Re: [Fwd: Questions on 7.3 version for LinuxWorld]

On Mon, 9 Dec 2002, Justin Clift wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> What we have so far for this is at:
>
> http://advocacy.postgresql.org/documents/NadiaCameron
>
> Am also wondering how we should arrange for future stuff like this.

Okay. This is the question I was waiting for. I know Nadia Cameron. She is
a good example of your average IT journalist. This is how it came to be
that she's writing an article.

1) Last Friday I sent her boss the PostgreSQL 7.3 press release. Why, he
didn't receive it. Neither did his US counterparts.

2) He passed it on to Nadia.

3) Nadia probably went looking for some information about
PostgreSQL. Didn't find a media kit and so had to send off *too many
questions*

Things got interesting from there. Correctly, she emailed Justin -- since
Justin's details are on the press release. The problems we're suffering
were then exposed. Justin did not have the information, skills, confidence
or support -- which ever -- to reply to her independently. See why media
kits are so useful? They contain everything you need to write 'product
news'. If Nadia was to undertake a more significant article, perhaps she
would ask for some different quotes. That need not have been the case
here.

>
> Don't want to be the only one presenting info to the press when it's

There's nothing wrong with that. That's why product news only ever quotes
the Marketing manager or PR manager. We need two people to do this. We can
do it on a rotating basis. We can supply email addresses at the bottom of
the press release 'for quotes, email ...'.

> really a whole group of us creating it. That wouldn't be giving due
> credit to people. Any suggestions for something a bit more workable?

Its not a group effort. Its too hard then. Too slow. Nadia's goal would
have been to get that article out in a few hours. The end. The PostgreSQL
team needs to be able to handle 100 of these at once. Doing this
'collaboratively' will just not work.

Who wants to put their hand up for quotes? I am happy to.

Who wants to play press contacts(s)? It should work as follows: Contact
receives media request. Contact drafts a response and sends it to someone
else in advocacy -- anyone who can spell in the English language -- to
check what they write back. It gets sent back. Very quick turn
around. Then it is finished.

Gavin