Hi Richard, There has been a request to stop this thread, which I agree with is not productive, but you obviously put a lot of consideration into your last post, so I will do you the curtesy of a reply - but this will be my last comment on this thread.
On Tue, Jan 20, 2015 at 5:04 AM, horrido <horrido.hobb...@gmail.com> wrote: > There is much to respond to here. First of all, I was NOT putting down > ESUG or Smalltalk Foundation. That may not have been your intent - but that is the nature of such comparisons. > I was simply pointing out that, despite their > promotional efforts, Smalltalk has slipped out of the public consciousness, > as evidenced by language rankings and coverage in the IT press, as well > as the fact that Smalltalk does not compete well against the likes of Java > for enterprise adoption. Have I made any inaccurate observations here? > Indeed there is a great deal of industry inertia to overcome. However accuracy or otherwise was not in question. It was the tone. > > Second, I am NOT trying to over-promote myself or even promote myself > at all. but later you say "if Smalltalk manages to get back onto the TIOBE language index in the next month or two, you can be pretty sure it's because of my efforts." This is not the same as just reporting what you've achieved. > The only reason why I state my accomplishments is to *defend* > myself against criticism. That is natural, but is an argument like "the means justifies the ends". Now when you are new to a community, *defending* yourself can be a trap. To quote ESR from that link I provided earlier... "Remember: When that hacker tells you that you've screwed up, and (no matter how gruffly) tells you not to do it again, he's acting out of concern for (1) you and (2) his community. It would be much easier for him to ignore you and filter you out of his life. If you can't manage to be grateful, at least have a little dignity, don't whine, and don't expect to be treated like a fragile doll just because you're a newcomer with a theatrically hypersensitive soul and delusions of entitlement." Indeed, writing this is not fun. It takes time to find the right words and I'd rather be coding. However you do have great enthusiasm that would unfortunate to lose, if it can be tempered in this mail list to community norms. Keep the hyperbole for your articles. > I don't want the SRP to be about me. I have repeatedly stated that the SRP > is about *you*, the Smalltalk community. Without your support and contributions, I do not have a campaign. Period. > > But people can't be pushed. The the onus is on you needs to observe the community and understand what motivates its members. Build a reputation in areas important to THEM (as best you can determine from observation, not "just" asking) and then you are in a better position to get the answers you want. > To the extent that I am challenged in galvanizing the Smalltalk community, > I have to visibly lead the charge. I know that everyone is pretty busy, so > it > is understandable that trying to get you to contribute is rather like > pulling teeth. I accept that; it is part of my job. It is thus inevitable > that my persona has to enter the picture. And this is apparently a point of > friction. > Yes, you've chosen a tough job. But if you want to get what you need, it is as much marketing yourself to the community as it is marketing Smalltalk to the outside world. Now note that marketing is not the same as selling or promoting yourself - its about understanding the market/community how you align with and appeal to their purpose. > > Third, it seems funny that I have to give you a "state of the union" report > on the campaign. If you were paying attention at all, if you gave a damn, > you would have all the information. But nevertheless, here goes... > > Through a web of social media, through my publications, through the > mention of Smalltalk Renaissance in InfoWorld, word of Smalltalk is once > again rippling out to the rest of the cybersphere. You can see this on my > Twitter feed, where I am continually gaining followers, where my tweets are > being retweeted and favourited. Who knows how far these tweets are > propagating! It's hard to tell, but I'm guessing that *Smalltalk is on the > minds of a lot more people today than it was a month ago.* > > Ditto for Facebook and Google+ where I'm also continually gaining > followers and likes. I'm even gaining followers on WordPress, something > that I did not expect. > > Moreover, exposure at Medium should not be underestimated. It gets a lot > of eyeballs. The current tally of "The Smalltalk Revolution" is 14K views > and 7.6K reads, with 16 recommendations. This is by far the most popular > article I have ever written in my entire life! And I've written a lot of > sh*t. > > Getting a mention in InfoWorld is a big deal. Congrats to James Ladd and > Redline. You have no idea how hard it is to get the IT press to cover > Smalltalk. I'm thankful for small victories. > > I have no idea what the impact of all this is, but if Smalltalk manages to > get back onto the TIOBE language index in the next month or two, you can be > pretty sure it's because of my efforts. > > Fourth, I am perfectly aware of all the Smalltalk material that have been > published online over the years. It is truly voluminous and impressive. It > is all part of a "grassroots" effort to promote Smalltalk, and this should > not be dismissed. > > However, grassroots are NOT going to get you where you want to > be...unless you are satisfied to remain in your niche forever. The idea > that if you build it, they will come, is incredibly naive. You /have/ built > it. You > /are/ building it. Still, Smalltalk is not gaining a lot of converts. Why? > There is a lot of industry inertia to overcome. Now actually, I like the idea of Pharo being a secret weapon, as described in Paul Graham's "Beating the Averages" (http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html) > Because you haven't told them a good story. You haven't persuaded them > that Smalltalk has a future, after it has fizzled over the past 20 years. > This is a tough perception to overcome. > The SRP is your opportunity to tell your story. I believe you have the > power > to persuade. This was the whole idea behind my campaign. > > Fifth, if you don't believe in my campaign, or in what I'm doing, then why, > oh, why am I wasting my time and energy?? Because you believe in it regardless of any criticism. However I think the main issue is not your campaign, but the "way" you report and promote it here. > If the issue is *me*, my undesirable persona, then perhaps I should step > down and let someone else take over. I'm sure one of you can put in the > same amount of time and energy that I have (6-8 hours a day, every day for > the past several weeks, with many more weeks to come). Probably no one would. Most people here are busy coding. Hence the value you present. Perhaps your persona is the right thing required for the role you've chosen - but yes, there are some rough edges causing friction that need to be sorted out if everyone is going to work together. > I'm sure one of you has a better plan, a better strategy. > > I am not looking for recognition. I am not looking for gratitude (although > a > wee bit would be appreciated). I am not doing this because I'm an > egotistical maniac. I'm doing it because I believe in Smalltalk. I'm doing > it out of the kindness and goodness of my heart. > > But if you think so little of me, then tell me to F--- off. /Because, > seriously, I don't need this./ > > Personally I appreciate your efforts and enthusiasm - but in essence I think the community is more "under promise and over deliver" than your writing style. Maybe that is not so great for "getting the message out" , but it is what it is. Yours faithfully, -ben
