Tag Archives: Get Inspired

A Decade of Kick Start

Posted by Julia DeLorenzo, Program Manager, Coding Competitions

Kick Start is celebrating 10 years! Kick Start is a great tool for newcomers looking to grow their competitive programming skills. Whether you’re brand new to coding competitions or a programmer who is looking to level up, there is something for everyone.

If you haven’t heard, Kick Start is a global coding competition made up of online rounds consisting of fun algorithmic and mathematical programming challenges. Participants can partake in any or all of the rounds throughout the season, because there are no eliminations!

When Kick Start launched in 2013, it was a regional competition in Asia that consisted of only 3 rounds and 13 problems. Today, Kick Start has grown into a global competition with more than 110,000 participants, 8 rounds, and 32 Googler-created problems (that’s 32 chances to grow your skills!).

In 2020, Kick Start piloted a new program called Coding Practice with Kick Start, which is a great option for those newer to competitive programming who want to gain familiarity with coding competitions, and in 2022 introduced this program to Coding Competition’s global audience. 

Coding Practice with Kick Start is a series of multi-day practice sessions held throughout the season that allow participants to get familiar with the Kick Start platform and problems in their own time. There is no timer or scoreboard and starter code is provided. At the end of the practice session we share detailed solution walkthrough videos to help you learn how to solve the problems.

Kick Start is powered by a passionate Program Manager, a dedicated core team made up of 20% engineers, and nearly 1,200 amazing Google volunteers who write and test the problems our participants see each season! Hear from the team below:

Lizzie Sapiro Santor, Kick Start Program Manager 


Lizzie Sapiro Santor, headshot, smiling
“I was initially introduced to competitions through Code Jam when I became the coordinator back in 2014. I really enjoyed being part of the team and learning about the competitive programming space. It was different from any type of program I've ever planned, as it was fast paced, challenging, constantly evolving and super exciting. After a few years planning local tech events, in 2017, I didn't stay away for long because I became the Program Manager for Kick Start, formerly known as Code Jam Kickstart. Kick Start was founded in APAC and in partnership with the local University programs team, I was able to scale the competition globally, so anyone around the world could partake.

My favorite thing about Kick Start is the people. After 5+ years of being involved with this competition, I've enjoyed working and meeting so many passionate, intelligent and creative people. I love to hear stories from participants about how Kick Start has helped them in their career, University, or coding journey. It's fun to meet people face to face at local practice events or world finals. I also appreciate working with the Kick Start engineering team, who helps me host Kick Start. Without them, the competition would not be possible and I so admire all their hard work and inventiveness, ensuring a high quality competition for our users.

My best piece of advice to folks looking to improve their competitive programming skills is to keep practicing! It's so important to keep trying out past problems when you have down time and participating in upcoming rounds. That's why we host rounds throughout the year, so you have a lot of chances to practice and improve. I hear so many people say "I didn't do well, so I am not going to participate again." And I really encourage you to not to be discouraged and keep going. Coding Practice with Kick Start is a great way to keep practicing. This multi-day practice session provides you with resources, 24/7 Google support, starter code, and detailed problem walkthrough videos. We will host three sessions throughout the 2023 season, so I definitely encourage you to join the practice sessions to grow those skills and prepare for the next Kick Start round.”

Bartosz Kostka, Software Developer and Kick Start volunteer 

Bartosz Kostka, headshot, smiling
“I was always interested in competitive programming. As a student I tried my luck in Code Jam from 2013 (but sadly I never advanced to the World Finals). I participated in Kick Start when it became a global competition (in 2017). I was also a Hash Code finalist. During my internship at Google in 2019 I proposed my first problem Parcels, which was later used in Kick Start 2019 Round A. I always knew that I wanted to continue being involved in Coding Competitions, so when I joined Google again as a full-time employee in 2020 I became a member of the team running Kick Start.

I like the educational aspect of this contest. A lot of people that I talked with who participated in Kick Start, felt that it helped them learn new things and advance in their careers - and that is all without huge pressure. Kick Start has a very friendly atmosphere as we have multiple rounds in which we don’t eliminate people so everyone can participate in as many rounds as they want. We also try to make sure that everyone will find something for themselves. For example, we launched Coding Practice with Kick Start to cater to people that want to start their journey with competitive programming. We want to make these first steps as easy and enjoyable as possible.

My biggest piece of advice is to never give up! Even if you fail, you learn something new that will surely help you in the future. And whenever you are ready, join us in one of the Kick Start rounds!”

Stay Tuned

Over the next few weeks, keep an eye on the blog - we’ll be spotlighting each of Google’s Coding Competitions in a series of blog posts to help you understand the ins and outs of each competition. Code Jam is up next! In the meantime, learn more about Kick Start at g.co/kickstart. Registration for the 2023 season will open on February 1, 2023.

Developer Journey: December 2022

Posted by Lyanne Alfaro, DevRel Program Manager, Google Developer Studio

Developer Journey is a new monthly series to spotlight diverse and global developers sharing relatable challenges, opportunities, and wins in their journey. Every month, we will spotlight developers around the world, the Google tools they leverage, and the kind of products they are building.

In December, we are continuing our #DevJourney by providing members of our community with a platform to share their stories through our social platforms. This month, it’s our pleasure to feature three members spanning products, including Google Developer Experts. Enjoy reading through their entries below and be on the lookout on social media platforms, where we will also showcase their work.














Carlos Azaustre

GDE, Web Technologies

Madrid, Spain

YouTube: youtube.com/@CarlosAzaustre

What Google tools have you used?

