Pre-release marketing and community management [Was: getting www.gnome3.org]

[Allan Day <allanpday gmail com>]

On Tue, 2011-01-04 at 13:50 -0800, Sriram Ramkrishna wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 12:34 PM, Jason D. Clinton
> <me jasonclinton com> wrote:
>         Since it was supposed to be almost entirely video thumbnails
>         on the front page, the videos need to go up there. And since
>         we don't have a UI freeze for a few more months, it wasn't in
>         the plan to have it up until then.
>         
>         
>         But I think there is a value in making this a kind of
>         process-marketing. I think we could launch the site with a
>         "Beta" decal and post the unfinished videos with the time
>         codes in them so that no one gets any ideas about posting them
>         as the final marketing assets.

Apologies if this is a discussion which has already taken place, but can
I ask: are there any plans to put out positive stories and messages
about GNOME Shell and GNOME 3 in the run up to the release? (And if so,
what are they?!) I can see this being highly beneficial. It doesn't have
to involve the gnome3 site - we could focus on getting positive stories
about GNOME Shell into the press, for example. Just a handful of such
stories would be immensely beneficial.

> Due to all the noise that we're getting on DDL, I wanted focus a
> little on community management from now till release.  So having a
> website fro simple messaging sounds good.  Of course, if we're using
> it for video thumbnails and what not maybe this might not be the best
> place for it.  I had forgotten about the details on the marketing
> hackfest so I don't want to interfere with plans already in progress.
>
> The idea is to pool resources of people who are already doing
> community management (eg engaging people who ask questions) on g-s and
> ddl and maybe work together on creating a more positive impression of
> gnome shell.  Rather than discussing the same issues, this allows
> developers to focus on completing Gnome 3 without the distraction of
> spending time trying to allay fears of change and in the process
> feeling stop energy.  if there are real issues than perhaps we can
> advocate on those issues and so Jon, Owen and others can work with us
> rather than random people who are made about something.
>
> We've never done community management (well or at all) and it might be
> a good way to do a sales job on our own existing user base who fear
> change.  It will also prepare us for after the release for questions
> that will certainly be forthcoming when we make presentations at
> various conferences.  I have two conferences that I'll be talking at,
> Open Source Bridge and Linuxfest Northwest.  I've already put in the
> paperwork for them and I want to make sure that I can address any
> users who might be confrontational.
>
> Making the effort will earn us some brownie points I think.

*raises hand*

Me and Sri have discussed this a bit online. There already seems to be
an unorganised effort to do community management on the lists and
channels. Pooling, recycling and generating resources in the fight
against stop energy would only enhance that effort, I think.

Allan
-- 
Blog: http://afaikblog.wordpress.com/
IRC: aday on irc.gnome.org