developer-advocacy

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• README.md
• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Developer Advocacy

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

| Conference Type | Best For | Examples |
|-----------------|----------|----------|
| **Large industry** | Brand awareness, reach | KubeCon, AWS re:Invent, React Summit |
| **Regional** | Local community, accessible | Local meetups, city tech conferences |
| **Niche** | Targeted audience, expertise | GraphQL Conf, RustConf |
| **Company-hosted** | Ecosystem presence | Vercel Ship, GitHub Universe |
| **Unconferences** | Community connection | BarCamps, DevOpsDays |

### Talk Proposal (CFP) Framework

**The winning formula:**
```
Specific Problem + Unique Angle + Clear Takeaways = Accepted Talk
```

**CFP Template:**

```markdown
# 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

| Pattern | Example |
|---------|---------|
| **How I X** | "How I Reduced Deploy Time by 80%" |
| **X in Y Minutes** | "Kubernetes Security in 15 Minutes" |
| **The X of Y** | "The Psychology of Error Messages" |
| **Beyond X** | "Beyond Console.log: Modern Debugging" |
| **X for Y** | "GraphQL for REST Developers" |
| **Lessons from X** | "Lessons from 1000 Production Outages" |

### Talk Types

| Type | Length | Best For |
|------|--------|----------|
| **Lightning** | 5-10 min | Single concept, quick demo |
| **Standard** | 25-45 min | Technical deep-dive |
| **Keynote** | 45-60 min | Big picture, inspiring |
| **Workshop** | 2-4 hours | Hands-on learning |
| **Panel** | 30-60 min | Discussion, multiple perspectives |

### Talk Prep Checklist

| Phase | Tasks |
|-------|-------|
| **2 months before** | Outline, start slides, test demos |
| **1 month before** | Draft complete, first practice run |
| **2 weeks before** | Slides polished, demos solid, practice 3x |
| **1 week before** | Record yourself, get feedback, finalize |
| **Day before** | Test all tech, backup slides, rest |
| **Day of** | Arrive early, test A/V, hydrate |

---

## Live Coding & Demos

### The Demo Danger Zone

| Risk | Mitigation |
|------|------------|
| **Internet fails** | Pre-record backup, local server |
| **Typo freezes you** | Practice typing same code 20x |
| **Error you can't fix** | Have working checkpoints to jump to |
| **Runs over time** | Time yourself, cut ruthlessly |
| **Code too small** | Zoom in, use large font (24pt+) |

From jonathimer/devmarketing-skills, MIT.

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