Should marketing activity on TWiki.org have its own web?

Background

In our last marketing meeting I (MichaelCorbett) asked about having a separate web for marketing activity on TWiki.org. The general consensus in IRC seemed to be that this wasn’t a good idea. I’ve had a chance to reflect on this and still feel that it would be a good idea. I've listed my thinking below. Please add to it.

Good points

1. – It sends the message: “TWiki.org is serious about marketing”
2. – it’s easy to see what new marketing stuff has been added. It’s all in WebChanges and it isn’t interspersed with codev stuff.
3. – Codev carries on as is. No change there, no inconvenience, business as usual in Codev.
4. – Its easier to find marketing stuff since a search won’t pick out all the codev stuff too.
5. – It caters for people who want to contribute to TWiki but aren’t coders (see CarloSchulz comment on WebPageAudience topic). It gives marketing people (like me) a “home”.
6. – It’s easy to do. There’s a form on ManagingWebs and the most complex thing is working out what background color you want for the web.

Bad Points

1. People who habitually check WebChanges will have to remember to check WebChanges for marketing web too.
   • most regulars probably use WebChangesForAllWebs, adding the Marketing web would reduce the significance of this issue - SD

-- Contributors: MichaelCorbett, SvenDowideit - 26 Sep 2007

Discussion

I Also think its time to stop using Codev as the once size fits all web. Having many Micro-webs, should help focus the discussion, and adding FindElseWherePlugin would enable us to retail the serendipity linking.

Codev is a ghetto - and Marketing could be a great new web we could use to trial principles that we can then use to clean up the rest of TWiki.org.

-- SvenDowideit - 27 Sep 2007

I support this proposal. Codev has become the kitchen sink, where everything gets dumped. It's a jungle, if you're not carefull you'll be eaten alive by some lost topic.

Anyway, having said that, perhaps marketing is not the only thing we want to put in a seperate web.

Of course, there are those that adhere to the mantra of 'keep the web count to a minimum'. That would mean we should throw everything in just one web.

-- KoenMartens - 27 Sep 2007

I generally advocate fewer webs, and use of other indexing mechanisms such as tags and categories. However there comes a time where searching becomes infeasible, as is the case in Codev. I also support a split.

-- CrawfordCurrie - 27 Sep 2007

All good points. I think no one likes the big mess known as Codev. But how do we deal with all those "I want a demo web" and "I want a docu web" type questions?

As the usability guy I'm wondering where usability related stuff should go to... sometimes it is marketing (like TWikiOrgHomepageRedesign2007) sometimes it's development. Maybe we have such a 'conflict' in other areas as well?

-- CarloSchulz - 27 Sep 2007

There are already too much TWiki Webs in the left bar.

-- FranzJosefGigler - 27 Sep 2007

Please allow me to summarise:

• Sven - Vote YES
• Koen - Vote YES
• Crawford - Vote YES
• Carlos - tentative Vote YES - but maybe we should think about other webs too
• Franz - too many webs in left bar? Some would agree (including me) but that don't mean that we shouldn't create more webs. It just means that we need to re-think the left bar!

Sven - when you say "trial principles" do you have anything in mind? I think that using twiki.org as a testing ground for generic wiki "organising principles" would be a great idea. This might be food for the blog - especially if we codify concepts that the rest of the world hasn't woken up to yet!

-- MichaelCorbett - 28 Sep 2007