by oh-my-zsh libs,
# plugins, and themes. Aliases can be placed here, though oh-my-zsh
# users are encouraged to define aliases within the ZSH_CUSTOM folder.
# For a full list of active aliases, run `alias`.
#
# Example aliases
# alias zshconfig="mate ~/.zshrc"
# alias ohmyzsh="mate ~/.oh-my-zsh"

cd Desktop/code

Save, and Restart Terminal

The folder will be updated to your preferred starting folder

PARdon me for my awkward interview

Jenn Johnsey — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Too many of us are in the situation of interviewing for tech roles. Be it, the C-Suite, a developer, a product manager, customer experience, marketing, or sales, we’re in this together. In the last year, I have applied to 300-something jobs, interviewed with maybe 40, and fortunately found a few contract gigs to keep me afloat while I continue to look. All that to say to the company I interviewed with this week, PARdon me for my awkward interview.

Yes, you are not misreading, nor mistaken on my grammar fopaux. PARdon. The interview was with an engineer with a blockchain company and all I could think was, remember PAR. Jenn, you must remember PAR. JENNNNNN REMEMBER PAR, you gotta get a job! All of that turned into:

Problem: I can’t remember my job history.

Action: I will flounder around a project that my mentor helped me create to understand what this company does.

Result: forgetting words, confusing myself and the interviewer, and deep frustration with why can I understand something when it's explained to me but the minute I have to explain it, words don't work.

You see, PAR was some of the feedback I received before the holiday season when I had an opportunity to meet with a group of CTOs and ask them for feedback on how I show the how I did things not just what I did. Splendid feedback that I’ve been noodling on how to share with you. Yet with all of the advice I was given, I forgot how to be myself while working on remembering it all. 🤦🏻‍♀️ If I could go back in time, these are the parts of the feedback I wish I remembered and practiced to prepare for interviews.

While looking for work, create a Target market list:
- Roles
- Companies
- Technology
Don’t be scared to ask a company/person what are their current pain points and the problems they’re trying to solve.
- Technology?
- Features?
- Awareness?
Understand the 3 Levels of Networking
- What job title seems relevant?
- What company do you envision?
- Who do you know?
90 Second Networking Summary (Elevator pitch)
- PAR + Example + Ask
PAR- Problem Action Result
- Problem:
  - Career Objective- create content and establish technical skills to transition into a Developer Relations role
- Action:
  - Creatively took risk of starting something new publicly to make tech more accessible for others by starting the live stream Teach Jenn Tech.
- Result:
  - The ability to share access to thought leaders in the industry created a space for others to ask questions and learn with the show and personally gain more technical knowledge.
Keep learning, Reading Suggestions:
Remember:
- Never leave the jury wondering
- Breathe
- Comment and interact with companies on social to showcase how I can contribute
- Stay present, use social, your network, and if there’s a hiring thread, post on it once a month.
- What is the problem statement and/or what does it solve for the customer
- Business outcome vs Experience outcome
- To frame what you want to do, showcase things you like to do and how will that impact the world.
- Bring Humanity back into business

If you walk away with anything from this, remember you’re not alone in this mess of a job search. You are worthy the way you are. By practicing the tips outlined in this article, such as creating a target market list, understanding the pain points of a company, and effectively communicating your skills and experience, you can increase your chances of success. Stay present, stay connected with your network, and always strive to learn and grow as a professional. You got this, you beautiful human you.

Thank you to Rick Manelius, Ed Frank, Dayal Gaitonde, Dawa Sherpa, and Randall Noval for the conversations and advice!

Fullstack app? What? TweetyTag!

Jenn Johnsey — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:37:38 +0000

Have you ever gotten an idea of a project that you MUST DO IT NOWWWWW?! It could be the ADHD in me or the excitement and need for a tool like this that I wanted to push myself to figure it all out NOW. Not giving myself time to figure it out and work on it little by little, nah, that wouldn’t be fun! In the last 4 days I’ve spent over 20 hours livestreaming and obsessing over it. My emotions have been fun… 🤩🤬🤯😱😭🥰

As I take time to step away to give myself the grace to give this project some space, I’d love to tell you about it!

