Google Season of Docs at AsyncAPI (Postman)
Hello readers, I am Bhaswati Roy, a final year student pursuing Computer Science and Engineering from the Institute of Engineering and Management, Kolkata. I got selected as a Technical Writer Intern for the Google Season of Docs Open Source Program by Google for the AsyncAPI Initiative Open Source Project for the year 2023.
Google Season of Docs is an open-source program similar to Google Summer of Code, conducted and managed by Google OSS. The only difference between both the programs is GSoC focuses mostly on code contributions, and GSoD focuses on technical documentation and technical writing-based contributions.
I came to know about this program in 2022, and when I decided to apply it was already too late, still, I thought of giving it a shot even though 12 days were remaining. I spent the initial 2 days searching for suitable organizations to contribute to and understanding the project topic accepted for GSoD. Finally, I chose Moja Global and prepared my proposal from scratch in the remaining 2 days. I was amongst the top 5 candidates whose proposals were shortlisted till the end. But since I had no contributions back then so I was rejected. At that time I decided to give my best in the 2023 program.
Past Contributions —
I started to contribute to documentation issues in January 2023, because at that point I still have 4 months before the GSoD application closes. I contributed to the following organizations before I submitted my application for GSoD:
1. Moja Global — 4 merged PRs
2. PyMC — 4 merged PRs
3. AsyncAPI — 4 merged PRs + 1 ongoing PRs
4. Bokeh — 5 merged PRs + 1 ongoing PRs
5. NumPy — 1 merged PR
6. OpenRefine — 1 merged PR
7. LFortran — 1 merged PR
8. Iterative — 1 merged PR
9. OpenMined — 2 blogs on Differential Privacy & ML
10. One Software Documentation Internship Experience
I went through the organization list of GSoD's past year participating organizations and checked every organization and their projects, tech stacks, the ideas before I could decide the organizations to which I chose to contribute. I contributed to Bokeh as a part of the Outreachy Contribution phase (phase before final selection), and I also contributed to some code issues there.
During March, when the dates of GSoD were approaching, I also started to ask the maintainers if the organization had any plans of applying to GSoD this year. Since the time was less, it would be better to focus on organizations trying to participate. In this way, one can be easily highlighted before the organization mentors way before the application starts. Thus I finally chose Moja Global and AsyncAPI to proceed with because they were planning to participate. I closely worked with both organizations, interacting with the mentors and maintainers, attending their community meetings, understanding their documentation issues, etc.
After GSoD is announced, all interested organizations update their names & projects in the season-of-docs repository maintained by Google. You can get the list of organizations that applied for GSoD. Even though a few of the organizations get selected, this repository will give you an edge in your organization hunt.
Past contributions play a very vital role in your selection because that shows your proficiency with technical writing, which will, in turn, make your application stand out against the worldwide competition.
Application Form —
There was no proposal submission phase, instead, there was a form of 8 questions judging our technical writing capacity and 1 question asking for our technical writing portfolio. The questions were -
1. Why are you interested in acceptance for 2023 GSoD at AsyncAPI?
2. How will you give back to the OSS community if you’re accepted for 2023 GSoD with AsyncAPI Docs?
3. Please provide a brief explanation of how you plan to balance your other commitments with your commitment to the program, and any strategies you have in place to manage your time effectively. We ask that you commit to the hours that you have indicated to ensure that we can rely on your participation and contributions throughout the program.
4. Please provide a detailed account of your technical writing experience, which should go beyond short blog posts or tutorials. This will help us understand your previous writing experience and how it can contribute to your participation in the Google Season of Docs program at AsyncAPI.
5. How do you typically respond to feedback on your writing, and what methods of critique do you find most effective? Please describe any experience you have with different feedback methods, such as peer reviews, editing software, or direct feedback from mentors or supervisors.
6. Please list at least three areas you would like to improve in AsyncAPI Docs as a Technical Writer and explain why you think they are important. This information will help us understand how you think, and what kinds of ideas you have to offer, and show us your level of capability in paying attention to detail. Additionally, this will help us assess your suitability for the program and ensure that we can provide you with the necessary resources and support.
7. Please describe 3 aspects of technical writing that you would like to improve in, and explain why you consider them important. This will help us better understand your goals and expectations as a participant in the Google Season of Docs program.
8. To facilitate effective communication during the Google Season of Docs program, we will primarily be using Slack. Please share your AsyncAPI Slack workspace username to ensure we can easily find you and communicate any updates.
9. Please share your technical writing portfolio.
I answered all the questions from my perspective because that’s what makes your essays unique and shows your uniqueness along with the sufficient amount of time you have devoted to your answers. Research and read sample answers before you write, and then frame your answers according to your past association with AsyncAPI or any other organizations with whom you were associated using technical writing.
I would also suggest keeping a community-centric mindset for writing the answers because giving back to the community and helping community members contribute by guiding them with what one learns from a valuable program GSoD. Highlight all the important points regarding your technical writing experience including your open-source contributions, and technical writing internships.
The deadline to submit the application form was on the 14th of April.
Interview —
On 24th April, I received an email that I was shortlisted for live interviews. I scheduled my interview for 27th April and tried to go through my resume and portfolio and revise my technical writing and typing efficiency. I read and wrote blogs to practice writing, and also went through documentation samples of different open source organizations.
The interview was divided into 2 parts -
Live Writing — given a raw text format, we need to improve the text layout and build professional-level documentation.
Live Editing — edit and suggest changes to a given piece of text from an old pull request.
Honestly, one can’t prepare for this round, because one needs to have good experience in technical writing as well as open-source contributions to suggest changes for improvements in the text.
Results —
On 8th May, AsyncAPI announced that 5 out of a total of 87 applicants from all around the world, were selected to work with AsyncAPI under the Google Season of Docs Program.
Lastly, thanking Alejandra Quetzalli, for not just selecting me but also helping me become a good technical writer. Throughout the 4 months when I contributed to AsyncAPI, she was always there to guide me. When I worked on the major PR of Style Guide — Inclusive Language, she recommended a lot of changes and I learned a lot from that contribution. I even used 3–4 learning from that PR in my interview and she was impressed that I remembered her guidance.
Bonus Points —
I was also declared as the best candidate from the interviews.
The outcome of GSoD —
Google Season of Docs officially ended on 15th December, and it was marked as a success by Google too. YAAAYYYY!!!
If you have any questions, you can reach out to me through my LinkedIn or Twitter. If this blog was helpful show some love, tap the clap button below, and follow Codess.Cafe for more such articles!
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