Day 19 | KendoReact | New Livestream Series (Dev-to-Design)

Let me first begin on a note of gratitude. In spite of all the challenges that I'm currently working to overcome, I am still filled with gratitude for the things that I do have. Even though they won't help to solve some of my most immediate problems, they serve as a reminder that there is still some hope for me. Something that, frankly, has been in short-supply lately.

But I don't want to dwell on the things that I can't control right now. Instead, I'm choosing to do something about the things that I can control in my life. With my Dev-to-Design article series finally going, the next step in showcasing/demonstrating my talents and passion will involve hosting a series of weekly livestreams. From my perspective as a technical content creator, these livestreams and articles aim to fulfill 2 purpose:

1. It's a way for me to demonstrate and showcase my own talents and skills when it comes to front-end development, using of Telerik's products, and also UX design. Not necessarily in that order. Chances are, I might hop around a little bit between the different subject matters.
2. The second part of publishing these articles and hosting the livestreams is to help promote/share about the products/tools and companies that I'm passionate about (believe in). Everything from development to design. Hence, Dev-to-Design. There are already a few different places where I could begin (i.e. Telerik, JetBrains , UXPin , Material Design for Bootstrap and Figma ). But I've decided to begin with something that I'm most comfortable (confident) with - Telerik Products.

Trying Not to Overthink It

One of my greatest mistakes and failures in the past is that I procrastinate a lot. I have all of these amazing ideas and plans, but I rarely ever put them into motion (or in some cases, see them through). That happened because I have a major flaw - I sometimes overthink my plans. I wanted to get all of the variables/unknowns nailed down before I execute something, but in life, that is never ever going to happen. It's impossible to anticipate every little thing that could happen, no matter how meticulous you might be. Trust me, I am the most paranoid, meticulous SOB.

Just Do It

Just like Nike says, I'm gonna just do it. I'm going to try something that is a little bit outside of my comfort zone. I'm going to jump right in. You must first understand that on a personal/professional-level, I do have a fear of causing disappointment. Or making mistakes. That fear has always been a part of me for as long as I could remember. It is also that same fear and desire to get everything right that made me a master procrastinator.

There may be the occasional, rare moments in my professional life when my fear turned out to be a blessing in disguise (I came up with a plan and thought of nearly every thing, and the plan was executed to near perfection). But those really are rare. For the most part, I usually just end up not doing anything.

Publishing Articles versus Making Videos

I recently came across a tweet from a fellow technical content creator. That individual wrote about how he/she would always prefer writing articles than making videos. The only reason for making videos is because some of the intended target audiences might prefer watching a video over reading an article.

For me personally & professionally, I've always been more natural and comfortable with writing. It's my ultimate freedom of expression. And over the years, I did become really good at it. This is not me blowing my own trumpet either. I'm just saying what others have told me as feedback over time. I loved writing.

Making videos/live streaming is [NOT] something new for me. I started making technical/gaming video tutorials during the pre-/early-2010s. I was using a software by TechSmith called Camtasia Studio. I also got really good at that. Again, just repeating the feedback of others. Then in the last few years, I have on multiple occasions tried to get into live streaming, but nothing stuck and so I kept occasionally abandoning the effort.

But when I finally had the idea for Dev-to-Design (let's call it "D2D" for shorthand), something in me finally clicked. It's like one of those light bulb moments. For the first time in many years, I believe I might have found something that can motivate me to do more video contents. It's probably not going to be my main focus (forte), but through my live streams, hopefully it can help me to reach more developers and designers. These live streams will serve as a gateway to my Article series on LinkedIn.

Doing More With Less

Let me end this entry with this, unlike in the past when I had a much bigger budget and all the fancy hardware and software subscriptions I can ever want, these days I have to make do with a whole lot lesser. But I am also determined not to let that be an obstacle when it comes to making good/decent technical content. I certainly miss having the incredible suite of tools from JetBrains (even collaborated with them as a brand influencer for nearly 4 years), or the screen capturing/recording tools from TechSmith (not since their brand ambassador program was terminated). I might not have the means right now to afford expensive online services or premium live streaming templates/themes, but not having them may not be such a bad thing after all.

I've come to learn that just because a content creator has the best tools and resources available to them, it doesn't necessarily make them the best at what they do. If I have all the money in the world, I can always "buy" a lot of things.

In recent times, by not having everything I needed/wished for, I've been reminded of the days before I first got recognized as a technical content creator. I didn't have much then, but what I did have was this incredible wealth of knowledge of the products and tools that I was writing about. On top of that, I also had what some had described as "contagious passion". Those well-written articles & technical video tutorials in my early days as a content creator was what earned me my recognition, not the fancy tools and subscriptions.

Honestly though, I really still wish that folks at TechSmith might somehow be willing to help me with just 1 year of Camtasia Studio and Snagit subscription. Just until I can get back on my feet financially. I'll always be more than happy to pay for and support my own needs as a content creator.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to hosting my first D2D live stream tonight. I intend to keep them to just 90 min max. Anything longer than that will start to feel unfruitful.