About

Richard Smedley is a Principal Technical Writer at Couchbase with over 23 years of relevant experience. He specializes in technical writing on NoSQL, N1QL, OpenData, BigData, Data Science, Python, Scala, Haskell, Rust, and Java. Richard has previously worked in Credit Union software, micro-finance, #openmoney, #FutureOfMoney, #MonnaiesLibres, Complementary Currency, LETS, Timebank, Energy Shares, Money & Society, FinTech, and Financial Permaculture. Apart from technical writing, Richard is an expert in copywriting, technical articles, reviewing, editing, and blogging. He has experience in administering training on GNU/Linux, Unix, and networking, and is a jack-of-all-trades, specializing in Free & Open Source Software. Richard has also worked on developing websites, with a focus on accessibility and responsive CSS, groupware, terminal services, desktop and network roll-outs. Richard has a passion for education and has developed courses to teach younger children programming and creative uses of computing. He has conducted productivity & GTD workshops, education & training, and PRINCE2 project management. Richard is also a speaker and trainer in Permaculture, edible landscaping, and organic horticulture. His previous careers in music and organic horticulture, where he holds a Kew Diploma in Horticulture, give him a valuable perspective. Richard is a Free & Open Source Software advocate, developer, teacher, and program manager. He is a Certified Permaculture Designer and a former HDRA advisor, long-time Green IT specialist. Richard's current role at Couchbase involves leading projects to expand and improve the documentation across Cloud and developer docs. He is working with the SDK engineers, QE, and docs writers on documenting Couchbase SDKs in C, C# / .NET, Go, Java, Kotlin, Node.js, PHP, Python, Ruby, and Scala, and multi-document ACID transactions. Richard is also working with the team on the new information architecture, reflecting "every page is page one." Richard has a Post-Grad MOOC & on-campus module in Money & Society from the University of Cumbria. He has a DipHort (Kew) in Botanical Horticulture, Management, CAD, and Surveying from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Richard also has a Permaculture Designer's Certificate from the Permaculture Association and a Bachelor of