Date: December 13, 2012 10:43:41 PM PST Subject: TWikiMarketingMeeting2012x12x14.txt [9:01pm] PeterThoeny: hi vicki [9:01pm]  HideyoImazu joined the chat room. [9:02pm]  DavidAllen joined the chat room. [9:02pm] DavidAllen: Hi, welcome everybody. [9:02pm] PeterThoeny: hi DavidAllen, hi HideyoImazu-san [9:02pm] VickiBrown: hello [9:02pm] HideyoImazu: hi all [9:03pm] DavidAllen: Thanks for joining Peter, Vicki, and Hideyo. [9:03pm] DavidAllen: Peter, was there anything you wanted to say before starting the meeting? [9:04pm] PeterThoeny: i did some pr on twitter, fb and linkedin for this meeting, let's see if more join [9:04pm] DavidAllen: OK, sounds great. [9:04pm] PeterThoeny: just this: we had bi-weekly marketing meetings a while back [9:04pm] PeterThoeny: and now we want to restart them [9:05pm] PeterThoeny: we had uncoordinated marketing activities in the past [9:05pm] PeterThoeny: so these meetings should help bring everybody at the same page [9:05pm] PeterThoeny: so that we can drive a consistent message to our user base [9:06pm] PeterThoeny: marketing minutes page of today is at: [9:06pm] PeterThoeny: http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/TWikiMarketingMeeting2012x12x14 [9:06pm] DavidAllen: Is there someone who would like to help with notes? [9:06pm] PeterThoeny: that's all i wanted to say to get started [9:07pm] PeterThoeny: i can take notes [9:07pm] DavidAllen: Thanks, Peter.  I'd like to wait another 2 minutes to see if anyone else joins. [9:08pm] DavidAllen: It is nice to see everyone banding together to help support twiki extending the userbase. [9:09pm] PeterThoeny: yes, more users means more developers and a better product [9:10pm] DavidAllen: OK, let's get started. [9:11pm] DavidAllen: On previous release meeting, there was discussion about "Jerusalem" release, [9:11pm] DavidAllen: and incorporating TWiki App Packaging into it. [9:11pm] DavidAllen: with easy Installer for use by non-technical users. [9:12pm] PeterThoeny: yes, a big task, to be finished [9:12pm] DavidAllen: I feel this represents not only a great addition to the product, but a GREAT marketing opportunity as well [9:12pm] DavidAllen: for two reasons: [9:13pm] DavidAllen: 1. One of the key value adds of TWiki (especially over other wikis) is the ability to create ad-hoc applications [9:14pm] DavidAllen: 2. Distributing these applications (in an App Repository) makes it _easy_ to realize the full abilities of TWiki, _especially_ for non-technical users [9:14pm] PeterThoeny: yes, that is the idea [9:15pm] DavidAllen: Traditionally, there has been some challenge for non-technical users to easily benefit from installable applications, unless there was developer on staff [9:15pm] PeterThoeny: i presume we are at: [9:15pm] PeterThoeny: ---++ 1. Marketing (Re)focus Discussion [9:15pm] DavidAllen: This can GREATLY push TWiki forward not just from a capability perspective, but is [9:16pm] DavidAllen: a way to attract new users (and app developers) that hasn't been fully realized in the past. [9:16pm] DavidAllen: PeterThoeny:  yes [9:16pm] DavidAllen: and, in essence appeal to a larger market segment that hasn't been fully addressed in marketing efforts in the past [9:17pm] DavidAllen: PeterTheony:  what is required to achieve creating an App Repository / Installer in TWiki?  