The Butterfly.js Effect

This talk was first presented at JSConf US 2018 in partnership with Julian Duque - https://2018.jsconf.us/speakers/juan-buritica-and-julian-duque/

This talk will serve three purposes. First, it will tell the story of the creation of the JavaScript community in Colombia and its journey to becoming one of the largest Spanish-speaking JS communities in the world. It will highlight and explore the impact this community has had on the region, and how it set the stage for other communities to build upon. Finally, it will provide insight into the challenges of building a community in a developing nation where the tech ecosystem is not established, providing a summary of lessons learned which other communities in developing nations can use as a blueprint in their regions.

We aim to discuss starting meetups in cities or small towns, the impact of the JavaScript community on individuals including organizers, speakers, and attendees, creative sponsorship ideas, cost structures, financing challenges, diversity, inclusion and the use of international networks to support local initiatives.

The deck template and styling by the amazing Lilondra - https://twitter.com/lilondra

Transcript

1. The Butterfly.js Effect JSConf US 2018
2. Julián Duque Juan Pablo Buriticá @buritica @julian_duque VP Eng - Splice Solutions Architect - NodeSource
3. It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world. Chaos Theory “
4. We come from far away to tell you a story...
5. ... one we'd put under the magical realism genre if you asked us 8 years ago.
6. This is the story of how six individuals set off a community typhoon they would've never imagined ...
22. ENHANCE
24. ENHANCE
44. We have mirrored developed tech ecosystems, despite having inadequate infrastructure.
45. Diversity & inclusion have been part of our plan from day one
46. We have built a platform
47. Today, the Colombian developer community is recognized world-wide.
48. And thousands of Colombian programmers are learning connected to each other
49. Why is this so magical?
50. Please, close your eyes
51. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Colombia?
52. ... yup, our not-so- peaceful history precedes us.
53. So we're on a mission ...
54. ...to build a developer community that helps Colombia leave it's past behind...
55. ... by exposing the local community to modern techniques, tools, processes, and technologies that power the open web.
56. ... highlighting the effort of community members who promote the growth of an inclusive and respectful community.
57. ... and generating social impact by making knowledge accessible to as many Colombians and Hispanic-Americans as possible.
58. How can you do the same?
62. What we've learned ...
63. Use your privilege as a bridge
64. Speakers
65. One or two well known speakers make all the difference when starting
67. ENHANCE
69. Speakers Ambassadors
71. Sponsors
72. At first, local sponsors will love to "partner" with you ...
73. At first, local sponsors will love to "partner" with you ... ... but you can't pay airline tickets or hotels with favors.
74. Ask for cash, or have them pay for expenses directly.
75. Find friends in "big" companies to help sponsor for love of the art.
76. Find friends in "big" companies to help sponsor for love of the art. They won't see your city/country as an interesting market yet.
77. $$$
78. It is very likely you will lose money in the first event...
79. It is very likely you will lose money in the first event... ... and the second ...
80. It is very likely you will lose money in the first event... ... and the second ... ... and the third.
81. Running a not-for-profit community doesn't mean you're running a charity.
82. Build an operating budget that will leave you with an emergency fund in the long run.
83. Here's a 2013 real budget example for you ... JSConf CO 2013 Budget * we lost money * we recovered in 2015
84. Leadership
85. Start with a small team.
87. Once your event is sustainable, you can start training the future generation of organizers ...
89. Give away your legos
90. Bridge a culture
91. Aspire to build a diverse, inclusive and accessible event from day one...
92. Aspire to build a diverse, inclusive and accessible event from day one... ... just make sure you can afford it.
93. Iterating towards a better future is better than going broke.
94. Affordable tickets > Food
95. Affordable tickets > Food Interpretation > Fancy Party
96. Localize diversity and inclusion, and accessibility.
97. Did you know that 100% of people born in Colombia are Latin-Americans?
98. Did you know that 100% of people born in Colombia are Latin-Americans? You get the gist ...
99. Draft a code of conduct from day one, it's like a package.json.
