Developers are today's rockstars.
They will open your eyes to what's possible and inspire you to reach greater heights!
What criteria am I using to deem a developer a 'Rockstar'?
They have more followers than they follow (which makes them more of a leader than a follower).
They build, ship, and generate revenue from what they've created.
They are transparent in what they do and go out of their way to help others... often having bad ass github and codepen pages with lots of followers.
They acknowledge the work of their peers and give shout outs. Mutual admiration.
They are confident, but don't have an ego that turns others off.
It's not about the technology they created, it's about how they use it (and share it).
Without trying to turn themselves into a brand, their name (and face) have become a recognized brand! Tip: See who the rockstars are following and you'll likely find more rockstars! Many of them work for large companies, but still make big contributions to the open source world (i.e. Paul Irish). I suspect many of them made the contributions that led to them landing great jobs in the corporate world.