Good comments, everyone. Keep them coming! In the spirit of brainstorming I'll hold back my own thoughts until the new volunteers have all had an opportunity to give their "first impressions".
-Rob On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 11:54 AM, Scott Gillard <[email protected]> wrote: > I did the two second exercise for the three social media options and the > website, and offer a few additional comments ont he website. I'll take a > look at the remaining questions and share some more detailed views after > some googling and research. > > > 1. Website > 1. A lot of text - too much - need a cleaner layout that is more > graphical > 2. The Marketing Volunteers Wanted link > 3. "Learn more" seems to trump "Download" - "Download for free" > should be the most prominent section of the site as prominent as > the logo. > Then directly nested under that perhaps "Learn how this software is > free" > 4. The language used should be clear, accessible, and should conform > to people's expectations of a software website. This reinforces the > quality of the product - making the sigficance of learning about > values and > open source more interesting. > 5. Logo is lost > 2. Google+ & Facebook > 1. Logo jumps, looks good - should include text/the name? > 2. Regular updates > 3. Twitter > 1. Lots of updates, though they seem to go out in clumps - appear > scheduled > > > > ------------------------------------ > *Scott Gillard* > Mobile: (902)402-2962 > Web: www.novacaper.ca > Twitter: @scoalegil > Facebook: facebook.com/scoalegil > > > > On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 11:55 AM, Rob Weir <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I have a problem. Like most of the existing OpenOffice volunteers I'm >> "too close" to the project. I see our website 100 times a week. I >> read every tweet, every Facebook post, every news article related to >> OpenOffice. I eat, drink and sleep OpenOffice. My wife uses >> OpenOffice. My mother uses OpenOffice. Because I am constantly close >> to OpenOffice I have a distorted view. I am unable to "see" the brand >> like an average user does. This lack of perspective causes me to be >> hypercritical about some things, and perhaps causes me to be blind to >> other things. Since many project members are in this same situation, >> there is the danger that "groupthink" and conventional thinking >> dominates. >> >> You, as new volunteers, are free from this bias, at least for now. >> I'd like to take advantage of this interval, where you are interested >> in volunteering, but not yet over-exposed to OpenOffice discussions, >> to help us see the world better with fresh eyes. >> >> Some ways in which you can help gain a fresher perspective: >> >> 1) What does our website look like to a new user? >> http://www.openoffice.org. One exercise is to go to the home page, >> look at it for only 2 seconds (time it) and then close the window. >> Then write down everything you remember about the website, what text >> messages did you notice? What logos? What did your first glance tell >> you? What was your emotional response or qualitative assessment of >> the site? >> >> >> 2) The website is both functional, helping the user get the >> information they want. But it should also reinforce our brand, our >> message, our values. Taking a closer look at the website, with your >> fresh eyes, what is your impression? >> >> >> 3) Similar questions for viewing our social media accounts: >> >> Twitter: https://twitter.com/apacheoo >> >> Google+: >> https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/114598373874764163668/+openoffice/posts >> >> Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ApacheOO >> >> What is your initial impression? Unlike the website, social media >> offers communications in two directions, a greater degree of >> engagement with users. Does it look like we're doing this well? Do >> you see any opportunities for improvement? >> >> >> 4) OpenOffice is it good or bad? What do the reviews say? Imagine >> you are a user who is thinking about moving to OpenOffice. You are >> aware of it, and know that it is free. But you are not yet persuaded >> to act. What resources do you consult to learn more about OpenOffice >> and what do they tell you? >> >> >> 5) A recent survey of brand recognition showed that only 24% of U.S. >> internet users recognized the brand "OpenOffice". So there is a large >> opportunity for increasing brand recognition. Imagine yourself to be >> a user in each of the following situations. In each case you do not >> even know the word "OpenOffice". What do you do to find and compare >> possible office suites? And how easy or hard is it for you to find >> that OpenOffice solves your problem? If this involves a Google >> search, what terms do you search for? >> >> A) You are a university student. You need a Microsoft-compatible word >> processor for your course, but Microsoft Office, even with the student >> discount is too expensive. >> >> B) You are an IT Director for Public Library or Community Center with >> a computers available for public use. You want to provide office suite >> functionality to their patrons. But you have limited budget, so >> commercial software licenses come at the expense of other potential >> user services. >> >> C) You are a CIO of a medium to large corporation currently using >> Microsoft Office 2003. Microsoft has announced that Office 2003 will >> be "end of life" with no support in April 2014. Are there any >> alternatives to paying Microsoft for a license upgrade? >> >> >> Feel free to grab one or more of these items and respond back via >> email. It is fine to have more than one person do the same item. We >> can then compare and discuss. >> >> Thanks! >> >> -Rob >>
