DEV Community: Claro A Briones

What's your favorite DO Hackathon submission so far?

Claro A Briones — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 19:23:00 +0000

The DEV + DigitalOcean Hackathon deadline is here! What project submissions do you like so far?

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

DO Hackathon: Submission - Picture Memory App

Claro A Briones — Sun, 10 Jan 2021 21:34:33 +0000

What I built

Built a simple picture memory app (game).

Category Submission:

Random Roulette

App Link

https://picture-memory-do-vue-ebwff.ondigitalocean.app/

Screenshots

Description

App will display a random image for certain amount of time, then the user is prompted to describe what they saw in under 200 characters. The result view will display the captured input and original image so they can compare.

Link to Source Code

https://github.com/klawrow/picture-memory-do-vue

Permissive License

MIT

Background

Like it was mentioned in my initial post of the series, the app was my wife's idea. The inspiration came from memory card games we play with our kids.

How I built it

This is the first time I use the DigitalOcean's platform. I have to say using the App Platform was easiest part of this project. I connected my GitHub repo, selected a pricing plan and deployed! 💥

The app is built using Vue, which was a new framework for me to explore. Initially I was going to use Firebase for the backend. However, since I wanted to implement the "Deploy to DO" button I decided against using Firebase.

I used Lorem Picsum for getting the random images and used Axios to get the source URL. This was so I can render the image on the Result view.

Additional Resources/Info

Want to send a huge thanks to DEV and DigitalOcean for hosting this hackathon, I learned a lot along the way. I'm already thinking of ways to improve my app and other cool projects I can build using the DO App Platform.

Good luck to everyone who participated!

DO Hackathon: Phase 3 - The Framework

Claro A Briones — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 16:48:14 +0000

Quick tip - start with what you know

Determining the "best" framework(s) for each part of the project can be daunting, especially since there is so much to choose from. I usually brainstorm with what I know and then see if there is a technology I want to dabble in, which is what I did in this case.

The Frontend

At first I was going to shoot for an HTML5 (html, css, vanilla js) implementation for this project. However, I decided to throw caution to the wind and push myself to learn something new and try using Vue.js.

The Backend

As for the backend, I wanted to use something lightweight and relatively easy to set up. I’ve been wanting to dabble in Google’s Firebase, so that’s the route I decided to take.

The Dependencies

One of the main features of the app is to display a random picture to the user. I decided to use Lorem Picsum, check it out here, this dependency has exactly what I need and is easy to implement. Kudos to David Marby and Nijiko Yonskai! Check out the source code here.

See you on the next post!

Photo by Matthew T Rader on Unsplash

DO Hackathon: Phase 2 - The Design

Claro A Briones — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 18:21:41 +0000

Now that I have an idea it’s time to work on the design. I usually start by thinking about the UI and how it will flow. So I fired up Figma and created a rough sketch of the UI. For this project I need something simple, 2 or 3 views and a couple of inputs.

The Workflow

User begins at the landing page:
- A random image will appear for a set amount of time.
- They will enter a description of what they saw in an input box.
- They will then click the Submit button, which navigates them to the results page.
User finishes at the results page:
- The original image will be displayed.
- The user’s input describing the image will be displayed.
- They can then click the Share Results button, which will copy the link to the results page.

The Landing Page

The Results Page

See you on the next post!

Photo by William Iven on Unsplash

DO Hackathon: Phase 1 - The Idea

Claro A Briones — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 14:02:15 +0000

The Rush

I jumped over to DEV and noticed there is a new Hackathon going. Suddenly I get the rush and start floating away with all kinds of ideas. Once I come back to earth I start reading the rules and the T&Cs, after all it is a contest.

DigitalOcean

I jump over to DigitalOcean and start reading about the App Platform to determine what can be built, limitations, frameworks, etc. Seems straight forward at this point especially since they have all kinds of documentation, guides, videos and community support.

The What

This is usually the tricky part, so many ideas to choose from, but as any dev knows we have constraints.

Before I can choose a framework I have to narrow down the WHAT. As usual, I have difficult time narrowing down the WHAT. So what do I do? I take about a day to mull over the ideas and I talk to my wife about it.

Usually what happens is my wife comes up with a great idea, but she doesn't know about the technical details or limitations. In my opinion, these are the best type ideas since they're unconstrained. This was no exception, she handed me an awesome idea! 🎉 🎉

The Idea ➡️ An image memory app

See you on the next post!

Photo by Frederick Medina on Unsplash

Freelance Proposal Tips

Claro A Briones — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 14:14:52 +0000

The past few weeks have been interesting and freelancing is starting to become a mainstream revenue generator for some people in our industry.

