✔️Hungry for This Hustle! Conference Talk, Interview Greatness & College Alternatives
We tryna elevate!
Tech peeps…
Ah man, it feels like it’s been a minute since the last time we connected! But you know how it goes when you’re getting things done in these tech streets.
And that’s exactly what the #TTH crew and I have been doing: getting ish done!
Nevertheless, we’re here now! And if you don’t mind, I want to take a few minutes to chop it up with you about where we’ve been and what’s been occupying our time.
First thing on the agenda, though: How’s everybody doing?
We hope you and those closest to you are staying safe during this hurricane season. It’s a heavy one, for sure. These past few weeks have been something serious.
But despite all these crazy weather developments, the team and I have managed to keep the hustle alive and represent for #TheTechHustle is several cities across the map. I’ll tell you about that and bring you up to speed on how my latest speech went at the Black is Tech conference in H-Town!
I also have a few Backstage with Bobby D episodes to intro. We’ve been on the mic with some brilliant tech minds who imparted a lot of wisdom on personal growth, creativity, and other factors that come into play when navigating this tech landscape.
After that, the man with the plan, Raymond (Don’t call him Ray Ray!), will share some nuggets that’ll keep you on your toes. And last but not least, we’ll catch up on some tech news straight from the desk of DHustle.
If you’re a new one: Welcome. To all our true ones: Welcome back.
It’s that time, fam. Let’s talk!
🎤 Tech Conference Adventures
BobbyD 👨🏾💻:
Another one!
If you caught the last newsletter, you know that the #TTH crew and I were in Houston for the Black is Tech Conference that was held August 19-21.
That’s right, your boy just wrapped up yet another successful conference segment where I got the opportunity to talk to an audience of ambitious tech talent that looked just like me! And please believe me when I tell you these guys (and ladies) were hungry for the gems I was dropping!
The topic of discussion was my journey and time at Twitter. My speech was titled Behind the Cloud at Twittter: 1.0. This may sound familiar to some of you beceause it’s the speech I gave in ATL at the Atlanta Cloud Conference 2024 back in March.
But this time I wanted to spice up the conversation and talk about some of the cool tech I helped invent while working at Twitter:
AutoBird 🐦
The main role of this tech was to put computers into production as quickly as possible. It was programmed to set up the operating system and configure the server for use—automatically! And this process reached a point where we had something called a service level agreement (SLA) in place that said that we would have a computer in production within a certain period of time. Prior to me working at Twitter, it would take almost a month to get a computer into service—that was a lot of money and time being wasted. But, after my team of eight engineers completed the automation, computers were operational within 2 to 3 hours.
This was honestly one of the coolest tools I’ve ever had a chance to make!
RocketBird 🚀
This technology is the one that really changed the game for us as an organization. The main function of RocketBird was to get computers ready in the shortest amount of time possible. Think about it like this: Let’s say you’re in AWS and you instruct it to build you a VM. You basically click a button, and within 10 minutes a VM is built, right? Okay, now imagine you have that same ability with a physical computer. So, within about 15 minutes of someone requesting a computer in the data center, it would be ready for use. That’s what RocketBird did! It handled the entire building process.
Shout out to all the engineers that I had the opportunity to work with on these game-changing technologies. You gotta know Twitter really appreciated our contributions! And, last I heard, both systems are still running over there.
Not trying to brag, but that BobbyD effect is certainly long-lasting!
Now, I’ll tell you this: These systems are prime examples of what I mean when I talk to y’all about automating yourself out of a job. It’s about working smarter, not harder, and using automation to free up your time so you can focus on things that will help you level up.
If you want to know more about this concept, I covered it in our January newsletter.
SHAMELESS PLUG: Either you’re ready for greatness or you’re not. But one thing about it, #TheTechHustle Community 🤝🏽 is where the real ones get together to level up! You in?
📍Next Moves: #TTH Tour Update
By the time this installment of the #TTH newsletter 📰 reaches your inbox, I’ll be at the Black Men in Tech Conference in Fort Lauderdale (October 10-13).
I’m excited about this one and looking forward to being in the building with a lot of Black movers and shakers who are claiming their territory in this industry.
I’m also hoping that some of you who may be in the South Florida area can make it out. The crew and I would love to meet you, so pull up on us!
From there, we’ll be back in Houston in November. More details to come about what we have planned for that leg of the #TTH tour.
📝 #TTH Member Spotlight Nominations
Anybody want to be featured in a #TTH Member Spotlight piece?
We have plenty of spots available, we just need y’all to nominate either yourself or another member you’d like to see featured.
Our last member spotlight writeup was in July when we featured Omar Stewart and his incredible journey into tech that started in childhood.
I don’t doubt that your story is just as amazing! We just need the details so we can put the spotlight on your journey!
Our goal is to have a writeup for every #TTH member! But we definitely need y’all’s help with making that happen. If you’re interested in being featured, fill out this form.
Backstage with BobbyD! 🎙️🎟️
I can’t really put into words how amazing the latest Backstage with BobbyD content is!
