An idea came up very informally at the Jazkarta Developer Training in Montreal last month. I've thought about it enough since then to post it here. I did check and haven't seen it mentioned in the list archive, but I imagine some discussion on this topic has happened at least once. I've tried to flesh out some of the angles for sake of discussion, but what follows is meant only as a first poke. Here's the idea:
Proposal: 1st Annual Ploney Awards File under: Marketing, viral and social What is it: Lightweight, semi-serious recognition for outstanding products, contributions and innovations in the Plone community in several categories. How it might work: Open submission process would involve self- certification on a relative scale of best-practice-ness. Finalists (say 4-6) in each category chosen from the open submission pool would be required to write/post/present a short case study and perhaps a walkthrough of the code as a minisymposium/code fair for display at/ for the annual conference. Final general voting takes place online sometime near the conference timeline. Prizes are small, and hopefully fun. (Pls note that my working assumption would be that this is to promote contributions and involvement from developers other than hardcore experts. Of course, that's a soft line to draw and probably just reflects my assumptions about who knows how much.) When: Winners to be announced at annual (fall) Plone worldwide conference. Open submission period begins yearly on, say, World Plone Day in the spring. Finalists announced and final voting period some time relative to annual worldwide conference. Suggested possible categories: Newbie add-on product (Best 1st time submission from new developer(s) of a new product), Newbie theme, Newbie flavor (where flavor = customization of Plone buildout or site policy to turn it into something that doesn't immediately resemble an out-of-box Plone), Best overall add-on product, Best theme, Best flavor, Best whole number product release, Next big thing (for innovations not ready for production, but super exciting anyway), Best developer utility (would probably recommend against conferring something like a VIP award-- would rather focus on solutions & innovations, not persons/ personalities)
Business case: The best-of-breed angle: On various lists, there's an ongoing discussion about identifying and promoting good, forward-looking contributions. From the viewpoint of community development, the idea about having awards isn't so much about getting the 'best' stamp as much as it is about making a public display of what is meant by 'Plone best-of-breed.' The idea of self certification and then open voting hopefully sidesteps the argument against Plone Foundation endorsing or formally certifying projects. And, if finalists and winners are encouraged to explain their code/ design/use cases, hopefully info on best-of-breed thinking disseminates and inspires. The fellowship angle: It's easy to think that unless you're a core/full-time/jedi developer who understands all the ins & outs, you're not really, really contributing to the wider community. Some small, community-originated kudos to a larger bunch of people is a good thing. Potentially, it extends a source of pride to developers who are expanding the reach of Plone in ways other than "core" development. Also, newbie categories would give an indication of reasonable first horizons for less experienced folks. The (re)engagement angle: It's probably a bit much to expect the first go around, but having a structure & timeline to bounce off of may eventually encourage revisiting code changes that need to checked in, or betas to finalize, etc., if this thing takes hold. The viral marketing angle: Make an incentive for developers to tinker with a few products, themes or buildouts they may have missed. Give people a simple reason to talk up plone on their facebook page, their blog, or on twitter. Make '2009 Ploney finalist' and '2009 Ploney winner' website badges that could generate viral attention. Make a facebook voting app or badge, etc. Let people solicit testimonials if they want. Give a reason for a press release, and a timeframe that generates a little buzz for the conference. The fun angle: If it's framed as an edutaining display of creative problem solving and not so much a competition, then this could be a lot of fun. Fun == good. The academic angle: 3rd party development influences the direction of the crowd. I'd think there'd be some intrinsic value in having a yearly snapshot of commendable contributions as a way to diagram the evolution of Plone.
Of course, this is a sketch, and experience tells me that semi- competitive things make some people happy and others very angry. I do think there's a way to do this that's seen more as cooperative/ celebratory than competitive, & I think that would be the angle to explore. I'd be willing to work on this if there are a couple more people who think it's worth pursuing.
I think this is a splendid way to raise visibility of Plone in general while giving a much deserved tip o' the hat to hard working, creative developers, designers, and even innovative users.
Your concept provides a reasonably fair framework while rewarding a wide spectrum of Plone talent. I'll admit there'll be a certain amount of overhead work, but the internal and external payoffs are large.
