Updates - Life, Tech, Travel, DevRel.
Tags: devrel, productivity
Published: 2022-07-06 08:22:35


Well, the purpose of this blog post is to share **what I was up to for the past few months** but before we dive into that, let me refresh your memory a little.

A few months ago, I took it upon myself to use _Javascript_ in every place I could and I am still sticking to that - obviously, I am kidding. But it looks like Web3 is the new keyword and it has been making the online world crazy - at least that’s what seems. 

What is important to understand is that _Web3_ is comparatively new, and exciting but complex and being a full stack developer is always an advantage even if/when you want to explore the Web3 ecosystem.

My thoughts on web3? I have some doubts but I am thrilled to see what it has for all of us developers. 

I took a break and what I saw when I almost made a come back was that everyone was talking about web3, so I did what a sensible (and smart) developer would do. I signed up for the Goa conference, thanks to [Francesco's](https://twitter.com/FrancescoCiull4) [giveaway](https://twitter.com/FrancescoCiull4/status/1536233556086767617?s=20&t=SSaFUDLGckj0LDyE2A-dZA). Are you joining? Drop a DM. 

The last six months have been excitingly good. By the end of 2021, I planned to travel this year and that’s what I did. 

Not only traveling in the **real world** - {% embed https://twitter.com/arorachakit/status/1493511612912869376?s=20&amp;t=UKfODsGfSRTah5b-J2kSSw %}


but also in the tech world - joined **Storyblok as a DevRel.** {% embed https://twitter.com/arorachakit/status/1495740783751749635?s=20&t=SSaFUDLGckj0LDyE2A-dZA %}

A secret - I have plans to travel more in the real world, to do some more adventures, and also to meet amazing people I got connected with over the months. 

By the way - This Rajasthan trip was my **first solo trip**. I encourage everyone to travel solo.

- Made a lot of friends 

- Stayed in hostels

- Made and captured a lot of memories. 

- Visited - Jaipur, Jaisalmer, and Jodhpur!

- Even camped in **Thar Dessert**!


I went to Rajasthan before starting as a DevRel. Let’s talk a little about DevRel as well.

A lot of you have asked me in the DM about **the role of DevRel** and well, you are in luck. 

I am back with all the answers (hopefully) and this is the first question I’ll be replying to. 

## What is even DevRel? 

The google definition describes it as a marketing body but we are way more than that. From understanding all the features of the product to being a connector between the developers and the product, from making tutorials to giving demos, from writing articles to managing the documentation, we do all of it. 

A DevRel does a lot of tasks which vary according to the organization they are working with. Some of them are similar for all of us which are -

- **Managing community.** 

- **Hosting and participating in the conferences to make it easy for the developers working on the product.** 

- **Enhancing engagement between the external users or developers.**

With the addition of the above-mentioned, work has gotten interesting which inspired me to explore some other frameworks that I normally don’t use **like React, and Next.js - yes, yes, Vue is still my favorite.** Since as a developer, you can never stop exploring what I already mentioned in one of my blogs - [How to become a full-stack developer](https://hashnode.chakitarora.com/full-stack-web-journey-simplified).

A few days ago, I watched Panchayat Season 2, and well, nothing. It was a nice series and a much-needed break from reality. Traveling, meeting new people, new work roles, trips, and traveling again do get a little overwhelming. 

## Let me share the list of things I did:

- I was invited as a **guest speaker** at a webinar hosted by [@girlcodeitpune](https://twitter.com/girlcodeitpune?s=20&t=SSaFUDLGckj0LDyE2A-dZA) on Full stack developer journey. 
{% embed https://twitter.com/girlcodeitpune/status/1514810272208207878?s=20&amp;t=UKfODsGfSRTah5b-J2kSSw %}

     - It was the first online webinar I attended where I was the guest speaker - an exciting experience for me on an individual level. 

     - I gave my input about how one can start their journey, how management is necessary, how spending too much time is not necessary, why one should explore and try to build more projects, and how it is a never-ending journey. 

- **I planned a trip to Kedarnath** - a little difficult but mostly fun adventure. And yes, I covered a couple of other places during this journey like Rishikesh, Mussoorie, and Dehradun. Visited a couple of holy places as well. Look at this tweet. 
{% twitter 1525986785141985280 %}


- **Attended #ngindia** conference and spoke about Storyblok right after coming from the Mountains.

     - I got prepared for it under 2 hours in a cab journey - like I said exciting adventures. 

     - I met colleagues from Storyblok & some people from Twitter. 

     - It was a thrilling experience - it took a little time to get my screen displayed (we all know the connection issues during the conferences) but overall, it went well obviously.
{% embed https://twitter.com/arorachakit/status/1530529857955737600?s=20&amp;t=UKfODsGfSRTah5b-J2kSSwI %} 

- I attended a few other meetups like **HackThisFall** and met online friends. 
{% embed https://twitter.com/arorachakit/status/1531123279192174592?s=20&amp;t=UKfODsGfSRTah5b-J2kSSw %} 

- I recorded a **podcast with Azure Developer Community** about **DevRel journey** and what are the **general skills required to be a DevRel**. 
{% embed https://twitter.com/azdevindia/status/1539973794332217346?s=20&amp;t=UKfODsGfSRTah5b-J2kSSw %} 

Just to add - I stayed in Delhi for a while and met a lot more online friends. This was one of the new years resolutions as well - to meet a lot of online friends. 


And it doesn't end here, I even went to Pune. Too much travel in such a short span! Met more friends there! 

The best thing that happened was that I felt more productive than ever. My productivity has increased over the months. With all the travel, I now like working from cafes and co-working spaces. Even now after coming back from all the trips & traveling, I go to a cafe thrice a week to work, to have a walk around, and it does help more than you think. I'd recommend you to give it a try as well.

## What are my upcoming plans?

- Awesome threads - I’ll be sharing **my journey**.
- Blogs.
- A lot of stories that I am excited to share.
- Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about the Youtube channel - preparing a lot for that too. Stay tuned and subscribe if you haven’t already. Here is the [link](https://www.youtube.com/user/arorachakit).
- Going to attend conferences - might join **React India Conference** as well. 

## What’s up with you all?