jonathimer/developer-advocacy

Developer Advocacy

This skill helps you with developer advocacy activities: conference talks, live coding demos, podcast appearances, and building in public. Covers talk proposals, demo prep, social presence, and measuring impact.

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Before You Start

Load your audience context first. Read .agents/developer-audience-context.md to understand:

• Who you're trying to reach (conferences they attend, podcasts they listen to)
• What topics resonate (pain points, interests)
• Your product's positioning (what story to tell)
• Voice & tone (how formal/technical to be)

If the context file doesn't exist, run the developer-audience-context skill first.

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Conference Talks

Finding the Right Conferences

| Conference Type | Best For | Examples | |-----------------|----------|----------| | Large industry | Brand awareness, reach | KubeCon, AWS re:Invent, React Summit | | Regional | Local community, accessible | Local meetups, city tech conferences | | Niche | Targeted audience, expertise | GraphQL Conf, RustConf | | Company-hosted | Ecosystem presence | Vercel Ship, GitHub Universe | | Unconferences | Community connection | BarCamps, DevOpsDays |

Talk Proposal (CFP) Framework

The winning formula:

Specific Problem + Unique Angle + Clear Takeaways = Accepted Talk

CFP Template:

# Title
[Action verb] + [specific outcome] + [with/using what]
Example: "Building Real-Time Features with Edge Functions and WebSockets"

# Abstract (100-200 words)
[Hook: Problem or curiosity gap]
[What you'll cover]
[What attendees will learn/be able to do]

# Description (detailed, for reviewers)
[Problem context]
[Why this approach]
[Talk structure]
[Your credibility to give this talk]

# Outline
- [Time] Introduction / Problem statement
- [Time] Section 1
- [Time] Section 2
- [Time] Section 3
- [Time] Live demo / walkthrough
- [Time] Key takeaways / Q&A

# Audience
[Who this is for]
[Prerequisite knowledge]
[What they'll learn]

# Bio
[Your relevant experience]
[Why you're qualified]

Title Patterns That Work

| Pattern | Example | |---------|---------| | How I X | "How I Reduced Deploy Time by 80%" | | X in Y Minutes | "Kubernetes Security in 15 Minutes" | | The X of Y | "The Psychology of Error Messages" | | Beyond X | "Beyond Console.log: Modern Debugging" | | X for Y | "GraphQL for REST Developers" | | Lessons from X | "Lessons from 1000 Production Outages" |

Talk Types

| Type | Length | Best For | |------|--------|----------| | Lightning | 5-10 min | Single concept, quick demo | | Standard | 25-45 min | Technical deep-dive | | Keynote | 45-60 min | Big picture, inspiring | | Workshop | 2-4 hours | Hands-on learning | | Panel | 30-60 min | Discussion, multiple perspectives |

Talk Prep Checklist

| Phase | Tasks | |-------|-------| | 2 months before | Outline, start slides, test demos | | 1 month before | Draft complete, first practice run | | 2 weeks before | Slides polished, demos solid, practice 3x | | 1 week before | Record yourself, get feedback, finalize | | Day before | Test all tech, backup slides, rest | | Day of | Arrive early, test A/V, hydrate |

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Live Coding & Demos

The Demo Danger Zone

| Risk | Mitigation | |------|------------| | Internet fails | Pre-record backup, local server | | Typo freezes you | Practice typing same code 20x | | Error you can't fix | Have working checkpoints to jump to | | Runs over time | Time yourself, cut ruthlessly | | Code too small | Zoom in, use large font (24pt+) | | Dark theme blinding | Use high-contrast, light-friendly theme |

Demo Prep Framework

The 10-3-1 Rule:

• Run your demo 10 times in practice
• Have 3 checkpoints you can jump to if stuck
• 1 backup (video recording of it working)

Pre-demo checklist:

• [ ] Close unnecessary apps
• [ ] Clear browser history/tabs
• [ ] Notifications OFF (Slack, email, calendar)
• [ ] Font size: 24pt+ for terminal, 20pt+ for editor
• [ ] Git stash/branch for clean starting point
• [ ] Environment variables ready
• [ ] Test on the actual projector/screen if possible

Live Coding Tips

| Tip | Why | |-----|-----| | Type slowly | Audience needs to follow | | Narrate what you type | "I'm creating a new handler..." | | Explain errors | "This error means X, let me fix it" | | Use snippets | For boilerplate, not core concepts | | Show the result | Always run the code, show output | | Checkpoint commits | git checkout checkpoint-1 |

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Podcast Guesting

Finding Podcasts

| Approach | How | |----------|-----| | Direct search | "top [your tech] podcasts" | | Guest networks | Podmatch, Matchmaker.fm | | Peer asks | "What podcasts do you listen to?" | | Twitter search | "[topic] podcast episode" | | Listen Notes | Podcast search engine |

Pitch Template

Subject: Guest Idea: [Specific Topic] for [Podcast Name]

Hi [Host Name],

I've been listening to [Podcast] for [time] — loved your episode on [specific episode].

I'd love to come on and talk about [specific topic]. Here's the angle:

[2-3 sentences on what you'd discuss and why it matters to their audience]

A bit about me:
- [Relevant credential 1]
- [Relevant credential 2]
- [Link to past podcast/talk]

Would this be a fit?