My only complaint is that "Ploney" rhymes with phony and that has pretty negative connotations. I'd go with something straight-forward like "1st Annual Plone Awards."
Thanks for the well thought-out and detailed proposal.
Karl
matt_fisher wrote:
> Proposal: 1st Annual Ploney Awards > File under: Marketing, viral and social > What is it: Lightweight, semi-serious recognition for outstanding > products, contributions and innovations in the Plone community in > several categories.
I've certainly brainstormed and discussed this informally with a few people over the years, but nobody has ever picked this up and made it fly. I would *love* to see it happen, and am willing to help make it so (both in my role as PF Board President and as a random community volunteer
I think you are very much on the right track with the ideas below. I will offer a few additional thoughts a bit later this week when I have a little more time to focus.
best,
jon
From: evangelism-boun...@lists.plone.org [mailto:evangelism-boun...@lists.plone.org] On Behalf Of Matt Fisher Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 12:39 PM To: Evangel...@lists.plone.org Subject: [Evangelism] proposal for plone awards
Hi list,
An idea came up very informally at the Jazkarta Developer Training in Montreal last month. I've thought about it enough since then to post it here. I did check and haven't seen it mentioned in the list archive, but I imagine some discussion on this topic has happened at least once. I've tried to flesh out some of the angles for sake of discussion, but what follows is meant only as a first poke. Here's the idea:
Proposal: 1st Annual Ploney Awards
File under: Marketing, viral and social
What is it: Lightweight, semi-serious recognition for outstanding products, contributions and innovations in the Plone community in several categories.
How it might work: Open submission process would involve self-certification on a relative scale of best-practice-ness. Finalists (say 4-6) in each category chosen from the open submission pool would be required to write/post/present a short case study and perhaps a walkthrough of the code as a minisymposium/code fair for display at/for the annual conference. Final general voting takes place online sometime near the conference timeline. Prizes are small, and hopefully fun.
(Pls note that my working assumption would be that this is to promote contributions and involvement from developers other than hardcore experts. Of course, that's a soft line to draw and probably just reflects my assumptions about who knows how much.)
When: Winners to be announced at annual (fall) Plone worldwide conference. Open submission period begins yearly on, say, World Plone Day in the spring. Finalists announced and final voting period some time relative to annual worldwide conference.
Suggested possible categories:
Newbie add-on product (Best 1st time submission from new developer(s) of a new product),
Newbie theme,
Newbie flavor (where flavor = customization of Plone buildout or site policy to turn it into something that doesn't immediately resemble an out-of-box Plone),
Best overall add-on product,
Best theme,
Best flavor,
Best whole number product release,
Next big thing (for innovations not ready for production, but super exciting anyway),
Best developer utility
(would probably recommend against conferring something like a VIP award-- would rather focus on solutions & innovations, not persons/personalities)
Business case:
The best-of-breed angle:
On various lists, there's an ongoing discussion about identifying and promoting good, forward-looking contributions. From the viewpoint of community development, the idea about having awards isn't so much about getting the 'best' stamp as much as it is about making a public display of what is meant by 'Plone best-of-breed.' The idea of self certification and then open voting hopefully sidesteps the argument against Plone Foundation endorsing or formally certifying projects. And, if finalists and winners are encouraged to explain their code/design/use cases, hopefully info on best-of-breed thinking disseminates and inspires.
The fellowship angle:
It's easy to think that unless you're a core/full-time/jedi developer who understands all the ins & outs, you're not really, really contributing to the wider community. Some small, community-originated kudos to a larger bunch of people is a good thing. Potentially, it extends a source of pride to developers who are expanding the reach of Plone in ways other than "core" development. Also, newbie categories would give an indication of reasonable first horizons for less experienced folks.
The (re)engagement angle:
It's probably a bit much to expect the first go around, but having a structure & timeline to bounce off of may eventually encourage revisiting code changes that need to checked in, or betas to finalize, etc., if this thing takes hold.
The viral marketing angle:
Make an incentive for developers to tinker with a few products, themes or buildouts they may have missed. Give people a simple reason to talk up plone on their facebook page, their blog, or on twitter. Make '2009 Ploney finalist' and '2009 Ploney winner' website badges that could generate viral attention. Make a facebook voting app or badge, etc. Let people solicit testimonials if they want. Give a reason for a press release, and a timeframe that generates a little buzz for the conference.
