Meet the Writer: Contributor Nicolas Fränkel, Head of Developer Advocacy on Apache APISIX

I’m Nicolas Fränkel, Head of Developer Advocacy working on the Apache APISIX project.

Before this, I worked on (mainly Java) projects for 17 years in different positions: developer, team leader, software architect, and solution architect. During these years, I accumulated a lot of frustration regarding my work. Most, if not all, projects are aimed at solving organizational issues with technical solutions, which is indeed not the most efficient way.

I decided to move to Developer Relations; fortunately, I was already an experienced content creator through my blog and conference speaking, so the switch was not that hard.

Interesting! What was your latest Hackernoon Top story about?

I wrote two related stories: How to Move Away From Twitter and Having an Immutable Mastodon Handle.

The current situation got many Twitter users about Mastodon.

Do you usually write on similar topics? If not, what do you usually write about?

I opened my Twitter account in 2009 and have accrued around 13k followers.

I’m a bit “invested” in Twitter; thus, I’m pretty worried about the current situation. I usually have more “technical” interests, such as programming languages, DevOps, and software architecture, but I wanted to find an alternative to Twitter.

Great! What is your usual writing routine like (if you have one?)

When I have a blog post idea, I write it on a GitLab board, along with a couple of details.

When I’m not busy traveling around, here’s how I write a blog post:

• I get the idea that seems the most attractive to me from the board
• Most of my content requires code. In general, I write the demo first
• I then write the content
• I aim to publish a blog post a week. Hence, I may write more than exactly one post per week. When it happens, I “store” the post until I need it - everything is in Git on my side.
• It allows me to review the post before publishing. Sometimes, I notice that it’s not adequately structured or that I miss an additional explanation.
• If I wrote the article as part of my job, I ask my colleagues to review it
• Finally, I use Grammarly to help me write correct English, as it’s not my native language

Being a writer in tech can be a challenge. It’s not often our main role, but an addition to another one. What is the biggest challenge you have when it comes to writing?

The main issue when writing a new blog post is to find the idea. Thus, I read a lot of other blog posts and watch a couple of videos to help me get them.

In general, I’m trying to highlight how to solve a problem.

What is the next thing you hope to achieve in your career?

To be honest, I’m delighted with my current position. I write posts, speak at conferences, meet wonderful people, etc. When (if?) the time comes when I’m bored with it, I’ll probably think about the next step, but I don’t think it will happen anytime soon.

Wow, that’s admirable. Now, something more casual: What is your guilty pleasure of choice?

None that I can tell in public 😉

Do you have a non-tech-related hobby? If yes, what is it?

My work is relatively sedentary; I compensate by practicing sports. At the moment, it includes running (which I can do nearly anywhere), biking (when I’m at home and it’s neither too hot nor too cold), and playing squash (when my friends are available). I also enjoy taking pictures of the places I visit and recently started to play board games regularly.

What can the Hacker Noon community expect to read from you next?

My next two blog posts will be:

1. A review of the book API Design Patterns
2. Some pain points of the REST architectural style

What’s your opinion on HackerNoon as a platform for writers?

It has improved a lot! I especially like the new v3 editor.

Thanks for taking time to join our “Meet the writer” series. It was a pleasure. Do you have any closing words?

Thanks for having me!