015 Ryan Collins, PhD on Evangelism in the Tech Industry

Today’s guest is Ryan Collins, an SEO analyst, the Founder of AfterYourPhD, and the author of a dissertation on tech evangelism. Ryan joins Ethan Beute to share what he learned from interviewing dozens of evangelists and conducting deep research into the practice.

Ryan emphasizes the need for enough history and maturity with innovation and within a market to have credible and authoritative voices to evangelize in that space.

Takeaways:

• The most important job as an evangelist is education. Evangelists need to educate people about innovation in a way that anyone can understand. An edge of excitement helps, too.
• Defining an evangelist is difficult; there are so many different kinds. It differs for each organization and within each market. Talking with evangelists is the best way to get into that nuance and variety.
• The religious connotations of the title, role, and function are apt; they’re about spreading the good news of innovation, whether that’s physical and tangible or conceptual and abstract.
• Diffusion of innovation and social identity are two theories helpful to exploring and understanding tech evangelism and brand evangelism.
• Evangelists have a lot of experience in their spaces – enough to earn authority from their audience. Their stories of personal experience make them more effective and credible.
• Guy Kawasaki, our guest on Episode 006 of Chief Evangelist, remains a helpful source of information, perspective, and stories about secular evangelism.

Quote of the Show:

• “A lot of it is strategy and understanding who your audience is.” (15:53)

Links Related to This Episode:

• Ryan Collins’s on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwilliamcollins/
• Ryan Collins’s on Twitter: https://twitter.com/collinsryan1993
• AfterYourPhD: https://afteryourphd.com/
• Terakeet: https://terakeet.com/
• Ryan Collin’s Personal Site: https://www.collinsryan.com/

See or Hear More Conversations on Chief Evangelist with Ethan Beute:

• YouTube: https://youtube.com/@chiefevangelist
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5tEPLXnkNSYAsjpwD3O69t
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chief-evangelist-with-ethan-beute/id1652687400
• Chief Evangelist: https://www.podpage.com/chief-evangelist-with-ethan-beute/

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