If we haven’t had the opportunity to meet, let me introduce myself. My name is Jenn Junod. I’m the host of a podcast called Sh!t You Don't Want to Talk About, host of a livestream called Teach Jenn Tech, and facilitator of a weekly Twitter Space for Mental Health and Neurodiversity in Tech. OH that’s just a little of what I do, I’m also a DevRel and co-organizer of the Denver API Meetup. (I included links if you want to check out anything!) That tells you a bit of what I do, here’s a bit of who I am, I’ve gone through some crazy shit in my past, solitary confinement, lots of abuse, self-harm, and the list can go on, yet who I am now is a human that that throws herself under the bus (or as I like to say, bus chucks myself) to use the privilege I was born with to level the playing field. Give others a platform when they’ve been silenced or gone unheard. Technology helps us connect so, therefore, I dig technology, and luckily, I’m a quick learner. As someone that thrives on human connection, I know all humans are beautiful humans, so, Hello beautiful human!

I facilitate a weekly Twitter Space for Mental Health and Neurodiversity in Tech. At the beginning of this journey, in July 2022, I offered to tag the dope humans that needed reminders to show up. What I didn’t realize, is how much of a hassle it is! ohmygoodness! It’s annoying. It’s been simmering in the back of my mind while I’ve been working on the livestream Teach Jenn Tech. I mainly focus on JavaScript and Python yet 4 months into the show we’ve had people on about GoLang, Kubernetes, Docker, CSS, APIs and a bunch of random frameworks that all start to blur together. Taking 4 months of knowledge and cramming it into 1 project was well a mess. I had no idea that to make something autopost/autotag the dope humans that asked to be tagged in the TwitterSpace would be Fullstack?! It really started piecing it all together. It was a TwitterSpace with James Q Quick that I was trying to describe the project and it came out as TweetyTag, and then the name of the project was born!

Is this blog to tell you about the success of the app and learning I was a savant, no. I kinda wish it was, yet failure is an incredible teacher. For all the techies reading this, here’s a highlight:

React Webapp needs a backend something to connect to MySQL with Aiven
- Why Aiven you may ask… Cause I wanna learn more about Databases yo! Do you know about databases?
I only wanted to use MySQL due to years of working at GoDaddy hosting and never really knowing what it does
There are tools like Prisma that can create a connection from frontend to the backend to use the database
React and Prisma probs aren’t friends, still not sure (Broken project repo )
- Don’t expect a quick response if asking a question on StackOverflow… it’s been 3 days, nothing 🤣
Restarting a project isn’t always bad
Started using Prisma from scratch to connect to MySql with Aiven (It worked!)
I can’t figure out how to get the Next-forms-js frontend to work with schema.prisma but I’ll get there
Lastly, I’ll figure out the Twitter API or other things in the process.
TweetyTag repo that explains the vision in the README.

Now let's take a look a what I was able to get done... Prisma to MySQL with Aiven connection repo with the walk-through of how to set it up.

Setup Your Database for TweetyTag

Before TweetyTag can auto post the users that have registered to be tagged in TwitterSpace reminders, the database must be setup. We will be using Prisma ORM as the tool to connect a Node backend to MySQL with Aiven.

1. Create Service in your Aiven Account:

See Getting started with Aiven for MySQL.

Once the database is running you will see the following:

The connection information will become avaiable:

2. Using the Relational databases article from Prisma, Create project setup

Continue by connecting your database. Prisma has the default database provider set to postgresql so make sure to change the provider to mysql.

datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
}

Change to:

datasource db {
  provider = "mysql"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
}

Include the following for our models.

model Post {
  id        Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  createdAt DateTime @default(now())
  updatedAt DateTime @updatedAt
  title     String   @db.VarChar(255)
  content   String?
  published Boolean  @default(false)
  author    User     @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
  authorId  Int
}

model Profile {
  id     Int     @id @default(autoincrement())
  bio    String?
  user   User    @relation(fields: [userId], references: [id])
  userId Int     @unique
}

model User {
  id      Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  email   String   @unique
  name    String?
  posts   Post[]
  profile Profile?
}

Now that the Prisma Client is setup, we'll create a file to read and write to the database.

3. Create a new file named `index.js`:

This will allow you to read and write from the same file.

const { PrismaClient } = require('@prisma/client')

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

async function main() {
  await prisma.user.create({
    data: {
      name: 'Alice',
      email: 'alice@prisma.io',
      posts: {
        create: { title: 'Hello World' },
      },
      profile: {
        create: { bio: 'I like turtles' },
      },
    },
  })

  const allUsers = await prisma.user.findMany({
    include: {
      posts: true,
      profile: true,
    },
  })
  console.dir(allUsers, { depth: null })
}

main()
  .then(async () => {
    await prisma.$disconnect()
  })
  .catch(async (e) => {
    console.error(e)
    await prisma.$disconnect()
    process.exit(1)
  })

To ensure the database can write a query, run the following command in your terminal:

node index.js

4. Create a new file named `write.js`:

To query the DB seperately, add the following to write.js:

const { PrismaClient } = require('@prisma/client')

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

async function main() {
  await prisma.user.create({
    data: {
      name: 'Alice2',
      email: 'alice2@prisma.io',
      posts: {
        create: { title: 'Hello World' },
      },
      profile: {
        create: { bio: 'I like turtles' },
      },
    },
  })
}

main()
  .then(async () => {
    await prisma.$disconnect()
  })
  .catch(async (e) => {
    console.error(e)
    await prisma.$disconnect()
    process.exit(1)
  })

To ensure the database can write a query, run the following command in your terminal:

node write.js

5. Create a new file named `read.js`:

const { PrismaClient } = require('@prisma/client')

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

async function main() {
    const allUsers = await prisma.user.findMany({
      include: {
        posts: true,
        profile: true,
      },
    })
    console.dir(allUsers, { depth: null })
  }

main()
  .then(async () => {
    await prisma.$disconnect()
  })
  .catch(async (e) => {
    console.error(e)
    await prisma.$disconnect()
    process.exit(1)
  })

To ensure the database can read the query, run node read.js in your terminal.

node read.js

Success of the node read.js command will look like this:

[
  {
    id: 1,
    email: 'alice@prisma.io',
    name: 'Alice',
    posts: [
      {
        id: 1,
        createdAt: 2022-10-24T23:06:12.491Z,
        updatedAt: 2022-10-24T23:06:12.491Z,
        title: 'Hello World',
        content: null,
        published: false,
        authorId: 1
      }
    ],
    profile: { id: 1, bio: 'I like turtles', userId: 1 }
  }
]

Shoutout to all the incredible humans that helped see me through this journey to show on my GitHub that I do have a working repo. Thank you to all the new friends made during all these extra livestreams! Especially to the shows mods!! they deal with the creepers and for remembering to reply to stuff when I don’t, thank you Ben and Ryan!

Stay rad friends. In the next article of this blog series, we will review how to setup your Prisma Client to allow front end input into your database. In the final post, we will share how to connect to the Twitter API.

Follow the TweetyTag journey by following Jenn on:

A 🥑 Developcado 🥑 Falling From Gravitee

Jenn Johnsey — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 19:45:06 +0000

Whew. Coming off of the whirlwind of the 5-day conference of Denver Startup Week, Saturday, I slept. Today, I’ve been a ball of emotions feeling incredibly raw. That’s always the best time to post, right? ;) Possibly not. I’m writing from the point of reflection of the last 7 weeks. Falling from Gravitee, loving being a Developcado (DevRel), and what it would take to continue to be so full-time.

