[LRUG] Rails marketability

[Vahagn Hayrapetyan]

addresses = addressees.

That's THREE double letters in one word.

/ Vahagn

On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 3:13 PM, Vahagn Hayrapetyan <vahagnh at gmail.com>wrote:

> @Mark:
>
> The few times I have tried selling Rails the addresses of my pitch were
> interested (because the Rails buzz had reached them indirectly), but wanted
> to know what exactly makes it so magic. My way of going around it is to
> explain that the benefits Rails gives are two-fold: 1) *External* (rapid
> prototyping, possibility for early and continuous feedback, etc) and 2) *
> Internal* (culture of best coding practices, testability, clean
> architecture, etc, hence productivity and maintainability). After which,
> they usually say "Well that sounds exciting, maybe it's worth a try" or
> something like that.
>
> So exactly as Dr Nic says, I think the responsibility for actually
> marketing Rails with the right message is entirely ours - as developers we
> shape the Rails ecosystem but we also should proactively shape it's image in
> the world. A healthy amount of buzz (which Rails certainly has) will never
> hurt the case, but the main thrust of the message should (in my opinion) be
> more than "because it's cool". Instead, one should put forward the added
> value of solid architecture, testability, REST implementation, quick and
> productive iterations, etc.
>
> Not everyone out there is aware of these things, so here is our chance to
> turn buzz into something more lasting, which I think would not only be good
> for business but also for the web development ecosystem in total, which is
> only now catching up with some of the good practices that have been adopted
> in other areas of software development, for some time already.
>
> Cheers,
> Vahagn
>
>
> On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 1:00 PM, Mark Coleman <
> mark at breakthrough-workshop.com> wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I had a IM chat with Dr Nic last week  and I was wondering what your
>> experiences are... The bit that got me thinking was this:
>>
>>  Me: In the current economic climate, do you think rails has advantages
>>> over other frameworks?
>>>
>>> Dr Nic: Oh shit yes.
>>>
>>> Tough times are when start asking the big questions: what tools and
>>> processes can be use to get this job done with less (staff, time,
>>> resources)? Agile development means you get the core 80% done with 20% of
>>> the "normal" belated effort of a traditional, over-running project. Rails is
>>> still the best web dev toolset for efficient, rapid web development.
>>>
>>> Rails developers and agile development thought leaders need to be
>>> shouting this stuff from the roof tops. Or rather, from the boardrooms and
>>> sales calls. Similarly, developers in all fields should take the time now to
>>> learn Rails and learn the basics of agile development now so they make
>>> themselves more valuable. Its exciting times, really.
>>>
>> [ The full chat is posted
>> http://www.rails-underground.com/2009/04/interview-with-dr-nic.html ]
>>
>> My question is: Do you find that clients are interested in Rails? Is it
>> something you would emphasise when bidding for work? Is it the framework
>> itself, or the benefits that it can bring that people recognise?
>>
>> Mostly, my clients are not that web savvy or technical, so I would tend to
>> focus on the advantages that Rails can provide, like rapid prototyping, a
>> faster time to market, well-tested, easier to maintain code, etc. Like any
>> good user requirements document, they are not interested in the technical
>> implementation :)
>>
>> I wonder if more technically aware clients ask for rails specifically, or
>> are more interested in rails because they are aware of its advantages; or
>> whether they concentrate on the benefits only. I guess another way of
>> putting it would be: does Rails have a good brand name in business? Can you
>> use it as a shorthand for good quality? Or maybe the opposite? Does the
>> 'rails can't scale' shit stick?
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Mark
>> _______________________________________________
>> Chat mailing list
>> Chat at lists.lrug.org
>> http://lists.lrug.org/listinfo.cgi/chat-lrug.org
>>
>
>
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