Monday, 18 December, 2017 UTC
Summary
Every turn of the year is a new opportunity to start over, set goals, and renew optimism that time can heal wounds and drive us to change and achieve. For me 2018 is my most important year in a long time; 2018 needs to serve as a turning point for this blog and my career. The following are my goals and promises for the upcoming year.
Podcast & Videocasts/Streaming
I’ve been asked for years by readers, sponsors, and followers about the possibility of a podcast. Truth be told, the only factor that has prevented me from podcasting sooner has been my insecurity about my voice; I don’t have a smooth, direct voice like Marc Maron or any other voice personality. What I do have, however, is a wealth of knowledge and loads of people I’ve met over my time in this industry, and they all have awesome stories and information to share.
I really need to dream up a format and start a DWB podcast in 2018. I’ve also purchased a green screen and explored OBS, so a videocast or stream could also be in the works. Keep me honest and keep pestering me about this podcast! Also, please throw me podcast format and topic ideas if you have them!
Get Back to JavaScript and CSS
During 2017 I spent my time writing PHP, Python, and Perl for Mozilla; needless to say I didn’t have much JavaScript content to share during 2017 and that made writing difficult. I’ll be working on more JavaScript at Mozilla in 2018 (news coming soon!) so look forward to an explosion of JavaScript (React, Node.js, etc.), CSS, and other front-end content next year.
I’m so happy to be getting back to what got me here!
Find My Passion Again
A variety of factors have turned me into a broken man. Personally and professionally, I’m not the same guy that started this blog. My optimism and wide eyes for the future have turned to pessimism, annoyance, and a state where I don’t find much reward in what I’ve been doing. Even worse, that disdain and depression has affected those around me, including my wife and kids, which just isn’t acceptable.
This next year I need to find the spark that got me to Mozilla and earned this blog the attention that it has garnered. I believe that kid is still inside of me — he just needs to fight through the mold.
DWB Redesign (and Rebrand?)
My current blog theme, “punky” (the nickname for my oldest son), is about four years old now and could really use a new look. I also need to fix core site problems like lack of clear navigation, random “related” articles, and bloat due to JavaScript and font frameworks that are no longer modern.
The DWB logo could also use an update; after 10 years it looks a bit bland. Changing a logo is a real tightrope task, so any logo change wont be a huge departure, but I’d love to spruce it up a bit.
Suggestions welcome for either the redesign or rebranding.
Make My Mark at Mozilla
Almost six years into my journey at Mozilla I feel as though I haven’t done anything noteworthy; like no one would know I was ever at Mozilla. It’s long been a goal of mine to do something special at Mozilla but I’m hoping 2018 is the year. I’m hoping that mark is somewhere in Firefox so millions of users can experience it, but in the short term, any unique landmark will do.
All The Small Things
A few more small achievements that would make 2018 a better year than 2017:
- I haven’t started a popular open source project since my old MooTools plugins days. Whether it’s a web extension or tiny NPM module, I’d really be pleased to create something many people find useful.
- I want to continue my love affair with game and ROM hacking. Game creation and modification is such an amazing space; I hope to share my new found love of that with all of you.
- I evangelize cryptocurrencies but I’d love to better understand the code side of them and share that knowledge with all of you.
- I want to promote a DWB newsletter or, at minimum, an email that summarizes the last two weeks of posts on DWB. Look forward to seeing this soon.
- By the end of 2018 I’d like to be a React and Redux master, in the same way I had a full understanding of MooTools. A contribution to React or Redux would be a real bonus.
- I want to have an entire day where I can look in the mirror and say “David, you’re a quality engineer”. An entire day where Impostor Syndrome doesn’t exist.
My goals for 2018 are super as ambitious as any year I can remember but they’re incredibly important. This next year is a make or break year for me, personally and professionally. Luckily I have the backing of all of you to make it happen.
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