Well, if I lived in an area with a poor market I'd start by becoming VERY active in the User Group. So active that I ended-up speaking nearly every month. So active that I'd help with organizing and promoting it. I'd be sure to always illustrate and emphasise the strengths of the CF Server and J2EE in general when I present. I'd also try to get more and newer companies to come. I recently spoke with the other UK CFUG Board Members about how to draw more people to the meetings and one of my number one suggestions was to invite a .NET speaker every now and then. I think the CF people would find it interesting, it'd bring-in new people, and maybe some of those new people would end-up being exposed to the world of ColdFusion.
I'd also talk with my employer or client(s) if I'm a contractor, about what they could do to excite their employees, the community around them, and their clients, about the technologies they're using. A direct result of that is that has been the sale of ColdFusion to MANY councils in England and Scotland, more emphasis on keeping the server version VERY up to date, and my client bought a nice shiny new Breeze Live Server (not account) because I harrassed them for 7 months about how cool it is and how impressed clients and staff will be when we use it. I saw an opening to help get more Macromedia Server products out there and did something about it. Macromedia periodically (pretty regularly) offers free half-day seminars that illustrate the power and benefits of ColdFusion. I'd see if they're happening near you and help let people know about it. If there isn't one near you, find a training partnerr in the area and talk with them about it. If that doesn't work, ask Macromedia if they can send Ben Forta, another empoyee, or even a Team Macromedia Member to your area to present. There's a lot you can do. I'm sure Rey has put in a lot of effort either now or in the past and I wasn't implying he hasn't. I am only stating that I'd prefer to hear something about what's being done. I know that a lot of you believe it's Macromedia's job to do all of the promoting, etc. and that the market should just be there. Maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong. I think Macromedia already does a lot, but that's beside the point. Macromedia can't focus heavilly on every area (they do try - just look at Ben Forta's schedule if you don't believe me) and if you live in an area that needs someone to help promote CF, it's going to hurt you a lot more than it's going to hurt Macromedia if you don't do anything about it. I'm curious to see how people respond to ben's question... ~Simon Simon Horwith Member of Team Macromedia Macromedia Certified Master Instructor Editor-in-Chief, ColdFusion Developers Journal Blog - http://www.horwith.com Mike Kear wrote: >Ok then, lets hear some of the things that a single-person developer >working his heart out already to pay the bills can do to increase the >market for CF developers, without giving all those opportunities to >the other 136 people who responded to the same job. > >One that springs to mind is that we could stop developing and go >without income for a while to start sales activity, to get companies >to take on ColdFusion as their server of choice. I accept that. It's >pretty hard to be paying the bills as well as doing sales, when you're >basically a contractor, but I can see that SOMEONE has to do some >selling, and in a one person business, there's no doubt who that is. > >What else? > >Cheers >Mike Kear >Windsor, NSW, Australia >AFP Webworks >http://afpwebworks.com >.com,.net,.org domains from AUD$20/Year > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Purchase from House of Fusion, a Macromedia Authorized Affiliate and support the CF community. http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=37 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:182148 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
