You’ve got a brilliant idea, a concept, a tool or anything else you’d really like to share with “the community”. There are a few ways to do that, but is there a best way?
This was the question I was struggling with last week. I’ve found something out a few weeks ago that I’m really keen to share. But I wasn’t sure what the best way would be.
Poll
So, I started a poll on Twitter to see what people would think. Should I create a session, write a blogpost or do both. In theory there’s a fourth option: keep it to yourself en monetize it. There are things that can make your job or your standing as a consultant. I’m not writing it off or judging you if you keep things to yourself, but in this case the poll was aimed at the things you want to share. Things you want to give back to the community.
Discussion
Within a few minutes I got the first reply, telling me the combination would be golden. Create a session with the technical details in an accompanying blog post. On the other hand, a blog post can wet the appetite to join the session to see it all in action. But, that takes time, energy and commitment. As a very valuable addition, there’s the remark that people have different ways of learning. With the combination, you can suit as many people as possible. But, no-one will judge you if you’re “just” writing a blog post. Because a good post takes a lot of time, and if you post is done, you have to add a lot of time to turn it into a session. Not everyone has that time available or is willing to invest the time. And that’s ok.
Results
The poll results were quite clear, 71% for blog post and session, 29% for just a blogpost. Funnily enough, no votes for just a session. My take from that is that, given the options, my voters prefer a session with a blog post. And a smaller part has enough on a (detailed) blog post. With those clear results, my question has been answered. For those more scientifically inclined readers, I’ve got about 300 followers, meaning 14 votes is about 5% response if you look at just my followers. The question has been asked with the sql community hashtag so the potential of people who could answer the question is much larger. In any case, 5% won’t be a significant sample but then again, it’s not science.
Next
Well, I got my answer so I’ve got work to do. The blog post is in the last scaffolding, ready to be released. After that, I’ll try and create a session out of it.
Finally
A big thank you to Benni de Jagere en Kevin Chant for engaging in the conversation and shining their light on the issue. You’re a great asset to the community!
Thanks for reading and if you want to join in the discussion, you can always reply on my tweet or in the comments below.
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