Summer of Bitcoin Blog

The official blog of Summer of Bitcoin, featuring stories, technical articles, and insights from our global community of Bitcoin developers and designers.

About Summer of Bitcoin

Summer of Bitcoin is a global, online summer internship program focused on introducing university students to Bitcoin open-source development and design. Since 2021, we've enabled hundreds of students from around the world to contribute meaningfully to Bitcoin-related projects.

Refer to the about section for more information about our program, mission, and community impact.

📝 Contributing Blog Content

We welcome blog posts from interns, mentors, and community members! Follow these guidelines to ensure your content meets our standards and gets published successfully.

Prerequisites

Before submitting a blog post, ensure you have:

1. Author Profile: Your author information must be added to _config.yml in the authors section
2. Content Approval: Technical and educational content is preferred
3. Proper Attribution: All sources, images, and code snippets must be properly credited

Content Guidelines

📊 Content Types We Welcome

• Technical Tutorials: Detailed guides on Bitcoin development, Lightning Network, wallet implementation, etc.
• Project Experiences: Your journey working on specific Bitcoin projects during the internship
• Educational Articles: Explaining Bitcoin concepts, cryptography, protocols, or tools
• Reflection Posts: Personal experiences, lessons learned, and insights from your Bitcoin journey
• Open Source Guides: How-to guides for contributing to Bitcoin projects

❌ Content We Don't Accept

• Investment advice or price speculation
• Non-technical promotional content
• Plagiarized or AI-generated content without disclosure
• Content that doesn't align with our educational mission

🚀 Submission Process

Step 1: Add Your Author Profile

Edit _config.yml and add your information to the authors section:

Your Name:
  name: "Your Full Name"
  display_name: "Your Display Name"
  avatar: "assets/images/male.png"  # OR "assets/images/female.png" OR your own picture
  twitter: "https://x.com/your_handle"  # optional
  description: "Summer of Bitcoin Batch of YYYY, worked on [Project Name]"

Step 2: Create Your Blog Post

Create a new file in the _posts directory following this naming convention:

YYYY-MM-DD-your-blog-post-title.md

Step 3: Use Proper Front Matter

Every blog post must start with YAML front matter:

---
layout: post
title: "Your Compelling Blog Post Title"
date: YYYY-MM-DD
author: Your Name  # Must match the name in _config.yml
categories: [Category1, Category2]  # See available categories below
image: ../assets/images/blog_content/your-image-filename.png
---

Available Categories

Choose appropriate categories from:

• Bitcoin-Core
• Lightning-Network
• Nostr
• BDK
• Wallets
• Mining
• Privacy
• Security
• Development
• Open-Source
• Shopstr
• Stories
• Tutorials
• Design
• AI
• Cryptography

✅ Content Quality Standards

Writing Style

• Clear and Accessible: Write for both beginners and experts
• Technical Accuracy: Ensure all technical information is correct
• Proper Grammar: Proofread your content before submission
• Engaging Tone: Make technical content approachable and interesting

Structure Requirements

• Compelling Title: Clear, descriptive, and engaging
• Introduction: Hook readers and explain what they'll learn
• Logical Flow: Use headers, subheaders, and bullet points for organization
• Conclusion: Summarize key points and provide next steps
• Call to Action: Encourage engagement, further reading, or contribution

Technical Content Standards

• Code Examples: Use proper syntax highlighting with language specification
• Screenshots: Include relevant screenshots for UI/UX related content
• Links: Provide links to relevant documentation, repositories, and resources
• Accuracy: All technical claims must be verifiable and current

🖼️ Images and Media

Image Requirements

• Featured Image: Required for all posts (1200x630px recommended)
• File Format: PNG or JPG preferred
• Location: Store in assets/images/blog_content/
• Naming: Use descriptive filenames with your post date
• Size: Optimize images for web (< 500KB when possible)

Image Guidelines

• Use original images or properly licensed stock photos
• Include alt text for accessibility
• Compress images without losing quality
• Avoid copyrighted material without permission

📚 Markdown Best Practices

Headers

# Main Title (H1) - Used automatically from front matter
## Section Header (H2)
### Subsection Header (H3)
#### Minor Header (H4)

Code Blocks

```javascript
// Your code here with language specification
function bitcoinMagic() {
  return "Hello Bitcoin!";
}

#### Links and References
```markdown
[Link Text](https://example.com)
[Internal Link](/about)

Lists

- Unordered list item
- Another item
  - Nested item

1. Ordered list item
2. Another numbered item

Emphasis

*Italic text*
**Bold text**
`Code snippet`
> Blockquote for important notes

🔍 Review Process

1. Self Review: Check grammar, spelling, and technical accuracy
2. Peer Review: Have a fellow intern or mentor review your content
3. Technical Review: Ensure all code and technical concepts are correct
4. Editorial Review: Final review by blog maintainers before publication

📋 Pre-Submission Checklist

• Author profile added to _config.yml
• Filename follows correct format: YYYY-MM-DD-title.md
• Front matter includes all required fields
• Featured image added and properly referenced
• Content is original and properly attributed
• Technical accuracy verified
• Grammar and spelling checked
• Links tested and working
• Images optimized and accessible
• Categories properly selected
• Content provides educational value

🤝 Getting Help

Need assistance with your blog post? Reach out to:

• Discord: Join our community Discord for writing support
• Mentors: Ask your project mentor for technical review
• Blog Team: Contact the blog maintainers for editorial guidance

📈 Post-Publication

After your post is published:

• Share it on social media using our hashtags: #SummerOfBitcoin #Bitcoin #OpenSource
• Engage with comments and discussions
• Consider writing follow-up posts on related topics
• Help promote other intern blog posts

🛠️ Technical Setup

This blog is built with Jekyll and hosted on GitHub Pages.

Local Development

# Install dependencies
bundle install

# Run locally
bundle exec jekyll serve

# View at http://localhost:4000

Project Structure

├── _config.yml          # Site configuration and author profiles
├── _posts/              # Blog posts directory
├── _pages/              # Static pages (about, etc.)
├── _layouts/            # Page templates
├── _includes/           # Reusable components
├── assets/
│   ├── images/          # Image assets
│   └── css/             # Stylesheets
└── README.md            # This file

📄 License

Content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. The Jekyll theme is based on Mediumish and is MIT licensed.

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Ready to share your Bitcoin journey? Start writing and help educate the next generation of Bitcoin developers! 🚀