I happened to be browsing and stumbled across this:
http://www.linux-magazine.com/Online/Blogs/Off-the-Beat-Bruce-Byfield-s-Blog...
In it, the journalist shows how the press kit of openSUSE is an example for all to follow.
Here is a ling to said press kit:
https://github.com/openSUSE/Press-Kit/zipball/12.3
Note that it is 37 MB.
Since the project was looking for testimonials, I post this so it might generate some new ideas.
Shalom
Michael Henry wrote:
Since the project was looking for testimonials, I post this so it might generate some new ideas.
Maybe this was already mentioned. But after the 3.5.13 release Aaron Seigo, KDE developer, offered to go over release announcement material for future announcements.
Here is his original mail: http://trinity-devel.pearsoncomputing.net/?0::3295
I would suggest taking advantage of this, as it would also strengthen the relationship with the original KDE developers in general.
Best regards, Julius
On 1/6/14, Julius Schwartzenberg julius.schwartzenberg@gmail.com wrote:
Michael Henry wrote:
Since the project was looking for testimonials, I post this so it might generate some new ideas.
Maybe this was already mentioned. But after the 3.5.13 release Aaron Seigo, KDE developer, offered to go over release announcement material for future announcements.
<SNIP> I would suggest taking advantage of this, as it would also strengthen the relationship with the original KDE developers in general.
Absolutely. I was pointing to the link on what the press (or that particular Linux journalist) thought was great about a good release (a distro but the same can apply).
Points to be taken:
* Give them a week before the release date * A press release kit containing * Screenshots * Feature lists * Videos * Updated web links * Announcements and testimonials * No humor (this is business) * Contact info
Just points to consider from the article. I think this can go for any software (Windows and Mac included). Since I am not a developer and don't have to do releases, I never thought about what the journalist was saying.
After the press kit gets together, then have Aaron and other outside to "beta" it for a week or so. See if it is going to be up to snuff. After the "beta", send email's to every one that has anything to do with Linux and I mean everyone that you can think off, including PC World, PC Magazine, Infoworld (about every computer magazine).
Just some ideas...
Shalom
On 01/06/2014 01:38 AM, Michael Henry wrote:
I happened to be browsing and stumbled across this:
http://www.linux-magazine.com/Online/Blogs/Off-the-Beat-Bruce-Byfield-s-Blog...
In it, the journalist shows how the press kit of openSUSE is an example for all to follow.
Here is a ling to said press kit:
https://github.com/openSUSE/Press-Kit/zipball/12.3
Note that it is 37 MB.
Since the project was looking for testimonials, I post this so it might generate some new ideas.
Shalom
I've never been a fan of openSuSE Marketing, however Andreas works very hard at it. What makes marketing of opensuse different from trinity is that opensuse work on a defined release schedule and has always done a number of things to beat the drum about their release number next. However, most is entirely irrelevant to a project like trinity. One thing that does work for them and may work here is their countdown to release that drums up interest in an upcoming release. I see that as being 'tenuously' relevant to tde, but just so.
Where people may actively look for a new distribution or a 'first time' distribution to try, making it sensible to market a distribution, far fewer go out 'looking' for a new desktop (even if it is the greatest thing since sliced bread....)
I see "marketing" for tde being keeping good working relationships with the distributions that package and contribute to the tde project and working to build new relationships with those that currently don't. I see marketing as making sure that we do not have 5 fragments of tde being developed separately at the different distros that cause splits or forks of the code and making sure that patches and updates flow both ways between the various shops (i.e. tde to robert and ilya at suse and vice versa)
I see marketing for tde as giving some love and attention to the wiki to insure that it is a welcoming and informative place for new users and distros to check out, learn from and get involved. There were good etherpad efforts in the past that probably still contain a wealth of information that has not made its way into the wiki. I know we all have nothing but spare time, so the wiki gets its love as time permits (though candidly, I do think it could use a bit, and I've always pointed to the Archlinux wiki as a model of how to do a distro with a code base integrated with it)
When is the next tde meeting scheduled? We could put marketing/wiki on the agenda and at least firm-up a direction to take in making whatever improvements make sense. (hell, I might even get my freenode nick to register correctly for once...) Keep the list posted on the schedule.
