What a developer wants, what a developer needs
One of the things I love most about my work is crafting content for one of the most discerning audiences out there: developers. They have a low tolerance for bullshit, and honestly, so do I. Maybe it’s my neurodivergence, but I find insincerity difficult to navigate. While that used to be a challenge, I’ve learned to turn it into a strength by embracing my differences and expressing my needs—my real, unapologetic needs.
We’ve recently developed a series of code samples called AI Recipes. Our first recipe was an eye-opening experience in answering a crucial question: What do developers want? More importantly, what do developers need? Just as identifying and addressing my own needs has led to greater personal fulfillment, understanding and meeting developers' needs can empower them to thrive in their roles.
And – real talk – developers who thrive are developers who influence.
Developer Relations: The choose your own adventure era
I believe the era of flashy DevRel demo days is behind us. I’ve been planning to write a follow-up post to this on what “DevRel v2.5” should look like, but let’s be real — I’m not Guy Kawasaki (at least, not yet), so full-time thought leadership will have to wait!
Jonathan Reimer has some good ideas in this post. When it comes to developer-led growth (AKA nurturing influencers), these are the points Reimer emphasizes that I find resonant:
In a wave of nostalgia, I bought used copies of all my favorite Choose Your Own Adventure books. See what happens when you give someone like me adult money? These seemingly childish books have rekindled my love for reading. Why? Because they’re fast, fun, easy, and—best of all—they make me the hero of the story, in control of how the narrative unfolds. Sometimes my endings are triumphant, sometimes they’re tragic, and sometimes they’re totally weird and unnerving. (I’m looking at you, Inside UFO 54-40 – !) It’s low-stakes, low-friction, and fun is guaranteed.
DevRel v2.5 is the Choose Your Own Adventure of developer relations. It’s all about self-service. We’ve moved past show-and-tell; now, it’s about guiding developers through their own journey of discovery. After all, you learn best when you’re hands-on. Arriving at that aha! moment by your own volition is one of the best dopamine hits.
Developer education and the developer’s journey
The ultimate dopamine killer? Any piece of developer education content that awakens the beast of imposter syndrome. Once that’s triggered, you’ve lost the developer’s focus.
Developer education includes documentation, tutorials, code samples, and quickstarts. For this post, I watched the Draft.dev recording of their Mastering the Art of Product Documentation & Education webinar for insights from Snyk’s Head of Developer Relations & Community, Randall Degges, and Garrett Frohman, the founder of Mendable.
Here are the parts I found most resonant:
“If developers can’t find the quickstart in the first 15 minutes, they’re probably moving on to something else”
Don’t make developers think—at least not about anything other than the problem they’re trying to solve. If they have to leave your site to understand your product, they’re gonna find the competitor who made content for those keywords.
And to that point, keep it simple and succinct (KISS). This goes for your website, your documentation, and your talks. And how do you keep it simple and succinct?
Assume your audience is starting from scratch
A developer can have years of industry experience and zero experience in your particular technology, so you get the opportunity to teach them. Teaching is a unique relationship that can deeply impact an individual so don’t miss out on the chance to be that person for someone!
In the webinar, Degges recounts how he learned the value of keeping things simple when he gave one of his first talks. In his effort to speak about more advanced and complex topics, he lost his audience.
And if your audience knows more than a beginner, give them the path to more advanced resources. Use chapters and headings to let them choose their own adventure.
Diverse perspectives and voices help make sure all your potential audiences are served appropriately
When you’re the one working on the product, it can be easy to lose sight of how awesome your product is. Your product is cool! And powerful! And solves a problem! So how do you get someone who is completely unfamiliar with the problem space to see that? Diverse perspectives and voices help you challenge your own assumptions.
Frohman talks about this and his company’s experience speaking to different prospects.
“Edutainment” is the future of educational developer content
Degges talks about pivoting their best writers at Synk to producing short educational videos that are as entertaining as they are informative. AI can write pretty well, but it still lacks the warmth and charisma of a personality.
I think this is especially effective when the topics aren’t limited to just the product but also cover concepts and technologies related to the product. Don’t force your developer to look elsewhere for answers to questions like, “What is a dataframe?” Put everything they might need in reach.
A good experience is the key to loyalty and loyalty is the key to evangelism
All of this helps create a positive user experience. As Frohman illustrates in his anecdote about PostHog, making a user feel seen and heard and valued solidifies relationships. The best ad is exactly what Frohman does in the webinar: A peer testimonial.
(Because aren’t you curious now?)
Events and resources and other notable things
- The 11th Annual State of DevRel is coming out Tuesday 09/10 and you can get first dibs and deep insights into the report by attending the live in-depth look at it.
- PyBay is Saturday 09/21 in San Francisco. I won’t be able to make it, but the lineup looks amazing. Make sure to get your tickets ASAP!
- Developer Week is in February 2025 and their CFP is still open, but it closes soon on 09/06.
- And this week is the Developer Engagement Summit in San Francisco – Wednesday 09/04 and Thursday 09/05. I am considering attending.
- Help me fundraise to support Project Koru, on organization that helps young adult cancer patients heal through community and nature. Thanks to Project Koru, I learned how to snowboard in 2018, and I'll be attending an alumni retreat this month.
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