[Framework-Team] Re: Plone Messaging
Matt Hamilton wrote: On 6 May 2009, at 01:44, Ross Patterson wrote: These kind of messages are not largely or exclusively technically, marketing, or user oriented. They require a cohesion of all concerns. Maybe I'm trying to be structural about something that shouldn't be addressed that way. It does seem, however, that this is a significant challenge for our communities. No? I see what you are getting at here. I think one event that does do a lot for this is the Plone Conference keynote by Alan and Alex. Or the 'what coming up in release X' talks that Alex usually does. These generally focus on what is coming up feature-wise and I think do a lot to set expectations of what is coming up. Now I know that Alex is often (and I hope you don't mind me saying this Alex) quite ambitious in his visions for Plone in some of these talks, but I think that is a good thing. I have been sitting with a big smile in my face in all keynotes I attended, knowing that half of what our founders where talking about was not to be taken too seriously ;) I think we do have two types of messaging going on here. One is the real marketing messaging to our customers. These better only promise features and directions that are based on some good ground, as in whatever is actually released or in late beta / release candidates. The other one is part of the community conversation about where we are headed. It's trying to build consensus or set expectations on where we should go. The keynotes do have a bit of both, but a talk from Alexander about the Future of the Plone UI is pretty much completely in the later scope. Another aspect of these internal conversations is also to attract people to the idea. If you have an idea that you cannot technically or time-wise implement, you need to market the idea to the community, so it is on the one side accepted as something we should do but on the other hand you also need to attract someone who wants to do it for you. Thanks to our open discussion nature we do have the conversation about what to do next in the same open way as everything else. If an outsider mistakes these as factual promises on some deliverables he has a bit more to learn about Open Source. What you can count on is what is released in a final version. This holds true for commercial vendors in the same way, which might remove a feature from a late beta release. The added value you get in Open Source is that you can see the debates about the future direction, which in many commercial solutions will be hidden behind the doors of some meetings. And you can even engage and try to change these directions. The abstraction-loving German in me sometimes wants to structure these things and appoint people, get clear responsibilities. But so far I failed to see any way that could be done or would be useful for this particular challenge. Hanno ___ Framework-Team mailing list Framework-Team@lists.plone.org http://lists.plone.org/mailman/listinfo/framework-team
[Framework-Team] Re: Plone Messaging
JoAnna Springsteen jluv...@gmail.com writes: So could a team be formed or delegated with the responsibility of reviewing Plone messaging? Would such an institution be a slippery slope to too much dogma or other stifling restriction? What might be some other ways to improve messaging in Plone communities? Is this an issue we're already addressing sufficiently and we just need to give it time? Is there a value to enshrining this process even if it's already happening? Is this not an issue? :) I believe that this is already being addressed with the work Gabrielle, Mark, et. al. have been doing. It's slowly becoming more and more visible (15 Questions, organized representation at events like NTEN World Internet Expo, etc). While I'm not sure exactly who all is involved on the team, from what I've heard, there is a plan taking shape. I'm sure, like most of our teams, they probably need more help. Personally, I think one of the things that would help is a formal PR/Marketing/Evangelism contact so that any journalists looking to write about Plone or any press releases put out always have a representative to go to. Establishing a relationship with the such people can be very valuable when it comes to promoting events like World Plone Day or the Conference. Telling people to contact a mailing list just isn't enough (tho I think it should still be done so we have a record of such messages/inquiries). Establishing a leadership team for the doc team has helped us get organized and we operate much like the framework team. Having a recognized leadership for all of Plone's working groups might benefit from a guiding team? I meant messaging in a sense larger than just marketing. I think we need to better communicate with and educate our communities of consultants, developers, and users regarding subjects other than just marketing and press. For example, what expectations should consultants communicate to technically minded clients about features in the next release? When a sysadmin and sometimes hacker at a non-profit gets excited about Plone and starts advocating for its usage internally, what will she have read that helped her set expectations that will guide her towards success? What will a consultant have read by the time they decide to start taking on Plone jobs to help guide ethical and successful consulting? If any of these people started or joined discussions on IRC, on the mailing lists, or at a conference, will the community members participating in those discussions have encountered enough queues about appropriate messaging? These kind of messages are not largely or exclusively technically, marketing, or user oriented. They require a cohesion of all concerns. Maybe I'm trying to be structural about something that shouldn't be addressed that way. It does seem, however, that this is a significant challenge for our communities. No? Ross ___ Framework-Team mailing list Framework-Team@lists.plone.org http://lists.plone.org/mailman/listinfo/framework-team
