DevOps Rockstars, Creating Community, and the Conundrum of Marketing Part II: Our "techno-Woodstocks"

In the previous installment of my ponderings, I looked at “the fickle fan,” the relationships we build with developers, and how we do it. From the marketing angle, how to do it without being uncool is tricky, and sometimes being outright tacky works. I referenced IT operations as the “classic” rockstars of the data center, and we can now reference developers as the disruptors to their success. What brings developers together is community. It behooves marketers to embrace and be a part of the community.

Community in the modern data application space goes beyond just showing up for conferences such as KubeCon. ?It involves joining and being part of very specific meetups and gatherings within and outside these larger events. So, just like the mega-concerts we alluded to previously, this would be like going to a club to hear a specific style of music. For example, there is a “Data on Kubernetes Community” that gathers around the globe at a variety of conferences but is focused on the topic of running data on Kubernetes. Another example would be Cloud Native Wasm Day where people focused on Cloud Native WebAssembly may gather. In fact, if you look at the primary KubeCon website, there is an entire tab dedicated to co-located events that are community based. The important factor for communities like this is that they are VENDOR NEUTRAL. The opportunities to learn from other industry peers is super important for innovative solutions for data.

Rather than just waiting for a regional event like KubeCon, building continuous momentum throughout the year is critical. There are many community events that serve not just developer communities but also DevOps communities. DevOpsDays is a great example of a loosely federated series of technical conferences organized by volunteers that runs globally every year and is fulfilled by eager volunteers providing the topics. Attendance at DevOpsDays events usually ranges from 200 to 800 or more, and they can be found in many cities around the world by searching devopsdays.org. Just like attending smaller concerts for a new band, going to DevOpsDays events to explore new tech or hot topics before they reach those large events lets you get to know the community and find its edges and, conversely, lets the community get to know you in a setting where it’s easier to communicate and reach everyone.

And not every community-organized conference is part of a larger network. Smaller developer-focused events abound for different communities. In the Python world, there’s PyCascades, PyGotham, PyOhio, and PyTexas, among others. Some of the largest currently running developer or DevOps events in the US are community-run: RenderATL, Southern California Linux Expo (SCaLE), and Kansas City Developer Conference (KCDC) in Atlanta, Pasadena, and Kansas City, respectively. All these events are focused on serving communities by sharing knowledge and driving innovation across industries. When we skip these kinds of events in favor of large, big-ticket events, we miss being part of the conversations that lead to the larger industry events, just like skipping local venues and small concerts means that you might be far out of the loop when checking out the schedule for SXSW or another international music festival. Sure, you can experience the musical scene at a large event, but you miss the influence you can have on the growing style of a soon-to-be hit band.

Now, while marketing for a vendor (insert big name company here) may result in big bucks being spent on the biggest sponsorship land grab on a conference floor, really doing something subtle at community events can go a long way. Introducing chocolate as a lever. Our developer relations team at Dell brought chocolates designed as servers to DevOpsDays as an example. Delicious. We did not need to have an over-the-top alcohol festival to have conversations. Know the venue. What you don’t want to do is to show up at a community event with a ton of swag and flashy giveaways. Curiosity and a little chocolate will bring the conversations to you. Save the swag for the larger shows where it is expected. Another way to draw in conversation is to simply bring your demos and your experts, especially if your company is not considered as trending in the new industry. Again, the rockstars of your business are the people who can have deep, technical discussions. Your job is to get them to the table or the presentation. And of course, when you know your developer advocate has an event, promote it! A subtle nod to their community activity should be complimentary and not necessarily tied to any product or solution.

Next up: Part III – Dancing away the marketing conundrum

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