For those new to MicroPython or to the ESP8266 line of microprocessors here is a talk that I gave at a PyCaribbean conference in 2017. [1]
Its a bit long winded but I tried to touch upon everything that a new entrant to the space would want to know to start playing with the board immediately.
I am not a natural public speaker so please excuse my verbal (or other) tics.
I have also linked the presentation PDF. [2] You can scan the entire PDF in less than 10 minutes to get the gist of the 45 minute+ YouTube video.