Kyle Rogers’ Post

Today was my last day working with Reddit. The journey has been difficult, but I have a few great takeaways:  - If you don’t think that you’re good enough to work for a company that is prestigious, you’re wrong! You CAN get that job, you CAN excel in that role. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” - Wayne Gretzky  - Michael Scott - Larger companies have a wealth of talent! Connect, learn, grow, and be willing to break old habits and adapt to newer processes. - Look back at your experience and revel in your victories, you deserve it! I was able to complete large projects with narrow timelines, cover procurement operations for a large company, and even implement process improvement. - Not a new one, but a great reminder: Put yourself first. It may be your dream company, your dream role, but if it isn’t a great fit for you, that’s okay. I am absolutely grateful for the opportunity that Reddit has given me.

In 2005, Reddit was just a vision in the minds of two college students. Fast forward to 2024, and it stands as a publicly-traded company with a $9.5 billion market cap. I have always been a huge Reddit fan (aren’t we all?) - even after 19 years in the game, it feels fresh unlike the other social media platforms out there. So I wanted to study what made Reddit so different from the others? How did it all start? And believe me when I say their journey is full of ups and downs - the founders got rejected from YCombinator, sold the business, quit the business, came back, left again, fired CEOs, went public - roller coaster vibes. If there's one idea that stood out to me is that both Alexis Ohanian Sr. & Steve Huffman embody the idea of resilience. Despite all the setbacks and the slow growth, Reddit is still super relevant. While Instagram, TikTok & Facebook have become polarized with algorithmically generated content & biased demographics, (while nowhere close to being perfect), Reddit is a breath of fresh air. I wrote about Reddit's roller coaster ride at length for the CommandBar blog. Link in the comments below. 👇

It's Friday and we need to have a quick check in to be sure we're still very much committed to our goals. Just so we know we're still on the same page, tell us in the comments section why you've chosen to build a career in Tech especially in the product ecosystem ⬇️ #tgif #techcareer #nocode #productprofs

🌟 Collaborative Excellence: Embarking on a Reddit-Inspired Project with an Incredible Team! Hello, LinkedIn network! 👋 I'm excited to share a remarkable journey I've embarked upon with an exceptional team – we're diving into a project that draws inspiration from the dynamic world of Reddit. 👥 Meet the Team: Joined by a group of passionate individuals, each bringing unique skills to the table, we're united by a common goal: to create a platform that encapsulates the essence of Reddit's vibrant discussions. Praful Nigam Pulkit Gupta 🚀 Our Project Vision: With this project , we're setting out to capture the spirit of collaborative conversations and diverse opinions that Reddit is renowned for. Our platform will empower users to: 🗣️ Initiate and engage in focused discussions ⬆️ Influence content visibility through upvotes 💬 Foster meaningful interactions through comments 💡 Why This Project?: Our fascination with Reddit's ability to connect people and ideas fueled our desire to reimagine the concept while infusing our own innovations. We're excited to create a space where authentic discussions thrive. 🛠️ Teamwork and Tech: Working together, we're employing cutting-edge technologies like [mention relevant technologies] to ensure a seamless user experience, robust security, and scalability. 🌱 Learning and Growth: Collaborating on this project has been an enriching experience. From brainstorming sessions to overcoming challenges, we're constantly learning and evolving as a team. 🌐 Stay Connected: As we progress towards our project milestones, I invite you to stay connected for updates. If the idea of fostering vibrant online communities resonates with you, let's connect and share insights! 📣 Let's Connect: Have thoughts to share or questions to ask? Feel free to leave a comment or connect with me directly. Looking forward to engaging with this incredible LinkedIn community! #teamworkproject #redditinspired #collaborativejourney

Reddit is a platform we take for granted. The ecosystem is built on unpaid moderators and technologists who want to simplify access for thousands of writers and subreddit contributors. A large % of GenZ use Reddit for financial advice ( scary!) Behind the scenes, a price war is happening. API fees are going up, data access is more complex, etc. The advertising model isn’t working. Reddit isn’t doing well financially and recently let many employees go ( not new news in tech ). You can watch in real time as various subreddits go dark. Some subreddits in this category have millions of users. Poof! Gone. Web3 can fix these problems, will this open up a bigger opportunity for Farcaster? Link in comments if you want to explore the situation..

