DevRel Best Practices Part 2 – Webinar Information and Links

During the DevRelate November webinar we’ll be covering Part 2 of our series focused on Developer Marketing and Developer Relations Best Practices. In this blog post you’ll find additional information and links for topics covered in the webinar. Bookmark this page and come back during November for additional updates.

Webinar Agenda

  1. Reasons for Joining and Staying in a Developer Program
  2. Developer Relations Best Practices Part 2
  3. Q&A

 

Best Practices Areas Covered in Part 2

  • Events & Activities
  • API Sandboxes, Virtual Labs, Cloud Instances
  • App Stores & Application showcases
  • Community Chat Systems
  • Training & Certification
  • Popular Blogging Topics
  • Programming Languages to Support

 

Popularity of Programming Languages

  • Tiobe Index – Updated once a month, the Tiobe Index is calculated by using multiple search engines looking for the number of skilled engineers, courses and third party vendors. You can read more about how the Tiobe Index is computed on their website.
  • Redmonk Programming Language Rankings – The Redmonk ranking appears bi-annually and appears on Stephen O’Grady’s blog. The latest version, “The RedMonk Programming Language Rankings: January 2017” appeared on his blog on March 17, 2017. The ranking is based on code on GitHub and discussions on Stack Overflow. The ranking correlates programming language discussions and usage on these two popular sites.
  • PYPL: PopularitY of Programming Language Index – This index is created by analyzing how often programming language tutorials are searched using Google. The index page says “If you believe in collective wisdom, the PYPL Popularity of Programming Language index can help you decide which language to study, or which one to use in a new software project.”
  • Indeed Job Trends – Using the Indeed search system you can get some trending results for Job Postings and Job Seeker Interest. Using the interface, you can string together a query based on adding a series of programming languages.
  • Programming Languages used in Elementary and High Schools – In the US the College Board’s AP Computer Science exam uses the Java programming language. Previously programming languages including C++, Modula-2 and Pascal were used. You can also find other programming languages used in secondary education to prepare students for college and work force placement. The languages used in elementary and high schools can often depend on the skills of the teachers and will normally include the use of  Python, Scratch, JavaScript, Alice and others. The ACM Model Curriculum for K-12 Computer Science gives guidance for schools but does not push a specific programming language.
  • Programming Languages Taught in College Computer Science – Different college computer science departments choose programming languages that are used as the first course and some focus on a language in the core computer science classes. Stanford University used to teach Java but recent news articles report that Stanford has moved from Java to JavaScript for their introduction to programming course. While C++, Java, JavaScript and other programming languages are taught in schools, most universities also cover a wide range of programming languages, algorithms, data structures and technologies to help prepare graduates for their move into industry, research and teaching.

 

OPENAPI and Swagger

With the Swagger YAML and/or JSON files you can use Swagger’s CodeGen tool to create bindings for more than 20 server side languages and more than 40 client side languages.

 

Evans Data Tactical Marketing Reports

Evans Data reaches out to its global developer panel to produce two annual tactical marketing reports: Developer Marketing Survey Report and Developer Relations Survey Report. The Developer Marketing Survey contains software developers’ attitudes about marketing tools and programs used to promote and sell products to them. This report provides invaluable insight for your developer marketing campaigns. The Developer Relations Survey examines issues and elements of developer programs. This report provides invaluable insight for your developer program and advocacy.

 

The Twelve C’s – Webinar Information and Links

During the week of the October 2017 DevRelate webinar series, additional information and links will appear on this page. Bookmark this page and come back as the webinars take place.

Evans Data Tactical Marketing Reports

Evans Data reaches out to its global developer panel to produce two annual tactical marketing reports: Developer Marketing Survey Report and Developer Relations Survey Report. The Developer Marketing Survey contains software developers’ attitudes about marketing tools and programs used to promote and sell products to them. This report provides invaluable insight for your developer marketing campaigns. The Developer Relations Survey examines issues and elements of developer programs. This report provides invaluable insight for your developer program and advocacy.

 

The Twelve C’s (in no specific priority order except for the first 3)

