We’re continuing to kick off the new year in style with this episode’s wonderful guest, Cassandra Faris. Cassandra is a Technologist and former community manager with Veeam. You might remember that our previous guest Julia Furst Morgado is also a technologist Veeam, so we can only assume that Veeam has a well kept secret for recruiting highly talented DevRels.

In her own words, Cassandra focuses on the human side of technology. Although now a technologist, for many years she worked as a community manager. Going into her backstory, she tells us that she was doing community management before she even knew what it was, or that it was a role she could occupy! In her early roles as a technical recruiter, she was honing her skills of community engagement, connection and passion for the things developers actually  cared about.

Cassandra takes us into her process of community building - and yes, she does have a process. In fact it’s a pretty remarkable one, as she can ensure visible results in 6 months, although the full process can take a few years. She places much emphasis on “power users”, and how every community has them - so why not use them? And she’s a fan of meeting an existing community where they’re at, instead of trying to move them to a whole new platform against their will.

Finally, she gives us practical, usable tips for how to survive the day to day of DevRel. Travel and nights alone in hotel rooms can be a downside. But with a myriad of experience, for Cassandra, they’re a breeze.

‍