New 6.0 Features - Sell what you got fellas

[Fairlight]

Yo, homey, in case you don' be listenin', Nancy Palmquist done said:
> 
> I don't think any features are as important as a clear marketing strategy.

That makes no common sense.  Without competitive features, you have nothing
to market viably.  Note that I said viably.  If you want to market based on
a 25yr old product that has matured at a snail's pace in the last decade
(for a myriad of reasons, granted), fine.  But it's not bound to yield the
desired results, I can almost guarantee it.

What do you compare yourself to, nowadays? fP is -not- an RDBMS.  It's
not even so much a DBMS as it is a RAD toolkit for building applications
that happen to require data storage.  Okay, where are the rest of those?
Gee, if you look around, they're all GUI or web-based nowadays (Kylix,
Delphi, CodeCharge, etc.) and from what every last developer I've talked
to (even fP loyalists) has said, fPGI is a bad joke that was a waste of
several years.  As for fpcgi, I don't even hold v2.0 in high regard, and it
nukes making use of most of the RAD part of fP anyway--unless you have a
dual-environment application or are tacking on a web front to your existing
app.  We'll not discuss what I see as the other faults of that tack-on, due
to a conflict of interest that I'll readily acknowledge.

Magic, DBIV, whatever Paradox became...most of the comparable alternatives
are gone.  What's left are high-end RDBMS's with -very- expensive toolkits
for RAD--almost all of which appear to be GUI-only, or open-source RDBMS's
where you bring your own (or 3rd party) language and interfaces.

There's no basis for comparison, therefore marketing is that much harder.
"filePro is so much better than...*crickets chirp*" What do you want to
say, here, exactly?  What exactly do you stack it up against?  It's -so-
niche right now that it has no -direct- comparison available.  I'm (sadly)
reminded of a line from "The Day After Tomorrow" at this point:  "This
place is so retro, it'd be cool if it was intentional."

You can -try- and say it's faster than developing in *SQL and perl or
whatnot.  You may or may not be right.  For the UI and report phases,
you'll be right.  For web work...it can be if you have the right tool,
although it's still more efficient to directly access a database via an
API.  And *SQL being a standard, people will stick with that.  Perl,
PHP (much as I hate it), ColdFusion, Delphi...all recognised and widely
deployed.  But you can't directly compare it to any one thing, because no
one thing does what fP does (not really, anymore), and fP doesn't entirely
get away with killing two other products with one stone when you get to the
high-end features of some of the other engines (or languages)--yes, Nancy,
the stuff you don't care about because -you- don't need it, even if others
do have a need for it.  

Now you could sink money into an ad campaign, but I don't think anyone
downloading the demo will be impressed enough to switch based on what it is
-currently-.  (This is precisely why I think the Next Level is called for,
meaning the storage model abstraction I've mentioned several times, which
-would- possibly incite some people to switch.)

Which basically leaves you trying to harness the buying power of people
that have never used -any- RAD or DB tools before, because they won't know
any better and won't know that, while they're gaining some great things,
they're giving up a lot of versatility and system-level features in trade.  

Not an enviable position in which to be.

> Get some big clients to do a spread on the way they use filePro.

People generally don't like to do this.  When they do, it's usually
solicited, and it's worth (in influence value) virtually nothing because
people -realise- they've been paid to do it.  If someone -happens- to find
out through back channels that 'x' corporation uses 'y' widget and it
makes its way into the media, that's one thing--and that has a legitimacy
and weight to it because they're not touting it themselves and it's not
transparent.  You can't -buy- press like that.  A good leak is worth a
hundred (maybe a thousand) paid adverts.  If you shout at the top of your
lungs that you use a particular tool, nobody cares--you're shilling for
someone and probably getting a cut to do the shilling, to boot.  Nobody
takes it seriously.

> Get a big celebrity to endorse it.  Bill Gates says "I love filePro".

