I conducted a community survey and here’s what I learned

Last month I had a crisis of confidence. And so I do what everyone does when they doubt themselves. I ran a community survey (lol) 😅. Whilst it was admittedly a rushed, unplanned and reactionary activity, the results have been quite interesting — especially in proving a few hypotheses I had about people who know me and consume my content on the internet.

I shared this survey on LinkedIn, Twitter, Twitch and The Claw Discord. I’m not sure how many people saw the link to the survey, but I received 138 responses. I think that’s a great turnout! (Note to self: next time ask people where they found the link to the survey in the actual survey.)

Let's take a look at the findings.

… but the internet is saturated with content for beginners.

• How to get started with [LIBRARY/FRAMEWORK/INTEGRATION]

• How to build your first [INSERT_THING_HERE]

• How to get your [FIRST/NEXT] job in tech

• A day in the life of a software engineer (OMG SO GLAMOROUS, MUCH TECH)

• What is [WEB_FUNDAMENTAL_HERE]?

Why is there so much of this stuff? Because content for beginners gets views; everyone can be a beginner in tech and and a result, this type of content can appeal to and be accessible to anyone. If you’re a company, “getting started” content gets people using your product quickly. And it’s a great gig for creators if you’re on a video-centric platform. Get the views, grow the channel, get paid. Beginner content is also theoretically quicker to create (but disclaimer: not necessarily easier to create well). Spin up a framework boilerplate project and talk through the moving parts; job done. Build a quick chatbot app that won’t scale in production; no problem. Explain a mind-blowing concept in under 60 seconds; people will bookmark and share that.

There’s definitely a place for this type of content. It won’t provide any solutions to that obscure problem you’ve been Googling for two weeks, but it will get people interested in technology and the possibilities it unfolds. And I’m sure there are many developers who have been inspired by this type of content to get into tech and make a great career for themselves. But what about when you’ve got a steady job in tech — what do you consume on the internet to help you level up, make you think, or be entertained by?

96% of people who took part in my survey work in tech (not just limited to software engineers). And 91% of those participants have 3+ years experience in tech. That’s 91% of my audience who are not beginners. I acknowledge that there is some bias in this survey in that I surveyed my audience, people who already know me. In the past I hypothesised in many conversations with my peers that most of my audience are pretty senior in terms of technical experience given the types of discussions we often have in the Discord or live on stream. And now I have the data that proves it.

In the crisis of confidence referenced at the top of this post, I started to doubt my place on the internet. Fewer people that I’d like engage with the things I create for work, which is understandable given it is aimed at mid-senior level developers. And my approach to streaming and building my non-work weird projects on stream maybe doesn’t appeal to a very wide audience. In light of this I wondered, do I need to experiment with different types of content? Take a different approach, perhaps? Do I finally need to create that course for beginners I’ve been thinking about for all those years? Do I need to stop building stupid (albeit fun) projects and create things that people can take more seriously so that they can take me more seriously? For now I think the answer to all these questions is “no”.

Honestly, I have no idea what “good” really looks like in terms of numbers; and I’m usually the first person to say numbers don’t matter. What matters is the value you can offer to individuals. Something that I hope I’ll be cited for when I am one day completely irrelevant is, “If anything I do, say or create helps at least one person, then I have succeeded.”

90% of survey respondents said they enjoyed consuming technical content outside of work hours. This number surprised me given the survey was completed by mainly mid-senior level people. As a rather senior technologist, I prefer to stay away from the internet entirely after work hours — but this could be due to my home/family situation and the different types of offline hobbies I have, so I think there’s a lot of nuance to this that probably can’t be captured in a question with a binary answer.

Most likely, people with jobs in tech don’t have the time during work hours to consume content online, and so they save it up for later to watch/read/listen at their own leisure. It could simply be that people enjoy listening to tech podcasts on their daily commute (which is technically outside of work hours).

The survey included a free text field to answer the question “What are you looking for in online tech content?” Here's a summary of the answers for survey respondents who had 10+ years of experience. Senior technologists want to consume content that is:

1. Educational and practical: Developers want comprehensive, in-depth tutorials and guides based on real-world applications and practical examples. Two particular requests stand out: “Advanced shit,” and “Breakdowns and deep subjects. Surface level stuff is kinda saturated.”

2. Entertaining and fun: Developers value content that is not only educational but also engaging and entertaining. (Again, this probably highlights the survey bias here, as you probably know by now I claim to write code for your entertainment.)

3. Relevant and timely: Developers want up-to-date information on industry trends and recent advancements to help keep their skills fresh at work.

4. Unique and creative: Developers also value unique, creative, and unconventional content, including quirky projects and surprising ideas. (Maybe I’m onto something with my stupid projects, after all.)

5. Concise and clear: Developers prefer straightforward, concise content without unnecessary waffle or theatrics, focusing on clear instructions and explanations. Some respondents specifically asked for “No drama!”

All of the above doesn’t really tell me anything new, because all of the above is what I want, and I have always strived to create what I want to consume. That being said, it’s delightful to gather data that confirms my hypotheses, and it gives me comfort that by continuing to do what I’ve been doing, I will be satisfying at least one person somewhere, somehow.

The final survey question asked participants how they like to learn. Surprisingly, written content came out on top, followed by video content, courses, live content, podcasts and then “other”. It was encouraging to see written content at the top of the list, given that’s the type of content I feel like I’m best at creating to help people learn.

There’s a market out there for any type of technical content that people will choose to consume. We’re in some weird kind of Attention Economy, and I’d like to think that in this economy, particularly internet-savvy connoisseurs (usually senior technologists) will be very intentional about what they consume. And if they choose to consume what I create, whether that’s through reading my latest blog post, catching the odd live stream, or bookmarking something I post on Twitter, then I’ve achieved something worthy of celebrating.

Now if only there was something to prevent me having such regular crises of confidence. Maybe I'll consume some content on that.