The purpose of this site is four-fold:
- Keep track of lessons learned for a quicker/easier place to reference those lessons in the future. By writing the lessons down I hope to cement the knowledge and reduce time spent relearning.
- Record professional development for future reference.
- Keep track of professional development reading to cement knowledge and leverage.
- Build/control my online brand/identity.
Lessons Learned
Often when I face an IT or development challenge I search, find, and learn the solution. Often there are multiple solutions and the first may not work. When facing the same or similar problems in the future I often rely on previously visited links being purple to remember what solutions I used and what worked or did not work. Instead it is much more efficient to document the problem and solution that worked in a searchable way.
Professional Development
Professional development is changing and keeping track of it is becoming more difficult. A job candidate can be perfect on paper but not a good fit once hired. This is because it’s very easy to “pad” a resume or take the courses for the role without retaining functional knowledge. Additionally, networking events, meetings, volunteering, reading, extracurricular activities, etc. all work to validate a candidates suitability. LinkedIn and paper-based resume’s don’t do a good job of recording these things nor do they accurately convey a candidates personality and “fit” within a given corporate culture.
Reading
Virtually everything I read is non-fiction and directly related to my work, because I enjoy my work and enjoy reading about it outside of work. It really annoys me there is no app for recording this reading and no easy way to include it on ones LinkedIn profile. My original solution is/was IFTTT automated uploads to box.com and recording in a publicly shared Google Spreadsheet. That’s fine for recording the reading but doesn’t easily allow for taking notes nor does it truly integrate with an online profile.
Imagine instead, a Chrome plugin that records the URL, title, key words, and time spent on pages relevant to given topics. One day I may write that plugin but of course it would be easily abused.
Online Brand/Identity
I have to admit, I really dislike LinkedIn; the UI is horrible, it’s a pain to keep up-to-date, and it’s not conducive to content production (unless you want to spam your professional network). As a tech-savvy person I want:
- Control of my professional brand.
- The ability to share work-related thoughts/ideas/experience.
- My online identity to be easily printed as a resume when needed rather than maintaining a print version and an online version.
- To provide more depth, background, and legitimacy than LinkedIn is able.