[ubuntu-us-ma] Too Little Time, Too Much To Do, RE: Website Stuff

[Ralph deGennaro]

Hi Liz (and everyone),

I'm not sure if anyone has had any conversations off the list, but there
could be a lot to do, depending on what the group wants to accomplish.  So a
bit of "transition" efforts before I dive back into the fray (and try to get
to sleep before midnight for once).  And hopefully people will discuss stuff
here or in IRC or at SETC or wherever....

I kinda saw two stages and wanted to bring it to the group before doing a
lot of detailed edits.  I'm sad I cant' spend too much time leading or
participating much.

So the first stage was a to lead a discussion about the content of the
website. Ways to enhance it via helping our vision, cohesiveness and
relevance.  That bit might be a bit misunderstood, read below and I hope to
explain.  When a client tells me "I want a website", I usually respond with
"But why?".  With a smile and joking tone of course.  But the main point is
to find out what "need" they want to fulfill and what message(s) they are
trying to communicate.  And this involves a discussion of concrete things
(services, products, topics of messages, etc.) they want to push and to what
specific audience they want to push it too.

And for us that is equally valid; and it sorta works a bit in reverse as
well.  Both points seem to boil down to two questions (to me at least, I may
be too too distracted and I only play a marketing person on TV).  Basically:
What about Ubuntu are we trying to "sell" (what's cool/good)?  And, what
about Ubuntu do people come to us looking for?  Sorry to put Felicia on the
spot, but she's already come to us as an example of the later.  What's
already done on the website does the former a bit.  I think it would be good
to list out ideas for both though.

So, as Steve asked once last year, what does the community see as their
role?  Who do we want to draw to the website?  Why and what do those people
want to hear?  And the flipside:  What would people expect of us when findng
us?  What do we have (or can create) that they might want?  Where do we
redirect them to and in what way if we don't have it?

The website has a good start at this, but I think answering these questions
first, as a group, helps bring vision and cohesiveness to the group.
Perhaps put it on the wiki (perhaps the instructions to setup the site as
well?).  It might be a big list, but we don't have to do it all at once.
Equally important, it also make it clearer what is relevant to say to the
public (I hope everyone see what I mean by relevance).  After that, its
makes it easier to organize both in who does "what" and in how "what" is
presented (cohesive message(s)).  Which is essentially stage 2.

So I hope this helps, and please, everyone chime in, and if things do go I
hope someone will take notes along the way....

Best,
Rio




On Sun, Apr 5, 2009 at 11:45 PM, Elizabeth DeMarco <lizzie at lizzie.com>wrote:

> Wow, I shudder to think of being away from a keyboard.
>
> There's plenty to do, Algot, and I'm sure I'll need your help on your
> return.
>
> Liz
>
>
> Quoting Algot Runeman <algot.runeman at verizon.net>:
>
> >       I'll immediately fall behind any schedule that gets set. I am
> > off to Pennsylvania for a week. I will not meet with William Penn, but
> > will be otherwise fully occupied and away from a computer keyboard.
> >
> > I'll check back in when I return. With luck, Liz will have everything
> > done, and I'll be able to bask in the reflected adulation heaped upon
> > her by all.
> > --Algot
> >
> > Martin Owens wrote:
> >
> >   Hey Liz and AlgotFirstly I want to thank Rio, he picked up the
> > website when no one else would. And got me to fix things that I should
> > have months ago. Hope to see you soon Rio, after all your work.On Sun,
> > 2009-04-05 at 12:47 -0400, Elizabeth DeMarco wrote:
> >
> >> Sure, I can help too. (Let's take advantage of the fact that I'm
> >> unemployed right now, ad put the time to good use!)
> >
> >> Quoting Algot Runeman
> > href=\"mailto:algot.runeman at verizon.net\"><algot.runeman at verizon.net>:
> >>
> >>
> >>   Though my skills are mundane, I have done several years of Web
> >> site work and would be happy to contribute any way I can.
> >
> >    This is great, ok so first I need to explain the process of how to
> > help out.I've posted a special blog entry today for those who want to
> > update the website, it's also a useful guide to see the development
> > workflow for those who aren't sure how we program things in the
> > Ubuntu/FOSS
> > world:
> http://doctormo.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/how-to-update-a-launchpad-hosted-website/Hope
> > this helps. Next once you've got things set up, we can talk a bit
> > about what needs to be done and what could be improved. The best place
> > is on IRC, but I'm happy to keep things on the mailing list.Best
> > Regards, Martin Owens
> >
> >   -- ------------------------- Algot Runeman 47 Walnut Street, Natick
> > MA 01760 508-655-8399 algot.runeman at verizon.net Web Site:
> > http://www.runeman.org Open Source Blog: http://mosssig.wordpress.com
> >
>
>
>
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