{"id":8095,"date":"2020-08-25T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/?p=8095"},"modified":"2021-12-23T10:56:40","modified_gmt":"2021-12-23T09:56:40","slug":"women-techmakers-gdg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/community-management\/women-techmakers-gdg\/","title":{"rendered":"Women Techmakers and Google Developer Group"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTable Of Contents\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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  1. Women Techmakers and GDG<\/a>
  2. Being a Tech Community Manager<\/a>
  3. Diversity in Tech<\/a>
  4. Why and how to become a Community Manager<\/a>
  5. The Success of a Tech Community<\/a><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n

    Rihanna Kedir is co-lead<\/span> of Google Developer Group (GDG)<\/a> in Rome<\/span>, and ambassador of Women Techmakers, a Google<\/span>\u2019s program that provides visibility, community<\/span>, and resources for women in technology<\/a>. We interviewed her to learn more about the experience<\/span> of being involved in such communities<\/span>, and how this can bring value to a developer’s career<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Before you keep on reading, let us suggest you read our full guide on how to be a better developer community manager<\/a> and go through our list of the best tools for planning a virtual conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Women Techmakers and GDG<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Hi Rihanna! Please tell us about you and your tech communities<\/span>, their members and objectives.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I am Women Techmakers Ambassador and Google Developer<\/span> Groups<\/span> Rome co-lead<\/span>. Women Techmakers is Google\u2019s program that provides visibility, community<\/span>, and resources for women in technology<\/span>.  GDG is a global community<\/span> and provides a place for developers<\/span> to connect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Members meet other local developers<\/span> with similar interests in technology<\/span>. Our events include talks on a wide range of technical topics where you can learn new skills<\/span> or improve tech skills<\/span>  through hands-on workshops<\/span> and study jams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Being a Tech Community Manager<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    What is it like being a tech community manager<\/span> in Italy<\/span>? What is the tech scene in your country?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We are in Rome<\/span>, where there are a good number of tech communities<\/span>. Based on the interest and on the technology<\/span>, there are different meetups<\/a>, events and conferences that one can attend too. As a community manager, in some way that obliges you to continuously check out the different events and communities<\/span> in order not to schedule events that overlap or are repetitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What were the biggest problems you’ve had to overcome and how have you done this?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is more a challenge rather than a problem, but  as Women<\/span> Techmakers Ambassador one of the challenges in increasing women and minorities<\/span> participation in the events we organize. To overcome that we participate in different local events and initiatives and we try to reach out to invite personally at our events or either propose and organize events that could be valuable. For instance IamRemarkable<\/a> is a workshop<\/span> that we organized in February of this year. A workshop<\/span> dedicated for empowering women<\/span> and underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace<\/span> and on privacy<\/span>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Diversity in Tech<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    So it seems that encouraging diversity<\/span> is crucial within your tech<\/span> community<\/span>. How important is it to have a code of conduct<\/span>? Have you ever had to apply it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Our tech<\/span> community<\/span> is led by majority women with different tech<\/span> expertise<\/span> and background. We encourage Diversity<\/span> and we always try to create \u2018safe\u2019 events where everyone feels welcomed and included. As a black<\/span> woman, I can say I am a minority<\/span> in tech<\/span> and one of my reasons for becoming a Women Techmaker ambassador is to encourage diversity<\/span>. Having a code of conduct<\/span> is helpful. Fortunately, during my leading time, it never happened to apply it and I am glad for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why and how to become a Community Manager<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Why did you decide to become a community manager, and what is the most valuable thing you got in return? How do you balance your work time and personal life<\/span> with being a community manager?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I have been mentoring<\/span> and volunteering<\/span> in local tech communities<\/span> for years. Participating in communities<\/span> helped me grow professionally and personally a lot. And that is what inspired me to become a tech community<\/span> organizer as a way to contribute back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In terms of balancing work and personal life<\/span> with community manager activities, well,\u00a0 I like to do it, in some way I feel like I have always done it and I take that as part of \u2018entertainment\u2019 somehow. One important thing though is the relationship<\/span> that you have with the other leads, organizers, active members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In our community,<\/span> we communicate with the organizers almost daily and we support each other a lot. That helps to split activities and responsibilities based on how busy is one in personal and work life and also based on how good is one to do the required activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What skills<\/span> and experience<\/span> does a tech community manager need? What is the secret to building relationships<\/span> in a tech community<\/span>, and how do you maintain these relationships<\/span>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Among the skills<\/span> needed to be a community manager, I believe good communication skills<\/span> is a good start. In order to build relationships<\/span> and maintain these relationships<\/span>, you have to be able to talk to people<\/span> and you have to listen to what they expect. Being able to listen to community<\/span> members and understand their expectations helps to succeed in organising<\/span> the next events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     In our community<\/span> we organize<\/span> events with some objectives<\/span>, such as getting certified, learning<\/span> new technologies<\/span> and we try our best to engage the interested persons and help out till we reach together the objectives<\/span>. During these multiple events we have established good relationships<\/span> with our members, and friendships<\/span> among participants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The other skill<\/span> is to be agile, you might need to act proactively and with creativity<\/span>  in certain situations. One other skill<\/span> is also organizational<\/span> skill<\/span>, you are constantly juggling various projects<\/span> and coordinating with different people<\/span> and having good organizational<\/span> skills<\/span> will help a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Success of a Tech Community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Please, list some dos and don’ts for aspiring tech community<\/span> managers. What distinguishes a good tech community<\/span> from a bad one?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dos and don\u2019t might depend on different factors: the purpose of your community<\/span>, what do you aspire for in your community<\/span> etc…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For me here are some dos:<\/p>\n\n\n\n