In this podcast episode, we talked with Will Russell about From Hackathons to Developer Advocacy.
About the Speaker:
Will Russell is a Developer Advocate at Kestra, known for his videos on workflow orchestration. Previously, Will built open source education programs to help up and coming developers make their first contributions in open source. With a passion for developer education, Will creates technical video content and documentation that makes technologies more approachable for developers.
In this episode, we sit down with Will—developer advocate, content creator, and passionate community builder. We’ll hear about his unique path through tech, the lessons he’s learned, and his approach to making complex topics accessible and engaging. Whether you’re curious about open source, hackathons, or what it’s like to bridge the gap between developers and the broader tech community, this conversation is full of insights and inspiration.
🕒 TIMECODES
0:00 Introduction, career journeys, and video setup and workflow
10:41 From hackathons to open source: Early experiences and learning
16:04 Becoming a hackathon organizer and the value of soft skills
23:18 How to organize a hackathon, memorable projects, and creativity
33:39 Major League Hacking: Building community and scaling student programs
41:16 Mentorship, development environments, and onboarding in open source
49:14 Developer advocacy, content strategy, and video tips
57:16 Will’s current projects and future plans for content creation
🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClub
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🔗 CONNECT WITH WILL
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wrussell1999/
Twitter - https://x.com/wrussell1999
GitHub - https://github.com/wrussell1999
Website - https://wrussell.co.uk/
