TLDR: There’s a very active discord server for Software Developers and other tech workers local to Sarasota that’s a great resource and community space for anyone who works in tech that lives in the Sarasota area. Click here for the invite link!
What has to be the one thing I’m most proud of creating as a developer, didn’t even take writing a single line of code. It’s the Sarasota Software Developers Discord server, an online community space for tech workers that live in the Sarasota Florida area. Since the two years I first spun up the server, it has turned into an incredible place full of smart, talented, and passionate Software Developers and other tech workers local to Sarasota.
There’s hundreds of other discord servers that exist as communities for developers, but I created the Sarasota Software Developers server because I thought it’d be immensely valuable for developers in the Sarasota area to have a local online community. A community of developers that you could interact with online, and offline. Amazingly enough, that’s exactly what the server has grown into. Two years since its creation, we now have over 100 members. It’s a vibrant and active space with daily ongoing discussions about Software, tech, and even just the personal lives and happenings of our members.
I created this server because I knew very few other tech workers in the area. I met a small handful through the couple of local companies I’ve worked for, but I knew there had to be more around. In 2021 I started a new role working remotely full time for a company based in Massachusetts. After starting a fully remote role, I began to feel a bit isolated at times, and it was then more than ever I especially wanted to get out and interact with other tech workers face to face.
Now with over 100 members in the server and growing, my theory has been proven correct. There ARE lots of developers in Sarasota. Despite the city not having many in-office tech opportunities, there is a large amount of tech workers that live in Sarasota that work remotely. Not only are they here, but they often tell me that they were looking for other developers in the area just as much as I was! When people find the Discord server, they often say “this is exactly what I’ve been looking for” or “I work remotely, and I don’t know any other developers in the area.”
Members of the server don’t just spend time online, there are multiple monthly opportunities for us to come together in person for local tech based events. There’s a twice a month Software Developers lunch that an admin of the server organizes, a monthly networking event ran by “Sarasota Tech” many of us from the server will attend and meet each other at, and the occasional on the whim happy hour evening we’ll organize within the server for getting together to share a drink and talk some tech. There’s a special balance of discussions through the discord server, and in person meetings that really make it feel like a community.
The server isn’t just a place for tech discussion, but also serves as a career resource for those working or have an interest in working in tech within the Sarasota area. There’s a channel for local tech job postings, a directory of companies within the Sarasota area that hires tech workers, and one for general career advice just to name a few of them. Even outside these channels in the different discussion spaces, there are so many talented and experienced developers that are more than happy to share their knowledge and advice with those who are looking for guidance.
What separates discord from other social platforms that I really enjoy, is just how pure it is. No one is trying to sell you anything, fight to get your attention, get your likes or followers, boost their profiles by chasing algorithmic trends. None of that. It’s just a group of people in chat rooms being their true and authentic selves. It’s one of the last places on the internet I feel like people can still just “hangout” and enjoy their time on. It’s amazing to be able to do that, and continue to meet with so many amazing people within the community with similar passions.