Issue 107 - Metrics, Content, and WHY we do what we do  

Welcome! đź‘‹

These last few weeks have been difficult for many people for a variety of reasons. If it's been hard for you as well, know that you're not alone, and it's ok to not be ok. I found this image last week and even just reading it has helped me breathe a little more deeply. Another thing that made an unexpected difference for me this past week was WindowSwap. So much of what I love about travel is simply seeing new places and observing people, and the first few "windows" that I viewed full-screen on my monitor last week literally took my breath away.

Whatever it is that you need to do in order to give yourself a break this week, do what you can to make time for that. This has been an incredibly stressful, relentlessly demanding few months, and it's important for us to remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Taking care of ourselves is key.

Along those lines, I've finally come to the realization that sending out DevRel Weekly in the middle of the week isn't sustainable for me right now. No matter how much I plan or organize my calendars, it just isn't happening, and the guilt of knowing I've missed another (self-imposed) deadline isn't healthy. But I'm not ready to give up this passion project just yet, so instead, I've moved it to Monday mornings. Hopefully it'll bring a smile to your faces at the beginning of the week and leave you full of exciting new things to explore during the week.

As always, I look forward to your feedback - feel free to reach out at any time!

Before we dig into this week's issue, if you need a reminder that there are silver linings, even during the gloom of these last few months, this tweet from David Spinks may help:

A friend asked me how I think communities will change from all this.

  1. We will value human connection much more.
  2. We will be much closer to replicating the in-person experience online.
  3. Communities will be more diverse and inclusive.

The future is bright.

Best,
Mary (@mary_grace)
DevRel Weekly Patreon

p.s. If you haven't seen this video from Joe Karlsson, do yourself a favor and go watch it now, before continuing to prepare for your next online talk. Trust me. It's worth it.

DevRel Weekly  

Tidbits đź•”

DevRel Advice Column

It's been a while since we've had a "DevRel Advice Column"! If you've got questions that you'd like to crowd-source answers to, be sure to tweet or publish them somewhere and then send me a link - I'm always happy to amplify your questions.

Almost all communities have formalized community standards that they ask members to read and accept.

But what communities out there have formalized community values?

-Noele Flowers

Fellow #devrel pros... What tools do you use for hands-on, self-paced developer tutorials?

-Scott Hurrey

twitter.com  

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Stephanie Morillo took a deep dive into working across departments via Twitter threads earlier this month. She explored how DevRel can (and should!) make our work clear to the various teams around the company. I'm a huge proponent of being our own "Public Relations" department internally at our company - how else can we expect folks to know the impact we're having for our community as well as the company?

Be sure to check out the thread and as always, feel free to reach out if you're trying to figure out how to amplify your own work internally.

twitter.com  

Learn to Accept (and Translate) Feedback

This thread from Ada Nduka Oyom is one of the best I've read in a while. As DevRel professionals, we must learn how to take in feedback and accurately communicate it back to our colleagues. If we can't do this, how can we truly say we're advocating for our communities?

If you’re in DevRel (advocacy, marketing, etc), one key trait you should be willing to have & give off is the ability to take in feedback from your developers without feeling hurt/ in defense.

Developer feedback is your MAIN key to achieving growth or improving the product...

-Ada Nduka Oyom

twitter.com  

Highlight What Actually Matters

In communities, sometimes the most 'popular' posts are actually just the most controversial ones. Human curation makes the difference in highlighting the posts that are truly the most impactful, that inspire connection and action.

-Noele Flowers

twitter.com  

We are all Storytellers

If you are in DevRel you are a storyteller.

Stories have a plot.
Stories also have a beginning, middle, and end.
Good stories make people think or have a moral or something similar.

Good stories don't happen on accident. They take work.

-Aja Hammerly

twitter.com  

Tangibles 🤓

We know WHAT we do, but WHY do we do it?

Rain Leander made an interesting observation the other day: Within Developer Relations, we professionals often can say what we do and can at times articulate how we do it, but other than "we like our work," are we able to express why we do what we do?

They came to this conclusion, which I loved so much that I'm sharing straight from their blogpost:

How did you meet your partner? How did you land your dream job? How did you start your company? How did you land that massive sale?

Because of relationships...

...DevRel wants those relationships to build a better product or community or project.

...DevRel wants your feedback to make the community a safe, welcome, and productive space, to make the project a joyful place to collaborate, and to make the product as kickass as possible.

There's more goodness where that came from, trust me! Read the full stream of consciousness and if you feel compelled, let me know your own why as well.

groningenrain.nl  

Documentation, Developer Experience, and Live Coding

There's been so much great content shared recently about Developer Experience and related topics like documentation, live coding, and content in general. I've picked a few of my favorites from the last few weeks and shared them below. Know of other great pieces of content that have been shared lately? Let me know!

dev.to  

DevRel Metrics: The Hot(test) Topic of our Careers

Pieces of content about metrics are once again ramping up as we're halfway through the calendar year and solidly into this new (or at least current) reality of online events, content creation, and figuring out how to prove our value in a different kind of world. In addition to Jess West's talk about metrics, here are a few of my favorites from the past few weeks:

DevRel Weekly  

Storytime đź“š

DevRel Podcasts and Videos

dev.to  

Events 📆

DevRel Events

From webinars to conferences and networking events, there are events happening all over the internet for DevRel professionals.

gettoby.com  

DevRelCon Earth 2020 Videos & Transcripts

If you missed out on DevRelCon Earth these past few weeks, don't be dismayed! Firstly, I'll be giving a metrics workshop Tuesday morning at 9:30am PT. Secondly, I've started a collection for the talks that are quickly being released on DevRel.net. The first few videos with transcripts are already posted - keep an eye out for more to come in the next few weeks!

If you missed out on DevRelCon's live videos, don't forget about FlylessWeeklies, which happens every Wednesday at 12pm ET. Jessica West recently gave a talk about Measuring Advocacy. While the video isn't live yet, her slides are, and the tidbits captured there are brilliant! I, for one, am looking forward to seeing more.

gettoby.com  

Jobs 👩‍💻

Developer Relations Jobs

Kate here: Sometimes I don't know where to start when it comes to writing about our DevRel Weekly Jobs Collection, but today I know that there's someone out there that just needs a little push to start looking for the job of their dreams. So, for those that need to hear it, as Shia LaBeouf would say, "Just do it!" Wishing all of you who are looking the best in your job search.

raindrop.io  

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