Remember the good old days of DevRel? You’d roll into a conference with your company-branded laptop stickers, armed with a slick slide deck and the unshakeable belief that your product was going to change the world. You’d take the stage, demo your latest API, and watch as developers’ eyes lit up with possibility. Then you’d head to the after-party, hand out some t-shirts, and call it a job well done.

Ah, nostalgia. It’s a hell of a drug.

But here’s the thing: if you’re still doing DevRel like it’s 2010, you might as well be trying to woo developers with a flip phone and a MySpace page. The world has changed, my friends, and traditional developer evangelism is going the way of the dodo.

The Fall of the Evangelist

Let me tell you a story. A few years back, I was at a major tech conference, watching a well-known developer evangelist do his thing. He was charismatic, his demos were flawless, and his jokes landed just right. By all traditional measures, it was a successful presentation.

But as I looked around the room, I noticed something. While people were nodding and smiling, they were also… distracted. Many were on their phones or laptops, probably checking out the product’s GitHub repo or scrolling through Twitter discussions about it. The days of developers simply taking an evangelist’s word for it were long gone.

This, my friends, was the moment I realized: the era of the all-knowing developer evangelist, descending from on high to bestow wisdom upon the masses, was over.

Why One-Way Streets Lead to Dead Ends

So, what happened? Why isn’t traditional evangelism cutting it anymore? Well, for starters, developers got smart. I mean, they were always smart, but now they’re savvy too. They’ve been burned by too many overhyped products, sat through too many sales pitches disguised as tech talks.

Today’s developers don’t want to be talked at; they want to be talked with. They’re not looking for evangelists; they’re looking for partners. The one-way communication model of traditional DevRel is about as effective as shouting into the void – you might make some noise, but you’re not going to get much back.

Think about it: when was the last time you made a significant technology decision based solely on a conference talk or a product demo? If you’re anything like me, you probably went straight to Google, checked out some reviews, maybe asked some colleagues, and definitely poked around the documentation and community forums.

This shift isn’t just about skepticism, though. It’s about the changing nature of how we build and use technology.

The Open Source Revolution

Remember when companies guarded their code like it was the recipe for Coca-Cola? Those days are long gone. Open source has taken over the world, and it’s changed everything about how developers interact with technology.

Nowadays, developers don’t just want to use your product; they want to look under the hood, tinker with it, maybe even contribute to it. They’re not content with being passive consumers; they want to be active participants in the technologies they use.

This open source mindset has spilled over into every aspect of developer relations. Developers expect transparency, collaboration, and the ability to shape the tools they use. A slick demo and some API docs just don’t cut it anymore.

The Rise of the Developer Community

Here’s another truth bomb for you: developers trust other developers way more than they trust company representatives. Shocking, I know.

In this new world, the most valuable voice isn’t the evangelists – it’s the community. Developers want to hear from their peers who are in the trenches, actually using the technology day in and day out. They want real stories, warts and all, not polished marketing narratives.

This is why you’re seeing a shift from big, flashy vendor-led events to smaller, community-driven meetups and unconferences. It’s why developer forums and open source repositories have become the new battlegrounds for mindshare.

From Evangelism to Enablement

So, if traditional evangelism is dead, what’s taking its place? In a word: enablement.

Modern DevRel isn’t about preaching the gospel of your product. It’s about empowering developers to do amazing things, whether that’s with your technology or not. It’s about fostering communities, facilitating learning, and yes, sometimes just getting out of the way.

This new approach requires a whole different skill set. Instead of being the all-knowing expert, you need to be a facilitator, a connector, a community builder. You need to be comfortable saying “I don’t know, but let’s figure it out together.”

It’s about creating spaces – both physical and digital – where developers can learn, share, and collaborate. It’s about providing resources and then trusting developers to use them in ways you might never have imagined.

The New Face of DevRel

So, what does this new world of DevRel look like in practice? Let me paint you a picture:

Imagine a DevRel team that spends less time on stage and more time in GitHub discussions. They’re not just answering questions, but asking them too, genuinely seeking input from the community on everything from feature prioritization to documentation improvements.

Picture developer events that are less about showcasing products and more about solving real problems. Workshops where the agenda is set by the attendees, not the sponsors. Hackathons where the goal isn’t to use a specific API, but to create something genuinely useful, with whatever tools fit the job best.

Envision a world where a company’s most valuable DevRel asset isn’t their slide deck, but their open source contributions. Where success is measured not by the number of business cards collected, but by the pull requests merged and the stackoverflow questions answered.

This is the new face of DevRel. It’s messier, less controllable, and infinitely more exciting than the old ways.

Embracing the Revolution

Now, I can already hear some of you protesting. “But wait,” you’re saying, “we still need to promote our products! We still need to hit our numbers!”

You’re not wrong. At the end of the day, most of us in DevRel still work for companies that need to make money. But here’s the kicker: this new approach, when done right, is actually more effective at driving adoption and loyalty than the old evangelism model ever was.

Why? Because it’s built on trust, on genuine relationships, on providing real value to developers. And in a world where developers have more choice than ever, trust and genuine value are the most precious commodities of all.

The Path Forward

So, where do we go from here? If you’re in DevRel, it’s time for some serious self-reflection. Are you still relying on the old evangelism playbook, or are you adapting to this new reality?

Here’s my challenge to you: Take a hard look at your DevRel strategy. Are you talking more than you’re listening? Are you showcasing more than you’re collaborating? Are you focused on short-term wins at the expense of long-term community building?

If the answer to any of these is yes, it might be time for a revolution of your own.

The future of DevRel isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about asking the right questions, fostering the right conversations, and building spaces where developers can thrive. It’s about being a partner, a facilitator, a community member – not just a spokesperson.

The age of the developer evangelist is over. The age of the developer enabler has begun. Are you ready for it?