Is there anything holding it back? [9:18pm] PeterThoeny: spec is not fully fleshed out [9:18pm] PeterThoeny: i am working on it [9:18pm] PeterThoeny: http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/TWikiAppInstaller [9:18pm] PeterThoeny: i will focus on it in the winter break [9:19pm] PeterThoeny: the next major release is in spring [9:19pm] HideyoImazu: then it won't be a real "break" [9:19pm] DavidAllen: It looks like it is off to a very good start / foundation [9:19pm] PeterThoeny: so we have some time to flesh out the marketing [9:20pm] DavidAllen: PeterThoeny:  Should we wait for development discussion until #twiki_release meeting? [9:20pm] PeterThoeny: we can also think what kind of marketing we should do in the mean time [9:20pm] PeterThoeny: we can spend a few min on app installer [9:20pm] PeterThoeny: if you wish [9:21pm] DavidAllen: Short discussion makes sense to me, since it is very technical people in this meeting [9:21pm] PeterThoeny: i split it up in needs for user, site admins and app developers [9:23pm] PeterThoeny: please glance over the topic [9:23pm] PeterThoeny: any initial feedback on the "Description and Documentation" section? [9:24pm] HideyoImazu: Will a twiki app installed on a web or a site? [9:24pm] VickiBrown: I might push back on storing local apps in the same web as installed apps [9:24pm] PeterThoeny: on a site it will be installed typically on a web of choice [9:25pm] PeterThoeny: this is under control of the app developer who packages the app [9:25pm] VickiBrown: I'm a fan of the *nix way of separating "distr" from "local" [9:25pm] PeterThoeny: an app could occupy a fixed web, such as Forum web, or it could ask the user which web to install it into [9:25pm] VickiBrown: e.g. the was the TWiki web is now considered dist and not to be played with [9:26pm] PeterThoeny: yes, same idea with TWikiApps web, this is the distro web, not to be touched [9:27pm] DavidAllen: I am wondering if we could allow TWiki app installation with a single file (similar to a .deb or .rpm), so it could be hosted anywhere? [9:27pm] PeterThoeny: plan is to package apps as a zip [9:28pm] VickiBrown: I like zip [9:28pm] PeterThoeny: i have not planned for manual install [9:28pm] HideyoImazu: who would install an app? twiki site admin or end user? [9:28pm] VickiBrown: so, just like installing an extension [9:28pm] PeterThoeny: basically, create and package an app in the TWikiApps web for local use, [9:29pm] PeterThoeny: or for those who want to publish to the world for packaging and uploading to twiki.org repository (similar to twiki build script, but with gui) [9:29pm] PeterThoeny: idea is that end users can install apps on their own [9:29pm] PeterThoeny: into webs they have write access to [9:30pm] HideyoImazu: a twiki app consists only of twiki topics/web? or can it include plug-ins? [9:30pm] PeterThoeny: the site admin can control if users can browse twiki.org repository directly (uncontrolled), or browse only local directory (set under control of site admin) [9:30pm] DavidAllen: I like that level of user-friendliness.  I am wondering about managing plug-in dependencies? [9:31pm] PeterThoeny: twiki apps are only topics and attachments [9:31pm] PeterThoeny: but they might have dependencies on plugins [9:31pm] PeterThoeny: say version 2012-12-12 of FooBarPlugin [9:31pm] PeterThoeny: if that is the case, the user gets a message that the dependency needs to be resolved with the site admin first [9:32pm] PeterThoeny: twiki apps can also have a dependency on other apps (which might be just components of apps) [9:32pm] PeterThoeny: ideally the app dependency should be resolved automagically [9:33pm] HideyoImazu: you mean dependent plug-ins to be installed automatically? [9:33pm] VickiBrown: I'm sure you expect to leverage the installaer used by extensions [9:33pm] DavidAllen: yes  and Plug-In Perl dependencies as well? [9:33pm] PeterThoeny: no, not plugins, because they are out of control of users [9:34pm] VickiBrown: HideyoImazu:  End users would not be allowed to install extensions or Perl modules [9:34pm] PeterThoeny: but dependency on another twiki _app_ should be resolved automatically [9:34pm] PeterThoeny: example: [9:34pm] PeterThoeny: ProjectManagementApp has dependency on: [9:34pm] PeterThoeny: - ForumApp [9:35pm] PeterThoeny: - SpreadSheetPlugin version 2012-10-10 [9:35pm] PeterThoeny: when a user installed the pm app into the Eng web, [9:35pm] PeterThoeny: - the ForumApp is installed automatically [9:36pm] PeterThoeny: - the user gets a big yellow message to ask the site admin to install the spreadsheetplugin version 2012-10-10 or later [9:36pm] PeterThoeny: (in case the plugin is out of date) [9:36pm] PeterThoeny: does that make sense? [9:36pm] VickiBrown: y [9:37pm] PeterThoeny: any feedback? change? improvements? [9:37pm] DavidAllen: yes, makes sense.  