Re: Looking for community managers or enthusiasts!

[William Jon McCann <william jon mccann gmail com>]

Hi Karen,

I think these are good suggestions. But I think it would be a mistake to leave this critical responsibility to a committee of volunteers. One of the many challenges we face is that our voice and message have been too inconsistent - too infrequently heard. Heard too late. Lacking authority. In want of good taste. And dealing with this is taking a huge toll on our ability to attract and retain contributors. Something needs to be done.

I propose that we hire or appoint a full time director of marketing.

With the following responsibilities:

 * Organize and work with a team of "advocates"
 * Grok and channel the voice of the project rather than impose a separate agenda
 * Consult with the design, development, testing, and documentation teams
 * Help us clearly and effectively communicate our goals and objectives
 * Organize the creation of press releases / release notes
 * Blog regularly about ongoing initiatives and progress
 * Be a beacon of light to counter the darkness
 * Help us communicate proactively instead of reactively
 * Educate misinformed journalists
 * Be a point of contact for external parties that want information
 * Reduce the burden on volunteers
 * Delegate the above responsibilities

If nothing else, it is clear that we are failing to perform these critical duties. We are paying a dear price for it. I think we need to admit we need professional help - a point I'm sure even our harshest critics will agree with.

Jon

On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 12:47 AM, Karen Sandler <karen gnome org> wrote:

On Wed, November 14, 2012 8:40 am, Bastien Nocera wrote:

> - And "discontent". Well, I think that I have reasonable doubts to think
> that those community managers wouldn't be able to carry the message of
> developers truthfully if said developers aren't being talked to.

I think it's a fair point to raise issues of quality control for this
committee. One of the things I think we should start with for this
initiative is the creation of GNOME talking points/FAQ type of document.
The new team could do this by working with the release team, the board and
others in the community who would like to contribute. I think some of the
conversation we're having in other threads on this list are a good start
for that too. By going through that process, we'd be able to train the
volunteers and provide material to work from for the individuals to use in
formulating their own responses (so not a cut and paste document, but a
formulation of key goals, ideas and decisions). We could also create
infrastructure to help them out, like an IRC channel and private mailing
list where posts can be vetted.

We'd also need to set up mechanisms for communication so that developers
can be consulted. In the end, I think this could wind up being a lot
easier for our core developers, who seem to be often put on the spot to
defend their work. Having a team that these developers can talk to and
count on to repeatedly respond on behalf of the project seems to me like a
great way to preserve those people's time. Are there other ways we could
improve this side of the conversation?

karen

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