Kirk's style of advocacy
Kirk Pepperdine: I don't know if I'm really that different from many of the developer advocacy guys that I know, in the sense that they're just out there doing a job and they're getting paid. They're still deep into the tech.
I think one of the differences is that I actually engage in a lot of research on a particular topic. I know that there are other advocates that are like me. They don't get paid for it and it's not their job title, but they do research. I might do research for two weeks and then something interesting will come up and I'll say, "Ah, that's something cool to talk about!" as a side effect.
I might look at something for a year and be playing with it and poking it. Then, finally, something will come out of it.
For me, it's not like someone says, "I need you to talk about our product X." I don't have to scramble to learn, sort, figure out, and throw together a talk....