Microsoft is shutting down more studios. Please repost to support the ones who were impacted I did a long-form post last year on how タンゴゲームワークス（Tango Gameworks）built and shadow-dropped an amazing game. That studio is gone now! The devs who brought Hifi Rush to life don’t have their jobs because people at MSFT office decided so. I am here to offer help to each employee who is impacted. The community stands with you. We have spent the past 6 months gathering all the resources listed below. Hope this helps — Resource 1: 100% Scholarship on our Full Stack Game Dev Program We are offering a 100% scholarship on our flagship Full-Stack game programming BootCamp priced at $11k to everyone affected by the layoffs. If you want to transition into game programming or upskill in programming send an email to [email protected] and we will take it from there. Resource 2: Layoff Support Kit - https://lnkd.in/gCCXW_Wp A wide range of top internet resources for game development. You will find top YouTube channels on game dev, Unity & C# Bootcamps, free engine assets, tools, game engines, podcasts, and game dev communities all in one place so you don't have to spend your time searching for them. Resource 3: Discord Community of 10K Game Devs - https://lnkd.in/gsTZKXrk Our community on Discord is at your constant service for all things game dev. It's a huge network in itself where you can find top game devs and professionals helping folks with portfolio building, job seeking, interviews, and broadly their next career step. You could be the next video game expert in our clan or simply solve your own game dev doubts. Resource 4: Become a Volunteer If you're a senior professional, you can mentor folks wanting to enter the games industry, conduct mock interviews, assess their portfolios, and give feedback on what would work for them and what wouldn't. Join by adding your name here: https://lnkd.in/gwPhHen4 Resource 5: Game Jobs - https://lnkd.in/gerWUkc5 Over 9k game jobs spread across the world are a click away! To everyone affected know that none of this is on you and you have entire support of the games community. #layoffsupport #games #gamedev #tango

After almost 10 years, I'm no longer with gamestop. I won't go into details why, but suffice it to say I'd put a whole heck of a lot into that job and I'm not happy with what was done to me. Moving on. About a week of floundering around later (what a great word), and after some advice from a great friend, Jude Pagel, I've decided on giving something different a try. I've always immersed myself in some small coding projects to keep my mind off the stresses of my job. For context, I play a game online with friends, and I've always played around with making things that interact with the game, displaying relevant data on-screen, triggering things based on different situations, I've even added sound effects. It's all been done in a coding language called Lua. I'm not super proficient at it, but I've taught myself enough as I went to get most of what I wanted accomplished. I'm now turning my attention to learning JavaScript, then React after that, and brushing up on HTML and CSS, with the goal of becoming a Front-end Developer. There's the expected fear associated with being thrust into the unknown after 10 years getting really good at something, but now I feel pretty good about deciding on a new path for me, and the next Thing To Get Really Good At. I've enrolled in some online courses and have started going through those, so far so good. If anyone has any advice for me, or any Words Of Encouragement, I'd be happy to hear them. #learning #javascript #css #html #react #coding #developer

I am thrilled to announce that I have been invited to participate in Reddit, Inc.'s Directed Share Program, an opportunity extended to some of their "biggest users" in recognition of our contributions to the platform. This opportunity allows me to be part of Reddit’s journey as it takes a significant step forward. For years, Reddit has been a vibrant community where I have engaged deeply, sharing insights, learning from others, and contributing to the diverse tapestry of conversations that define the platform. Over the years, I've also had the opportunity to support some of its largest creators and advertisers. Being recognized as one of Reddit’s most active users is an honor that underscores the value of community engagement and digital camaraderie. As Reddit embarks on this new chapter, I am excited about the possibilities ahead for the platform, its users, and the broader digital ecosystem. This invitation is a testament to the power of community and the role that we can play in shaping the future of digital spaces. I'm eager to see where this journey will take us. Let's continue to build, share, and grow together. Here's to new beginnings and realizing the true potential of our communities! Who else plans to be a shareholder? Rob A., Ty Stecklein, 🍕 Andy Aragon, Max Patrick Schlienger, Kevin Gregor? Finally, I'll get shareholder rights like Will Cady and Noam Cadouri... if only that came with access to more swag 😂 #Reddit #CommunityEngagement #DigitalInnovation #NewBeginnings