WRT Plugins / Perl dependencies, that will remain an Admin-only install? [9:37pm] PeterThoeny: yes [9:37pm] VickiBrown: (good) [9:37pm] PeterThoeny: because only admins can install plugins [9:37pm] HideyoImazu: it makes sense. [9:37pm] VickiBrown: speaking from experience, that's a requirement [9:37pm] DavidAllen: Still, this removes A LOT of barrier for end users, a Good Thing (TM) [9:38pm] PeterThoeny: yes, think of the twiki app installer like the app store on the iphone [9:38pm] DavidAllen: I always have, Peter [9:39pm] PeterThoeny: the devil is in the detail [9:39pm] VickiBrown: I'm not sure that's the best analogy [9:39pm] VickiBrown: [9:39pm] PeterThoeny: the installer needs to log app instances [9:39pm] DavidAllen: Do we need to charge a 30% fee on all Apps, even from Microsoft? [9:39pm] PeterThoeny: with iphone a single app is installed exactly one time [9:40pm] PeterThoeny: with twiki app installer, the same app might be installed multiple times by different users, or even by the same user [9:40pm] PeterThoeny: idea is to have a free repository first [9:40pm] VickiBrown: iPhone only has one "web" (directory) [9:40pm] PeterThoeny: then an app store where isvs can upload non-free packages [9:41pm]  Ramnath joined the chat room. [9:41pm] PeterThoeny: hi Ramnath, welcome to the marketing meeting [9:41pm] Ramnath: Good morning everyone! [9:41pm] DavidAllen: Welcome, Ramnath.  Good morning [9:41pm] Ramnath: Hello Peter! Sorry I am late.. [9:41pm] PeterThoeny: since we have new folks, could please everybody give a one liner intro? [9:42pm] VickiBrown: Vicki: former company-wide TWiki expert for Yahoo! [9:42pm] PeterThoeny: Ramnath:  we currently talk about app installer, [9:42pm] PeterThoeny: http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/TWikiAppInstaller [9:42pm] VickiBrown: my position was eliminated last Nov [9:42pm] HideyoImazu: I'm taking care of TWiki in Morgan Stanley having 7000+ webs (including subwebs) [9:42pm] VickiBrown: ^&$*(@_ [9:42pm] DavidAllen: I am DavidAllen, first employee hired at TWIKI.NET (now TWiki, Inc.) Product Management [9:42pm] PeterThoeny: marketing minutes page: twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/TWikiMarketingMeeting2012x12x14 [9:42pm] VickiBrown: HideyoImazu:  Cool! [9:42pm] PeterThoeny: http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/TWikiMarketingMeeting2012x12x14 [9:43pm] Ramnath: ok.. [9:43pm] Ramnath: one question.. [9:43pm] PeterThoeny: i tinkered with the idea of a knowledge base wiki for customer support, which became twiki [9:44pm] VickiBrown: PeterThoeny:  I did not know that! [9:44pm] Ramnath: is this appinstaller similar to something like the one offered by wordpress? one click installation? [9:45pm] PeterThoeny: VickiBrown:  see http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Main/TWikiSuccessStoryOfTakeFive [9:45pm] PeterThoeny: Ramnath:  yes, similar [9:45pm] PeterThoeny: Ramnath:  please intro yourself too [9:45pm] Ramnath: ok thanks [9:45pm] Ramnath: yup sure... [9:47pm] DavidAllen: It feels like we have spent more than a little time on TWikiAppInstaller topic now   I feel like we should have some time for the other topics, too. [9:47pm] PeterThoeny: agreed [9:47pm] PeterThoeny: so if you have feedback on app installer please add to topic [9:48pm] Ramnath: I was the Project Manager of 123Greetings.com and implimented TWiki in 2006. Twiki is used extensively for web documentation. Currently I run a small ITES unit called Infidigits Web Solutions [9:48pm] DavidAllen: The App Repository is a BIG DEAL.  