On Wed, 2008-08-27 at 08:52 -0400, David Nalley wrote:
What I fear is that at some point there something will rub someone the wrong way. I'd far rather have the opportunity to define the policy that gets applied to us than live with whatever policy is born out of reaction. That being said if the group consensus is that we remain laissez-faire then that's fine too.
David,
There's a good opportunity here for Ambassadors to work with the overall Marketing group. Ambassadors regularly speak to the public, since that's part of the natural responsibilities they willingly take on. In dealing with print and broadcast media, of course it's very helpful for Ambassadors to be thoroughly familiar with the Fedora marketing plan, our overview, and general tips on how to be an effective interview subject.
The idea is not to tie Ambassadors down so that they need approval for local media contacts. Rather, it's to make them confident in answering tough questions like "Why should people care?" and "What makes Fedora different?" in constructive, positive ways. I think many Ambassadors do this very well already, but like anything else it's a skill one develops, and we can help each other develop that skill.
The Fedora Marketing group is always available to assist. We should encourage collaboration and partnership between Ambassadors and Marketing overall to make our public contacts as meaningful, positive, and cohesive as possible. `
2008/8/27 Paul W. Frields stickster@gmail.com:
On Wed, 2008-08-27 at 08:52 -0400, David Nalley wrote:
What I fear is that at some point there something will rub someone the wrong way. I'd far rather have the opportunity to define the policy that gets applied to us than live with whatever policy is born out of reaction. That being said if the group consensus is that we remain laissez-faire then that's fine too.
David,
There's a good opportunity here for Ambassadors to work with the overall Marketing group. Ambassadors regularly speak to the public, since that's part of the natural responsibilities they willingly take on. In dealing with print and broadcast media, of course it's very helpful for Ambassadors to be thoroughly familiar with the Fedora marketing plan, our overview, and general tips on how to be an effective interview subject.
The idea is not to tie Ambassadors down so that they need approval for local media contacts. Rather, it's to make them confident in answering tough questions like "Why should people care?" and "What makes Fedora different?" in constructive, positive ways. I think many Ambassadors do this very well already, but like anything else it's a skill one develops, and we can help each other develop that skill.
The Fedora Marketing group is always available to assist. We should encourage collaboration and partnership between Ambassadors and Marketing overall to make our public contacts as meaningful, positive, and cohesive as possible. `
Paul,
My experience is that most Ambassadors are also members of Marketing. IIRC many moons ago joining the Marketing project was recommended on the Ambassadors join page. While I think there is probably more of disconnect between the two groups than previously existed there are still many people who are in both groups. But I should go back and talk about why we decided to plod down this path - last night after introing Larry's page - (around the 9:15 timestamp) Jack said: "the general stance is we should get stuff cleared with someone before we do anything with media" http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2008-August/msg00411....
Then we started looking for policy, and it seemed none existed, but might have been an unwritten rule. Then we didn't know who was supposed to clear stuff - do we get marketing's blessing, or FAmSCo or the Board or??
So maybe what we need is more guidance (that after the fact gets documented) than a policy - so let me pose a couple of use cases:
1. I am holding a Release Party and want to get some local media attention and desire to send a Press Release to $localmediaoutlet announcing that there is a Fedora Release Party occurring. Do I need any special authority or clearance?
2. I am asked to be interviewed about the Fedora Project by $mediaoutlet - Do I need any special authority or clearance?
3. What if it goes above local - suppose #2 is a $syndicatedbroadcastmediaoutlet or a $nationaloutlet - does that change things?, and if it does, at what point does it change?
The pragmatist in me says that the fact that I am a member of the Fedora Project, have a fp.o email, and can go around talking about/representing Fedora to LUGs, conferences etc. makes any special authority or clearance meaningless. That said I could certainly understand that such actions might generate angst with traditional marketing types, specifically among RH's marketing group. Certainly getting to #3 there would almost of a necessity (one would hope) be some coordination with Marketing and others, but from a standpoint of getting things done - do we need to have a checklist that has a line saying "Get permission from $authentity" ?
Picking up the conversation late in the proverbial game . . .
On Wed, Aug 27, 2008 at 7:01 AM, David Nalley david@gnsa.us wrote:
My experience is that most Ambassadors are also members of Marketing. IIRC many moons ago joining the Marketing project was recommended on the Ambassadors join page. While I think there is probably more of disconnect between the two groups than previously existed there are still many people who are in both groups.
I thought being an ambassador and being a member of marketing were required when becoming an ambassador. If it isn't, should it be?
But I should go back and talk about why we decided to plod down this path - last night after introing Larry's page - (around the 9:15 timestamp) Jack said: "the general stance is we should get stuff cleared with someone before we do anything with media" http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2008-August/msg00411....
Allow me a scenario: I'd hate to be Jack or whomever has to field, oh, hundreds of requests answering "Can I send a press release to my local media, please?" in the advent of F10 release party/installfests, for example; not to mention having to read and check off on each of them. An extreme example? Possibly, but in my opinion it's not unreasonable to think that every ambassador is a potential local -- local -- media contact representing Fedora.
So again, let me repeat that the idea and execution for the wiki stems from helping LOCAL ambassadors deal with LOCAL media. In my opinion, having Fedora ambassadors who can deal with local media and maintain a relationship with local media in the area only helps us going forward, and is the purpose behind my developing this resource for ambassadors.
<suh-nip>
The pragmatist in me says that the fact that I am a member of the Fedora Project, have a fp.o email, and can go around talking about/representing Fedora to LUGs, conferences etc. makes any special authority or clearance meaningless.
+1 -- If you can trust us to talk to LUGs and conferences, we should be entrusted with talking to local media on Fedora events that happen locally. Clearly, as David pointed out in an earlier e-mail (not copied here), if things are pushed "upstairs" to a regional or national level, coverage-wise, someone with more authority may need to be involved, and an ambassador could use either common sense or guidelines on when to kick a story back to someone with media authority.
Normally, I vote for common sense, but I understand that guidelines may be in order for an organization this large, if for no other reason than to cut down on the "loose cannon" syndrome.
Larry Cafiero
marketing@lists.fedoraproject.org
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David Nalley -
Larry Cafiero -
Paul W. Frields