I usually work as a web frontend developer. My principal tool is JavaScript as a programming language using some frameworks. Due to my job, I work with React.js and in the past, I've worked with AngularJS. And one of my favorite Google technologies is Firebase. I'm a heavy user of Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore as Database, and Cloud Functions for making Serverless web apps.

Which tool has been your favorite to use? Why?

I love Firebase because its services allow me to have the functionalities of a backend without the need of a lot of configuration. I'm a primary frontend developer, so the backend is not one of my great skills. Firebase makes it so easy to have a Serverless Backend with all the services that they provide year by year. The last update on Firebase Hosting makes the platform powerful.

Please share something you have built in the past using Google tools.

I built the frontend of my past startup using Angular, and some Firebase Services, Auth, and Database mainly.

What advice would you give someone starting in their developer journey?

My principal advice is to not give up. Some days you can feel frustrated or like an imposter, but it is okay. I used to feel this way every day. Celebrate your small wins and focus on the big picture on your journey.
















Loiane Groner

GDE, Angular

Davenport, FL

Twitter: @loiane

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@loianegroner

What Google tools have you used?

I've been working as a software developer for over 15 years. Throughout my journey, I had the opportunity to develop hybrid mobile apps for the Android platform, but my expertise lies in full-stack development, especially using Angular. I've also created projects that use Firebase and Google Cloud services, such as CloudRun.

Which tool has been your favorite to use? Why?

I'm very passionate about Angular. Given my Java background, I enjoyed learning Angular with TypeScript, and it felt very familiar. Angular makes it easier to develop complex frontend applications as it's a complete framework. It provides tools such as the Angular CLI to scaffold a project quickly, create components, services and other file types, and build the project for production deployment. It does not matter if you are building an extensive application or micro-fronts; Angular has you covered with whatever you need. I like Angular Material for the UI part, which provides modern UI components and accessibility features. And last but not least, Firebase. Firebase is a great platform, from hosting web applications to providing direct access to a real-time database and secure authentication, and fast-tracking project development.

Please share something you’ve built in the past using Google tools.

Besides the applications I've developed at work, I've built a training portal using Angular, Angular Material, and Firebase. This training portal collates all the free courses I host on Youtube in Portuguese, and students can track what lessons they've watched. And at the end of the training, they get a certificate of completion so they can use the hours and present at the university or their employer. I've passed the 100k students mark, and it's incredible how easy it is to scale a project in Firebase, from hosting capabilities to access to Firestore. Even with more than 100k users, it costs less than a fast food meal (monthly)!

What advice would you give someone starting in their developer journey?

Be a part of a community. The beauty of working in tech is that we have amazing people willing to help!

Although seeing so many different technologies and acronyms might be scary, don't worry about learning everything immediately. Focus on understanding the basics so that you can have a strong foundation. Also, focus on one topic at a time; once you're done with that topic, incrementally add new concepts or learn the next topic on your list.

And finally, in tech, we're students eternally. So always be curious.











Merve Noyan

GDE, Machine Learning

Paris, France

Twitter: @mervenoyann

What Google tools have you used?

Tools within the TensorFlow ecosystem.

Which tool has been your favorite to use? Why?

TensorFlow with Keras. It's very easy to build machine learning models and take them to production using TensorFlow Extended!

Please share something you have built in the past using Google tools.

I've built an information retrieval model using TensorFlow Keras and Hugging Face Transformers. It was used to extract information from academic papers to automate a repetitive task for researchers.

What advice would you give someone starting in their developer journey?

They should find the nearest Google Developers community. It helps you grow and meet other developers using the same stack as you do.

Lynn Langit: Turning a passion for learning into online courses viewed by millions

Posted by Kevin Hernandez, Developer Relations Community Manager

Lynn Langit is not only a Cloud GDE - she’s one of the first ever GDEs to join the program. Despite joining the GDE program early after its establishment, she got a relatively late start with development. Lynn is a self-taught developer that started coding when she was 38 years old - before we had the advent of online educational resources that we do today. To teach herself how to code, she relied on certifications and books and went to her local electronics store to buy equipment to build her own server. Through this process, she found that she was a talented developer and became inspired to try her hand at teaching. She started out with teaching basic topics such as user applications. Today she has 28 Cloud courses on LinkedIn and has an audience of 5 million students. With this immense reach, Lynn runs into her students at various conferences around the world and has even had students recognize her from her voice. She mentions,“Before the pandemic, I used to travel and work globally and it was so gratifying to meet all my students because they would want to come and talk to me. It was incredible to meet students from all over the world.”

Getting into teaching

When Lynn left her corporate job, she started her own consultancy in 2011 with two ideas: technical teaching and building. She started out in a classroom with these two ideas but as traditional learning started to usher in a new era of online learning, Lynn followed suit and started to put her lessons on YouTube. This caught the attention of Lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning) where she was asked to become an author.

Teaching has proven to be rewarding in several ways. It allows Lynn to have an impact on learners interested in Cloud and dive deeper into topics she’s interested in, all while getting paid for her academic pursuits and instructing. She states, “I can't say I'm an expert in all the services, but I know a lot of the services across all the Clouds. So while I'm learning, I might as well teach and get paid for it.”

Choosing lessons

Lynn is in the constant pursuit for knowledge and in the ever-changing world of Cloud, there is always something new to learn or teach and in Lynn’s case, both. “Oftentimes I'll create a course in something that I am genuinely interested in that doesn’t have an existing course. It's so that I can focus my energies, learn it, and then teach it,” she adds. A recent example is with a book club she led last year in quantum computing. “I'm just really taking baby steps into it and as part of that, I started exploring the vendor Cloud quantum offerings. Then I decided to share that as a course,” she says.