To recap, the consulting as a Developcado the last 7 weeks involved, 4 Meetups, 3 blog posts, 1 Conference, 1 Demo, 2 Fav Feature Videos, and an increase in Community numbers by 42% while at the Denver Startup Week. That’s not even counting the 15 episodes of Teach Jenn Tech or the 6 Mental Health & Neurodiversity in Tech Twitter Spaces I’ve hosted. It does count in the fact that I’ve fallen behind on my passion project Sh!t You Don't Want to Talk About Podcast. It’s been hard to balance life, passions, and work. I’ve observed my passion transforming to continue to be the impact of being a thread of connection through each event and each piece of content I’ve created.

Let me explain, I know that sounds slightly “out” there. Content creation on a continual basis is new for me. I admit I’ve always done SOME type of content creation. Yet there has always been a distinct disconnect between work and life. Now, between being a Developcado (DevRel) which includes constantly learning about the product, people, networking, and life outside of work I started hosting a live stream, writing blogs, continuing the podcast, figuring out social, and I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting has become a bit much. Or has it?

There’s a hidden beauty in being able to reflect and become self-aware. I’m still on the fence about deciding if it’s an enjoyable experience. Thus far, I know it’s worth it, it’s just not fun. I like fun yet fun does not always include fulfillment. I am finding my way to fulfillment by asking myself the following questions:

What are my priorities?
Are there any parts of my life that feel neglected?
When was the last time I felt I was making an impact?
When was the last time I had fun?
What are items that make me feel rested?
What are items that exhaust me?
When was the last time I felt loved?
When was the last time I felt I was showing love?
When was the last time time passed quickly?
When was the last time time passed slowly?

Now you may see why this practice may not feel so fun 😅

1 . What are my priorities?

My Family
Human Connection / Advocating for others
Creating space to
Making time to enjoy life
Paying of debt to do all of the above

2 . Are there any parts of my life that feel neglected?

Yeaaaah…. Our house was a mess after the conference 😅
The podcast

3 . When was the last time I felt I was making impact?

“…being a thread of connection through each event and piece of content I’ve created”

4 . When was the last time I had fun?

This is where work/life overlap each other. Events are love/hate for me. I LOVE THEM and talking to people, so many curiosity questions that are answered. There’s such a large world out there and each human has their own view of it. Its lovely!
Teach Jenn Tech
Solving puzzles 🧩 Creating content is a BIG one
Horse riding
Playing video games
Exploring

5 . What are items that exhaust me? (Yes, I’m answering this out of order than above)

Events
Creating content
Lack of freedom
Not taking time to rest throughout the day

6 . What are items that make me feel rested?

Naps
Making the house cold & hiding under the blankets to play video games
Going thrifting

7 . When was the last time I felt loved?

Today 🥰, my partner Tyler, allows me the space to recover from events at my own speed and he cooked me dinner and tells me I’m pretty 😍
Being encouraged at work to do what I do best, connecting with others on a human to human level. 🥹

8 . When was the last time I felt I was showing love?

Connect and network while pushing past my exhaustion to hype up others
Catching up on house chores today
Walking the doggo
Calling the fam

9 . When was the last time time passed quickly?

Sleeping yesterday… where did the day go?! 😂
Any event, especially Denver Startup Week, I don’t know where an ENTIRE WEEK WENT??!!

10 . When was the last time time passed slowly?

Watching football hanging out on the couch 😂
Doing any reports
Creating social media posts
Things that do not involve human connection

11 .BONUS QUESTION: How do I feel about all of this? Any further realizations?

*- That what I love to do also exhausts me, human connection.
*
There’s a lot we can learn from asking ourselves these questions. Outside of the initial thought that human connection is what I wake up in the morning to create is also what exhausts me, it’s not being a Developcado (DevRel) that I struggle with, it’s finding a balance between work/projects and life that I struggle with. I can be found working on being a Developcado, Teach Jenn Tech, or Sh!t You Don't Want to Talk About Podcast, the majority of the time. What would happen if I took a step back? There are rituals I can create to help myself with balance.

