So, first of all, thanks for coming in. Thanks for joining my talk. I'll be talking about the power of tech communities. And before I begin the uh brief introduction of what I do.Uh So currently as is on the screen, I'm a community enablement manager at Tri Factor, which is a product company for uh data engineer related related products. But before this, I've been in the industry as a tester as a consumer, as a trainer on corporate trainings um and also doing software testing and automation related trainings and all of that jazz. So before this, I was a, an evangelist for certain tech product as well. So all of that is the background that I'm coming here from. Uh I uh speaking at different events uh mostly related to agile and software testing before this. So this is my first talk ever about community. And that is because this is sort of the new role that I have uh recently, you know, uh accepted and I'm loving it. And most of the current role that I uh am at, I work uh on creating tech content, uh training, design and creating blogs and uh useful content for users of our product. And I also work on delivering trainings and online community uh and such.

So all of that is part of why this talk, right, the power of tech communities. So first of all, uh as we begin, let's start by talking about what are communities, right? So communities are groups of people that come together because of certain commonalities, certain common interests, like it could be anything that uh that could be ranging from books, from tech to yoga, crops, culture, religion, anything that's a common interest uh of some kind is what makes a community and what makes you automatically part of a community, but what keeps them together, right?

Once uh starts getting formed, what keeps them together is their will, their passion, their willingness to share and help and basically their dedication to help and support others. Communities are driven uh on this uh you know, self drive of each of its participants, each of its members.

So that's how they thrive and that's how they just carry on wanting to start a community. But it's an entirely different thing to get people involved in such a way that they are always passionate, always willing and always helping and supporting others. So that's where we are getting at by the end of this talk. So as we, you know, sort of come out of this, uh so not so good year, the disastrous year year we had with 2020 we are still struggling with the pandemic. It sort of has shown us the importance of companies in a way because uh there has been job loss, there has been some tough financial situations for many of us, health problems, mental health issues, dealing with loneliness, dealing with loss, dealing with grief, parenting challenges of, you know, different kinds like homeschooling and so much more.

So, if you just think about it, what taken us through this year and what why are we still, you know, here us of all these communities, what has kept us together? It is our communities. So in a way has shown us the importance of communities around us um in many different ways, like people who lost their jobs suddenly looked to their relevant peers in the industry and the linkedin community just rallied behind them by promoting and sharing their profiles. And there were special tags on their profile that helped recruiters find them and then recruiters helping them by advertising jobs and saying that we are OK. We are giving priorities to COVID impacted people. And then there were people facing loneliness. They found avenues like online chat groups or youtube or a podcast where people were just sharing their lives. And then social media was flooded with uh pictures of people baking bread and tasting wines and growing plants and organizing their countries and whatever. Like as long as it kept you engaged and happy, you could do whatever it took and people facing could find so less in you know, groups around them, watch videos, seek help, which was free. And there has not been so much talk about mental health as we heard in 2020 we still need more of it, isn't it? So there were neighborhood groups, helping people, helping elders. They were online book clubs, they were reverse casual Fridays on Twitter.

And uh we dressed up for Halloween and festivals and just met on Zoom, isn't it? So be it working from home? Be it homeschooling, be it lonely elders who need help? Everybody had someone offer a hand one way or the other. So in a way, we can say that communities did of uh you know, different kind did come to our rescue in this hard time. So now all is not well and all has not been, you know, super glorious about the year. We can still say that the year went a little bit better for many people due to this support, isn't it? So the there were adverse times, people that had the support from these communities had a much better sailing through than those without such is the power of communities, right? So as we set the ground and as we realize this important uh the importance of communities, let us now focus on the tech communities. So what are tech communities? They are a way to network, get help and debate the technical areas of your interest. You can join a tech community and that will be great for your professional and personal growth. So basically tech communities lend help in answering your doubts, searching for jobs, chatting with people of similar interests.

And you can, you know, look to people from various different parts of the world and widen you on horizons. So let's see how we can leverage these tech communities for different purposes in our uh you know, uh career. So the first thing and the biggest thing I would say is learning whatever you are doing, if your role uh is intact, chances are you are constantly needing to learn something new. And how do you approach that new learning? If you're trying out a new tool or learning a new technology, chances are you will run into a problem that many of uh previous users have already dealt with. And if you have questions, others have already faced those questions, so look through good forums and ask, participate in discussions and just be a staunch to all that wonderful information that is already available. So if each one of us just starts contributing a little, there's an ocean of knowledge we can build and we should al also be leveraging that ocean of knowledge that already exists. So basic learning, the recommendation is don't do it alone. Now, we know some people just look to forums to show off their knowledge or debate others or even to the point of trolling. So we do not need that in constructive communities.

So the first rule of thumb, I especially put on this slide is to always be kind tech communities are great ways in which, you know, people can learn network and level up in their careers. So kindness goes a long way to help them. That was number one. The second thing that I would say we should be leveraging tech communities for is job search networking is the in the right channels. Uh And in the right way can bring you opportunities that you have just dreamt of. So the suggestion is to build a great profile and add everything to you have as a skill. You might not think that this is a skill to be, you know, so noteworthy that I have to put it here, but just do it and keep it current even before you start looking for a job, begin looking at job groups, discussion forums and you know, what's the latest demand in the industry and just start learning.

