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Creating content can be an amazing adventure, whether it is for career or personal development. Even the biggest introverts can find themselves in this role. In a conversation with Jarek Jarzębowski, Francesco Ciulla, a software engineer and Docker ambassador, shares how he overcame shyness and built his community in the developer space. His tips will be helpful for any developer considering starting a YouTube channel and will motivate growth regardless of profession.
Without hard work, there are no rewards – Francesco started from scratch and, by creating hundreds of videos, gradually acquired new skills. Discover his journey and his recipe for maintaining enthusiasm and motivation in content creation. Let's begin!
Key Takeaways from the Conversation
Building resilience through practice: Regular practice strengthens your abilities, just like exercising a muscle. Even if you're naturally introverted, engaging in activities like recording or public speaking can build your resilience over time.
Prioritizing goals over fear: Choose between avoiding judgment and achieving your goals. If you prioritize your aspirations, you'll overcome the fear of judgment and take necessary actions for growth.
Balancing joy and success to avoid burnout: Maintain a balance between personal enjoyment and external demands. Prevent burnout by not overcommitting and taking necessary breaks to sustain enthusiasm and well-being.
Persistence leading to mastery: Persistence is essential for mastering any skill. Consistent effort and repetition lead to improvement and expertise, providing valuable experience even through mistakes.
Seek recognition to build credibility: Recognition from credible sources enhances your professional reputation. Engage in ambassador programs or gain certifications to validate your expertise and stand out as a knowledgeable professional.
Conversation with Francesco Ciulla
Jarek Jarzębowski: Hello Francesco, and welcome to the Advocu Podcast.
Francesco Ciulla: Thanks for inviting me, Jarek! I'm super excited. Let's get started.
Jarek Jarzębowski: Can you tell me a little bit more about yourself, your backstory, and what you're currently doing?
Francesco Ciulla: I'm Francesco, a developer advocate at DeliDev. I've been working here for almost three years now, which is a lot in tech. Apart from that, I'm very active on social media, especially on YouTube and Twitter. I'm also a Docker captain and public speaker.
Jarek Jarzębowski: Can you tell us a bit more about your work at DeliDev and how you ended up there, given that you started as a regular engineer?
Francesco Ciulla: I switched to tech from sports when I was 32 or 33 and worked as a full-stack developer for the European Space Agency. I wasn't active on social media then.
Fast-forward to 2021, I quit my job at the European Space Agency because of social media, open source, and so on. I became a Docker captain, which is basically the ambassador program of Docker. The day after, I received an offer from DevRel.
Although it wasn't DeliDev at first, a few months later, the CEO of DeliDev reached out to me. Now, I've been working here for almost three years. I love this role because DeliDev connects me with many people through various channels like blog articles, communities, and events. It's perfect for someone who enjoys working with people. If you like engaging with others, a career in developer relations could be ideal.
Jarek Jarzębowski: You mentioned that you weren't active on social media before, and then suddenly you were. Can you tell us more about how that happened?
Francesco Ciulla: I always hated social media, seeing it as a waste of time. In 2020, I became active on social media because I created an app on the Google Play Store and wanted to promote it. Without a marketing budget, I decided to be more active on Twitter and connect with developers.
In March 2020, I made a motivational tweet, and then COVID lockdowns happened. With the extra time from not commuting, I became more active on social media, staring my own YouTube channel in August. I went from being a very introverted and shy person to still an introvert but now a shameless one. My first public talk was in Poland, in Gdańsk, in May 2022. I became a public speaker thanks to social media.
Jarek Jarzębowski: When you were working a "normal job" and added social media work and side projects, how long did it take? How much effort did you put in to move it forward?
Francesco Ciulla: Great question. I lived alone, which gave me extra hours per day. I woke up early, around 4 or 5 a.m., and dedicated some time to social media before going to work. I allocated 2–3 hours per day, split between early morning and late evening, focusing on one platform at a time - first Twitter, then YouTube. This focus helped me manage my time effectively.
Jarek Jarzębowski: You're now working in developer relations at DeliDev. What does your typical week look like? Do you also upload videos, do social media stuff, or something else?
Francesco Ciulla: I wear many hats at DeliDev because we're a small team. I handle social media, event organization, webinars, YouTube content, and marketing. I also take care of product launches and documentation. Public speaking is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job. Contrary to the myth, developer advocates don't just stay on Twitter all day. We organize events, make collaborations, and do various activities.
Jarek Jarzębowski: How do the skills you used at the European Space Agency compare to what you use now?
Francesco Ciulla: The skills are different, of course. Having a YouTube channel wasn't required at the space agency. It was a very technical job, but having a strong technical background helps in developer relations. Even though I'm active on social media, I still have the technical knowledge to discuss frameworks and languages. Now, I'm focused more on content creation and social media rather than coding, which is fine for me. I code on weekends for side projects.
Jarek Jarzębowski: How did you transition from being shy and introverted to more open and sharing on the internet?
Francesco Ciulla: Thank you for understanding the difference. I made a talk about this called "Introverted Developers on Social Media." It took me years to understand the difference. I realized I didn't need to fake my personality online. With experience, I overcame shyness.
If you're shy making videos, if you make 1,000 videos, at least you will know something.
Even if you don't do something wrong, at least you will have some experience. If you made a podcast, if you make 100 episodes, you will know something, That’s my case - now I know how to handle recording and timing.
A friend once told me I was an inspiration, transforming from an introvert to who I am now. This experience made me realize how much I've changed. But the truth is, even with experience, I still lose energy recording. Like a gym-goer who gets stronger with exercise, I've built resilience through practice. Yet, I value quiet work periods. They have become a superpower for me.
So at the end of the day, it's about what is more important for you. Fear of judgment or pursuing goals like financial freedom and meeting new people. If it's more important for you to don't get in judged, you will stay here.
Jarek Jarzębowski: You mentioned repetition made you what you are now, what you can do. Was there a specific approach you took to learn new skills and avoid repeating mistakes?
Francesco Ciulla: Wonderful question. Repetition is valuable, but only if done correctly. As a coach, I've learned to correct repetitive mistakes. It's crucial to evaluate and adjust your approach regularly.
For instance, making a podcast requires several episodes to gather enough feedback and identify areas for improvement. Some mistakes are obvious, like poor lighting or the interviewer not letting the guests speak - one of my first ones, actually. Others are subtler and need external feedback to spot.
Consistency is important, but so is persistence toward goals. If something isn't working, I'm willing to change. For example, I recently started a new Rust series, embracing change to keep things fresh.
Feedback is essential, whether from oneself or others. I am focused on having a community-driven approach. Someone once told me once, asking an audience about its preferences makes us look weak. It's absolutely not. My goal is to deliver what most of the people want, so feedback is essential.
Balancing personal enjoyment and audience demand is key to sustainable content creation. Most of us do for free or almost for free, so we should enjoy what we do. I've seen people burn out from over-sharing. It's okay to focus on personal matters when needed. I would prefer to switch my niche absolutely or change something or stop doing something. If my goal is to keep doing this, maybe even until after retirement, there is no other way.
Jarek Jarzębowski: You mainly share content in English. Why is that?
Francesco Ciulla: Yes, I primarily share in English, even though it's not my native language. It allows me to reach a broader audience. Of course, if one of my Italian's friends from Italy, they invite me, and they want to speak in Italian on their channel, why not? But my content is in English. Maybe when I reach one million subscribers, I'll start an Italian channel for fun.
I always say, when I reach one million subscribers on YouTube (currently it’s 200,000), probably I can open a small Italian channel just to cook pasta and something like that. Or maybe, I don't know, maybe just to talk to Italian developers at that point. But for now, I'm absolutely focused on English.
Jarek Jarzębowski: And you have started as the English channel, English Twitter, and so on. Why is that? I mean, you said that you have always wanted that, but what's the reason behind it? Because, for example, I'm Polish, and now we are talking in English, but I'm recording a podcast in Polish. I'm mainly sharing stuff in Polish on LinkedIn and Twitter. I'm wondering what was behind your decision?
Francesco Ciulla: This was a hard decision. To give you an idea, I wanted to start a YouTube channel in 2011, and my first video is from 2020. This decision affected my content creation for almost a decade. It was a hard decision, but now I'm happy with it. I have friends who do mixed content, and if you're very good, it is still doable. In my case, having multiple accounts is very hard. I know I would be bad at that, so focusing on only one language on social media is better for me.
Now, I would probably be at least twice as effective if I were speaking in my mother tongue, but it's a choice to reach a broader audience, basically all the audience beyond native speakers. If I had made only Italian content, I would not be here now. This opportunity, like this podcast, came because I'm creating content only in English. It's an intentional choice for me, and intentional choices have brought me good things. We often think we have unlimited time, but we don't. We've been speaking for an hour now, and it's an illusion to think we can manage all social media in multiple languages.
I noticed that when I focus less on multiple platforms, I get more results. For example, stopping streaming on Twitch made my YouTube channel grow. Even stopping another weekly thing on Instagram made my YouTube channel grow faster. So, doing less gives me more. This decision not to create Italian content saves me time. In the future, if I want to change, why not? It might be easier once I reach a million subscribers on my English channel to get back and try new topics. But for now, this works for me.
I would like to say that creating content in another language should never be an excuse. You shouldn't say, "I can't create content because I don't know English yet." For me, it's the opposite. I do these podcasts and other things to practice because I'm a non-native speaker.