The fun angle:
If it's framed as an edutaining display of creative problem solving and not so much a competition, then this could be a lot of fun. Fun == good.
The academic angle:
3rd party development influences the direction of the crowd. I'd think there'd be some intrinsic value in having a yearly snapshot of commendable contributions as a way to diagram the evolution of Plone.
Of course, this is a sketch, and experience tells me that semi-competitive things make some people happy and others very angry. I do think there's a way to do this that's seen more as cooperative/celebratory than competitive, & I think that would be the angle to explore. I'd be willing to work on this if there are a couple more people who think it's worth pursuing.
> I’ve certainly brainstormed and discussed this informally with a few > people over the years, but nobody has ever picked this up and made > it fly. I would *love* to see it happen, and am willing to help > make it so (both in my role as PF Board President and as a random > community volunteer
> I think you are very much on the right track with the ideas below. > I will offer a few additional thoughts a bit later this week when I > have a little more time to focus.
> best, > jon
> From: evangelism-boun...@lists.plone.org [mailto:evangelism-boun...@lists.plone.org > ] On Behalf Of Matt Fisher > Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 12:39 PM > To: Evangel...@lists.plone.org > Subject: [Evangelism] proposal for plone awards
> Hi list,
> An idea came up very informally at the Jazkarta Developer Training > in Montreal last month. I've thought about it enough since then to > post it here. I did check and haven't seen it mentioned in the list > archive, but I imagine some discussion on this topic has happened at > least once. I've tried to flesh out some of the angles for sake of > discussion, but what follows is meant only as a first poke. Here's > the idea:
> Proposal: 1st Annual Ploney Awards > File under: Marketing, viral and social > What is it: Lightweight, semi-serious recognition for outstanding > products, contributions and innovations in the Plone community in > several categories. > How it might work: Open submission process would involve self- > certification on a relative scale of best-practice-ness. Finalists > (say 4-6) in each category chosen from the open submission pool > would be required to write/post/present a short case study and > perhaps a walkthrough of the code as a minisymposium/code fair for > display at/for the annual conference. Final general voting takes > place online sometime near the conference timeline. Prizes are > small, and hopefully fun. > (Pls note that my working assumption would be that this is to > promote contributions and involvement from developers other than > hardcore experts. Of course, that's a soft line to draw and probably > just reflects my assumptions about who knows how much.) > When: Winners to be announced at annual (fall) Plone worldwide > conference. Open submission period begins yearly on, say, World > Plone Day in the spring. Finalists announced and final voting period > some time relative to annual worldwide conference. > Suggested possible categories: > Newbie add-on product (Best 1st time submission from new > developer(s) of a new product), > Newbie theme, > Newbie flavor (where flavor = customization of Plone buildout or > site policy to turn it into something that doesn't immediately > resemble an out-of-box Plone), > Best overall add-on product, > Best theme, > Best flavor, > Best whole number product release, > Next big thing (for innovations not ready for production, but super > exciting anyway), > Best developer utility > (would probably recommend against conferring something like a VIP > award-- would rather focus on solutions & innovations, not persons/ > personalities)
> Business case: > The best-of-breed angle: > On various lists, there's an ongoing discussion about identifying > and promoting good, forward-looking contributions. From the > viewpoint of community development, the idea about having awards > isn't so much about getting the 'best' stamp as much as it is about > making a public display of what is meant by 'Plone best-of-breed.' > The idea of self certification and then open voting hopefully > sidesteps the argument against Plone Foundation endorsing or > formally certifying projects. And, if finalists and winners are > encouraged to explain their code/design/use cases, hopefully info on > best-of-breed thinking disseminates and inspires. > The fellowship angle: > It's easy to think that unless you're a core/full-time/jedi > developer who understands all the ins & outs, you're not really, > really contributing to the wider community. Some small, community- > originated kudos to a larger bunch of people is a good thing. > Potentially, it extends a source of pride to developers who are > expanding the reach of Plone in ways other than "core" development. > Also, newbie categories would give an indication of reasonable first > horizons for less experienced folks. > The (re)engagement angle: > It's probably a bit much to expect the first go around, but having a > structure & timeline to bounce off of may eventually encourage > revisiting code changes that need to checked in, or betas to > finalize, etc., if this thing takes hold. > The viral marketing angle: > Make an incentive for developers to tinker with a few products, > themes or buildouts they may have missed. Give people a simple > reason to talk up plone on their facebook page, their blog, or on > twitter. Make '2009 Ploney finalist' and '2009 Ploney winner' > website badges that could generate viral attention. Make a facebook > voting app or badge, etc. Let people solicit testimonials if they > want. Give a reason for a press release, and a timeframe that > generates a little buzz for the conference. > The fun angle: > If it's framed as an edutaining display of creative problem solving > and not so much a competition, then this could be a lot of fun. Fun > == good. > The academic angle: > 3rd party development influences the direction of the crowd. I'd > think there'd be some intrinsic value in having a yearly snapshot of > commendable contributions as a way to diagram the evolution of Plone.
