DevRel HQ Unplugged

Justin Johhnson - Developer relations at KeenIO

Titus interviews Justin Johnson, a developer evangelist at Keen IO, talks about his role and experiences in the industry. He discusses how his role has evolved from traveling to different communities and hackathons to creating content, networking with other evangelists, and organizing events as Keen IO grew. Johnson emphasizes the importance of creating individual connections with developers and being genuinely helpful. He also highlights the network effects of developer evangelism and the challenges of measuring success in this role. Johnson shares strategies such as using Twitter to engage with developers and hosting their own events in less represented communities. He concludes by discussing interesting encounters he had while traveling for events and emphasizes the importance of being genuine, having fun, and listening as key aspects of successful developer evangelism. 00:00:00 - Justin Johnson elaborates on his journey from road-traveling evangelist to content-focused role at analytics firm Keen IO. He discusses transitioning from visiting hackathons and communities to focusing more on content creation, partnerships, and in-house analytics. 00:05:00 - Johnson talks about crucial milestones in evangelism for an API company. Initially, the aim is product refinement and user experience. As the company matures, focus shifts to broader awareness and resource development. Johnson emphasizes the power of authentic, one-on-one connections in building brand advocates. 00:10:00 - Johnson delves into the 'network effects' of developer evangelism. He compares the tangible impact of connecting deeply with people to the often less-visible benefits of coding. He mentions the growing need for metrics like cohort analysis to gauge the effectiveness of evangelistic efforts. 00:15:00 - Johnson discusses measuring the impact of developer outreach events. Twitter is highlighted as an especially effective digital channel. He also shares the success of a Hacker News article and the importance of hosting authentic, laid-back events in underrepresented communities. 00:20:00 - Johnson shares anecdotes from his travel experiences to different developer events. These stories underline the serendipity and broad reach of his networking efforts. He identifies three pillars of effective evangelism: authenticity, enjoyment, and attentive listening. 00:25:00 - In concluding, Johnson expresses his interest in measuring evangelism effectiveness and mentions his open-source projects related to analytics. He ends with a note of gratitude and anticipation for future collaborations and discussions.

Bear Douglas - Developer Relations Manager at Twitter

Titus interviews Bear Douglas, Developer Relations Manager at Twitter, discusses her background and how she got started as an evangelist. She emphasizes the importance of technical skills, knowledge, and empathy for engineers in this role. She shares tips on preventing burnout and managing time effectively, such as saying no to certain tasks and taking breaks. Douglas also discusses strategies for developer outreach, including starting small and being responsive on Twitter for support. She mentions the importance of measuring success through metrics like product adoption, follower engagement, and qualitative feedback. Finally, she highlights the significance of in-person events and conferences, as well as the importance of engaging with a diverse audience and avoiding cynicism in developer relations.

Kelly Andrews - Developer Evangelist at Syncano

Titus interviews Kelly Andrews, a Developer Evangelist at Syncano, discusses his background and how he got into his role as an evangelist. He enjoys teaching and talking to other developers and finds that being an evangelist allows him to focus on the developer aspect without having to push production code. His average day consists of various tasks, such as writing product recommendations, managing features, blogging, testing the application, and more. The most challenging part for him is explaining what they do and demonstrating the value of their work to the rest of the organization.

Timo Elliott - Innovation Evangelist at SAP - Episode 1

In this episode, Titus interviews Timo Elliott, an innovation evangelist at SAP, shares insights into his role and approach. He discusses the importance of creating interesting content that helps people understand things in new ways and dealing with challenges, such as negative perceptions of marketing content. Timo also emphasizes the value of understanding the audience's interests and creating genuine engagement. He shares his approach to social media and metrics, highlighting the significance of providing value and receiving positive feedback. He reveals his daily routine and sources of motivation, including conferences and outdoor activities while traveling for work. Timo concludes by sharing advice for aspiring or current evangelists, emphasizing the importance of passion, practice, and continuous learning. 00:00:00 - In this section, Timo Elliott, an innovation evangelist for SAP, talks about his role in presenting at conferences and using social media to spread the word about innovation, digital transformation, big data analytics, and more. He explains that his background in analytics and his experience in getting the message out led him to become a full-time evangelist. The most challenging part of his job, according to Timo, is creating interesting content that helps people understand something in a new way or deal with things differently. He also discusses the importance of understanding what his audience is interested in and what they care about, as well as the negative perception of marketing content and the need for valuable and practical information. 00:05:00 - In this section, the speaker talks about his approach to social media and metrics. He mentions that he doesn't use any special tools or hacks and instead focuses on return on interesting (ROI). He follows a small number of people on Twitter and prioritizes those who tweet interesting things. He doesn't believe in optimizing social metrics and prefers subjective metrics like receiving positive feedback from presentations and blog posts. He believes that being invited back to places is the biggest metric of success. The speaker emphasizes the importance of providing value and genuine interest in what he writes or shares, and believes that engagement and interest can't be faked. He also discusses his daily routine, which involves traveling for conferences during certain seasons and regrouping and catching up during others. 00:10:00 - In this section, Timo Elliott, an Innovation Evangelist at SAP, discusses how he stays motivated and passionate during busy times. He mentions that conferences and talking to people in the field are great sources of motivation for him. He also reveals that his number one tool is PowerPoint, as he uses it to create visually engaging presentations. When it comes to traveling, he uses TripAdvisor to find hotels near conference centers and relies on Google Maps for running routes. Timo shares that some of the most memorable experiences he has had are when he gets to participate in outdoor activities while on a work trip. Finally, he shares three pieces of advice for aspiring or current evangelists: stay passionate about the subject, practice regularly, and continuously learn to avoid stagnation. 00:15:00 - In this section, Timo Elliott, an innovation evangelist at SAP, discusses the importance of practicing and trying new ways of communication before every presentation. He emphasizes the use of humor in the IT industry to make serious points and mentions how he started drawing analytic cartoons that have been featured in various places, including the World Bank website. Timo also highlights the significance of patience when aspiring to become an evangelist, explaining that it takes time to build a solid following and establish credibility in the industry. He mentions upcoming conferences and invites interested individuals to check out his blog and website for more information.