

Twilio launches program to teach developers how to become evangelists - crabasa
https://www.twilio.com/blog/2013/12/apply-for-twilio-heroes.html

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jmduke
Despite popular conception, "evangelist" as a word isn't actually rooted in
religious etymology: it comes from the Greek "euangelistes" \-- literally
"bringing of good news", where the "good news" part is rooted in the Greek
"angelos", meaning "messenger."

[http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Evangel...](http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Evangelism.html)

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rietta
Thanks for sharing the link! The etymology is fascinating.

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elwell
On a related note, I met a Twilio developer evangelist named Rob Spectre at a
PennApps hackathon and he was a very helpful / encouraging person.

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noelwelsh
Interesting program but I suggest some changes to the description to clarify
who should apply and what the expectations of applicants are.

First off, it isn't clear if this is for training Twilio evangelists, or more
general. I think it is more general, but lines like "access to Twilio swag"
suggest it might be otherwise. The application page
([http://ahoy.twilio.com/heroes](http://ahoy.twilio.com/heroes)) is 2/3 about
Twilio, which adds to this impression. Adding some text emphasizing that you
do/don't need to evangelise Twilio would be good.

Next up, what kind of commitments are you signing up for? An hour a week of
Hangouts, or is there more involvement? What time do you expect to run
hangouts? Are you reviewed at the end of each track, and are there conditions
you must meet to start the next track?

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jiggy2011
Where did the term evangelist come from, in a tech context?

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rietta
It is a term that fundamentally bothers me in terms of technology. In my mind,
evangelism is about spreading the good news of God, especially related to
preaching of the Christian Gospel. I understand the term being applied
metaphorically to software and technology, but it rubs be the wrong way
personally in that context.

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pekk
So "Muslim evangelism" would be a contradiction in terms? I don't think so.

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rietta
That would not bother me. Its the word being used for a decidedly non-
religious context that seems to trivialize the word. A programming language or
system is a tool and is likely to be supplanted in the years to come. This is
not the same as a religious or life philosophy that could well guide a man or
woman for his or her entire remaining life. Software just is just not as
important in the grand scope of things.

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lsc
I find it interesting that "salesperson" has connotations that are so negative
for so many people that we find ourselves using euphemisms.

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sjtgraham
They're not called salespeople because they're not salespeople.

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lsc
An evangelist is selling something, even if they aren't negotiating price.
Maybe "marketing person" would be more appropriate than "sales person"

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pla3rhat3r
Incredible program, incredible company.

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crabasa
Thanks for the kind words, I'm really excited to get this shipped. We've been
iterating on a version of this program for a while and we can't wait to see
what kind of force multiplier effect there will be when you help developers
learn how to teach and support other developers.

