Interviews with the Ambassadors - Ignacio Anaya

The Auth0 Ambassador Program was created to empower the developer community and help make the Internet a safer place for everyone. Our ambassadors give talks at various conferences, host workshops at local meetups, and create all sorts of content to help developers learn about the latest standards and best practices when it comes to identity, authentication, and security.

The Interviews with Ambassadors series shines a light into who are ambassadors are, how they got here, and what they are doing next. This month, our highlighted ambassador is Ignacio Anaya, who joined the Auth0 Ambassador Program when it was just starting out.

Interview with the Auth0 Ambassador Ignacio Anaya

Thank you for making the time Ignacio, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a full stack developer and tech speaker. I really love to code and it is probably my biggest passion. But what I also love is to share knowledge, to teach, and to exchange experiences. I think the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.

I like communities, I am leading a Vue.js Meetup in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Besides computers and coding I love sports, so when I am not coding I am playing something. I am a field hockey player (and a frustrated soccer player) at Gimnasia de Esgrima de Buenos Aires. I have a beautiful and smart wife, (we got married some weeks ago). What else can I say? I think I am a happy and lucky man.

Well first of all congrats on getting married! Second, what made you want to join the Auth0 Ambassador Program?

Last year I decided that I wanted to be a speaker, I started preparing talks for local meetups and then I had the chance to speak at some big conferences and travel around the world. The problem is that this is really hard to achieve alone and there is no such thing as a Speaker School.

So when I read about the program, I thought “that is exactly what I need”. A group of people coaching, giving feedback, teaching and sharing resources to improve and grow together. I love the program, it is a win-win solution that helped me a lot and it opened many doors for me.

That’s really great to hear. We may need to rebrand to Auth0 Speaker School. What have been some of your favorite experiences with the Ambassador Program?

Thanks to the program I had the chance to visit really nice places like Tallinn (Estonia), Lisbon (Portugal) and Sandusky (US). But, the best part was that I met a bunch of amazing people and made new friends around the world while getting to speak as an authority on various subjects.

What has been your favorite event to attend in the last year?

I liked TopConf because Tallinn is one of the most awesome places I have ever seen. This year I also participated in CodeMash which was an incredible conference in Sandusky, Ohio. The venue was great and it had an indoor water park inside it. It was an amazing experience and really quite different from other conferences.

Besides speaking at conferences and meetups, you help organize the Vuenos Aires meetup in Buenos Aires. Can you tell me a little bit more about the work you do there?

I was one of the first people in Buenos Aires working with Vue.js. I recorded an online course, I did some workshops about the framework, and gave a bunch of talks around the world, so why not also create a local community in my city?

We have MeetupJS that is really cool, lead by folks like Cris Duran, Nico Isnardi, Ale Oviedo and Cami Cepeda who inspired me to start the Vue.js meetup. Picking the name was really easy, and I have to say it’s one of the best names ever. Then, Cami Cepeda and Mati Blayer joined me and we started organizing the events together. In less than one year, we have around 800 members and we are doing monthly events that attract a lot of attendees and speakers. I am really proud of what we built.

That is so awesome. Vuenos Aires is so clever! Auth0 has an HQ in BA, what type of interactions and support do you get from Auth0 for being an ambassador?

A lot... I am always bothering Tony (Diego Poza). I visited the offices several times. I always get feedback from my talks and a lot of assistance for events and travel expenses. We even host Vuenos Aires meetups at the Auth0 HQ from time to time. The most important thing is that I have access to the coolest swag in the world. I am looking forward to visiting the new offices now.

Tony is the best. You’re obviously a big fan of Vue.js — why do you prefer it over Angular or React?

What I mostly like about Vue.js is that is simple but really powerful. You can use it to develop the most basic or really complex application and it works great for both scenarios. I really hate comparisons, so I will not say that Vue.js is better but definitively is different.

I believe that Vue broke down the existing paradigms compared to current solutions and I love to break paradigms. Vue combines some of the best parts of Angular with some of the best parts of React, and the result is terrific.

That’s a really good way to put it. I have to spend some more time with Vue.js now. How do you balance the Ambassador Program with your regular job?

For me, it is not hard. I work at Bloq Inc, which is a remote friendly company and very flexible. This means that I can work in any part of the world. I just need my laptop and an internet connection. The good thing about the Auth0 Ambassador Program is that you don’t have to meet strict goals, you can be as active as time allows. The real problem is balancing work with your life, friends, hobbies, and family. Thankfully, I have enough time for everything (most of the time).

What are some of the big challenges you face running a local developer community and how can the developer community help?

For us, the biggest challenge is finding speakers for the events. Especially for a group that is only focused on a single JavaScript framework. The community is big, there are a lot of people but I think it is crucial that people stop being read-only members. Please do not be afraid to participate, to get involved, to speak, or bring some help. The community does not belong to the organizers, it belongs to its members, but we need active members to keep growing and opening up opportunities for everyone. You have write-access, use it.

Read/Write access, I love it, that is a great way to put it. Can you share a few tips for aspiring Ambassadors?

I think so. First of all, lose the fear and take courage. I gave my first talk around one year ago. It took me a while to take that first step forward, but three months later I was traveling around the world participating as a speaker at different conferences.

Second, keep your head up and always keep trying. You will be rejected… a lot. Most of your proposals will not be selected for the conferences but that is normal and will happen. Don’t let this discourage you, just because your talk wasn’t selected does not mean it is bad. Conference organizers get hundreds of submissions and usually less than twenty speaking slots. Keep submitting, you will get selected.

Good advice and very true. It is typical to get rejected ten times before getting selected once, so keep trying would be my advice as well, and also ask for feedback as it can be invaluable to getting selected and becoming a better speaker. Are there any projects you’re working on that you’re really passionate about and want to bring awareness to that we can highlight?

I started working in the blockchain world some months ago. Right now at Bloq Inc, we are working on a new cryptocurrency called Metronome. It is a very challenging project and I am learning a lot.

Ethereum and Smart Contracts blow my mind. I will definitely be playing with them in the coming months.

Where are you speaking next/or what events are you planning next?

Not sure yet, as I got married last month I put submitting CFP’s on hold for a bit. But I will be back in the ring soon. I will be talking and participating in local events in Buenos Aires in the short terms but will focus on proposals for second-semester conferences later in the year. There are a lot of interesting topics that I would like to share with the audience. So wish me luck.

Good luck! Thank you for taking the time to speak to me today Ignacio, is there anything you would like to add?

I don’t think so, thanks for being awesome and having me as an ambassador. I am really happy with the results and I hope to keep rocking together.

That wraps up our interview with Ignacio Anaya, Auth0 Ambassador from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I hope that Ignacio’s tips on how to get involved with your local community and how to get on the big stage have inspired you to go out there and start sharing knowledge!

If you are interested in learning more about or joining the Auth0 Ambassador program, check out the Ambassador page on our website.