Every year, the Flutter team shares a public roadmap that shows their main priorities and areas of focus.
Now that 2024 is here, I thought it would be useful to share my plans for the year, just like they do.
Here's what I have in store:
- I’m Launching a Flutter Discord server (bye bye, Slack)
- Merge all my Newsletters Into One
- Launch Code With Andrea Pro (my new course platform)
- Release New Flutter Courses
- Publish New Articles, Update Old Ones
Let’s get to it. 👇
1. I’m Launching a Flutter Discord server (bye bye, Slack)
Four years ago, I started a Slack community to provide Q/A support to anyone who bought my courses. It's been an open space since the start and has grown to over 4,000 members.
Unfortunately, Slack is really built for businesses, not communities. On the free plan, we lose all the chat history after 90 days, and with it goes a lot of valuable information.
That's why I've decided to start a new Discord server!
I hope to grow this into a bigger and even better community than my Slack workspace ever was, and make it a great space to learn about Flutter!
The best thing?
The new server is already live and you can join right here!
I know some people worry that big Discord servers get too noisy and are hard to follow. I hear you, and that's why I plan to use Forum Channels, which are a much better place for organized discussions. So, join today and take a look around. I think you're going to like it. 🙂
2. Merge all my Newsletters Into One
My Flutter newsletter lies at the heart of my business. It's a simple deal: people share their email with me, and I give them a lot of valuable content for free (and occasionally, promote my own courses).
Right now, to collect emails, I offer three different things on my site:
- A Flutter email course, where I share a curated list of resources for getting started with Flutter
- My “new” newsletter, where I share my new articles (usually every two weeks)
- My monthly newsletter, which covers all the latest Flutter news
I originally set things up this way so you could subscribe to the content you're most interested in. But having three different sign-up pages can be quite confusing for newcomers.
That's why I've decided to merge everything together into one simple newsletter.
This means that when you sign up, you'll get all my articles, the monthly updates, plus a welcome email that introduces you to my Flutter email course (which will be available directly on my site instead of through a 15-day email sequence).
In the next few weeks, I'll work on these changes and get a updated landing page up and running.
If you're already a subscriber, you don't need to lift a finger. You'll continue to get my articles and the monthly newsletter. And remember, you can always choose what to receive or unsubscribe anytime with the links at the bottom of each email.
3. Launch Code with Andrea Pro (my new course platform)
Last December, I shared news about my upcoming course platform. My goal is to have all sorts of learning tools, like interactive guides, videos, exercises, and challenges.
I hope that by focusing less on video content, I’ll be able to create even better courses, and do it quicker.
The platform will launch in Q1 2024, and all my existing courses will be available then (and if you already bought any of my courses on Teachable, you'll be all set on the new platform, too).
If you haven’t already done so, you can sign up for the waitlist here.
4. Release New Flutter Courses
Flutter is growing fast in many different directions and on multiple platforms, so it’s just not possible to cover everything in one single course.
That's why I'll be bringing out shorter courses that focus on specific topics. I want to make sure I'm teaching what you really want to learn, so keep an eye out for a new survey that I'll send out in the coming weeks.
Alongside producing new content, I’ll also try to keep my current courses fresh and up-to-date.
Over the years, I’ve received a lot of feedback about my courses - most of it positive, but also some valid criticism, and on some occasions, I haven’t been able to act promptly on it. It's a challenge to keep up with video updates when new APIs roll out or things change drastically. But I want you to know I’ll try to get better at this. And with my new course platform and Discord server, it's going to be a whole lot smoother.
5. Publish New Articles, Update Old Ones
I’m keeping my free articles coming in 2024. I plan to publish many new ones, and keep the older ones up to date. I'll also keep sharing my Flutter tips and tricks on Twitter, LinkedIn, and this GitHub repo.
As I mentioned in my 2023 retro, I also want to hire more Flutter experts to write articles for me. It may take some time to find the right people, but I think it will be worth it.
Up until now, I've focused on technical “how-to” guides on a variety of topics. But in 2024, I'm thinking of mixing in some “opinion” pieces where I’ll share my personal views (like why I believe we should tackle things a certain way, using common sense and practicality rather than dogma). If you’d find this useful, let me know. 🙂
Until Next Time
I hope this paints a clear picture of what I'm aiming for in 2024.
The new Discord server is already live, and if all goes well, this is my timeline:
- January: Updated newsletter
- February: Look out for my new survey
- February/March: New course platform goes live
- March and beyond: Start work on new courses
- All year round: New articles + update old ones
As usual, my goal is to help you advance your Flutter skills faster, and I can’t wait to do just that!
What are your thoughts? Do you think moving the Flutter community to Discord is a good move? Is there any other way I can help you? I’m all ears at contact@codewithandrea.com.
Happy coding!