100. Draft a code of conduct from day one, it's like a package.json. Enforce it.
101. When it comes to diversifying, sponsoring > mentoring.
102. When it comes to diversifying, sponsoring > mentoring. Give people a framework, money, have their back, and back off.
104. The Empanada Fund: 30 min office hour to share meetup framework
105. The Empanada Fund: 30 min office hour to share meetup framework @buritica sponsors empanadas & beverages for your first event
106. The Empanada Fund: Has helped start 30+ meetups in Central & South America
107. Starting & maintaining communities outside of tech hubs is:
108. Starting & maintaining communities outside of tech hubs is: Difficult
109. Starting & maintaining communities outside of tech hubs is: Difficult Mostly unrecognized
110. Starting & maintaining communities outside of tech hubs is: Difficult Mostly unrecognized A fuckton of work
111. Let's hear it for JSConf US organizers.
112. You won't make any money, and will likely lose some.
113. You won't make any money, and will likely lose some. But you will set off a chain of events that will benefit you even more.
115. You will also make amazing friends.
116. And your impact will go far and beyond.
117. Impact?
118. We've congregated the majority of community leaders and most active members in an invite only Slack.
119. We've congregated the majority of community leaders and most active members in an invite only Slack. We're now over 1500 and exploring ways of opening it up.
120. We've created an index of Colombian software meetups and noticed there's more than 50,000 registered members. http://colombia-dev.org/meetups
121. The event framework we've built has been successfully replicated by events outside of those we've started.
122. ScaleConf CO, Hackdó Conf, DinosaurJS, and more to come…
124. Specialized communities spread
125. We're establishing as a tech hub
126. Talent is growing, lives are being transformed…
127. We're becoming our own role models
128. Juli went global!
129. Friends from everywhere
130. We asked our community about the impact in their lives… here some responses
131. “On several occasions I had the chance to be a speaker, I did not have much experience as a dev at the beginning and had many insecurities that had acquired thanks to a "macho" boss, being a speaker when started in this community allowed me to overcome the fears completely and of course learned a lot technically to prepare for my career. Claudia Lagos - @ClaudiaLagosR
132. “For me it was very exciting to see people donate their time because they want others to have the necessary expertise to succeed, but not only about that, they also help us a lot to have better soft skills, through a code of conduct and open doors to tolerance and respect. I felt very inspired to follow that path to learn more and always want to give something back to the community! Alejandra Giraldo - @maleja111
133. “I think the best part of these communities is the networking through the inclusion of the entire community to share their knowledge together, a network of contacts that helps you in every possible level. As personal experience, being a young (16 years old) person I was able to give a talk in a conference and hence generate a network of vast contacts that helped reached the path to career success I was looking for. Samuel Burbano - @iosamuel
134. “In a social context like Colombia, a community is a great opportunity for those who have or think they have limited life and career choices. That's why I love the community, you can change lives. Teaching you not only technical skills but also empowering yourself to continue to improve the world individually and in society. PionerasDev certainly shaped my life in the most positive way without all the joint efforts of many people like Julián and Buriticá the story would have been different Laura Ciro - @ltciro
135. Find all responses at: http://impact.colombia-dev.org
136. Our family keeps growing and growing.
138. The butterfly.js effect becomes a cycle
139. Scholarship > Speaker > Organizer
142. Stronger wings with every new member
143. Stronger wings with every new member Make more impactful typhoons
144. https://medium.com/@kosamari/well-planed-and-hard-worked-coincidence-in-colombia-7d49b67cd9b8
145. Thank you @kosamari
146. But… we don’t want to see this change only happening in Colombia.
147. But… we don’t want to see this change only happening in Colombia. We'd like it to spread
148. Here's where you come in
149. http://support.colombia-dev.org
150. The proceeds will go towards building resources and providing funds to new communities in Latin- America
151. We also had our butterflies
153. @julian_duque @buritica GRACIAS