From: Robert Treat <xzilla@users.sourceforge.net>
To: pgsql-advocacy@postgresql.org
Subject: Re: Toward A Positive Marketing Approach.
Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 19:37:35 -0400
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Cc: Michael Dean <mdean@sourceview.com>
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On Thursday 18 May 2006 16:32, Michael Dean wrote:
<snip>
> 3. Reward existing FOSS projects that make sensible provision to
> accomodate postgresql in preference to other more "commercial" db's.
> Free links, mention in newsletter, listing on websites, whatever it
> takes to start pulling other open source communities behind postgresql.
> A good example is bitweaver.org, a great integration project, very
> professional, helpful to small businesses, but needs some promotional help.
>
> 4. Stop being too cheap.  Money Talks!  Offer to PAY premiums to major
> OSS aps who don't do pg, or don't do it well enough.  Like Compierre,
> like Drupal.  Ask me if i would contribute $1000 to pg.org if the money
> (guaranteed) went to get MY chosen favorite programs totally in
> postgresql, even if forks were necessary?  How many others DON'T
> contribute because they fail to see a coherent, systematic program of
> promotion, just more of the same, free linuxworld booths and bof's year
> after year, no affinity to the commercial realities out there.
<snip>
> I would be willing to bet that a bounty of just $50 would be enough to
> influence major and minor FOSS projects to give pg major support.
>

You would be wrong.  Several OSS projects have been approached about offering 
postgresql support, and while they haven't been offered $50, they have been 
offered the actual code they would need to implement postgresql support and 
have turned it down. 

As you said, you're new, but I have been promoting the practice of "advocacy 
development" for some time now, and have personally been involved both 
publicly and privately in attempting to bring postgresql support (either 
newly or in a more sustained/complete fasion) to a number of different 
packages including things like php-nuke, phpbb, drupal, s9y, mediawiki, 
ajaxmytop, and others, and there have been little to no financial support for  
those efforts (either for me or other people) so far. 

I won't argue that some of your points are valid, and if you would like to 
help with our marketing efforts there are certainly some ways you could help, 
so I hope you stick around, but what I would really like to see in your next 
email is a list of items you would like to work on personally to help our 
marketing efforts.  Need an example? How about writing some case studies? 
Targeting C-level execs and disussing ROI and TCO... we could use that. 
Remember, ask not what PostgreSQL can do for you, ask what you can do for 
PostgreSQL :-)  

-- 
Robert Treat
Build A Brighter Lamp :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL