The Mycelium Network Podcast

This week, the guest on the podcast is Vicky (VM) Brasseur. She has over 30 years of experience in the world of open source and is currently helping large companies with their open source strategies. She has written the book, “Forge your future with Open Source” and is currently writing her second book. During the episode, we touch on topics such as ensuring we create a welcoming, safe, and inclusive space within the open source ecosystem. We touch on topics explored in her first book and how it relates to those new to the tech world and open source. We also touch on some challenges, such as the influx of open-source projects, lack of knowledge (especially around licensing), and monocultures. There is a wealth of incredible information shared in this episode that is applicable to everyone, no matter where you are in your career.

In this episode of the Mycelium Network podcast, Schalk Neethling interviews Alex Buaiscia, a full-stack developer at Moravio. Alex talks about his journey from humanistic studies and journalism to desktop support and becoming a full-stack developer. Alex emphasizes the importance of persistence, getting feedback after an interview, and soft skills for career growth. He also discusses his approach to writing tests using React testing library, the importance of project planning, and the significance of work-life balance and taking time to be still.

Alex also shares his experience dealing with the mental health impact of shift work and how he found opportunities by sharing his work in the open. Finally, Alex offers advice for early-stage developers and shares what he learned about meditation and dealing with challenges.

In this episode of The Mycelium Network podcast, host Schalk Neethling sits down with Leo Cheng, a former editor in the film and TV industry who has been teaching himself to code and is ready to make programming his career. Schalk and Leo touch on various topics, such as learning through making, the importance of onboarding and mentoring new developers at a company and exploring different aspects of programming through good first issues.

They also touch on harder topics, such as the trend of roasting other people’s work on social media, imposter syndrome, and the challenges of learning and making in the open.

Note: While I said in the episode that syntactic sugar aims to make code more human-readable, this does not always happen in practice. Also, what is readable and understandable to one person, is not necessarily the case for someone else.

In this episode of the Mycelium Network podcast, host Schalk Neethling speaks with Bri Leever, a brand community strategist and owner of Ember consulting. Bri emphasizes the importance of building a community-led approach to problem-solving and the importance of patience and nurturing the seeds of your community instead of trying to be the one with all of the answers. She stresses the value of being transparent, balancing empathy with authority, and providing value to the community over time.

Bri shares some of the challenges she faced while building her business and highlights the importance of maintaining a positive attitude, taking calculated risks, and continuing to learn and grow. Listeners will come away from this episode with valuable insights into building a thriving community and designing a fulfilling life.

This week I am doing some cross-promotion of my other podcast, the Mechanical Ink podcast. If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe to the show here:

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mechanical-ink

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In this episode of the Mechanical Ink podcast, Schalk is joined by Abby and Naytri from GitHub. In this enlightening and far-reaching conversation, we cover some of the new initiatives launched by GitHub, such as GitHub Accelerator and the GitHub Fund. We also cover enhancements to GitHub Sponsors, what GitHub learned from the OS Grants project in GitHub, and how companies and open-source can aid in creating opportunities for creators in developing countries.

We also touch on the social aspects of GitHub, how GitHub has managed to keep the platform largely healthy and welcoming, and how we can do even better. We also discuss the importance of community and giving tools to community managers working on the platform. Abby also shares information about the maintainer's program at GitHub and other initiatives such as maintainer month. This is the episode for you if you are running an open-source project on GitHub.

Ankita Kulkarni, an educator and founder joined the Mycelium Network podcast to discuss her passion for helping people and making a difference. She shared insights on leadership, work-life balance, psychological safety, and the importance of a beginner's mindset. The episode delved into what makes a good leader, the joy of learning, and tips for the first 90 days on the job. Finally, Ankita discussed her favorite pour-over coffee and recommended a few resources for front-end developers and engineering managers.

In this episode, we talk to Ryan Stemmle, who shares his winding and adventurous journey into the tech world. He tells us about how he learned to code at Turing and how his experience in special operations helped him develop the necessary mindset. Ryan also talks about the challenge of adapting to new work culture and working in a more diverse work environment than his previous work. He gives tips for interviewing, emphasizes the need for deadlines and structure, and discusses the joy and utility of building projects to solve your own problems. Ryan highlights the importance of humanity in the work we do and the benefits of seeking discomfort. Listen in to hear Ryan's inspiring story and insights.

In this episode of the Mycelium Network podcast, we hear from Precious Adeyinka, a developer from Nigeria. He shares his story of how he went from learning to code on paper to building a startup in Africa. Precious also talks about his passion for teaching others, giving back, and using dancing as a form of expression. He explains why Africa is the future of the tech world and why there is a need for an innovative mindset. He also touches upon mental health, making interviews more human, and the lack of opportunity in Africa—an inspirational conversation with an enthusiastic creator with big dreams.

In this episode, I have a conversation with my dear friend, Matt Brandt. We talk about the tech industry, but this conversation is about much more. We talk about all those things that often fall by the wayside but are critical to having a career that is fulfilling and bring you joy. We also discuss effective interviews and aligning your work with who you are and what is important to you. We also touch on topics such as trust in the workplace, finding safe spaces, and doing uncomfortable things. A long and deep conversation I am sure you will enjoy.

In this episode of the Mycelium Network, I speak with Andres Sepulveda Morales. We talk mead brewing, Dungeons and Dragons, and draw parallels between being a game master and working on a team, forming a community around shared interests, and the knowledge sharing that happens as a result. We also address some tough topics such as implicit and explicit bias, the benefits of diversity, and communicating effectively across different cultures.

In this episode, I speak with Matthew A. Grande from Careerage. We discuss career advice, the importance of aligning with personal goals and values, inflection points, and finding fulfillment in work and life. We also touch upon the idea that individuals are not problems to be fixed and the importance of starting from a place of curiosity. The topic of layoffs and empathy is also covered, along with the idea of playing out the worst-case scenario and dreaming big. The overarching theme of the podcast is about being purposeful and making a positive personal impact.

Today I speak with Ryan Johnson, a backend engineer, Python wizard, and someone with an incredible story to tell. From working in hardware startups, working as a farmhand in a Benedictine monastery, practicing psychologist, working at Lucas film, and now at Mozilla.

In this final episode of season 1, I speak with technical writer and legend of the web, Chris Mills. We talk about trying something new, not being scared to take a leap of faith, and finding your tribe. The importance of being positive and kind, treating people with respect and empathy, and giving back through mentorship. We talk about the importance of great documentation and a well-defined process when running an open-source project. We end by sharing our favorite noisy music artists and the importance of pushing for immediate action concerning the environmental catastrophe.

Correction: Only 3% of open source contributions are from Africa, not 17% as mentioned in the episode.

In Chris' own words

Chris is an Englishman, living in the grim Northern wastes near Manchester. He’s an Independent tech writer, web technology tinkerer, and open standards advocate. Chris is currently running his own tech writing consultancy — Mills docs Limited; previous employment credits include Okta, Mozilla, W3C, and Opera. He is a passionate believer in the power of the open web as a great leveler in terms of education, accessibility, and employment. Outside work he is a heavy metal drummer, amateur guitarist, keen cyclist, and cultivator of an awesome family.

Social

In this week's episode, I speak with Vuyisile Ndlovu, a Python developer and AWS-certified cloud practitioner from Zimbabwe. We talk about open-source, the challenges developers face in Africa, and why contributions to open-source are low in Africa and brainstorm ideas to improve it. Vuyisile also shares some great tips on deploying your ideas to the web. This was a fascinating conversation I am privileged to share with you all.

In his own words

Hello! My name is Vuyisile (voo-yee-sea-lay), and I’m a Software Developer. I enjoy writing, speaking, traveling, and cutting wood. I develop back-end web applications and APIs, usually in Python and Django. I do my best work when I work remotely.

