OpenJS World

OpenJS World Keynote: Michael Jennings, Inclusion Strategy at Netflix

During OpenJS World, which was held virtually June 2-3, we heard from many inspiring people involved in all areas of technology. In this keynote series, we will highlight the key points from the keynote videos. We hope to get a highlight of the speakers in a way that allows for people to hone in on the part of the talk that interests them the most.

What is inclusion? Michael Jennings is the Inclusion Strategy Partner at Netflix and utilizes many of the tools created at OpenJS. He talks about creating an inclusion footprint and why it is conducive to businesses. Inclusion is an extension of companies themselves. Companies tend to market, whether unintentionally or intentionally, based on the people in their company. Jennings says that the greatest innovation you can make is to empower people.

Jennifs covers the importance of asking questions, how best to lead to the answers that you want. He talks about built-in biases, not only in an organization but within each member. He also says there is no quick fix, and that inclusion is a journey to undertake. He makes a great analogy about inclusion and bias as a piece of complex art, that is different for each individual. We need to see not just ethnicity, but different demographics and experiences. 

HR is puzzle work. It’s hard to focus on experiences that meld into your project. Be innovative with people, not just technology.

Jennings talks about self-reflection being paramount to the process. Who do you work well with, who do you not work well with, who do you dislike, who can you not stand? When someone is different at the table, what is your instinct to do? How do you react and why? These are all questions he brings up as being important. 

Ultimately, inclusion is an opportunity for all, not just for our leaders.

Link to full OpenJS World video here

Inclusion footprint 0:54

Asking uncomfortable questions 1:50

What is inclusion? 3:45

Think about yourself 5:31

Dealing with biases 7:11

Innovative with spaces 7:59

Things conducive to self-work 8:35

All of our opportunities, not just leaders 10:20

Sign up for updates on OpenJS Word 2022 happening June 7 and 8 in Austin, TX

We recently interviewed Rahul Kumar Saini, software engineer at Successive Technologies, about his experience taking the OpenJS Foundation Node.js Application Developer certification. Here’s what we learned.

Why get certified through OpenJS?

The OpenJS Foundation is a well-reputed organization among the JavaScript community, with a history of many successful projects that has a large impact on the javascript echo system. The certification is provided in collaboration with Linux Foundation that encourages me to get certified with OpenJS.

How was the test-taking experience? Compared to vendor-specific certifications, how is a vendor-neutral test different?

The test-taking experience is quite good, the examination platform was user-friendly and easy to use. The pattern of the exam was problem-based not just objective type. In my opinion, vendor-neutral tests add extra trust and security in comparison to vendor-specific certification.

How has the certification helped or added value for you?

It boosts my knowledge since the curriculum of the exam was covering all Node.js core modules/APIs in detail. It helps me to explore the best practices and standards.

What are your career goals and how do you think certification can help in reaching them?

I want to get expertise in Node.js and Javascript ecosystems, and I think this certification is a milestone toward this journey.

Anything else to add?

I like the problem-based exam pattern that also tests your abilities in real-life scenarios instead of just multiple-type objective questions.

Congrats to Rahul for this great accomplishment!

If you are considering taking a Node.js Training or certification exam, now is a great time! Now, through July 9th, you can save 60% on all Node.js offerings with code NODE60. Head over to the Linux Foundation Training and Certification site to snag these savings. 

During OpenJS World, which was held virtually June 2-3, we heard from many inspiring people involved in all areas of technology. In this keynote series, we will highlight the key points from the keynote videos. We hope to get a highlight of the speakers in a way that allows for people to hone in on the part of the talk that interests them the most.

During the OpenJS World Keynote Panel on Getting Hired, Scott Hanselman spoke to leaders in the tech world to hear their insights on best practices for getting hired, especially during a pandemic, for entry-level job seekers and people of diverse backgrounds.

Hanselman spoke to Zainab Ebrahimi, CEO at Flourish, Jerome Hardaway, Executive Developer of Vets Who Code, and Saron Yitbek, Founder of Codenubi. 

Haselman started the discussion by highlighting the impact the pandemic has had on employment. Ebrahimi dove into this topic by sharing an example of how difficult it has gotten for entry-level job seekers to get hired. She explained how she recently saw a job posting for an entry-level position asking for five years of working experience. Yitbek mentioned how a shift from calling the position junior developer to early career developer shows that there is hope and that the industry is slowly becoming more open-minded in the skill levels they are willing to accept. 

Hardaway talked about the importance of upscaling your skillset. The conversation discussed the importance of focusing and investing time in mastering a specific skill. Yitbarek talked about how people often find themselves bouncing around from learning one skill to another; she ties this in with a Hardaway comment about the importance of learning how to plan and be organized.

