Re: Directions in Advocacy - Mailing list pgsql-advocacy

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An excellent post. If I don't address something, assume it
was a good idea. :)

> Currently, there doesn't seem to be any strategy about
> PostgreSQL advocacy.

We are working on a "mission statement." I think this is the
first step to creating a TODO list. Can someone post the
latest revision of the statement to the website?

> There aren't a hell of a lot of case studies on the advocacy
> Web site. There is no information about how to add your *own*
> case study.

Good point, and it brings up a larger one: we need to get the
web site up and running with all the suggestions people have put
forward in the last month, and allow other people to easily
add/edit pages. I understand that the transalation factor is
what is keeping us from using a clean collection of static pages.
Can someone confirm that?

> I think the advocacy Web site is preachy
> ...
> The real problem with the advocacy site is that it is unprofessional.
> It is not clearly/correctly targeted. It uses the kinds of
> buzzwords you would read in the latest copy of CIO magazine, but
> it doesn't come through with the goods. It also isolates, by doing
> this, 95% of the people evaluating Postgres: actual developers, not
> management.

I partially agree with the "preachy" part, but I always thought the
advocacy page was designed for management and other non-developers. We
want to explain what Postgres is, and why it is so great, to people
who wouldn't use a command line if their life depended on it.

> I think that this would be better covered as total cost of owner ship.

Yes, TCO needs to be pushed heavily, as well as pointing out that
commercial support is readily available, so it does not have to
viewed as a "download then you're own your own" sort of project.

> advocacy.postgresql.org? Why not just integrate it into the existing
> Web sites?

Have you seen the existing web sites? 'nuff said.

(In an ideal world, we would have one site, as MySQL does. There is
too much turf gaurding and politics for that to happen anytime soon.)

> iv) !!! Media kit !!! If you want to get written about, you need to have
> a media kit.

I volunteer Gavin to make one! :)


> When then need to give them the information to answer management
> questions. The current site addresses only middle management types.

See above, but perhaps the site could be aimed at a more general,
non-techincal audience but allow drilling to more detail for those
interested.

> vi) Write tutorials for IT magazines

No real comment on this, but it is such a good idea I wanted
to repeat it.


I see the need for three things to happen immediately:

1) Deciding the tone and style of the website.

2) Making the website easy to change.

3) Getting a TODO list made.

Greg Sabino Mullane  greg@turnstep.com
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