Inspiring, Inspired.

Some thoughts on giving back to the community.

Last week I received a tweet, completely out of a blue, from someone who I respect and admire within the UX community. I’d had the pleasure of seeing them talk at a recent conference and found the content and approach to the project fascinating as well as humorously delivered. Their tweet was complementary and encouraging in message and has since given me the impetus to find the time to work on my own projects and all-importantly, give back to the community starting again here with this post.

It’s something I try to do on occasion myself. For instance, I’ve got into a habit of browsing the Debut section of Dribbble rather than Popular. I feel giving constructive feedback to a newcomer to the community a better use of my time than adding an addition ‘like’ to an already celebrated shot. I believe this is an unbiased way to consume the content of this particular service, which is sometimes called-out for the vacuous comments that are added.

Taking care not to go off track here, my point is that openness and encouragement, be it from a well established member of your particular discipline, a peer or a complete stranger, is what separates our industry from so many others and makes it a real pleasure to work in.