“Stop saying ‘later.’ You WON’T do it later. Do it or decide not to do it.” – Chris Brogan

I’ve been doing freelance gigs on and off since 2018, but like Chris Brogan said, I stopped saying later and kicked it into high gear this year. To start off I created my own company, Code by Claro, LLC, which by all means isn’t necessary for freelancing, but it provides some personal liability protection. As well as accountability for myself to get things (💩) done!

Prospecting Sources/Platforms

My primary prospecting sources have been Upwork and Moonlight Work. There are other platforms out there, but I’ve had better luck with these. On these platforms you submit proposals (bids) with the limited requirements provided by the client. Some clients are better than others and have more experience knowing what they want, while others need a guiding hand.

Proposal Tips

The most important and challenging aspect of freelance work is writing the proposal for a gig. Remember you’re competing against talented people across the world, so you have to stand out against the crowd. Here are some tips on submitting a proposal that will help you land that gig.

Always be polite, honest and professional… ALWAYS no matter what!
Be sure to carefully go over the requirements and try to understand what the client’s problem (pain point) is; sometimes it isn’t clearly spelled out.
Put yourself in the shoes of the client, what would you like to hear?
Start with a simple “Hello” or “Greetings” and end with thanking them.
Nobody wants to read a novel, so be sure to keep things short and to the point and answer any direct questions.
If applicable, provide examples of past projects that are similar to what the client is asking for.
Ask questions on anything that doesn’t seem clear.
Always end with a call to action by suggesting a phone call or web meeting.
Provide your availability or give them a Calendy link with your schedule.
PROOF READ & SPELL CHECK!!!

Thanks for reading and good luck out there!

What does your week look like?

Claro A Briones — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 01:20:57 +0000

I'd like to walk you through my current week and would love to hear about yours.

Variables

2 small children, a toddler and a student which is now being homeschooled.
Part-time Development Manager due to scheduling conflicts with variable #1 and company budget.
Freelancing to make up for the loss of salary due to variable #2.

Daily Morning Routine

Most days start the same, hitting snooze 2 or 3 times and finally rolling out of bed at 07:55. I open the blinds in my "office", which was once the guest room, and I start the coffee machine. While I sip away at the fresh cup of joe ☕, I get the laptop booted and start clearing out the inbox.

Monday - Friday

I start the week by planning and setting the goals to achieve for the week. I’ll check in on the team, answer any questions, update Jira tickets and handle the occasional support requests. The rest of the work week is providing guidance, making sure tasks are on track and executing on my action items.

After clocking out around noon we have a family lunch and afterwards we prepare for homeschool. We’ll browse through the class schedule and assignments, so my wife and I can be prepared to guide our child. Luckily our school district is proactive and has provided the necessary resources to help guide us through this new world. Depending on the daily chaos of having 2 children at home, my wife and I take turns on homeschooling and entertaining our toddler to not distract the other 😛.

On a good day, before sunset, we go on a walk around the neighborhood to help relax and wear down the kids 😉.

In the evenings, once the kids are in bed, it’s time to clock in for the 3rd shift 🕗; freelancing and prospecting. Sites like Upwork and Moonlight Work have made this possible and I’m grateful to have a skill set that has decent freelance pay.

Weekend

Saturdays are reserved for family, 🚫 no work allowed 🚫! Sundays are for freelancing/prospecting and winding down. If we are lucky enough, we will watch a show or movie together as a family.

Conclusion

For better or worse, things have changed in our lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. For me it’s brought family unity and the chance to work on freelance projects. Stay safe out there and take care of each other.

Ageism in Tech

Claro A Briones — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 19:50:39 +0000

Last nights CodeNewbie Twitter chat struck a chord.
Liquid error: internal

Any kind of discrimination is bad and no one should have to go through that. I missed the CodeNewbie Twitter chat last night, but I was able to catch up this morning. I was discouraged by the negative experience my fellow devs have gone through.

My Experience with Ageism

I've had the privilege to run my own dev team for some time now. When going through hiring process to build my team I witnessed what ageism had done to some candidates. These folks were skilled in their trade, had excellent work history and strong work ethics. However, they were coming in with salary requirements $15-20k lower than some of the less experienced and "younger" candidates.

When I asked if they were interviewing elsewhere, some would state they were rejected from great opportunities. I followed up with why? A few had a blank stare and would not know why, but deep in my gut I knew it was because of their "old" age.

How is this fair? It isn't, the sad truth is this happens in reverse too.

I've been around since the '80s and I've seen my fair share of discrimination, with racism primarily. Now that I'm in my mid-30s I'm wondering if my next run in with discrimination will be about "old" age.

Let me know your thoughts.