She also mentions that there is a preconceived notion that online content has to be super polished. She believes it’s important to put your lessons out there and more importantly, to learn together. “We're one community and we need to share when we discover something,” she observed.

Teaching style

Every instructor has their own teaching style and for Lynn, her brand is a conversational style of instruction. Very much like our interview, her lessons feel as if she’s talking to the audience one-on-one. This is in part by design - Lynn doesn’t write a script and she imagines someone sitting across from her. She can also sprinkle in some useful case studies from her consultancy work and can draw from some real-world examples.

When asked about effective educators, Lynn says, “Don't be a jerk. The point is not to show how smart you are. The point is to communicate information that you have found useful, that you think other people will find useful and in a way they can understand.”

Advice for educating online

Lynn has met a lot of educators in her career and has had the fortune of being able to see published and unpublished content. One thing she noticed is that the problem with a lot of content is that it just simply doesn’t see the light of the day. Some content creators feel as if there is a missing piece or their content needs to be ultra polished but Lynn’s advice is to just click “publish”. She also notes that this can be attributed to imposter syndrome, which shows emotional intelligence, but as a counterpoint she advises, “There's value in the learning, not just the result. That is probably the biggest insight I've gained over my years because I always thought you just had to show polished content.” Lynn believes that your audience wants to go along with you on your journey and since people are busy, they think of you as a curator of knowledge.

She also advises to start small. She is particularly fond of “snack-sized” pieces of content such as the short-form articles on Dev.to. These “snacks” are easier to produce and in reality, it’s easier on the audience. She says, “It's funny because people want to make a course but this is not a Hollywood movie, I am sorry to break it to you, but people are not going to be rapturously glued to your screen for two hours no matter who you are. So just make little snacks.” If you find something interesting, just put it out there. Over time, as you get practice, you can start to produce longer-form content.

Advice for GDEs

Lynn offers valuable advice to any present or future GDE. She encourages, “Really get to know the GDEs. We're all kind of doing the same thing and just jump right in. The bar is high to become a GDE and it's a great community that I've learned a lot from.” There is a wealth of knowledge offered by your community. Maybe you’ll learn how to create an Android app, build a ML model, or build an online course with the guidance of Lynn. Just jump right in.

You can check out Lynn’s LinkedIn courses or find her on LinkedIn or Substack.

The Google Developer Experts (GDE) program is a global network of highly experienced technology experts, influencers, and thought leaders who actively support developers, companies, and tech communities by speaking at events and publishing content.

Dev Library Letters: 15th Issue

Posted by Garima Mehra, Program Manager

Our monthly newsletter curates some of the best projects developed with Google tech that have been submitted to the Google Dev Library platform. We hope this brings you the inspiration you need for your next project!

Content of the month

Check out our shortlisted Content from Google Cloud, Angular, Android, & Flutter


Google Cloud
Solve the common question, “who parked their car in my spot?” with this clever tutorial.

Designing a data schema 

by Mustapha Adekunle

Better understand what aspects come into consideration when designing a data schema.

Learn how to set up aggregated logging in an organization that has VPC Service Controls and find a Terraform module that lets you automate the setup for your own Google Cloud infrastructure.

Explore how to generate accurate business forecasts at a large scale using state of the art ML capabilities on the Google Cloud Platform.

Angular


Understand how to implement the Compound Component Pattern in Angular using Dependency Injection and Content Projection to create an excellent API for your components.

Android


Design patterns and architecture: The Android Developer roadmap — Part 4 

by Jaewoong Eum

Check out the 2022 Android Developer Roadmap- a multi-part series covering important Android fundamentals like Languages, App Manifest, App Components, Android Jetpack, and more.

Geofencing:boost your digital campaign 

by Veronica Putri Anggraini

Read this fun application of geofencing to manage the dilemma of where to eat lunch based on which restaurant has the best deal.

Flutter


Data structures with Dart: Set 

by Daria Orlova

Get over your fear of data structures and algorithms with this helpful and snappy how-to focused on the Set.

Want to read more?
Check out the latest projects and community-authored content by visiting Google Dev Library.
Submit your projects to showcase your work and inspire developers!



Experts share insights on Firebase, Flutter and the developer community

Posted by Komal Sandhu - Global Program Manager, Google Developer Groups

Rich Hyndman, Manager, Firebase DevRel (left) and Eric Windmill, Developer Relations Engineer, Firebase and Flutter (right)

“Firebase and Flutter offer many tools that ‘just work’, which is something that all apps need. I think you’d be hard pressed to find another combination of front end framework and back end services that let developers make apps quickly without sacrificing quality.” 

moving images of Sparky and Dart, respective mascots for Firebase and Flutter
Among the many inspiring experts in the developer communities for Firebase and Flutter are Rich Hyndman and Eric Windmill. Each Googler serves their respective product team from the engineering and community sides and has a keen eye towards the future. Read on to see their outlook on their favorite Firebase and Flutter tools and the developers that inspire them.

===

What is your title, and how long have you been at Google?

Rich: I run Firebase Developer Relations,, I’ve been at Google for around 11 years

Eric: I’m an engineer on the Flutter team and I’ve been at Google for a year.


Tell us about yourself:

Rich: I’ve always loved tech, from techy toys as a kid to anything that flies. I still get tech-joy when I see new gadgets and devices. I built and raced drones for a while, but mobile/cell phones are the ultimate gadget for me and enabled my career.

