by David I | Mar 20, 2018 | Conference, Developer Outreach, Developer Relations, Evans Data |
There’s less than a week until the start of the 14th Annual Evans Data Developer Relations Conference in Palo Alto California (March 25-27). With 6 keynote speakers, break out sessions, workshops, a Sunday boot camp, round table discussions and loads of time for networking, this year’s conference will be a spectacular opportunity to move your developer program to higher levels of success. There are only a few seats left for this one of a kind conference focused on developer relations best practices, developer program excellence and optimal developer outreach.

Here are a few of the “can’t miss” things that are happening during the conference.
Keynote Speakers

Janel Garvin, Evans Data Corp – Founder and CEO
Hot Topics in Software Development 2018
Janel will draw on multiple recent Evans Data development surveys to give a broad overview of the current development landscape spanning Cloud, Big Data, AI, Machine Learning, Mobile and IoT.
Paul Cutsinger, Amazon – Head of Alexa Voice Design Education
Anatomy of an Amazon Alexa Evangelist
Who are they? What makes them tick? What do they accomplish? In this session, you’ll get a behind the scenes look at how the Alexa evangelism team operates and what we strive to achieve.
Jonas Jacobi, IBM – Head of Developer Advocacy, Worldwide
IBM and The Developer Economy
Jonas will discuss how IBM has, in less than 12 months, changed its developer engagement strategy, changed the senior executive teams perspective of the developer economy, and rallied the entire company behind the mission to become the most trusted and respected technology company in the World.
Guy Kawasaki, Canva – Chief Evangelist
Developer Relations “Fireside” Chat
David Intersimone (“David I”), Evans Data’s Vice President of Developer Communities, will host a conversation with Guy Kawasaki covering developer relations best practice and experiences. They’ll also take questions from conference attendees. Kawasaki was chief evangelist of Apple and David was chief evangelist for Borland/Embarcadero Technologies’ Developer Tools Group.
Roger Chandler, Intel – Vice President & General Manager, Developer Programs & Initiatives
Co-Designing the Future with the Developer Ecosystem
For decades Intel has partnered with software developers around the world to define, deliver, and improve their products. Learn how Intel co-designs user-focused platforms with the software ecosystem, makes it easier for developers to better harness the capabilities of Intel products, and helps ISVs to better sell their software products. This talk will provide specific examples from IOT, Artificial Intelligence, PC Gaming, and Virtual Reality to make it all fit together so that end-users are delighted and developers can grow their business.
Sam Ramji, Google – Vice President of Product Management for Google Cloud Platform
Open, cloudy, platform-shaped: developer relations for a new normal
Open source is ascendant. Digital platforms are shaking up the Fortune 500. Cloud is eating the glass house. As stewards of the profession, we share an awesome responsibility to define new best practices for developer relations in a changing world. This presentation shares what we’ve learned at Google on the journey we all are on to the future of Dev Rel.
Expert Panel, Round Table Discussions, Live On-Stage Developer Focus Group
Future Directions for Developer Relations and Developer Technologies
Our panel of experts will discuss the future of developer programs and how new technologies are reshaping the features, conversations and deliverables for every developer community.
Moderator: David Intersimone (“David I”), Evans Data – Vice President of Developer Communities
Panelists:
Michael Aglietti, ThingWorx – VP of Developer Relations
Mithun Dhar, HERE – General Manager Developer Relations (Evangelism, Marketing, Engineering, and Product Management)
JJ Kass, Dropbox – Head of Developer Programs
Andrew Lee, Airbnb – Business Development and Developer Relations
Lothar Schubert, GE Digital – Director, Developer Relations
Hot Topic Round Table Discussions
Join your colleagues for in-depth roundtable discussions on topics that matter in Developer Relations, including: Measuring ROI and Metrics, Utilizing Social Media to Attract and Engage Developers, Scaling a DevRel Team, Running Hackathons and Events, Effectively Communicating with Developers, API success factors, Educating and Training Developer Communities, and the Art of Internal Evangelism.
Live Onstage Developer Focus Group – This is your chance to ask developers what you want to know – a panel of developers answer the questions you submit.
