Ep68: Career Highlights + OGM Alternatives

In this episode, hear my reflections on eight years as a Developer Advocate at Neo4j - learning in public, teaching before feeling “ready”, and navigating the constant balance between deep technical work and community engagement. Get updates on what I'm currently focused on: upcoming events, writing a more complex chapter of the Java book, sharpening Cypher skills, and exploring an article that challenges the default use of Object Graph Mappers (OGMs) in graph applications.

Highlights

• 8 Years in Advocacy

  • Learning fast by presenting and teaching

  • Balancing deep work, travel, and ad hoc collaboration

  • Adapting to the accelerating pace of tech and AI

• Current Projects

  • Preparing for Devnexus and upcoming virtual events

  • Contributing to Road to NODES AI workshops

  • Writing a more advanced Java book chapter (avoiding the editing loop)

  • Intentionally improving Cypher skills through deeper practice

• Rethinking OGMs

  • Exploring the article “The Very Slowly Ticking Time Bomb, Your Graph Persistent Stack”

  • Questioning whether OGMs add unnecessary translation layers in graph apps

  • Considering alternatives

  • Expanding the toolbox — no one-size-fits-all solution

Events

• Devnexus (Atlanta, GA)

• San Francisco Bay ACM (Virtual Event)

• Road to NODES AI Workshops (Free, virtual)