From Nick Howell:
“The foundation of the technology sector has always been built on the power of community. From the early days of computing clubs and user groups to the vast online forums and social media platforms of today, communities have played a pivotal role in driving innovation, providing support, and fostering collaboration among tech enthusiasts and professionals. As we navigate the complexities of the modern digital landscape, it’s crucial to reflect on the legacy of these communities and understand how they are evolving to meet the needs of a rapidly changing industry.
While the platforms and mediums may have evolved, the core values of tech communities—sharing knowledge, fostering innovation, and building connections—remain unchanged. However, the rapid pace of technological advancement and the proliferation of new tools and platforms also present challenges in terms of inclusivity, accessibility, and the quality of interactions.As these communities continue to grow and evolve, it becomes increasingly important to cultivate environments that are welcoming to all, promote healthy discourse, and provide avenues for meaningful contributions and learning.
As we reflect on the transformative journey of tech communities, from their inception to their current state in the digital age, we recognize the vital role they play in innovation, support, and growth within the industry. The legacy of these communities is not just in their past achievements but in their potential to adapt and thrive amidst the rapid advancements of technology.”
What’s Our Role In All This?
Tech communities have a constant impact on us in todays digital world; They built the foundation that all of our older tech was based on, and continue to build and maintain the industry today. Websites like github and StackOverflow are essential tools to engineers and designers, who are able to rely on each other for information thanks to the communication provided by these services. But with growing communities comes the risk of pushing down smaller voices, and homogenizing prompts and answers. But through careful consideration of how we build our platforms, diversity in the voices we see online should be guaranteed. As the article mentions, it is on us to promote healthy discourse to be an avenue for meaningful contributions and learning.
How can we fulfill that role? Take a browse through any of these open source community sites- github, StackOverflow, GitLab, Bitbucket, or a variety of others and just be involved. Ask questions if you have them, answer questions for others if you know. The internet doesn’t fill up with information on it’s own, it needs real people to provide that and there is no reason we shouldn’t take part in that collective knowledge sharing ourselves.
