Stepping Outside the Niche Tech Bubbles

Over the years, certain people in our space have talked about stepping outside the WordPress bubble. I include myself in that group.

And with each iteration of the community, personally, I always feel like it’s something that is not only a good idea for us to think about but also a healthy way to broaden our thoughts and opinions. For some people, it’s a bit scary to do this because they find the bubble a comfort zone. Others are much more comfortable. And even more so, some step outside of it for good, which is often the best decision for them.

What does it mean to step outside the bubble? Well, it’s what you make it. Learning something new. Joining conversations that give you a more open mind. Or perhaps attending an event or conference that allows you to expand your scope on how you do business and who you do it with.

Some things to ponder.

One of the biggest traps in our space is our Slack channels, which are one of two things: an echo chamber or a place with like-minded people who follow a single path. Now, I am not saying don’t participate in these. Instead, I suggest you find additional avenues of conversation that are not just in compliance with how you feel or think about something in the community. Reaffirmation is helpful, but it can also get you stuck.

With that all said, let me share how we, as a community at Do the Woo, are trying to help you step outside the bubble with two shows.

Open Talk on Open Source. This is one of our newer shows that I have talked about a bit in the past. It is hosted by Robert Jacobi and Courtney Robertson, both avid open source proponents. The idea for the show was inside my head since last year.

What inspired me to pull it together was not only had I heard others talking about the need for this, but it also nagged at me. The fact that so many of us in the WordPress ecosystem love open source for the obvious reason but are not exposed to all the amazing projects around us that bring open source to the surface and also integrate or work alongside WordPress itself. As a result, this show is perfect for anyone who loves WordPress as an open-source project and wants to discover those projects outside our space and what they mean to you and the growth of open source.

Then we also have our new show about Scaling Enterprise. Working with the Scale Consortium, this show has also been in the works for quite some time and is now out in the wild with hosts Brad Williams, Karim Marucchi, and Tom Willmot. What makes this show unique is it’s broken up into two separate shows, The Buyer’s View and The Inside Track.

The Inside Track, which premiered yesterday, is more focused on WordPress in Enterprise. On the other hand, The Buyer’s View gives us a look at open source software beyond WordPress when it comes to enterprise. So essentially, you get the best of both worlds.

These two shows are examples of how we want to help you explore technology beyond the WordPress bubble. And I’m sure even within our other existing shows, you will find bits and pieces of it as well. Plus, I imagine you may find more about it on our new blog that is just around the corner.

Lastly, I would like to share my own experience that lends itself to events outside of WordPress. This last March, I attended CloudFest in Germany for the first time. It started with the Hackathon that led into the event. And yes, there was also a WordPress day. Something I believe you are going to see grow.

Now I know some people came only for that day, and I am hoping next March that they decide to stick around for the entire event. Now it is focused on technology in the cloud, so not everything may be of interest. But I can guarantee you that you will meet some amazing people with all sorts of talents and views that will make it worth the experience.

Myself, I used to go to these conferences in my other pre-WordPress life. And I was so happy that I stepped out of the bubble of WordCamps and experienced CloudFest. In fact, I was so impressed, chances are good I will be going again next March. So hope to see you there and if you have any questions about it, ping me.

Well, that is that. And as I said at the beginning, find your own paths to explore the tech communities outside of WordPress no matter what you do professionally in our space. Take some breaks from those Slack channels and reflect on the bigger picture. Give yourself some time to reevaluate how this may just make you happier and more flexible with your own ideas and thoughts. I have done this recently myself in a lot of different ways aside from what I have already mentioned around the podcast and events. Maybe that is something for another time.

So speaking of WordCamps, if you are going to WordCamp US, let’s connect or reconnect. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone and know that having a balance of inside and outside the bubble is nothing better than a happier frame of mind. So until the next time.