[openbeos] Re: The importance of good communications
- From: Oliver Tappe <openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 21:26:41 +0200
Hi Koki,
On 2006-08-15 at 19:57:56 [+0200], "Jorge G. Mare (a.k.a. Koki)"
<koki@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the feedback/comments. To keep the focus on what I think are
> the key points, I will see if I can address the issues w/o responding
> individually.
>
> First off, I think the idea of teams with their own internal
> communications channel is a good one. It makes it easy to identify who
> is doing what (at least in theory), and helps keep the conversation
> focused. These channels are good for the internal communication of the
> members of any given team to have focused discussions related to their
> own goals. However, duplication of channels for the same team is a bad
> idea. If you create teams to achieve focus, then you do not want to have
> duplicate communication venues that can put a dent on that focus. I am
> specifically referring to the fact that most teams (all?) have a mailing
> list and a section in the forums.
Yes, as mentioned by Waldemar, too, the team-forums should and will go away.
> There was mention to the "Weekly Haiku" initiative. I think this is
> great! This is very informative, and a good thing per se, regardless of
> whether it comes from Haiku or a third party.
I would prefer having this directly on the haiku-site, as I suppose one of
the main causes for the problems you have noticed is that the website did not
embrace/channel all the different flows of information.
[ ... ]
> However, these channels transmit a diversity of opinions and points of
> views that are a reflection of the individuals that use them. Nothing
> wrong with that, but this can portray lack of coherence. If as a project
> we want to give a message that is consistent and therefore easy to
> understand, then there needs to be an easily tangible distinction
> between what individuals express (personal opinions) and what Haiku
> needs to communicate as a project (messages designed to achieve a
> certain goal for the project). This is where the officially-sanctioned
> communication comes into place, and why discussion and authoritative
> decision-making before disclosure is necessary.
Yes, I personally am with you on this. I agree that there is a certain need
for an official communication channel next to all the subjective ones.
However, at times it is (and will continue to be) heard to know up front
which of all posts by haiku-involved individuals need to be discussed in a
closed circle before disclosure and which bits of information need not.
Sometimes - as I suppose has been the case with the icon contest - people are
just surprised by the stirrup one of their posts causes.
> The point is being made Haiku does not need a PR machine such as that of
> Microsoft, and I tend to agree. However, in the same way that in the
> area of engineering Haiku spent time and effort to put certain framework
> in place to maintain and manage code (ie., tools such as SVN) and took
> organizational measures to achieve focus (by creating teams with their
> own communication venues), the project could also benefit from taking
> equivalent measures in the area of communications, and the suggested
> creation of a communications team would be the first step towards
> figuring out what can be done to improve communications.
Yes, I think you have expressed this very well: haiku is lacking a proper
communication infrastructure/framework. And this does not only mean the
website, but goes way beyond that. In order to be able to do our
communication as good as possible when it counts (e.g. when talking to
commercial entities), we need to practice/improve our communication skills.
With that in mind, I find the idea of a dedicated communication team that
first checks the viability of the current communication framework and then
works towards improving it very reasonable.
However, that is one of those topics that should (and hopefully will) be
discussed on the admin list, of course.
> Stephan asks if I could draft writeups for publication; I certainly
> could, but that would only change things marginally. To really make a
> difference in your communications, you need a coordinated team effort.
>
> I have been working in marketing communications for the last 10 years. I
> do not claim to know it all, but I think that Haiku could really use a
> hand in this area, and I am willing to give it a shot. I am willing to
> be the lead (no need for pompous titles such as director). However, I
> want this to be a team effort that is endorsed by the leadership of the
> project; otherwise, I think it would simply not work. The good thing is
> that there seems to be people out there with the desire to help out, so
> it looks like there is the drive in the community to make this happen.
> What we need then is the green light from the leadership of the project.
Correct again, trying to improve communication would be in vain unless it
would be established right amongst all the other infrastructural items.
cheers,
Oliver
Other related posts:
