Developer, Advocate!

Book description

A collection of in-depth conversations with leading developer advocates that reveal the world of developer relations today

Key Features

  • Top developer advocates reveal the work they're doing at the center of their tech communities and the impact their advocacy is having on the tech industry as a whole
  • Discover the best practices of developer advocacy and get the inside story on working at some of the world's largest tech companies
  • Features contributions from noted developer advocates, including Scott Hanselman, Sally Eaves, Venkat Subramaniam, Jono Bacon, Ted Neward, and more

Book Description

What exactly is a developer advocate, and how do they connect developers and companies around the world? Why is the area of developer relations set to explode? Can anybody with a passion for tech become a developer advocate? What are the keys to success on a global scale? How does a developer advocate maintain authenticity when balancing the needs of their company and their tech community? What are the hot topics in areas including Java, JavaScript, "tech for good," artificial intelligence, blockchain, the cloud, and open source?

These are just a few of the questions addressed by developer advocate and author Geertjan Wielenga in Developer, Advocate!. 32 of the industry's most prominent developer advocates, from companies including Oracle, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, open up about what it's like to turn a lifelong passion for knowledge sharing about tech into a rewarding career. These advocates run the gamut from working at large software vendors to small start-ups, along with independent developer advocates who work within organizations or for themselves.

In Developer, Advocate!, readers will see how developer advocates are actively changing the world, not only for developers, but for individuals and companies navigating the fast-changing tech landscape. More importantly, Developer, Advocate! serves as a rallying cry to inspire and motivate tech enthusiasts and burgeoning developer advocates to get started and take their first steps within their tech community.

What you will learn

  • Discover how developer advocates are putting developer interests at the heart of the software industry in companies including Microsoft and Google
  • Gain the confidence to use your voice in the tech community
  • Immerse yourself in developer advocacy techniques
  • Understand and overcome the challenges and obstacles facing developer advocates today
  • Hear predictions from the people at the cutting edge of tech
  • Explore your career options in developer advocacy

Who this book is for

Anybody interested in developer advocacy, the impact it is having, and how to build developer advocacy capabilities

