Rafael Knuth

To be shamelessly honest, I got stuck on my way to computer literacy. Now you might understand why I chose the name, “Rookies at Work”! Let me share some obstacles I’m facing, as well as my first tiny success.

Which computer language do you pick as a rookie?
There are zillions of languages for various purposes. In the real world, you might pick Latin or Greek if you want to read and study ancient literature in its original version. To make strides in the corporate world, it’s helpful to learn English or Chinese. The cool thing about the real world is you know in advance the benefits of a particular language. It’s different in the world of bits and bytes. Which computer language(s) do you choose as a newbie? Which is good for what? As a rookie, you’re lost in space and, so far, I can’t find satisfying answers.

How will you apply your computer language skills?
Do you want to design websites? Write games or apps? Learning to write code for the sake of being able to write code doesn’t work for me, as I realized after making some missteps. I love doing real things and I’m no good at learning for the sake of learning. I believe computer literacy is a key competency in the Digital Age, but how does that translate into specific skills?

What, for instance, would you think of a person who says, “Oh, I am a very literate person able to speak languages”? You’d probably scratch your head. What a difference compared to a person saying, “I write short stories in French and also learned some regional dialects, because I want my characters to be as realistic as possible.” Or, “I work as a doctor in Africa and I’ve learned a couple of languages spoken by local tribes I encounter.”

How do you want to improve over time?
As of now, I can’t estimate which learning goals are realistic and which are not. How difficult is it to write simple mobile apps? (“Define simple,” you may ask.) How tough is it to create a web-based forum? It’s hard to judge as a rookie.

Draw a roadmap for your journey.
Let me sum up the most common difficulties facing a complete newbie to computer literacy, and how I intend to overcome them:

1. Select a specific task to accomplish.
A coding language is a tool to accomplish a clearly defined task. I’ll turn off my computer, take a deep breath and brainstorm about what I want to create.

2. Try to figure out how difficult the task is.
Once I define my task, I’ll connect with experienced coders to examine what they think about my endeavor. How would they proceed? How long should it take to get things done?

3. Understand which set of languages you need.
I’ve come to realize you may need multiple languages to accomplish a specific task. I’m not sure which tasks I need to learn, but I am sure my geeky friends will help me decide.

Climb every mountain.
Now, here’s the tiny success story I mentioned earlier: I’m getting used to some very basic computer language concepts. Let me give you an example: In my first coding classes, I couldn’t understand the language used to describe coding language. What are strings? How about variables? What does it mean to “declare variables”? 

But after a couple of weeks, my comfort level is rising. My conclusion? Coding isn’t rocket science. It’s just different from other areas in life you may be familiar with. It’s reassuring to know computer literacy is a mountain I can conquer. It still looks like Mount Everest , but who knows? Maybe one day, I’ll stand atop it waving a victory flag. Care to join me?

Suggestions, ideas and feedback are always welcome! Shoot me a line at Twitter @RafaelKnuth. I look forward to hearing from you. 

A couple of weeks ago, I learned about Codecademy and their Code Year initiative: Almost 400,000 people worldwide are taking the challenge and learning to code from scratch. Even New York mayor Michael Bloomberg signed on. Who knows? Maybe he’ll surprise us with his own Big Apple-style apps or games.

I find these initiatives very encouraging and look forward to connecting with the growing rookie community. Following are some key takeaways I’ve made on my path to computer literacy.

Coding is a key competency in the Digital Age.
Computer literacy (read: the ability to write code) is recognized as a key competency by business, politics and ordinary people like you and me who want to seize opportunities in the Digital Age.

The US of A is still the place for startups.
Codecademy was founded last August by two college dropouts, who raised millions from experienced venture capital firms to build their company. As a European, I’m deeply impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit overseas, the ability to think big and to release products quickly.

Social media is ideal terrain for learners and teachers.
Ready to teach the world to write code? Apply as a course creator at Codecademy. I’m betting over the next few years you’ll find all types of courses at Codecademy. It’s a great opportunity for those who love to teach.

Expect a high dose of frustration as a rookie.
Codecademy’s courses also lack elements I found missing elsewhere (see, “Rookies at Work, Part 3: Missing “parts” in the Rails for Zombies course at Code School”). If your misery loves company, you can meet other frustrated students at stackoverflow.com also searching for help. But it’s just a matter of time until really cool coding courses — provided by hundreds, if not thousands of course creators — start mushrooming at Codecademy.

Make it easy to try before we buy.
The courses at Codecademy are free and it takes only one click to sign up with your Facebook account. That’s how to build a business from scratch at warp speed. Give your product away! Once users are familiar with it, they’ll be willing to pay for additional features or services.

You’re on your way to computer literacy, too? What have you learned so far? Where are you heading? Shoot me a line @RafaelKnuth at Twitter or leave a comment below. Color me curious!

This blog post series is written for managers with little to zero experience with social media. If your boss asks you to launch and run a social media initiative in your company, this series will provide helpful insights. 

Aw-shucks, you’re making me blush…
When talking with potential customers, I often hear, “Oh Rafael, you’re the social media expert/guru/pro. Please tell us what to do. We don’t know anything about social media.” My ego loves to hear this, of course, and dollar signs pop up in my eyes. But when I put both ego and profit/loss considerations aside, I think, “Wait a minute, something has gone terribly wrong.”

