Thread: Directions in Advocacy
Hi all, I've been thinking about advocacy for a fair while now. Here are some ideas. What follows is going to be critical :-(. 1) Advocacy Strategy Currently, there doesn't seem to be any strategy about PostgreSQL advocacy. I think a strategy (ie, TODO list) will allow those interested in Postgres advocacy to see where we are and where we want to be. It will encourage a bit of creativity, track progress, determine whether or not something is working or not. 2) Case studies 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. I think the case studies need to be augmented by smaller testimonials which the advocacy group has *permission* to use/print/what ever. This will provide a resource for people putting together papers on PostgreSQL for specific applications: education, private sector, government, etc. It will help consultants choose testimonials specific to a tender that they're putting together. The ability to show a client that someone else is using this for the same application is very handy. How do we get these testimonials? Not a week goes by without someone writing to pgsql-hackers about how much their shop loves Postgres. Someone needs to follow this person up, go through the process of getting a testimonial that their employer signs off on. This can take some convincing, but we must stress that 1) they're getting a lot out of Postgres, why not return some 2) Their testimonial will lead to increased usage which leads to an even better product in the future. 3) Advocacy Web site Style I think the advocacy Web site is preachy. I don't like things like "Join the PostgreSQL revolution", "Better support than the proprietary vendors", "Legendary reliability and stability" and: "Unlike many proprietary databases, it is extremely common for companies to report that PostgreSQL has never, ever crashed for them in several years of high activity operation. Not even once. It just works." This is a huge call. Where's the evidence? Certainly not in the case studies ;-). This kind of thing doesn't play well when the other professional requirements are missing (see below). Advantages of Postgres i) Immunity to over-deployment This is a *huge* point. It isn't covered properly. Over-deployment is what some proprietary database vendors regard as their #1 licence compliance problem. With PostgreSQL, no-one can sue you for breaking licensing agreements, as there is no associated licensing cost for the software. It rarely happens that companies like Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and Sybase *actually* sue people to recover unpaid license. Their software is designed to only run for the number of users/CPUs you have purchased. The end. I think that this would be better covered as total cost of owner ship. No licensing, cheaper consultants, runs on cheaper hardware and cheap operating systems, has the kinds of features you only find in expensive databases, well documented (for free), etc. ii) Legendary reliability and stability A huge call with nothing to back it up. iii) Extensible This, incorrectly, looks at source code level extensions. What about the depth of extensibility which can be added at the SQL level by unskilled programmers? (ie, they don't know C). User defined functions, triggers, rules. If they know C, they can go even further. How about mentioning all the supported procedural languages? iv) Designed for high volume environment MVCC doesn't just allow this. Its designed to allow concurrency users to be isolated. Its about data integrity. People using Access and looking for a better database *really want to know about this*. v) ANSI compliance Since when? I don't know of any database which is ANSI compliant. Web site URL advocacy.postgresql.org? Why not just integrate it into the existing Web sites? Pointing someone to this URL suggests to them that they shouldn't believe most of what they read ;-). 4) Professionalism 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. Here's what's missing. i) URL to press releases ii) URL listing events/conferences which will involve Postgres. This will require the people speaking at conferences to send in dates/times/URLs. This can only serve to increase attendance numbers and impress potential users with Postgres's popularity :-) iii) List of awards Postgres has won iv) !!! Media kit !!! If you want to get written about, you need to have a media kit. Most IT journalists know little to nothing about IT. They will not write about Postgres if it is too hard. A media kit has the following: a) Overview of the project, recent history, etc b) fact sheet: what Postgres is, latest version number, companies involved, how it is funded, major developers, estimate of number of users c) URL to testimonials d) URL to awards e) URL to press release for most recent