[Your name]

Pre-Podcast Prep

| Prep Item | Details | |-----------|---------| | Research the show | Listen to 2-3 episodes, understand format | | Research the host | Their interests, style, Twitter | | Prep talking points | 3-5 main things you want to say | | Prep stories | Specific examples, not generalities | | Audio setup | Good mic, quiet room, headphones | | Water nearby | You'll be talking a lot |

During the Podcast

| Do | Don't | |----|-------| | Tell stories with specifics | Give generic advice | | Pause before answering | Um and ah nervously | | Disagree respectfully | Always agree to be polite | | Promote subtly | Hard sell your product | | Be concise | Ramble without structure | | Show enthusiasm | Be monotone |

Post-Podcast

| Action | Timing | |--------|--------| | Thank the host | Same day | | Share when published | Immediately | | Engage with comments | First week | | Cross-promote | Your newsletter, blog | | Stay in touch | Ongoing relationship |

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Building in Public

What to Share

| Category | Content Ideas | |----------|---------------| | Progress | "Shipped X today, here's what I learned" | | Challenges | "Stuck on X, tried Y and Z, here's what worked" | | Decisions | "Why we chose X over Y" | | Metrics | Revenue, users, growth (transparently) | | Behind scenes | Team, process, tools | | Learnings | "Mistake we made and how we fixed it" |

Build in Public Formats

| Format | Platform | Cadence | |--------|----------|---------| | Tweet thread | Twitter/X | Daily-weekly | | Changelog | Blog, Notion, website | Weekly | | Indie hacker posts | Indie Hackers, HN | Monthly | | Video update | YouTube, Loom | Weekly-monthly | | Newsletter | Email | Weekly | | Livestream | Twitch, YouTube | Weekly |

What NOT to Share

| Avoid | Why | |-------|-----| | Customer data | Privacy, trust | | Team conflicts | Professionalism | | Security details | Vulnerability | | Competitor attacks | Looks petty | | Venting | Not productive |

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Social Presence (Twitter/X)

Developer Twitter Playbook

| Content Type | % of Posts | Example | |--------------|------------|---------| | Value content | 60% | Tips, tutorials, insights | | Engagement | 20% | Replies, retweets with commentary | | Personal | 10% | Behind-the-scenes, personality | | Promotion | 10% | Your product, talks, content |

Tweet Formats That Work

| Format | Example | |--------|---------| | Thread | "10 things I learned building X" | | Hot take | "Unpopular opinion: [opinion]" | | Quick tip | "TIL: You can do X by..." | | Question | "What's your favorite way to..." | | Meme/humor | Tech jokes, relatable content | | Showcase | "Just shipped X, here's how it works" | | Appreciation | "Shoutout to @person for..." |

Engagement Strategy

| Action | Frequency | |--------|-----------| | Tweet original content | Daily | | Reply to others | 5-10x daily | | Quote tweet with value | 2-3x weekly | | DM interesting people | Weekly | | Join Twitter Spaces | As relevant |

Growing Your Presence

| Tactic | Implementation | |--------|----------------| | Consistency | Post daily, engage daily | | Niche down | Be known for ONE thing first | | Reply game | Add value to big accounts' tweets | | Collaborate | Twitter Spaces, threads together | | Cross-promote | Newsletter, talks, blog |

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Measuring Impact

Advocacy Metrics

| Activity | Metrics | |----------|---------| | Talks | Attendees, feedback scores, recording views | | Content | Views, shares, engagement | | Social | Followers, engagement rate, reach | | Podcasts | Listener estimates, traffic spikes | | Community | Growth, engagement, sentiment |

Attribution Challenges

Developer advocacy impact is notoriously hard to measure. Proxy metrics:

| Signal | What It Indicates | |--------|-------------------| | Traffic spikes | Content/talk/podcast drove visits | | "How did you hear about us?" | Direct attribution | | Social mentions | Brand awareness | | Inbound leads quality | Community-qualified leads | | Conference invites | Growing reputation |

Reporting Framework

Monthly advocacy report:

# Developer Advocacy Report - [Month]

## Talks & Appearances
- [Talk 1]: [Conference], [Attendees], [Link]
- [Podcast 1]: [Show], [Episode link]

## Content Published
- [Article 1]: [Views], [Engagement]
- [Video 1]: [Views]

## Social Growth
- Twitter: +X followers, Y impressions
- Notable tweets: [Links]

## Community
- Discord/Slack: +X members, Y messages
- Notable threads/discussions

## Learnings
- What worked: [X]
- What didn't: [Y]
- Trying next: [Z]

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Advocacy Career Path

Role Levels

| Level | Focus | |-------|-------| | Junior DA | Content creation, community support, talk prep | | Developer Advocate | Talks, own content strategy, community building | | Senior DA | Strategy, mentoring, major conferences | | Staff DA | Cross-company impact, industry thought leadership | | Head of DevRel | Team building, strategy, executive alignment |

Skill Development

| Skill | How to Develop | |-------|----------------| | Public speaking | Meetups, Toastmasters, practice | | Writing | Blog consistently, get feedback | | Video | YouTube, live streaming, improve iteratively | | Technical depth | Build projects, contribute to OSS | | Community | Moderate, organize events, connect people |

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Tools

| Tool | Use Case | |------|----------| | Octolens | Monitor your name/brand across GitHub, Twitter, Reddit, HN, Stack Overflow. Track conference mentions. Find podcast opportunities. Measure share of voice. | | Cal.com / Calendly | Schedule podcast appearances | | StreamYard | Live streaming setup | | Descript | Video/podcast editing | | Canva / Figma | Slides and graphics | | Otter.ai | Transcription for talks | | Notion | Talk prep, content calendar | | Buffer / Typefully | Social scheduling |

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Related Skills

• developer-audience-context — Know who you're reaching
• devrel-content — Written content strategy
• community-building — Community management
• open-source-marketing — OSS-specific advocacy
• hacker-news-strategy — HN engagement