> 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.
> What do you think?
> Cheers,
> Matt Fisher
> *
> *
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