DevRel's Death as Zero Interest Rate Phenomenon

The piece argues that DevRel is not dead, but that the excesses of the 2020–2022 period were a zero-interest-rate phenomenon. It says current conditions are forcing a right-sizing of expectations, even though the core jobs of DevRel remain.

Reading notes

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• The text challenges the idea that DevRel has died and says the right question is not that, because the core functions of the area remain necessary.
• The author describes the peak of 2020–2022 as a period of excesses, marked by inflated expectations and unsustainable behavior.
• Among the signs of that period, it cites fewer publications, shallow content, excessive focus on Twitter, promotion only of the free tier, and more attention to self-promotion than to DevRel work.
• It also points to DevRel management without clear objectives, little internal visibility, little alignment with the CEO and product, too much travel, and hiring people without prior experience as software engineers.
• In the late phase of ZIRP, the text mentions hyper-metrics, content calendars without validation, conferences and launches without strong support from product and engineering, and the sudden shift to dev marketing and GTM.
• As evidence of the market adjustment, the author cites layoffs, lower compensation, less attention to events like DevRelCon, and a change in the public perception of the area.
• The text states that there is still demand for DevRel because the work is hard, has mental and emotional costs, engineers need enablement, and the “all-in-one” version does not scale to the next phase.
• In closing, it argues that post-ZIRP DevRel needs to evolve to remain relevant and that there are already reflections on that path.