AI DevOps Podcast Alvin Ashcraft: Community Conferences - Episode 378
Dec 1, 2025
In this discussion, Alvin Ashcraft, a senior content developer at Microsoft and community leader with over 27 years in software development, shares his passion for the tech world. He details the rise of the TechBash conference, emphasizing its community focus and the challenges of organizing multi-day events. Alvin also explores the exciting innovations in .NET 10, the evolution of scripting, and the future of chat-driven APIs. Plus, he offers insights into becoming a technical reviewer and announces opportunities for upcoming TechBash speakers!
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AI Dominates Sessions But Mobile Still Matters
- Recent TechBash sessions showed heavy interest in AI topics alongside Kubernetes and mobile, reflecting broader industry trends.
- Alvin noted mobile frameworks like .NET MAUI and Uno remain personally interesting despite AI's prominence.
Automating The Daily Dew Drop
- Alvin automated his Daily Dotnet (Daily Dew Drop) newsletter using Newsblur and a custom VS Code extension to pull, tag, categorize, and publish links to WordPress.
- He revamped old tooling (Open Live Writer) to a modern VS Code plugin to streamline curation and publishing.
Curate, Categorize, And Prioritize Links
- Curate a 'read later' list and only surface top links each day to keep a newsletter focused and valuable rather than dumping every feed item.
- Categorize items (e.g., .NET, AI) and prioritize top links you actually read to maintain quality.
