Brian Douglas of OpenSauced joins the show to discuss the impact of open source and finding mentors, the significance of stars on GitHub, establishing trust and making meaningful contributions, pitching ideas and naming projects, and the Open Source/Pizza CLI experience and 100 Days of Open Source program.
Joining open source communities is crucial for finding suitable projects and making meaningful contributions.
Open source contributions can serve as a backdoor into the tech industry and help level the playing field for underrepresented individuals.
Stars on GitHub can be converted into meaningful interactions by contributing through pull requests and engaging with maintainers.
Deep dives
The Goal of OpenSauced
OpenSauced is a platform that aims to provide a pathway for individuals to contribute to open source projects. Founded by Brian Douglas of GitHub fame, OpenSauced helps developers find their next contribution and potential job in the open source community. Initially focused on helping individuals find projects, OpenSauced later pivoted to building a platform for companies and maintainers to manage and gain insights into their open source projects. Through their podcast, OpenSauced interviews various open source developers, sharing insights and stories about the world of open source.
The Importance of Joining Open Source Communities
Joining open source communities is crucial when looking to contribute. Rather than just looking for projects to contribute to, OpenSauced recommends joining the community first. By being an active participant, individuals can gain knowledge, understand common issues, and build relationships with maintainers and other contributors. This engagement helps in finding suitable projects and understanding the nuances of the community. OpenSauced emphasizes the value of learning from experienced community members and mentorship in order to make meaningful and impactful contributions.
The Power of Open Source Contributions for Career Growth
Contributing to open source projects is not only about contributing to the greater community, but it can also have significant career benefits. OpenSauced highlights how open source contributions can serve as a backdoor into the tech industry, especially for underrepresented individuals. Open source contributions validate skills, demonstrate teamwork and collaboration, and showcase the ability to work remotely. These contributions can help individuals stand out and validate their expertise, making them more attractive to potential employers. OpenSauced aims to highlight the importance of open source contributions as a way to level the playing field and make tech more equitable.
Engaging with Open Source Through Stars
Many people use stars on GitHub to save repositories they are interested in exploring later. Stars can also be used as a measure of interest and popularity. However, not everyone knows how to convert stars into meaningful interactions. Some companies even use stars as part of their onboarding process. While stars can be gameable, contributing to open source through pull requests and meaningful questions can establish trust and build relationships with maintainers.
Finding Your Passion in Open Source
When it comes to contributing to open source projects, it can be helpful to start with projects that align with your existing interests and passions. However, it's also possible to develop an interest in a project by immersing yourself in it. Sometimes, you need to fake it till you make it. By qualifying leads and quickly determining if a project is a good fit, you can save time and focus on projects that truly resonate with you. It's important to remember that perfection isn't the end goal in open source, and that every contribution, no matter how small, can make an impact.
In this episode, Bret and Nirmal talk with Brian Douglas of OpenSauced.
Brian Douglas, of GitHub fame, has founded OpenSauced, a cool web app and community of open source developers finding their next contribution and maybe their next job. Brian has so many stories of working with open source projects and having conversations with leading open source contributors, while previously being a lead developer advocate at GitHub. So we definitely spend time talking through some of those stories and learning some of that we didn't know about GitHub and open source being run on it. We then dig into how to use the OpenSauced platform he's creating to find your next open source project and get noticed by employers.
Live recording of the complete show from July 13, 2023 is on YouTube (Ep. #225).