Literally billions of people are writing blogs, creating Facebook and Google+ pages and much more with no prior experience in social media. Just regular people  like you and me, at any age: Tweens, teens, twens, grown ups,  even seniors who could be our grandparents. They didn’t hire a social media expert to get started, so why should you? They just started, and iteration after iteration, became experts/gurus/professionals over time.

What’s holding you back?
I wonder why so many managers shy away from just getting started with their social media initiatives, instead of relying on so-called experts. If billions of people around us can pen blogs, set up fan pages, create a follower base… so can you.

Say adios to your social media experts, save the money and spend it on something that makes sense. Organize a barbeque ‘n’ beer party with your colleagues. Or buy your team an Xbox and a stack of cool games. Social media consultants are expensive; you can purchase a lot of cool games with the money saved.

So why would I play hara-kiri with my business model? I learned in practice the opposite is true: I provide far more value to customers when I switch my role from nanny to sparring partner — an equal among equals who brings different viewpoints and ideas to the table.

Drivers, start your engines.
Here’s my advice to you and it’s absolutely free:

You don’t need to hire a social media expert to get started.

If you already hired one, cut them quickly.

Trust yourself and just start.

Iterate, iterate, iterate, iterate…

Buy an Xbox with the money saved.

You may never need a social media consultant. Congrats! Just like Auntie Jenny from Ohio didn’t need to pay a social media consultant to launch her “Sweet Little Brownies Recipe Blog” and get thousands of followers on Twitter. But once you become adept, you’ll want to further improve your skills. It’s a must to stay competitive as those around you also become more adept. That’s the time to call me. I’ll help you advance as your coach and trainer. Besides, who scores better at “Need for Speed”?

I’m always pleased to receive your feedback, so either leave a comment in the box below or shoot me a line on Twitter @RafaelKnuth. Thanks! (Picture found on Pinterest)

As you might know from my previous post, “Rookies at Work, Part 2: Look who I met on the path to computer literacy,” I put Microsoft C# aside because I found Ruby on Rails more appealing as an absolute beginner. Instead, I chose the Rails for Zombies course provided by Code School. It looked like an ideal starting point for a coding rookie… but the first signs of doubt are cropping up.

I reached out to Gregg Pollack, an instructor at Code School, and he encouraged me to share feedback with his team along my learning path, which I’m happy to do in this blog post. If you picked Ruby on Rails as your entry point to coding as I did, read on. You might learn what likeminded rookies struggle with on their path to computer literacy.

While writing, I’m pausing the third section of the first Rails for Zombies course, because I believe three essential parts are missing.

Missing Part 1: Teach by example.
In the Rails for Zombies course, you’re building your first Twitter application. It would be cool if Code School provided a link to an app identical to the one you’re supposed to build. You could then click through it to see which functionalities you’re going to design and implement.

It’s a “Begin with the end in mind” approach that makes it easier for a student to connect the dots. It’s similar to building a house: Your architect might create a miniature model of your home and, in addition, present a master plan with all the functional details, like doors, windows, etc. It’s tremendously helpful to start a project with an example of the desired result. Can you please fix that, dear Code School instructors?

Missing Part 2: The big picture.
In the third section of the Rails for Zombies course, you’re suddenly confronted with HTML and JavaScript, which seem to collude with Ruby on Rails within the application you’re working on. At that point, I realized Code School is not targeting rookies like me, but rather folks with some HTML and JavaScript experience under their belt. This was not clear when I began the course.

I assume other absolute beginners are taking the Rails for Zombies course, so here’s my suggestion: It would be very helpful if Code School provided a big picture overview: “In this course, you will code some elements of your application, such as X, X and X. To build the entire application, you must acquire some HTML and JavaScript coding skills. Which elements of your app do they represent? Well, HTML does X, X and X, while JavaScript does X, X and X.”

If you don’t have the big picture at the beginning, you’re stumbling through the course like a blind mole. It would be’s pretty simple for folks at Code School to fix that and it would be tremendously helpful for us rookies to understand Ruby on Rails in the context of building web applications.

Missing Part #3: Understanding the ecosystem.
“API, Stylesheets, JavaScript Libraries… Really nice Ajax search features…” Wait a second, what are you guys talking about? All these terms and concepts unfamiliar to a rookie appear in the third section of the course like zombies from their graves. Code School can fix this by providing additional homework , for example: “These are the most important components you need to know about the Ruby on Rails ecosystem. Become familiar with the following sites: X, X and X and read the following blogs: X, X and X. In addition, look up the following terms at Wikipedia: X, X and X.”

As a beginner, you start with a blank slate. Besides learning to code, you also want to familiarize yourself with the Ruby on Rails ecosystem. Some guidance in the form of additional homework assignments would be very helpful.

That’s it for today, except for one question: What’s your opinion on the length of my blog posts? Previous ones were fairly long, and I’m wondering if you prefer reading shorter or longer posts. If you vote shorter, I can split the content into smaller chunks. Of course, I’m also curious to hear what you guys at Code School think about my course suggestions, along with my rookie compatriots. Just shoot me a line at Twitter @RafaelKnuth or leave a comment in the box below. Thanks!

The picture above belongs to Code School. I shamelessly borrowed it without asking permission to publish. Hope the Code School guys are fine with that! (Please let me know otherwise.)