Topics & deliverables from marketing IRC meeting 02-17-2009: please list publications for press mailings

[Sean DALY]

http://meeting.sugarlabs.org/sugar-meeting.log.20090217_1107.html


Hi all, here is a quick summary of yesterday's IRC meeting

Do please comment, correct & amplify!
Those who missed it, your comments please!

Next week's meeting will be Tuesday the 24th at 1600 UTC

I will be updating the marketing wiki when I can

Thanks
Sean


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We discussed three topics:

1. Make SL press-contactable
2. Elevator pitch for teachers
3. Obtain USB sticks for SoaS

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1. Make SL press-contactable - reach out to publications

* I am compiling the press contact list for mailings and I would like
everyone on the list to please mention the publications they think are
important - in particular publications read by educators. If we don't
already have a contact for a particular publication, I will develop
one.

* I will look into a dedicated phone number for SL press contact,
which of course should be separate from my personal lines. Google's
beta Grand Central service will be looked at, has useful feature of
forwarding to more than one phone, is hopefully functioning
internationally.

* I suggest the next press mailing be for the release of Sugar 0.84
(first week of March). I want to send in both plain text and PDF, for
the PDF I would like the logo with the phone number and a street
address to be determined. Aside from the "news" the press release
should indicate that we are alive & kicking and should mention we are
seeking funding.


2. Elevator pitch for teachers - importance of teacher buy-in

* I was pointed to Walter's draft at
http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/marketing/2009-February/000279.html
, I will pick up that thread.

* I wish to better understand/develop the teacher feedback loop. There
is a possible project with Dr. Evangeline Stefanikis-BU but funding is
necessary, in the works and the situation on that should be clear
shortly. Tomeu wants to work on that, I will help. Austria and Nepal
were mentioned as providing valuable teacher feedback - can someone
give me contact names for those projects? Language problem - should
feedback be translated locally, then forwarded, or forwarded directly
then translated? Depends on volume of messages and other factors, I
will pick up tomeu thread at
http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/iaep/2009-February/004054.html



3. Obtain USB sticks for Sugar on a Stick (SoaS)

* Chicken/egg situation: USB sticks needed for testing (technical &
classroom), testing needed to get funding, bootable image coming along
but still beta. Caroline pilot project planned for fall

* Fedora 11 based stick should be working well by end of May, should
be "best" image for range of hardware

* Idea: try to find high school/college students to help with testing
(= need sticks)

* Estimate of number of sticks needed: 1000
(http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=px5yPvIlUlLuVKzfbn5mlXg&hl=en).
Funding for sticks imperative, active search for donors beyond Belkin
& Pantone necessary. Sticks to be loaded manually, volunteer sprint
may be necessary. Question: would SugarLabs accept corporate donor
branded or co-branded sticks?

* Problem: USB ports on many PCs are stuck in the back making access
difficult, perhaps solution should include extender or hub, or perhaps
"stick" should be is SD Card on extender

* Ideally, sticks should be SugarLabs branded; symbol of Sugar's
existence beyond the XO

* Idea: film an hour of students interacting with SoaS, edit to
three-minute promo video for YouTube

***