Hacker Retention

CMX Series - 1/14/15

Andrew Mager (@mager), Developer Evangelist @ SmartThings

Understanding the hacker ethos

● Logical, inventive, pragmatic.

● Always looking for the next big problem to solve.

● Learning new technologies constantly.

● Testing the limits.

● Independent, sometimes stubborn.

● Day jobs feed their weekend hack ideas.

● Short attention-span.

● More than a developer, many personalities.

PennApps, September 2014

Music Hack Day London, 2013

Developer

Designer

Marketing Shark

Product Person

Interested human

BD Person

How to flirt with a developer online

Swipe right.

● Add them on Hacker League, ChallengePost, Hackathon.io, Lanyrd, etc.

○ Find out what other events they like to attend.

● Find them on Github, Twitter, Dribbble, and even LinkedIn.

○ Engage with them on a constant basis.

● Developer portal, guides, examples, docs, changelogs.

● Encourage them to contribute to open source projects.

● Get their email address and send them monthly newsletters.

● Invite them to all types of events.

The best events, in order

1. Hackathons are most engaging. Hands-on feedback, solving problems,

resolving bugs, and building fresh ideas into real prototypes.

Wildhacks, Chicago, Nov 2014

The best events, in order

2. Meetups that you host - focus on platform updates and Q&A.

Facebook Developer Garage @ SxSW 2010

The best events, in order

3. Mixers/Drinkups that you host - informal and casual. Bring Swag.

Aardvark Developer Meetup, July 2009

The best events, in order

4. Hangouts - regular video conferences with the community.

The best events, in order

5. Conferences, keynotes, other company’s meetups

Google I/O Party, 2011

Hacking into the sprint

Continue their hack:

● Turn the hack into a product feature.

● Invite them to help build you it.

● Feature community projects on your developer

portal or hack gallery.

● Invite them to future events.

Music Hack Day Tokyo, Feb 2014

The risk is the reward

What does a developer get for hacking on your API?

● Unlimited premium product.

● Premium support.

● Alpha/beta access.

● Swag.

● Recognition in the community.

● Maybe a job.

Achievement Unlocked: Ambassador

● Spread out geographically.

● Pay for their travel to attend events on

your behalf.

● Building a new hack at every event.

● Capture feedback to improve the

developer ecosystem.

● Don’t pay them cash, but reward them

over time with gear/wishes.

● Students make great ambassadors.

Thank you! (We are hiring) ~@mager