> Of course, this is a sketch, and experience tells me that semi- > competitive things make some people happy and others very angry. I > do think there's a way to do this that's seen more as cooperative/ > celebratory than competitive, & I think that would be the angle to > explore. I'd be willing to work on this if there are a couple more > people who think it's worth pursuing.
Glad to see enthusiasm for the general idea! I'll put some more thoughts together & try to schedule a chat or online meeting to further discuss. I imagine now would be a good time to brainstorm scope and requirements and to begin considering resources, so if anybody has particular thoughts, please chime in.
@Karl, who wrote: 'My only complaint is that "Ploney" rhymes with
phony and that has pretty negative connotations. I'd go with something straight-forward like "1st Annual Plone Awards."'
Agreed, Ploney was a purposefully awful first draft name :)
[mailto:evangelism-boun...@lists.plone.org] On Behalf Of JoAnna Springsteen Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 10:45 AM To: Matt Fisher Cc: KEHO...@sandia.gov; evangel...@lists.plone.org Subject: Re: [Evangelism] Re: proposal for plone awards
Yeah but Ploney also rhymes with Pony and who doesn't love a pony?
> An idea came up very informally at the Jazkarta Developer Training > in Montreal last month. I've thought about it enough since then to > post it here. I did check and haven't seen it mentioned in the > list archive, but I imagine some discussion on this topic has > happened at least once. I've tried to flesh out some of the angles > for sake of discussion, but what follows is meant only as a first > poke. Here's the idea:
> Proposal: 1st Annual Ploney Awards > File under: Marketing, viral and social > What is it: Lightweight, semi-serious recognition for outstanding > products, contributions and innovations in the Plone community in > several categories. > How it might work: Open submission process would involve self- > certification on a relative scale of best-practice-ness. Finalists > (say 4-6) in each category chosen from the open submission pool > would be required to write/post/present a short case study and > perhaps a walkthrough of the code as a minisymposium/code fair for > display at/for the annual conference. Final general voting takes > place online sometime near the conference timeline. Prizes are > small, and hopefully fun. > (Pls note that my working assumption would be that this is to > promote contributions and involvement from developers other than > hardcore experts. Of course, that's a soft line to draw and > probably just reflects my assumptions about who knows how much.) > When: Winners to be announced at annual (fall) Plone worldwide > conference. Open submission period begins yearly on, say, World > Plone Day in the spring. Finalists announced and final voting > period some time relative to annual worldwide conference. > Suggested possible categories: > Newbie add-on product (Best 1st time submission from new developer > (s) of a new product), > Newbie theme, > Newbie flavor (where flavor = customization of Plone buildout or > site policy to turn it into something that doesn't immediately > resemble an out-of-box Plone), > Best overall add-on product, > Best theme, > Best flavor, > Best whole number product release, > Next big thing (for innovations not ready for production, but super > exciting anyway), > Best developer utility > (would probably recommend against conferring something like a VIP > award-- would rather focus on solutions & innovations, not persons/ > personalities)
> Business case: > The best-of-breed angle: > On various lists, there's an ongoing discussion about identifying > and promoting good, forward-looking contributions. From the > viewpoint of community development, the idea about having awards > isn't so much about getting the 'best' stamp as much as it is about > making a public display of what is meant by 'Plone best-of-breed.' > The idea of self certification and then open voting hopefully > sidesteps the argument against Plone Foundation endorsing or > formally certifying projects. And, if finalists and winners are > encouraged to explain their code/design/use cases, hopefully info > on best-of-breed thinking disseminates and inspires. > The fellowship angle: > It's easy to think that unless you're a core/full-time/jedi > developer who understands all the ins & outs, you're not really, > really contributing to the wider community. Some small, community- > originated kudos to a larger bunch of people is a good thing. > Potentially, it extends a source of pride to developers who are > expanding the reach of Plone in ways other than "core" development. > Also, newbie categories would give an indication of reasonable > first horizons for less experienced