Moderator: David Intersimone (“David I”), Evans Data – Vice President of Developer Communities
Workshops
Kristen Scheven, AngelHack – Chief Marketing Officer
Sustainable Growth Marketing: Building a Developer Ecosystem that Lasts
People throw around the term growth hacking often, but very rarely does it lead to community growth that lasts. During this workshop, we’ll build a marketing action plan that focuses on creating a sustainable and diverse developer foundation through content marketing, email drip campaigns, developer outreach and complementary innovation programs.
Michael Rasalan, Evans Data – Director of Research
Benchmarking Developer Program Offerings and Quantifying User Satisfaction
To accurately target the developer market for your tools and services, segmentation is vital. This is commonly done by classifying developers by the types of applications they create. This typology is valuable and delivers results focused on developer targets, but sometimes you might want to look at developers by other segments. This interactive workshop looks at how various ways to segment the developer population and provides a jumping off point for examining developers that will allow you to expand your reach.
Yolanda Fintschenko, Ph.D., Fixate IO – Co-Founder and Chris Riley, Fixate IO – Co-Founder
The A to Z of Practitioner Content Marketing
In this workshop, we will define practitioner content marketing and how it compares to public relations, demand gen, and influencer marketing. We will then build a practitioner content marketing strategy with workshop participants.
Matt Schmidt, DZone – President
Building the Ideal Developer Community
A key component of a mature developer relations strategy is the effective use of community. How do devs on your team communicate and collaborate? What is the average amount of time it takes them to get answers? What if you could reduce the amount to time your team spends hunting down resources and resolving issues? A productive and engaged developer community can help your company reach its goals faster and cheaper, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Attend our workshop for a hands-on planning workshop that walks attendees through the process of launching an online developer community that is sure to be a success.
Breakout Sessions
Cliff Simpkins, Microsoft – Director, Azure Developer Marketing
Virtual Event ROI: Experiments and Learnings
Larry McDonough, VMware – Director, Product Management
Beyond the Portal: An Innovative Developer Engagement Approach
Desiree Motamedi, Facebook – Head of Developer Product Marketing
Developers and the Future of Technology
Mike Guerette, Red Hat – Global Developer Program Manager
Starting a Developer Program Begins with Data
Lothar Schubert, GE Digital – Director, Developer Relations / Product Marketing
Building Sticky Relationships with Developer Experiences
Marie Huwe, DocuSign – VP, Developer Programs and Evangelism
Developer Market Segmentation: Who are developers and what do they want?
Kris Chant, Salesforce – Developer Relations Director
Using Community to Grow your Developer Program
Scott Burnell, Ford Motor Company – Global Lead, Business Development & Partner Management
WIIFM?
Michelle Little, Evans Data Corp – Analyst
Digging Deeper: Understanding Developer Motivations.
Julie Anderson, HP Inc. – Developer Outreach Program Manager
Outreach in the Enterprise: Using Hackathons to Create Culture Change at HP Inc.
Sunday Boot Camp
The Evans Data Corporation’s Developer Relations Boot Camp provides a solid foundation on which you can build or enhance your developer program. Concentrated sessions in this one-day instructional program provide the insight and actionable information you can use to build your brand and establish strong relationships with your developer community.
After each session Boot Camp attendees will break into teams to work on projects related to each topic. Each team will report back to all attendees and discuss their findings and solicit feedback.
Boot Camp Faculty:
David Intersimone “David I” – Evans Data Corp – Vice President of Developer Communities
Michael Rasalan – Evans Data Corp – Director of Research
Scott Burnell – Ford Motor Company – Global Lead, Business Development & Partner Management
Michael Aglietti – ThingWorx – VP Developer Programs
Date: Sunday March 25, 2018
Time: 9am – 5:00pm
https://evansdata.com/drc/2018/bootcamp.php
by David I | Feb 15, 2018 | Conference, Developer Community, Developer Marketing, Developer Outreach, Developer Relations, DevRelate, Education, Evans Data |
In an event unlike any other, developer relations experts from leading companies in the software, telecom and web markets will come together at the 14th Annual Evans Data Developer Relations Conference, March 26-27 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Palo Alto California, to discuss best practices and reveal the techniques behind their success!

New this year: Interactive Workshops
In addition to six keynote presenters and multiple breakout sessions, this year we have also scheduled four interactive workshops during the conference. Each conference attendee will choose to participate in two of the four workshops being held on Tuesday, March 27 at 9am and 10am.
