[TYPO3-UG US] Partner section and TYPO3.us

[Reuven Cohen, Enomaly]

> Daniel brings up a good point. Volunteering on this project or any other

> project for TYPO3 is what makes the community stronger and it's almost a

> necessity in an open source project. So let's find ways to reward the

> people that don't just give money, but also give their time on the

> TYPO3.us project. We could also make the amount of time donated be a

> factor in determining partnership levels. I think money and time should

> be thought of as the same thing and that way it would be not so

> bureaucratic but also build the community.



I'm completely in agreement with this sentiment, a community is about social 
interaction, volunteering is the most critical component and definitely 
should not be overlooked. One of the best things about TYPO3 is the 
community of developers, contributors and enthusiasts that have formed 
around this great product Kasper and friends have built and I applaud every 
contributor, please don't ever thing I take TYPO3 or its users for granted, 
because I surely do not.



>I am surprised that you write this after having been at TYCON3. I also 
>trust

> the .com listing is actually helping your company.



In regards to Daniels comment, TYPO3.com is the best thing that's ever 
happened to us. I'd pay 10x as much for that placement, I very much 
appreciate the listing, please do not ever think otherwise. My comments 
where meant to focus on the external marketing efforts, not the website. 
TYPO3.com is a great example of organic marketing and the site has been a 
smashing success in that sense. Where the marketing efforts have fallen 
flat, "in my opinion" are in the places outside of search engines and 
traditional open source information sources such as industry magazines and 
trade publications. In order to effectively grow beyond our core user group, 
we need some wider industry recognition, particularly in the enterprise 
space.



In regards to Dimitri's comments, I think you're missing the point in the 
statement that having a directory listing is useless. Your right, it 
probably is. I think the value in marketing TYPO3 to the American market is 
not from any particular listing or even any particular advertisement, but in 
generating a greater awareness of TYPO3 as a whole.



The majority of customers we, Enomaly, attain don't contact us for TYPO3 and 
to be completely honest a good portion contact us because they have heard of 
Drupal or Mambo. We then typically convince them that TYPO3 is the better or 
more appropriate system for their particular needs. Why are we forced to use 
other more notable systems as marketing vehicles? I'd say because these 
lesser but more known systems have been better at getting their particular 
message out. This is what I think a marketing "budget" would do for this 
association. Whether this is an official association web or whether we list 
companies in a director is secondary. The only thing this adds if anything 
is it gives a little incentive to potential members. Do I care if we get 
listed or not, not really. As long as TYPO3 gets more interest at the end of 
the day that's all that matters to me.



Reuven