When the lightbulb goes off and you have a great idea for something to build, what are your next steps?

Write a spec for it!

Where do you usually hear about word-of-mouth technology trends?

Usually either in person or in online discussions with developers or on twitter.

Where do you publish or get validation for your side projects?

ethresear.ch

What is the most valuable non-Ethereum conference you have attended or would like to attend?

Outside ethereum but within crypto, Zcon. Outside crypto entirely, Economics and Computation 2018 was very valuable in improving my understanding of the economics community and what econ people are thinking about.

What is the last technological development that got you pumped and where did you discover it?

Efficient range proofs inside PLONK. Heard it from the PLONK team.

What is the best tutorial you’ve ever worked through?

I occasionally come across very good tutorials on technical topics, eg. this one on bulletproofs was excellent.

Where do you go for general tech news?

Twitter, reddit, news.ycombinator.com, sometimes specific blogs, and also discussions online and offline with other people.

How did you first learn about Ethereum?

A friend told me.

What aspects of Ethereum made you excited enough to get more involved?

Greater individual freedom, the technology is interesting, the people in the community, positive impact on the world, censorship resistance, decentralized finance.

Were there any aspects of Ethereum that turned you off at first?

I thought it could never work.

Who within the Ethereum ecosystem has helped you the most? How?

There’s too many to count. Early on, the contributions of Jeffrey Wilcke and Gav Wood on the development side, and Vlad Zamfir on the research side, were crucial. Joe Lubin’s contributions to developing the ecosystem on the application side at an early stage was also immensely valuable. Many local community leaders helped a lot in building out the Ethereum ecosystem, there’s too many to name at this point.

How would you convince a developer friend that Ethereum is worth checking out?

Depends on what their interests are! Someone interested in the tech aspects would have a different path from someone interested in social implications, and even there there is a lot of variation.

What do you currently use Ethereum for in your day to day life?