The Power of Side Projects

I'm an INFOSEC certified computer security specialist.

I went to UT Austin to study cryptography and such...

Paradoxically,

1. author and writer - mkeas.org
2. I normally do code-specific talks. Here's to inspiration!
3. Incredibly passionate about JS, Philosophy, Health, Math, and Design.
4. Instruct at The Iron Yard in Houston, hoping to nurture a creative and supportive hacker community.
5. I stoically enjoy divulging my thoughts on the intricacies of beer or coffee...

• In order for side projects to truly succeed, they have to be stupid.
• When you treat something like it's stupid, you have fun with it, you don't put too much structure around it.
• You can enjoy different types of success.

• Sometimes, the by-products of your 9-to-5 are the engine behind your side-projects.
• Meanwhile the by-products of your side-projects are the engine behind your career wins.

• It feels great to get paid - or to help someone and build a relationship - on a side project.
• Either way, make sure you learn something.

• autonomy (freedom to act), with
• competence (skill to act)

It enables you:

• to choose your own challenges, and
• to build the necessary skills to surmount those challenges.

They don't have to be distractions, contrary to what family or work might think. As long as they are planned right, and expectations are communicated, things can go very smoothly.

Learn to "30SS" everything you do.

30SS: Immediately after every lecture, meeting, or any significant experience, take 30 seconds - no more, no less - to write down the most important points. If you always do just this, and even if you only do this, with no other revision, you will be okay.

• It's not note-taking
• It's exhausting
• Detail can be a trap
• You must act quickly
• You learn to listen better, and ask better questions
• It gets easier and more valuable

Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.

Evolution, not revolution.

"Model T Approach":

• Learning something to a very deep and focused level.
• Specialization

"But we've lost sight of that investment once we ignore our ability to create analogies and insights to other - possibly unrelated - topics."

• Time / Energy cost of Side Projects is high... isn't it?
• Marketing?
• Monetary income?

• Start small, focused, and have goals.
• Develop yourself as you develop projects.
• Push yourself out of your comfort zone; work hard, stay humble; make no excuses

• Clearly communicated goals, narrative.
• Challenge the status quo. (ZenPencils - Bill Waterson "A Cartoonist's Advice")
• Organization and Daily Rituals

If no one knows you are doing something, why would they care about your time or lack thereof? Talk about what you are doing, give it a narrative, and you'll quickly learn who is truly interested / invested in you.

"So much of excellend, is the art of elimination."

• Daily Rituals of Famous Writers (link)
• "The Long Game" and the stigma of age (link)
• Email / iCal / Trello / Markdown
• Mac's "Do Not Disturb" mode.
• RSS Feeds and a reader (e.g. Feedly)

Stop stumbling around on the internet...

The pursuit of work (be that monetarily or otherwise) can be fleeting, but paradoxically the pursuit of experience and knowledge leads to great jobs.

In the end, people's greatest side projects are themselves and their careers.

1. Learned web-dev on the side while at UT
2. Some PT work and freelancing
3. 3 Day Startup and "mApp"
4. Interest from Dell
5. Same group started Hurricance Party, applied to Capital Factory in Austin (Scobleizer)
6. SXSW 2011, Research at UT, Security Certs
7. 2nd.MD (http://2nd.md/) (iTunes)
8. Rebuilt blog from Wordpress to custom framework on Websockets, Node.js, MongoDB, Express (github)
9. Picked up Backbone.js and more application design patterns
10. Pioneered live chat systems in Node.js, file sharing, notes, Appcelerator Titanium -> iPad / iPhone apps
11. Consulted at Pariveda Solutions for Fortune 100 Firms - examples: (example BCM) (Microsoft and Halliburton)

1. Articles (link), website, research, custom & DIY frameworks (loader) (SPA boilerplate) (tinypubsub), 3D and Graphics (starfield) (3D building) (building github) (pageflip), hi-perf stuff (fastquery), physics engines (SVG Jello), game engines
2. Books (link)
3. More creative freelancing (3D layering) (link)
4. Speaking opportunities at conferences and meetups (link)
5. Article opportunities for publications like Smashing Magazine, Net Magazine, and Tuts+
6. The Iron Yard, teaching (interested? learn more.)
7. Custom software for events and courses ("Techsas") (github) (OTC Rest API)
8. Distillery - (dstllry.co)
9. Advisory role for local tech - companies, students, peers, Bayou Startup Showcase, RED Labs & OwlSpark, and local Iron Yard Accelerator Graduates
10. Houston.js (http://houstonjs.com/), Space City JS (http://spacecityjs.com/) & Hacktoberfest (http://hacktoberfe.st/)

Go create something, anything. Just ship it.

Thank You!