What skills should people work on to get the most out of being part of a tech community?
18 Mar 2026
In this moment:
Simon Tomes
I could go down a huge rabbit hole, but it makes sense to focus on community contributions as a way to get the most out of being part of a community.
It can be easy to look at people doing big things and think that you could never do that, but I disagree! You got this. You have things to give.
Community contributions are underrated. They are a form of personal growth. You will learn as go, whilst also helping others along the way.
It can be easy to look at people doing big things and think that you could never do that, but I disagree! You got this. You have things to give.
Community contributions are underrated. They are a form of personal growth. You will learn as go, whilst also helping others along the way.
Examples of contributing:
Responding to a question:
This could be in person, online or simply taking the time to create something as a result of someone's question:
This could be in person, online or simply taking the time to create something as a result of someone's question:
- people: this helps someone out
- you: it also helps you process and learn
- community: you never know who else you are helping too
Putting your thoughts out there:
This could be as forum post, an article, a podcast, a talk, contributing to a course, or perhaps creating a 'moment', like we have in the MoTaverse.
- people: feel seen and benefit from your knowledge and experiences
- you: build your reputation
- community: the wider industry benefits from industry experiences, data and stories.
Practice listening
Showing up to listen is a valid way to contribute too. Sometimes this feels invisible. In other ways, people showing up to listen is what makes the experience. A focus on listening before speaking is perhaps more underated in today's world. We could all learn to listen better and perhaps take a few moments before responding.
- In a virtual sense, it could be page views that are logged, attending virtual events, or reactions to content.
- In a traditional in-person way, it could be attending an event. Your presence is valued. An event without people does not make a good event.
Simply being social
Going to social events, local chapter events, or reaching out to people is a way to contribute too.
The goal is community confidence
Community confidence is built through layers of contributions.
We talk about community as if it is easy, it is not, it takes effort. That's why everyone wants the result of community, but not do the actual work.
What's more. It can feel like community contributions don't matter, that they don't lead anywhere. It takes practice, experiementation and time to start seeing the results. The people I see thrive professionally are the ones that keep coming back.
Contributing is a skill to be learned, here are some tips:
We talk about community as if it is easy, it is not, it takes effort. That's why everyone wants the result of community, but not do the actual work.
What's more. It can feel like community contributions don't matter, that they don't lead anywhere. It takes practice, experiementation and time to start seeing the results. The people I see thrive professionally are the ones that keep coming back.
Contributing is a skill to be learned, here are some tips:
- start small, yes listening, reading an eamil or an emoji react are all a good start
- validate the vibes, is this the kind of place you can see yourself investing your time in?
- level it up with comments, respond with your thoughts, try to stay positive!
- ask for help, see who comes, build upon that
- do something scary, what's scary is different for everyone, do it a few times until it doesn't
- think about formats, you don't have to do a public talk to contribute, you can host, moderate, write, edit, organise, volunteer at in person events, share helpful links, point out people's good ideas, play board games, join in on one to one conversations.
- put external validation to the side, the point of contribution isn't always about people appreciating your work, that can be a bonus, value yourself showing up and discovering that you can do things. It accumulates over time.
- things will suck, but you won't realise how much it sucks until you look at your previous self from 12, 24, 36 months ago. This good. It's personal growth and community confidence in action.
Motes:
- This is part of the Ask MoTaverse Anything initiative, thank you Simon, for asking the question.
- Ask me a question about community and I will answer it.
- View all the responses in the AMA about Community collection.
Rosie Sherry
CEO & Founder at Ministry of Testing
She/Her
I've been working in the software testing and quality engineering space since the year 2000 whilst also combining it with my love for education and community. It turns out quality, community and education go nicely hand in hand.
🎓 MoT-STEC qualified
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