\u003C/figure>\n\u003C!-- /wp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>The pandemic had a similar impact on cybersecurity questions. Our \u003Ca href=\"https://stackoverflow.blog/2021/10/11/shift-to-remote-work-prompted-more-cybersecurity-questions-than-any-breach/\">recent research\u003C/a> showed that security-related activity across the public platform appeared to be tied to major breaches. That is, until recently. The volume of security-related questions on Stack Overflow at the start of lockdown exceeded that of any year in our history.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:image -->\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/iFBlS2c9BGnAFk4IB2beKx9jKUsoueH3uXNDsOU8a4PzxQq-giRMdphY8-of9muRKH_1hVuP6b740KlJN1rqUBug37WMelCeWBA652cDJzhJp1Tyj8pfdMCLKm9b5JV4Z-MVe19A\" alt=\"\"/>\u003C/figure>\n\u003C!-- /wp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>We also saw exceptional growth in three core areas when it comes to the public platform community. Monthly active users are up 7% over last year at this time, and we’re seeing monthly sign ups tracking ahead of our plan with an increase of 44% over this time last year. Lastly, we’re continuing to invest in improving our moderator experience, and we’re starting to see it pay off. While we continue to focus on making the public platform a welcoming place for all, this is a promising indicator that we’re making impactful decisions.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>From a product perspective, we updated our \u003Ca href=\"https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/370216/updates-to-privacy-policy-september-2021?cb=1\">Privacy Policy\u003C/a>, made changes to \u003Ca href=\"https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/369013/review-queue-workflows-final-release\">Review Queues\u003C/a>, and introduced \u003Ca href=\"https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/411820/high-contrast-mode-beta\">high-contrast mode\u003C/a> for people who need a bit more contrast. These are all aligned with our goal of making Stack Overflow a more inclusive community. We also completed our annual Community-A-Thon, where our employees dedicate time to increasing their engagement with the community on the public platform. \u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Finally, we launched our first-ever physical product. It started as an April Fool's joke. We told everyone that tried to copy and paste on Stack Overflow that their copying and pasting was limited unless they purchased The Key. Panic set in for the \u003Ca href=\"https://stackoverflow.blog/2021/04/19/how-often-do-people-actually-copy-and-paste-from-stack-overflow-now-we-know/\">1 out of every 4 users who copies something within five minutes of hitting Stack Overflow\u003C/a>. Once people caught on to the joke, we were flooded with requests to actually purchase The Key. The joke is officially over. \u003Ca href=\"https://drop.com/buy/stack-overflow-the-key-macropad\">The Key is real\u003C/a>, and it sold out in six hours! We opened pre-orders and nearly 9,000 units have been sold to-date, with the remaining shipping later this year. All our proceeds are going to \u003Ca href=\"https://www.digitalundivided.com/\">digitalundivided\u003C/a>, a non-profit that leverages data, programs, and advocacy to catalyze economic growth for Black and Latinx women entrepreneurs in tech. It's amazing to see this impact from our community.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading -->\n\u003Ch2 id=\"h-product-update\">Product update\u003C/h2>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>We’re also seeing a shift within organizations as teams solidify their remote or hybrid work strategies. We’re hearing from technology leaders more and more that agile transformation is becoming a top priority and onboarding continues to be a challenge as they scale their teams. On top of that, \u003Ca href=\"https://www.indeed.com/lead/preventing-employee-burnout-report\">a recent survey\u003C/a> also revealed that nearly 70% of U.S. workers said their level of burnout has worsened throughout the pandemic. All of these challenges compounded are creating more urgency for Stack Overflow for Teams. We welcomed our highest volume of new customers for both Stack Overflow for Teams and Advertising in the last quarter. We also had our highest ever gross revenue retention (GRR) for Teams in our mid-market segment last quarter.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:pullquote -->\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cp>“Technical teams typically face an adoption hurdle,” said Tzach Zohar, a systems architect at Skai. “But because Stack Overflow is already second-nature for developers, the transition to Stack Overflow for Teams was easy.” \u003C/p>\u003C/blockquote>\u003C/figure>\n\u003C!-- /wp:pullquote -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:image {\"id\":18987,\"sizeSlug\":\"full\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} -->\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://stackoverflow.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/q3-2021-ceo-user-logos.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18987\"/>\u003C/figure>\n\u003C!-- /wp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>As customers onboard, they continue to share their experiences with their peers, earning us recognition on G2 across nearly every segment for the 11th consecutive quarter.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:image -->\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/YA7s6J5YaXRLwJq1TRefYFPLUc_kax8gUb6GCiLtkWnxC44LsivJgfQIpGGvjQZMNJ1heNGiqwxdzfLP3GCofttjo3PXxExAMzgTeaavrnYT-yyNHiw6VOc2VL-no-TGNFjY6WpI\" alt=\"\"/>\u003C/figure>\n\u003C!-- /wp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>We’re continuing to work with customers to build communities on Stack Overflow through our Reach & Relevance products, which consists of banner ads, tag sponsorships, podcast, the newsletter, and blog sponsorships, and finally \u003Ca href=\"https://stackoverflow.com/collectives\">Collectives™ on Stack Overflow\u003C/a>. We launched a new Collective—GitLab—and surpassed 20,000 members across all Collectives. Collectives on Stack Overflow are communities where developers can directly engage with technology organizations and find resources they need when they need them in one place.