Personal Branding as a Developer : Why I am Learning in Public, and you must too!

Hey! I am Prakhar. I know, you have been listening about this "learning in public" and "personal branding" idea from everyone around you but you are confused on how to approach it. Well don't worry, I have done all the research for you. I promise that this blog will be your one-stop solution to all the questions you have and problems you might face. I have added all the approaches and methods in this blog. Now stay clam and let's begin!

What is Learning In Public?

Learning in public basically means you make your learning journey public. Either you share the different steps you take to understand a topic better or learning about a platform, tool, language, structure or anything. It could be varying from posting something on Twitter/LinkedIn, to writing blogs on a frequent basis, to making all of your code publicly accessible on your GitHub profile, or to create video content. Your goal is to share what you learn.

What is the goal?

I know, you are now a little bit clear about "learning in public", but I also talked about "personal branding". Do I need to create a big brand out of myself? Is it something like becoming an influencer in your field? Like those Tech Influencers you see on Twitter? Absolutely NOT! Your main goal is to establish credibility in your career field, share your knowledge to the public or a community and be recognizable to relevant folks in your career field. It's not necessary to create a large audience base. As a by-product if you happen to become an influencer, then that's great! Enjoy!

Learning in public is all about transparency and authenticity. When you share your learning journey openly, you showcase the real struggles and triumphs that come with mastering new skills. By being authentic about your experiences, you not only humanize the learning process but also inspire others who may be facing similar challenges. Transparency fosters a sense of community.

Learning in public also helps you to differentiate yourself from the crowd. It shows that a person is really passionate about his work.

That's why learning in public, creating your presence online and personal branding is important.

Building a Personal Brand

In the competitive world of tech, having a strong personal brand can open doors to exciting opportunities. Learning in public allows you to showcase your skills, knowledge, and passion to a broader audience. A well-maintained blog, GitHub profile, or social media presence becomes a living portfolio that potential employers, collaborators, or mentors can explore. Building a personal brand not only helps you stand out but also positions you as an authority in your field.

Networking and Community Building

Learning in public is an excellent way to connect with like-minded individuals. Engaging with the developer community through forums, social media, or tech events can lead to valuable collaborations, mentorship opportunities, and friendships. Being part of a community provides a support system where you can seek guidance, share resources, and celebrate each other's successes. Networking is a powerful tool for both personal and professional development.

Overcoming Impostor Syndrome

Impostor syndrome is a common challenge among developers, where individuals doubt their abilities and fear being exposed as frauds. Learning in public helps combat impostor syndrome by acknowledging that everyone, regardless of experience, is continuously learning. By sharing your learning journey, you contribute to creating a culture that embraces growth and understands that mistakes and challenges are part of the process.

Feedback and Iteration

When you learn in public, you open yourself up to valuable feedback from the community. Feedback can come in the form of comments on your blog, suggestions on GitHub, or responses on social media. Embracing feedback allows you to iterate on your work, correct mistakes, and refine your understanding. The iterative process is crucial for growth and improvement.

How do you get started?

1. Tech Twitter : Twitter is a very important platform for your tech career. Most of the tech professionals are active on twitter. It is a great platform to connect with developers and professionals. Try to share what you learn through tweets, images, videos, flowcharts. Engage with folks. Host or join twitter spaces. Share your thoughts and opinion.

Also don't be too vague in your posts. Try to provide value to your readers.
Example of such posts:

2. LinkedIn : Just like Twitter, LinkedIn is also crucial for your career. Share your learning journey on LinkedIn but remember to be more professional on LinkedIn than Twitter.

3. Technical writing / Blogging : Technical writing helps you share your technical knowledge and experience with others. It also helps you reinforce your knowledge of the topic you're writing about while demonstrating your technical abilities and talents.

Some Resources -

4. YouTube : YouTube is one of the most powerful platform if you can succeed in building an audience and have patience. But it's a real struggle to do so. While you can start making content for YouTube, I generally don't recommend it to the beginners as it requires a lot of time and effort. In the initial days of your career, you must spend your time wisely. Try to learn more skills and master the tech stacks rather than just focusing on Learning In Public for the sake of fame and engagement (which should not be your goal, by the way), especially on platforms like YouTube.

5. GitHub : I highly recommend spending your time on GitHub and Open-source projects. Whenever you make any project or have some useful resource to share, make a GitHub repository for that very thing. What I mean to say is "make your code public".
Try to spend time on different projects that are open-sourced. Understand the code-base and try to make contributions to those projects. Maintain a healthy discussion with the communities. Ask good questions.

Tip : Join the mailing lists of the project that you want to contribute to. They might have a discord server or a subreddit. Join those and engage with the community members.

Some tips to follow

1. Use the same username for all your accounts.

Example:

You might not get your name as the username. So you can be creative at picking one (like I did! :D). It's not necessary to have the same username for all your social media handles. As a developer, just remember to keep same username for GitHub, Twitter and LinkedIn.

2. Use a tool to showcase all your links at one place.

You can use Linktree, Bio Link, BioDrop or your own portfolio website.
Checkout mine for reference :

3. Use the same profile picture and banner for all your accounts.

Although it's not necessary but ideally recommended as it makes your profile instantly recognizable.

4. Be humble and polite.

5. Don't be offensive to anyone. Be respectful to others.

6. While sending connection requests to professionals on LinkedIn, always add a short note to those requests.

7. Build your personal portfolio project.

Remember that quality is much better than quantity when it comes to your portfolio. Give yourself 3 to 4 months to build something that is truly impressive, something that is hard to ignore.

One such example is the portfolio of Bruno Simon.

Conclusion

Learning in public is a powerful approach that benefits both individuals and the developer community as a whole. It fosters transparency, accelerates learning through teaching, builds a strong personal brand, facilitates networking, combats impostor syndrome, and encourages continuous feedback and iteration. By adopting this practice, you not only enhance your own skills but also contribute to the collective growth of the developer community. So, why am I learning in public? Because the journey is richer when shared, and the destination is reached faster when we travel together. Join me in learning in public, and let's shape the future of tech together.

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