In their closing thoughts, all the speakers agreed that the barriers to entry for entry level job seekers and for people of diverse backgrounds are high. They all focused on how the community needs to accept people for just being themselves, take them as a whole, allow room for learning from mistakes and invest in being patient and teaching skills. While acknowledging that baby steps are being taken to make it a more welcoming environment, they recognized that a lot more needs to be done to address this wide set of issues.

Full video here

Broken down by section:

Panel introduction 0:24

Flourish and coaching 1:43

Saron talks about helping early-career jobs 2:57

Jerome talks about upscaling the skillset 4:18

Stack you need to create a webpage 8:05

Importance of focusing 10:06

A new way of studying and planning 11:25

Diversity and importance of belonging 15:36

How to create a more welcoming environment 19:03

Does Open source matter on the resume? 23:36

Closing thoughts and call to action 25:19

Sign up for updates on OpenJS Word 2022 happening June 7 and 8 in Austin, TX

During the OpenJS World open Keynote discussion, Anna Lytical deconstructs the world around them to create entertaining and educational coding tutorials. Anna Lytical is “a sickeningly entertaining and educational” drag queen specializing in technical education content creation. 

In this conversation, Anna highlights the parallels between a drag makeup look and coding. For example, in code the cost of importing a package could make your applications slower, larger or more confusing to contribute. While in make-up, it can take a lot of physical space to store. Anna uses a diagram of an eye to illustrate the grid and they use this diagram to help make it easier to understand code. In order to explain how the application of purple eyeshadow on the crease can be converted into a more polished look, they help to elucidate this by creating a new function. In this, they take two areas in the function to be their input, and they’ll get their color by adding new strings. The coding on the right side of the video directly corresponds with all the steps needed to create this make-up look.

Additionally, Anna explains what the Learning Ladder is and how they view the path of someone becoming a great engineer as a ladder. They talk about how sometimes the steps seem clear but the rungs seem to be too far apart. Sometimes people don’t always climb the standard ladder to a Computer Science career because they sometimes don’t have all the knowledge needed to take those steps. Anna explains that this is where their content comes in as it helps to bridge those gaps. 

Anna takes something people know, whether it is make-up, drag or JavaScript code and they combine it with something new by drawing connections and making it relatable to the viewers and their experiences. Anna nicely demonstrates how coding can be just as creative as make-up can be.

OpenJS World Full Video Here

Broken down by section:

Introduction 0:01

Understanding Drag 0:33

Cost of importing a package 2:58

The eye 3:18

Completed Make-up look and code 8:03

The Learning Ladder 9:23

Anna Lytical Courses 10:30

Closing comments 12:42

Thank you Anna Lytical for showing us the creative side of coding in a super entertaining way!

OpenJS World Keynote Series: The Roaring Twenties for JavaScript

During the OpenJS World Welcome Keynote, Robin Bender Ginn, Executive Director of the OpenJS Foundation, and Todd Moore, Vice President of Open Technology and Developer Advocacy at IBM, discussed JavaScript and the importance of diversity, the effect of the pandemic on the JavaScript ecosystem and gave updates on some of the many the projects hosted by the OpenJS Foundation

Ginn started the Keynote discussion by drawing a parallel to the roaring 1920’s to the 2020’s and highlighted how both were dramatic decades of change. During the conversation, Ginn and Moore shed light on how the presence of systemic bias in the tech industry can be a hindrance in the growth of JavaScript. Both the keynote speakers were hopeful that this bias could be overcome in the years to come. They highlighted OpenJS’ efforts to create a diverse and varied stakeholder community, while also recognizing there is a long way to go and steps like putting more structure around DEI programs helps bridge that gap.

The on-going pandemic has led to a sharp rise in online commerce and the digital delivery of healthcare and education. JavaScript was the key tool behind this. For example, Netflix, an end-user and contributor to the Node.js project, saw a heavier reliance on its IT infrastructure during the pandemic.

In their closing thoughts, both the speakers agreed that Node.js was key to many companies’ growth because its maintainers ensure that it is neutral and diverse in nature. Ginn and Moore also reiterated the importance of the role open-source plays in speeding up innovation and acts as a force for good in global economies. 

OpenJS World Welcome Keynote Full video here
Broken down by section:
Member introduction 0:04
Systemic bias in the tech industry 2:19
Members 3:08
Pandemic and its effect on the 3:51
A closer look at Netflix’s Open Source Software 4:09
Milestones from OpenJS Project Communities 5:06
Project Graduation 7:01
Collaboration Network 8:31
NodeJS Certification Program 10:43
New Individual Supporter Program 11:33
Neutrality and the role foundations play 12:26
Leading Standard Development Orgs 15:00
Why is IBM contributing to the OpenJS Foundation 16:47
Closing thoughts and call to action 17:06