You may have heard of rituals, which could also be called routines. They have been the bane of my existence since I was a child. It was much later in life that I found it’s more than likely due to symptoms of my diagnosis of ADHD, Bi-Polar Type 2, PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety. Where therapy has taught me many tools that I have in my toolbox, I found it has more than I would like to credit to the freedom I am allowed in my work. I found that this tweet by Sasha Perigo said it best:

_With ADHD I have exactly three types of work days:

✔️ Get absolutely nothing done

✔️ Get 4 hours of work done, at a random time of day

✔️ Get 40 hours of work done in 8 hours_

Being a Developcado, Host of Teach Jenn Tech, and Host of Sh!t You Don’t Want to Talk About allows me to have the freedom to follow my passion of human connection and advocating for others. While I continue the journey to finding my own rituals, I realize I do need to take a break from the computer. Take a break from the continuous desire to see the world a better place. Take a break to breathe. Go play video games. Cuddle with the doggo. I won’t be able to become my best self, if I don’t teach myself to pace myself. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. As I say goodbye for the day, I’m curious, what rituals do you live by?

A 🥑 developcado’s 🥑 practical field guide to saying f**k-it

Jenn Johnsey — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 14:45:31 +0000

I’m not sure if these are conversations that everyone has with themselves, yet I’ll take the chance on being considered the crazy one, because f**k-it. This is a conversation I have with myself more often than I would like to admit.

Soooo… what is it that I don’t want to do? Be a newbie, struggle at learning, be unsure, not know the answers, be uncomfortable - the list goes on. If it were up to me, I would sit on my couch every day with the AC on blast so that I can hide under all the blankets. Keona, our dog, would love that too.

This conversation in the back of my mind is a continuous struggle. I want to nap, but I also want the dishes done so the house doesn’t smell. I want to learn to code, but I don’t want to look foolish. I want to create all the content for Sh!t You Don't Want to Talk About Podcast, yet I’m feeling incredibly overwhelmed.

This endless loop has caused incredible uncertainty, fear, anxiety, depression, instability, and overall my mental health does suffer from it. I’m grateful to have an outlet to share these trials, AND to share how I handle them. I love learning how others handle their struggles, too, since I may find something that fits in my toolbox for myself. We’re all so similar and different, and that’s the beauty of the world.

Here’s some examples of f*ck it from the last week, and how I worked through them:

I have been OVERWHELMED about Sh!t You Don't Want to Talk About Podcast. Overwhelmed in all caps is not enough to describe the stuckness I feel about getting from editing to creating content to posting all about it on social.
- f**k-it. I put the podcast on hold to take the pressure off myself. More episodes will start coming out on 9/21
- On a recent episode of Teach Jenn Tech, Leo joined to talk about Data Models and scaling. Leo said it best, “Well-defined data models lead to well-defined workflows. Data models are really all about defining what we need to pay attention to, so we can ignore the rest.” It was as if this was the answer to my ADHD self working on the podcast! In a future episode, we’ll be diving in deeper to this topic going from theoretical to practical.
A big part of DevRel role is submitting Calls for Proposals (CFPs) to conferences. I’ve been insanely stuck on how I would bring my passion for mental health to tech. I couldn’t think of a single thing I would talk about.
- A friend offered to help and we livestreamed the process. We’ll be doing so again next week on Wednesday.
Uncertainty can be immobilizing, such as when I’m starting on a career change and not fully integrated into my new world yet. Will I ever fully integrate? There’s a phrase I like to use when I feel like this, “Logically, it’s fine that I’m doing this, it totally makes sense. Yet, emotionally, I feel uncertain, worthless, and as if I can’t plan for anything in the future.”
- f**k-it. I keep reminding myself that I need to do the best I can, no matter who I work for. It’s not like me to half-ass something despite the uncertainty.
- Uncertainty in one place in my life does not mean there is uncertainty everywhere. I can lean into the places I feel supported.
Feeling like my content isn’t making a difference.
- I hate admitting this. There are times I need that validation from my friends and family to keep going. Sometimes I need reminders from those that have been doing DevRel for a while that it’ll help me get noticed. I have to remind myself too: why am I making this content?
- I create content to create human connection and communication, like APIs connect software.
That feeling of anxiety, uncertainty, scarcity, and fear of the unknown….
- f**k-it, let’s do this!

