Contributor

Robust Observability: OpenTelemetry with Austin Parker

Feb 28, 2024

Explore the success of OpenTelemetry in the CNCF, the benefits of flexibility and avoiding vendor lock-in, and the secrets to maintaining a balance between maintainers and contributors. Learn about Austin Parker's journey into observability, the merger of OpenTelemetry and OpenCensus, and the importance of foundations in supporting open-source projects.

35:01

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Episode guests

Austin Parker

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Quick takeaways

OpenTelemetry's success stems from avoiding vendor lock-in, attracting startups and enterprises alike.

The merger of OpenTelemetry and OpenCensus resolved duplicated efforts, shaping future observability standards.

Deep dives

Austin Parker's Journey into Open Source and Observability

Austin Parker shares his journey into developer relations and software through experiences like working at LightStep, involvement in projects like OpenTracing and OpenTelemetry, and the importance of nurturing community in open source projects like OpenTelemetry.

Introduction

2min

Journey from Webmaster to Developer Relations in Tech Industry

5min

Navigating the Role of Open Source Project Creators and Maintainers

2min

The Evolution of OpenTelemetry in Observability

23min

Engagement and Growth of a Diverse Community in a CNCF-Associated Project

3min

OpenTelemetry is an open-source observability framework for collecting and managing telemetry data. OpenTelemetry has been more successful than expected, becoming the second fastest growing project in the CNCF. It allows for flexibility and avoids vendor lock-in, making it attractive to startups and large enterprises alike. On today’s show, Eric (@ericmander) sits down with Austin Parker (@austinlparker), director of open-source at Honeycomb.

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In this episode we discuss:

How Austin’s interest in complex systems led him to the observability field and developer relations
An X argument that contributed to the merger of OpenTelemetry and OpenCensus
Why foundations help maintainers to strike a balance with their contributors
Austin’s opinion on the secret to OpenTelemetry’s success

Links:

People mentioned:

Charity Majors (@mipsytipsy)
Christine Yen (@cyen)

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Contributor

Robust Observability: OpenTelemetry with Austin Parker

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Austin Parker's Journey into Open Source and Observability

Merge of OpenTracing and OpenCensus into OpenTelemetry

Role and Functionality of OpenTelemetry

Community and Events Around OpenTelemetry

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts