@kenmcd: Thanks for taking on this task!

From what you have written, I'm very much convinced, that you are the right person to take control of this.


I'm quite bussy with other XOOPS related stuff, but would like to help where possible. You can count on my input!

Let us know, how you want to organize the team. Would a mailing list be appropriate at first? And how should all those ideas that have been uttered in this thread be organized? As I see it, these are all rather scattered through the thread, which is difficult to comprehend. Further, it is discouraging to possible contributors, as they have to wade through a lot of topic. What about a wiki, to which only team members have access?


Regards
JasonMR

As an IT manager in a corporate environement I would be more than willing to offer my suggestions and time to help clarify the goals and marketing of XOOPS as a corporate CMS.

I chose XOOPS as our corporate portal for a number of reasons but the biggest one being simplicity and ease of use. It has proven me right and I am very happy with it.

Having said that, I can think of a couple of items that would make it incredibly attractive to corporate users.

1. Active Directory Integration - There have been a number of posts on this and it is possible to do but it needs to be easy and possible "right out of the box".

2. DMS - A good implementation of a Document Management System is a must and would be very helpful...I know that there is a DMS module availablte and getting better all the time.

3. Permissions - Permissions are workable but not great. Why not build on this and at least promote it's capabilities to a further extent.

I really think Kencmd is on the right track. I would be happy to serve on an advisory board or something of the sort to help gain further acceptance of XOOPS in the corporate world.

Seth_sd

While I am wary of creating an us-vs-them competitive focus, I agree that more public awareness would be a good thing. It would draw in more users AND more developers. There are a lot of little things that could be done better that would add up to a huge positive boost.

Let's become more aggressive in making sure that people know about Xoops. CMS review/comparison sites are a good place to focus more energy. Many people that are researching options visit those sites. We need to make sure the data is current. Learn from their critiques and make appropriate changes as necessary. Let them know you value their feedback.

Let's become more aggressive within the open source community. Contact SuSE, Mandrake, Red Hat, etc and find out what it takes to be part of their distribution. Make sure XOOPS works out-of-the-box with them. If there are existing programs that would be a good fit as a XOOPS module, let's try to work with their developers to make inclusion seamless.

Let's become more aggressive within the Windows community. It forms the majority of the desktop market. Define terminology rather than force the user to search out definitions -- gzip, tar, chmod, graphic libraries, etc. What would be involved in creating and maintaining a Xoops-php-apache-mySQL all-in-one installation package for home users?

Let's become more end-user-friendly. Add a section to the Admin menu with links to the XOOPS FAQ, the XOOPS main page, and a single help forum. Add a document to the distribution that is accessible from the Admin menu that outlines the major steps of XOOPS maintenance -- initial install, module install, module update, module uninstall, XOOPS update, template modification, database backup, database restore. Add a link to common problems, their solutions, and what to do to troubleshoot.

Let's focus PR on what XOOPS does well. Easy to install and maintain, excellent support via forums and FAQs, active development, security focus, strong community following, and a strong long-term vision are some of the things that come right to mind.

Let's focus development on what XOOPS could do better. This is off-topic for this focused thread but very much a part of the ongoing success of Xoops. Security, new features, compliance with standards, documentation, strong ties to core functionality are all things the XOOPS community needs to keep working on.

Let's create an image for Xoops. This includes logo, themes, slogans, buzzwords, etc. We don't search the web, we Google it. What would Xoopsing the web involve? Why would you want to do it?

This thread is probably going in a really good direction and I'm happy for that. I don't want to disuade from that direction.

I am mainly responding to Herkos comments here
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In that spirit, I'd like to see more articles like this one. I think a lot of other folks would too. Specifically, I'm certain there's a lot of folks who have been creating web sites for businesses (recently I created one for a veterinary clinic). What modules do those sites use? How have they been adapted for use in that context? While I am sometimes interested in the YAXS news category, generally I move right on past it. But what if there weere real articles that spoke to specific issues? I'd like to propose three kinds of topics:

Integration with specific kinds of sites (as in the church/religion article ref'd above) - thus a church might focus on use of a members module, calendar modules, etc. The veterinary clinic I made a site for uses the liaise module to creation of patient data sheets so people don't have to spend fifteen minutes filling them out when they get to the office. These kinds of things. I think this is important because it will serve as concrete evidence to businesses that XOOPS is serious about earning their business and that we are trying to make XOOPS work for them.

Specific issues related to CMS's like security, relationship to open source, licensing, etc. In other words, not just information about us, xoops, but the world around us. An example might be the importance of quality leadership in open source development - leading folks toward working together instead of devouring each other in rhetoric and posturing. Another might be the need for more backs to carry the load.

Xoops trends and directions - I really enjoyed reading the information from xoopsdem. When folks are treating each other fairly, I enjoy seeing the trends of discussion about various modules and the different approaches they take - even about the issues surrounding funded development (as in AMS). I think the trends gives us all a better feel of where XOOPS is headed as noted earlier in this thread.