  • Community – the main place where your development team, developer relations team and members will take part in your program, gain insights, solve problems, find answers and learn new tips, tricks and techniques.
  • Content – the videos, quick start guides, documentation, tutorials, white papers, blog posts and other valuable content.
  • Code – everyone will where most developers will spend a good portion of their time reading and writing programs. Developers love to write code, they also love to read it and share it with other developers.
  • Communication – developers like to talk to other developers. Developers also like to interact with the software engineers that create the tools, SDKs, APIs and content .
  • Collaboration – there are very few “lone” developers. Most developers work in teams, interact with other developers in their company, in their community and online in developer sites. Creating as many ways to foster collaboration by your team and your members is a sure sign of a vibrant and supportive community.
  • Contests – many developers like challenges. Some will enter programming contests and take part on hackathons. If you are creating online contests, make sure they run for a longer period of time that the typical weekend hackathon.
  • Champions – Look for the best of the best in your developer community. You’ll find them active in most aspects of your program and site. You can use gamification to identify top contributors and helpers. Give your champions a special
  • Conversations – make sure your developer program provides multiple ways for developers and your team to have conversations. These features can include forums/newsgroups, threaded conversations, posting comments on code,  content, bug reports, etc.
  • Cooperation – allow your partners and program members to help you by cooperating on bug triage, helping answer questions, participate in software testing, helping other developers with coding work, and more.
  • Contribution – allow your developer program members to contribute blog posts, add to your documentation wikis, input knowledge in the form of tips, tricks, techniques and lessons learned. If you have a bug reporting system (who doesn’t) allow community members to provide workarounds and source code fixes that work.
  • Certification – providing online and in person courses creates a more literate developer community. Providing an infrastructure for testing and certifying developers and the apps they build gives program members and their companies a higher status in your ecosystem. Some developer programs are also cooperating with local schools and online MOOCs to provide certificates of learning for technologies and your products, services, devices, APIs, tools, etc. The Google NanoDegree given by Udacity is one example of the modern way to train and certify developers. Most app stores also have test and certification systems for your apps.
  • Celebration – programming is fun (at least it is for me). Celebrating this unique form of creation and art should happen all the time in your developer program. Let your members vote for the apps, developers, MVPs, partners of the month and year (we see the same example in employee of the month/year in a lot of companies). Celebrate the release of a new product, a new partner integration, and a new capability. I even know a developer who told me that his company has “software and systems retirement” parties when they shut down and replace an application.

Webinar – October 24 & 26, 2017 – The Twelve C’s of Developer Marketing and Developer Relations

Developer Marketing and Developer Relations team members often know and talk about the “Four T’s” (Tools/SDKs, Technical Content, Technical Support and Training/Certification) and the “Three C’s” (Community, Code and Content). Most developers know that “code is king”. But, for most of those focused on reaching out and working with developers, there are many more aspects of a great developer program beyond the aforementioned seven letters.

In the October 2017 DevRelate webinar, we’ll cover the “Twelve C’s” that are integral parts of a well-oiled developer program and community. Going beyond the traditional “Three C’s”, you’ll also learn more about communicating, collaborating, cooperating and celebrating with your developer community members. We’re sure you have additional C’s that you use and follow in your developer program and outreach. Bring your experiences to the webinar and we will discuss them during the Q&A at end of the webinar.

Agenda

  1. The Four T’s
  2. The First Three C’s
  3. The Next Nine C’s
  4. Q&A

Dates/Times

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

  • 7am PDT (Santa Cruz) | 9am CDT (Chicago) | 10am EDT (New York) | 2pm GMT | 3pm BST (London) | 4pm CEST (Frankfurt)
  • 1pm PDT (Santa Cruz) | 2pm CDT (Chicago) | 3pm EDT (New York)
  • 5pm PDT (Santa Cruz) | 8am CST (Beijing Wednesday, October 25) | 11am AEDT (Sydney Wednesday, October 25)

Thursday, October 26, 2017

  • 7am PDT (Santa Cruz) | 9am CDT (Chicago) | 10am EDT (New York) | 2pm GMT | 3pm BST (London) | 4pm CEST (Frankfurt)
  • 10am PDT (Santa Cruz) | 12noon CDT (Chicago) | 1pm EDT (New York) | 5pm GMT | 6pm BST (London) | 7pm CEST (Frankfurt)

Register Now to Reserve your Seat: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/3805218814647871746

Note: The webinar repeats on multiple days and times. Choose the date and time that fits your schedule.

Who Should Attend

  • Managers & Directors of Developer Programs
  • Technology & Developer Advocates
  • Business Development Managers & Directors
  • Product Marketing Managers & Directors
  • Marketing Managers
  • Product Managers
  • Research Managers
  • Corporate Communications Managers
  • Heads of Developer Marketing
  • ANYONE who deals with developers!

Register Now!

Note: The webinar repeats on multiple days and times. Choose the date and time that fits your schedule.

Presenter

David Intersimone “David I”, Vice President of Developer Communities, Evans Data Corporation

David I Facebook Avatar

 

Ten Developer API Success Factors for DevMktg and DevRel – Webinar Links & Info

There are many aspects related to a developer’s API adoption and a company’s decision to open their APIs to developers. These aspects can include: API features, Documentation, Developer Support, Reasons for joining and staying in a program, ROI and Developer Program Measurement, Developer Outreach, Training, Spurring Participation, Developer Resources, and App Stores.

This blog post contains information and links for the many aspects of successful API adoption, developer program features and developer marketing best practices that lead to a successful partnership between your company and developers.