To quote from Bruce Byfield, the author of the Linux Journal link I provided:
"Over the years, I've written and talked several times about how free software projects should approach journalists. "
That is the first sentence of the article. Whether it is openSUSE or Debian, Ubuntu, or Fedora, Red Hat or Gnome is irrelevant. The whole article is about how a PR person should talk to journalists, what openSUSE did right and how other projects can follow suit. It isn't a list of things to do or confined just to openSUSE, it's about what projects need to do to get into magazines, blogs, etc. to get projects to cover them.
The fact is as much as I love TDE, the PR and the blogs are usually negative to TDE (not always), more along the point if you don't like KDE4 use TDE to relive the experience. The reviews are not "Here's what TDE is" or "Here's how it can help you do your job today (not yesterday, not 5 years ago...today)."
I would love for the next blog or article I read to not compare TDE to KDE4. Compare TDE to LXDE, XFCE, or Gnome, for a change. Better yet no comparisons at all. Just what TDE can do for me to use my computer.
I have been on the outskirts of TDE since Hardy 8.04 came out. I used the Kubuntu remixes. My wish is that TDE would completely outgrow any and all references to KDE. KDE3.5 is dead. Long live TDE.
Shalom
On 01/07/2014 05:34 AM, Michael Henry wrote:
The fact is as much as I love TDE, the PR and the blogs are usually negative to TDE (not always), more along the point if you don't like KDE4 use TDE to relive the experience. The reviews are not "Here's what TDE is" or "Here's how it can help you do your job today (not yesterday, not 5 years ago...today)."
I share the enthusiasm. I've devoted a good part of the right-side of my homepage to tde:
<quote> TDE 14.0.0 & TDE 3.5.13-SRU
The Trinity Desktop Environment (TDE) is a fork of the last KDE-3 desktop. It is by far the most capable and efficient Linux desktop available.
While the KDE project went off chasing eye-candy with the next release of KDE4, the Trinity project captured the raw efficiency, stability and speed of KDE3 and then improved upon it.
Trinity Desktop Home (http://www.trinitydesktop.org/) TDE Mailing Lists (http://www.trinitydesktop.org/mailinglist.php)
</quote>
Michael, let me ask it this way:
"What parts of the Linux Journal article do you think trinity could take advantage of and that would benefit the desktop the best?"
On 1/7/14, David C. Rankin drankinatty@suddenlinkmail.com wrote:
On 01/07/2014 05:34 AM, Michael Henry wrote:
Michael, let me ask it this way:
"What parts of the Linux Journal article do you think trinity could take advantage of and that would benefit the desktop the best?"
David
A few things I think. The main one is communication with the press. We stroke their ego's and they will be nicer to us (the very least is we don't make the press irritated).
To quote from the article:
"Better yet, the feature list was not just a readme file or half a page of generalities. It turned out to be a 29 page PDF file. Like some of the more ambitious features lists that projects post, it included that might interest developers and sysadmins. However, it also included videos and a breakdown of new features by application -- neither of which I've ever seen before in a feature list."
I'm not saying our README has to be 29 pages. Just complete and thorough.
The next quote:
"The screen shots are especially welcome, since taking my own either interrupts the flow of my thoughts or is a nuisance when I'm finished proofreading and chafing to send off the finished article."
Plenty of screen shots. Especially of LibreOffice and the TDE dialogs (I think that will be cool from a tech point of view). Leave out some of the older programs (KOffice).
I think the whole point of the article is summed up:
"Short of suggesting an opening paragraph or conclusion, Poortvliet did everything in his power to make the process of reviewing as painless as possible for me. In particular, by providing all this preliminary matter, he saved me one or two hours of effort, giving me more time to test and write."
They don't have to review or even look at us. Helping the press in every way we can not only helps them, but it looks good toward the project and maybe the idea of that TDE is filled with haters will start to diminish.
Shalom
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David C. Rankin -
Julius Schwartzenberg -
Michael Henry