[TYPO3-UG US] Support Section and TYPO3.us

[Michelle Heizer]

Hi Gabe,

You make many valid points and actually, I think what we are trying to
accomplish is in line with much of what you are saying. The TYPO3.us
portal is meant to gain US users and gently ease them into TYPO3. Notice
I called this a portal because that is very important to remember. The
main marketing site and developer site will always be at typo3.com/.org.
We will primarily act as a funnel to the main project. I do not think we
should consider this a separate effort from the main TYPO3 project but
an addition instead. I am concerned with preserving the brand,
development, and the Association's efforts, which is one reason why I
volunteer on the T3 marketing team.

On Fri, 2005-10-14 at 16:47 -0600, Gabriel Anast wrote:
> 
> I know I am beating a dead horse now, but it seems to me that there
> are 
> about 10 times the number of developers in the US as there are in 
> Germany + France + Italy. This WILL upset the balance... plan for
> that, 
> and the Typo3 project will benefit much more quickly from the influx
> of 
> US devs and users.
> 

That's just the nature of any international project of this size. TYPO3
wasn't created in Germany, yet Germany is where it is most popular and
the growth was unexpected. You could say it's unbalanced now.
Ultimately, this is why the Association was created. They restore the
balance to the project. 

I'm not saying that we won't encounter problems with this initiative,
but we will just have to handle them as we go along. If we need to
reevaluate the information on TYPO3.us and move some to TYPO3.com/.org,
then that's something we will do. I should also point out that a
"redesign" of TYPO3.com is also in the works and many of the items you
mentioned in your letter will be added.

> 
> PS: As native English speakers, I believe that one of the largest 
> contributions that we can make to Typo3 is to sanitize the Typo3
> English 
> documents. That said, I also believe that despite the fact that we 
> should use the US typo3.us site to market to the US market (via
> videos, 
> flash presentations, conferences, events, forums/mail lists, and the 
> like)... I strongly believe that all our documentation efforts should
> be 
> "internationally focused" since the default language of Typo3 is in
> fact 
> English.


I agree. I don't think anyone is saying we need a "US copy" of
TYPO3.org, but maybe a little support help that's based in the US.
Developing a tutorial and package based on a pseudo US business, having
people to talk to in the same time zone that are working on similar
projects or having someone who is close enough to take a trip to see a
potential T3 user are the types of regional support I'm talking about.
But as you said, it is important that we help to "sanitize" the
documentation. As we grow as a group, I think that would be one of the
many ways we can offer our help and why gaining more US users is a
necessity.

Regards,

Michelle