A collection of the best React, JavaScript, and front-end development links for the month of September.
This segment of the newsletter is being named what it was originally called eons ago: Critical Linking. I got the idea from Book Riot a couple years ago and decided to use it for my newsletter. If you’ve read Links of Note it’s essentially the same thing.
This week, I wanted to tackle branding as a developer. Yes. I know. Developers hate marketing and “personal branding”. But I can tell you from experience it really does help. I interviewed with Microsoft recently and have an interview with Google in a couple months. If not for my blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, and my active GitHub, I probably wouldn’t have gotten either of these things. It is a pain in the behind, but it can work.
Enough with the rambling. Here are this month’s links.
My Blog Post Workflow: from Topic to Publication
from the post:
Writing blog posts can be pretty tricky – it’s hard to come up with a topic to write about let alone actually create the content. I’ve been blogging more and more, and I wanted to give my advice for writing posts – from the topic through pressing the post button!
Ali is garnering attention and deservedly so. Her posts are well thought out and well researched, something I am taking note of when crafting my own.
How to build your personal brand as a new developer
from the post:
Since I started publishing on Medium, I’ve noticed that my blog and my social media accounts have seen an increase in traffic. Only a very slight increase, but it’s still very motivating and encouraging.
and also
My company was recruiting for several positions and had received a large number of applications. To my surprise, I saw my boss Googling applicant’s names to evaluate their online presence.
My boss was using this as a way of looking for positive contributions and information. He wasn’t browsing Facebook trying to find out what the candidate does on a Friday night. He was more interested in:
- Did the applicant have a blog?
- Any special interests?
- Any passion projects outside of work?
These are all good points and things I tell new developers who reach out to me. Starting a blog is relatively easy and a really important step to getting noticed and standing out.
Getting Noticed and Widening Your Reach
from the post:
I wasn’t born with a wide reach. And I haven’t resented the reach that I have as I have been developing it. I’ve worked hard to produce useful content for people who in turn follow me because they want more of that value which we all create and I capture and disseminate. You can do this too. Don’t despair. Keep working at it. Be happy with where you are and the direction you’re going. You can do it! Good luck!
I have this in a quote block in my Quotes Notion workspace as it is so true. Kent’s newsletter last week was something I needed to hear. If you’re trying to be successful in the industry, I’m sure it will resonate with you as well. I like that he also acknowledges his privilege. This is something new developers from underrepresented demographics need to see more often.
That’s It!
Just three links this month but I felt like they were important to read and think about. I am working on taking things from each of these posts and implementing them in my day to day.
Just a heads up: I will probably be making this newsletter much like Kent C. Dodd’s where subscribers get to see my blog posts before they go live on Tiffany R. White Blog. I am still mulling this around in my head a bit so we’ll see how it plays out.
P.S. If you like what I am doing here, be sure to subscribe, follow me on Twitter, buy me a coffee, a book, or support me on Buy Me a Coffee and share the love. You can also subscribe to this newsletter’s rss feed or you can ask me anything.
👋🏾 Hi. I’m Tiffany White. I am a front-end engineer and egghead.io instructor. I sometimes contribute to open source, and blog about web development at Tiffany R. White Blog. I love JavaScript, React ⚛️, and herding cats 🐾 🐈