Links

In this episode, I sit down with Andy Anderson. This conversation was so wonderful. Andy has years of experience in the tech industry and shares some of the histories that very few of us know about. We also discuss the evolution of programming languages and tools, the importance of community, diversity, and coffee.

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In this episode with Chelsea Adams, we talk about dealing with imposter syndrome and the sense of un-belonging.  Being kind to yourself and giving yourself the time to grow. Not to be afraid of being vulnerable, stop getting in your own way, and the negative impact of social networks on creativity. We also touch on the importance of community, a network of peers, education, and the importance of being seen and represented. Filles with interesting nuggets you will all enjoy.

In Chelsea's own words

Chelsea Adams is a software engineer and digital creative based in central Ohio, USA. She is co-host and producer of 16:1 podcast, a show about education, teaching, and learning. Adams has more than a decade of experience operating a web and software development consultancy, which engages clients on a variety of web, data, and virtual reality projects.

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A talk about kindness, open-source, TypeScript, advice for those new to web development, and finding treasures in unique places.

Vinyl, in her own words

(Pronounced V-eye-null Dah-ee-ghee-you Kah-zoh-teh-tsoo)

Formerly Vinyl Darkscratch-Kazotetsu. Web and software developer, EDM visualizer animator, Beat Saber fanatic, workaholic, left-handed, queen of goo.

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In today's episode, I speak with Tara Robertson. We discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion topics, but the conversation is about so much more. We deeply dive into the soft skills needed to thrive in the workplace and life. It is a far-reaching, emotional, and real conversation I believe you will all enjoy.

Tara, in her own words

I help women of color in corporate careers go from underestimated and overworked to unapologetic and wildly successful. I’m also a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant.

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In today's episode, I speak with Joel Rainwater. Among the many topics we address, we cover the IndieWeb, the necessity for curiosity in the tech industry, working in the open, intentionally being un-hireable, and not being defined by job titles. We touch on the doors opened by the fact that JavaScript is everywhere. On ramping to TypeScript, the power of community, why you should blog, and tons of other great topics and advice.

Joel, in his own words

Joel is a self-taught developer who has gone from building basic HTML-&-CSS-only websites to being the fractional CTO of a startup and a lot in between.

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In this episode, I speak with Yurii Lazaruk, community manager at CodeControl and community consultant. Community is critical to the learning journey. The support, the camaraderie, and having people around you that have your back and keep you accountable. We also touch on handling crises and how the community plays a role there. A fascinating conversation that is well worth your time.

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In this episode, I speak with Alvin Bryan, a developer advocate at Contentful. We discuss the role of open-source in education, ethical tech, mentoring, the new challenges early-stage developer face in a changing job market, and how to stay motivated.

Alvin, in their own words

Alvin is a developer advocate at Contentful and a front-end developer. He’s been working in the industry for a while and loves creating beautiful, fun experiences.

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In today's conversation, I speak with Raphael Pires. In this conversation, we talk less about technology and more about life. While we touch on tech-related topics, we also talk about living a life of purpose. We share our thoughts on unrealistic expectations, planning long-term, setting goals, and being willing to wait for success. It is a deep conversation that touches on important topics we often skim over. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I enjoyed recording it.

Raphael, in his own words

⚡ Early-stage Web Developer
🔭 Changing career paths
🧱 Open-source enthusiast
🍄 Community driven
🌱 Lifelong learner

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In this episode, I speak with Adilson Sandoval from AdblockPlus. Adilson talks about how he got into tech from his previous career as a mathematics teacher. He also shares great information about the job hunting process and the importance of persistence. Adilson is also passionate about open source, and we talk about the role of open source in learning, teaching, and finding opportunities.

Background

Adilson Sandoval is a front-end developer that made a career change. For the last three years, he has been working at AdblockPlus on their browser extension.

Social

In our first episode, we talk to Rico Smit. An early-stage web developer living and working in Pretoria, South Africa. We talk about a wide range of topics from the challenges that new learners face, starting a business, finding learning material, and your community. We also touch on contributing to open-source and feeling more comfortable interacting in public.