I think a separate topic that addressed these kinds of issues and offered deeper more meaningful articles would be a real asset.

some long reading but all good reading :)

a PR team is a great idea if not a necessity, and i think a News team would be a good idea too in conjunction with.

i've got a few ideas written down in my notebook regarding 'xoops news and the wox newsletters' after talking with herko a while ago.. altho due to being rather busy both online & offline lately I haven't had much time to actually do all that much on the presentation side and content..

i'll get my suggestions typed up with a brief newsletter and email them to you Herko this coming week as it's been a few months now since we discussed it and we really oughta get a WOX newsletter out soon.. either that or i'll msg u on msn when i got it sorted..

First, my English is not very good.

Second, I believe that the best marketing is to use XOOPS for professional solutions.

I am not a coder, neither a designer web, I am a doctor that tries to adapt XOOPS to a very concrete situation: the management of the information of a hospital department to all its users and dependent centers (more of 40 center).

It is necessary, as says chappi, to bring to light professional concrete experiences so that XOOPS takeoff with force. By my part, when my project be reality, I promise to share it with all.

Thanks

Manel

Ken: thanks for taking up this challenge I'll post a more detailed reply to your points soon.

m0nty: I agree, and I definately like the church-reference in this. A news team would really help in that respect.

Gotta love this community! So much enegery I'm loving it!

Herko

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Now *that* would be a good idea - together with something for XOOPS users to submit their new sites, modules and so forth each issue - one ideal for liase I think :)

As a fanzine editor for many many many years, I'd love to help out on that somehow

This is going to be a long post, so hang on...

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Thanks (again) for taking up this challenge, even with your concerns. I think you're right in saying that what we're asking is more then just a PR plan. Since the XOOPS project (and the Foundation) is currently does not have any structural coordination of any communications and marketing (public relations) activity, that is one of the first things we need to address. And if we're going to do this now, I think we should do it right from the start. It will be an ongiong job indeed, but by planning ahead (using a communications roadmap), this will be easier. And yes, it will definately require a team of people. But that's what this is all about: how to work together to promote XOOPS The is no XOOPS Foundation staff, everyone puts in their own free time. That makes it more difficult to manage, but all the more important to plan ahead.

Quote:Add Luciano and skara then, they both contacted me about joining this team.
Quote:I agree there. If you can put some questions to the Board, we will discuss it asap.

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These are the questions I refer to. I'll discuss these with the Board and get back to you on this assap.


Marketing Communications
This is an all encompassing term which includes PR, collateral materials, branding, etc.
Channels.

PR I discussed above.

Collateral materials include brochures, white papers, promotional materials, etc.
These are done after the messaging is clearly defined.
They are the physical communication and reinforcement of the messages.

Branding is a more esoteric process which includes messaging, repetition, and style guides.
Branding is a long-term process to imprint a message.
Q. What is the first thing you think of when I say Volvo?
A. Safety.
That's branding.
Muddled messaging, lack of cohesive strategy, inconsistent styles - all hurt branding.
Q. What is the first thing people think of when I say XOOPS?
A. ??

If nothing comes to mind for someone, they have not been branded for XOOPS.
What is the answer you want?

Style guides - can you recognize all XOOPS materials as XOOPS instantly?
Upside down on a desk, web site, coffee mug?
Search Google for "styleguide.pdf" - lots of corporate style guides.

All of the channels communicating the same messages is very powerful.
[/quote]
Great the answers to these questions make up the roadmap.

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Not much. I have created a new version of the logo (will post that here soon), have been thinking long and hard about a corprate theme for xoops.org, and have been discussing a mascot with the artist (a friend of Hervet's -very good!). I have a lot of ideas about this, but don't have the time or the expertise to make them real.
Why Now? because this issue has been raised from the community, because the competition is getting ahead, and because we're starting with the new organisation and new version development. all these form a focal point to now is the time to move.

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These need to be discussed. I see this as a xoops.org project, thus with some Foundation Board involvement, at the very least at the strategic level. The day-to-day mechanics are being decided on at the moment, but it'll be an open and transparant process, probably based on the Apache Software Foundation's processes.

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Agreed. If we can make a plan we can assign tasks topeople to make it managable for the team. Start by making the strategy, then implement in small steps.

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Agreed. The whole decision making process should be geared towards giving the experts the final say, but everyone can contribute and submit ideas and proposals.

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I agree, and I also have an explanation. XOOPS was built by coders, not by designers. Mambo was built by designers, not by coders. That's why XOOPS looks better on the inside, and Mambo looks better on the outside. It also shows the focus: Mambo has an outward focus (it's system users), XOOPS an inward focus (it's community). I think this explains a lot, and also gives some direction on where we want to go. Keep what we have, and build on top of it.

What we have is huge and powerful. Do not underestimate that. The community is friendly, lively and big (especially compared to Mambo's community, XOOPS' is much more accessible and helpful). The system is flexible, stable, secure and most importantly, extensible. Mambo is to some extent (I built and manage a couple of mambo sites), but not as flexible and extensible as XOOPS is. Mambo is more usable, more standards compliant, but less easy to implement.

I think we can define our goals when we realise what we have got. Michael (studioC) has shown time and time again that the only real limitation on professional XOOPS sites is your own imagination. Others like Draven have shown this too. Lets make that better known, and inspire people to use XOOPS to the max, instead of thinking of ways to make the system better. Other people deal with that

Herko

M0nty, can you start a new thread about a XOOPS News Team that informs the XOOPSers?

David, your input would be very much appreciated here

Herko
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