[Zope] Zope Marketing (was Zope needs this (and Dynamo has it) )

Jerry Spicklemire jerry@spicklemire.com
Wed, 08 Mar 2000 09:50:43 -0500


John Goerzen wrote :

>OK, but see you're trying to make Linux something it is not.  Linux is
>not about marketing.

In my ongoing efforts to gain a bit of recognition for the capacity of
Zope, Python,  and all things Open Source, it looks to me as if Marketing
Matters, regardless of my wishes. Even if, to me, the validity of Zope /
Python is "obvious", it is not so clear to others, and especially others
who make decisions about tool selection. 

At some point, if Zope / Python is to find a place in the larger world,
these folks must be convinced. There may be a more palatable word, call it
"education", "concsiousness raising", or some other more trendy phrase.
Still, you can get the gist from the words, "selling", "marketing", or even
"hype".

Check out some of the articles by the folks at Bynari Associates (any
search engine will get you there). You can see the need for marketing of
Linux and Open Source tools in their daily business. In fact, the articles
themselves are a form of marketing, gaining name recognition for Bynari
(see, it works!) in the Open Source community, while sharing the benefit of
their "real world" experiences of implementing "Linux" for paying clients. 

In short, the line between the coder and the customer relationship doesn't
look quite so distinct from here.

Later,
Jerry S.