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:image -->\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Y2MRHmtFK2xYg03YwMgA8Qj__GGHTWl2K-bnjEQtwahoeumhJHr8Ap4KH6HUWCK3rkT26WhPm1rt2Ilocuxh15KVHzLJHrZo2PUPA1ogccJnPwhDVEvHrd8rH-m8cQPD7pYjwnVK\" alt=\"\"/>\u003C/figure>\n\u003C!-- /wp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Our goal is to give developers direct access to the resources they and subject matter experts that can help them find answers when they need them. Our customers can also get deeper insights into who is interacting and engaging with their content and technologies on Stack Overflow. For every technology vendor we work with to launch a Collective, our goal is to do the same with an open source partner.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading -->\n\u003Ch2 id=\"h-diversity-equity-inclusion\">Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion\u003C/h2>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>We’ve rolled out a few new initiatives internally over the last few months, including our first DEIB-dedicated (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) quarterly newsletter, a calendar of important days with educational materials, and new tools to help us measure DEI metrics within Stack Overflow, and DEI-related competencies for our performance reviews framework to help hold us accountable. We’re ramping up regular programming to help scale and replicate the success of the Asian and Pacific Islander and LGBTQ+ panels we hosted last quarter. There’s always work to be done, but we’re making steady progress towards a more diverse and inclusive Stack Overflow within our organization and across our platform.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading -->\n\u003Ch2 id=\"h-looking-ahead\">Looking ahead\u003C/h2>\n\u003C!-- /wp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>With the Prosus acquisition complete, we’re excited to accelerate our plans for international growth and expansion. We’re cautiously moving forward with optional return to office plans in New York City and London and continuing to hire remote employees all over the globe.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>This month, \u003Ca href=\"https://www.comparably.com/companies/stack-overflow/awards\">Comparably named Stack Overflow\u003C/a> as one of the highest-rated companies for overall happiness, compensation, and perks and benefits. We’ve already filled over 180 roles in 2021 thus far and are currently recruiting for \u003Ca href=\"https://stackoverflow.com/company/work-here\">over 70 open roles\u003C/a> (and more being added daily) across nearly every department and time zone. With more than 80% of Stackers permanently remote, we’re also finding creative ways to stay supportive and connected long-term.\u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:image -->\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/L9qHp6eUikgBTORjt66i8cz7Pf82De87moTkn5z1GncCpydMXVPQ-qi9tTGpKFkccSvBGgUvLx0p60jSUT0tV97ziFn79WypWluMmt7lIhhZP0tyzT7KPCzSQyqwKbt3l-Zb38SG\" alt=\"\"/>\u003C/figure>\n\u003C!-- /wp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>As we sprint towards the end of 2021, we’re focusing on the foundational priorities that got us here: operational scale and repeatability, Stacker growth and development, and community health and growth. The Prosus acquisition is allowing us the flexibility and resources to scale our team faster so that we can reinforce our foundation, serve our community at scale, and prepare for takeoff in the year ahead. \u003C/p>\n\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->","html","2021-10-27T14:00:00.000Z",{"current":464},"strong-teams-are-more-than-just-connected-they-are-communities",[466,474,479],{"_createdAt":467,"_id":468,"_rev":469,"_type":470,"_updatedAt":467,"slug":471,"title":473},"2023-05-23T16:43:21Z","wp-tagcat-ceo-quarterly-post","9HpbCsT2tq0xwozQfkc4ih","blogTag",{"current":472},"ceo-quarterly-post","ceo quarterly post",{"_createdAt":467,"_id":475,"_rev":469,"_type":470,"_updatedAt":467,"slug":476,"title":478},"wp-tagcat-community",{"current":477},"community","Community",{"_createdAt":467,"_id":480,"_rev":469,"_type":470,"_updatedAt":467,"slug":481,"title":483},"wp-tagcat-company",{"current":482},"company","Company","Strong teams are more than just connected, they are communities",[486,492,498,504],{"_id":487,"publishedAt":488,"slug":489,"sponsored":12,"title":491},"370eca08-3da8-4a13-b71e-5ab04e7d1f8b","2025-08-28T16:00:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":490},"moving-the-public-stack-overflow-sites-to-the-cloud-part-1","Moving the public Stack Overflow sites to the cloud: Part 1",{"_id":493,"publishedAt":494,"slug":495,"sponsored":453,"title":497},"e10457b6-a9f6-4aa9-90f2-d9e04eb77b7c","2025-08-27T04:40:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":496},"from-punch-cards-to-prompts-a-history-of-how-software-got-better","From punch cards to prompts: a history of how software got better",{"_id":499,"publishedAt":500,"slug":501,"sponsored":12,"title":503},"65472515-0b62-40d1-8b79-a62bdd2f508a","2025-08-25T16:00:00.000Z",{"_type":10,"current":502},"making-continuous-learning-work-at-work","Making continuous learning work at work",{"_id":505,"publishedAt":506,"slug":507,"sponsored":12,"title":509},"1b0bdf8c-5558-4631-80ca-40cb8e54b571","2025-08-21T14:00:25.054Z",{"_type":10,"current":508},"research-roadmap-update-august-2025","Research roadmap update, August 2025",{"count":511,"lastTimestamp":512},4,"2023-05-25T09:47:41Z",["Reactive",514],{"$sarticleModal":515},false,["Set"],["ShallowReactive",518],{"sanity-JSvBFnjl7-vx4j27yoFunEA6eIz0m6BcMl1O21aqF9g":-1,"sanity-comment-wp-post-18984-1756742131165":-1},"/2021/10/27/strong-teams-are-more-than-just-connected-they-are-communities"]