Forum OpenACS Q&A: Response to OpenACS Marketing & Promotion Project
Posted by
Don Baccus
on 07/18/01 09:31 PM
About 90% of your list falls in the category "how to improve this website to make it do a good job of explaining, promoting, and evangelizing our toolkit.
<p>
So I'd forward those portions of the list to Talli Somekh and Musea along with your offer to help create a bunch of the stuff on the list. Note that a lot of it boils down to writing, searching for relevant information and organizing it so it can be incorporated into the site, etc.
<p>
Some bits already exist, i.e. there's a link to OpenACS companies on the openacs.org home page, but most bits don't or, when they do, are tucked away in non-obvious places (the logos, for instance).
<p>
Without in *any* way trying to diminish the importance of the kind of stuff you're listing, I think we need to look ahead towards doing more external marketing at a very basic level.
<p>Here are some things on <b>my</b> list that one or more inspired folk could take on:
<ul>
<li>Build a list of relevant media outlets (magazines, web sites, mailing lists, etc)
<li>Where appropriate, build and maintain a list of editorial contacts (you have a higher chance of getting stuff published or mentioned if you build relationships with editors)
<li>Create some basic letterhead etc files that people can use to write cover letters and the like to editorial contacts that prefer snail-mail
<li>Take responsibility for making sure that press releases go out reasonably often, whenever major software releases, site launches, and the like occur
<li>Help people who want to write tech articles but are inexperienced with dealing with the media with the process. Target media outlets for such articles and whip community members until someone breaks down and agrees to write :)
</ul>
This list isn't complete but I think my focus is obvious - we need someone willing to concentrate on the <b>mechanics</b> of getting the word out. I've published nature writing and photography in a fairly wide variety of national and regional magazines, and once upon a time ran a software company, and have learned that editors are almost always seeking out quality material to include, not overwhelmed with quality material they must reject.
<p>They get a lot of really bad stuff they can't bear to look at, and a lot of unsolicited stuff that doesn't meet their current editorial needs, but really appreciate stuff that helps them fill pages that need filling.
<p>So, for instance, the difference between getting an article placed or rejected often lies in whether or not you've bothered to check out the magazine's publishing guidelines, schedule etc.
<p>Submitting a PR to a tech magazine the same week MicroSoft announces that XP will be released under the GNU license isn't a great idea, for instance. You want to avoid competing with the kind of pre-scheduled events that periodically sweep through the press, which implies developing a calendar with "hit months" for various rags.
<p>So success requires organization, bird-dogging, etc - good mechanics. I'm sure we can find people here to write stuff, if we had a process in place that would help them with the mechanical side of getting stuff out there. The nuts-and-bolts marcom-type stuff I'm talking isn't very glamorous or much fun, but is very necessary.
<p>
So I'd forward those portions of the list to Talli Somekh and Musea along with your offer to help create a bunch of the stuff on the list. Note that a lot of it boils down to writing, searching for relevant information and organizing it so it can be incorporated into the site, etc.
<p>
Some bits already exist, i.e. there's a link to OpenACS companies on the openacs.org home page, but most bits don't or, when they do, are tucked away in non-obvious places (the logos, for instance).
<p>
Without in *any* way trying to diminish the importance of the kind of stuff you're listing, I think we need to look ahead towards doing more external marketing at a very basic level.
<p>Here are some things on <b>my</b> list that one or more inspired folk could take on:
<ul>
<li>Build a list of relevant media outlets (magazines, web sites, mailing lists, etc)
<li>Where appropriate, build and maintain a list of editorial contacts (you have a higher chance of getting stuff published or mentioned if you build relationships with editors)
<li>Create some basic letterhead etc files that people can use to write cover letters and the like to editorial contacts that prefer snail-mail
<li>Take responsibility for making sure that press releases go out reasonably often, whenever major software releases, site launches, and the like occur
<li>Help people who want to write tech articles but are inexperienced with dealing with the media with the process. Target media outlets for such articles and whip community members until someone breaks down and agrees to write :)
</ul>
This list isn't complete but I think my focus is obvious - we need someone willing to concentrate on the <b>mechanics</b> of getting the word out. I've published nature writing and photography in a fairly wide variety of national and regional magazines, and once upon a time ran a software company, and have learned that editors are almost always seeking out quality material to include, not overwhelmed with quality material they must reject.
<p>They get a lot of really bad stuff they can't bear to look at, and a lot of unsolicited stuff that doesn't meet their current editorial needs, but really appreciate stuff that helps them fill pages that need filling.
<p>So, for instance, the difference between getting an article placed or rejected often lies in whether or not you've bothered to check out the magazine's publishing guidelines, schedule etc.
<p>Submitting a PR to a tech magazine the same week MicroSoft announces that XP will be released under the GNU license isn't a great idea, for instance. You want to avoid competing with the kind of pre-scheduled events that periodically sweep through the press, which implies developing a calendar with "hit months" for various rags.
<p>So success requires organization, bird-dogging, etc - good mechanics. I'm sure we can find people here to write stuff, if we had a process in place that would help them with the mechanical side of getting stuff out there. The nuts-and-bolts marcom-type stuff I'm talking isn't very glamorous or much fun, but is very necessary.