Jarek Jarzębowski: I agree with you. If you hadn't decided to use English as your primary language on the internet, you probably wouldn't have these opportunities, like being a daily DevDefro and so on.
You mentioned being a Docker captain. Can you tell us more about the program? What does it mean to be a Docker captain, and how is it different from being a full-time DevDefro?
Francesco Ciulla: The main difference is that a developer advocate role comes with a salary. Some people think Docker captain is a self-given title, but it's not. Docker captain is like a GitHub star; it's a free and volunteer ambassador program. Docker recognizes you as someone who has done something cool with Docker. I was one of the two Italian Docker captains until recently. It's a recognition given by the company. Docker has one of the best ambassador programs ever.
For example, last year at DockerCon, I won a prize for best consistent Docker captain content creator. I don't get renumerated for this. If you join the Docker DevRel team, you're not a Docker captain anymore. I have a friend who made this switch. So, being a Docker captain is an ambassador role, while DevRel is my full-time job. My relatives think I'm a YouTuber, but the role of developer advocate is much different.
Jarek Jarzębowski: You said Docker captains have one of the best ambassador programs. What makes it the best, in your opinion?
Francesco Ciulla: First of all, they give full recognition. There's a Docker captain's page on Docker with biographies. They hold monthly calls and yearly events where you can meet in person.
If Docker recognizes you, people know you have deep knowledge. In a world where everything can be faked on social media, this is an official recognition from the company, proving you're an expert.
Jarek Jarzębowski: What do you have to do to become or stay a Docker captain? How can one become a Docker captain?
Francesco Ciulla: I'm not sure about all the details because I didn't apply. Usually, I don't apply for things. I wait for people to reach out to me. In my case, I received an email during a live stream. Someone from Docker invited me to join the Docker captain team.
But in most cases, I think you can apply by sharing what you did for Docker. There's a procedure, and I don't think it's hard. It depends. Sometimes they don't want 100 Docker captains from Italy; they want to be spread over the world. So maybe it's not your fault. They might have enough Docker captains for now in your country, so you just need to wait. Don't change your citizenship just to get a Docker captain role. It's a procedure, and you can apply.
If you do, we might have an opportunity to meet in person. I don't know if that's good or bad for you, but it's a great program.They also do a yearly check to see if you still create content or do something valuable for the community.
Docker connects well with other technologies. For example, if I were a React ambassador, I might face criticism from Vue.js and Svelte communities. With Docker, some people disagree with the DevOps concept, but that's more philosophical. Docker has changed the way we develop and deploy over the past 10 years, integrating well with other technologies. I create content using different languages with Docker, which enhances social media connections. I don't argue with Docker critics; it excels at connecting with other technologies and is mostly agnostic.
Jarek Jarzębowski: Okay. If anyone wants to learn more about Docker captains, we'll share a link below. Since we're approaching the end, can you tell us where people can find you? Your YouTube channel?
Francesco Ciulla: Yes, I was lucky that the domain francescoshulla.com was available in 2020. You can find me there. If you type my name on Google, I should pop up. Of course, I have a YouTube channel with my name, Francesco Ciulla. It's easy to find me. On Twitter, I'm francescociull4.Thank you so much for this opportunity; I really enjoyed the conversation.
Jarek Jarzębowski: Thank you very much for sharing your experience and insights. I hope we can meet in person and maybe share a coffee and a talk. Next time, I will try to speak some Italian since I've lived in Rome for a few months.
Francesco Ciulla: Yes, we missed the opportunity. I'm from Rome, by the way, so we lived in the same city for a while. Thank you once again for the conversation, and hope to talk to you again. Bye-bye, everyone. Ciao.
Jarek Jarzębowski: Thank you for listening to the Advocu podcast and your interest in developer relations. Let's continue the conversation on Twitter or LinkedIn. Until the next episode, goodbye.
Francesco Ciulla’s background
Francesco Ciulla is a computer scientist and software engineer known for his expertise in DevOps and problem-solving. Proficient in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Angular, React, Node, Postgres, Docker, and Kubernetes, he has experience deploying on AWS, Azure, GCP, and Digital Ocean.
Transitioning from sports to tech at 32, he worked as a full-stack developer for the European Space Agency. In 2021, Francesco left ESA, became a Docker Captain, and joined DeliDev as a Developer Relations professional, connecting with the community through blogs, events, and social media.
Closing Thoughts
Listening to Francesco, it’s hard not to reach an optimistic conclusion: if you feel the potential to be a content creator, just start doing it! You'll learn everything in the process; you don't need a full skill set from the start. Most successful people in this field began this way.
The key is to create authentically – pretending to be someone else leads to burnout. Whether extroverted or not, there's a place for everyone in the developer content world. Focus on specific channels and find a balance between personal life and creating. Who knows, maybe you'll become a Docker captain too!
