Book Image

Developer, Advocate!

By : Geertjan Wielenga
Book Image

Developer, Advocate!

By: Geertjan Wielenga

Overview of this book

What exactly is a developer advocate, and how do they connect developers and companies around the world? Why is the area of developer relations set to explode? Can anybody with a passion for tech become a developer advocate? What are the keys to success on a global scale? How does a developer advocate maintain authenticity when balancing the needs of their company and their tech community? What are the hot topics in areas including Java, JavaScript, "tech for good," artificial intelligence, blockchain, the cloud, and open source? These are just a few of the questions addressed by developer advocate and author Geertjan Wielenga in Developer, Advocate!. 32 of the industry's most prominent developer advocates, from companies including Oracle, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, open up about what it's like to turn a lifelong passion for knowledge sharing about tech into a rewarding career. These advocates run the gamut from working at large software vendors to small start-ups, along with independent developer advocates who work within organizations or for themselves. In Developer, Advocate!, readers will see how developer advocates are actively changing the world, not only for developers, but for individuals and companies navigating the fast-changing tech landscape. More importantly, Developer, Advocate! serves as a rallying cry to inspire and motivate tech enthusiasts and burgeoning developer advocates to get started and take their first steps within their tech community.
Table of Contents (36 chapters)
34
Other Books You May Enjoy
35
Index
36
Packt

The right personality

Tori Wieldt: You've got to like people, variety, and learning new stuff. I remember at Sun Microsystems, whenever somebody would use an acronym I'd never heard in a meeting, I'd decide that before the end of the day, I would figure out what that was.

Being able to read between the lines is really important. I'm a vendor but when I look at other vendors' information, I have to be able to determine how much of that is vaporware versus what's really out there. You've got to have a sense of curiosity.

"You must be able to deal with uncertainty."

—Tori Wieldt

Crucially, you must be able to deal with uncertainty. It's a rollercoaster being in this role. I keep seeing the word "uncertainty" in more and more job ads, which, at first, made me a little bit nervous. Then I thought about it one morning when I came into a conference and the booth was in the wrong place, so the demos weren&apos...