Eric: I’m a software engineer, and these days I’m specifically a Developer Relations Engineer. I’m not surprised I’ve ended up here, as I like to joke “I like computers but I like people more.” Outside of work, most of my time is spent thinking about music. I’m pretty poor at playing music, but I’ve always consumed as much as I could. If I had to choose a different job and start over, I’d be a music journalist.


How did you get started in this space?

Rich: I've always loved mobile apps: being able to carry my work in my pocket, play with it, test it, demo it, and be proud of it. From the beginning of my career right up till today, it's still the best. I worked on a few mobile projects pre-Android and was part of an exciting mobile tech startup for a few years, but it was Android that really kick-started my career.

I quickly fell in love with the little green droid and the entire platform, and through a combination of meetups, competition entries and conferences I ended up in contact with Android DevRel at Google.

Firebase is a natural counterpart to Android and I love being able to support developers from a different angle. Firebase also supports Flutter, Web and iOS, Firebase, which has also given me the opportunity to learn more about other platforms and meet more developers.

Eric: I got into this space by accident. At my first software job, the company was already using Dart for their web application, and started rebuilding their mobile apps in Flutter soon after I joined. I think that was around 2016 or 2017. Flutter was still in its Alpha stage. I was introduced to Firebase at the same job, and I’ve used various tools from the Firebase SDK ever since.


What are some challenges that you have seen developers being facing?

Rich: Developers often want to get up and running with new projects quickly, but then iterate and improve their apps. No-code solutions can be great to start with but aren’t flexible enough down the road. A lower-code solution like Firebase can be quick to get started, and it can also provide control. Bringing Flutter and Firebase together creates a powerful and flexible combination.

Eric: Regardless of the technology, I think the biggest challenge developers face is actually with documentation. It doesn’t matter how good a product is if the docs are hard to find or hard to understand. We’ve seen this ourselves recently as Flutter became an “official” supported platform on Firebase in May 2022. When that happened, we moved the documentation from the Flutter site to the Firebase site, and folks didn’t know how to find the docs. It was an oversight on our part, but it’s a good example of the importance of docs. They deserve way more attention than they get in many, many cases.

image of Sparky and Dart, respective mascots for Firebase and Flutter
What do you think is the most interesting or useful resource to learn more about Firebase & Flutter? Is there a particular library or codelab that everyone should learn?

Rich: The official docs have to be first, located at firebase.google.com. We have a great repository of Learning Pathways, including Add Firebase to your Flutter App. We’re also just launching our new Solutions Portal with over 60 solutions guides indexed already.

Eric: If I have to name only one resource, it’d be this codelab: Get to know Firebase for Flutter
But Firebase offers so many tools. This codelab is just an introduction to what’s possible.


What are some inspiring ways that developers are building together Firebase and Flutter?

Rich: We’ve had an interesting couple of years at Firebase. Firebase has always been known for powering real-time data driven apps. If you used a Covid stats app during the pandemic there’s a fair chance it was running on Firebase; there was a big surge of new apps.

Eric: Lately I’ve seen an interest in using Flutter to make 2D games, and using some Firebase tools for the back end of the game. I love this. Games are just more fun than apps, of course, but it’s also great to see folks using these technologies in ways that aren’t the explicit purposes. It shows creativity and excellent problem solving.


What’s a specific use case of Firebase & Flutter technology that excites you?

Rich: Firebase Extensions are very exciting. They are pre-packaged bundles of code that make it easy to add new features to your app from Google and partners like Stripe and Vonage. We just launched the Extensions Marketplace and opened up the ability for developers to build extensions for their own apps through our Provider Alpha program.

Eric: Flutter web and Firebase hosting is just a no brainer. You can deploy a Flutter app to the web in no time.


How can developers be successful building on Firebase & Flutter?

Rich: There’s a very powerful combination with Crashlytics, Performance Monitoring, A/B Testing and Remote Config. Developers can quickly improve the stability of their apps whilst also iterating on features to deliver the best experience for their users. We’ve had a lot of success with improving monetization, too. Check out some of our case studies for more details.

Eric: Flutter developers can be successful by leveraging all that Firebase offers. Firebase might seem intimidating because it offers so much, but it excels at being easy to use, and I encourage all web and mobile developers to poke around. They’re likely to find something that makes their lives easier.

image of Firebase and Flutter logos against a dot matrix background
What’s next for the Firebase & Flutter Communities? What might the future look like?

Rich: Over the next year we’ll be focusing on modern app development and some more opinionated guides. Better support for Flutter, Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, Swift/SwiftUI and modern web frameworks.

Eric: There is a genuine effort amongst both teams to support each other. Flutter and Firebase are just such a great pair, that it makes sense for us to encourage our communities to check out one another. In the future, I think this will continue. I think you’ll see a lot of Flutter at Firebase events, and vice versa.


How does Firebase & Flutter help expand the impact of developers?

Rich: Firebase has always focused on helping developers get their apps up and running by providing tools to streamline time-consuming tasks. Enabling developers to focus on delivering the best app experiences and the most value to their users.

Eric: Flutter is an app-building SDK that is a joy to use. It seriously increases velocity because it’s cross-platform. Firebase and Flutter offer many tools that “just work”, which is something that all apps need. I think you’d be hard pressed to find another combination of front end framework and back end services that let developers make apps quickly without sacrificing quality.


Find a Google Developer Group hosting a DevFest near you.

Want to learn more about Google Technologies like Firebase & Flutter? Hoping to attend a DevFest or Google Developer Groups (GDG)? Find a GDG hosting a DevFest near you here.