Can you refer me to your optometrist?  I want some rose coloured glasses!
Besides not deigning to bow that low to -anyone-, Gates wouldn't do it on
the basis of 1) not owning it himself, and 2) its being far more stable
than his own products, and therefore not being worthy of endorsement in his
eyes.

> Get a partnership with some company that will get our name in the market.

One of your more likely and manageable goals.

> Get a spot on the Superbowl.

Put -down- the hallucinogenics, and slowly back away.  :)

> Get the software in the Radio Shack stores.

Uhm, the last thing I saw was a fP16 in an RS store--in about 1995.  I
think it was actually a left-over 4.0.  They've been there and done that.
If it were still a viable partnership or arrangement, wouldn't they still
be actively doing that?  Besides, RS has changed dramatically in the last
decade plus.  As Bill said, have you even been -in- one lately?

As for other stores like Best Buy and such, the highest ticket items you're
likely to find are Windows itself, Office, and Photoshop.  Photoshop
is $995 last I checked.  Other than that, most of the inventory will
be < $250, and more likely < $125.  You're talking about putting an
almost exclusively (well, it -can- be used personally, but it's overkill)
enterprise-based solution into stores that cater to consumers.

> Get books in the book stores.

filePro for Dummies.  That was cute.  But seriously...where's the market?
You have fifty+ linux books out there because there's a huge, vast user
base for which it is profitable to print books.  We're talking potential of
millions to tens--maybe hundreds--of millions here.  And what do we think
fP's current (5.0,the only supported version) installed base is? 

That's cart before the horse.  You need product recognition before you can
start marketing documentation for the product.  Books don't sell software.
Software with half-assed documentation, ignorant programmers, or a
combination thereof, sells books.  You have it entirely backwards.

I see this as a complete non-starter, and flights-of-fancy aside, possibly
one of the worst suggestions you made.

> Get people to haunt forums of DB developer people for Windows/Unix/Linux 
> and post heres what I do with filePro.  With emphasis on speed and easy 
> of use - stability of data storage - cross-platform development.

Trolling, you mean?  They'll tend to be ignored if it's obvious enough.
Besides that implication, let me ask you, Nancy--when you're watching TV,
how many of the commercials do you sit through and actually pay attention
to?  The trend NOW is actually towards things like DVR's that let you
entirely cut commercials out of the mix entirely (which Bill Gates had the
idiocy to actually say was the equivalent of piracy for on-air content,
which made me laugh VERY hard).

But seriously...if the noise to signal (ie., commercial to what people are
interested in) ratio is too high, people tune out.

And if, as in the past, the very mention of other solutions was frowned
upon in a forum such as this (whether right or wrong), what makes you
think that's going to be any more polite or effective in another venue,
tables turned?  You (and many others) didn't (and don't) want to hear about
*SQL and other languages and such, even when mentioned in concert with
fP, not necessarily as a replacement.  What makes you think that a group
standing behind a product with much higher market recognition will be more
receptive to a relative unknown?  That's wishful thinking, compounded by
poor ethics--to -intentionally- deliver that content here.  I've advocated
some changes before, even migration in certain circumstances in the past
where it was clear fP wasn't cutting it for someone's needs--but I don't
-recall- ever flat-out coming here and saying, "filePro sucks, you really
should be using Oracle--look at all the neat things I can do."  If there's
been an issue someone had, or a question of comparison, I haven't -ever-
hesitated to express what I felt the advantages were, I -don't- deny that,
as the archives will quite clearly show that I'm more than willing to point
out what I feel fP's shortcomings are.  But outright trolling in the manner
you suggest be done elsewhere, purely to get people to switch?  No.  Never.
I've no reason to--hell, I'm not a reseller of -anyone's- software.
There's no incentive for me to have ever done it.  There's a distinction.

Consider what the reaction has been here when alternative approach or
product discussed here.  The backlash has usually been 90%+, with a few
dissenters who see the merits of other solutions.  It's bad enough
incurring that wrath incidentally.  You don't need to generate ill-will
towards the product -intentionally-.

