Stack overflow is an open source platform that allows programmers to come together to come up with a series of questions and answers to help one another out with a range of computer programming topics. The site works through active membership and participation, without which, questions would never be posted, and answers never received by experts from all around the world. Stack Overflow is similar to Reddit in that users can earn and build their online reputation through “up votes” from their peers. The website is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. While Stack Overflow may be considered a question and answer site by many, they also have installed a job section, allowing programmers to browse through programming-specific jobs based on job title, technology stack, salary and location to name a few specifics. To understand just how Stake Overview has revolutionised the way developers communicate, and how to get the most out of your Stack Overflow membership, we will explore these insights further below.
1. Communication & Engagement
Stack Overflow is all about communication and voluntary engagement. That is what the platform is based on. Stack Overflow works as a place to share information and collaborate with like minded professionals to create a fast and reliable solution to a complex coding problem. With this strategy in mind, Stack Overflow allows every user to improve upon the overall quality of the site itself, as well as improving and extending the overall knowledge base of programmers all over the world, lifting one another up as a collective group of industry professionals. Engagement is an essential feature of Stack overflow, as it allows members to collaborate and recommend the most correct answer and build upon one another’s thought process.
2. Building Your Knowledge Base
Regardless of how educated a person is, there is always more to learn. That is one of the best things about Stack Overflow. Programmers who need assistance with their problem are able to search their question and read through possible answers to their question. While this may not always lead you to your perfect answer, it may take you down an entirely different path upon which you are able to answer someone else’s question, thus contributing to the larger Stack Overflow community, or find new information that you were unaware of before. Even for those programmers who do not need assistance in one particular area but are curious to expand their knowledge base, there are new questions and queries to ponder, learn and answer each day. For those who cannot find an answer through searching, can post their own question and wait for the broader community to come together to aid in your specific needs.
3. Reputation
Through “upvotes” an individual is able to boost their Stack Overflow reputation. This system comes into play when you contribute to the online community, either asking a question or responding to another member’s question. If the community feels that your answer is correct or helpful to the need of the users, you may receive a number of upvotes. The more upvotes you receive, the wider accepted your contribution is. The more upvotes you get, the better your reputation becomes. It often takes time to build a solid reputation on Stack Overflow and requires an in-depth knowledge base and a commitment to the online community as a whole.
4. Job Opportunities
As mentioned previously, Stack Overflow has a specific section for programmers to apply for jobs. This section was added, however, to take advantage of the momentum that was already arising from large companies, for example Google, who sent recruiters out onto Stack Overflow to find users with a wide range of in depth knowledge, a willingness to communicate and collaborate with other programmers, and with fast and accurate knowledge. This process of recruitment is made much easier for companies through the “upvoting” system, demonstrating at face value who has a solid knowledge of their area of expertise, and who may suit their specific company’s needs.
Stack Overflow is bringing the world of programming closer than ever. Through this online platform, collaborators are creating a tight-knit community of programmers that are working together to raise one another up and benefit the industry of computer programming as a whole.
