Forem: Kenny John Jacob

How an (almost) argument landed me a new friend

Kenny John Jacob — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 14:04:42 +0000

Misunderstandings between people can happen anywhere but it is more prevalent during online interactions than in real life interactions. The primary reason for this is the lack of non-verbal cues that we naturally pick up when interacting with someone in real life. I am writing about an incident that happened today, and hope that others can be inspired by it and have more positive interactions online.

I was going through an article on Indie Hackers and came across a very valid point that was added on by someone in the comments. It resonated with me and I replied to them with the intention of agreeing with him. The comment author mistakenly understood my intent and they got angry because they felt I was insulting them.

The person then went through my almost empty profile and commented on the one other post on Indie Hackers that I had written, and said I was a bad person spreading negativity. He also replied to my original comment in a negative way. I was very sad to say the least, and also felt so bad that someone felt that way about me.

To clarify, (and I am not bragging) I am someone who loves people and I try to add value to people wherever I am and whatever I do. So these negative responses from that person made me feel super bad.

I took a look at their profile, and realized that it was not a troll account, and that it was just a misunderstanding and I responded with a reply saying that I was sorry for the misunderstanding. I also mentioned that it felt hurtful to me because I was not intending to hurt him or provoke a negative reaction in the first place. Then the person understood the situation.

He apologized in the comments and deleted/reworded his original comments. I also accepted that my reply was ambiguous and could have been interpreted the way he did. I told that I would edit my reply to make it more clear, and he said he would be more careful too.

I put the incident behind me and wanted to be friends with them. We followed each other and I am happy to have made one more internet friend today 💙

Text as a medium is difficult because you don't have the context of body language as we normally would.

So be careful when writing online to ensure that the correct intent and meaning is coming through. Also, don't lose your cool online 🙂 you might just make a new friend like I did. And be nice to people.

How I write articles

Kenny John Jacob — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 14:07:00 +0000

I love to write. I used to write in my college days using Google's Blogger platform. I never wrote consistently but whenever I did, I felt good about it.

This love for writing carried over to my office days. I wrote documentation for the projects I work on. I think my teammates found it useful. Maybe you can ask them to find out the truth :P

So here I am, trying to take my love for writing and mixing in some consistency so that I can write more often. I hope I can inspire or help someone else who comes across these. So here are a few thoughts about how I write articles.

Choosing a topic

Choosing a topic may feel like a huge task, but it isn't. Anything that happens in your day can be a topic for your blog. It could be something related to work. It could be something interesting you learnt that day. Or it could be something to do with your hobbies.

The only catch is that you have to recognize these moments in your day. This is easier said than done.

Sometimes when I explain something to a friend, my mind goes "Well, there may be others who would like to know how this works!". That's my cue and I have my topic. This kind of awareness takes some practice initially, but it will become second nature as you continue to do it.

What kept me from writing

If all we needed was a topic, then we would have so many more writers in our daily circles. But that's not enough these days. What's keeping us from writing is ourselves.

Someone else better than me would have already written this, so it's not worth writing. After all, I'm just me right?

I am sure many of us have this thought. This creates just enough friction in our mind that we accept it and move on with our lives. Why didn't I do the same this time?

There was one idea which changed my outlook on this. Someone on twitter (I'm sorry I forgot who it was) wrote, "Write even if you feel that others have written about it previously. This is because there will always be someone who is just getting started to what you're writing about, and your content might enable them to get started."

Whew, huge weight off my shoulders! So yes, I'm writing for the others who are starting out on the same path as me.

Jot down the main thoughts

The moment I have the topic in mind, I get to my laptop and write a few points. This is just like taking quick bullet point notes when listening to a lecture. Its like a todo list of items that I think are relevant to the topic. This may be very poorly worded, doesn't have to be proper english either. Its just a way of ensuring that I include all of those points in the blog. Here's the list for this article, (warning: bad english ahead)

- for me no set schedule
- jot down the main points that I remember
- whenever I get time I come back and try to elaborate on the points
- sometimes need to rearrange, think of the overall structure
- make sure grammar and spellings are decent
- add headings
- find relevant images from unsplash
- topic - write about whatever you like to write about - twitter reference
- write, because there will always be someone who is just getting started

Here you can use whatever device - be it digital or analog - to capture the thoughts. Just make sure that it is easily accessible and very simple to do. If its difficult - like you need to turn on the computer, then open up Word and then write - then you may feel lazy and decide not to do it.

Once I have this, I come back whenever I get time and try to flesh it out into a proper structure. Most of the time I rearrange the ordering. I also add headings to make it more organized.

Sometimes I remember other main points during this process and I include those into the list.

Final beautification

For me the main part of proofreading is to make sure grammar and spellings are correct. When I read through it again, if it feels like I didn't convey my thought correctly at any section, I rephrase it so the correct idea is conveyed.

Then I find relevant images from unsplash. It is a free resource to find stunning images and I think you will agree that it enhances your reading experience. :)

To everyone holding back from writing because of fear or judgement, I don't think you should worry too much about what others may say. After all, it is your personal blog. You should write about topics you are interested in, and be yourself. Accept genuine feedback, and throw away negative feedback.

(Originally posted on my blog)

My 2 cents to people starting in tech

Kenny John Jacob — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 08:52:20 +0000

Here are some things I wish I knew when I was starting out in my tech journey. If you are a beginner or even someone with experience like me, these will accelerate your growth.

