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 history of developer communities

Jono Bacon: I would. A lot of the work has actually been happening for a long time, but we now have a clearer understanding of it and the branding of it has changed. People have been building developer communities for as long as computers have been around. These communities were forged at universities and in local groups before the internet was around, but the internet has provided the ability for this to happen on a much broader scale.

Especially in the earlier days of open source, we saw developer communities forming.

I think what's happened, especially in the last couple of years, is that the value of a developer as a pivotal decision-maker in a company has become better known. Developers have gone from being seen as people with thick-rimmed glasses who build software and sit behind a bunch of managers to being a primary audience that companies want to target. Targeting developers through developer relations has become a thing. I don...