This blog post uses storytelling to introduce beginners to Verifiable Credentials, followed by a tutorial on creating them in JavaScript and Kotlin. In Our Last Issue... In our previous issue, we met Dawson Webhart, a junior frontend software engineer at a fashion tech company. We learned that Dawson's company wants to adopt Web5, a new technology that ensures users can control their privacy and data portability. Nadia, Dawson's bestie at work and in real life, hopes they lead the company's shift to Web5. Dawson also faced a personal setback when her favorite social media app took Dawson's use ..read more

"Our current credit system says, 'Saddle yourself, so we can give you more to saddle.'" Eric Lapin, President of FormFree, stated during a recent TBD live stream. His comment sheds light on a fundamental paradox of the U.S. credit system: it often requires you to accumulate debt as a prerequisite for obtaining loans, leading to more debt. This systemic issue is underscored by recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which reveals that 1 in 5 applicants for mortgages, car loans, or other types of loans were rejected the highest rate in five years. This trend disproportionately imp ..read more

Technology adoption doesn't happen with one software engineer coding in solitude. Even though big companies like Meta and Microsoft boast of their humble beginnings in a dorm room or a garage, product adoption requires good marketing. Many software engineers view marketing skeptically, seeing it as a sleazy way to convert potential customers into consumers. They often strive to develop a product so good that it doesn't need marketing. Reality check: Even if your product has the best user experience or solves the world's biggest problems, no one will ever use it if they don't know that it exist ..read more

Starting a new job is thrilling because I get to learn new things. At my new job, I'm learning about Web5 and decentralization. So, I'm writing this blog post to share my insights about protocols and querying records. When I built my first Web5 application in July, I explored how to store data in a Decentralized Web Node (DWN)a personal data store in the Web5 ecosystem. I can write, edit, delete, and read data, also known as records, to my DWN. To interact with data in my DWN, I need a Decentralized Identifier (DID). DIDs are unique IDs in the digital world. DIDs also act as keys to accessing ..read more

Meet Dawson Meet Dawson Webhart, a software engineer who's part of the frontend team at StyleByte, a cutting-edge fashion company that uses augmented reality to style its customers. The team focuses on the part of the app that users see and interact with, and Dawson is a key contributor. Today, Dawson is at her desk, but she's not exactly working. She's scrolling through her phone, watching short workout videos to inspire her next gym session. "Here are my top 10 tips to getting a peach like Megan Thee Stallion," says the fitness instructor on the video. Dawson rolls her eyes just as her co-w ..read more

I find it hard to engage in discussions about my strategy for building a following and driving content engagement. While I never shy away from amplifying my content on social media, discussing these topics fills me with imposter syndrome, so I usually respond with, I dont know. I just do it. Additionally, for me to answer questions coherently, I need space to think and organize my thoughts. However, beneath these discussions lies a more profound question: How can a developer advocate genuinely leave a lasting impression? As much as I would like to deny it, I think its evident that within almos ..read more

The beauty of developer advocacy is that it offers the freedom to build anything, anytime, and in any way I desire. The downside is that it's a role that comes with its fair share of responsibilities, often leaving little room for personal exploration. While this allowed me to become an expert in my company's tools and products, it also means I risk falling behind on the latest technologies Due to the hectic move of my life, I didnt have reliable internet, so I couldn't hop on Zoom calls, watch Twitch streams, or host webinars for most of July. This was a blessing in disguise because it was th ..read more

In the tech industry, we often talk a lot about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Sometimes, we mention belonging. But, if were being honest very little improvements have been made to the state of diversity in our field. During the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement, companies made commitments to amplify diversity. Initiatives like renaming default branches from master to main were undertaken, but their true impact warrants scrutiny. The insights from Built In's State of Diversity 2022 Report illustrate my point: of the surveyed companies were over 70 percent white, with 73 percent acknow ..read more

Introduction Because Im an avid advocate for GitHub Copilot and other forms of AI-assisted programming, people often ask me the same questions: Does GitHub Copilot stunt learning? Will it limit my ability to learn code? Will I become overly reliant on it? Concerns about stunted learning, limited coding abilities, and over reliance are valid. However, based on my experience, intentional use of GitHub Copilot has actually sharpened my coding skills. Im an experienced JavaScript developer who used GitHub Copilot to gain proficiency in reading, writing, and debugging Python. While I successfully c ..read more

Is it possible to build a markdown editor in 2 minutes? It is for me (if I'm using GitHub Copilot). In fact, I proposed building a markdown editor with GitHub Copilot for a 15-minute demo, and my manager seemed a bit nervous that my idea was overly ambitious. However, he still entrusted me with the task. To my surprise, GitHub Copilot generated a markdown editor faster than I predicted. In this blog post, Ill teach you how to build a markdown editor, too! But before I do that, I want to manage readers' expectations. The markdown editor were building will be more functional than stylistic. Tr ..read more