Becoming an Evangelist – Get the inside scoop from not one but two U.S. Developer Evangelists!

Posted By: Grace Francisco | Nov 1st, 2007 @ 10:48 AM

Join me – Grace Francisco – as I sit down and chat with Developer Evangelists Lynn Langit and Asli Bilgin as we talk about the interesting paths they both took to get to where they are today. Definitely off the beaten path! They answer the question “What the heck is an Evangelist really?” and share their perspectives on what it’s like to be an Evangelist and a woman in a technical profession – you’ll be surprised and entertained by Lynn and Asli’s candid responses.

Make sure to check out Lynn’s Channel 9 show – GeekSpeak.

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mawcc
Make it so

I really liked this video, it sends a positive message to the people in the industry in general and women about to enter this industry in particular.

But I'm wondering if it's enough to put such videos on C9 alone. Aren't most of the people visiting here already in IT? Wouldn't it be a good idea to put the video at least on C8, too, where the intended audience are students? And maybe an abridged version on C10?

CRPietschmann
Chris Pietschmann

They mentioned that you need to be passionate. This is true in the software industry as a whole; especially with Evangelism. How can you really help someone without the driving force of passion behind you.

Excellent video!!

adamhecktman

Great video, great messages! Go Asli! Big Smile

Chadk
excuse me - do you has a flavor?

Do you have to be technical to be an evangelist? Tongue Out

Grace Francisco

mawcc wrote:

I really liked this video, it sends a positive message to the people in the industry in general and women about to enter this industry in particular.

But I'm wondering if it's enough to put such videos on C9 alone. Aren't most of the people visiting here already in IT? Wouldn't it be a good idea to put the video at least on C8, too, where the intended audience are students? And maybe an abridged version on C10?

Thanks for the feedback on this. I cross posted over on Channel 8 today. You're right that folks in school may find value in this video. I'll have to ask Larry on Channel 10 what he thinks about adding a cross post over there too - not sure if it really fits over there or not.

asli

So to answer your question - do you have to be technical in order to be an evangelist? I would venture to say yes.

That answer may not even be limited to software evangelism - wouldn't you think that any sort of evangelism requires intimacy with the topic?

Perhaps evangelism can be defined as teaching with enthusiasm. So you got to know what you're talking about, and love what you're talking about. At the very least.

Beyond that? Well, you don't necessarily have to be the most insane code-slinging warrior in the world, but it's certainly helpful to have certain amount of practical experience, beyond ivory-tower theory. Writing production code before becoming an evangelist helps you build a nice arsenal of pragmatic tips & tricks on how to write code with minimal friction. Sharing these tips with your audience resonates well. It means you've been there, you understand, and, most importantly, empathize with what they're going through).

When you're getting paid to write code, you will generally be under INSANE time & money constraints, where you have to get code out the door >>>>fast>>>> As stressful as this is, you do learn A LOT! Methodologies such as Extreme Programming help reduce time to market to a certain degree, but the best insight comes from your own experience.

So yes, you should know & love your subject matter. At the very least. If have pragmatic experience, even better, because then you can relate to your audience, and they can relate to you.

HTH - Asli

psibal

Excellent Video,

anirbanc

To start with, GREAT Show Smiley
As an evangelist you come across and need to keep updated on sooo many technologies. How do you manage to travel, evangelize, keep updated and code-for-fun at the same time?

It must be a really hard place for a perfectionist. Evangelism should have a lot to do with being at the right place at the right time(frame), talking about the right topics. A perfectionist may not get there in time. Correct me.

llangit

You raise good points, it does take a certain personality type to be successful as an evangelist.

For me, curiousity is the driver. It is sometimes tricky to balance learning, presenting, etc...however, you should note that we often present the same information multiple times (and sometimes in multiple formats - i.e. live, web casts).

The other thing you mentioned is also important - perfectionists will be challenged by this job.

Those who have a certain tolerance for ambiguity will probably be happier in the job - between working with beta software and constant change, flexibility is a key trait. Smiley