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We shouldn't trust developer advocates

5 points by SoftwareDev5 4y ago

I truly don't understand why people have a cult following for developer advocates. You shouldn't trust or use a product because a influencer who is getting paid by the company is telling you to. Developer advocates are literally wolves in sheep's clothing. Yes they are developers. Yes they are experienced with the product. But I'm pretty sure anyone would advocate for anything if they were getting paid 220K+ for it. I'm not saying all developer advocates are bad or untrustworthy. But a majority of them are just highly paid individuals who are paid to generate sales.

richliss 4y ago
I worked with Trisha Gee in the past who used to be an advocate at JetBrains and she's both a top developer and a super nice and genuine person.
themodelplumber 4y ago
Seems like it could help to identify different levels of risk with this, if it's that risky. Example: -1) You don't know them & don't know the product; 0) you don't know them but know the product, and like it; 0) you know them and respect them but don't know the product; +1) you know them and respect them and also know and like the product...etc. Repeat with industry and personal experience factors in there as well, if relevant. This also suggests a framework for getting better results in finding dev tools and interfaces overall...
dieselgate 4y ago
I was thinking earlier today how my Org may benefit from having a developer advocate/evangelist - but still don’t quite know what that role entails. Is their role to function mostly internally or proxy with external parties? I’m sure it varies from Org to individual. Kind of a misleading title as it seems quite absolute but then OP says “I’m not saying all advocates are untrustworthy”. Does this have to do with the Company they represent (a la “anyone would advocate for anything” if paid enough)? Or the way in which they represent it?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- ayewo 4y ago
  Yes, you are correct that the responsibilities of a DA varies depending on an organization’s needs and goals for the role. The role will often reflect the skills of the individual [1]. The more common umbrella term for this activity is Developer Relations or DevRel. 1: I know because I’ve read more than 100+ DevRel job ads and track a subset of it in an Airtable.
poniko 4y ago
Developer advocate is a technician sales person .. do you trust any other sales rep? Just have the same approach to DAs.
- muzani 4y ago
  IMO the difference is they understand the product, and agree to put their face on it.
  - toast0 4y ago
    Why should I care if someone's face is on a product if their face is for sale? They're a technical sales rep that's maybe more technical than most reps; also fits as a customer support role maybe more technical and better access to product/engineering. Useful if you've got questions and they can help you find the answers, but you have to be careful if they promise things to come in the future (as with all promises of things to come in the future).

5 points by SoftwareDev5 4y ago

richliss 4y ago

I worked with Trisha Gee in the past who used to be an advocate at JetBrains and she's both a top developer and a super nice and genuine person.

themodelplumber 4y ago

Seems like it could help to identify different levels of risk with this, if it's that risky. Example: -1) You don't know them & don't know the product; 0) you don't know them but know the product, and like it; 0) you know them and respect them but don't know the product; +1) you know them and respect them and also know and like the product...etc. Repeat with industry and personal experience factors in there as well, if relevant. This also suggests a framework for getting better results in finding dev tools and interfaces overall...

dieselgate 4y ago

I was thinking earlier today how my Org may benefit from having a developer advocate/evangelist - but still don’t quite know what that role entails. Is their role to function mostly internally or proxy with external parties? I’m sure it varies from Org to individual. Kind of a misleading title as it seems quite absolute but then OP says “I’m not saying all advocates are untrustworthy”. Does this have to do with the Company they represent (a la “anyone would advocate for anything” if paid enough)? Or the way in which they represent it?

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
ayewo 4y ago
Yes, you are correct that the responsibilities of a DA varies depending on an organization’s needs and goals for the role. The role will often reflect the skills of the individual [1]. The more common umbrella term for this activity is Developer Relations or DevRel. 1: I know because I’ve read more than 100+ DevRel job ads and track a subset of it in an Airtable.

poniko 4y ago

Developer advocate is a technician sales person .. do you trust any other sales rep? Just have the same approach to DAs.

muzani 4y ago
IMO the difference is they understand the product, and agree to put their face on it.
- toast0 4y ago
  Why should I care if someone's face is on a product if their face is for sale? They're a technical sales rep that's maybe more technical than most reps; also fits as a customer support role maybe more technical and better access to product/engineering. Useful if you've got questions and they can help you find the answers, but you have to be careful if they promise things to come in the future (as with all promises of things to come in the future).