Table of contents

  1. Introduction
    1. Introducing the Author
    2. How to become and how to be
  2. Scott Davis
    1. Introducing Scott Davis
    2. The advocacy versus evangelism debate
    3. Scott's path to advocacy
    4. Getting up on stage
    5. Scott's hot topics
    6. Moving away from pure programming
    7. When technical glitches hit
    8. Travel management tips
    9. Changing your mind about tech
  3. Ted Neward
    1. Introducing Ted Neward
    2. The value of attending conferences
    3. Being headhunted
    4. Ted's advocacy journey
    5. Finding a developer relations job
    6. The downside to developer relations
    7. The dilemma of authenticity
    8. Being put on the spot
  4. Sally Eaves
    1. Introducing Sally Eaves
    2. Sally's advocacy work
    3. The power of blockchain
    4. Making tech solutions relatable
    5. Sally's views on authenticity
  5. Kirk Pepperdine
    1. Introducing Kirk Pepperdine
    2. People who are suited to advocacy
    3. Kirk's style of advocacy
    4. The increase in conferences
    5. Using psychology to solve problems
    6. The advantages of being independent
    7. Kirk's experience of technical glitches
    8. Juggling family life
    9. Suffering from burnout
  6. Rabea Gransberger
    1. Introducing Rabea Gransberger
    2. Rabea's ideas for talks
    3. Attending conferences
    4. Running a user group
    5. Knowing when to retire a talk
    6. Freedom at work
    7. The qualities of a good talk
    8. Receiving feedback on your talk
    9. Dealing with technical glitches
    10. Knowledge gained from conferences
    11. Rabea's view of developer advocates
    12. Encouraging more people to attend conferences
  7. Laurence Moroney
    1. Introducing Laurence Moroney
    2. The importance of job titles
    3. How AI is developing
    4. Fear of AI
    5. Working for a large company
    6. Empathy when advocating
    7. Tips for new starters
  8. Scott Hanselman
    1. Introducing Scott Hanselman
    2. Scott's path to Microsoft
    3. Handling the bad headlines
    4. Achieving a work-life balance
    5. Scott's areas of interest
    6. Not knowing an answer
  9. Heather VanCura
    1. Introducing Heather VanCura
    2. Heather's path in tech
    3. Connotations of "evangelist"
    4. Heather's ambitions as a young person
    5. Variation in the role
    6. Challenges faced by women in tech
    7. The fear of not knowing enough
    8. The pressures of the job
    9. Connecting through social media
  10. Matt Raible
    1. Introducing Matt Raible
    2. Choosing a job title
    3. Matt's career path
    4. The qualities needed for advocacy
    5. The social side of conferences
    6. Not being confident enough
    7. Technical difficulties during a talk
    8. Successful talk titles
    9. Matt's stage outfits
    10. Knowing when to stop
  11. Tracy Lee
    1. Introducing Tracy Lee
    2. Helping companies
    3. Developer relations as a service
    4. Tracy's conference topics
    5. The rise of developer relations
  12. Simon Ritter
    1. Introducing Simon Ritter
    2. Getting into developer advocacy
    3. Competition in the advocacy sphere
    4. Comparing advocacy to evangelism
    5. Navigating technical failures
    6. Simon's advice for young people
    7. Being authentic while working for a company
    8. Simon's demo ideas
    9. Travel adventures
  13. Mark Heckler
    1. Introducing Mark Heckler
    2. Becoming a developer advocate
    3. From engineering to advocacy
    4. Mark's talk topics
    5. Diversity in tasks
    6. Negative aspects of advocacy
    7. Quitting your job
    8. Honesty about bugs
    9. Handling unexpected questions
  14. Jennifer Reif
    1. Introducing Jennifer Reif
    2. Jennifer's introduction to advocacy
    3. The appeal of developer advocacy
    4. Consuming information
    5. Jennifer's average day
    6. Ethical considerations
    7. Being an introvert
    8. Managing technical failures
    9. Jennifer's tips for young people
  15. Venkat Subramaniam
    1. Introducing Venkat Subramaniam
    2. Developer advocacy and students
    3. Venkat's motivation
    4. Solving a problem
    5. The importance of user groups
    6. The fear of not knowing enough
    7. Venkat's conference topics
  16. Ivar Grimstad
    1. Introducing Ivar Grimstad
    2. Ivar's ideal job
    3. Finding success
    4. Difficult questions
    5. Managing controversy
    6. Making use of Twitter
  17. Regine Gilbert
    1. Introducing Regine Gilbert
    2. Regine's career path
    3. Different avenues in the IT industry
    4. Accessibility awareness
    5. Regine's future projects
  18. Tim Berglund
    1. Introducing Tim Berglund
    2. Debating job titles
    3. How Tim got started
    4. If you don't want to be a conference speaker
    5. Requirements for being a developer advocate
    6. Tim's tips for progressing to advocacy
    7. Being open about bugs
    8. An average day for a developer advocate
    9. Taking a break
    10. The progression of developer relations
    11. Career options for developer advocates
  19. Ray Tsang
    1. Introducing Ray Tsang
    2. Ray's path to developer advocacy
    3. The appeal of advocacy
    4. Managing jet lag
    5. How Ray prepares for a talk
    6. Where to go for information
    7. Battling technical issues
    8. Honesty when doing a demo
  20. Tori Wieldt
    1. Introducing Tori Wieldt
    2. Tori's day-to-day work
    3. Knowing your audience
    4. The right personality
    5. Having the confidence to get started
    6. When to talk about competitors
    7. Disagreeing with your company
  21. Andres Almiray
    1. Introducing Andres Almiray
    2. Talking to developers
    3. Andres' conference topics
    4. Developer advocacy's recent growth
    5. Experts in your audience
    6. Travel advice
  22. Arun Gupta
    1. Introducing Arun Gupta
    2. The spin doctor comparison
    3. Requirements for success
    4. Allocating resources
    5. Arun's experiences at large companies
    6. Tips for getting started
  23. Josh Long
    1. Introducing Josh Long
    2. Josh's introduction to developer advocacy
    3. Making an impact
    4. Criticizing competitors
    5. When you disagree with your company
    6. Conflict between developer advocates
    7. Josh's busy travel schedule
    8. Spreading yourself thinly
  24. Trisha Gee
    1. Introducing Trisha Gee
    2. Raising the profile of developer advocacy
    3. Trisha's advice for aspiring speakers
    4. Being involved with open source
    5. Advocacy and spin doctoring
    6. Remote working
    7. Burnout in the industry
    8. Travel difficulties
    9. Using social media
    10. Trisha's areas of interest
    11. The career path for advocates
  25. Bilal Kathrada
    1. Introducing Bilal Kathrada
    2. Encouraging young people
    3. The risk of burnout
  26. Baruch Sadogursky
    1. Introducing Baruch Sadogursky
    2. Developer relations conferences
    3. Personal qualities needed
    4. Caring too much
    5. Baruch's hot topics in tech
  27. Mary Thengvall
    1. Introducing Mary Thengvall
    2. Mary's background
    3. Advice for young people
    4. Mary's podcast
    5. Answering difficult questions
    6. Avoiding burnout
  28. Yakov Fain
    1. Introducing Yakov Fain
    2. Yakov's job title
    3. Getting leads from conferences
    4. Speaking honestly on stage
    5. Traits needed to be a good speaker
    6. The problem with live coding
    7. Yakov's motivation
    8. The ideal job
  29. Patrick McFadin
    1. Introducing Patrick McFadin
    2. The growth of developer advocacy
    3. Building a personal brand
    4. Patrick's route to developer advocacy
    5. Proving your worth
    6. Career development
  30. Reza Rahman
    1. Introducing Reza Rahman
    2. Defining developer advocacy
    3. Facing an ethical dilemma
    4. The knowledge needed to advocate
    5. The problems with social media
    6. Reza's core message
  31. Adam Bien
    1. Introducing Adam Bien
    2. Keeping things simple
    3. Being independent
    4. Adam's route to public speaking
    5. Getting project requests
  32. Bruno Borges
    1. Introducing Bruno Borges
    2. Developer relations as a strategy
    3. Winning the fight in companies
    4. Starting your advocacy work
  33. Jono Bacon
    1. Introducing Jono Bacon
    2. The history of developer communities
    3. Making a connection with revenue
  34. Other Books You May Enjoy
  35. Index
  36. Packt

Product information

  • Title: Developer, Advocate!
  • Author(s): Geertjan Wielenga
  • Release date: September 2019
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781789138740