In this episode of the Vernon Richard Show, the hosts discuss the significance of social media and community interaction in the software testing field. They explore how social media has evolved, the importance of content creation, and the balance between personal goals and professional networking. The conversation also touches on their favorite podcasts and books, as well as future directions for their own show.

• 06:10 - Olly Fairhall
  • Olly's LinkedIn
  • Olly's Bluesky
• 11:27 - Chris Armstrong
  • Chris's blog
  • Chris's podcast The Testing Peers (of PeersCon fame!)
  • Chris's YouTube
  • Chris's LinkedIn
• 19:52 - Anne-Marie Charrett
  • Anne-Marie's book (why are you still here? Go and buy it right now!)
  • Anne-Marie's blog
  • Anne-Marie's LinkedIn
• 28:21 - Angie Jones
  • Angie's website (including links to her public GitHub repos, blog, and allTheSocialMedia profiles - I told you she was prolific!)
• 28:33 - Gops
  • To prove my point, I cannot find this man's LinkedIn profile 🤦🏾‍♂️😂 (this is a dude who I've known for multiple decades btw!)
• 34:05 - I work at Phrase, I'm having a great time, and we're hiring (and if you see something you like, apply! Just don't forget to tell them Vern sent you! 🙂)
• 34:36 - People who help me think about testing (and life in general)
  • Angie (scroll up for the links!)
  • Ash Coleman Hynie's LinkedIn (don't forget to check out the app she's building over at CountrPT!)
  • Martin Hynie's LinkedIn (check out his new podcast The Ghost In Th Machine explaining AI!)
  • James Thomas's LinkedIn (he also has a wonderful blog)
• 37:35 - Dean Moon
  • Dean's website
  • Dean's LinkedIn
• 37:35 - Jit Gosai
  • Jit's blog 
  • Jit's Quality Engineering Newsletter 
  • Jit's LinkedIn
• 48:47 - Our influences
  • Vernon
    • Diary Of A CEO (DOAC)
    • Modern Wisdom
    • Owner Nation
    • Big Deal
    • Same As Ever by Morgan Housel
    • Things I need to go back and binge
      • AB Testing podcast
      • Quality Talks podcast
      • Testing Peers podcast
  • Richard
    • Engineering Quality podcast
    • Secrets Of Consulting by Jerry Weinberg
    • Explore It! by Elisabeth Hendrickson
    • Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
    • Agile Testing and More Agile Testing both by Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory
• 57:03 - Rachel Mlota
  • Rachel's YouTube
  • Rachel's LinkedIn
    
    

00:00 - Intro
00:46 - Welcome (Tiredness, Sleeper walls, sweaty chilli, and strongman training)
05:59 - QUESTION (Observation? Comment? Ramble? Whatever it is, thanks Olly!): How important is social media and community interaction to testing?
06:46 - Vernon's experience of social media over the years
08:30 - The impact of the "Influencer" phenomenon on testing
09: 59 - The golden age of Testing Twitter
10:57 - What LinkedIn can't replace
12:10 - The LinkedIn algorithm is weird!
13:15 - Algorithm anxiety and the overthinking spiral
15:45 - Community: planned vs organic
17:24 - Lurkers, reactors, and why it still counts
18:04 - To be or not to be... an influencer?
20:07 - Rich reflects on the impact of social media on him and testing
24:00 - Vern reflects on the impact of social media on him and testing
25:35 - The power of sharing with purpose (not just promoting yourself)
27:19 - QUESTION (From Olly): There seems to be a push to create content. What do you think about that?
30:12 - What is "content" anyway?
31:09 - Angie's 1-2-punch for content creation (that we should all copy!)
32:39 - Do you know why you're posting in the first place?!
33:23 - The impact of talking about testing (it's not just about "likes")
37:35 - Rabbiting on about writing
40:31 - Talking vs Doing
41:12 - Goal confusion & content fatigue
44:20 - Now that we mention it, what are OUR goals for content and social media?!
48:47 - QUESTION: What podcasts do you listen to, what books do you read, and do any of them influence what you'd like to do with the show?
57:20 - Where are we taking the podcast?
58:24 - Is Salesforce as dull as Rich thinks?
59:35 - Outro