Evans Data Tactical Marketing Reports

Evans Data reaches out to its global developer panel to produce two annual tactical marketing reports: Developer Marketing Survey Report and Developer Relations Survey Report. The Developer Marketing Survey contains software developers’ attitudes about marketing tools and programs used to promote and sell products to them. This report provides invaluable insight for your developer marketing campaigns. The Developer Relations Survey examines issues and elements of developer programs. This report provides invaluable insight for your developer program and advocacy.

 

The Ten Success Factors

  1. Provide the 4 T’s – Tools/SDKs, Technical Information, Technical Support, Training
  2. Give Developers a “Runway” – your developer members lead times are often as long as your engineers development time
  3. Prepare your Partners – you’ll need your technology, training, consulting, MVPs and through leaders ready for your releases
  4. Version & Deprecation Reality – developers cannot always move quickly to the latest version or react to deprecated APIs
  5. Developers Love Videos – developers learn new technologies, programming steps, how to use a product
  6. Understand your Developers – your developers are real people and not stereotypes
  7. Show Quantifiable Benefits – give measures of improved code quality, increased productivity, business/financial possibilities
  8. Compelling Marketing Tools – use developer speak (not marketing/sales speak) in your technical newsletters, engineering blogs, testimonials
  9. Developer Success Stories – show how developers architect solutions, list the tools/methods used, provide learned tips, tricks and traps
  10. Handle Bad News Well – if you have to shut down an API/Service provide advanced notice and transition/migration plans

The Twelve C’s

Remember to keep in mind the twelve C’s when you are using the top ten success factors.

  • Community
  • Content
  • Code
  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Contests
  • Champions
  • Conversations
  • Cooperation
  • Contribution
  • Certification
  • Celebration

For more on the twelve C’s check out my abridged version blog post. I bet you have additional C’s that are on your list!

 

Webinar – September 28, 2017 – Ten Developer API Success Factors for your DevMktg and DevRel Program

Today more than 80% of developers belong to one or more developer programs. Sixty-two percent of developers, in a recent Evans Data Developer Program research survey, say they don’t use APIs that aren’t supported by a Developer Relations program. What motivates a developer to want to adopt a particular technology or tool?  What motivates them to recommend and/or buy a technology, tool, framework, etc.?

The answers to these questions are crucial to the success of API marketing efforts. In order to sell a product, companies must be able to first, reach developers, second, provide a clear and unique message that emphasizes the particular value and functionality of their tool or platform, and finally, convince developers that these offerings can benefit them and/or the company they work for.  Knowing what the primary influences are in the developer world is critical.

Evans Data reaches out to its global developer panel to produce two annual tactical marketing reports: Developer Marketing Survey Report and Developer Relations Survey Report. The Developer Marketing Survey contains software developers’ attitudes about marketing tools and programs used to promote and sell products to them. This report provides invaluable insight for your developer marketing campaigns. The Developer Relations Survey examines issues and elements of developer programs. This report provides invaluable insight for your developer program and advocacy.

There are many aspects related to a developer’s API adoption and a company’s decision to open their APIs to developers. These aspects can include: API features, Documentation, Developer Support, Reasons for joining and staying in a program, ROI and Developer Program Measurement, Developer Outreach, Training, Spurring Participation, Developer Resources, and App Stores.

In this DevRelate webinar, you’ll learn about the many aspects of successful API adoption, developer program features and developer marketing best practices that lead to a successful partnership between your company and developers.

Agenda

  1. Developer adoption motivations
  2. Developer recommendation/purchase motivations
  3. Aspects of successful API adoption
  4. API Features and Developer Marketing Best Practices
  5. Q&A

 

Dates/Times

Thursday, September 28, 2017

  • 7am PDT (Santa Cruz) | 9am CDT (Chicago) | 10am EDT (New York) | 2pm GMT | 3pm BST (London) | 4pm CEST (Frankfurt)
  • 10am PDT (Santa Cruz) | 12noon CDT (Chicago) | 1pm EDT (New York) | 5pm GMT | 6pm BST (London) | 7pm CEST (Frankfurt)
  • 1pm PDT (Santa Cruz) | 2pm CDT (Chicago) | 3pm EDT (New York)
  • 5pm PDT (Santa Cruz) | 8am CST (Beijing Friday, September 29) | 10am AEST (Sydney Friday, September 29)

 

Register Now to Reserve your Seat: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/6630659132606705922

Note: The webinar repeats on multiple days and times. Choose the date and time that fits your schedule.

 

Who Should Attend

  • Managers & Directors of Developer Programs
  • Technology & Developer Advocates
  • Business Development Managers & Directors
  • Product Marketing Managers & Directors
  • Marketing Managers
  • Product Managers
  • Research Managers
  • Corporate Communications Managers
  • Heads of Developer Marketing
  • ANYONE who deals with developers!

 

Register Now!

Note: The webinar repeats on multiple days and times. Choose the date and time that fits your schedule.

 

Presenter

David Intersimone “David I”, Vice President of Developer Communities, Evans Data Corporation

David I Facebook Avatar