Become an InfluxDB Inventor

By Michael Hall / Company, Product, Use Cases, Developer
Jun 15, 2020

As InfluxDB continues to grow and improve, more and more developers are using it as the platform of choice for their own solutions. Most of these solutions range from filling niche internal needs to solving common problems faced by entire industries, but some of them are extraordinary for their impact, innovation, or how much they push the boundaries of what is possible with the technology. In order to recognize those, we are launching the InfluxDB Inventors program.

Program eligibility and two types of inventors

Anybody who builds something with, or on top of, InfluxDB is eligible to become an InfluxDB Inventor. We will specifically look for two types of Inventors: those who pioneer the use of some new product or feature of InfluxDB, and those who create something novel and impactful that we haven’t even considered before.

For the first group, we will define specific challenges or milestones that need to be met in order to qualify and will place a cap on the number of people who can become an InfluxDB Inventor by meeting that challenge. The purpose of this approach is to push forward the cutting edge parts of the InfluxDB platform and recognize those innovators who help us improve both the technology and the developer experience behind it.

But we also know that innovation isn’t limited to just what we can think of. That’s why the second group allows for InfluxDB Inventors to be nominated by anyone in our community, for any solution they feel is deserving of that recognition. These nominations will be reviewed by the InfluxDB Community team for approval based on the creativity, impact, and experience that their solutions provide. There is no limit to the number of people who can become InfluxDB Inventors this way. We have an amazingly creative community, and we plan to recognize as many of them with this program as we can.

InfluxDB Inventor recognition and benefits

The biggest prize an InfluxDB Inventor gets is the recognition of the value and impact of their work — both from InfluxData and the community at large — but Inventors will also receive some special benefits. Every InfluxDB Inventor will receive an exclusive InfluxDB Inventor t-shirt available exclusively through this program — you can’t purchase these, and they won’t be given away at conferences.

Each InfluxDB Inventor, as well as their invention(s), will also be listed in an InfluxDB Inventors Directory on our website. We will also send you a Certificate of Invention, signed by InfluxData founder and CTO Paul Dix, so you can display your accomplishment in your home or office.

As part of our kickoff of the InfluxDB Inventors, we’ve chosen the InfluxDB Templates as our first technology focus.

Launched earlier this year, InfluxDB Templates are a new feature available in InfluxDB 2.0 that allows you to export your entire configuration, from Dashboards to Tasks to Telegraf configurations, into a shareable and reusable format. The first 20 community contributors of an InfluxDB Template that can be reused by anybody will become InfluxDB Inventors! In fact, we already have community contributors who have done this, and who will be the very first Inventors added to this program.

Our first batch of InfluxDB Inventors t-shirts has been ordered, the directory webpage is being built, and our inaugural class of InfluxDB Inventors has already been selected. The only question remaining is: What will you invent next using InfluxDB technology?