release f) Dumbed down list of features introduced in most recent release g) URL to *printable logos* (300 dpi, CMYK'd, list of pantone colours) h) Trademark information/list of names (PostgreSQL? PostgreSQL, inc? PostgreSQL Global Development Team? .. which one?) i) Contact details v) Developer's section Most open source software comes in through the back door. Developers are going to find and evaluate Postgres. We need to tell them, in their language, what Postgres has and what it can do. When then need to give them the information to answer management questions. The current site addresses only middle management types. vi) URLs to recent papers on Postgres 5) Future directions Here's a list of things going on now/ideas for the future to kick off the advocacy strategy. i) Big Nerd Ranch Bruce is training people at a multi-day event called 'Big Nerd Range'. This is *dedicated* to PostgreSQL. Though it is limited to 20 places it is a serious training event and will do a lot to advocate PostgreSQL -- provided, of course, there is the right follow up: a Press release issued in conjunction with the Big Nerd Ranch people, information on the PostgreSQL Web site, information for the media. See: http://www.bignerdranch.com/Classes/Postgresql.html ii) PostgreSQL mini-conference Christopher Kings-Lynne and I will be organising a one day PostgreSQL conference to take place on the 20th of January. This will be attached to the Linux.Conf.Au conference, where I will be giving a more technical tutorial on Postgres. This will force Christopher and I to create resources (presentations, logistical information) which will allow other people to replication the conference in other countries. http://www.linux.conf.au iii) Enterprise Solution Center A company called Wild Open Source (http://www.wildopensource.com) is working with Linux International to create a kind of opensource pavilion called 'Enterprise Solution Center' (http://www.wildopensource.com/ESC/index.html). The goal of this project is to deploy open source software in all roles inside a company: desktop, back office, productivity, accounting as well as the obvious ones, like Web site, file server, mail server, etc. We *have* to get involved in this. Someone will need to contact Wild Open Source to see what we need to do to get involved. The Centre will first come into action at LinuxWorld New York, 21-24th January. It would be best if the person(s) who contact Wild Open Source can actually attend this conference. It will, however, need to be a group effort to determine what software will run on top of Postgres, actually setting it up, etc. Regardless, the hard work will definitely be worth it, since the pavilion will be redeployed around the world, as far as I can tell. iv) Database taxonomy project The DBMS Reference Guide is an idea put together by Zak Graent (zak@php.net). Zak is an employee of MySQL AB. We get together three or four times a year and talk databases. Zak is a firm believer in the idea that competition in open source can only serve to increase the market for it, there by benefiting all competitors. So, even though he works for MySQL AB, a lot of what he does serves us all, because it gets people talking about open source databases. The project is designed to provide guidelines to developers about major databases. Amongst other things, this will be an invaluable resource for people wanting to migrate databases (hopefully to Postgres). Better yet, Zak tells me he has had plenty of interest from developers at proprietary companies. If you're interested, email him. v) Conferences/talks/tutorials I like to talk. I talk at conferences, at universities, at user group meetings, at pubs. If you like to talk, consider submitting proposals to one of the many open source orientated conferences; or at the university you attended; or at a local open source/UNIX focussed user group. For those interested in conferences, here is a brief list of those I have spoken at/know of: EgovOS (March, Washington) - http://www.egovos.org O'Reilly Open Source Convention (July, Oregon) - http://conferences.oreilly.com FOSDEM (February, Brussels) - http://www.fosdem.org Linux.Conf.Au (January, Perth) - http://linux.conf.au UK Unix Users Group Developers Conference (June/July, Edinburgh) - http://www.ukuug.org/events/linux2003/ LinuxTag (July, Karlsruhe, Germany) - http://www.linuxtag.org International PHP Conference (April/November, Amsterdam/Frankfurt) - http://www.php-conference.de) SAGE-AU (August, Hobart, Australia) - http://www.sage-au.org.au It would probably be useful to provide guide lines to those who are thinking about this. That is, how to submit a proposal, how to prepare the slides, how long a talk should go for, etc. vi) Write tutorials for IT magazines As I said before, most IT journos know little to