The f**k-it mentality has helped me overcome obstacles that otherwise would leave me stuck in a cycle of going nowhere.

There is a movie that came out in 2020 called the F**k-it List. By no means am I saying that this movie is for everyone. First, it’s based on high-school students, and second, it’s based on students that have a shit ton of privilege, which is not relatable for most of us, including me.

Still, something that we all can take away from a movie or be around people that have a f*ck-it mentality, is that it is contagious.

Just as misery loves company, dragging one another down, humans that don’t believe in the limits of the world can lift each other up. That’s a mindset change that has taken over 20+ years, as I go from overthinking everything to embracing a mindset of f*ck-it, it is what it is.

Join me on the journey of finding my own freedom by saying f**k-it, and finding the tools and resources that help you on yours.

🥑 I’m a developcado 🥑

Jenn Johnsey — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 19:33:42 +0000

What is DevRel, and what’s with the avocados?! 🥑🥑🥑

🧐 developcado, yeah, I don’t think it’ll stick either. 😂

My first thought when hearing the term DevRel, was, what is that, and do you say it Dev-Reel, or Dev-Ril. I’m still unsure the exact way to say it, I hope that it’ll come with time or that I won’t get corrected too many times. It’s a bit embarrassing how bad I can be with names and terminology saying it right. Even Vite, which is pronounced Veet. More detail on that another time.

The term DevRel refers to Developer Relations also known as Developer Advocate, Developer Evangelist, or Developer Relationships. Many terms fall into the overarching bucket of DevRel. My definition is “Creating human connection between a product and developers. Which gives a platform to developers to be heard and succeed.” Each company has its own definition of the role, which makes the journey of becoming a DevRel that much more exciting… or frustrating. 🧐 And, uhhhh…. what about Community Manager, is that a part of DevRel too? Exactly!

Taking a step back into my journey to becoming a DevRel will help me explain the resources and research done to make this blog.

In early 2021, I started at a company that helps developers create API Specs easier. Over the year there, I transitioned from content and communications manager, sales enablement manager, to learning service manager. Six months into working at the company, during my time as Sales Enablement Manager, I went to a local API Meetup and realized when I was asked about the company I work for, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY DO. I was mortified.

In September 2021, I started as the Learning Services Manager. The goal was to launch a platform that would teach customers about the product and how to better use the product. At this point, the company did not have the bare basics of what an API was, the pieces of an API, and what an API spec was from the company’s point of view. To create this content, I had one on one meetings with many of the developers and engineers to start teaching me the bare basics of what an API was, and about how the company specifically fit into the API Lifecycle. I learned why form first instead of code first, created a better experience for the developer. It was an eye-opening experience that felt incomplete when I was let go in January 2022.

During my time as the Learning Services Manager, I reached out to the local API Meetup group to see if I can find a mentor or more resources outside my current company. That was in November and as I said before, by January, I no longer needed to know much about APIs. One of the co-organizers saw something that I didn’t, APIs are dope, that I love humans, and co-organizing the API Meetup group would be a way to contribute to the local community and expand my knowledge of APIs. It was only after the healing process from being let go and the surgery I had end of February that I was open to join as one of the co-organizers. One of the best decisions in my life.

Through that one decision, I met incredible humans that welcomed me to the community, had the opportunity to MC at an apidays conference, and found mentorship not only in the API world, but also in neurodiversity.

One of the biggest impacts of rejoining the API community, is that I had the opportunity to narrow down what I wanted out of my career and next role, to become a DevRel. Well, my exact response when I was asked was:

“Absolute dream job would be to have the podcast complement my career in APIs and my career supporting what I do in the podcast and what I hope to achieve by turning that company into a nonprofit. One I want to speak about how human connection creates better APIs and vice versa.