You just have to listen to these interviews!
I sat down at the mic with several great tech minds who are forever putting in work and hustling their way to and through greatness in this competitive tech landscape.
I had the opportunity to talk about tech leadership, culture, and valuable industry lessons with Maisha Gray-Diggs.
In my interview with Tayo Olukoya, we talked about the troubles and triumphs he’s experienced, the importance of diversity, and the significance of mentors.
I chopped it up with Gerrard Williams (Hip-Hop Gamer) about his crazy cool journey into tech that was inspired by his (and his grandmother’s) passion for gaming!
Can you say hit after hit?! Y’all can check out these and all the Backstage with BobbyD segments on #TheTechHustle YouTube channel.
📢Free Resource!
Alright, peeps, you know I’m all about giving out the gems and resources that’ll help you get from where you are to where you’re trying to be in this tech game.
During an online talk I gave a few weeks ago, I told attendees that new subscribers to the #TTH newsletter would receive a free worksheet titled ‘Blueprints for Success: Manifesting Your Career in an Ever-Changing Landscape.’
If you haven’t already, lock in your email with our mailing list and get your copy.
💡 Raymond’s Nuggets!
Another day, another nugget…or five.
Raymond Similien🤷🏾♂️:
ℹ️Android Faithful🎙️
Y’all know here at #TheTechHustle, we’ll always give credit where credit is due.
From what we’ve heard, one of the top ways people consume tech news these days is through podcasts. That being the case, I thought I’d share a podcast I recently came across called Android Faithful—and it’s a good one.
As its name implies, it’s a podcast for Android users and lovers who want to hear about all things Android.
If you’re more of an Apple person, you know we got you covered with #TheTechHustle podcast where we bring you the latest news and moves from the tech giant. Another great podcast option—if you’re a super serious Apple fan—is The CultCast.
ℹ️Alternatives to College✔️
The truth of the matter is that not everyone wants to go to college.
The other truth is that some of the major tech companies are starting to give less weight to degrees and put more emphasis on skills and experience. We’re talking names like Tesla, Apple, and Google.
And if you don’t think this will be the way forward, a recent survey from Payscale found that 1 in 3 companies are making this type of adjustment to their talent search strategy.
If you’re ready to put in the work and up your skills, you should consider learning on sites like Hubspot Academy, YouTube, and, of course, #TheTechHustle.
ℹ️Recommendation: The Pharmacist💊
If you’re like me and love a good documentary, I highly recommend The Pharmacist on Netflix. I don’t want to give the backstory, but I can say it’s about a man who fights tooth and nail to expose the truth behind the opioid addiction crisis after tragically losing his son to an overdose.
ℹ️X’s Job Search Function🖱️
Did you know that you can search for jobs on X?
Yeah, I didn’t either until now. Shout out to BobbyD for the impromptu nugget!
Apparently, the beta version of the feature was introduced in August 2023. Then, a few short months later, the X job search tool became available to all users.
I definitely recommend checking it out if you haven’t already.
📰 DHustle’s News & Current Events (September)
DHustle💆🏽♂️:
ChatGPT is Using Voices Without Permission: Could it be? ChatGPT is stealing (recreating) voices without the consent of its users? Apparently, the answer is yes. An incident involving voice cloning occurred during a test of the GPT-4o model, when the model (unintentionally) duplicated a user’s voice. In response, OpenAI has set forth several safeguards to prevent this from happening again. Can you imagine what this could mean in terms of fraud and audio manipulation if this issue isn’t thoroughly curtailed? Scary to think about.
iPhone 16 Release & iOS 18 Beta: Apple’s highly anticipated iPhone 16 made its debut about a month ago on September 20, with pre-orders starting the week prior. Additionally, the company is now test-driving iOS 18 in beta mode for select users—this coming right after the iOS17.6.1 release at the end of August.
Costco Raises Membership Prices: It’s been seven years, but the time has come: Costco has raised its membership prices due to ‘rising inflation.’ At the beginning of September, members saw an increase of $5-$10 applied to both current memberships and renewals. It’s also being said that this move is a way to help the company thwart card sharing practices.
Key Cards on Your Digital Wallet: Hotel chains like the Hilton have started offering guests the option to save their room key to their digital wallets. Rumors have it that traditional key cards are on their way out the door (pun intended) as this option is apparently far more effective in helping hotel brands overcome card security and cybersecurity worries.
…Not Goodbye, Just See You Later… 👋🏾
We’re steadily climbing this ladder, and ain’t no stopping or going back.
Y’all still with me?! Sure hope so because it’s enough room at the top for all of us.
Hopefully there’s some info you found valuable in this newsletter. Take what resonates and use it to get you started on the next phase of your tech journey.
How I see it: The hungrier you are, the harder you’ll hustle. Let’s eat, fam.
Until next time! Peace…✌🏾
Special shoutout and thank you to our sponsor, Mar-velous Creations. Check her out for creative and custom handmade sweets and treats. Her service area spans from Palm Beach down to Miami-Dade.
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