nothing about IT. If they knew more, they'd stop being a journalist and start earning real money. Its a simple fact. This means that when IT mags need more indepth stuff, they have to farm it out to freelancers. If you know how to write and have some experience, write to the editors of some magazines published in your country offering to write about PostgreSQL. Particularly given the release 7.3, now would be a great time. A word of advice: suggest possible articles: 'What's new in PostgreSQL 7.3', 'Installing and running PostgreSQL 7.3', 'Open Source Database Systems', etc. vii) Write papers/Documentation/etc If you're using PostgreSQL for some specific purpose, if you're really interested in, say, "PostgreSQL in Education", write a paper about it. No matter how long or short, the written word carries weight. The more we increase the knowledge base surrounding PostgreSQL, the bigger it will become. --------------- That's it for now. Thanks, Gavin
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 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 PGP Key: 0x14964AC8 200212080936 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Comment: http://www.turnstep.com/pgp.html iD8DBQE981oIvJuQZxSWSsgRAh/zAKDq+Xe5bvik9Jy7ekQ2cj1XzQB+BACgkDdx Dr4okYFncG58a0SeZ4n8pWU= =BiMH -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
> 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. These are definitely important, but we cannot underestimate the importance of starting to establish contact with the "outside" world. Once a consensus is reached on the mission statement and goals for the group, we need to start an unrelenting PR campaign. I work for a magazine publishing company, and our editors are constantly getting press releases from companies announcing things that might not be all that important, but they serve to keep the companies' names visible, and we should do the same thing. We need to establish a contact list for IT media professionals and frequently contact them. We can start by getting them a media kit, and then we should send them press releases at least once a month, but maybe even more often if we can send something of substance. I was a journalist before I decided to "start earning real money," so I'd like to volunteer to coordinate the media kit development and a PR campaign like I've described. I'm new to this list, so I don't really know how the process for getting something like this started goes, but I think this approach could work very well. Lucas Alexander
Wow, Devrim Gunduz has volunteered to do stuff on the website backend of the Advocacy site which will be really helpful. My time for touching it has been reduced to very little, and that's why theres such a lack of updates recently. :-( First thing we should probably do is get our core values, mission statement, and then goals decided upon. Lucas sounds like he has a good understanding of what makes media contacts take notice of things, and that would be really valuable. Gavin has some potentially worthy ideas, and is putting in heaps of time in thinking about them and raising them for discussion. Robert and Josh have been putting in large amounts of time for co-ordinating and updating stuff too. You guys are all amazing. :-) From memory, someone started suggesting ideas for the core values we should operate on too, but I didn't get time to look at it properly. As a thought, now that there are a bunch of good, talented people around, would this be the best time for us to work out who is supposed to be doing what? :-) Regards and best wishes, Justin Clift Lucas Alexander wrote: >>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. > > > These are definitely important, but we cannot underestimate the importance > of starting to establish contact with the "outside" world. Once a consensus > is reached on the mission statement and goals for the group, we need to > start an unrelenting PR campaign. > > I work for a magazine publishing company, and our editors are constantly > getting press releases from companies announcing things that might not be > all that important, but they serve to keep the companies' names visible, and > we should do the same thing. We need to establish a contact list for IT > media professionals and frequently contact them. We can start by getting > them a media kit, and then we should send them press releases at least once > a month, but maybe even more often if we can send something of substance. > > I was a journalist before I decided to "start earning real money," so I'd > like to volunteer to coordinate the media kit development and a PR campaign > like I've described. > > I'm new to this list, so I don't really know how the process for getting > something like this started goes, but I think this approach could work very > well. > > Lucas Alexander -- "My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there." - Indira Gandhi