An ideal role would be, where I can ask a lot of questions, advocate for others, and help mediate to find a solution. From what I’ve seen from DevRel, project management and community managers look like awesome jobs! I care more about the people I’m working with, and what I’d be doing, rather than the job title. I would love to find something that would provide support and encouragement to do more things like MCing, and speaking.

…. Big items I’d be looking for would be flexibility so I can keep up the podcast and mostly remote working. I love to travel and have my passport so I can go anywhere when needed. It’s when I’m in the states tho I dig not needing a car and the time it takes to get to work when I work from home 😂”

It’s crazy when your thoughts become reality. Ok, my thoughts become reality. Shortly after figuring this out, I started my adventure with Twitter! I always knew Twitter was a thing yet I always stayed far away due to not understanding how connected I could feel becoming a part of Tech Twitter. Without knowing it, a colleague from an old company posted a tweet asking for existing DevRels to post here to allow those looking into DevRel to find resources to reach out to. That’s where the magic started happening! Without realizing Twitter does use the DMs, I awkwardly started replying to each person, asking the best way to reach out to them. Yeah, I was that person. 🤦‍♀️

Thursday was my first meeting with a DevRel. From that meeting, I learned, I could be ADHD and dyslexic and learn to code. I also learned that I didn’t have the tech or the content to show a track record of why I should be hired as a DevRel. By the following Wednesday, I spoke to 4 more DevRel humans. By that point, it was decided, that I would start Teach Jenn Tech on July 1st, 2022 with Jere.

Livestreaming is terrifying and exciting. That can be its own blog post another day. Along the way of finding my way to DevRel, I have met some of the most technical people that are still human, some of the most relatable humans that are still technical, and that human connection truly does make tech work.

In my own experience, two months into starting Teach Jenn Tech, I’ve found there are so many definitions, tips and tricks, and incredible humans that can help you along the way to learn more about DevRel world.

Please remember: We are all on our own journey. We are all going at our own pace. It’s about the journey, not the destination.

Here are a few links that I hope you find helpful along your journey.

🥑 Teach Jenn Tech : linktr.ee/teachjenntech

🥑 What’s with the Avocado?? Is from @mary_grace’s book. https://twitter.com/JennJunod/status/1540386348523065344?s=20&t=kXUclI4yk4wE26YcRrJQOg

🥑 Struggles of a DevRel Twitter Space Recording hosted by @cecilphillip & @stripedev : https://twitter.com/JennJunod/status/1545098255549140992?s=20&t=kXUclI4yk4wE26YcRrJQOg

🥑 Struggles of a DevRel Article written by @blackgirlbytes from @github : https://dev.to/blackgirlbytes/the-hard-parts-of-developer-advocacy-for-me-530h

🥑 DevRel Practice posted by @ThisisVanshika : https://twitter.com/ThisisVanshika/status/1467200205380534272?s=20&t=kXUclI4yk4wE26YcRrJQOg

🥑 Tracking DevRel Metrics posted by @tessak22 from @SnapforDevs : https://twitter.com/tessak22/status/1542875766907703296?s=20&t=kXUclI4yk4wE26YcRrJQOg

🥑 Dope DevRels in the role posted by @adamd founder of @everydeveloper : https://twitter.com/adamd/status/1539684682366861314?s=20&t=kXUclI4yk4wE26YcRrJQOg

🥑 Answering the question we all are wondering about… What’s a DevRel? by @hola_soy_milk at the 2022 hybrid @skillsmatter conference https://youtu.be/HtK8Y8CzdY0

PS I always giggle at how much of a newb I was and cherish always being a newb at something.

Failed my way to 🥑developcado🥑

Jenn Johnsey — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 23:05:51 +0000

It’s been 2 months since the first Teach Jenn Tech launched. It took me 6 weeks to find a consulting DevRel role. It’s taken countless hours going WTF… Learning all of the tech, navigating the networking and politics, and deciphering the layers of learning to code. I found that I failed my way into becoming a developcado.

Last week, my boss invited me to attend a meetup about Customer Marketing. (Yes, I have a boss. I started consulting at Gravitee, more about that later!!) I was a bit skeptical, not realizing how big of a difference there is between product marketing and customer marketing. I still have many questions about how the two complement each other.

