Developer relations means many things to many people, but one of the core pieces everyone comes back to is content. Whether that takes the form of videos, code samples, talks, documentation, or anything else, content is central to your efforts. To use your tools, practitioners need to know why and how. This session focuses on the core types of content, how to prioritize what content you provide, and how to relate them to your company goals.

1. Focus on (the Right) Content
Understanding Developer-Oriented Content
Mano Marks, @ManoMarks

2. Who Am I
What’s my perspective?
● 9 years developer relations, Google
● 2 years Developer Relations Director, Docker
● Consumer of APIs

3. Questions to answer
● Why do you offer the product?
● Why does someone use your product?
● What learning objective are you trying to achieve?

4. Why are you doing this?

5. Money Users Data

6. Developer Tools are Produced
by Companies
P.S. Yes even most open source tools

7. Companies exist to make money

8. Content producers
Ask:
● How does your tool benefit the company?
● How does your tool benefit the user?

9. Content consumers
Ask:
● How does your tool benefit the company that produces it?
● If I’m not paying for this with money, how am I paying for it?

10. So back to the money...

12. ● Charge for the product
● Charge for support (Freemium Model)
● Charge for professional services

13. Examples
Enterprise software companies
● Microsoft
● Oracle
● Canonical
● RedHat
● Docker

14. Examples
● Services
○ MapBox
○ GitHub
○ GitLab
● IAAS
○ AWS
○ Azure
○ Google Cloud Platform (or G Suite or whatever)
○ Oracle Cloud

15. User benefits
● They can pay for what they need
● Direct investment by company in needed features
● Product support

16. Dangers
● Some users can’t afford it
● Charging for professional services makes product more complex

17. USERS USERS USERS
USERS USERS USERS
USERS USERS USERS
USERS USERS USERS

18. Free products, create users
Examples
● Identity Services
○ Google Login
○ Facebook login
● Google Maps
○ Drove search
○ Builds Brand
● Mobile OSs
○ Android
○ iOS

19. User benefits
● Links to other services
● Low to no cost
● Wall gardens can be big

20. Dangers
● Shapes product
● Walled gardens
● Users aren’t your own
● Originator Brand Maintenance
● Limited feature growth

22. User benefits
● Benefit from others contributing data
● Data heavy product

23. Dangers
● Provider loses interest
● Low quality collective data

24. Who cares?

26. Would they really do that?
Source: https://sensortower.com/blog/facebook-and-parse-launch-bolts-on-github-to-simplify-mobile-app-development

27. Goals of content
Reach lots of developers
Help them succeed
Make them feel good about your tools

28. Types of Content
Inform
Help
Inspire
Delight

29. Inform
Inform: Developers need to know!

30. Developers need to know how!

31. Inspire: Developers need to know how
to put it together!

32. Delight: Developers need wow!

33. Refresh: Questions to answer
● Why do you offer the product?
● Why does someone use your product?
● What learning objective are you trying to achieve?

34. THANK YOU :)
@manomarks