On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 12:43 PM, John Botscharow <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:34:20 -0300 > "Cody A.W. Somerville" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I've read every post thus far. > > Whew, then I don't need to bore everyone by repeating myself. :-) > > > > The reason I ask why you're getting so frustrated is because each and > > every one of you are *enabled* to do your part to market Ubuntu. Some > > might say they lack authority but let me put that concern to bed - > > just say "I want to do this. If you're interested in helping me, help > > me.". Some people will be critical and others will think your idea is > > the best thing since sliced bread. Work with the latter group and > > remove the doubt from the former group by showing that your idea was > > and is a good idea by being successful in executing it. > > And I got criticized for doing just that - the negative comments about > off list discussions about developing a leadership proposal. Unfortunately there will always be people who disagree with you. You just have to roll with it :) > > > And yes, I would like to help you. Contact me directly and let me know > what you need help with. This will go a long way toward helping me > learn the ropes here. More on this below. > > > > For example, John, someone (I can't remember who) was upset that you > > put your personal articles on the wiki as a resource. You took them > > off because of that person's complaints. If you felt you were doing > > the right thing, you should have just left them there after clearly > > explaining your rationale or if you realized that there was a better > > place to put them then move them. If an edit war broke out, you could > > have asked someone like myself to intervene. If that didn't work then > > you could take it to the community council. > > This is the main source of my frustration. I had no idea when that > happened whether I really had the right to put them there or not. No > one explained to me how things work, all they said was just do it and > every time I did, I got criticized. I had no idea who to ask whether I > really had to take them down. No one said, "John, it's your decision > and here's what you do to deal with any negative feedback. > > As far as explaining my rationale for putting them there, I thought I > did. > > At the time, I had no idea you even existed :-) I had no clue who to > ask and given the way I felt at the time, I was not going to ask on > this list. > > A suggestion: develop a guide for new people to the community that > explains in simple terms - Ubuntu community for dummies - how things > work, who to ask for advice, and don't say anyone on this list, because > that did not work for me. More below. There is material on the wiki but unfortunately even if we had every piece of information written down it would still be difficult for newcomers such as yourself to digest it. Joining a new community, starting a new job, etc. is *always* a challenge. > > > > > There is no gurantees that you'll get help from others on your > > project. Don't let that discourage you. If you honestly believe in > > your idea, go for it! *Just* *do* *it*. If it is a super horrible > > idea, you'll get flamed. If it is a good idea, you'll get admiration > > and respect and you'll have an oppertunity to be a leader. > > I never set out to be a leader. I took it on because no one else did. I > have no need for power personally, but this team needs to get some > direction and some structure and that direction and structure needs to > be laid out clearly and plainly so someone unfamiliar with how things > work can get real help, not just go do it. That works fine if you kbow > HOW to do it, but if you don't, and no one really explains it you then > that leads to frustration. I understand how you feel. I used to be in the same boat with wanting to get Xubuntu off the ground. It took me several years to get to where I am today - comfortable. > > And, I have tried to just do it - see > https://wiki.ubuntu.com/JohnBotscharow/Android and I posted a request > for help - suggestions, comments, feedback - and all I got was one > somewhat negative comment because either the person reading the page > misunderstood what I was talking about or I need to clarify things a > little better. I AM going to go see if I can make it clearer that this > IS about marketing Ubuntu and not something else. > > All of this boils down to accountability and responsibility. Some > constructive criticism, Cody. Your the only team administrator > currently active. So you alone are ultimately accountable for and > responsible for this team, in my opinion. We can not market effectively > if we work like a bunch of guys on a basketball court, each with their > own ball and each running around the floor with no coordination while > trying to beat the Chicago Bulls back when they were the world > champions all those years. There has to be a game plan and a playbook > that everyone uses and buys into. But that playbook and game plan is > not the responsibility of the individual players to design, there has > to be a coaching staff to do that. Maybe if we stopped thinking of the marketing team as the be-all-is-all structure, we'll get somewhere. Maybe the said "team" could be a few individuals working on a marketing project they believe in (such as yourself and other individuals interested in your Android project). That team/project will gather momentum as it finds success (or will die out although not always in lack of a good idea) and would probably grow into the "official" marketing team as people realize they're the people getting stuff done - you get labelled as the "goto guy" (or gal). > > > We are those guys running around with no game plan and no playbook and > no coaching staff. Microsoft is the Jordan-era Bulls. And we are > getting our butts kicked and will continue to do so until we develop a > coaching staff, a game plan, and a playbook. There is *nothing* preventing you from introducing a game plan or play book. You're the head coach, but you cannot do it alone. Hire some assistant > coaches to help you, but make sure everybody knows who they are and > what they are responsible and accountable for. > > Contrary to the myth we perpetuate on our team wiki page, I think > that's where it is - if it's not there, it's on the team LP page - > Ubuntu the OS does NOT sell itself. Nothing does. What success we have > had in selling Ubuntu is the result of individual efforts on the > street. But that is not enough to beat Microsoft. We need the stuff I > laid out above if we want to compete with the Borg. We need to become > the Federation. > > I want Ubuntu to kick MS's butt! But we refuse to take QUICK and > DECISIVE action to fix the problem, because that is supposedly not the > FOSS way, but as the critic of my Android project pointed out, we are > not FOSS, we are Ubuntu and Ubuntu is better. > > That is why I am frustrated enough to make splitting off an option. > > I don't see a need to "split off". Just gather the folks that *do* agree with you and move forward. Just because someone is critical or negative doesn't mean you should take your toys and go play somewhere else. Unless the person criticizing you is valuable (ie. they actually do work/contribute) then their words are only worth what value you give them. > > > > - -- > Peace! > > John > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux) > > iD8DBQFIUpW+sTN+hz1Fu7URAg42AJ4tkEvp0aJ6usAw3qD7LozY7o+SqgCgzMrp > InSUvwnaqXwjWJYbJ2TzfV4= > =caT8 > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > -- > ubuntu-marketing mailing list > [email protected] > Modify settings or unsubscribe at: > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-marketing > So bottom line. You think your Android idea is a good one? Then do it! :) There is nothing stopping you and if you're right then it'll naturally turn this marketing team into what it seems you're looking to foster! All great things! So don't let a bit of negative feedback stop you! Do something great! :D Cheers, -- Cody A.W. Somerville Software Engineer Red Cow Marketing & Technologies, Inc. Office: 506-458-1290 Toll Free: 1-877-733-2699 Fax: 506-453-9112 Cell: 506-449-5899 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.redcow.ca
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