Become An Invisible Tech Community Influencer!
“Can I get the Heroes to stand up?”
Four minutes into his keynote at AWS re: Invent 2023, Dr. Werner Vogels requested all the AWS Heroes to stand up amidst the thousands of audience in that vast hall. It was a moment of recognition and appreciation. Personally, it was an emotional occasion for me.
Those who stood up and received applause from the audience were not just heroes but influencers. Technology and community influencers who are otherwise invisible!
The invisible influencers work in the AWS, serverless, and the wider tech and other communities.
- They work with passion in what they do for the community.
- They often have no authoritative title or power to exhibit.
- They mainly function behind the limelight, dedicating their personal time.
My re: Invent Moment As An Invisible Influencer
During the run-up to re: Invent, many exhibitors usually connect with me on LinkedIn, requesting to visit their booths. When I receive such messages, I quickly respond to say that I am not a business influencer, and I visit re: Invent on personal interests. Some still insist I visit them, so I keep a list of their booth numbers and drop by to say hello.
On Thursday afternoon, I was strolling in the expo hall, looking for booth #1495. With the crowd of people collecting swags, I missed the booth and walked past. And I heard someone calling, “Sheen”! I turned back and was greeted by a friendly (but not familiar) face of Kamran Adil. Kamran is the CEO of a serverless-focused company, Cloudtech, that helps organizations migrate to the cloud and serverless.
Beyond the LinkedIn connection, there’s nothing between me and Cloudtech. However, Kamran and his team have been following my writings and talks and taking the useful bits as inspiration when they work with their clients. It was a humbling experience to hear such stories in person and a proud moment — the invisible became visible!
My Journey As An Invisible Influencer
“What are you at?” is a question I get asked when I travel to conferences. With a smile, I say I am an engineering manager or a leader guiding a small team of engineers building serverless solutions. Hard to believe, they often say, “Oh, I thought you were X or a Y, etc.!” I smile again, gently shake my head, and give credit to the people or positions in the organization that draw policies, align strategies, and make decisions. That’s not me.
It disappoints those who approach me with business intentions because I do not play the role of a business influencer for them. However, as a technology influencer, no one queries (or worries) about the position or title but looks at you as a subject matter expert (SME).
How am I able to connect with many in the industry?
Contrary to a few who think I was born out of the Java world as a programmer with limited future paths to pursue, my career had a great launchpad surrounded by world-class engineers. Navigating through the technologies of the early 1990s, I was building three-tier client-server applications and, by the late '90s, guiding teams as a Software Development Manager.
No matter what others think, the learnings and experiences over the years helped me connect with everyone and inspired and fed me with ideas while writing the book The Serverless Development on AWS.
As I mature(d) in the industry, I quietly influence others and radiate the experiences I had in life and at work. It is true that the organization(s) I work(ed) for also play a part in connecting with others in the industry.
The career decision to scale horizontally
It was a conscious decision during the early 2000s to move horizontally and learn new technologies instead of progressing vertically on the management ladder and hitting the ceiling.
It was the Java and JEE ecosystem at that time, followed by web services. Thanks to Sam Newman, microservices became my new attraction a decade or so later. Though it didn’t happen as I was promised when I took a new job, AWS and Serverless became my new horizons. Even before getting involved in serverless, I was defining my path on AWS in my personal time.
How did I become a speaker and writer?
Traits such as speaking or writing won’t happen overnight. Several aspects of life come into play. Being born to parents who were teachers and in a family that had many in that profession may have played a part. Elocution competitions during school days and university community events presented me with speaking opportunities, and from there, I progressed mostly internally within the teams and workplaces.
When I have a topic I am comfortable with, I feel the urge to teach or share it with someone, and it then becomes a subject for a talk or an article.
As a non-native English speaker, I found writing in English hard, but slowly but surely, I started to enjoy it with practice and plenty of reading. A great piece of advice came from my uncle during my high school days. Back then, the language and history exams had plenty to write. He advised extracting the essential bits from big paragraphs and presenting them as bullet points for visibility, thereby gaining better scores. Who knows? He probably planted the monolith versus microservices thinking some 40 years ago!
Writing and speaking have become my main avenues of community interaction. These bring opportunities for further conversations with several members and, in many cases, positively influencing them.
