I see a lot of tech people asking what they can do to help right now. Having spent most of my career in politics and government, I've gotten this question a lot during other big, traumatic events - Trump's election, covid, etc. - and my advice is the same today. (1/10)

My answer isn't one most people want to hear, but it's based on years of watching volunteers try to help. If you have highly-marketable tech skills, the best way you can use them in a crisis? Use them to make more money, then donate to people working on the problem already (2/10)

Whether it's politics, public health, humanitarian relief, or war, there are thousands and thousands of professionals who spend their careers building specialized skills. The thing they lack isn't knowledge or skill, it's almost always the resources to act. (3/10)

So amateur volunteers, however well-intentioned and skilled in their own fields, are often solving the wrong problem. And even if they can deliver something valuable, handing it off and walking away just creates technical debt for the people you think you're helping. (4/10)

This is why I hate hackathons with a passion - they let volunteers do the fun part of the work and feel good about themselves, while sticking someone else with the burden of trying to implement and maintain something that's only half-done at best. (5/10)

If you really do want to make a difference with your data or tech skills, then maybe consider a career change, because it takes years to develop the subject matter expertise to actually make a real difference. If you won't commit to that, then leave it to people who will. (6/10)

To be clear, the urge to help is commendable, and I'm sure there are cases where volunteers did actually make a difference. But those are the exception, and most often volunteers accomplish little, or worse, get in the way of professionals who could do better. (7/10)

So if your real area of expertise is doing tech in a for-profit environment, then the best way to use those skills to help others is to do more of what you're good at, and use the proceeds to solve the resource problems that plague people working on these things every day. (8/10)

It may not feel as glamorous or noble, but it's how you can best help right now. By the time there's a crisis, it's too late for you to become an expert in a new field, and the notion that what's missing from the world is *your* brilliance is just plain hubris. (9/10)

So if you're just waking up now and want to help, then put your ego down and pick up your checkbook. And then if you do want to do more, think about what you'd be willing to commit to long term, and start working on it *before* the next big disaster. (10/10)