[Grok-dev] Re: What is Grok anyways... time for a name change? :)

[Sebastian Ware]

14 maj 2007 kl. 14.41 skrev Martijn Faassen:

> Martin Aspeli wrote:
> [snip]
>>> Grok, the caveman as a subculture. I am not convinced that he  
>>> has  (already) become a subculture. Grok the caveman is a  
>>> metaphor, and he  just gives me the wrong associations.  
>>> Nonetheless, as an ironic comic  strip bashing on the evils in  
>>> software development, yeah I think it  could become a really cool  
>>> thing. As the poster boy of Grok... he  might actually be a  
>>> problem. :(
>> I disagree that this is a problem. Java has a silly merlin-wizard  
>> like
>> thing. Linux has a fat penguin. BSD has a devil-looking-thing. Logos
>> that are memorable and personable are more important, in my opinion,
>> than a "I am really corporate and solid" me-too.
>
> Note also that we're marketing Grok to developers primarily, not to  
> corporate/enterprise people. We do this as Grok is an open source  
> project, and attracting developers is more important than  
> attracting people into "enterprise". Open source projects that  
> sound all enterprisey *put off* open source developers. Open source  
> developers want to have fun.

Of course, the driving forces behind open-source developers will  
vary, but I believe open-source developers want to feel that they are  
part of something important. The fun part comes as a bonus.

>
> Note that for enterpriseyness Grok can also point to Zope, which  
> has a foundation, etc, etc. Then, if Grok is successful with  
> developers and attracts a critical mass, we'll have a large part of  
> the battle for the enterprise already won. That time is the time to  
> look into presenting another enterprisey face for Grok.

> That said, that doesn't mean I'm closed to tweaking our message so  
> it works better. If a caveman puts off some developers, we can look  
> into tweaking the caveman. We should just not forget our current  
> primary audience for the message is developers.
>

I agree. But once somebody wants to use it for real-world projects  
there is bound to be a manager involved in the decision making, and  
he will want to feel good too about the choice of framework. :)

This is also a matter of emphasis. Whereas we mustn't forget the  
managers, they shouldn't be emphasised too much. (Remember that for  
each manager one can evangelise, there are a couple of developers  
that could potentially contribute on payed time)

Regards Sebastian

> Regards,
>
> Martijn
>
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