It would be a major press release, and allow for a new way for users / developers (esp App Developers) to be included / credited in TWiki that has not be available before [9:48pm] DavidAllen: Thanks for intro, Ramnath [9:49pm] Ramnath: my pleasure, David [9:49pm] DavidAllen: I am thinking in my mind that when a beta of TWikiAppInstaller is available, would be good time to do a pre-announce marketing [9:49pm] PeterThoeny: Ramnath:  out of curiosity, what does ITES stand for? [9:49pm] PeterThoeny: we could [9:49pm] PeterThoeny: timing is important [9:50pm] DavidAllen: to allow bring in app developers to play in the newly created ecosystem.  we are some time away from this, but would like to mark this as an important event for when this beta milestone is achieved [9:50pm] PeterThoeny: personally i prefer to announce when it can be downloaded and used [9:50pm] PeterThoeny: so a stable beta is good [9:50pm] Ramnath: ITES = information technology enabled services [9:50pm] PeterThoeny: [9:50pm] DavidAllen: PeterThoeny:  how would you feel about a pre-announcement of beta targeted towards App Developers? [9:51pm] PeterThoeny: yes, that makes a lot of sense [9:51pm] DavidAllen: So we have a pre-populated repository when the release version is ready? [9:51pm] DavidAllen: That is all I have about future press release and "pre-release" [9:52pm] DavidAllen: anyone else have anything to add before [9:52pm] DavidAllen: moving on to next topic? [9:52pm] DavidAllen: time = +52 min [9:53pm] PeterThoeny: until when do you want the meeting? [9:53pm] PeterThoeny: yes, next is good [9:53pm] DavidAllen: I am thinking to limit it to about 75 min seems reasonable [9:53pm] PeterThoeny: sounds good to me [9:54pm] DavidAllen: we still have blogging (next topic), TWiki meetups, and Open Discussion to cover [9:54pm] PeterThoeny: ok [9:56pm] DavidAllen: I am a little unsure what to comment on for blogging [9:56pm] PeterThoeny: ---++ 3. Blogging [9:56pm] DavidAllen: I feel like there can be a push for pre-announcement (when beta TWikiAppInstaller is ready), and then a BIG marketing push for next release [9:57pm] PeterThoeny: vicki sends out updates to twiki-announce with a batch of blog headlines [9:57pm] VickiBrown: (which I need to do [9:57pm] PeterThoeny: well, that depends on material [9:57pm] PeterThoeny: we are not active enough with blogging [9:57pm] PeterThoeny: that includes myself [9:58pm] PeterThoeny: this year we have 16 blogs so far [9:58pm] PeterThoeny: more active in the first half [9:59pm] PeterThoeny: it would be nice to have 2 blogs per month [9:59pm] PeterThoeny: anybody ha an idea for a blog? [10:00pm] PeterThoeny: "has" [10:00pm] DavidAllen: OK, any other input? [10:01pm] Ramnath: Well blogging is always helpful to reach a wider audience. Can we also put some effort in promoting the same? [10:01pm] Ramnath: I mean the blog. [10:01pm] PeterThoeny: you mean promote the twiki.org blog? [10:02pm] Ramnath: yup. [10:02pm] PeterThoeny: well, imho that depends on how interesting we make the blog [10:02pm] PeterThoeny: the more interesting posts, the more mopular [10:02pm] Ramnath: for example: feedburner can help users to get updates about new posts [10:02pm] PeterThoeny: "popular" [10:03pm] DavidAllen: Where would be best places to promote?  