🕶️ Queue Us Up! AI Automation, Tech Recruiting Secret & Prep for AfroTech
We comin’ for every level!
What it do, tech family?!
Y’all already know what time it is! We’re back again with another installment of the #TTH newsletter 📰, and this one—THIS ONE RIGHT HERE! Yeah, this is the one.
I have a lot of gems 💎 I want to drop on your plate that I know will help you lock in and level up. Y’all ready?
First, I’ll be talking to y’all about AI and automation and giving some info on an automated workflow platform called N8N that we’re currently using to advance our own #TTH AI, Jules AI 🤖
I also have #TheTechHustle Skool community and GitHub repository that I want to get in front of you so you can join us and start on your journey to leveling up.
From there, I’ll put you on game with a valuable tech tip that could not only help you get your skills in front of the right eyes but double as a way to potentially get you in the door with a reputable tech company.
Finally, I’ll share the latest Backstage with BobbyD episodes and let you know where we are in our nationwide tour having recently wrapped up a conference in Fort Lauderdale and now preparing to head back to Houston.
We’ll close it out the way we always do because it wouldn’t be a true #TTH piece if we didn’t have news and nuggets from DHustle and Raymond—don’t call him Ray Ray!
I think I speak for us all when I say this isn’t your average hustle!
Time to do what we do best! Queue us up!
🤖 N8N.io :: AI x Automation
BobbyD 👨🏾💻:
I’ll be the first to say that it seems like every day we’re finding new ways to integrate AI into our lives and work.
I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon.
That being said, something new that I’ve recently discovered is the the marriage of AI and automation. What I’m referring to is AI handling a task from start to finish instead of how it’s been up until now where you would provide it with a prompt and it would produce what you asked for, then you’d take that info/data/etc. and go execute the task you needed accomplished.
Examples include things like asking AI to write an email for you, after which you’d capture the text, prep the email, then send it. Or, asking AI to review your resume and provide suggestions for improvement, then you’d take the content it produces and adjust your resume. The examples are endless really.
Well, a company called N8N.io has showed up on the scene to close the loop and provide a solution where AI handles every step of a process, thereby making is more actionable. N8N is a “secure and AI-native workflow automation tool.” The company’s solution revolves around automation and is underpinned by AI agents and LLM integrations.
In other words, we’re talking front-to-back automation that essentially frees you up from having to ‘finalize’ the overall task. Upgraded workflow automation, if you will.
The best part is there’s no coding. All you’re really doing is using their templates, plugins and other integrations to create AI agents that will carry out actionable items for you. And yeah, there are a few others platforms that offer similiar solutions, like Zapier, but of all the ones I’ve been testing, N8N is by far the easiet to adapt.
#TheTechHustle’s AI: Jules AI
If you’re part of #TheTechHustle community, you’ve probably heard me talk about Jules AI a time or two.
Jules AI is our very own AI that I’m building out (coming soon).
I’m now in the middle of moving all the code that I’ve been working on to the N8N platform. The process has been seamless so far and the learning curve is almost non-existent seeing that N8N already has all the integrations and templates that I need ready to go.
As of now, I have a very simple agent set up that’s programmed to provide reading recommendations—articles and other content—to me. So, one of the things I’m eventually going to have Jules do is send a daily message to subscribers with the latest information and topics that they are interested in. Then, in the near future, I’ll have it handling social media posts.
EXPERT ADVICE: Trust me when I tell you that this is something you should really be tuning into and learning, peeps. Especially since there’s no coding involved, and as time goes on, more and more people will want to have AI handling tasks from start to finish. This is definitely a good time to get in where you fit in and develop these skills.
⚡You Tryna Level Up? Plug In With #TTH
If you’ve been rockin’ with us for any amount of time, you know how serious we are about leveling up—and we have many ways we get that done.
❕#TheTechHustle Skool Community 💻: What’s it going to take for you to join our Skool community? I mean, we’re over 260 members deep, and everybody’s getting to the goals and advancing in their tech journey. I’m just saying!
We cover all bases and touch on a variety of topics: tech, life, engineering, and everything in between. I mean, listen, we’re dedicated to getting you ready for tech greatness.
Need your resume reviewed? We got you. Want to practice interviewing for your dream role? Say no more. Ready to talk about certifications and career paths? I’m your guy. Need a safe space to discuss your personal tech career goals? We’re here!
Most importantly, are YOU ready to level the f*** up?! Let’s gooooooo!
Sign up for our monthly #TTH Skool membership, fam. Takes less than two minutes.
❕#TheTechHustle GitHub 🔗
One of my mentees recently reached out with questions about Git, the version control system that underpins GitHub.
Over on the #TTH GitHub, we’re always working on different things and encourage our members to join us on the platform, share some code, and just get involved. Our respositories cover command line, Python, Linux, and cloud, to name a few.
This is yet another resource we’re using to help you level up your technical skills.
❕#TheTechHustle Podcast 🎙️
The #TTH podcast is available on YouTube and all podcast platforms, so however you want to tune in is fine—just make sure you’re tuning in.
🔑 Tech Recruiting Secret
I’m going to let y’all in on a secret that I think everyone who’s serious about getting to the next level in their tech journey should know.
Take notes.
So, you see how I just pointed y’all in the direction of the #TTH GitHub? Okay, I want y’all to take the work you do—the code you share, projects you join, etc.—seriously because your work could help get your foot in the door with a reputable company.
STORYTIME:
When I was working at Twitter, my team and I used to recruit engineers from the pool of people who committed to our GitHub repository.
I kid you not. The engineers didn't even have to apply for the job.
We would recruit talent based on the fact that they were in the repository working with us and sharing their stuff. It used to be as simple as looking in our GitHub repository or on Apache to see who the last person was who committed some code (and who didn’t work at Twitter or another company), then reaching out to them.
We were hiring people directly from those boards!
I really want to encourage you all to familiarize yourself with Git and GitHub because it’s likely you’ll be using this tool and platform a lot in your role—probably every day.
Get involved and get your skills up, that way if ever the right person is looking at your stuff, you could be one step closer to possibly being recruited and securing a role.
Trust me on this.
Backstage with BobbyD! 🎙️🎟️
I really hope y’all have been tuning into the Backstage with BobbyD interviews we’ve been publishing. I’ve been at the mic with some of the most intelligent, successful tech talent in the game.
And let me tell you, the amount of knowledge, advice, and gems my guests have shared is just…😮💨
In the two latest episodes:
I spent some time with Chanel Power discussing what it really takes to find yourself and find your flow. She shared details about her journey and how she came to love programming. We also talked about what it was like for her to re-enter the tech field after spending an extended period of time away.
I had the pleasure of picking the brain of Bobby Allen, a tech trailblazer from Google. He shared his story about how he unexpectedly landed in tech and the importance of perservering and having supportive relationships in this field.
You can’t get these interviews anywhere else, only at #TheTechHustle. Tune in!
📍Next Moves: #TTH Tour Update
The #TTH Tour is still in full effect!
Happy to share that the Black Men in Tech Conference in early October was a complete success. Met a lot of intelligent, melanated tech talent and had countless conversations that helped increase my knowledge of how people who look like me are making waves in this industry.
It was an incredible experience.
As of this publishing, we’re less than two weeks away from the AFROTECH Conference that will be held November 13-16 in Houston, Texas.
You already know the crew and I will be in attendance and ready to shake hands and exchange knowledge with everyone we have the pleasure of meeting.
Let us know if you’ll be in the area or plan on attending. We’ll definitely make sure we seek you out and spend some time!
💡 Raymond’s Nuggets!
Roses are red; violets are blue…and Raymond has a couple of nuggets for you.
Raymond Similien🤷🏾♂️:
📦Prime Benefits📦
If you’re a Prime member, listen up.
Did you know there are benefits that come with your membership that go beyond free one- and two-day shipping?
I was actually surprised to find out just how many additional, cool things are free with membership and that provide that much more incentive to pay the low monthly cost.
Additional benefits include:
Amazon Music - An extensive catalog of ad-free music and podcasts
Amazon Photos - Upload as many photos as you want for free; upload up to 5 gigs of videos (additional gigs must be purchased)
Prime Video - One-stop entertainment destination
Prime Gaming - Free games; free Twitch channel subscription; and more
Prime Reading - Thousands of ebooks, audiobooks, and magainzes available
This list really just touches the surface of what is available to Prime members. For a full list of additional Prime benefits, visit the Amazon website.
🎧Pandora🎧
The real OGs know that before there was Spotfiy or Apple Music, there was Pandora.
And even after Spotify and Apple Music, there is still Pandora! So, yeah, one of the original players in the music streaming world is still around.
I know what you’re thinking: Is it still free? The answer’s yes. Free with ads, that is. Now, there are a couple of monthly paid options (Plus and Premium), but if you’re okay with ads every once in a while, the free option should be just fine.
Another free provider that many of you may remember is SoundCloud. What has always been great about this platform is that it lets you discover music and artists that may not be on platforms like Pandora or Apple Music. In other words, unreleased content and music that never got cleared can generally be found on SoundCloud. The platform’s paid option starts at $5.99.
📰 DHustle’s News & Current Events (October)
DHustle💆🏽♂️:
🗞️Sony PS5 Pro
Mark your calendars. The PS5 Pro is set to hit shelves on November 7, and there’s only two words to describe it: powerful and expensive!
Coming in at $699, the machine is said to have “significant upgrades” to both design and performance. We’re talking a bigger, better GPU, advanced ray tracing, and PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR). Hope you—and your wallet—are ready!
🗞️AirPods Max
A personal listening experience that is said to be like no other. The AirPods Max are available for purchase and they did not come to play.
The headphones will run you around $549, but you can expect to love every second that you have them on—or so I’ve heard (pun intended).
🗞️Huawei Tri-fold Smartphone
If ever there was anything that could take the spotlight off Apple, it is the $2,800 Huawei tri-fold phone that recently released in China.
Huawei, a Chinese tech giant, has done its big one with the release of the Mate XT which is designed to “fold three ways like an accordion screen door.” The device brought in more than four million pre-orders, which is equivalent to the entire global market for foldable phones during the second quarter of this year.
Damn!
🗞️Huawei Tri-fold Smartphone
Another exclusive phone that is currently making some noise in the mobile world is the Galaxy M55s 5G in India.
The boundaries of innovation have clearly been pushed with this one. The device boasts a powerful processor, a Super AMOLED+ 120Hz display, and a 50MP OIS no-shake camera, among other incredible features.
🗞️Apple & Google Wallets + CA Driver’s Licenses
It’s official, residents of Cali can now add a license or state ID to their Apple wallet app. This comes on the heels of the state approving digital IDs through Google Wallet back in August.
As of now, the only other state that is on board with this move is Louisiana.
It’ll be fun to see which states jump on the bandwagon next and where we’ll be with this in the next year or so.
…Not Goodbye, Just See You Later… 👋🏾
Can you believe we’re almost at the end of 2024, family?
If you’ve yet to get serious about leveling up, now’s the time to lock in.
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.
The goal is for everybody to win—and we won’t stop ‘til that goal is met.
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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