Here are a few simple reflections from my experience to help you to get involved with the community.
Identify your comfort zone
Though it sounds simple and obvious, finding your preferred path or part of the community is probably the most challenging. There are several avenues to choose, but it depends on where your passion lies. Unlike a few extremely talented people who can effortlessly wear multiple hats, the rest of us are limited in our abilities. So, it is important that you identify your strengths so your contributions become effective.
- Are you a highly technical person solving tough business problems?
- Are you passionate about programming and contributing to open-source projects and start-up initiatives?
- Are you a great communicator who can attract audiences on many stages?
- Can you utilize your organizational skills to work with others to conduct meetups or run conferences?
- Are you good at writing and expressing your ideas via articles and blogs that benefit many?
- Are you a conversationist who excels in conducting interviews and hosting podcasts?
- Or, what is that unique strength in you that you can bring out to benefit the community?
Involve in the community with passion
At AWS re: Invent 2023, I had the privilege of being part of an AWS community fireside chat along with Sabiha, Thembile, and Jenn. Among several interactions we had with those who had gathered around, a question was asked: How can someone become an AWS Hero?
We shared our views, and the common message in our answers was never to think of rewards and recognition when you serve the community. Be passionate about what you do and what you can do, and be involved with dedication. Your focus should be to spread your knowledge and learnings outwards (downstream) and influence those who need support and direction, not look upon those who distribute rewards.
Understand the limits of those you influence
Someone once made a passing comment, “Look, Sheen is making everyone an AWS community builder!” The fact is, I cannot make someone a community builder. But, I can show those eager to be part of the technical community the possibilities and opportunities available to them. Those who are willing to do the hard work and go the extra mile grab such opportunities.
As an influencer in someone’s career, it is crucial to understand when to stop and back off from influencing. Each of us is different. Our life choices, priorities, and personal interests vary. We must respect and give them the space and time they need.
I know of a few who were growing in the community and gaining respect for their progressive thoughts on serverless adoption and operation. But, gradually, they got themselves removed from the community engagements. On one hand, these were opportunities that went unutilized, but on the other hand, we should accept their decisions and career choices.
Help the community to help you!
AWS and serverless communities are close-knit and vibrant. Whether you need help as an influencer or to become part of the community, there are several avenues to get help and get involved.
If you are new, search for your nearest AWS User Group, serverless meetup group, or similar ones. Participate in one of the upcoming events — online or in person and expand your network. Serverless London meetup played a big part in my serverless journey.
AWS Community Days happen throughout the year in many parts of the world. Serverless Days are serverless-focused, community-driven one-day events. These are great opportunities to get involved as a volunteer or participant and grow in the community.
If you are a student or you know someone, AWS Cloud Club is a great opportunity to grow a technical community at your place of study.
Attending AWS re: Invent is a dream of many, but not many know the AWS All Builders Welcome Grant program that opens every year to give opportunities to many from across the world, including students.
I want to express my gratitude to #AWS for awarding me this grant and giving me the opportunity to attend re:Invent this year and be part of this community! — Andreea Merariu, AWS Community Builder, AWS re:Invent attendee.
More than just technical knowledge and insights, I bring back with me the feeling of being part of a vibrant community. — Monique Grinstein, AWS re:Invent attendee.
There Are Many Avenues. Identify Yours!
The advice I give to engineers when they think of writing their first blog is that regardless of how many have already written about a topic or subject, there is always someone somewhere to read their content. So, get it out!
You can get involved and become an influencer through several avenues and opportunities. There is space for everyone. Tech community work doesn’t always need to start from outside. You may find opportunities inside your organization, and starting there can give you the initial confidence.
Farrah Campbell, Head of Modern Compute Community at AWS, when asked about the significance of tech communities, said the following:
- Communities are like vibrant hubs of knowledge where a multitude of experiences converge
- Communities foster a sense of belonging and collective identity
- Communities provide a space for individuals to express their creativity and work together
- Communities play a crucial role in advocating for and shaping services and features that prioritize the needs of people
As we close the year 2023, let the tech community reach one of your ambitions for the new year in 2024. You may be invisible, but your community contributions can positively influence many worldwide.