Someplace to reach target audience for TWiki -- esp organizations with no wiki or an inferior wiki? [10:03pm] PeterThoeny: we have rss and atom feeds [10:03pm]  HideyoImazu left the chat room. (Ping timeout: 245 seconds) [10:04pm] PeterThoeny: yes, that is the other important question:  where can we create buzz for twiki, for people who do not know about twiki? [10:04pm] Ramnath: ok.. but is there a way to subscribe to the feeds via email? [10:04pm]  HideyoImazu joined the chat room. [10:04pm] PeterThoeny: Ramnath:  that's the newsletter vicki sends out to twiki-announe mailing list [10:04pm] Ramnath: A Facebook page, Twitter handle can also help us to promote [10:04pm] Ramnath: ok Peter [10:04pm] PeterThoeny: good point on fb page [10:05pm] PeterThoeny: 'so far we have a fb group [10:05pm] PeterThoeny: a fb page makes sense [10:05pm] Ramnath: yup, group is limited to the users of that group [10:05pm] PeterThoeny: i tweet at @twiki almost every day [10:05pm] VickiBrown: Ramnath:  Any blog with RSS or atom can be subscribed to one-at-a-time with something like blogtrottr [10:06pm] DavidAllen: Is there some way to quickly put together a facebook page, with feeds (or similar) from other existing content / sources? [10:06pm] Ramnath: yes there are tools available [10:07pm] Ramnath: twitterfeed.com may help [10:08pm] PeterThoeny: for personal use i have my twitter account post automatically to my fb account [10:08pm] PeterThoeny: may be it is possible to do the same with fb pages? [10:08pm] PeterThoeny: that would be good: post content from @twiki into the twiki fb page [10:09pm] PeterThoeny: and also into twiki linkedin group [10:09pm] DavidAllen: PeterThoeny:  sounds like an efficient way to leverage fb [10:09pm] VickiBrown: There does seem to be a button in Twitter to post to a fb "page" [10:09pm] PeterThoeny: i don't know if possible, would be useful [10:10pm] DavidAllen: LinkedIn can no longer be used to post twitter feeds. [10:10pm] DavidAllen: Twitter changed the rules about that, so twiki doesn't feed into LinkedIn posts (I had that feature enabled before the change) [10:10pm] DavidAllen: time +70 [10:11pm] VickiBrown: DavidAllen:  in any case, there's a difference between LI "status"posts and the LI groups whtich are more for discussion [10:11pm] DavidAllen: In the interests of time, I recommend more research into this topic and resume at a later time. [10:11pm] PeterThoeny: seems to be possible: http://techtips.salon.com/send-twitter-updates-facebook-fan-wall-10059.html [10:11pm] VickiBrown: Peter - again, just look at the button on the Twitter Settings [10:12pm] PeterThoeny: https://support.twitter.com/articles/31113-how-to-use-twitter-with-facebook# [10:12pm] DavidAllen: VickiBrown:  Thanks, I hadn't thought of that.  So a twitter feed _is_ possible on LI groups, but not on personal "status" posts? [10:12pm] VickiBrown: DavidAllen:  I don;t know if it is or isn't, but I'm saying that more people see group posts [10:13pm] VickiBrown: PeterThoeny:  yes, that one [10:13pm] DavidAllen: VickiBrown:  good point. [10:13pm] VickiBrown: I never see anyone's LI "status" posts but email fro the groups I belong to shows up in my email [10:15pm] DavidAllen: OK, feels like we have a good foundation to resume this discussion on next marketing meeting... [10:15pm] DavidAllen: Thanks, all, for great ideas / input. [10:15pm] DavidAllen: WRT to TWiki Meet-ups, I am assuming that because of the holidays that these would wait until next year? [10:16pm] PeterThoeny: in what pace do you want to run the marketing meetings? [10:16pm] DavidAllen: ---++ 4. TWiki Meet-ups [10:16pm] Ramnath: sorry but I have a question... [10:16pm] PeterThoeny: yes, meetup likely next year [10:16pm] DavidAllen: just because we are over time... [10:17pm] DavidAllen: and my battery only has 15 min left [10:17pm] PeterThoeny: so, marketing meetings one every month? or? [10:17pm] Ramnath: does TWiki have a page which showcases the success stories of various orgs? [10:17pm] DavidAllen: oh, I would like to have them every two weeks [10:17pm] PeterThoeny: Ramnath:  yes, see box in homepage [10:17pm] Ramnath: something like https://developers.facebook.com/showcase/apps/ [10:17pm] VickiBrown: Ramnath:  multiple pages [10:17pm] DavidAllen: alternate weeks from #twiki_release meetings [10:18pm] PeterThoeny: twiki.org homepage [10:18pm] Ramnath: ok [10:19pm] PeterThoeny: next one falls into winter break though [10:19pm] DavidAllen: All: in general, does this time / frequency work for everyone? [10:19pm] PeterThoeny: next one might be better on 2013-01-11 [10:20pm] PeterThoeny: i wouldn't mind a different time in the day [10:20pm] PeterThoeny: mainly to attract us east coast and europe [10:20pm] VickiBrown: +2 [10:20pm] DavidAllen: What time would you suggest, Peter? [10:20pm] DavidAllen: and Vicki? [10:20pm] PeterThoeny: plus 13 hours from now ? [10:21pm] VickiBrown: that would be 10am PST [10:21pm] VickiBrown: or do you mean from _now_? [10:21pm] PeterThoeny: i mean compared to current start time [10:21pm] DavidAllen: I would actually like 10 AM PST better. [10:21pm] PeterThoeny: so for us instead of 9am it would be 10am [10:22pm] PeterThoeny: "so for us instead of 9pm it would be 10am" [10:22pm] DavidAllen: instead of 9 PM (21:00) [10:22pm] VickiBrown: we seem to be in agreement [10:22pm] PeterThoeny: HideyoImazu? [10:22pm] DavidAllen: Ramnath, Hideyo? [10:22pm] PeterThoeny: this time is may be not so good for india and japan [10:22pm] HideyoImazu: i cannot attend at 10am PT [10:22pm] Ramnath: it's ok for me [10:23pm] Ramnath: I am from Calcutta (+5.5) [10:23pm] HideyoImazu: that's 2am in Tokyo [10:23pm] VickiBrown: You could flip flop am/pm. we used to do that with calls to India [10:23pm] VickiBrown: 2am would be [10:23pm] VickiBrown: bad [10:24pm] PeterThoeny: yes, that is an idea, alternate am and pm [10:24pm] PeterThoeny: i am fine with that [10:24pm] DavidAllen: great idea [10:25pm] HideyoImazu: 5am tokyo = 1pm PT [10:26pm] DavidAllen: ok, so we would like to try 10AM PST for next meeting, and hold it after winter break? [10:26pm] DavidAllen: is that the consensus? [10:26pm] HideyoImazu: that's too early in india [10:26pm] Ramnath: true [10:26pm] PeterThoeny: ok by me [10:26pm] VickiBrown: 10 am PST would be 11pm in INdia wouldn;t it? [10:27pm] VickiBrown: I can never remember if it's 11.5 hrs at DT or ST [10:27pm] PeterThoeny: 11:30 india time [10:27pm] Ramnath: 11:30 pm yes [10:27pm] Ramnath: no issues [10:28pm] VickiBrown: Our Bangalore coworkers preferred night to morning [10:28pm] PeterThoeny: or, if we make it on a friday night we can catch HideyoImazu-san after 二次会 [10:28pm] Ramnath: everyone prefers night to early morning [10:28pm] DavidAllen: OK, it sounds like we have consensus on flip-flop idea [10:29pm] VickiBrown: Ramnath: [10:29pm] HideyoImazu: PeterThoeny: [10:30pm] DavidAllen: OK, any other brainstorming ideas? [10:30pm] DavidAllen: Note that I may drop off suddenly if my battery quits... [10:30pm] DavidAllen: time +90 [10:30pm] PeterThoeny: i think that's it for now [10:31pm] DavidAllen: Everyone: Thanks SO MUCH for attending!  I feel like TWiki marketing is being re-invigorated [10:32pm] VickiBrown: yerah [10:32pm] VickiBrown: maybe I';l get some work [10:32pm] VickiBrown: maybe you'll get some work [10:32pm] VickiBrown: HideyoImazu has work; I am jealous [10:32pm] PeterThoeny: thanks all! good meeting [10:32pm] PeterThoeny: HideyoImazu:  you could hire vicki for content work [10:33pm] DavidAllen: +2 Vicki rocks with TWiki [10:33pm] HideyoImazu: let me think [10:34pm]  HideyoImazu left the chat room. (Quit: Page closed) [10:34pm] DavidAllen: Good night / morning everyone -- must suspend laptop [10:34pm] DavidAllen: Thanks all. [10:34pm]  DavidAllen left the chat room. (Quit: Ex-Chat) [10:34pm] PeterThoeny: ok, ttyl [10:34pm] VickiBrown: bye [10:34pm] PeterThoeny: i'll post the logs [10:35pm] Ramnath: bye all! [10:35pm]  VickiBrown left the chat room. [10:35pm]  Ramnath left the chat room. (Quit: Page closed)