Episode 540: Joe Nash on DevRel

Role Definition

Developer Relations (DevRel) serves as a crucial bridge between tech companies and the developer community. Joe Nash explains that DevRel professionals help companies engage with developers, whether they are customers or stakeholders, by fostering relationships and facilitating communication 1. This role is essential for companies with developer-facing products or platforms, as it involves technical marketing and acting as a liaison between developers and various departments within the company 2.

Developer relations is business function, which helps companies reach developers, whether those developers be customers of the company, say, in a developer facing product or stakeholders.

--- Joe Nash

DevRel professionals often participate in marketing, sales, and product development, ensuring that developers' feedback is incorporated into future product iterations.

   

Evangelists vs. Advocates

The roles of Developer Evangelists and Advocates, while similar, have distinct focuses within DevRel. Joe Nash notes that evangelists primarily raise awareness and promote products to developers, often through public speaking and storytelling 3. Advocates, on the other hand, focus on gathering developer feedback and ensuring it informs product development, acting as a conduit between the developer community and the company 4.

Developer evangelist was kind of the original title, and that meant someone who, you know, would go out into software communities on behalf of a company and advocate to developers.

--- Joe Nash

Both roles require strong communication skills and the ability to engage with developers through various content formats, including blogs and social media.

   

Organizational Impact

Developer Relations significantly influences multiple departments within a company, such as marketing, sales, and engineering. Joe Nash highlights that DevRel professionals often overlap with marketing and engineering, as they are involved in outreach and feedback loops 5. They also play a role in talent acquisition by connecting with potential hires at community events 6.

Developer relations will interface with every department that interfaces with those developers and act as kind of the technical spokesperson.

--- Joe Nash

Despite their broad impact, measuring the success of DevRel efforts can be challenging due to their indirect contributions to various departments.