I try to spend time each week evaluating what types of companies are looking for API / developer evangelist / advocates, to help keep my awareness in sync with what mainstream companies are needing (or not), when it comes to API outreach. In a little under an hour last night, I found almost 70 companies who had job postings for an evangelist or advocate for their platform.
Google, Brightcove, Pubnub, Atlassian, Yahoo, Uber, Esri, Indix, Couchbase, edX, Amazon, Verifone, IBM Strongloop, Facebook, Microsoft, Intel, Impinj, Twilio, Cybersource, Shopify, Jibo Inc., Vidyo, UrtheCast, Talend, Stormpath, Square, Mailjet, Cylance In., Bandwidth, MediaMath, Nuxeo, Clarifai, NodePrime, Visa, UrtheCast, Stream.io, mLab, FullContact, Sumo Logic , Twitch, Auth0, Iron.io, Wercker, ANS Affiliates Solutions, Okta, Button, Lever, PlayFab, DreamFactory, Nitrous, Firebase, IBM, Accurate Background, Inc., PagerDuty, Coda Search, Aerospike, SGF Global , Bodymedia, DataBricks, Dropbox, Heroku, Gitlab, New RElic, Crate.io, Asana, Vaadin, Ionic, Neura, and Algolia.
I gathered these company names, after looking around LinkedIn, Indeed, and a couple of Google searches, over the course of an hour. I'm sure I would find even more if I kept on looking. As the API Evangelist, I have had a handful of these companies reach out, asking if I'm interested in the job, or possibly know someone that would be. Another seasoned evangelist, Keith Casey (@CaseySoftware), Twilio Alum, and Director of Product at @ClarifyIO, who also lives with a similar amount of attention from recruiters, responded like this when I shared the list with him.
I’ve been contacted by at least 6 on that list in the last week or so.. I end up shutting down most conversations with three questions:
#1 What group do you evangelists report to?
#2 What metrics are your evangelists measured on?
#3 What current marketing channels are working for you?
Sometimes but if they can’t answer question #2, then it’s all made up anyway, and question #3 may answer that too. if they’re seeing traction from events, blog posts, Github/lab, that will shape the priorities -- the worst groups are people who can â*only*â answer #1.
Some pretty sound advice for folks who are looking to screen which API providers have their shit together, and which ones do not. I guess inversely, it is also some pretty good advice for you platforms who are seeking evangelists to think about, before you embark on your search. In my experience, if a brand new role is being created at an organization for an evangelist / advocate, and that individual is brand new to that organization, you probably won't be working there more that 14-18 months--have a plan B.
This is an area of the API sector I will work to keep an eye on, as APIs continue their slow shift into the mainstream business consciousness, and the demand grows. I am working with both Cloud Elements, and API.Network to better understand what the demand is around API evangelism and developer advocacy, what companies are needing, as well as how to better match folks looking to developer their career in the area of evangelism. As I spend time working on this subject, I also notice other seasoned evangelism veterans, offering their experience up as well:
Seeing an increase in startups asking for advice on how to build a dev rel/dev evangelist program. Happy to chat with anyone that needs help
— Brandon West (@bwest) March 7, 2016
It all has the smell of another period of growth for the discipline of API evangelism and developer advocacy, which I'm hoping we'll see some evolution of the craft, but honestly I'm just hoping the new players, both evangelist and provider, just take time to listen to the wisdom of pioneers like Keith Casey and Brandon West, and thoughtfully assemble your outreach programs, and teams, before you consider pushing the conversation forward--meaning join in the existing conversation first.
If you are a company looking to kick off your evangelism program, and strategy, feel free to reach out anytime, or visit my API evangelism research, where I'm curating the smart work of existing practitioners I follow in the space. If you are an individual who is looking for their next evangelism effort, or possibly embarking on a new career in evangelism, feel free to reach out--I am happy to provide assistance where I can, and possibly include you to some of the other conversations I am having in the space, when it comes to API evangelism.
