Developer Advocacy

Developer Advocacy

When to Use

Use this skill when you need when the user wants to do developer advocacy activities including conference talks, live coding, podcasts, and building in public. Trigger phrases include "developer advocacy," "devrel," "conference talk," "CFP," "call for papers," "live coding," "podcast," "building in public,"...

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.

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.

Conference Talks

Finding the Right Conferences

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

Talk Types

Talk Prep Checklist

Live Coding & Demos

The Demo Danger Zone

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

Podcast Guesting

Finding Podcasts

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

During the Podcast

Post-Podcast

Building in Public

What to Share

Build in Public Formats

What NOT to Share

Social Presence (Twitter/X)

Developer Twitter Playbook

Tweet Formats That Work

Engagement Strategy

Growing Your Presence

Measuring Impact

Advocacy Metrics

Attribution Challenges

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

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]

Advocacy Career Path

Role Levels

Skill Development

Tools

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

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches its upstream source and local project context.
• Verify commands, generated code, dependencies, credentials, and external service behavior before applying changes.
• Do not treat examples as a substitute for environment-specific tests, security review, or user approval for destructive or costly actions.