You heard it folks...Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas has stated that he is going to give up producing music to learn computer programming. Being that I happen to be a musician who has also been learning how to program for about a year now, I think he is making a great choice. There are similarities in the two worlds. You are creating something new in both. You are brainstorming, trying new things, and you get an end result that you (and possibly others) are satisfied with.
Pro Tools is a definitely a tedious and time consuming program to use, but once you get the hang of it, it's actually quite fun to make music with. Sometimes when I'm using it, I think to myself, "Wow, I can't imagine what kind of programming it took to actually make this massive studio in a box". I'm sure this is the same question Will.i.am has asked himself, and what prompted him to learn to code. The other factor here is that with websites like Code.org asking people to learn how to program, it's no wonder Will has stepped up to the plate. There is a huge demand for programmers (good ones), but there is also a huge shortage of them. Simply put, we need more people to learn how to program.
For the past 3 years I've been starting new tech companies, and the re-occurring theme is that we always need programmers. Sometimes we recruit them to our team, sometimes we hire them locally, and sometimes we outsource them to India or what have you. It's always difficult to manage a team of programmers if you yourself are not one. This is what prompted me to learn the basics of programming. Once I learned the basics, I took my skills to the next level and started to actually build websites, design them, take courses online at places like Codecademy, Udemy, Udacity, and others like that.
Hopefully Will's message to the world is that programming is just as important as entertainment. Because without programming you truly wouldn't have the entertainment, because programming creates it! I'm curious to see how far he goes, what he can accomplish, and what web app or phone app he comes out with. If he pulls this off, he could truly spur a new revolution in programming since he is so popular, and kids might find programming to be the new thing. I tip my hat to Will.i.am and wish him all the luck in his new coding endeavor. My advice to you Will, don't get frustrated, ask questions, build a prototype first, and collaborate with others around you.
If you think Will.i.am is doing something wonderful, leave a comment and tell me why. If you think otherwise, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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