[Evangelism] Re: [Attendees - PloneConf 2007] Plone Conference 2007: TV Report on YouTube!

[Plone Cenference 2007 - Press Office]

Nate Aune ha scritto:
> Hi Marco,
>
>   
>>  I appreciated the news about Plone.tv: thanks.
>>  I think this is a great way for newbies to getting in touch with Plone and
>> its people for the first time, and to share knowledge and know-how across
>> the community.
>>  Finally I will be able to listen to the missed talks!  ;)
>>     
>
> Yes, we will be adding a bunch more over the weekend.
>
>   
>>  To be honest, I do not have any supporting sponsor so fear I cannot spread
>> more the voice of Plone within Italy with my own efforts only, since now I
>> must focus on RelationRoutes' business development. I have just started-up
>> my consultancy and it is really an high-demanding job trying to advertise
>> open source initiatives to the Italian mainstream media, probably because of
>> the lack of a specific culture among journalists and the pressure of
>> commercial software companies.
>>     
>
> What would help you to market Plone to the Italian market?  What are
> the competitors that you are up against?
>
>   
Well, Nate, in Italy... and probably elsewhere?  ;-)
In my humble opinion: time, money and joint efforts.

Plone has perceived as a small community, focused on *one of the many*
open source CMS on the Internet.

Most of the Italian mainstream media heard about Plone for the first
time in Naples.
Even the editor in chef of the most important wide-circulation trade
magazine in Italy declined to publish a report from the Conference in
Naples, saying they are *niche news*... [On the other hand, I have good
news: soon, hopefully, I will be able to share several press cuttings
from the Plone Conference 2007, published in Italy.]

The most important "competitor of Plone" in Italy, as a free software
CMS, is probably Joomla! But this is true for end-users and small
businesses, because it is based on the renowned Php and it has colourful
and low-cost graphic layouts. Zope and Plone are powerful but relatively
hard to manage (due to neglected Python) and usually more expensive to
host.

Big companies have big budgets and they are often addressed by
speculative advisers to expensive proprietary solutions.
Several public bodies do the same due to cultural constraints: they do
not know how to handle an open source project and IT employees do not
want any responsibility by endorsing such a solution.

The most important "competitors of Plone in the media" are the majors of
commercial software, with a strong advertising-driven brand,
muscular-strength press offices with gorgeous spending power but, most
of all:

    * unique and perceptible marketing mind,
    * renowned and available spokespersons,
    * perceived corporate brand,
    * official figures.

Being a community, Plone has a different approach to the product and to
its marketing, of course.
We know that only a few CMS worldwide have the same high-level quality
as a project and as a code.
Unparalleled features and, most of all, a community which is live,
present and helpful.
But these are not easy to advertise concepts at first sight!

Now I think it is necessary to join the spreading efforts of each
company and developer involved in a Zope-Plone national community to
support, even economically, a middle-term action plan, made of
on-the-field evangelism and continuous communication. Pointing out the
targets and, after all, "acting as a company" to disrupt the barrier of
unknown and let us advertise, then, the most sophisticated *reasons of
Plone*.

Regards,
Marco

PS
You cc my past, private, message to Evangelism...
This overawed me.  :-)

> Nate
>   
>
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