Welcome! π
Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a restful and relaxing weekend. To those of you who had an extended weekend due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the States, I hope you're left feeling refreshed and ready to tackle those remaining projects before the end of the year. I know I am! π
There are times when settling into that end-of-year rhythm feels like entering a sprint and other times when it feels like you're wrapping up a marathon. No matter which one more accurately depicts your circumstances this year, I hope there are things you can look back on with pride, knowing you've created a better experience for your community, despite the loose threads that might still need to be wrapped up.
Part of the reason I know we're hitting that end-of-year stride is I've started to see a decrease in available content for the newsletter. This means I rely more on you all to let me know when you find particularly interesting or intriguing content that's got you thinking about new options and possibilities for your DevRel activities! Have something in mind that's piqued your interest lately? Be sure to send it my way.
There is not, however a decrease in job openings this year! Special shout-out to our Jobs sponsors: Moovweb, Treasury Prime, and TypingDNA. Be sure to check out those, and all of the other jobs for DevRel professionals below!
Until next time,
Mary (@mary_grace)
DevRel Weekly Patreon
p.s. For my Russian DevRel professionals out there, Jane Goleva has taken the time to translate Chapter 3 of my book into Russian. You can find the first section of her translation on her blog now, and more sections are in the works!
Tidbits π
Communities Deliver Value
Marketing and Sales donβt lead to bad communities. Bad strategies lead to bad communities.
When executed properly, community can deliver value across all facets of the business and still have soul.
Creating Quality Content
Sam Julien wrote down some tips on how to create quality content, from how to tailor your content to the platform's audience to creating content for beginners as well as experts and more. Check out the full thread.
The Fun Part(s) of the Job
I feel like being a developer advocate is fun.
- You get to play around with the latest APIs.
- You get to break things and not worry about it.
- You get to try outrageous experiments.
- People come to you with interesting problems. And you get to help them solve them.
Don't Segment Too Much
A rule of thumb I've been contemplating:
When launching a community, favor fewer distinct discussion spaces. Only add more spaces when the discussion demands it: when different styles or topics of discussion are actually interrupting the flow of conversation.
Content Needs to be a Conversation
Content is a major driver for working with communities today - but remember that one-way content isnβt a conversation!
Donβt forget to interact and creative when reaching out to your community
Tangibles π€
When To Hire a Community Manager and Questions You Need to Consider
If you find yourself asking if it's time to hire a full-time employee to build and manage your community, this post from Carrie Melissa Jones is one you don't want to miss. She walks through a number of questions that will help you not only make this important decision but also set your community up for success in the days, weeks, and months to come.
Building a 1st Year Developer Relations Program
If you're building your first DevRel program, I'm sure you'll appreciate this article from Alex Lakatos. In it, he talks about the research he's done and how he's gone about figuring out a plan forward for this new venture.
Storytime π
DevRel Podcasts and Videos
All of this week's videos and podcasts would be great resources to pass along to any new DevRel professionals or anyone who's DevRel-curious. Be sure to send them a link so they can take advantage of the information being shared!
- The Past, Present, and Future of the Community Industry with Jono Bacon - Masters of Community
- Introduction to Dev Advocacy with Mary Thengvall - Tech Talk with Opemipo (video)
- Why Communities Are the Organizational Model of the Future with Rachel Happe - Get Reworked Podcast
- The pros and cons of working as a Developer Advocate (Evangelist) - Horea Porutiu (video)
- What is Developer Advocacy? - Kurt Kemple (video)
Events π
Developer Relations Events
Kate here: Have a ToDo List? I always try to make sure to add interesting and fun things to it to keep myself challenged and entertained. Check out the Developer Relations Event Collection to see if you should add any DevRel Events that are coming up!
DevRelCon Earth 2020
If you're still catching up on content from DevRelCon Earth, more talks have been uploaded to devrel.net! Check out all of the videos and recaps so far in my Toby collection.
Jobs π©βπ»
Developer Relations Lead
Treasury Prime is a Banking-as-a-Service company that connects banks and fintechs through an API so developers can start building in minutes and launch in days.
Weβre looking for our first Developer Relations Lead who will define the program, set goals, and build a thriving and connected developer community. Part engineering, part community management, part education, part marketing, this is a critical and strategic role.
What Twilio did for communications, Treasury Prime is doing for banking. Come be part of the next great API company.
Developer Evangelist
Did you know that you can recognize people by the way they type? This is what we do at TypingDNA, and are looking for a Developer Evangelist to join us in the mission of making the TypingDNA Authentication API the #1 choice at a BringYourOwnDevTool party. For this, you will attend and talk at events for devs, will technically help them on all the channels where they are, and also create various content (screencasts, videos, and the like).
Developer Evangelist - Moovweb
The future of development on the web is Jamstack, and our jam is bringing these performance and simplicity benefits to large, dynamic sites where traditional techniques don't apply. We're seeking a passionate Developer Evangelist who will blaze the trail for strategic community engagement and the growth of our developer base.
Jobs π©βπ»
Developer Relations Jobs
You may not know what you're looking for until you see it. Take a look at the DevRel Weekly Job Collection and see if anything interests you. You never know, you may find the job you seek. Best of luck, young jedi.