Lucas, Greg, Gavin, > These are definitely important, but we cannot underestimate the > importance > of starting to establish contact with the "outside" world. Once a > consensus > is reached on the mission statement and goals for the group, we need > to > start an unrelenting PR campaign. All aspects of marketing are important. I happen to like PR, and I do think that it is currently one of our weakest areas. Here's my suggestions on assignments: Gavin: Preparing the Mission Statement, and Points of Attack for PostgreSQL advocacy as a formal doc. Please do this on Guides so that we can be collaborative. Me, Robert, Lucas (with some help from Justin & Marc): Press Releases, the Press Resources page, answering the press@postgresql.org address as soon as it gets established (reminder to self: write request to Marc), news listings, testimonials. Gavin, Greg: Dressing up the Advocacy web site. Top priority here is installing some kind of easy-to-use content mangement system so that non-HTML coders can post content. Justin, Marc: coordinating with wwwdevel to ensure that there's tie-in between the main site and Advocacy, such as: PRESS GO HERE big links. Work for everybody? -Josh Berkus ______AGLIO DATABASE SOLUTIONS___________________________ Josh Berkus Complete information technology josh@agliodbs.com and data management solutions (415) 565-7293 for law firms, small businesses fax 621-2533 and non-profit organizations. San Francisco
Josh Berkus wrote: <snip> > Work for everybody? Personally, I feel it's very important we have some kind of guidelines of how we will conduct ourselves. Call it a "Code of Conduct" if you will. ;-) Regards and best wishes, Justin Clift > -Josh Berkus -- "My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there." - Indira Gandhi
On Sun, 8 Dec 2002, Josh Berkus wrote: > Lucas, Greg, Gavin, > > > These are definitely important, but we cannot underestimate the > > importance > > of starting to establish contact with the "outside" world. Once a > > consensus > > is reached on the mission statement and goals for the group, we need > > to > > start an unrelenting PR campaign. > > All aspects of marketing are important. I happen to like PR, and I do > think that it is currently one of our weakest areas. Here's my > suggestions on assignments: > > Gavin: Preparing the Mission Statement, and Points of Attack for > PostgreSQL advocacy as a formal doc. Please do this on Guides so that > we can be collaborative. > URL to 'Guides'? Lucas also offered to co-ordinate the media kit. Gavin
I like Josh's suggestions for the PR team assignment, but I think the first thing we need to do is get a media kit together so we can get start our campaign with a bang. After that, I think we ought to try a testimonial or miniature case study every other week or so as we build up to the eventual release of the next version. As far as what Justin said about a code of conduct, I also think that's important. Before doing that, though, I feel we ought to make sure that we have clearly established both who we are and what our goals are. For example, are we official representatives of the PostgreSQL project, or are we just a group of people who feel strongly about it? Also, our goals are very important to how we conduct ourselves. If our goal is to conclusively demonstrate that it's the best open source database in the world and we, as a group, we'd need to conduct ourselves differently than if our goal is just to increase awareness of PostgreSQL. Lucas Alexander
Gavin Sherry wrote: > On Sun, 8 Dec 2002, Josh Berkus wrote: > > >>Lucas, Greg, Gavin, >> >> >>>These are definitely important, but we cannot underestimate the >>>importance >>>of starting to establish contact with the "outside" world. Once a >>>consensus >>>is reached on the mission statement and goals for the group, we need >>>to >>>start an unrelenting PR campaign. >> >>All aspects of marketing are important. I happen to like PR, and I do >>think that it is currently one of our weakest areas. Here's my >>suggestions on assignments: >> >>Gavin: Preparing the Mission Statement, and Points of Attack for >>PostgreSQL advocacy as a formal doc. Please do this on Guides so that >>we can be collaborative. Let's put this on the Advocacy site's new equivalent instead. :) http://advocacy.postgresql.org/documents/ :-) Regards and best wishes, Justin Clift > URL to 'Guides'? > > Lucas also offered to co-ordinate the media kit. > > Gavin > > > ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- > TIP 2: you can get off all lists at once with the unregister command > (send "unregister YourEmailAddressHere" to majordomo@postgresql.org) -- "My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there." - Indira Gandhi