From a personal notebook to 100k YouTube subscriptions: How Carlos Azaustre turned his notes into a YouTube channel

Posted by Kevin Hernandez, Developer Relations Community Manager

Carlos Azaustre, smiling while holding his Silver Button Creator Award from YouTube
Carlos Azaustre with his Silver Button Creator Award from YouTube
When Carlos Azaustre, Web Technologies GDE, finished university, he started a blog to share his personal notes and learnings to teach others about Angular and JavaScript. These personal notes later evolved into tutorials that then turned into a blossoming YouTube channel with 105k subscriptions at the time of this writing. With his 10 years of experience as a Telecommunications Engineer focused on front end development, he has a breadth of experience that he shares with his viewers in a sea of competing content currently on YouTube. Carlos has successfully created a channel focused on technical topics related to JavaScript and has some valuable advice for those looking to educate on the platform.

How he got started with his channel

Carlos started his blog with the primary mission of using it as a personal notebook that he could reference in the future. As he wrote increasingly, he started to notice that people were coming across his notebooks and sharing with others. This inspired him to record tutorials based on the topics of his blogs, but when he was beginning to record these tutorials, a secondary mission came to fruition: he wanted to make technical content accessible to the Spanish-speaking community. He reflects, “In the Spanish community, English is difficult for some people, so I started to create content in Spanish to eliminate barriers for people who are interested in learning new technologies. Learning new things is hard, but it’s easier when it’s in your natural language.”

In the beginning of his YouTube journey, he used the platform for side projects and would post irregularly. Then, 2 years ago, he started putting more effort into creating new content and started to post one video a week while promoting on social media. This change sparked more comments, and his view and total subscribers increased in tandem.


Tips and tricks he’s applied to his channel

Carlos leverages analytics data to adjust his strategy. He explains, “YouTube provides a lot of analytics tools to see if people are engaging and when they leave the video. So you can adjust your content and the timing (video length) because the timing is important.” The data taught Carlos that longer videos generally don’t do as well. He learned the ideal video length for lecture videos where he’s primarily speaking is about 6-8 minutes. But when it comes to tutorials, videos that are about 40 - 60 minutes in length tend to get more views.

Carlos has also taken advantage of YouTube Shorts, a short-form video-sharing platform. “I started to see that Shorts are great to increase your reach because the algorithm pushes your content to people who aren’t subscribed to your channel,” he pointed out. He recommends using YouTube Shorts as an effective way of getting started. When asked about other resources, Carlos mentioned that he primarily draws from his own experience but also turns to books and blogs to help with his channel and to stay up to date with technology.


Choosing video topics

Creating fresh weekly content can be a challenge. To address this, Carlos keeps a notebook of ideas and inspiration for his next videos. For example, he may come across a problem that lacks a clear solution at work and will jot this down. He also keeps track of articles or other tutorials that he feels can either be explained in a more straightforward way or can be translated into Spanish.

Carlos also draws inspiration from the comment section of his videos. He engages with his audience to show there is a real person behind the videos that can guide them. He adds, “this is one of the parts I like the most. They propose new ideas for content that I might’ve missed”.


Advice for starting a channel on technical topics

Carlos’ advice for people looking to start a channel based on technical content is simple: just get started. “If you’re creating great content, people will eventually reach you,” he comments. When he first started his channel, Carlos wasn’t preoccupied with the number of views, comments, or subscriptions. He started his content with himself in mind and would ask himself what kind of content he would want to see. He says, “As long as you’re engaged with the community, you’ll have a great channel. If you try to optimize the content for the algorithm, you’re going to go crazy.” He recommends new content creators start with YouTube Shorts, and once they gain an audience they can create more detailed videos.

It’s also necessary to spark conversation in the comments, and one way you can achieve this is through the title and description of your video. A great title that catches the attention of the viewer, sparks conversation, and implements keywords is essential. A simple way to do this is by asking a question in the title. For example, one of his videos is titled, “How do Promises and Async / Await function in JavaScript?” and also asks a question in the description. This video alone has 250+ comments with viewers answering the question posed by the title and the description. He’s also mindful of what keywords he’s including in his title and finds these keywords by looking at the most popular content with similar topics.

When asked about gear and equipment recommendations, he states that the most important piece of equipment is your microphone, since your voice can be more important than the image, especially if you’re filming a tutorial video. He goes on, “With time, you can update your setup. Maybe your camera is next and then the lighting. Start with your phone or your regular laptop - just start!”

So remember to just get started, and maybe in time, you’ll become the next big content creator for Machine Learning, Google Cloud, Android, or Web Technologies.


You can check out Carlos’ YouTube Channel, find him live on Twitch, or follow him on Twitter or Instagram.

The Google Developer Experts (GDE) program is a global network of highly experienced technology experts, influencers, and thought leaders who actively support developers, companies, and tech communities by speaking at events and publishing content.

Introducing Developer Journey: November 2022

Posted by Lyanne Alfaro, DevRel Program Manager, Google Developer Studio

Developer Journey is a new monthly series to spotlight diverse and global developers sharing relatable challenges, opportunities, and wins in their journey. Every month, we will spotlight developers around the world, the Google tools they leverage, and the kind of products they are building.

We are kicking off #DevJourney in November to give members of our community the chance to share their stories through our social platforms. This month, it’s our pleasure to feature four members spanning products including Google Developer Expert, Android, and Cloud. Enjoy reading through their entries below and be on the lookout on social media platforms, where we will also showcase their work.

Headshot of Sierra Obryan smiling
Sierra OBryan, Google Developer Expert, Android


















Sierra OBryan

Google Developer Expert, Android
Cincinnati, OH
Twitter and Instagram: @_sierraOBryan

What Google tools have you used?