folks. > The (re)engagement angle: > It's probably a bit much to expect the first go around, but having > a structure & timeline to bounce off of may eventually encourage > revisiting code changes that need to checked in, or betas to > finalize, etc., if this thing takes hold. > The viral marketing angle: > Make an incentive for developers to tinker with a few products, > themes or buildouts they may have missed. Give people a simple > reason to talk up plone on their facebook page, their blog, or on > twitter. Make '2009 Ploney finalist' and '2009 Ploney winner' > website badges that could generate viral attention. Make a facebook > voting app or badge, etc. Let people solicit testimonials if they > want. Give a reason for a press release, and a timeframe that > generates a little buzz for the conference. > The fun angle: > If it's framed as an edutaining display of creative problem solving > and not so much a competition, then this could be a lot of fun. Fun > == good. > The academic angle: > 3rd party development influences the direction of the crowd. I'd > think there'd be some intrinsic value in having a yearly snapshot > of commendable contributions as a way to diagram the evolution of > Plone.
> Of course, this is a sketch, and experience tells me that semi- > competitive things make some people happy and others very angry. I > do think there's a way to do this that's seen more as cooperative/ > celebratory than competitive, & I think that would be the angle to > explore. I'd be willing to work on this if there are a couple more > people who think it's worth pursuing.
Hi Matt, I'm glad you took this idea which we informally discussed at the training and ran with it! I think it is a brilliant idea and would love to see it happen. I took the liberty to post your idea to the Plone Marketing wiki, so that others can see and riff on it. http://www.openplans.org/projects/plone-marketing/the-ploneys
I will also add this to the list of topics to discuss on the next meeting with the Plone Foundation marketing committee.
> Hi Matt, > It is a very good idea. One comments, maybe the list of "Suggested possible > categories" could be extended to include non technical expertize.
> Xavier
> On 11 Feb 2009, at 21:39, Matt Fisher wrote:
> Hi list, > An idea came up very informally at the Jazkarta Developer Training in > Montreal last month. I've thought about it enough since then to post it > here. I did check and haven't seen it mentioned in the list archive, but I > imagine some discussion on this topic has happened at least once. I've tried > to flesh out some of the angles for sake of discussion, but what follows is > meant only as a first poke. Here's the idea:
> *Proposal: *1st Annual Ploney Awards > *File under: *Marketing, viral and social > *What is it: *Lightweight, semi-serious recognition for outstanding > products, contributions and innovations in the Plone community in several > categories. > *How it might work: *Open submission process would involve > self-certification on a relative scale of best-practice-ness. Finalists > (say 4-6) in each category chosen from the open submission pool would be > required to write/post/present a short case study and perhaps a walkthrough > of the code as a minisymposium/code fair for display at/for the annual > conference. Final general voting takes place online sometime near the > conference timeline. Prizes are small, and hopefully fun. > (Pls note that my working assumption would be that this is to promote > contributions and involvement from developers other than hardcore experts. > Of course, that's a soft line to draw and probably just reflects my > assumptions about who knows how much.) > *When*: Winners to be announced at annual (fall) Plone worldwide > conference. Open submission period begins yearly on, say, World Plone Day in > the spring. Finalists announced and final voting period some time relative > to annual worldwide conference. > *Suggested possible categories:* > Newbie add-on product (Best 1st time submission from new developer(s) of a > new product), > Newbie theme, > Newbie flavor (where flavor = customization of Plone buildout or site > policy to turn it into something that doesn't immediately resemble an > out-of-box Plone), > Best overall add-on product, > Best theme, > Best flavor, > Best whole number product release, > Next big thing (for innovations not ready for production, but super > exciting anyway), > Best developer utility > (would probably recommend against conferring something like a VIP award-- > would rather focus on solutions & innovations, not persons/personalities)
