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

Knowing your audience

Tori Wieldt: Yes, absolutely. The old notion used to be that the developer audience is very different from other audiences. You can't say that literally everybody's becoming a developer now, but consumers are much more sophisticated. You have to treat them with respect and understand where they're coming from. Why is your widget of value to them? You have to prove its usefulness within minutes.

This whole notion of a three-year sales cycle, with hundreds of people involved in terms of purchasing software, is out the window. I feel good about that because it enables choice for consumers.

Although, I do feel for legacy companies that have the monolith. In order to stay in business, they're really going to have to flip the table.

Who would look at a features and benefits table right now? That's classic marketing but it's not specific enough. I don't think that kind of marketing is useful anymore. Maybe it never was useful...