Stop saying “Everyone is already familiar with {insert library/framework/component here}”
Since I’ve become one of the editors of the Fullstack React weekly newsletter, I’ve attempted to immerse myself more fully into the React community and ecosystem. I’ve enjoyed it immensely and have become more aware of how friendly and welcoming the community is to new developers. I’ve loved diving in every week and trying to find new and interesting libraries and components that highlight some of the cool features about React.
In this immersion process, I’ve come across a few articles and talks which use phrases such as “and everyone knows that this library does such and such” or “everyone is already familiar with this tool and how it has this capability”. Unless somehow the entire world is alerted to the fact that this framework/library/component exists, everyone is not already familiar with it. There are many people in the development world who are still wrapping their brains around what JSX is and how it works and haven’t even gotten to the tip of the iceberg in terms of the plethora of React third party libraries.
When you are involved in a niche community day in and day out, with discussions constantly revolving around a particular library or libraries, it’s easy to forget that there are people out there just diving into the wonderful world of React and programming in general. Hearing and reading these phrases hearkens back to the days of my computer science classes when that “one guy” would raise his hand every class, ask some advanced question that would lead the teacher to go on a tangent and leave everyone else sinking down in their seats, afraid to ask anymore questions for fear of looking dumb. I’m not suggesting that the people creating these articles and talks are intentionally trying to make themselves look smarter than everyone else (as it seemed to be the case for those computer science class “rockstars”). I do think that these types of phrases make it hard for newer programmers to feel like they can speak up and ask basic questions.
I think a great example of how to give a talk that appeals to both beginners and more seasoned developers is a talk from React Europe by Lin Clark about why React is so performant. Aside from the fact that she uses cartoons to illustrate her points (which is awesome!), she starts out with some of the basics about how React renders elements in the DOM and then dives deeper into some more complicated topics. She says towards the beginning of her talk: “if this talk goes too fast for you, I’m posting the slides online and this talk is being recorded, so you can go back and review it later”. This is a great way approach a subject that could leave someone feeling lost or confused if the basics were just glossed over or not even addressed at all.
I’m well aware of the fact that making your talk/article/blog post approachable to both beginners and experts is no easy task, especially if your audience is mostly seasoned veterans of your subject. Even just adding some caveats like “if you need help with more of the basics, check out this tutorial or video” can help someone feel like they have a place to turn to when concepts start to go beyond the scope of their knowledge. You never know who might come across your article or video and if they come across it in a non-linear matter (meaning they found it without knowing anything about the basics) they might not know how to proceed and all your hard earned knowledge you are trying to convey will be lost on them.
Ok, I’m getting off my soapbox now. Go make some awesome tutorials and talks!
— Sophia
P.S. If you have a cool tool or tutorial you want featured in our newsletter, let me know!
