Power of Community
About the Speaker
Security Professional at Splunk
Jesse Trucks has been involved with the formation and management of professional communities for over 13 years. His initiation into professional community involvement began with co-authoring, as part of a committee, the original version of the Code of Ethics currently adopted by The League of Professional System Administrators (LOPSA), USENIX, and LISA. In the following years, he helped manage a local SAGE chapter (the precursor to LISA); was a Founding Member of LOPSA; formed and managed the successful LOPSA Madison Local Chapter; served on the LOPSA Board of Directors from 2007 - 2013; founded and still manages the LOPSA East Tennessee Local Chapter; and is a senior freenode IRC network staff member and the freenode Sponsor Liaison. Over the years, Trucks has seen how professional communities wax and wane through successes and failures, and he advocates that all professionals get involved in their own professional communities to the betterment of everyone involved.
Humans are social creatures. Technical professionals are often isolated, despite the prevalence of global communications. Being part of a close community of personal connections with other people, especially with nearby geographical proximity, provides powerful support and help in both the technical and social skills. Technical professionals find networking and community building difficult, but it is easier than most people think it is.