As an Android developer, I use many Google tools every day like Jetpack Compose and other Android libraries, Android Studio, and Material Design. I also like to explore some of the other Google tools in personal projects. I’ve built a Flutter app, poked around in Firebase, and trained my own ML model using the model maker.

Which tool has been your favorite to use? Why?

It’s hard to choose one but I’m really excited about Jetpack Compose! It’s really exciting to be able to work with a new and evolving framework with so much energy and input coming from the developer community. Compose makes it easier to quickly build things that previously could be quite complex like animations and custom layouts, and has some very cool tooling in Android Studio like Live Edit and recomposition counts; all of which improve developer efficiency and app quality. One of my favorite things about Compose in general is that I think it will make Android development more accessible to more people because it is more intuitive and easier to get started and so we’ll see the Android community continue to grow with new perspectives and backgrounds bringing in new ideas.

Google also provides a lot of really helpful tools for building more accessible mobile apps and I’m really glad these important tools also exist! The Accessibility Scanner is available on Google Play and can identify some common accessibility pitfalls in your app with tips about how to fix them and why it’s important. The “Accessibility in Jetpack Compose” code lab is a great starting place for learning more about these concepts.

Please share with us about something you’ve built in the past using Google tools.

A favorite personal project is a (very) simple flower identifying app built using ML Kit ’s Image Labeling API and Android. After the 2020 ML-focused Android Developer Challenge, I was very curious about ML Kit but also still quite intimidated by the idea of machine learning. It was surprisingly easy to follow the documentation to build and tinker with a custom model and then add it to an Android app. I just recently migrated the app to Jetpack Compose.

What advice would you give someone starting in their developer journey?

Find a community! Like most things, developing is more fun with friends.


Photo of Harun Wangereka smiling
Harun Wangereka, Google Developer Expert, Android

















Harun Wangereka

Google Developer Expert, Android

What Google tools have you used?

I'm an Android Engineer by profession. The tools I use on a day-to-day basis are Android as the framework, Android Studio as the IDE, and some of the Jetpack Libraries from the Android Team at Google.

Which tool has been your favorite to use? Why?

Jetpack libraries. I love these libraries because they solve most of the common pain points we, as Android developers, faced before they came along. They also concisely solve them and provide best practices for Android developers to follow.

Please share with us about something you've built in the past using Google tools.

At my workplace, Apollo Agriculture, I collaborate with cross-functional teams to define, design and ship new features for the agent's and agro-dealer’s Android apps, which are entirely written in Kotlin. We have Apollo for Agents, an app for agents to perform farmer-related tasks and Apollo Checkout, which helps farmers check out various Apollo products. With these two apps, I'm assisting Apollo Agriculture to make financing for small-scale farmers accessible to everyone.

What advice would you give someone starting in their developer journey?

Be nice to yourself as you learn. The journey can be quite hard at times but remember to give yourself time. You can never know all the things at once, so try to learn one thing at a time. Do it consistently and it will pay off in the very end. Remember also to join existing developer communities in your area. They help a lot!


Selfie of Richard Knowles at the beach
Richard Knowles, Android Developer
























Richard Knowles

Android Developer
Los Angeles, CA

What Google tools have you used?

I’ve been building Android apps since 2011, when I was in graduate school studying for my Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering. I built my first Android app using Eclipse which seemed to be a great tool at the time, at least until Google’s Android Studio was released for the first time in 2014. Android Studio is such a powerful and phenomenal IDE! I’ve been using it to build apps for Android phones, tablets, smartwatches, and TV. It is amazing how the Android Accessibility Test Framework integrates with Android Studio to help us catch accessibility issues in our layouts early on.

Which tool has been your favorite to use? Why?

My favorite tool by far is the Accessibility Scanner. As a developer with a hearing disability, accessibility is very important to me. I was born with a sensorineural hearing loss, and wore hearing aids up until I was 18 when I decided to get a cochlear implant. I am a heavy closed-captioning user and I rely on accessibility every single day. When I was younger, before the smartphone era, even through the beginning of the smartphone era, it was challenging for me to fully enjoy TV or videos that didn’t have captions. I’m so glad that the world is starting to adapt to those with disabilities and the awareness of accessibility has increased. In fact, I chose the software engineering field because I wanted to create software or apps that would improve other people’s lives, the same way that technology has made my life easier. Making sure the apps I build are accessible has always been my top priority. This is why the Accessibility Scanner is one of my favorite tools: It allows me to efficiently test how accessible my user-facing changes are, especially for those with visual disabilities.

Please share with us about something you’ve built in the past using Google tools.

As an Android engineer on Twitter’s Accessibility Experience Team, one of our initiatives is to improve the experience of image descriptions and the use of alt text. Did you know that when you put images in your Tweets on Twitter, you can add descriptions to make them accessible to people who can’t see images? If yes, that is great! But do you always remember to do it? Don’t worry if not - you’re not alone. Many people including myself forget to add image descriptions. So, we implemented Alt Text reminders which allow users to opt in to be notified when they tweet images without descriptions. We also have been working to expose alt text for all images and GIFs. What that means is, we are now displaying an “ALT” badge on images that have associated alternative text or image descriptions. In general, alt text is primarily used for Talkback users but we wanted to allow users not using a screen reader to know which images have alternative text, and of course allow them to view the image description by selecting the “ALT” badge. This feature helped achieve two things: 1) Users that may have low-vision or other disabilities that would benefit from available alternative text can now access that text; 2) Users can know which images have alternative text before retweeting those images. I personally love this feature because it increases the awareness of Alt text.

