Issue 33

Welcome! 👋

Some weeks just don't go as planned. Rewind to 10 days ago: I returned from Burning Man feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to hit the ground running... and then got walloped with reality, which in this case, included hundreds of emails (literally), miles of to-do items (not quite literally), and a box-filled house. Let's just say moving right before REdeploy and Burning Man may not have been our smartest decision ever.

As I emphasized in last week's issue, as a sole proprietor, sometimes I have to make myself the priority so that I can continue to do the work that only I can do in the weeks to come. That lesson hit home on Wednesday night when I sat down at my computer to finalize the newsletter and couldn't read the screen due to the migraine that was not-so-subtly taking over my vision.

So I took a step back. I issued an apology. I refocused what little energy I did have in the next few days on client work and trusted that you all would understand. And now that I'm feeling better... I'm bringing you a few of my favorite things as my favorite musical taught me to do long ago.

This Thursday, I expect to have highlights from the past month for you -- everything from the best tweets to my go-to articles that I pull out when someone has questions about DevRel to how to handle your ever-growing list of priorities.

Thanks for hanging in there with me and offering support and well-wishes on Twitter!

Best,
-Mary, @mary_grace

Tangibles 🤓

What Nobody Tells You About Documentation

Documentation, Developer Experience, Getting Started Guides... chances are you've heard a lot about all of these things, but how do you know where each piece fits in? If a customer is trying to solve a problem, should they be looking at the same information as a prospective community member?

The TL;DR is no. I keep this fantastic article from Daniele Procida in my back pocket at all times. When a client starts talking about how they're revamping their documentation, it's the first thing I pull out. The matrix that Procida references here as well as in his PyCon 2017 talk is incredibly helpful for breaking down where different types of documentation belong on your website. Don't leave home without it!

Marketing to Developers: Relationships Over Leads

Sometimes doing things right requires starting from scratch, or at least going back to the drawing board to make sure you've got the foundation properly laid. Tim Falls suggests doing just that with your marketing strategy, but the guidelines apply no matter what department you report to.

Measuring Community: KPIs and Social Media Metrics for Community Building

I know... yet another article about how to measure community-driven KPIs. But I've brought this one up in more conversations than I can count for this simple, but effective, sentiment:

The inherent challenge is that when you’re measuring community building efforts, you’re trying to measure things that are mostly intangible. Community building is fundamentally about relationships. How do you conduct a cost-benefit analysis on a relationship?

We don’t go up to a friend and say, "Well, it took me a cumulative sixty-eight hours of conversation, sixteen cups of coffee, and a birthday cake to go from being an acquaintance to a close friend (as defined by the discovery of common ground and the mutual exchange of confidences). However, I have derived 1.21 gigawatts of emotional satisfaction, three new friends, eight book recommendations, and three homemade dinners in return. Also, if I hadn’t been at your house eating one of those dinners, I would instead have been on the freeway during the thirteen car pile-up last month."

It just doesn't work like that.

This, of course, doesn't excuse us from needing metrics, but it does give some necessary perspective on the challenges that we face as relationship-builders.

Tangents 🐰

Reclaiming my Life, One Priority at a Time

The principles and lessons I was learning 4 months ago when I first wrote this blogpost have continued to be a theme in my business as well as my personal life. I'm due for another prioritization session this week and I'm looking forward to having things back in line as I come up on my one-year anniversary of running my own business!

Events 📆

Developer Relations Events

Conference season is coming to a head and if you're anything like me, your next few months are filling up quickly. Before all of your travel is completely booked, see if you can squeeze in one of these events. Know of another event (meetup, conference, or online webinar) that's taking place? Hit reply and let me know about it.

Jobs 👩‍💻

Senior Developer Advocate, Java Ecosystem

Docker is hiring a Senior Developer Advocate to help developers and operations professionals move their applications to the Docker platform. You’ll be a leader in the field of building, deploying, and managing applications. You’ll use your expertise to help developers outside of Docker understand how to build and administer applications using the platform and will work out in the community, through conference appearances, participating in social media, blogging, writing technology guides and producing videos. If this sounds like a role for you, we’d love to hear from you!

Deep Learning Developer Evangelist

Samsung NEXT’s MissingLink product team is in search of a Developer Evangelist with a deep passion for Data Science and Deep Learning. MissingLink.ai has built a platform that accelerates the development and research around AI. Our platform automates most of the day to day tasks that Engineers and Data Scientists have to take to develop incredible AI machines.

Jobs 👩‍💻

Developer Relations Jobs

With 120 job listings, there's sure to be something that fits your particular skill set. Whether you're technical or not, there are plenty of companies looking for DevRel professionals to meet their needs.

Developer Avocados 🥑

It's no secret that avocados are one of my favorite things, but I'm also known to gravitate toward squirrels, which explains the need for prioritization 😜 This week I bring you both squirrels and avocados to create one of the more adorable things you've probably seen. Got a cuter avocado gif? I'd love to see it! Hit reply and maybe I'll feature you and your gif next week.