There were two speakers, at the meetup, Scott K. Wilder, who spoke about processes, and Jim Lein who spoke about 9 steps, points, or something. Honestly, I was so fascinated to see someone who cared about human connection and curiosity the way I did, that I sat there trying to break down how to put metrics behind human connection. 🤯 At first I thought that I had failed each job I’d ever had due to not fitting into their box. What I didn’t realize is that failing is one of my superpowers. I failed my way to becoming a developcado.

As my boss at Gravitee, Nic, would say, “When you’re on the right path, things start falling into place.” Two blog posts in, I sound like a broken record. But I urge you to keep reading since it wasn’t always that way. Please know here are a few of the items I have failed at to get to this point in my life:

🏂 Snowboarding - I’ve been carried down by ski patrol 11 out of 12 times. The 12th time I walked just to say I wasn’t carried down.
🏃‍♀️ Marathons & Spartan Races - Y’all, I truly do believe that you can do anything that you put your mind to, yet my asthmatic bottom-heavy self, would tell you, those are not my cups of tea. There are photos 😂
🏊‍♀️ Swimming - Not great at it. I tried getting lessons, they’re mostly for kids and it just never clicked. I do this weird half-swim thing. I can stay afloat!
🧳 Staying in one place - At the wonderful age of 34, I can count up to 30ish moves. Some across town from one home to another, yet some were state to state. Arizona → Idaho → Colorado → Arizona → Indiana → Arizona → Colorado. It may surprise you to hear that I don’t like the desert and sand.
🤷🏻‍♀️ Fitting in - Many of us came from a background of trauma. I am one of those humans as well. I could never understand why people didn’t like each other, judged each other, or were downright mean. There are times and places to go into the sad or dark times, and this isn’t it. You can check out the podcast Sh!t You Don't Want to Talk About to find out more about that journey.
Greater Than Podcast
Bartending
Retail
Crossfit
School

All jokes aside, there were items that I failed at that hurt a bit more and had lessons that I don’t regret learning.

Being told I’m never going anywhere in my life. There were many points at which I didn’t think I would. In school and each job I heard, Jenn, you’re too noisey. Jenn, you’re too loud. Jenn, you’re such a disappointment. Jenn, all you ever do is take. Jenn, would you stop bothering them?! I really couldn’t understand why I kept messing up, I loved learning about people and their stories. Even when I tried, I’d still hear their life stories.
Being ask, why can’t you just get it!? It’s easy! Nope, going from point A to point B may make sense to some, I tend to go A to V to Z to E, and maybe a few more loops.
Not being able to describe the how or why. Years before I had therapy, I was asked why I care about this job or that. It’s always boiled down to human connection for me. I applied to be a supervisor at a call center, they asked me why, I told them the truth, it was to become salaried so I could travel internationally… They didn’t like that. I would be told to watch teams while their supervisors were out. The teams would succeed, and I’d be asked how I did it. I didn’t know, I just did what I did. Having no idea human connection is a superpower either. FYI I interviewed for that role over 10 times, and never got the role.

Adding to the slew of failing listed above, I’ve made mistakes in fashion, who I associate with, and even how to get into a routine. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I also learned the power of not giving up. There’s been a lot of being laughed at and kicked while I’m down. I experienced glimpses of kindness and hope. There were humans that believed in me when I struggled to do so. Kindness that I could never repay but can pay forward. Light borrowed from someone else when my light wasn’t bright enough.

That’s how I found being a developcado! Videography may not have been my thing, yet it taught me how to be behind and in front of the camera. My first podcast failed, yet it taught me how to launch Sh!t You Don't Want to Talk About and Teach Jenn Tech with ease. I was let go of my last job, but now at my new one, I can work on completing what felt unfinished and discover the next level. I was told I’m too stupid, too loud, too curious, and talk too much. I’m now learning to code, create content, and help others succeed.

My failure got me here. I’m here to remind you, YOU got this too!