Ask ten people to define a "developer community," and half of them will describe a glorified support forum or a vendor-run, boring marketing funnel dressed up in a half-baked building that has a ping pong table, because it's "community". But that's not what a developer community is. A developer community is not:
- a one-sided marketing or sales pitch
- a boring presentation where you feel "talked at" for an hour
- a transactional space that leaves you frustrated and questioning the validity of the product
No, a true developer community is a lively, authentic space—online, in-person, or hybrid—built on real conversation, innovation, and mutual support. It operates as a two-sided value exchange: for organisers and community leaders, and for developers.
Because there are two sides to this vibrant community, each receive something in return.
From an organiser or leader perspective:
- you can gather high-fidelity product feedback
- discover real-world use cases
- identify organic brand ambassadors
From the developers' perspectives, you can:
- accelerate your career
- develop and learn personally
- network
- become technically unblocked
- find like minded people
The Ecosystem Taxonomy
A community by nature is made up of different members, and participants naturally fall within a spectrum of roles:
- Baseline Members: Passive participants who read discussions or attend meetups to learn quietly
- Active Members: Developers who share side projects, answer peer questions, or speak at events
- Ambassadors & Champions: High-contributing members formally recognized through dedicated DevRel programs
- Customer Advocates: Enterprise developers using the tool in production who validate high-scale reliance, and are often mentors to others in the community
- Internal Insiders: DevRel leaders, engineers, and product managers who humanise the brand by engaging directly
Then there are also the leaders and organisers who ensure the community runs smoothly. There are certainly communities without formal programs and these types of communities are usually defined around a group of people, rather than a tool or service specifically; like a Python Meetup Community, or the Ruby on Rails Girls. Then there are many developer companies, usually tied to a specific tool or service, that often have more formal developer relations programs that help drive their developer communities.
Great developer communities
Regardless of whether a developer community is centered around a tool or a programming language, the community itself isn't built around that logo. Rather, it’s built around shared technical challenges and the collective growth of the people solving them.
So now that you know what a developer community is, check out my blog posts coming about how to shape great communities if you are an organiser or leader, and how to make the most out of communities if you are a developer. Keep an eye out for it. In the meantime, drop a comment with your favourite developer community.
