Welcome! 👋
This past week has been rough, to say the least. For those of you who know me in real life, you know I'm a very independent person. I love collaborating with people, but I'm not good at depending on other people. Last Saturday, I turned my ankle at the very top of a 1400ft elevation gain hike to a beautiful lake that feeds the currently roaring Horsetail Falls. We tried to keep going but I was unable to after a few minutes, since the "trail" went down a large boulder field and there was no flat path to follow.
One good friend and 2 acquaintances dropped everything, grabbed supplies, hiked to the top of the trail to meet us, and helped guide us down. I felt incredibly guilty at first, feeling responsible for ruining a beautiful day for 3 people and asking them to help us down the mountain. But as the trip out continued (3 miles took 5.5 hours 🙃) and spirits stayed high, I let myself settle into gratefulness. One had brought food, water, medicine, and wraps for my ankle. One knew the best possible route down for us given my injury. And one had an extra jacket and gloves for me to wear as I lowered myself over and around boulders.
This past week has taught me a lot about real-life community. It's been a difficult and draining week, having to lean on others for so much, but I'm incredibly grateful for the relationships we've built, the partner I have, and the people in this community.
I don't take it for granted -- this is not the type of neighborhood community I've been accustomed to over the past many years. It's been a lot of hard work and effort mixed with some good fortune and luck along the way that has brought us here. But it's made me remember that it's worth the effort, whether we're struggling to build an online community, a product-based community, or a physical group of people around us.
Keep going, folks. It's worth it. ❤️
Best,
Mary (Twitter, Blue Sky)
DevRel Weekly Patreon
Tidbits 🕔
DevRel Advice Column
twitter.comHey Community Managers, what are some early signs of burnout in a community member? How do you respond to them?
Ask for micro-commitments
twitter.comBefore asking members to make large commitments to your community, ask them to make micro-commitments.
Example of micro-commitments:
- Read our story
- Like a post
- Introduce yourself
- Answer one question
- RSVP for one event
- Ask one question
Create moderations plans & escalation pathways
twitter.comDon't care what type of community it is, if ya got forums/discussions, you gotta have moderation plans & escalation pathways.
It builds trust for your members & is the first line to safety in an online space. That's a larger topic but mod plans are your building blocks.
Community-based product enhancements
🌟 How does a community help preview updates/changes in the product? 🌟
Do you know why some major updates by big brands have faced such backlash from the masses? 🤔 It's because they didn't take the views of their community into account. 😮
If you are planning on bringing some changes to your product, the best way to understand if it's really what your users want is to ask them. 📊
-Akash Agrawal - click through to read the full list of tips!
twitter.com
Tangibles 🤓
Put on Your Audit Hat
As we come up on the end of the first half of 2023 (WHAT?! HOW??), it's time to evaluate the goals you set for your community at the beginning of the year. What's been working? What hasn't? What needs to change for the second half of the year? Martha Essien digs into these questions and more in this recent resource. I highly recommend setting time aside to go through it, whether you're making plans for your next month, quarter, or year.
substack.com
3 Essential Guidelines for Community Data Analysis
If you're one of the many community teams that are starting to get serious about not only collecting data, but actually analyzing it on a regular basis, this article is going to be a good resource for you. In it, Jillian Bejtilch walks through three core principles, giving an explanation and a reason why, as well as best practices and examples. It's a "don't miss" for sure!
commsor.com
Event-Driven Community Strategies: Aligning The Pieces Together
If your company is heavily focused on an events strategy to grow your community, it can be important to do a gut check every now and again to make sure you're not continuing to attend, sponsor, or run events just because it feels good. Rich Millington lays out some ground rules in this recent blogpost, offering suggestions as to what types of events you should participate in based on your goals, and how to communicate this value to your company's stakeholders.
feverbee.com
How to Build a Successful Champions Program
If you're thinking of creating a Champion program in the near future, this guide might come in handy! Amanda Quintero walks through what a Champion program is and how one can be beneficial for companies, then gives some tips on how to get up and running.
orbit.love
Storytime 📚
DevRel Podcasts and Videos
- Is Developer Experience the new DevRel? with Kody O’Connell - APIMatic
- The Art of Developer Relations with Tim Berglund - Monday Morning Data Chat
- Videos from DevRelCon Yokohama 2023
- DevRel and Marketing: A Polarizing Duo with Sid Maestre - The State of Developer Education
- DevRel vs DevSell with Tejas Kumar - Fireside with Voxgig
- Empowering Your Team and Boosting Business Success with Maximilian Schirm - Microsoft Developer MEA (video)
- Marketing web3: Audience, Community, More with Amanda Cassatt, Kim Milosevich, and Sonal Chokshi - web3 with a16z crypto
- How to create better community content (driven by data) by Jono Bacon (video)
Events 📆
DevRel Events
We've been on the lookout for some seriously awesome events, and we're excited to share our handpicked list with you. Go ahead and check it out – we promise you won't be disappointed!
raindrop.io
Jobs 👩💻
DevRel Jobs
Over the past few weeks, we've come across some fantastic job options that we think you'll love. Take a look at our curated list and see if any of these opportunities spark your interest. Happy job hunting!
p.s. If you're interested in switching into a community role, David Spinks has a good thread full of tips.
raindrop.io