Eddie's Newsletter v1.0: Hello world! 👋
A newsletter exploring the various areas of Dev Life.
Note: you might have signed up a long time ago on another platform, so if you wish to unsubscribe there is a link you can click at the end of this email 👇
Don’t worry I won’t be too upset (maybe a little 🥲).
This is my first newsletter on Substack! 🎉 I renamed my Substack publication from “Open Source Expert” to “Eddie’s Log“. You might be thinking, why? Open Source is still my focus but not everything I want to make my blogs and newsletters more personal and authentic.
As developers we need to write code, think about performance, security and accessibility, write automated tests, also deploy our projects, be a technical writer to document the project, communicate with the team, collaborate on code reviews, and that is only part of it. Plus on top of all that we need to make sure we get enough rest, exercise and eat healthy - wow I am exhausted just writing that! I believe that with my 15+ years as a Fullstack developer and my recent focus on work life balance as a Digital Nomad, I can share what has and hasn't worked for me to save you the trouble of figuring it out.
What to expect from my monthly newsletter
Technical tips - I share tips that might seem small but have a big impact on what we can use daily to make our developer lives more efficient and better.
SaaS projects - As I build more frequently, I want to share with you the tools and resources I have found helpful, plus highlight your projects as I come across them.
Behind the scenes - Sharing my Digital Nomad adventures, solo entrepreneur advice and how I try to get a work life balance.
My newsletter is over 10k+ subscribers strong 🎉 but I would like to get to know YOU more. REPLY to this email and let me know something about YOU, you can include these also:
💡 What content you would like to see next?
🧱 What projects are you building?
This is my first newsletter post. The intention is not to commit to a set and rigid schedule, and most certainly not “spam” any of my subscribers on this platform. Instead, my aim is to publish a newsletter post as and when I feel I have collected information which I think you as a reader, will value.
If that sounds interesting to you and you like my content keep reading on…
Tips
This month’s tips focus on debugging and communication with clients, team members and people in your network.
Rubber Ducking
Are you stuck? Try explaining the problem to an item on your desk (usually known as a rubber duck, I have a rabbit 🐰). This process and method often highlights the bug to us and we figure it out ourselves faster than searching google or using AI - it is not magic or using the Jedi force, just Dev Life. This works because it forces us to break down the problem into little step-by-step chucks that we might have missed before.
Client work
When freelancing, most include the services and deliverables BUT don't forget to mention what you don’t include - this will leave no unexpected surprises for you or your client.
Technical skills are not enough
Hard skills alone are not enough! No matter your job title or how many years experience you have, you need to be able to communicate, this is know as soft skills but better know as core skills as they are difficult also. Most often we work in teams and we need to efficiently and effectively community with then, this takes practice. Whichever platform you use (GitHub, Discord, Slack etc), you can most likely use markdown to help communicate your message better - no one likes a big wall of text. Learn the 12 or so markdown styles and use them appropriately in your messages, the person reading will really appreciate it.
Here is a GitHub specific markdown tip to help your content stand out…
GitHub Markdown tip (alerts)
Use alerts in GitHub Markdown to highlight important information like: note, tip, important, warning, caution.
> [!NOTE]
> Highlights information that users should take into account, even when skimming.
> [!TIP]
> Optional information to help a user be more successful.
> [!IMPORTANT]
> Crucial information necessary for users to succeed.
> [!WARNING]
> Critical content demanding immediate user attention due to potential risks.
> [!CAUTION]
> Negative potential consequences of an action.If you would like to read an article on Markdown (which includes a video), here it is:
This newsletter is sponsored by my own project MakeTheList.io
Build a comprehensive directory of information that helps others discover your product. Perfect for curating a directory of SaaS tools, learning resources, or industry knowledge.
Behind the scenes
I have been a Digital Nomad since 2021 and yes I take my laptop with me everywhere. You never know when you get that super cool idea that you want to code, or need to fix a bug, or merge that pull request. So a photo of my laptop around the world near some water is fairly standard for me 🌴 But before this change in lifestyle, I used to be locked in my “command centre” almost 24/7. Let me show you…
Before being a Digital Nomad
Before becoming a Digital Nomad, I used to live in my “command centre” and this is what it looked liked 👇 Looks great right? But with more tech there is more distractions and more to go wrong - yet I kept adding more and more tech to my home office without any real need for it or value to my production.
After being a Digital Nomad
Realising that sun and touching grass (or water in my case) was good for my health and actually helped me write better code, this now this is my preferred style of working. Simple and clear, I find it super creative and it helps me focus. Yes I do miss my second screen sometimes.
Here is one of my favourite laptop photos from my recent travels … 📸
Q. Which do you prefer, the before or after office photo? Leave your preference in the comments below:
My recent content
Here are some of my recent and favourite content that I think would be interesting and useful to you.
As a developer is security important?
Developers need to be involved in so many areas of the project, but security is often left out, why? Maybe because it is not interesting or fun, or maybe because it is difficult and scary! However, there are great libraries and tools out there that remove this pain and solve the problem. Let more about my experience at the Okta (Auth0) event at McLaren UK.
Building a SaaS from idea to deployment
My biggest blog and video ever! 🎉 I wanted to show the process from idea to user, so I have created a blog and video, the projects themselves are similar but not exactly the same in each project, so check out both:
If you like my content and would like to support me, then you can share my free publication with your friends or even a friend.
Your content
Here are some great content I think you would like from the tech community.
12 month challenge
has created a challenge for himself, 12 projects in 12 months. Do you want to understand why and see how it is going after a few months in? Read below and follow Razvan Muntian for latest updates:
Open Source
I was part of the first cohort of the GitHub Accelerator in 2023 and one of the projects there Mockoon is still moving forwards as a business years later. I have kept in contact with Guillaume, the founder, and seen the project’s journey. I really respect the consistent push forwards even with the challenges that Open Source projects face with time and money.
Mockoon is the easiest and quickest way to run mock APIs locally. No remote deployment, no account required, open source.
Visit the Mockoon GitHub repo https://github.com/mockoon/mockoon
If you have got this far, thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter! See you in the next one.
Good to see you here after a long break 🙂
Welcome back, Eddie. Good to see you writing again. Great edition, with nice tips and awesome pictures.
Good luck with future editions.