Change is hard, but finding a willingness to change is where you have to start. I had a great privilege to meet and hear Deborah Liu speak about her journey from #facebook to #ancestry.com. Namely, her journey of owning her success, promoting her wins, and claiming power for herself and her team. In Jeffrey Pfeffer's Path to Power class, we learn about the 7 Rules of Power: Rule 1) Get out of your own way As a child of immigrants, the values of my family’s beliefs run deep in my veins: "Don’t make too much noise and stick to the system. If you work hard enough people will notice you, eventually." Hearing Deb’s story in concert with Jeff’s lessons made me realize a truth. No one is actively out there looking for my wins. It’s on me to put my work and effort out there to celebrate and share with others. If I don’t talk about what I’ve done, no one else will. I owe it to others to share what we’ve created and make them realize how awesome we are. I know Jeff’s class is controversial, but I find it absolutely fascinating because it challenges many habits I’ve built about what it means to be successful in the workplace. Does this resonate with anyone else out there? Jeff's page: https://lnkd.in/g9J2Wbcw Deb's Substack: https://lnkd.in/gZiSRenX #stanford #gsb #bepowerful #reframe

People keep asking my wife about my current #updates on the #jobhunt. So I figured I could post the current status and what's happening. Yes, I'm not doing #dailyupdates currently. Honestly, I'm just trying to #enjoy the #calm before I'm back to the #grind. We're still in the #process of #ironingout the #details of where I'll #land, but we are in the final phases of onboarding. I'm not comfortable updating my #status or #takingthebannerdown yet, but we are well on our way. Refer to my #Day22Onward post for the specific statistics on how long it took me and how many #applications I put in. This #pastweekend we took in a #MNTwins game, they won 3-1 against the #RedSox. For those who know, my wife is from #RI so she always roots for those Boston-based teams, but the #MNTwins did play some awesome ball. We got the #legend seats, so it was also all you can eat/drink (non-alcohol) and gotta say, not sure why would would do anything else if you go to a game. My daughter also had a #rehersal for her spring dance recital, so we were all sorts of busy running around. Aside from that, I took some time today to ready my #workspace again. Both of my desks (shoutout #Autonomous desks) were full of just general clutter and trash - so I #cleaned, #sanitized and #rearranged my office space to get the #energy flowing again. I can finally #refocus some of my #time and #effort into my hobbies, so I'm going to try and use some of my free time now to get some #writing done, but I also have some desire to game and #SupergiantGames released #Hades2 into #earlyaccess. Ever since #Bastion, Supergiant has been one of my favorite studios and #Hades2 doesn't disappoint. I think I have over 700(!) hours in #Hades and this is looking like it'll be another #longhaul. Not to mention, the next season of #Diablo4 is just around the corner, but I'll be back to it by the time that comes out. I think I got enough of my work desk moved around and sorted now so I can have the #fountainpen chest my wife got me a few years back in a place where I might swap them more. Admittedly, I keep my favorites #inked and with me near constantly in a green folio from #GalenLeather. But, I might be tempted to take the oddballs out for a spin more if I see them more often. Who knows. So yeah, I'm doing #justfine and I'm ready for the #nextbigadventure. I #appreciate everyone coming along for the ride. Please continue to keep my compatriots Jeremiah Hess (#helpdesk, #technicalengineering, #support) and Michael Proulx (#IAM, #ThreatManagement, #TVM) in your thoughts and send any leads you might think would suit them their way. If you're looking for any #resumeanalysis, #linkedinanalysis, general #cybersecurity or #IT career advice, or just someone to #vent to, be sure to reach out. I'll do whatever I can to #network with you, #providesupport and bring that #positiveforwardmomentum for you.