We are starting to get ready for the marketing launch of Eclipse 3.1 and all of the other projects that are launching at the same time, including WTP, TPTP, EMF, GEF, VE, UML2, AspectJ,etc. It is really amazing to me that all of these projects will be releasing within 30 days of the Platform.
I would like to get the help of the Eclipse community to make this launch successful. For me, an open source community is not just about open source development but also open source marketing. I hope to use my blog to communicate the current plans and get your feedback and ideas.
Of immediate concern is how to make sure the launch speaks to the developer community. I’ve heard many times that press releases just don’t cut it for developers. I tend to agree. However, press releases do play an important role of communicating key messages to the mainstream press. Therefore, I think we actually need to have two voices for the launch: 1) speaks to the mainstream press, and 2) speaks directly to developers.
There are a lot of really smart reporters that follow Eclipse. However, due to their space constraints they will not be able to report on each individual project item. Therefore, I think we need to consolidate a lot of the news into 1-2 main themes. Two themes we are considering are:
- Eclipse is more than just a Java IDE. A lot of people think of Eclipse as just being a Java IDE. I’d like to drive home the fact that Eclipse is much more than a Java IDE. The launches of TPTP, Web Tools, BIRT and others are great examples to drive home this message.
- RCP is being used for real world applications. I personally think RCP is very cool. We need to get more people talking about it. In the 3.1 release we are also doing a lot of work on tools to make it easier to create RCP applications.
What do you think? Something else that is more important to communicate via the launch?
For the second voice, speaking to developers, I think we need to focus on more project specific details. More importantly, I’d like to know how you think we should communicate to the developer community. What messages or features should we highlight? What is the cool new feature that you think will make a difference in the new releases. How and where should we communicate the content? Right now, I am focused on getting people to write articles for JDJ, Java Pro, Serverside and other online journals. For instance Ed Burnette is writing an article for JDJ. Where else should be try to get Eclipse content place?
Unfortunately, most of the current plans are USA focused. However, Eclipse is used all around the world and we need to be talking to people in their native language. I’d love to get help on making sure we are just as successful in India, China, or Russia as we are in the USA.
