DevRelChat: The Beginning, My Vision, and an Announcement 🥑

Even though DevRelChat launched a while back in July, many people still don’t know about its background and mission. In truth, as the founder, I wasn't sure about that at the start either.

🎉Today I'm excited to be launching @devrelchat a podcast where I would be speaking to leading Industry experts around the world about DevRel 🔥🌍

Speaking would be @cassidoo@TraderD65 @jenlooper @aniediudo 🔥🤯

📅 Date: 13th Julyhttps://t.co/88RMEYOhcn#Thread #DevRelChat

— WAKANDA FOREVER ❤️🥑 (@developerayo) July 8, 2020

Still, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it well:

Ideas don't come out fully formed; they only become clear as you work on them. You just have to get started.

By now, I’ve finally figured it out so let me share my vision with you.

The Begining 🥑

DevRelChat was launched along with four episodes on Twitter: Cassidy Williams, Doron Sherman, Jen looper, and Aniedi udo-obong. Two more joined in August: Prosper Otemuyiwa and Maya Shavin.

The Content🥑

DevRelChat is a conversation among DevRel leaders worldwide, including me. We offer answers to people looking to become developer advocates, and to companies who need to understand what to expect when hiring developer advocates or establishing a DevRel initiative.

The Justification 🥑

I started DevRelChat after thinking long and hard about how to contribute to the global developer community in the form of solutions to fix the misunderstandings of DevRel. The idea dawned on me that I could start a chat room, in which I’d talk with global leaders in the tech community and then produce the transcript in two formats: audio through Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Anchor FM; and video on YouTube.

The Importance of Developer Relations 🥑

DevRel is an umbrella group of professionals of such titles as developer advocate, developer relations engineer, and developer experience engineer. They bridge that wide gap between the product of the company they work for and the community.

An example is Cloudinary, which, over the years, has built out its APIs and SDKs across product features. However, it needs a way in which to communicate the details to the developer community, whose feedback and ideas are crucial for its product plans and strategies. Perhaps understandably, 90 percent of the developer community do not trust sales and marketing folks because many of them don’t know the ins and outs of software development, much less engage in techspeak. Developers need and prefer to speak to people like them, and developer advocates can readily rise to the occasion.

Depending on their company’s product or service, developer advocates perform many important tasks, such as support and evangelism. Over the years, I’ve met many outstanding developer advocates from all over, including ones from Lagos, Nigeria, The United States, The United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands, Israel, Japan, China, and Australia. Brilliant talent abounds in all corners of the world.

My Vision 🌍🌎🌏

For DevRelChat, I’d like to attract more DevRel talent. It's a great role for people who are passionate about the developer community at large and about developers themselves.

In addition, we need more developer advocates in growing regions to support the companies there that offer viable products and services—not so much for monetary compensation but, rather, to lend a hand with problem-solving.

Not least, the global community must understand the real role of developer advocates. A glance through the episodes on DevRelChat would be most helpful. In short:

• Developer advocates are not salespeople or marketers, and they are not just paid to give an inspirational talk on stage.

• Developer advocates are developers themselves who understand the nuances of a developer’s job and APIs.

My definition: Developer advocates are developers with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of engineering, community management, and business development.

Announcement ⚡️🎉

I’m super excited to announce DevRelChat’s first partner, Cloudinary. Not only do I love the Cloudinary team, but I also applaud how they manage and transform media efficiently, seamlessly, and economically, largely through automation.

Give it a try yourself. Cloudinary’s documentation walks you through the steps.

For all that DevRelChat’s ideals and goals are still evolving, I’m thrilled that we got the project off the ground with everyone’s support. I’m counting on continuing advocacy and assistance on your part and will work tirelessly to hit our targets.

Any comments, questions? If so, leave them in the comments section. I’ll respond once I see them.

Resources📚🔗

Here’s a wealth of information on DevRelChat on social media:

• Twitter
• Anchor FM
• Apple Podcast
• Google podcast
• Spotify
• YouTube
• Shodipo Ayomide on Twitter
• Shodipo Ayomide on GitHub

Please keep in mind this reminder and keep writing:

You'll be surprised by the number of people your article can touch and help in some way if you just hit that publish button today.

Remember to publish that article.

— WAKANDA FOREVER ❤️🥑 (@developerayo) August 29, 2020

Support 💰

If your company would like to better understand the DevRel ecosystem, the ways in which it can influence your product usage, and the extent of that influence, please schedule a time with me by email.

Also, do you wonder how your company can support DevRelChat or my initiative there? Write to DevRelChat please. I’d be happy to elaborate.

Additionally, note the Flutterwave support URL.I’d much appreciate your donation to sponsor more episodes on either a one-off or monthly basis.

Please share this article to spread the word about DevRel and encourage more participation. It’s a valuable and rewarding resource for both enterprises and developers alike.