A year in rear view: Here’s how Technical.ly covered 2022

We made it through another tough one, y’all. We’re tired. But we also know that we, and you, did a lot of cool work in the meantime.

Like a mailed holiday card detailing your distant cousin’s kid’s newfound affinity for gymnastics, consider this your roundup of Technical.ly’s major moves and greatest hits of 2022. Except this one’s digital, not printed on Shutterfly card stock. [Editor’s note: I made this joke last year but ho boy, I do love it, so you’re getting it again!]

Quick programming note before we jump into the articles and organizational updates: Technical.ly will be closed from Friday, Dec. 23, through Monday, Jan. 2, which means you shouldn’t expect to see us publishing stories or shipping newsletters until that first Tuesday of the new year. Our small team works hard every weekday to deliver news about the local tech communities in Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, Delaware and Pittsburgh; So, after (say it with me) another especially challenging year, we’re looking forward to the break a little more than usual.

We hope you’ll miss us, but we’ll see you soon.

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So, what changes did 2022 bring to the Technical.ly newsroom?

Editor Sameer Rao joined the team in February to direct reporting in Baltimore and DC. He’s also contributed a fair bit of reporting, too, including this important look at how South Asians in tech experience the industry. Pitch him at sameer@technical.ly.

We continued our daily coverage in Pittsburgh, our newest full-time market. Reporter and Pittsburgh native Atiya Irvin-Mitchell joined the team through the Report for America program in August. Since then, she’s published close looks at the city’s biggest industries including robotics, autonomous vehicles and even spacetech — plus, more than one tech company shutdown. Pitch her at atiya@technical.ly.

Philly reporter Sarah Huffman also joined Technical.ly through Report for America in June. Much of her reporting has focused on STEM education, from tech career changers to corporate-school partnerships for K-12, as well as efforts to boost digital access in Philadelphia and beyond. Pitch her at sarah@technical.ly.

We started publishing the Delaware market’s newsletter weekly instead of daily, and Delaware reporter Holly Quinn shifted some of her focus to national topics. That’s included everything from explainers on the CHIPS and Science Act to how creators can navigate VR and metaverse trends. Her new title: reporter at large. Pitch her at holly@technical.ly.

Elsewhere in the newsroom, Philly reporter Paige Gross was promoted to senior reporter, with a focus on deepening her local reporting and newsroom mentorship. Catch her fall reporting on Comcast’s return to office edict and whether the city needs an esports arena. Pitch her at paige@technical.ly.

And in DC, reporter Michaela Althouse was recently named Journalist Champion of the Year by GET Cities, a women-in-tech org. Pitch her at michaela@technical.ly.

We also introduced an engagement manager for the first time: Beth Ann Downey, who has supported the newsroom’s social and events work. On the non-newsroom side of the business, we brought on Product Manager McKenzie Morgan, who is currently supporting our website redesign (coming soon!). And we published a couple stories by high school intern Harper Leary, including this look at what a high school robotics tournament says about the future of tech talent.

Very soon in the next year, we’re hiring a Baltimore reporter, a DC-focused intern and, for the first time, an editorial director to oversee newsroom strategy.

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Besides personnel changes, Technical.ly saw plenty of growth in our coverage, while continuing to dig deep on what makes local tech economies tick.

We introduced Thriving, Technical.ly’s yearlong series on economic opportunity, which includes not only reported features but community listening sessions and an in-production audio documentary following 10 Philadelphians. Our first couple of features have focused on gig-working creatives in Philly and Brooklyn; blind and low-vision individuals in Philly and Boston; and immigrant entrepreneurs in Philly. Look for 15 more in the first half of the new year.

We published a weekly newsletter tracking the innovative doers in America’s Rust Belt, called This Week in Milwaukee Rising. This series highlights the social entrepreneurs, civic technologists and creative innovators who are most shaping the Midwest city — especially those focused on creating a more just, equitable and dynamic Milwaukee economy. Read our lessons from this phase of the project.

We published another year of RealLISTs, our newsroom-curated lists of the most promising young startups, influential technologists and connective community members in each of our markets.

We played an editorial role in the Most Diverse Tech Hub project, which seeks to boost tech skills for the future talent pipeline — specifically Black and brown Philadelphians looking to move into technology careers.

CEO Chris Wink examined the ethics of international tech hiring in an in-depth four-part series, and continued his ever-timely Culture Builder column discussing the most challenging workplace culture questions of the moment.

And through our 2022 editorial calendar we devoted extra time to exploring these topics

• January — Startup Health Month
• February — What Local Means Now Month
• March — Web3 Month
• April — Cybersecurity Month
• May — Evolution of a Tech Scene Month
• June — Racial Equity in Tech Month
• July — Tech Education Month
• August — Digital Infrastructure Month
• September — Software Trends Month
• October — Tech + Government Month
• November — How I Got Here Month
• December — Technology of the Future Month

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In terms of events, we hosted our first hybrid Philly Tech Week presented by Comcast — a huge feat including dozens of community-organized meetups and virtual panels, the return of Technical.ly’s IRL Developers Conference and a closing party on the roof of Cira Centre.

We hosted a virtual Slack awards event for all of our markets, too. By way of public vote, this series honored the people, products and orgs selected as your Invention, Tech Community Leader, Culture Builder, Tech Company and CTO of the Year. Check out the winners for Philly, Baltimore, DC, Delaware and Pittsburgh. (Join our public Slack community here!)

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Looking forward, we have some big plans for 2023.

We’ll continue to follow the changing economy, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mad dash for tech talent and the skills needed to develop that talent, the ongoing efforts to reach racial equity in the industry — and what it all means for local entrepreneurs, technologists and other professionals.

Thanks for following along. We’ll see you next year.