Welcome to The People Behind the Programs, a blog series celebrating the voices, stories, and impact of the community professionals powering connection and belonging across the globe.

Today, we meet Haimantika Mitra, a Senior Developer Advocate at DigitalOcean in Hyderabad, India, where she contributes to the world of tech communities and developer relations.

Growing up in a small town with little exposure to the tech industry didn’t deter Haimantika from finding her calling. During the global pandemic, she discovered the power of online connection—a realization that transformed her career path. Let’s hear her story in her own words.

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How It Started

I was born and raised in a small town in India, where there’s not much exposure to the tech industry. During COVID, I was determined to do something in my career. That's when I started getting very active on X (formerly Twitter), sharing my learnings and things I built. I didn't know at the time that this was what 'learning and building in public' meant. As more people began to recognize my work, I connected with individuals across the globe online.

My journey into the realm of community began when I joined the student ambassador program by Microsoft. Here, I further expanded my community presence, started learning more, and began organizing my own events. It was then that I learned about the role of 'Developer Advocate'—people who work with tech and help others grow. With my background in teaching at NGOs combined with my passion for tech and connecting with people, I knew I had found my calling. After a year at Microsoft, I landed my first Developer Advocacy job, and I’ve been in the community space both professionally and out of passion for six years now.

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A Day in the Life

Currently, I serve as a Senior Developer Advocate at DigitalOcean, contributing to code, content, and community. I help build open source applications using our products, and contribute to technical tutorials, both written and video, for developer education. I've also been at the forefront of community initiatives such as Hacktoberfest and the DigitalOcean Wavemaker's program.

Collaborating closely with our product and engineering teams, I focus on enhancing our products for a better developer experience. Each day brings new challenges and opportunities to empower developers and strengthen community ties, keeping my role invigorating.

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The Tools that Power My Work

Across my journey, I've utilized multiple platforms, but Discord stands out as THE platform for me. In both my current and past experiences, I helped build thriving communities on Discord. Despite differing opinions, I find Discord invaluable for its simplicity in joining servers and the ease it provides in asking for help or building connections through just a text. Ultimately, it’s about having a vision and empathy. Your community needs to feel valued and heard, which I’ve found Discord facilitates seamlessly.

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Advice for Newcomers

My advice is straightforward: be real. Communities are long-term commitments, and building non-transactional relationships is crucial. I bond with people not for their job titles but for who they are. This has helped me forge genuine connections and friendships, making them easier to sustain over time.

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Resources I Suggest

I highly recommend The Developer Relations Book for anyone diving into this field. It's an invaluable resource that offers insight into the nuances of building and managing developer communities.

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💬 Let’s connect on LinkedIn — I’d love to hear from fellow community builders.

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💡 The People Behind the Programs is a blog series that shines a light on the community professionals powering impactful programs around the world. Want to share your story or nominate someone doing incredible community work? Submit your spotlight here.

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Are you passionate about building communities?

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