> *Business case: * > *The best-of-breed angle:* > On various lists, there's an ongoing discussion about identifying and > promoting good, forward-looking contributions. From the viewpoint of > community development, the idea about having awards isn't so much about > getting the 'best' stamp as much as it is about making a public display of > what is meant by 'Plone best-of-breed.' The idea of self certification and > then open voting hopefully sidesteps the argument against Plone Foundation > endorsing or formally certifying projects. And, if finalists and winners are > encouraged to explain their code/design/use cases, hopefully info on > best-of-breed thinking disseminates and inspires. > *The fellowship angle:* > It's easy to think that unless you're a core/full-time/jedi developer who > understands all the ins & outs, you're not really, really contributing to > the wider community. Some small, community-originated kudos to a larger > bunch of people is a good thing. Potentially, it extends a source of pride > to developers who are expanding the reach of Plone in ways other than "core" > development. Also, newbie categories would give an indication of reasonable > first horizons for less experienced folks. > *The (re)engagement angle:* > It's probably a bit much to expect the first go around, but having a > structure & timeline to bounce off of may eventually encourage revisiting > code changes that need to checked in, or betas to finalize, etc., if this > thing takes hold. > *The viral marketing angle:* > Make an incentive for developers to tinker with a few products, themes or > buildouts they may have missed. Give people a simple reason to talk up plone > on their facebook page, their blog, or on twitter. Make '2009 Ploney > finalist' and '2009 Ploney winner' website badges that could generate viral > attention. Make a facebook voting app or badge, etc. Let people solicit > testimonials if they want. Give a reason for a press release, and a > timeframe that generates a little buzz for the conference. > *The fun angle:* > If it's framed as an edutaining display of creative problem solving and not > so much a competition, then this could be a lot of fun. Fun == good. > *The academic angle:* > 3rd party development influences the direction of the crowd. I'd think > there'd be some intrinsic value in having a yearly snapshot of commendable > contributions as a way to diagram the evolution of Plone.
> Of course, this is a sketch, and experience tells me that semi-competitive > things make some people happy and others very angry. I do think there's a > way to do this that's seen more as cooperative/celebratory than competitive, > & I think that would be the angle to explore. I'd be willing to work on this > if there are a couple more people who think it's worth pursuing.
On Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:31:14 -0800, Chris Calloway
<c...@unc.edu> wrote: > The name "Ploney Award" has been floating around for years and its > "purposefully awful®" sound is part of what makes it so endearing.
It's actually spelled "the Plonies" (as in "the Grammies"), and yes — we have been discussing this for years. Having the official name be "the Plone Awards" is probably a good idea, though. Then we can refer to it as the Plonies inside the community.
It just lacks a person to own it — should be a simple matter of identifying some categories, set up a timely survey with some good candidates (as well as a freeform option) before the conference, and keep it a secret until it's announced at the conference.
Oh, and an awesome Plonies statuette for the winners, of course. ;)
Personally, my opinion is that it shouldn't be a simple popularity contest, but rather be used as the basis from where the winners are selected by the judges. This would make it more like the Oscars/Grammies too — and make it possible to put the spotlight on people/project that get less attention that they perhaps should have. :)
For an example of an award that's strictly based on popularity, see http://shortyawards.com/about/ the Shorty Awards , recently held by the Twitter folks. A hybrid solution would be to have a people's choice award in each category for the most popular, but have judges make the final call for the canonical awards.
Karl
Alexander Limi wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:31:14 -0800, Chris Calloway > <c...@unc.edu> wrote:
> Personally, my opinion is that it shouldn't be a simple popularity > contest, but rather be used as the basis from where the winners are > selected by the judges. This would make it more like the Oscars/Grammies > too — and make it possible to put the spotlight on people/project that get > less attention that they perhaps should have. :)
> From: evangelism-boun...@lists.plone.org [mailto:evangelism- > boun...@lists.plone.org] On Behalf Of Chris Calloway > On 2/18/2009 8:23 AM, Calvin Hendryx-Parker wrote: > > On Feb 18, 2009, at 3:11 AM, Alexander Limi wrote: > >> Oh, and an awesome Plonies statuette for the winners, of course. ;)
