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StartingYourUsersGroup

Promoting, pushing, proslytizing Python. Some possible topics -

  • Finding audiences to promote Python to.
  • Choosing or assembling "standard" intro-to-Python talks?
  • Eye-catching, crowd-pleasing Python tricks.
  • Selling to management.

If you are interested in continuing discussion or helping to develop promotional materials (articles, glossy brochures, pod casts, etc) for Python, please sign up on the mailing list:

http://wingware.com/mailman/listinfo/marketing-python

StartingYourUsersGroup

Notes from the session

PSF has a strong desire to promote the language.

Apache Software Foundation

  • - Has formal publicity contact, which press-types love - Issues formal press releases (cost about $500)

Getting into educational world

  • - Lack of campus user groups - Educational advantage - good foundation for CS understanding - Need Py in curriculum
    • - Encourage your own alma mater to do so - CS curriculum committees may be intractable - CS decisions driven by perception of job market - May be easier outside CS dept., as pragmatic tool for scientists/engineers - Going straight to students - bottum-up - especially for classes that don't constrain language choice for projects - Need more material for educators, with separate designated teacher and student materials

Many current Python users are invisible - don't see them in community

Create a list of speakers that could present on Python

Need a template/example of a "standard" evangelical talk

Make screencasts

  • - Screencasts can popularize "celebrity programmers" - well-known faces - user groups or PSF could push screencast creation - "Python@Google" video w/ Guido, etc. would be great - Arlington school system once created a video about Python - where is it now?
    • - Included awesome quotes suitable for managers
    - Screencasts highlight Python's interactivity, which people may not understand/believe until they see it

Form regional scripting language conferences

www.python.org still not newbie-friendly - upcoming restructuring should help

  • - Track website visitors according to newbie, experienced, manager, etc.? Or according to project need? - Ruby on Rails site includes a restricted ruby interpreter - shall we imitate?

PSF fund productivity studies?

  • - One old "empirical" study on scripting languages in general exists - Could utilize university researchers always hungry for projects - But how to get it to industry's attention?

"Success stories" - several are at pythonology.org

Details on solving specific types of problems with Python (try this approach, these modules, case studies specific to that problem)

Software companies make glossy brouchures, managers like and expect that...

Testimonials on Subversion website helped it

Articles are a good introductory format - get them published in journals (Dr. Dobbs, etc.) - don't neglect trade journals, ACM's special-interest publications

Please follow these ideas up on the mailing list!

PromotingPythonBof (last edited 2009-12-09 08:45:10 by techtonik)

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