The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

Working in Public (Interview)

Aug 12, 2020

Nadia Eghbal, author of "Working in Public", dives into the intricate dynamics of open source software and community funding. She explores the transformative journey of open source and the critical needs for support among maintainers. Discussions include the evolving relationship between creators and platforms like GitHub, and the importance of intimate online communities. Nadia also reflects on the balance between public engagement and personal media, emphasizing the significance of nurturing connections in today's digital landscape.

01:15:14

Creator website

Episode guests

Nadia Eghbal

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

4min

Navigating Open Source: Challenges and Responsibilities

24min

The Complex Relationship Between Open Source Creators and Platforms

5min

Navigating the Open Source Ecosystem

19min

Navigating the Open Source Landscape and the Pursuit of Knowledge

5min

Understanding Public vs. Participatory Communities in Open Source

6min

The Shift to Intimate Online Communities and Personal Media

3min

Evolving Digital Spaces

4min

The Writing Journey and Exciting New Releases

5min

Nadia Eghbal is back and this time she’s talking with us about her new book Working in Public. If you’re an old school listener you might remember the podcast we produced with Nadia and Mikeal Rogers called Request for Commits. If you weren’t listening then, or can’t remember…don’t worry…the back catalog of Request for Commits is still online and subscribe-able via all the podcast ways. That podcast is still getting listens to this very day!

Obviously we go way back with Nadia…and having a chance to now talk with her through all the details of her new book Working in Public, this was a milestone for this show and Jerod and I. We talked through the reasons she wrote the book in the first place, Nadia’s thoughts on the future of the internet and the connection of creators to the platforms they build their followings on, and we also talk about the health of projects and communities and the challenges we face internet-at-large as well as right here in our backyard in the open source community.

Join the discussion

Changelog++ members get a bonus 1 minute at the end of this episode and zero ads. Join today!

Sponsors:

Linode – Our cloud of choice and the home of Changelog.com. Deploy a fast, efficient, native SSD cloud server for only $5/month. Get 4 months free using the code changelog2019 OR changelog2020. To learn more and get started head to linode.com/changelog.
Scout APM – Scout is application monitoring that continually tracks down N+1 database queries, sources of memory bloat, performance abnormalities, and a ton more. Learn more and get started for free at scoutapm.com/changelog.
Retool – Retool makes it super simple to build back-office apps in hours, not days. The tool is is built by engineers, explicitly for engineers. Learn more and try it for free at retool.com/changelog
Fastly – Our bandwidth partner. Fastly powers fast, secure, and scalable digital experiences. Move beyond your content delivery network to their powerful edge cloud platform. Learn more at fastly.com.

Featuring:

Nadia Eghbal – GitHub, X
Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Jerod Santo – GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X

Show Notes:

Join Changelog++ to directly support us, make the ads disappear, AND for a chance to win a signed copy of Nadia’s book
The Changelog #193: Funding open source with Nadia Eghbal
Sindre Sorhus
Nadia’s post on Substack about Working in Public
Buy Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software on Amazon

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.