Granted, I wasn't always the most even-tempered of souls, especially five
years or more ago.  I'm still not always that even-tempered, but I'd like
to think I've mellowed.  But even if you sent in the sweetest, most
cheerful and helpful person in the world, it will still amount to nothing
more than trolling--an active and ongoing spam-with-intent.  I don't think
the world needs more of that, and fP doesn't need the backlash.  Legitimate
businesses don't engage in such practices.

> Have Ken figure out a way to automate these postings and let them rip.

Unethical, and besides that--it won't work.  I echo Bill's sentiments, and
then saw your reply.  What you don't seem to understand is that posting
something like that even -once- (not just once a month, but -once-) gets
you branded as a spammer, and someone with which you don't want to do
business--or even take seriously.  If you want to entirely kill the
company's reputation, hey, nobody's standing in your way.  It's a surefire
way to do it, I can tell you that.

> Find a software company that needs a database management product line 
> and talk to them about a partnership.

Most everyone that needs a solution -has- a solution of one type or
another, unless they're a startup.  It's a matter of giving someone the
incentive to -switch-.

What world do you live in where a company hasn't already met its internal
needs (or formed a solid plan) after a year of operations, and yet is still
in business?  Any that haven't won't last too long, IMHO.

> There has got to be some brillant minds out there that have money and 
> need somewhere to invest to grow a company with a product like filePro. 

You don't get it.  It's not the -company- that needs growing.  It's the
product.  The -brilliant- minds are going to want to change things -far-
more radically than I've ever suggested--and at that point, they'll realise
that it's quite possibly easier to start from scratch so they don't have to
work around 25 years of legacy limitations in the process.

And you don't even like -my- moderately progressive stance.  You haven't
seen the true difference--even audacity, some might say--of someone who's
thinking on a whole other level.  Status quo will not do for them.  Things
-would- change, and I can guarantee that backwards compatability would be
one of the first things sacrificed.

>   They put money into all the .coms and they needed to start from 
> scratch.  We got something aready done, just needs the right kind of 
> backing.

A very few .com's made it.  There's a reason many call them dot bombs, much
as I hate the buzzword.

> I know that many of these things require capital, but some are cheap. 
> Start where you can.  Do what you can.

You can put out a new version with compelling features.  Keyword: COMPELLING.

If it's not compelling, people won't buy.  If it was already compelling,
and it was selling like hotcakes, they wouldn't be looking to do a new
version (presumably) to gain more revenue, would they?  They'd be all set
and just sit back and let the dollars walk in the door.  (This is why M$
puzzles me--they're sitting on billions, and yet they feel a need to rush a
new version of Windows out every year or three when they -don't- need the
money.)

Tossing a few dribs and drabs at it and slapping on a new version major
number isn't going to cut it.  People want something -substantial- for
their money or they won't bite.  That's been the case in the past.  Why
do I keep running into 4.8 and 4.5 installations, to this day?  And the
fP community is notoriously (even to hear fP developers/resellers say
it, verbatim) "tight-fisted".  And in case nobody's noticed the last
three-or-so year recession, IT expenditure funding hasn't exactly been
plentiful even for the big boys, much less the small shoppes.

Starting where you can -should- involve using common sense, sitting down
and pinning down where you are, where you want to go, and the most logical
and cost-effective steps towards getting there.  I'm pretty sure that
careful pre-analysis of something like Biometrics should have shown that it
was not a way to increase core product sales.  My take on it is that it was
probably someone's pet project or one-off need that got marketed after the
fact, post-development.  You want to look at the -core- product and figure
out where you want it to be in a year, five years, ten years, twenty years,
and start plotting a course.  You don't just throw out add-ons as you come
up with them for whatever reason and pray that they'll sell like hotcakes
and drive future sales.

mark->
-- 
Bring the web-enabling power of OneGate to -your- filePro applications today!

Try the live filePro-based, OneGate-enabled demo at the following URL:
               http://www2.onnik.com/~fairlite/flfssindex.html