Entering the game of learn in public as an introvert developer! Storytime

Hey, I’m Arnab Chatterjee, a software developer. After attending a Twitter space and seeing some posts, I got lost in thought about "learning in public" and what it means to me. Here’s a story I’d like to share—a bit personal, a bit controversial.

"Learn in public"—a phrase often thrown around in the developer community. It’s about sharing your journey, struggles, and achievements openly on social platforms. But is it really for everyone? That’s what I started to question when I saw a flurry of posts encouraging developers to "learn in public" daily for 30 days. Is that really what learning in public is all about? At first, it felt like a trend without much substance.

TL;DR: This blog is about my personal thoughts on the “learn in public” posts I see online (which I’ve now mostly muted). It’s not about tips and tricks—just my own take on things. I may be wrong from others' perspectives, but here’s my story.

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Discovering the Tech Community

When I started learning software development back in 2021, I didn’t know about the whole "tech community" scene. I was happily coding for myself, building to-do list apps locally from YouTube tutorials, and doing a bit of freelance full-stack work (long story!). I didn’t even know about the job opportunities that software development could offer.

Then I stumbled upon a YouTube video mentioning open source, competitive programming, Twitter, LinkedIn... it was like a foreign language. I made accounts on these platforms but didn’t log in for almost two years. When I got to college, a few friends asked for my LinkedIn profile, and I felt a bit of FOMO. I thought, "Let’s give this a try," and posted on LinkedIn about using Docker for my freelance projects. That was my first step into the community.

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Betting on the Twitter Craze

After getting some followers on LinkedIn, I decided to check out Twitter. Believe me, Twitter is like a mix of everything—insights, updates, memes, and, yes, a bit of toxicity. In my third semester, I followed "job gurus" and attended Twitter Spaces, trying to network and build connections.

I posted about my projects, LeetCode milestones, and ideas I was exploring. But despite posting what I thought was valuable content, my follower count stayed low. I tried DMing people, but there’s a limit to how many you can message. Another alternative which most developers follow are tech events. Real strong connections. “If you are good tell me on my face what are you building in your garage”. But I am from a very remote area of West Bengal, probably the only software developer in my region. Kolkata is an option and I go there in events like Devfest(met some great people and friends) and I hate the developers and tech communities from West Bengal. They are not that techy I believe cause most of them are only boasting their todo apps and those who do real stuff are not in West Bengal sadly.

It was disheartening to see accounts gaining followers just for saying, "Do open source and get a job" or "Share everything, even if it’s a basic loop." Seriously? Meanwhile, I was over here posting genuine content and still felt like I wasn’t making progress. I had to remind myself, "You’re not here for followers; you’re here to journal and share your work."

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The First Wave of Followers (Little but Satisfying)

There’s something about those early milestones that’s so rewarding. Hitting 200 followers felt huge at the time. When I shared about my acceptance into the MLH Fellowship, the engagement was amazing—people were asking for tips, and I gained about 30 followers. I remember smiling at my phone at 5 am before college.

Then came the Smart India Hackathon 2023 finals. Beating over 415+ teams from all over India was exhilarating, and I posted about it. This time, I gained more followers, and seeing the response made all the effort worth it.

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Targeting the Craze and Hype

One thing I’m proud of is that I don’t easily fall into FOMO (fear of missing out). In late 2023, there was a Twitter trend in India about landing jobs at Y Combinator-backed startups, thanks to a popular YouTuber. I wasn’t familiar with Y Combinator until I saw a podcast and learned it’s similar to the IITs but for startups.
I just started applying from the March 2024, getting rejected and getting depressed and again applying and even I saw another podcast of a guy on the same youtube channel I met during one hackathon and his team mates were complaining about him that he is not doing any work and not able to do anything. I know this judgement is wrong but why not me?? And tada during my semester exams I cracked one offer from a YC based startup in June. I was super happy.

When I shared the news on Twitter, I gained over 350 followers, and some respected tech figures congratulated me. Finally, I was seeing my efforts pay off. Afterward, I made the best decision to block those “do open source and get a job” posts—they weren’t adding any value to my feed.

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Moral of the Story and Why I’m Writing This

Social media, especially Twitter, can be a double-edged sword. People are drawn to accounts that promise easy success, and sometimes, the most insightful posts don’t get the engagement they deserve. But that’s okay. One post of mine had only 10 likes, yet an OTT platform commented, asking to make my project open source so they could contribute. Another time, I posted about a TypeScript project, and a founder who had previously rejected me actually offered me a position.

What does this prove? You don’t need thousands of followers to create value. I may only have 840+ followers, but I still get opportunities and make meaningful connections. There are accounts I’m genuinely jealous of—tech legends follow them, and they share great content. But even without a follow-back, I can still learn from them. Isn’t that the ultimate benefit?

This blog is really for me—to remind myself not to compare my journey with others. I’m making progress. The things I want are coming my way, and I have some fantastic friends and connections. The same goes for you. Just do what you’re passionate about, regardless of the hype, and avoid falling into the trap of those spammy, one-size-fits-all posts.

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Key Takeaways

• Don’t get too hung up on follower counts; focus on the connections that matter.

• "Learning in public" should feel authentic, not forced.

• Everyone’s journey is different—embrace yours without FOMO.

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Thanks for reading! Remember, we’re all on our own paths. Share your journey when it feels right, and connect with people who resonate with your values. If you want to know more about me then lets connect on my favorite app , twitter