About I Devangelistλ︎
Book under development
A journey into developer advocacy and community development.
The life and times of a developer evangelist can be fun, enlightening and highly intense. A career can also be full of the unexpected, not all of which is positive.
I, Devangelist presents stories from a variety of experiences that highlight the huge variety of tasks involved in the role (and how much the role can change from company to company)
There are practical guides to navigate through the role effectively.
This site will also contain lots of tips and suggestions for those currently in this role, gathered from a range of experiences of Developer Evangelists / Advocates and Community managers across the world.
The Roleλ︎
A devangelist can be very wide role and vary significantly in the minds of those who work in the role, those who work with them and those that interact with them. So this is my hopefully not too biased view on what a devangelist is all about and where I feel the role can add real value.
I will include stories, tips and common practices used to help make the devangelist role more effective
Code of Conduct Safeλ︎
A Code of Conduct is now used in most of the public events in the developer world. It is a simple but important statement about respecting everyone during all interaction with other people, setting out expectations of a minimum level of positive behaviour towards each other.
You can of course be even nicer should you wish.
"Be excellent to each other" - Bill S. Preston, Esq. - Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Example code of conduct documents include
- Battlehack Code of Conduct by @CBetta - for the Battlehack world wide hackathon events
- [Major League Hacking code of conduct] - worldwide student hacking organisation
- SkillsMatter Code of Conduct for all their conferences & community events
- RubyGirls Code of Conduct
- [ClojureBridge] - helping the diverse developer community learn and love Clojure
Applying Lean Principles & Agile Techniquesλ︎
Many of the principles and practices I applied as an Agile Coach & developer are equally applicable to developer evangelism. I will cover these principles and practices throughout the book with examples of how they can be effective.
Name of the bookλ︎
As you may have already guessed the title of the book is a homage to the novel I, Robot. I also subttle draw themes and concepts from the novel I, Claudius by Robert Graves.
Geekiness throughoutλ︎
Throughout the book I will also include many common (and possible a few obscure references) popular culture and science fiction works that many in the developer world relate to. This is not just because I am geeky, but will hopefully help give a context feel less alien and help the reader relate to the concepts & practices covered.
Audience for the bookλ︎
This book shares all the experiences I can publicly share as a developer in the community and as a developer ambassador / advocate / evangelist. Hopefully this will be useful to those:
- currently working in an devangelist or community type role
- looking to move into that role
- wishing to hire a devangelist team or their first devagelist or technical community focused role
This book is not about marketing or turning a developer into a marketeer.
My own personal view is that devangelists can benefit from marketing techniques to help them reach their audience more effectively, however they are only a complement to your main work.
