Re: [GENERAL] PostgreSQL Global Development Group

Peter Eisentraut <peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net> writes:

> Robert Treat writes:
>
> > I think we've already shown why it doesn't hurt to market to the
> > converted. I'll add that if you compare the 7.2 press release with the
> > 7.3 press release, you'll see none of the technical content was removed.
>
> Compare the 7.3 release notes, written for the most part by Bruce
> Momjian and revised by a couple of other developers, to the "press
> release", written by people who were obviously ill-informed.

<snip for brevity>

So does this mean that you are volunteering to proofread the next
marketing announcement? I would wager that only a PostgreSQL
developer (such as yourself) could have picked out the inconsistencies
that you were able to find. The press release might have seemed
"obviously ill-informed" to you, but it seemed just fine to me, and I
can guarantee you that I am at least an order of magnitude more
informed about PostgreSQL than the average manager.

The difference between the press release and the Release Notes is the
intended audience. The folks that the press release is aimed at
probably don't have any idea that SQL 92 is obsolete, or that
internationalization has been supported for years. Chances are good
that they will skim over the new features entirely.

What *is* important to these people, however, are the customer
testimonials at the beginning of the press release and the list of
happy customers at the end.

Once management has read the press release they can ask their
developers to read the Release Notes. Press releases don't supercede
Release Notes, they complement them. The difference between the 7.3
Release Notes and the press release is that I could give the press
release to my boss.

PostgreSQL desperately needs marketing help. In fact, at this point I
would say that PostgreSQL needs more marketing help than it needs
development work. Technically PostgreSQL is clearly a winner, but
despite its myriad features and impressive performance PostgreSQL is
still not being deployed nearly as much as it *should* be. The team
that has been assembled to market PostgreSQL has some fairly
impressive credentials. They are certainly *much* better than what
you would expect considering how much they are getting paid :).

In short, if you want to help the folks writing the press releases,
then that's fine and dandy. But if all you want to do is throw rocks
at the people doing the marketing, then that's another story
altogether.

Jason Earl