These four workshops will provide accelerated learning for conference attendees to work together to:
- Build a marketing action plan that creates a sustainable and diverse developer foundation
- Craft a practitioner content marketing strategy
- Learn how to segment a developer population that will allow you to expand your reach
- Plan the launch of an online developer community that is sure to be a success
Workshop Sessions, Dates/Times, and Leaders
Here are the four workshop sessions, the date/time when they take place on Tuesday March 27th, and an abstract that describes the workshop in more detail. You can also click on the workshop leader’s name to see their biography.
Workshop: Sustainable Growth Marketing: Building a Developer Ecosystem that Lasts
Date/Time: Tuesday March 27 – Track 1 Room – 9:00am
Workshop Leader: Kristen Scheven, AngelHack – Chief Marketing Officer
Workshop Abstract
People throw around the term growth hacking often, but very rarely does it lead to community growth that lasts. During this workshop, we’ll build a marketing action plan that focuses on creating a sustainable and diverse developer foundation through content marketing, email drip campaigns, developer outreach and complementary innovation programs.
Workshop: The A to Z of Practitioner Content Marketing
Date/Time: Tuesday March 27 – Track 1 Room – 10:00am
Workshop Leaders: Yolanda Fintschenko, Ph.D., Fixate IO – Co-Founder and Chris Riley, Fixate IO – Co-Founder
Workshop Abstract
In this workshop, we will define practitioner content marketing and how it compares to public relations, demand gen, and influencer marketing. We will then build a practitioner content marketing strategy with workshop participants.
Marketing is moving from using a megaphone to creating targeted conversations. Developers do not respond well to traditional marketing, but they also do not want to be the last to know about features, functionality, and techniques. They look for vendors that can impart technical value with each piece of content they put out and ignore obvious product promotion pieces unless they include content that makes tool or technique adoption easier.
Having these targeted technical conversations requires a new strategy — practitioner content marketing. Practitioners who sit outside your organization but are willing to put their name on content for your organization is more credible, results in better quality leads, and increases your company’s share of voice in conversations important for your industry segment. Practitioner content market is a way to let the market, prospects, and customers know that you speak their language and can provide value beyond features and functionality.
Workshop: Benchmarking Developer Program Offerings and Quantifying User Satisfaction
Date/Time: Tuesday March 27 – Track 2 Room – 9:00am
Workshop Leader: Michael Rasalan, Evans Data – Director of Research
Workshop Abstract
To accurately target the developer market for your tools and services, segmentation is vital. This is commonly done by classifying developers by the types of applications they create. This typology is valuable and delivers results focused on developer targets, but sometimes you might want to look at developers by other segments.
This interactive workshop looks at how various ways to segment the developer population and provides a jumping off point for examining developers that will allow you to expand your reach.
Workshop: Building the Ideal Developer Community
Date/Time: Tuesday March 27 – Track 2 Room – 10:00am
Workshop Leader: Matt Schmidt, DZone – President
Workshop Abstract
A key component of a mature developer relations strategy is the effective use of community. How do developers on your team communicate and collaborate? What is the average amount of time it takes them to get answers? What if you could reduce the amount to time your team spends hunting down resources and resolving issues? A productive and engaged developer community can help your company reach its goals faster and cheaper, but it doesn’t happen overnight.
Attend our workshop for a hands-on planning workshop that walks attendees through the process of launching an online developer community that is sure to be a success.
Additional Conference Links

See you at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Palo Alto for this one of a kind conference that brings together developer ecosystem strategists, developer marketing, and developer relations professionals to meet, exchange ideas, forge partnerships, and share insights on developer ecosystem development.
by David I | Feb 5, 2018 | Conference, Developer Community, Developer Marketing, Developer Outreach, Developer Relations, DevRelate, Newsletter |
At the upcoming 14th Annual Evans Data Developer Relations Conference (DRC2018), Guy Kawasaki will participate in a “Fireside Chat” with David Intersimone “David I”. During the keynote, David I will ask Guy Kawasaki a series of questions covering developer relations best practice and experiences. They’ll also take questions from conference attendees. This keynote session will take place on Tuesday, March 27 at 11:15am at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Palo Alto California.

Guy Kawasaki was chief evangelist of Apple and David was chief evangelist for Borland/Embarcadero Technologies’ Developer Tools Group.
About Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva, an online graphic design tool. He is on the board of trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, a brand ambassador for Mercedes Benz USA, and an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley). He was also the chief evangelist of Apple. He is also the author of The Art of the Start 2.0, The Art of Social Media, Enchantment, and nine other books. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.
Guy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GuyKawasaki
Guy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guykawasaki/
Guy’s Website: https://guykawasaki.com/
About David Intersimone “David I”
David Intersimone, known to many as David I, is a passionate and innovative software industry veteran who extols and educates the world on developer tools, software development and software architectures. David I joined Borland Software in 1985 where he practically invented Developer Relations. During David I’s forty-three years as a developer, development manager, developer community executive and chief evangelist, he has created a thriving global developer community, thousands of articles, videos and blog posts.
Before Embarcadero acquired the developer tools business from Borland Software, David spent more than 20 years with Borland in various evangelism, engineering, and development capacities, including creating the company’s developer relations program.
Today, David I shares his visions and insights as a pioneer in developer relations with program managers and directors through Evans Data’s Developer Program Advisory where he gives workshops, guidance and advice on program creation and enhancement and through the DevRelate Developer Program community website.
David I on Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidi99
David I on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidi99/
David I’s DevRelate blog: https://www.devrelate.com/blog/
Join us at the Evans Data 14th Annual Developer Relations Conference
The conference takes place on March 26 and 27, 2018 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Palo Alto California. There is also a Sunday, March 25 Developer Relations Bootcamp strategic workshop that provides a solid foundation on which you can build or enhance your developer program. Concentrated sessions in this one-day instructional program provide the insight and actionable information you can use to build your brand and establish strong relationships with your developer community.
During the two day conference the keynotes, sessions and workshops will cover all aspects of developer relations, ranging from the business side (program ROI, the connection between developer programs and company revenue, budgeting for/costs of developer programs, how to get an organization’s commitment of internal resources, etc.) to the marketing side (techniques for recruitment, awareness tactics, community loyalty building programs, legal/privacy and global privacy considerations, conducting a privacy audit, internationalizing a US-based developer program, etc), and much more.
Whether you are starting a new developer relations program or building on a current one, you deserve all of the help you can get – and this is the place to get it!
In an event unlike any other, developer relations experts from leading companies in the software, telecom and web markets will come together to discuss best practices and reveal the techniques behind their success!
You’ll find additional Developer Relations Conference information, keynote presenters, speakers and conference schedule on the DRC2018 Web Site.
by David I | Jan 26, 2018 | Developer Relations, DevRelate, Newsletter |
We have a full schedule of keynote, session and workshop presenters! You won’t want to miss the live developer focus group, networking opportunities and chances to win special prizes. Register now to reserve your seat. Find additional details, schedule, speakers and registration pages at the conference site.
Keynote presenters include:
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Janel Garvin
CEO/Founder
Evans Data |
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Guy Kawasaki
Chief Evangelist
Canva |
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Roger Chandler
Vice President & General Manager, Developer Programs & Initiatives
Intel |
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Jonas Jacobi
Head of Developer Advocacy, Worldwide
IBM |
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Sam Ramji
VP of Product Management
Google |
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Paul Cutsinger
Head of Alexa Code Labs
Amazon |
by David I | Dec 21, 2017 | Developer Relations, DevRelate |
The Developer Relations Conference will feature speakers from Google, GE, VMware, RedHat, IBM, Intel, DocuSign, AirBnB, Oracle, Ford and legendary developer evangelist Guy Kawasaki!
Super Early Bird Ends 12/31/2017 – Save $300 on passes by registering today: http://www.evansdata.com/drc/2018/register.php
The Developer Relations Conference brings together the top brass of developer ecosystem strategists, advocates, and developer relations professionals to meet, exchange ideas, forge partnerships, and share insights on developer ecosystem development.
Evans Data’s 14th Annual Developer Relations Conference
March 26th-27th at the Crowne Plaza in Palo Alto, California
See conference details at http://www.evansdata.com/drc/2018
Sessions and activities during the conference will include:
- Keynotes delivered by top developer relations executives
- Hot Topics round table discussions
- Newly added networking events for attendees
- Expert panel of developer relations professionals
- 2 highly focused tracks on devrel strategy and devexperience
- Live on stage developer focus group
- 4 Interactive workshops
Register today to save $300 on passes now: http://www.evansdata.com/drc/2018/register.php
