Day 16: Joining the Community
Welcome to the community…
My class starts in under two weeks and things are starting to get exciting. As part of the pre-work, one of the videos suggested to start a blog of this journey as well as get involved in the local tech community. Well, I can’t say how great the experience has been. From the Open Indy Brigade to the Free Code Camp Indy, they have all been very informative and inviting. Last night was my first time attending the Open Indy Brigade session. As soon as I entered and began to print my name for my name tag, one of the meeting organizers introduced themselves and began to explain the mission of the organization. It felt sincere and later being in a group discussion with others about ways to integrate tech into civic projects was very interesting. Between the side bars to geek out, the meeting covered three presentations on: regional crime mapping, an idea hub to better collect civic innovation ideas and connect the public as well as a central hub of local things that citizens should know about.
Great Source for Projects
As I sat there listening to the discussion this helped to spur ideas about my final project at the end of my Iron Yard course. I had been throwing around an idea to create an e-commerce site, but those have all been done. By going to these meetings I have been able to hear the local issues and symptoms that seem to keep things in a constant state. Also, you begin to see the same people at other meetings as you start to get more involved and begin to build relationships. I must say that I am naturally an introvert, but as I get comfortable I begin to open up. This usually allows me to observe and take notes about the situations and the pressing issues prior to engaging and offering my input. Taking notes during these meetings and identifying any terms you are not familiar with is also a big help to learn the industry terminology. After I got home last night, I began searching the terms that were thrown around and started to get a better idea of the concepts and how they are applied.
The Best Way to Learn…
They say the best way to learn is to teach someone. Eventually, I would like to take the skills that I am learning and teach someone else. Selfishly it reinforces what I have learned and motivates me to revisit things that are not as solid. However, the community grows from the sharing of information and hopefully continues to push forward to improve the quality of life. Worst case, you meet some new people, have a beer and stimulate the mind over interesting discussions. Personally, these meetings are like a boost of energy letting me know I am not in this all alone. So, jump in and get involved…You might surprise yourself and enjoy it.
