Between Medium, YouTube, Twitter, and the countless number of blogs across the web, the Internet can seem like a black hole of resources. And with so many experts and platforms to choose from, finding a voice that resonates with you personally can be overwhelming.
The GitKraken team has curated a list of our top seven favorite influencers in software development and hope some also resonate with you.
Dan Abramov
Website: https://overreacted.io/
Twitter: @dan_abramov
Followers: 175,000
Dan Abramov is a React.JS developer based in London. One of the things we love about Dan’s blog is the variety of articles, both in substance and length. Dan is also one of the most consistent influencers you’ll find, posting almost weekly.
He’s a current developer who is constantly trying to improve his workflow and regularly tackles issues affecting devs around the world, including our team.
For example, he wrote a great article on React Hooks, specifically discussing setInterval. His tips are practical and actionable; something developers can easily implement into their own workflows.
Jenny Bryan
Website: https://jennybryan.org/
Twitter: @JennyBryan
Followers: 24,400
Jenny is a statistician and software engineer at RStudio, an organization that develops open-source packages for data scientists, and she also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
We think Jenny is a rockstar for many reasons, and not just because she included GitKraken in her “Recommended Git Clients” chapter in this amazingly comprehensive educational document, Happy Git and GitHub for the useR.
She’s an extremely entertaining writer and a GUI advocate. As you may have caught on from the meme on the front page of the aforementioned Git document (and shown above), Jenny has a refreshing sense of humor, something that helps break up the dense information of Git and version control.
Scott Hanselman
Website: https://www.hanselman.com/
Twitter: @shanselman
Followers: 218,000
Scott is an industry veteran—he has been steadily contributing to his blog since 2002—and does a great job of providing topical content for the modern techie. Currently a Partner Program Manager at Microsoft, he frequently covers .NET, Windows, and Azure-related topics.
In addition to his blog, Scott hosts a few podcasts related to software development: HanselMinutes, The Developer’s Life, and Azure Friday.
We don’t just love Scott because he uses and actively refers others to GitKraken (which we SO appreciate, Scott…if you’re reading), we also love how philanthropic he is. Scott supports multiple organizations, with an emphasis on diabetes and D&I.
At GitKraken, we’re huge on diversity in tech initiatives, like #ItWasNeverADress, and love seeing Scott’s support for inclusion and equality.
Back in 2016, GitKraken partnered with Scott and NightScout Foundation to donate the first month of GitKraken revenues to the foundation, supporting an open-source application, NightScout, which visualizes blood sugar in real-time for diabetics. Scott himself is diabetic and very open about the challenges of living with this condition.
Suz Hinton
Website: https://noopkat.com/
Twitter: @noopkat
Followers: 38,300
Though Suz has seemingly taken a bit of a break from her blog, Meow Machine, she has recently started live-streaming her open-source projects on her Twitch channel and is gaining a lot of traction. Arguably, her most comprehensive resource is her documentation on her GitHub page.
A native of Melbourne, Suz is a well-known industry influencer, speaking at many events around the globe, like Microsoft Ignite in Washington, D.C.
Ben Halpern
Website: https://dev.to
Twitter: @bendhalpern
Followers: 24,100
Ben is a Canadian software developer based in Brooklyn, and the Founder and Webmaster of Dev.to. He mostly works in Ruby and JavaScript, but frequently writes about diverse development tools, with a focus on open-source.
Another GUI advocate, Ben is extremely active on Twitter. In addition to his personal channel, he also helps run @ThePracticalDev Dev Community boasting 156,000 followers.
We love how inclusive Ben makes development feel. He’s very helpful and collaborative and genuinely wants to see other devs succeed. He is also very active on his Dev.to profile page.
Chiu-Ki Chan
Website: http://www.sqisland.com/
Twitter: @chiuki
Followers: 17,700
Formerly a Google software engineer, Chiu-Ki Chan now runs her own mobile development company and specializes in Android development. Chiu is a frequent speaker at tech events across the globe and an active social influencer.
Chiu is one of the organizers of 360|AnDev, an annual conference for Android developers in Denver, CO and is the co-creator of the YouTube channel, Android Dialogs. Chiu launched the video series with fellow female engineer, Huyen Tue Dao.
While Chiu does still contribute to her blog, and has some great posts related to work/life balance—like this one on modular meal planning—she most consistently contributes content to her Android Dialogs platform.
Sarah Drasner
Website: https://sarahdrasnerdesign.com/
Twitter: @sarah_edo
Followers: 115,000
Sarah is on the core team of Vue.js and a contributing writer to the CSS-Tricks blog. Focusing on web development and design, Sarah brings an intimate view into the inner workings of the React and Vue frameworks.
Posting almost monthly, Sarah’s writing provides a good balance of technical and high-level topics. Like this article discussing the importance of one-on-one meetings between engineering managers and their employees; compared with this article on creating serverless APIs.
What Influencers Do You Tune Into?
Which industry experts are you addicted to following? Where do you find current tips and tricks for upping your development skills? We want to know! Drop us a note @GitKraken on Twitter! If you’re ever in need of Git-specific tutorials, GitKraken has an incredible video series on our YouTube channel for Learning Git with GitKraken, with content for beginners through advanced users.