Just get started

If you're just starting out, find something that interests you and JUST START LEARNING.

Getting started is often the biggest hurdle and is the first thing stopping you from achieving your dreams. If you don't know where to start, see what others are sharing on Twitter and see what interests you.

If you can't figure out the path to take, then ask someone more experienced than you. Then do it!

Don't compare your start to someone else's finish

If you're just starting out, you might be amazed at the awesome content that people are sharing. Trust me, even I and many others admire the quality of some of the content on Twitter. You might even think, "Oh I'll never be this good".

You should see it differently. Take the content as an inspiration, something to aspire to, rather than feeling overwhelmed. Understand that this takes time and practice. Don't let this stop you from starting out. You should only compare yesterday's you and today's you.

What's more, I have noticed that these awesome people will share their tips and even help guide you in doing the same!

"Am I better than who I was yesterday?" should be your motto.

Keep practicing, keep learning

Almost all the people you see doing great things have been at it for a while.

You learn new concepts by first coming across it, then understanding it, and then practicing it. Reading a book, or watching a video tutorial is only a quarter of the job done. Getting your hands dirty and trying it out yourself is where the real growth happens.

There will be frustrations. You will feel tired and stuck. If you feel overwhelmed, just call it a day and try again the next day. If you're still stuck, reach out to someone for help.

Show off your work

Whenever you make something, share it with others. It doesn't have to be perfect.

If you're horrified at that thought, trust me, I too was when I started out. I was insecure and afraid to share anything I did. Over time my life experiences changed my thoughts. Also the enormous support that the tech community shows on twitter is a major factor.

Just start simple, share your ideas and creations. You will get feedback from more experienced developers and that is precious advice to help you grow.

Connect with people

Connect with people on a deeper level through direct messages. If you're introverted like me, this is harder said than done. In the past I used to have a hard time saying hi and talking to strangers.

In order to overcome this, I decided I would DM everyone who connects with me! I have talked to the most amazing people from all walks of life and backgrounds. Some were just starting out and asked for advice. Some were more experienced than me and taught me things I didn't know.

These "strangers" turn into friends, and last a lifetime. Overall, you learn a lot from everyone. About life, about tech, etc.

Closing thoughts

When I was growing up, I was interested in tech, but didn't have much guidance. I was very shy and never got the courage to ask for help from anyone, or thing about my learning as a long term investment. So my pursuits were all random, and didn't amount to much.

The twitter community is GOLD. It is what I wish I had when I was starting out. That is one of the reasons I try to help everyone starting out. I see the potential in everyone and it reminds me of young me. Use this community to your advantage.

And, generally, have fun. Tech is fun, tinkering is fun, and doing these with caring and passionate people by your side is even more fun. In this time of COVID, we don't have the option to hang out with friends. Treat this as your personal friends circle. Sharing and caring for each other, helping each other grow.

Originally posted on my blog

Until next time, stay safe.

Discovering the niche

Kenny John Jacob — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 17:32:59 +0000

Hey there everyone 👋,

I am a full stack developer with 5 years of experience primarily in web technologies. I am working at an e-mobility technology company and at the present we are focusing our efforts into building an electric motor bike.

I am currently learning and working in Android with Kotlin. I love learning more about improving developer happiness and productivity.

Dev.to is new to me. I am still figuring out how to write and format articles in an easily readable way. I hope I can share content in a meaningful way and connect with you all.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.💙

Give it time to sink

Kenny John Jacob — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 17:27:10 +0000

I was talking to one of my colleagues the other day, and we discussed about "mental models" and about upgrading our "Brain OS". As the conversation progressed, the discussion came around to our frustrations about making these stick. This is a common problem and I am sharing my solution in this short article.

I am a huge fan of the blog called farnam street. They have a collection of well written articles about mental models (the way the world works, and how we can make effective decisions). It is a lot of content, and very insightful too. I'm sure you would have come across similar golden nuggets on the internet. We tend to go through the different articles and feel very productive in the moment, but that soon fades away as we come back into reality and we remember none of it in practice.

Quite often, we look for the quick and easy way to do things. We crave the 1 hour crash course on React or other framework or technology.

I have been frustrated by this process for a long time, but couldn't figure out what the issue was, until I came across the book called Deep Work by Cal Newport. The author suggests that in order to make the most meaningful progress, or to produce the most productive output, we need to be free of distractions. We should focus on the task at hand for a long stretch of time. With our never ending social media notifications interrupting us every 20 minutes, this felt far from our reality and it made sense why we couldn't do "Deep Work".

Thinking along similar lines, I felt that this could be the reason for me not being able to grasp and implement the mental models and productivity concepts that I came across. I was always in a rush going through different concepts and never spent any deep time on each concept individually - which resulted in me being "distracted" (not just by social media lol), but by the very same thing that would help me improve myself!

From there out I tried a slower and more deliberate attempt at learning about mental models. This involved me picking a few and only looking at one model per day. I would spend maybe half an hour (and sometimes, multiple days) understanding the ins and outs of that specific mental model. And each new idea that I understood about it, I documented into my Notion app. This slow and focused learning helped me understand and imprint each concept into my life at a deeper level.

And that's it! There is no quick fix or magic video or article that will make you a 100x person overnight. It is all about spending deliberate focused time on understanding simple concepts. In short, give it time to sink!