JOE BIRCH: Hi.
My name's Joe and I'm an Android developer
based in Brighton in the UK.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So my GDE journey spans across several years, I guess.
Before I joined the program, I did a bunch
of public speaking and writing.
But it wasn't easy for me to get started in that.
I was super shy.
I didn't really like the idea of getting up on stage
and talking in front of people.
And even, like, writing was quite difficult for me
because I had this vision of, like,
sharing stuff online and people picking at it
and sort of making me feel bad.
It all started when--
my friend runs a Meetup in Brighton.
And he put my name down for a talk.
So I was like, OK.
I guess I'm doing this.
Like, my name's on the list.
I did that talk.
And I was like, wow, this was, you know, not actually as bad
as I thought it would be.
And I could see people were engaged.
As soon as I did that, I remember
getting home, and going online, and being like,
I need to find the next conference to speak at.
I need to find the next event.
But, obviously, conferences aren't happening around
here every week.
So I wanted other ways to give back to the community.
And that was also the point where
I started to get more into writing articles.
I could do it from my computer.
I could write something, put it online,
and it's kind of accessible to everyone.
I always saw GDEs on Twitter.
And they had the little profile picture badge.
And I thought they were like part
of something special club that was, like, above everyone else.
It seems silly to think like that.
And that kind of was what put me off at first, like,
even approaching someone to discuss what a GDE is
and how to be a part of it.
I was at a Meetup.
And there was someone from Google there.
And I thought this could be my chance to learn more
about the GDE program.
I didn't want to be that person to be like, hey,
I want to be a GDE.
How do I do that?
So I decided to go from an angle of being like, oh,
could you tell me more about the program?
And see if I could find out some stuff from that way.
But now, looking back, I don't know
if that would have even been an issue because people
are keen to have GDEs.
Like, if you're an expert in your field,
and you have a lot to give back to community,
then there's no reason why you should
be even shy of asking someone about that.
So, from there, I went to meet with him for lunch at a Google
office in London just to learn more about the program
and learn if it was the right fit for me.
And I decided that from thre, I applied.
And the interview process was kicked off.
So the first step was a community CV,
kind of a collection of the things I had done
and contributions to the community, conference talks,
blog posts, podcasts, anything that was a way of giving back.
And once that was done and someone verified
that it looked all good, I was moved
on to the second step of the process.
And this was an interview with another GDE.
I was quite nervous, again, being with a GDE.
I had no idea what I was going to be asked.
So we chatted a bit about Android.
We chatted a bit about the things
that I've been talking about at conferences.
And I just explained--
explained those things to the person
that was interviewing me.
Doing that interview, I kind of realized like, oh, hey.
I do know--
I do know my stuff.
And I am in the right position to be able to see this through.
Once that was done, that was the final interview,
which was with someone from a Google team.
And this interview was more--
to me, it was more product-focused and community
stuff, as well, rather than technical aspects.
I felt good about the interview.
I didn't feel as good about it as that the previous interview.
And maybe it was just because it was with a Googler.
I always felt a bit uncertain.
But once that was done, it was kind
of a waiting game in my eyes.
I wasn't sure how long it would take.
But the next day--
I think it was the next day or so,
the person who interviewed me followed me on Twitter.
I remember getting really excited.
It was like, oh, my god.
Is this, like-- does this mean I'm in?
Is this like a good sign?
And a week later, I got the thumbs up
that I'd been accepted into the program.
I was over the moon.
And, yeah, that was-- it was really great to have that news.
So at that point, I got the NDA, which
was a non-disclosure agreement to sign on my behalf
to basically say that I wouldn't share any information that I
received from Google's ends that wasn't public yet.
I was also invited to the mailing list for GDE,
and also the GDE Slack.
I also got my Twitter badge.
I like to put on my Twitter profile picture which,
for me, was like a really cool point
because I'd always seen the other GDEs had those badges.
So for me to be able to have that was,
like, a really rewarding moment.
The last few years for me in the GDE program
has been a really great opportunity for me
to be even more involved in the community,
and just get closer, and-- and also
learn more from other members in the community.
If you are active in the community,
or you're looking to be a Google Developer Expert,
then reach out to people.
Talk to other GDEs.
Talk to people from Google.
And you may be in that position where you don't feel
like this is for you right now.
But if you are already seen as an expert in your field,
it's likely something that you should be involved in.
[MUSIC PLAYING]