So communities help deserving candidates organically. So first be that deserving candidate and then you can expect the help people share and uplift profiles and refer you can return the favor when you are in place one day communities, you know, work, then we all do our part to help each other out. But remember all of this will work only if you are already a trusted member of the community. So don't wait till the day, you know, you need a job to, you know, start looking at communities first, you know, fill that in, make it a habit. So I would say if you need help, just ask and ask and you shall receive it. I'm sorry, I skipped the slide. Let me go back. Yes. OK. It was. Yeah, thank you. OK. So making a difference, that's the third way and the most important way we should look at the tech community because you know, you should al always not just looking at taking but also giving back. So if you're trying to, you know, sort of start making a difference or use your abilities and your platform to help others look to communities. It's not just, you know, uh you can help people by getting them jobs or interviews.

You can also help in other ways, like, you know, mentoring newcom for an upcoming interview, discussing what their aspirations are giving some of your time to, you know, just listen and guide them to the right resource or just share your experience, your knowledge, your perspective on. OK.

How did I start out? How did, what helped me? Whatever is your story? It may inspire somebody. So just share and return the favor you got when you were in need and thus keep the cycle going. So I would say if you are in the position, he also, it's important to know that you don't have to be at the very top of your game or be, you know, an industry leader to start helping. So the famous quote goes lifting as we climb and that's where you know, how you can start using the communities you are part of to start making a difference. So after this, now let's start focusing on product communities. So all of that was just in general tech communities, but let's uh focus on the niche product community, what are product communities, communities as it, you know, as a whole, we have already established, have a great impact. So as a product, if you have a community going, it has great impact on the adoption and usage of a software product. So having a vibrant community uh of users creates a trust and confidence among new users, tech communities also come together to teach to answer and resolve questions that you know, other users have.

So all of that just helps the creators, word of mouth is the biggest and you know, a free marketing tool and this is what comes from such communities. So in today's day and age, product communities hold the power to make or break a product in the market. So, uh you know, for companies, it is very important to realize that in today's day and age, what is the importance of product communities? So they should realize the importance of creating and fostering these communities and that can help them generate, you know, great new feature ideas because you not only just get to see, you know what users are doing, you also understand their perspective. And if they are very active, you can also gauge the usage patterns. And you know, this can help a company to improve their product every single day. So how can companies leverage product communities? So there are some basic steps you can take like starting with creating a community platform and inviting and encouraging, you know, supportive people from all over to come and join that community. Second is to have dedicated people on your company's side to answer and support them and point them to the right places all the time and also create multiple channels of learning, whatever that can be, could be, you know, trainings or youtube videos or webinars and such.

So have up to date content on your website on your community channels, have blogs and guides for the users. Also what would help is to gamify learning, like put in some challenges, putting in some free quizzes for your users so that it's sort of a gamified way and that will help people to engage more in that community. And yes, one day when we can, let's also do some in-person meetups or events or product conferences that everybody loves. So basically, we should incentivize active participation by giving out awards and such, right? So overall whatever you do, any of these steps will set the stage for an, you know, enthusiastic community that loves your product and basically takes it forward by rallying together without you doing much about it, right? So not only that users like yourself and me can also leverage such tech communities or product communities that already exist. Because if you are a user and you're starting to use a new product, let's say it's a software tool. Let's say it's uh you know, anything that uh you use in your day to day life, there is no better way to learn and adopt it than going to the products.

The best would be to go to those channels that I would say that uh you know, the product has created and support themselves and listening to all the meaningful conversations or discussions or, you know, you can put in stories, you can put in questions, learn. And also if there are certifications, you get certified, all of these are ways to stay engaged and basically to always be learning, right? So all of this basically happens when we understand the importance of communities and you know, we try and make it a habit. So we established that we understood the importance now. But what if we look at this importance at the best of times? Not at the worst, not when we are in need, not when the world has a pandemic, but then we have the best of times. So what if we make it a lifestyle, a way of life? What if you realize that it will ha weighs more than one, right? So I would suggest that find communities you love, that can become a part of your identity and that you can passionately be a part of instead of thinking of it as a job, right? And then just be useful, help volunteer support and uplift others and make it a way of life. So whatever you do, I promise it will surely come back multiplied. So basically, that's my talk about the power of tech communities.

Uh If there are any questions, uh please post it right here. Yeah. Uh You can also feel free to unmute and talk. If you need help doing that, I can uh I can enable that for you. Great insights. I run my own tech leadership community. Some great ideas here. Wow. Thanks Emma. Thank you for the amazing talk. You really shared fruitful things. Thanks mena. I'm so glad, full helping others foster growth and positivity in their careers. Yeah, that's what we are aiming for. Yes. So, yeah, great tips. Thank you. Communities have helped.

Yes, I can say. Uh So I was driven to this topic because I have been helped by communities in many ways. I'm part of not only just the women uh in tech, I'm part of Ministry of Testing, uh Women Testing and many such other groups, slack channels. Even my linkedin has helped me a lot, even though it's, it's, you know, diverse and not really a group but everything that, where people come to is a community in a way in my uh in my understanding. Right? Yeah. So that's, that's it. Anybody would uh who would like to connect with me. Uh I am posting my linkedin and Twitter uh channels here in the chat and I would love for you to, you know, follow or add me and I'll also be tweeting a little bit. So if uh if you want to be tagged, just follow me and I'll tag you in my post. Thank you so much. That's uh that's about my talk. Thank you. Swish T Yeah, Achilles. Ok. I see your um Twitter handle. I'll try and tag you anybody else. Uh You can all post your Twitter handles here. I'll try and tag as many as I can and please do follow me. I do have a blog where I write about uh tech agile testing my events and also some book, uh read along reviews and any of you uh interested. Please do follow that. It's called Test with nishi.com.

So, uh if you can just give it a read or follow, uh I'll be very thankful. Yeah, I do see a couple of more Twitter handles. All right. All right. Thank you. Let's also look at some other um sessions now, so I'll be jumping off. Thanks. Have a great rest of the event.