tl;dr: I’m not stopping anyone from proceeding with this. I just want to make 
sure that we don’t end up with a high-profile proposal that nobody in this 
community can act on and that wastes our precious time that could be used for 
more productive things.


marketing@ hat:

> On 28 Mar 2015, at 19:11, Johs Ensby <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> Lena, when you say
>> When developing a strategy + approach for this, it would be good imo to 
>> elaborate which different ways we can take to achieve what the general 
>> purpose of this is.
> 
> I think it is happening.

I don’t see it.


> I think we could learn from the logo discussion that lead to a process that 
> will support a decision
> Making a case video with a big brand is a lot more complicated than a new 
> sofa in the logo, since they are serious about their external comms, so at 
> this list we would need progress on in our abilities to discuss processes

I think we should start with goals, not with “we should have a flashy video 
series“.

1. Goals

 - What do we want to convey?
 - …and to whom?
 - How does this benefit CouchDB?
  - internal and external (e.g. attracting committers vs. boosting CouchDB’s 
profile)
  - what value add exists for people/companies that we’d engage (in which ever 
way)
  - what is the value add for the target audience (do deciders watch 1 hour 
documentary, or do developers care that we are used by Apple somewhere etc.)

2. Approaches

 - for each goal, we should, before we start anything, decide:
  - what tech to use (text, video, audio, slides, animation etc.) given the 
target audience
  - how to tell a particular story given the target audience
  - which partners to interview (and how to convince them)
  - how much effort it is and who can work on it
  - how we do PR for a particular instalment (just dumping a video on YouTube 
does not a success make, managing PR is not trivial)

None of this must be absolutely in depth, but once we have a list of things we 
want to get out and a list of ways to get them out, we can sort the latter list 
by what we can actually achieve as a group with the people we have and anyone 
we can recruit. We need to be clear about these things *before* we consider 
spending lots of time and maybe money on any one thing.

Here’s a start:

1.

Message: big names trust Apache CouchDB
Target Audience: deciders (including developers, who make tech choices)
Approach: big name logos on website
Story: not much, just use flashy logos
Effort: small / medium (lots of emailing and getting PR/legal clearance from 
companies)
PR Effort: medium (should include a bunch of tweets at least)
Who could do this: anyone who has the time to write emails and somewhat 
understands corporate priorities and sensibilities.
Possibile follow-up work: prepare presenter slides that people who give CouchDB 
talks add to their slide deck to brag about CouchDB’s success.


2.

Message: Apache CouchDB is good for <mobile sync|big data|ease of development|…>
Target Audience: developers & deciders
Story: CouchDB is good at X, here is a case study
Approach: Case-Study section of our website
Effort: medium (needs prep work for a bit of a questionnaire and then reach out 
to CouchDB users who can fill it out, we take the results and produce a 
case-study)
Who could do this: Prep work: someone who knows how to ask good, broad 
questions that allow specific answers. Write-up: someone who’s good at writing 
things up (duh :)
PR Effort: medium (tweets, blog/G+ posts etc)
Possible follow-up work: really interesting case studies could be used to make 
press releases (c.f. “Apache CouchDB helped find the Higgs-Boson”)


3.

Message: Apache CouchDB is developer friendly
Target Audience: developers
Story: Depends on interviewee.
Approach: Interview series on the blog
Effort: ...
PR Effort: ...
Follow-up: ...


4.

Message: Apache CouchDB is a great developer community, you should join
Target Audience: developers
Story: Depends on interviewee.
Approach: Interview series on the blog
Effort: ...
PR Effort: ...
Follow-up: ...


And so on...


* * *

PMC hat:

In addition, I’d like you, Johs, to consider the feedback you have gotten so 
far on the video idea. If you ask for feedback on ideas, I’d appreciate, if 
you’d address it:

 - way too much effort for our group of volunteers
 - no sponsor to foot any bills
 - not great from an accessibility point of view
 - not great from a getting partners-to-do-this-with-in-the-frist-place point 
of view
 - there are many more things that we can do more easily and with the resources 
we have so why try to boil the ocean?


* * *

Best
Jan
--


> 
> List of big brands that use CouchDB for impressive things
> List of material already published for this (like some ugly powerpoint from 
> ta talk at a conference, far from approved by any big brand comms dept)
> Develop story ideas
> Run a "Who knows somebody” to id a possible contact based on a personal 
> relationships that form the first bases of trust
> Make an interview
> Develop the story
> Get it approved (text)
> Agree on where/how to publish it
> Adapt it for relevant formats/channels
> 
> 1-2 is happening already
> If you get a really good opportunity at 4) you to video if allowed
> 
> Jan,
> 
> For low-hanging fruit, you could branch out after point 3 and decide to just 
> publish a story without any reference/endorsement.
> The only thing to care about then is to ask
> Is it true?
> Is it true that CouchDB has a role in the IMB/Apple cooperation agreement?
> Is it true that the BBC is using CouchDB to …..?
> Is it true that the CERN is using CouchDB to …..?
> 
> The low-hanging branch could go like this
> List of big brands that use CouchDB for impressive things
> List of material already published for this (like some ugly powerpoint from 
> ta talk at a conference, far from approved by any big brand comms dept)
> Run a "Who knows somebody” to id a possible contact based on a personal 
> relationships, this time to get a inside source
> Check facts, verify them with two sources, quotes if possible
> Develop a story
> Publish on CouchDB web site
> 
> The problem with this approach is the channel.
> Here my advice is to go for a story that works like rumour, a bit hot and for 
> insiders to share with the next layer of insiders until it reach the 
> outsiders.
> j
> 
> 
>> On 28 Mar 2015, at 18:36, Jan Lehnardt <[email protected]> wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> On 28 Mar 2015, at 18:20, Johs Ensby <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> 
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Jan,
>>>> I don’t see us taking a camera into CERN and the BBC for mood shots and 
>>>> interviews.
>>> I do
>>> Dont underestimate the “us” of this list
>> 
>> I’m not trying to. If anyone says they are willing to spend a week or so 
>> travelling to Geneva and London and a few more weeks on pre- and 
>> post-production for the benefit of CouchDB, I’ll be their biggest supporter. 
>> I’m just suggesting that I haven’t seen anyone here (yet) and that with the 
>> resources I know about, we can do something very low-key that can get us a 
>> looong way.
>> 
>> Just having a list of “these big names are using CouchDB” on the website 
>> would be terrific, and, while not trivial, be A LOT easier than producing 
>> high-quality video.
>> 
>> Having “here is what a few of those big names are doing with CouchDB and how 
>> they like it / why they chose it” case-studies is the next level up from 
>> there and that’s *still* going to be a lot less work etc.
>> 
>> I’m just worried we are getting excited about high hanging fruit while 
>> starving and ignoring the low-hanging ones.
>> 
>> Again, I’ll support anyone who is going all out on kick-ass CouchDB end-user 
>> videos. I just also want to make sure we do something with the other 
>> resources we have to get something tangible going with less effort and maybe 
>> even faster.
>> 
>> Best
>> Jan
>> --
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> 
>>> Alexander,
>>> great list, I am focusing on what I see as business cases for CouchDB 
>>> (Apple is a different animal)
>>> - BBC: 
>>> http://www.erlang-factory.com/conference/London2009/speakers/endafarrell 
>>> <http://www.erlang-factory.com/conference/London2009/speakers/endafarrell> 
>>> <http://www.erlang-factory.com/conference/London2009/speakers/endafarrell 
>>> <http://www.erlang-factory.com/conference/London2009/speakers/endafarrell>>
>>> - CERN: http://readwrite.com/2010/08/26/lhc-couchdb 
>>> <http://readwrite.com/2010/08/26/lhc-couchdb> 
>>> <http://readwrite.com/2010/08/26/lhc-couchdb 
>>> <http://readwrite.com/2010/08/26/lhc-couchdb>>
>>> all I need to develop a story idea of someone has a warm contact that is 
>>> interesting in doing the interview and hopefully pull in some colleague
>>> j
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On 28 Mar 2015, at 18:15, Jan Lehnardt <[email protected] 
>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Ok, then just my cautioning: producing video is orders of magnitude more 
>>>> involved than producing text. Since we are just getting started, unless we 
>>>> have someone who’s happy to do pro video work for us, I’d suggest that we 
>>>> focus on text and use video as a prop for transcripts and such.
>>>> 
>>>> Note that the Apple videos you linked were done by a professional video 
>>>> production crew with plenty of resources. I don’t see us taking a camera 
>>>> into CERN and the BBC for mood shots and interviews.
>>>> 
>>>> Again, if we *do* have people that are willing to do this, I’m all for it. 
>>>> To get started, it might be easier and more bang for the buck to start 
>>>> with text.
>>>> 
>>>> Best
>>>> Jan
>>>> --
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> On 28 Mar 2015, at 18:07, Johs Ensby <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> 
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Jan,
>>>>> my suggestion if we got an opportunity with CERN or BBC is to set the 
>>>>> target at
>>>>> article that could be adopted to various purposes and with video being 
>>>>> supporting clips and possibly a standalone.
>>>>> What many dont realise is that the biggest part of this job is story and 
>>>>> coordination of approval.
>>>>> Heading for text first eases the approval process for a video release.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Noah,
>>>>> I thought of some case videos that Apple did some years back a the way to 
>>>>> go
>>>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42e-HFbt6Z4 
>>>>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42e-HFbt6Z4> 
>>>>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42e-HFbt6Z4 
>>>>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42e-HFbt6Z4>>
>>>>> This is a typical B2B story that uses interviews with several people that
>>>>> are part of the decision making process.
>>>>> - head of production
>>>>> - technology controller
>>>>> - editor
>>>>> this is an exemplary piece when it comes to supporting tech selection.
>>>>> Marketing is all about supporting decision making and in B2B, especially 
>>>>> selecting tech platforms it needs to be this kind of story.
>>>>> 
>>>>> j
>>>>> 
>>>>>> On 28 Mar 2015, at 17:55, Jan Lehnardt <[email protected] 
>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On 28 Mar 2015, at 17:46, Johs Ensby <[email protected] 
>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Agree that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach
>>>>>>> My “open” approach is
>>>>>>> - story idea first
>>>>>>> - interviewee agrees with it and OKs it with whoever needed to go 
>>>>>>> public (comms dept)
>>>>>>> - interview on video
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Are you planning to release the video, or is that just the basis for a 
>>>>>> written version?
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Best
>>>>>> Jan
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> - article writeup and approval
>>>>>>> - video edit and apprtoval
>>>>>>> - adaptation for various formats/channels
>>>>>>> j
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> On 28 Mar 2015, at 17:38, Noah Slater <[email protected] 
>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Are we interested in doing interview over, say, white papers, or case
>>>>>>>> studies? I'd like to suggest that we approach each company with a list 
>>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>>> options and see what works, instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> On Sat, 28 Mar 2015 at 15:38 Andy Wenk <[email protected] 
>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Dear Sally,
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Alex, a fellow PMC member and others at the marketing list of the 
>>>>>>>>> CouchDB
>>>>>>>>> project had the great idea to start a interview series with big 
>>>>>>>>> players in
>>>>>>>>> the tech industry who are using CouchDB. We are now looking for 
>>>>>>>>> people at
>>>>>>>>> these companies we can contact. The list is as follows:
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Apple
>>>>>>>>> BBC
>>>>>>>>> CERN
>>>>>>>>> NodeJS/NPM
>>>>>>>>> Drupal
>>>>>>>>> Soundcloud
>>>>>>>>> Erlang Solutions
>>>>>>>>> Apache Cordova
>>>>>>>>> Microsoft
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Please find more details below how these companies / projects use 
>>>>>>>>> CouchDB.
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Can you help us with some contacts? Or do you have any advice how to 
>>>>>>>>> find
>>>>>>>>> out, who are the people we should contact at these companies?
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Thank you so much for any help ;-)
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Warm regards
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Andy
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>>>>>>>> From: Alexander Shorin <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>
>>>>>>>>> Date: 27 March 2015 at 12:44
>>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: CouchDB users interview
>>>>>>>>> To: "[email protected] 
>>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>" <[email protected] 
>>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>>, Andreas
>>>>>>>>> Wenk <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 1:52 PM, Andy Wenk <[email protected] 
>>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> Can someone send a list of companies we would like to contact?
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> From my point of view:
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> - Apple: they have CouchDB included in XCode server
>>>>>>>>> - BBC:
>>>>>>>>> http://www.erlang-factory.com/conference/London2009/speakers/endafarrell
>>>>>>>>> - CERN: http://readwrite.com/2010/08/26/lhc-couchdb
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> - NodeJS/NPM: they had a couple of posts about their experience with
>>>>>>>>> CouchDB and troubles they had, but it would be good to ask them some
>>>>>>>>> more questions about
>>>>>>>>> - Drupal community: they don't technically uses CouchDB, but the
>>>>>>>>> replication protocol
>>>>>>>>> - Soundcloud: iirc they uses CouchDB as well or also just replication
>>>>>>>>> protocol
>>>>>>>>> - Erlang Solutions: https://elearning.erlang-solutions.com/couchdb/
>>>>>>>>> - Apache Cordova: their plugins registry
>>>>>>>>> http://http://plugins.cordova.io is driven by CouchDB
>>>>>>>>> - Microsoft: Yaron Goland seems very active on replication@ ML and may
>>>>>>>>> know something
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> - Cloudant/IBM, PouchDB and Hoodie/Neighborhoodie: I think, there is
>>>>>>>>> no need to explain why (:
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> These are big fishes, but any success with them could attract the
>>>>>>>>> others. Most urls on CouchDB in the Wild page are not giving much
>>>>>>>>> hope, but you can walk among them and pick few links which you likes.
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> In additional, may be some call on Twitter / ML / Socialmedia may be
>>>>>>>>> helpful.
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>> ,,,^..^,,,
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>> Andy Wenk
>>>>>>>>> Hamburg - Germany
>>>>>>>>> RockIt!
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> http://www.couchdb-buch.de
>>>>>>>>> http://www.pg-praxisbuch.de
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> GPG fingerprint: C044 8322 9E12 1483 4FEC 9452 B65D 6BE3 9ED3 9588
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> https://people.apache.org/keys/committer/andywenk.asc
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> -- 
>>>>>> Professional Support for Apache CouchDB:
>>>>>> http://www.neighbourhood.ie/couchdb-support/
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> -- 
>>>> Professional Support for Apache CouchDB:
>>>> http://www.neighbourhood.ie/couchdb-support/
>>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Professional Support for Apache CouchDB:
>> http://www.neighbourhood.ie/couchdb-support/ 
>> <http://www.neighbourhood.ie/couchdb-support/>

-- 
Professional Support for Apache CouchDB:
http://www.neighbourhood.ie/couchdb-support/

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