Developer Relations has been my passion since I discovered it as a career path in 2017. My immense appreciation for the discipline inspired me to found Devocate, a DevRel resource for similarly passionate pros to share developer community-building content and best practices.
DevRel’s continued growth as a field as well as our continued growth as the builders of the profession are incredibly important to me. Today I’m excited to share that Devocate has become part of the Common Room family! I’m so happy that this great group of individuals will continue to carry the torch for what we have been building as a community at Devocate.
All the developer relations insights, resources, and job opportunities that we’ve created together at Devocate will live on through the Common Room blog. And many of our community-building conversations will continue to thrive in Uncommon, the community for DevRel and community leaders hosted by Common Room. If you haven’t yet, consider joining the Uncommon Slack group and giving me a 👋.
My passion for DevRel: How it started
I had no idea that DevRel was my dream career until I accidentally landed my first role in the industry back in 2017.
Before that, I’d been building communities and bringing people together for as long as I can remember. According to 16personalities.com, I’m 90% extroverted—it brings me immense joy to help and mentor others, so it was only natural for me to continue that work by building Devocate, which I grew and maintained for and with all the wonderful DevRel builders in it, for the past few years.
In that fateful first DevRel role in 2017, I had written content around the success I had when building a superfan program—the kind that some of us call ambassador or champions programs. The content was so well-received, and thankfully so useful to people, that I continued writing about everything I had learned as a developer advocate.
Devocate emerged out of those initial writings and the conversations they inspired. Then, Devocate grew into a community of amazing humans who were on a similar adventure as I was—making their way through their DevRel careers and trying their best to help their own community members and each other. I have loved every minute of building Devocate and getting to know so many incredible people along the way.
The future of Devocate
As Devocate has expanded and transformed, my life and responsibilities have too! When I realized I needed to refocus my efforts on other things and away from Devocate, I spent a lot of time connecting with different folks who were interested in carrying on Devocate’s mission. I wanted to find the perfect home with humans who cared as deeply as I did about the community that had grown around Devocate, and the learnings and resources shared across it.
So I was extremely glad when the team at Common Room reached out about taking over Devocate’s mission and stewarding its ultimate vision—empowering DevRel builders so we can elevate each other and the industry, together. I first met the team back in 2021, and today I’m as enthusiastic about the intelligent community growth platform they’re building as I am about the great people building it and the kind and thoughtful folks they bring together in the Uncommon community.
Across the past few months, we’ve had lots of conversations about what this transition could look like—those conversations were never about what was best for Common Room. Instead, they were always focused on what was best for the Devocate community and the work I’ve created alongside this group.
I saw firsthand their shared ethos around community building and empowerment through projects like the recent Developer Relations Compensation Report. As a collaborator on the project, I had a front-row view into the massive effort and inclusive spirit that went into building this resource for all of us in the DevRel community, and I knew I had landed Devocate in the right place.
So while Devocate has a new home at Common Room and you won’t see the Devocate name on banners in your inbox or across your screen anymore, the spirit, knowledge, and, most importantly, so many of the people that made it what it is, are already embedded in its new home at Common Room.
I am so eager to see what all of you continue to build in and through DevRel, and I’ve been humbled to be a part of your journey through Devocate. Now, I’m excited for all the learnings we’ve shared across Devocate to live on at Common Room. I’ll continue to learn and build my career in DevRel too, now as a contributing member, and I can’t wait to see you in the community.
To find the developer relations insights and resources from Devocate, check out the Common Room blog, and join us to take part in the great community conversations in Uncommon.
Learn more about Common Room’s solution for DevRel teams if you're looking for an intelligent community growth platform to educate, empower, and enable your community.
