Introduction

Welcome to another insightful conversation between experienced developers! In this post, we will document my discussion with Francesco Ciulla, an advocate developer at Daily Dev who is building his presence and sharing his journey through speaking at conferences and creating video content.

You can check out the video on YouTube and you can read on to find out what Francesco Ciulla had to say.

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We covered a wide range of topics relevant to developers today:

Overview of What We'll Cover

• How Francesco got into public speaking and content creation
• The risks and rewards of building a personal brand as a developer
• Tips for creating engaging yet sustainable video content
• The importance of catering content to your target audience
• How to keep learning amidst constantly evolving technologies
• Actionable advice for developers just starting out

So whether you're an aspiring speaker, seasoned content creator, or simply looking to connect with other developers, read on for our key insights from this exchange. Time to dive in!

## From Conference Attendee to Main Stage Speaker

I started by asking Francesco how he got into public speaking in the first place:

"It was actually because of WeAreDevelopers. In January 2022 I received an email from Gerry inviting me to become a speaker and try it out...WeAreDevelopers is probably one of the main reasons why I became a speaker."

Being invited directly to speak at major developer conferences gave Francesco the initial push to get started. And he shared that his experience coaching volleyball teams in the past prepared him for the pressures of being on stage.

His first time speaking at WeAreDevelopers did still come with some frightful moments though! Francesco explains:

"I was so prepared to be scared that I didn't feel scared at all. When I went on the stage, the lights were so bright I couldn’t see anyone. It worked as a charm for not feeling afraid because I couldn’t see people."

The insights here are that having extensive topic knowledge ahead of your talk is key, as is focusing more on your content than personal nerves. As Francesco notes, "It’s not about your ego… it’s about giving a good message to attendees."

Connecting Through Content Creation

Next we turned to discussing the rising trend of developers building a personal brand through social media, especially video content on platforms like YouTube.

I asked Francesco whether he thinks it's problematic that many people seem more excited to showcase themselves as content creators or YouTube stars rather than focus on developing skills. He responds:

"I am one of those people. And I think this is absolutely fine if you do this properly...I always think that social media is an amplifier of what we do. If we do zero, the output is still zero."

In other words, you should use social media to augment and showcase work you're actively doing rather than pursue clout for its own sake.

Francesco is candid that regular creation is challenging:

"Creating videos or content is the opposite - it's super hard. Don't stress too much about social media… focus on what you are doing and use social media as something on the side."

The key is sustainability - create content you can manage consistently without burning out. Start small and steady rather than emulating trends that don't suit your skills or personality.

We also explored the realities of trying to build viewership amidst YouTube's algorithms and competition. Francesco suggests:

"Focus from what you know and then expand in the most sustainable way… for you. Get feedback from your community early."

Continually soliciting ideas and reactions from your audience helps ensure you provide content people genuinely want rather than guesses. Francesco polls his YouTube followers directly to guide his upcoming videos.

"100% of times the result is not what I want… People, your followers, they will have good compromises between the creator and audience."

Curating Your Learning

No developer's journey is possible without continuous learning. I asked Francesco how he stays up to date within the complex, fast-changing developer ecosystem.

His answer:

"I'm biased, but I would say try Daily Dev. You can customise your feed and get filtered content… If you want to discover new things, give it a try...We update and change the sources for the feed so we can try to help you out."

Tools like Daily Dev and personalized RSS readers help you curate sources tailored to your current focus areas and goals. But Francesco notes avoiding stagnation is also a mindset:

"Sometimes I want to consolidate my knowledge about a topic. Other times I want to change something… Going to in person events is the best solution because you meet new people and can have good discussions."

Conferences, meetups, and other live events generate the serendipitous encounters with different perspectives that keep your learning journey moving forward.

Developing Your Developer Skills

I closed by asking Francesco for his most concise, actionable advice to developers just getting started. He emphasises:

"Enjoy your coding stuff. Don't just jump on all the hype trains… It's independent on what I want to learn and create content on. Try to code every day and make a post once in a while just to get used to social media. Enjoy the process."

The key takeaways:

• Code daily to build real skills
• Focus on your own goals instead of trendy frameworks
• Share your journey through social posts
• Have patience - getting that first job is the hardest part

Simple principles but sage wisdom to kickstart a fulfilling developer path.

Key Takeaways

And there you have it - a wide-ranging yet focused discussion on the realities of being a developer today. By documenting Francesco's journey, I aimed to provide first-hand experiences and tactical tips across:

• Getting started in public speaking
• Sustainably growing your audience and content
• Balancing personalised learning and discovery
• Prioritising coding skills over hype

I hope these lessons and anecdotes inspire you in your own development, whether just embarking or continuing along!

What did you take away from our conversation? What topics would you be interested to hear developers dive deeper on together? Let me know in the comments below!

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