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Top Resources for Developers

May 18, 2022· 28 min· 898 views·Watch on YouTube

Speakers

Łukasz Kłudziński, a React Native developer at Callstack, talks with Ola on Callstack’s Coffee Talk about ways developers can find and follow technical news.

Sort news by how much depth it offers

Łukasz frames the discussion around finding, sorting, and consuming developer news. He distinguishes quick headlines from deep dives, while Ola adds that beginners and experienced developers may need different kinds of sources.

Use newsletters and Twitter for current news

Ola describes subscribing to 10 or 15 newsletters, including JavaScript Weekly and newsletters with weekly riddles, but notes that newsletter coverage can overlap and arrive about a week late. They recommend Twitter for faster updates, starting with organization accounts and curated lists such as This Week in React. Łukasz also names people to follow, including Dan Abramov, Cassidy Williams, Evan Bacon, and Kent C. Dodds, while cautioning that Twitter can be repetitive and stressful.

Choose podcasts and videos for a useful format

They describe podcasts as a way to listen while commuting or walking, with formats ranging from loose conversations to deeper technical episodes. On YouTube, Łukasz recommends Fireship for short explainers and William Candillon for React Native animation tutorials and live coding. Callstack’s conference talks and panel discussions are also available on its Engineers channel.

Use blogs and conferences for lasting ideas

Łukasz says blog posts on topics such as React performance can remain useful years after publication, and mentions Medium and DEV.to as places to revisit older articles. He watches conference talks for inspiration and examples of how experienced developers approach a subject, naming React Native EU, React Conf, Chain React, and React Summit.

Follow release notes and technical discussions

Ola says getting excited about release notes can be a sign of growing familiarity with a technology. They also point to GitHub discussions and the React Native community Discord as sources for detailed conversations about topics such as Fabric and Hermes, while noting that keeping up with the volume takes time.

Takeaways

  • Use newsletters for a regular roundup and Twitter for faster updates, while expecting overlap and noise.
  • Follow organization accounts and curated lists to make a technical news feed easier to navigate.
  • Choose podcasts or videos when you want learning that fits into a commute or other routine.
  • Revisit blog posts and conference talks for practices and perspectives that outlast a news cycle.
  • Read release notes and community discussions when you want more technical detail and already know the basics.

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