A week and a half ago, I joined Contra as an Engineering Ambassador. Being an Ambassador at Contra has taught me so much in such a short amount of time, and I wanted to share some of my takeaways with you.
1. Community is key
The best part about this entire opportunity is how welcoming the entire Contra community has been to me. Every time I post in the Slack, so many people, some that I don't even know, are there to support me. I’ve only joined a week ago, but I already feel as though I have a place here, and I'd guess that most other people who join Contra feel the same way. Even if Contra the website's features are not fully completed yet for the average user, this community is totally worth sticking around for, and that is what makes me confident that Contra will be a success.
2. Always think of the user first
Before doing this program, I was already a pretty user-centric developer, but how closely Contra pays attention to its users sets a great example for my work to follow. One of the key features of this entire ambassadorship opportunity is helping to improve the user experience through UX feedback. On the landing page itself, Contra has a link where users can request new features. These are just some examples of how Contra really cares about its users.
3. The right digital tools make working remotely feel like a breeze
Before this program, I had used Notion and Slack before, but working at Contra for only two weeks has already exposed me to a host of new digital tools that I am so excited to take with me into my future work. In terms of video conferencing, Zoom works fine but Whereby is such a quick and easy alternative! While Zoom meetings are complicated to schedule, Whereby's are quick. And their interface is so cute! Loom is another app I've come to love; it's like screen-sharing through video call, but now it's asynchronous! These tools may not seem like a huge difference, but they make working remotely that much easier, and that much more enjoyable.
2021
