From the earliest days of the internet, the technologically-inclined would get together in chat rooms and message boards and RC channels to ask questions and get feedback on the work they’ve done. Being online lets you learn from other technologists and pass your experience along, from anywhere in the world.
It’s also important for technologists to plug in to their local community development scene, getting to know the technologists in their city and tapping into the experience and opportunities that they provide.
Here are five good community resources for technologists to use, and where you can find them in Echo’s home of Downtown Orlando, FL.
Meetups
Meetups are a way for people to congregate in real life to connect about something that matters to them – the importance and benefit of direct human interaction almost goes without saying. The rise of social media has made it such that people can stay in touch with each other at all times, but there’s still no substitute for in-person interaction. One social media platform, meetup.com, exists to do exactly that – to bring people together to do more of what they want out of life.
Technologists use meetups to organize around specific development frameworks, such as JavaScript’s React; specific languages, such as Python; development ecosystems, such as Android; developer demographics, like Lady Developers; and even development in general. These meetups are a prime place for developers to exchange experience and knowledge and for business leaders to connect with the talent they need. There are also meetups oriented primarily towards business development and towards the technology ecosystem in general, such as the Orlando Tech Association Meetup and Code For Orlando.
Slack
Since its initial release in 2013, Slack has quickly risen to become the top team collaboration tool for developers and business leaders alike. What started as a tool to help teams collaborate in the workplace has become one of the essential tools of community organization. Users can organize their real-time conversations around topics and teams, sharing files and integrating with well-known development resources like heroku and git.
Many important community slack channels are based around meetups as mentioned above, such as the Orlando Developers group.
Coworking Spaces
Even when you aren’t working on the same project or even at the same company, working around people who share your values can be a tremendous boost for a developer in terms of both productivity and overall well-being. Coworking spaces are a great place for meeting new people and sharing experience and also for keeping your finger on the pulse of the local community.
Orlando is home to many excellent coworking spaces, from Canvs and Catalyst in the heart of downtown to Hub 925 in the Dr. Phillips area and the newly-opened Conduit on Orange Avenue by I-4.
Maker Spaces
Like coworking spaces, Maker Spaces are places where idea-driven technologists can congregate and work together on projects they are passionate about. Maker Spaces are places where Maker Spaces also typically have community tools, ranging from 3D-printers to heavy machinery, to help people build things they might not be able to independently. These spaces are abuzz with new ideas and forward thinking, and are a wonderful place to learn skills that you never thought would come your way.
Orlando has two well-established makerspaces – FamiLAB, in Longwood, and Factur, in Winter Park.
Accelerators
Accelerators are a key resource for technologists to take their great ideas and make them ready for prime time – they provide focused mentorship, legal and financial resources, and curated networking opportunities to help give ideas a firm foundation in the business world.
With such accelerators as Starter Studio and FireSpring Fund, Orlando is rich in opportunity for developers to get the help they need to bring their ideas to life.
