Looking Forward into 2016
This is the spiritual sequel to my previous post. You don't need to read it, but it might provide some context on some of these ideas.
I decided that with everything still in flux and forever changing, it's easier for me to list out the interests and ideas, rather than concrete requirements for individual projects. Not sure how they'll pan out exactly, but here's the "what, why, and how" for the plan for 2016.
Focus My Content
What? Any content I produce, (e.g. blog posts, YouTube videos, presentations, etc...) should be able to be categorized into one of three categories: JavaScript App Dev (Primary), JavaScript Game Dev (Secondary), Gaming (Personal).
Why? When I go back through my blog, it feels a little too unstructured. As in, the author knows lots of stuff, but appears to be all over the place with his content. Maybe that's what people's blogs tend to be, but I'd like to focus my efforts and see if writing content in a focused way leads me into something of a specialty.
How? The three categories listed above should act as a sort of guide before I spend time working on new content. Plus, it should allow me to plan what I'm going to write about and not about just writing anything.
Talk About Today
What? Might seem obvious, but I should be talking about what I am working on topics that I'm not familiar with, but seem to be trending or something that I want to learn "for the next project".
Why? In order to get involved with conferences or to force myself to learn new subject, I would sometimes volunteer content for conferences or events on subjects that I wasn't all too familiar with. It only resulted in stress and generally content that I wouldn't call my best.
How? When I'm working on a project, I hope to factor in some time to generate content that relates the part of the project I'm working on. For example, if I'm spending time setting up a build script for a project, document what I'm doing in blog posts or slide deck for a presentation. I could possibly review it and screen capture the steps and turn it into a series of YouTube videos. Either way, it'll involve some premeditation on my part and possibly slow down "progress", but I think that in time it'll become a great way to document what I'm learning, as I'm learning it.
Get Back to Games
What? I really love video games. It's a passion of mine, and I'd like to get back into sharing that side of me with the universe.
Why? I think adding something a bit more personal to my online presence will add some personality to my content. I don't want to pollute the content I produce, so I'll have to do it in a smart way. Still, I think it's important to keep passion as part of what I think about and share with everyone. Maybe it'll inspire me with new ideas or something.
How? Carefully and cautiously. As I said, I don't want to pollute my content stream with a bunch of random video game posts. Hopefully one of my planned projects comes together and I'll have a way for people to filter out that content as necessary. But again, we'll see how it goes.
Become a Producer
What? If I want to get structured and scheduled with my content, I need to start thinking like a producer and plan out what I will be making regardless of what it is. I plan out what the content is, schedule when it's going to get created, edited, and released, and ensure that time is available to actually make it happen.
Why? I like sharing content, not only for some kind of self indulgence, but because it forces me to think about what I've learned and ensures that I won't lose the knowledge, and that I actually understand it. To make sure that I stay on track and that the content continues to fit into everything else I'd like to accomplish in the new year.
How? After this post, I'm going to spend some time planning out content for the year. Planning will start with looking at my projects, determining what topics I can generate content from, and what it will cost with respect to time, to generate that content. If I have more time one month, I might plan on some richer content like videos or some other ideas I have mulling around in my brain. If not, I can rely on my blogging skills.
The Point
Like the previous post, this is more for me than it is for the audience. It is a concrete representation of my reflection on the year gone by, and how I can take the lessons learned and use them moving forward.
Let's see what I can do with the upcoming year. I'll probably blog about the results in 365 days...or so.
Thanks for playing. ~ DW