On Developer Advocacy and Humility

Naming things is hard. I've talked before about the term "evangelism" and my dislike for it. Evangelism, Advocacy, Developer Relations, PR, Marketing, and on and on. More and more I'm just trying to educate and maybe entertain a little. So I like Edutainment, myself, hat tip to KRS-One.

I'm getting on a plane tomorrow to go to the Microsoft Azure + AI Conference @DevIntersection and the Free Microsoft Connect 2018 Event (you can watch online all day!) and as I was packing I was struck with a few thoughts I wanted to share here.

What a privilege it is to speak about products that so many people have worked on and (hopefully) so many people will enjoy. Especially ones as large as Azure or Visual Studio - thousands of people work so hard! Engineers, Program Managers, Testers, Community Members...people from all over working on each release so a select few of us get on stage to share it with you! And who am I to have this privilege?

Don't think for a second that when you're giving a technical talk that it's about you. You're sitting on a stack of software you had a small part in writing and standing on the shoulders of giants of generators of engineers and creators who came before you. When I do talks where I'm representing a huge group I reflect on this with gratitude.

If you work on any of the products I'm showing, know this; I may be one of the talking heads or a visible grand marshal but we work for you and we never forget it. My job at events like this is to make the product - your work - shine. I take that job very seriously, and if it looks like it's effortless, that's because of the massive amount of work we put into the presentation. Hours of practice, story arcs, literally blocking movement as if it were a play or stage show, camera work, and transitions. Deeping understanding what we're presenting and why it's awesome and why you're proud of it.

I'm writing this note for all the other advocates and visible community members.

What a joy and privilege it is to stand up and represent our co-workers and follow engineers and to tell the stories of the things they build!

Let that privilege both put motivation in you and propel you forward to present their work - your teams' work.

I appreciate you all, both inside and out, and I'll will do my best to represent your team and the larger community to the best of my ability.

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