To prepare for the launch of Joomla! 1.6, a group of 27 people from all over the world came together in a Skype group.
For five days, there was a constant discussion on things related to the launch. People were signing in and out depending on their schedule and time-zone. The discussion was lively, but extremely productive.
Using Google documents, people were working though the weekend to get everything in place. It was incredible to see the community come together like this to produce something for the common good.
The Joomla 1.6 landing page - and more
One of the main things that was discussed was the actual Joomla 1.6 landing page. It was a lot of fun taking part in the process. Kyle Ledbetter of PixelPraise did an incredible job, changing the design and uploading new versions as the discussion evolved.
Other things discussed and created were the previously mentioned 40 reasons to use Joomla 1.6, the press releases, promotional banners and much more.
All created by the community, for the community. I feel privileged to have been a part of this incredible group of talented and committed people.
I talked to Ryan Ozimek, President of Open Source Matters, about the ad-hoc marketing group:
For nearly all the members of the project's leadership outside the PLT, this has been the first time they've ever been a part of such a big release.
We've learned some good lessons, and I think that in the future the teams will be even more organized and ready to spread the word.
What I think is most impressive; however, is that when the project needed certain skills to come to the table to create the launch process, the community responded effectively. I think most of us would agree that we can be even more effective next time around, and a time-based release cycle [for Joomla versions] will do wonders to help in that effort be increasing predictability.
The Joomla 1.6 marketing group
The people involved in this marathon run of marketing madness, were:
Kyle Ledbetter, Steve Burge, Alice Grevet, Allan Walker, Andrea Tarr, Andrew Eddie, Dianne Henning, Jacques Rentzke, Jean-Marie (JM) Simonet, Jen Kramer, John Coonen, Jonathan Neubauer, Kristoffer Sandven, Luis Méndez Alejo, Marco Corrò, Marijke Stuivenberg, Mark Dexter, Matt Lipscomb, Milena Mitova, Neil Malhar, Ole Bang Ottosen, Paul Orwig, Robert Deutz, Robert Vining, Ryan Ozimek, Sandra Warren, Tess Neale, and TJ Baker.
Ryan was impressed by the group:
Watching the ad-hoc marketing team of 27 folks coming together in the past few days has been amazing. In the [Skype] room, each of us had certain expertise to give, and through what seemed chaos was actually a well orchestrated team. Steve Burge spurred us to action, and lead the group forward effectively.
With Kyle Ledbetter on the team, we had a designer with eye for high-quality work and a fun-loving attitude that kept us on our toes. Add in 25 other people with a passion to help, and we produced a launch site, marketing materials, communication documents, and more. It's been extremely impressive to watch, and I felt lucky to work with this team of good folks.
Add to that the huge efforts made by the actual developers, the translation teams, the people making help screens, the bug squad and countless others who have contributed to the Joomla 1.6 project. What you get is a community that rocks!
Now, let's all join forces to make Joomla 1.6 the success all this work deserves!
More about the Joomla 1.6 launch
