My 2023 Year in Review
Tags: devimpact2023, career, yearinreview
Published: 2024-01-07 00:21:09

Another year, another year in review. Let's get to it!

## Work

2022 ended with layoffs at Netlify, so coming back from the Christmas break still felt a bit weird. I was glad that I was not part of the layoffs, but it still felt weird surviving them.

Regardless, I got back in the saddle for 2023. Being on the frameworks team at Netlify means you never have a dull day. 😅

I ended up creating the Remix Netlify Edge Functions adapter.

{% embed https://github.com/netlify/remix-compute/pull/16 %}

I also, along with the rest of the team, continued to work on the Next.js runtime for Netlify.

{% embed https://github.com/netlify/next-runtime %}

Eventually, the Remix Netlify Functions adapter made its way into the remix-compute repository, but that was more Logan from the Remix team than me. I just brought it across the finish line.

{% embed https://github.com/netlify/remix-compute/pull/83 %}

### More Layoffs

More layoffs happened at Netlify in July, which I did survive once again, but I saw some great teammates leave the organization. It was stressful, and the work I did on the frameworks team was pretty demanding as well, and I kind of got burnt out.

That said, my team there is still awesome and my manager, Marc Littlemore (@marclittlemore) was the best. Always championing for me and always up for a good chat even during stressful times. Aside from Marc, Claire Knight, who was my previous manager and then director of my part of the organization, was also wonderful. Both are really great, genuine people who have your back. No Game of Thrones shit going on there. I was so lucky to have them as managers.

In the end, though, it was time for a change. I want to thank all my Netlipeeps for being so awesome while I was there.

### New Beginnings

For those that know me, I'm a big fan of open source. I've been working in open source since 2015, and professionally since January 2020. I actually used to work at [dev.to](https://dev.to) where you might be reading this year in review post.

The way I decide to contribute to open source projects is I find a project I like, use, or both. That's how it started for DEV, and that's how it started for where I work now, OpenSauced!

I think my first contribution to the OpenSauced organization was a couple of years ago. I was a fan of all the work Brian Douglas (@bdougieyo) had been doing at GitHub in DevRel, and in his new company, OpenSauced.

I first met bdougie on the DEV Twitch stream a couple of years ago where we discussed Hacktoberfest, open source and OpenSauced.

{% embed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1KCS6C4Rus %}

And then we hung out again a couple of times on my own [Twitch stream](https://nickyt.live).

{% embed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeBAuW5Kf8c %}

Fast-forward to me contributing to some of the projects in the OpenSauced org, and now I work there as a Senior Software engineer!

I started there, September 18th and haven't looked back. We had a successful Product Hunt launch in the fall, I shipped a tonne of stuff, and we've got all kinds of goodies coming in 2024!

[![OpenSauced Product Hunt Launch](https://res.cloudinary.com/practicaldev/image/fetch/s--eONepXaO--/c_limit%2Cf_auto%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto%2Cw_800/https://ph-files.imgix.net/f9856dc9-ee15-4c91-8b4f-544f8d362a87.png%3Fauto%3Dformat%26fit%3Dcrop%26frame%3D1%26h%3D512%26w%3D1024)](https://www.producthunt.com/products/opensauced?utm_source=badge-featured&utm_medium=badge#opensauced)

## Content Creation

It was another big year for content creation for me.

### Blogging

First off, I have to give a big shoutout to my good friend and now co-worker Bekah (@BekahHW). Although I had blogged before working at OpenSauced, she pushed me to blog more.

I'm not going to list all my posts, but I wanted to drop a few that, I thought, were pretty solid.

{% embed https://dev.to/opensauced/boost-productivity-with-the-github-cli-2mne %}

{% embed https://dev.to/opensauced/supercharge-your-repository-with-code-owners-4clg %}

{% embed https://dev.to/opensauced/migrating-from-jest-to-vitest-for-your-react-application-1b75 %}

### Live Streaming

#### Streaming on Twitch

It was another big year for me on Twitch. Consistency is the name of the game. So many great guests throughout the year. I wrapped up the 2023 live stream season with Saron Yitbarek (@saronyitbarek) with a great discussion about [Not A Designer](https://notadesigner.io/subscribe?ref=oiDwhLbAda).

{% embed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHnlfLrpq9s %}

#### Streaming on the CFE YouTube Channel

I've been a fan of Brian Rinaldi's (@remotesynth) for a while. He's doing so many great things in the developer community, so when he asked if I'd like to start guest streaming on the CFE YouTube channel, it was a no-brainer.

The live stream is called 2 Full 2 Stack and I do it once a month, typically the second to last week of the month.

Here's one of the episodes if you want to get a feel for the live stream.

{% embed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj6ZYqmCmZo %}

### Podcasting

[My own podcast](https://www.nickyt.co/pages/podcast/) went to the wayside in 2023. I've got to get that back up and running in 2023. 😅

I still managed to make it on a bunch as a guest, though.

[![JavaScript Jam Podcast: Open Source Framework Maintenance with Nick Taylor from Netlify](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/43u1nk53i8is1952eiaj.png)](https://jsjam.transistor.fm/48)

[![Hadith tech with Nick Taylor](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/uqu7ctvbtg55tg1bipfl.png)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxrhk1-kJys)

[![Virtual Coffee Podcast, Season Seven Finale - Live with Nick Taylor](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ynkzed3qshxm7yfb2hna.png)](https://virtualcoffee.io/podcast/season-seven-finale-live-with-nick-taylor)

{% embed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN29LOTWh2Q %}

[![Jamstack Radio Ep. #138, What’s New with Next.js Featuring Nick Taylor of OpenSauced](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ahmx92ntwa2utx45pmyi.png)]()

### Talks

I gave some more talks at meetups and lunch and learns, but this year was the first time I gave a conference talk. Unfortunately, it wasn't in person, but it still felt good to give my first conference talk.

[![Nick Taylor's Node Congress 2023 Talk, Fresh: a New Full Stack Web Framework for Deno](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/bhyrafgdmcfh9jc3n8yb.png)](https://www.nickyt.co/talks/fresh--a-new-full-stack-web-framework-for-deno-node-congress/)

Once again, I was a part of the [front-end test fest expoert panel](https://applitools.com/resources/events/fetf2023-panel-future-of-testing-how-ai-can-accelerate-release-pipelines/). It was great hanging with Colby and Christina and Joe.

{% embed https://youtu.be/dlw_g3RoeEY %}

Here's [all my talks](https://www.nickyt.co/pages/talks/) if you want to check them out.

## Conferences

This was my first year attending conferences. Originally, I had planned to attend the one conference, [RenderATL](https://www.renderatl.com/) thanks to my work education stipend, but Netlify also sent me to [Remix Conf](https://remix.run/conf/2023). Later in the summer, I decided to attend one in Toronto on my own dime which was super fun as well, [Refactor: DX](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNoTOsTRYfvjiqZ8ttvNTxSH8KdfhCJAO).

I finally got to meet a tonne of people that I'd only ever spoken to on Zoom or Twitter. So great connecting with so many folks.

Here's a few pics:

**Remix Conf**

![Me and Ashley Narcisse at Remix Conf](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/m3wllhcg4yt1ecoar7f2.png)

![Me and Shruti Kapoor at Remix Cong](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/hrr8q6t2mlgbxx0wkquf.png)


![Me and Henri Helvetica at Remix Conf](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/mxeamflf02l13v8kh174.png)


![Me, Kent, Heather and Edmund at Remix Conf 2023](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/m4c2kqi9ukzehjymp65o.png)

Here's my whole [Remix Conf 2023 album](https://photos.app.goo.gl/9pcQcrhtZn1ECrft7) for anyone interested.

**RenderATL**

![Me and a bunch of my virtual coffee crew at RenderATL](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/e3cxq10ngty6u0fqhyn9.png)

![Me, Nerando and Taylor at RenderATL](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/r9ba3jqyb74q8sfzmciw.png)

![Me, Danny Thompson and Francesco Ciulla at RenderATL](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/0ae5eavgs14vv56sr0sl.png)

![Me and Shaundai Person at RenderATL](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/uarb258mri4oovglnlor.png)

![Me and Ryan Burgess at RenderATL](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/jy1msqhj157ummf7udy1.png)

Here's my [whole RenderATL 2023 album](https://photos.google.com/u/1/share/AF1QipN-5fVQ-dPkumkUHq5FdSC3HYgsVLfqrxHUcrtxYtQUSXUQyGitVtSnLT7IB2F_mw?key=aHhLYnR4SVpxa2NrME42b203WVY1ZEdJbTlsNUNB) if folks want to check out more pics.

**Refactor: DX**


![Me, James Quick, and Joe Young at Refactor: DX 2023](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/bn1021ei7f4yujo8w806.png)

![Me, Taz Singh and Stefan Judis at Refactor: DX 2023](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/r8wus3njn4ywbgst3six.png)

![Me and Darcy Clarke at Refactor: DX 2023](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/vs601ku2fajyrjxm3gb1.png)

![Me and Rishab Kumar at Refactor: DX 2023](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/9fawnlqowddp1vjnl3en.png)

Here's my [whole Refactor: DX 2023 album](https://photos.app.goo.gl/D1rXkk28Bjyig7GS8) if folks would like to check out more pics.

## Wrapping Things Up

What a whirlwind year 2023 was. It started off with coming back from Christmas break post layoffs at Netlify and finishing off the year with making a big impact at OpenSauced.

I'm pumped for 2024! How about you?

Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@kajtek?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Kajetan Sumila</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-screenshot-of-a-computer-bxaqUeVIGHU?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>