What advice would you give someone starting in their developer journey?

What an exciting time to start! I have three tips I'd love to share:

1) Don’t start coding without reviewing the specifications and designs carefully. Draw and map out the architecture and technical design of your work before you jump into the code. In other words, work smarter, not harder.

2) Take the time to read through the developer documentation and the source code. You will become an expert more quickly if you understand what is happening behind the scenes. When you call a function from a library or SDK, get in the habit of looking at the source code and implementation of that function so that you can not only learn as you code, but also find opportunities to improve performance.

3) Learn about accessibility as early as possible, preferably at the same time as learning everything else, so that it becomes a habit and not something you have to force later on.


Headshot of Lynne Langit smiling
Lynn Langit, GDE/Cloud


























Lynn Langit

GDE/Cloud
Minnesota
Twitter: @lynnlangit

What Google tools have you used?

So many! My favorite Google Cloud services are CloudRun, BigQuery, Dataproc. Favorite Tools are Cloud Shell Editor, SSH-in browser for Compute Engine and Big Query Execution Details.

Which tool has been your favorite to use? Why?

I love to use the open source Variant Transforms tool for VCF [or genomic] data files. This tool gets bioinformaticians working with BigQuery quickly. Researchers use the VariantTransforms tool to validate and load VCF files into BigQuery. VariantTransforms supports genome-scale data analysis workloads. These workloads can contain hundreds of thousands of files, millions of genomic samples, and billions of input records.

Please share with us about something you’ve built in the past using Google tools.

I have been working with teams around the world to build, scale, and deploy multiple genomic-scale data pipelines for human health. Recent use cases are data analysis in support of Covid or cancer drug development.

What advice would you give someone starting in their developer journey?

Expect to spend 20-25% of your professional time learning for the duration of your career. All public cloud services, including Google Cloud, evolve constantly. Building effectively requires knowing both cloud patterns and services at a deep level.

Get to know Google’s Coding Competitions

Posted by Julia DeLorenzo, Program Manager, Coding Competitions

Google’s Coding Competitions provide interactive rounds throughout the year to help you grow your skills, challenge yourself, and connect with developers from around the globe.

Google has three flagship Coding Competitions: Code Jam, Hash Code, and Kick Start. Each competition is unique and offers different types of challenges from algorithmic puzzles to team-based optimization problems. Our Coding Competitions are designed and tested by a team of Google engineers and program managers who craft new and engaging problems for users to tackle.

Google’s Coding Competitions have been around for quite a while (two decades!) and this passionate group of contributors and fans around the world makes each new season even more exciting than the last.

Hear from two program managers on the Coding Competitions team:

Emilly Miller, Google’s Coding Competitions Lead Program Manager

Emily Miller Headshot

“My first year working on Coding Competitions was 2013 with Code Jam. The Finals were hosted in London that year — video proof — and I've been hooked ever since! It's been incredibly rewarding and a whole lot of fun to interact with coders from around the world over the years.

I find it so cool that even after 20 years of Code Jam, the space of online competitions continues to evolve and grow. To me, it's a testament to the strength of the global online community and the value that products like Code Jam, Hash Code, and Kick Start provide developers to connect and learn from one another. Plus, the problem statements are so creative and fun!

My advice to future participants is, jump in and try it out! We're all here for something unique to us, so find out what that is for you and pursue that. Hitting roadblocks along the way is likely, so don't get discouraged. Remember there's a global community of coders out there waiting to help you!”


Julia DeLorenzo, Google’s Coding Competitions Program Manager

Julia DeLorenzo Headshot

“My first introduction to Google’s Coding Competitions was in 2016, when I had the chance to volunteer at the Code Jam World Finals in New York City. The excitement and energy of that Finals stuck with me – four years later, in 2020, an opportunity to work on Coding Competitions full time came up and I jumped at the chance!

I love that Google’s Coding Competitions offer different ways to participate. No matter where you are in your competitive programming journey, there’s a Competition for you. People who are new to competitive programming can get familiar with space by participating in Kick Start; those who want to participate with friends or teammates can try Hash Code; and folks looking for a challenge should try Code Jam. Some people participate in all three! The problems you’ll see are always different and creative so you’re sure to have fun along the way.

As cliché as it sounds, my advice to future participants is that failure is an opportunity for growth. Don’t let imposter syndrome or fear of failure stand in the way of trying something new. If you come across a problem you can’t solve – that’s great! It’s an opportunity to challenge yourself and try a different approach.”


Stay Tuned!

Over the next few weeks, keep an eye on the blog – we’ll be spotlighting each of Google’s Coding Competitions in a series of blog posts to help you understand the ins and outs of each competition.

Yasmine Evjen shares her passion for Android development and how to get involved at DevFest

Posted by Komal Sandhu - Global Program Manager, Google Developer Groups

“I would love to see more stepping out of our comfort zones, playing with technology, and bringing back that joy of what got us into Android development in the first place.”

Learn Android tools and tips from Android Community Lead, Yasmine Evjen, and hear from her first-hand on how to get involved.

Continue reading →

Meet Rose Niousha, GDSC Waseda Founder & WTM Ambassador

Posted by Takuo Suzuki, Developer Relations Program Manager, Japan

Rose Niousha wanted to create a community where students could explore their technical interests without being held back by external factors or stereotypes. A passion for inclusion set her on a path to growing her Google Developer Student Clubs chapter and discovering the Women Techmakers (WTM) program.

