Re: [HACKERS] Enticing interns to PostgreSQL - Mailing list pgsql-advocacy

From Joshua D. Drake
Subject Re: [HACKERS] Enticing interns to PostgreSQL
Date
Msg-id 42E28A2E.3070601@commandprompt.com
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: [HACKERS] Enticing interns to PostgreSQL  ("Jim C. Nasby" <decibel@decibel.org>)
Responses Re: [HACKERS] Enticing interns to PostgreSQL
List pgsql-advocacy
>
> One problem with that is: where do people go when they want to find out
> about PostgreSQL and MySQL? To the websites. Currently, MySQL has 1/4 of
> their front page dedicated to "Discover how Global 2000 companies are
> cutting their database costs by 90%". And "Over six million

MySQL is a company. PostgreSQL is not. We will never as a community be
able to compete with MySQL as a company.

It is not the job of the community to **market**, advocate yes, market no.
It is the job of the commercial entities such as Command Prompt, SRA,
GreenPlum, Pervasive and PgSQL, Inc. to do marketing.

> installations use MySQL to power high-volume Web sites and other
> critical business systems — including industry-leaders like The
> Associated Press, Yahoo, NASA, Sabre Holdings and Suzuki." Our site has
> nothing like that.

Neither does Linux.Org, but Redhat and Novell do.

> Of course it's easy for a commercial company to hire a full-time MarCom
> person (or team), but given the number of commercial companies
> supporting PostgreSQL we should be able to do just as good a job at
> messaging, if not better. Heck, I bet even the 'small' companies
> supporting PostgreSQL together are larger than MySQL AB, let alone
> companies like Fujitsu.

This if I recall is what the PostgreSQL Foundation is for. It should also
be noted that companies are marketing more and more with PostgreSQL. Look
at the press that EnterpriseDB has gotten. Heck even Greenplum and
Command Prompt have been picked up recently without Command Prompt (I
don't know about Greenplum) doing anything to solicit the pick up.

In a way I prefer the PostgreSQL marketing because the MySQL marketing
is just that... All the press they get isn't press seeking them out, it
is MySQL seeking out the press, soliciting interviews, whitepapers etc...

Why doesn't the press (for the most part) do that with PostgreSQL?
Because PostgreSQL is not a commercial entity. PostgreSQL is not an
advertiser. PostgreSQL is just another Open Source project. Everytime
PostgreSQL gets picked up by the press it is because of the general work
and quality of the PostgreSQL product.

Most of the time that MySQL gets picked up it is because somebody in a
tie, called another guy in a tie, who forced some poor journalist to
write about something he really has no clue about, just to spout FUD
about everybody BUT MySQL.

Sincerely,

Joshua D. Drake












--
Your PostgreSQL solutions provider, Command Prompt, Inc.
24x7 support - 1.800.492.2240, programming, and consulting
Home of PostgreSQL Replicator, plPHP, plPerlNG and pgPHPToolkit
http://www.commandprompt.com / http://www.postgresql.org

pgsql-advocacy by date:

Previous
From: "Jim C. Nasby"
Date:
Subject: Re: [HACKERS] Enticing interns to PostgreSQL
Next
From: Robert Treat
Date:
Subject: Re: [HACKERS] Enticing interns to PostgreSQL