Counter point: I've been to Filipino meetups (Raid the fridge) where companies (even traditional/established banks) presented new products and services they'd been trying to launch mixed in with some company history.
They'd talk about the tech used, the difficulties (tech, business, legal, market) encountered and how they worked around those.
It was definitely more than just a sales pitch even when there was some of that at times. A mix of business stories, engineering, R&D stories, law, finance and general company and even country history.
I found it fascinating and overal great. To the point where it felt like a night out to enjoy entertainment. Not just the talks but the social meetup part of it as well. Maybe its a cultural thing, but I found companies there refreshingly open and honest about the way things had gone.
This is a great post. What so many of the developer relations people miss: Don't focus on the sales pitch so much. Focus on a good technical problem that will be relevant to your audience. It's OK to toss your name and product into the mix a bit, but don't beat your audience over the head!
They'd talk about the tech used, the difficulties (tech, business, legal, market) encountered and how they worked around those.
It was definitely more than just a sales pitch even when there was some of that at times. A mix of business stories, engineering, R&D stories, law, finance and general company and even country history.
I found it fascinating and overal great. To the point where it felt like a night out to enjoy entertainment. Not just the talks but the social meetup part of it as well. Maybe its a cultural thing, but I found companies there refreshingly open and honest about the way things had gone.