After majoring in Computer Science at Waseda University, Rose realized many students had difficulty applying what they learned in school to practical environments and internships. Seeing a gap between theory and practice, she aimed to tackle these problems by founding a Google Developer Student Club (GDSC) on her campus. Through her leadership, the club became the largest chapter in Japan, with 177 active members. This post highlights how Rose created a big impact in her community and then became a WTM Ambassador.

How GDSC Waseda emphasized inclusivity in their community

Rose wanted the Waseda community to champion diversity and inclusion. When Rose selected her core team members, she aimed to ensure diverse perspectives and different educational backgrounds were represented. By recruiting members from other majors, people didn't feel like outsiders in the community. As a result, the members of GDSC Waseda consisted of both technical and non-technical majors, with 47.8% being female students, marking an inclusive 50-50 gender ratio that is not typical among tech communities.

The 2021-2022 GDSC Waaseda core team (Tokyo, Japan)
After building a core team for the chapter, Rose decided that breaking the language barrier could establish a more inclusive community. Rose wanted students from all backgrounds to be able to communicate with each other so she chose English as the main language for the chapter. Since her university is home to an international community, this helped address a common challenge in Japanese universities: students' lack of confidence to discuss professional fields in English. This brought students together and helped everyone improve their language abilities.

 

Hosting programs to educate, inspire, and connect students


The chapter hosted over 30 activities like speaker sessions and hands-on programming workshops where students gained a practical understanding of tools like Flutter, Google Cloud Platform, and Firebase.

Flutter sessions were taught to students so they could create natively compiled mobile apps and submit to the annual GDSC Solution Challenge. Firebase sessions helped backend teams handle user databases as well as get a basic understanding of NoSQL databases. Students then could implement this technology and strengthen their project’s scalability and data security.

Through collaborations with other companies, GDSC Waseda helped students to experience different disciplines like coding/programming, team management, and design thinking. These workshops helped students find internship opportunities and even students majoring in non-technical majors, like humanities, secured internships at tech firms in roles such as UX/UI design and PM roles since they were exposed to a practical side of the industry.
Event Participants from GDSC Waseda (Tokyo, Japan)

Leadership in action: GDSC Solution Challenge efforts in Japan


As a GDSC lead, Rose encouraged participation in the annual GDSC Solution Challenge. She approached it as a starting point, rather than a goal. With this positive attitude, four teams from the chapter submitted projects and team mimi4me, a mobile safety application using Machine Learning, became the first team from Japan to be selected as one of the Global Top 50. The team is continuing to scale their solution by planning to publish the application on Google Play.

Rose Niousha gives certificate to the Mini Solution Challenge winning team (Tokyo, Japan)

To showcase the efforts of all the teams after the Solution Challenge, the chapter hosted a Mini Solution Challenge event. All teams gave a presentation describing the solutions that they submitted, and event participants voted for their favorite project. Additionally, another team of students from GDSC Waseda and Keio founded an E-Commerce startup from their time at GDSC.

Reflections and accomplishments along the way


Through Google connections and using tools like LinkedIn to find other like-minded leaders, Rose reached out to many inspiring women working in the tech industry. She prepared for the events for weeks in advance by conducting several meetings with the speakers. Through these helpful sessions, GDSC Waseda was able to inspire many more women on campus to join their community and discover their interests. Now, GDSC Waseda is proud to have a diverse community with a 50-50 gender ratio in members.

“Being a GDSC Lead has brought me tremendous opportunities,” says Rose. “Since one of my biggest objectives was to tackle the gender barrier in the tech industry through my GDSC community, I actively hosted events during International Women's Day (IWD) month.”


Rose Niousha with the Global Head of Google Developer Community Program, Erica Hanson (New York City, New York, USA)

Building an inclusive future as a WTM ambassador

Rose worked with her Google Community Manager in Japan, Reisa Matsuda, who helped develop her passion for creating a diverse and inclusive community. Reisa told Rose about the Women Techmakers (WTM) program and encouraged her to take advantage of many opportunities. With mentorship and guidance, soon after Rose became a GDSC Lead, she joined Women Techmakers (WTM) as an Ambassador.


Reisa Matsuda and Rose at GDSC Leads Graduation

As an alumnus of Women Developer Academy (WDA), a program that equips women in tech with the skills, resources, and support they need to become a tech presenter and speaker, Rose felt confident and prepared to speak as a panelist at this year’s International Women’s Day event hosted by WTM Tokyo - the largest IWD event in Japan with over 180 participants. During the talk, she shared her experience with the WDA program and personal stories related to WTM’s IWD 2022 "Progress, not Perfection” campaign.


Rose Niousha with the Head of Google Women Techmakers, Caitlin Morrissey (Mountain View, California, USA)

As part of her involvement with the WTM program, Rose attended Google I/O offline at Shoreline on May 11, 2022. It was the first in-person Google developer event she had ever attended.


“I was surprised by its massive scale,” says Rose. “Kicking off the event with an inspiring talk by Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai, I had an amazing time listening to talks and networking. During my time in California, I was able to meet with many inspiring students and professionals, and bring unique ideas back to my chapter.”

 

Join a Google Developer Student Club near you

Google Developer Student Clubs (GDSC) are community groups for college and university students like Rose who are interested in Google developer technologies. With over 1,800+ chapters in 112 countries, GDSC aims to empower developers like Rose to help their communities by building technical solutions. If you’re a student and would like to join a Google Developer Student Club community, look for a chapter near you here, or visit the program page to learn more about starting one in your area.

Learn more about Women Techmakers

Google’s Women Techmakers program provides visibility, community, and resources for women in technology. Women Techmakers Ambassadors are global leaders passionate about impacting their communities and building a world where all women can thrive in tech.