Screaming in the Cloud

Replay - Inspiring the Next Generation of Devs with Scott Hanselman

Jan 16, 2025

Scott Hanselman, Microsoft's Vice President of Developer Community, is a seasoned developer and open-source advocate. He shares his passion for inspiring the next generation of coders, emphasizing that no programming language is 'wrong' to learn. Scott discusses the evolution of Microsoft's culture and the impact of cloud technology on accessibility. He also highlights the importance of using social media, especially TikTok, to engage younger audiences and encourage them to embrace coding. His insights reveal the seamless collaboration between Windows and Linux, transforming tech careers and community engagement.

40:34

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Episode guests

Scott Hanselman

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

The concept of a 'wrong programming language' is misleading, as any language can effectively serve as a starting point for learning programming fundamentals.

Microsoft has undergone a cultural transformation, embracing open source software to enhance developer satisfaction and expand access to diverse programming tools.

Deep dives

The Role of Language in Technology Learning

The choice of programming language is often seen as a daunting decision for beginners, with many fearing that selecting the wrong one could jeopardize their learning journey. However, the notion of a 'wrong language' is misleading, as any language can serve as a valid starting point. Learning should focus on the fundamentals of computer science, as these principles remain consistent across different languages. Ultimately, the most important factor is interest, with personal enthusiasm fueling the learning process, regardless of the language chosen.

Intro

2min

Tech Evolution and Developer Experiences

19min

Navigating the Coding Landscape

4min

Negotiating AWS Contracts and Choosing Programming Languages Wisely

2min

Redefining Tech Careers and Community Engagement

9min

Exploring TikTok's Creative Constraints and Community Engagement

5min

On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, Corey is joined by Microsoft's current Vice President of Developer Community, Scott Hanselman. They talk about how Scott is selling enthusiasm around free and open source software to empower the next generation of programmers, how technology can help you escape a suboptimal position in life, moving a blog that was hosted on a Windows Server 2008 server to Azure, using TikTok to encourage younger folks to get into coding, why there isn’t a wrong programming language to learn and why you should learn JavaScript, how the rise of SaaS and cloud computing has made Microsoft a “simpler” company, convincing banks to use open source in the 2000s, and more.

Show Highlights

(0:00) Intro

(0:29) The Duckbill Group sponsor read

(1:13) What Scott did as Microsoft’s Partner Program Manager

(2:05) Scott’s various passions and projects

(4:37) Changes at Microsoft since Corey last kept track of the company

(10:15) Why Corey struggles to get back into the Windows ecosystem

(17:45) The convenience of having everything more accessible and hosted in Azure

(24:36) The Duckbill Group sponsor read

(25:19) The importance of the struggle when starting out in tech

(30:55) Microsoft’s cultural transformation

(34:32) Why Scott has turned to social media to reach the next generation of engineers

(39:18) Where you can find more from Scott

About Scott Hanselman

Scott has been a developer for 30 years and has been blogging at https://hanselman.com for 20 years! He works in Open Source on .NET and the Azure Cloud for Microsoft out of his home office in Portland, Oregon. Scott has been podcasting for over 950 episodes of http://hanselminutes.com over 18 years and over 750 episodes of http://www.azurefriday.com. He's written a number of technical books and spoken in person to over one million developers worldwide! He's also on TikTok, which was very likely a huge mistake.

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