"Vladimir Prus" <ghost@cs.msu.su> wrote in message news:da3f6p$r41$1@sea.gmane.org...

Beman Dawes wrote:

...

While the redesigned Boost home page is informative and visually attractive, it doesn't seem to me to have much marketing punch because it doesn't give a viewer any idea of how useful and successful Boost has become.

Thanks to stylesheet help from Rene Rivera, I've drafted a new section (currently entitled "Mini-FAQ") that is supposed to convey the marketing message that Boost is a success and useful to a lot of people.

See draft version at http://www.esva.net/~beman/boost-home/index.htm

Comments?

I would say that this "Mini-FAQ, probably reformatted and without header, should be placed immediately after:

The Boost web site provides free peer-reviewed portable C++ source libraries.

sentence. IMO, the remainder of the current "Welcome to boost.org" section, while correct, presicely lacks "marketing punch".

Ah! Good idea, IMO. The remainder of the current "Welcome..." section (everything after the first sentence) could be given a new section title "Goals". Take a look at http://www.esva.net/~beman/boost-home/index-mod-a.htm and let me know what you think. (But ignore spacing and boxes on the right - those are beyond my limited stylesheet knowledge. Once the content is agreed upon, perhaps Rene can help make it all look good.) Thanks, --Beman

Martin Wille wrote:

Perhaps, we could put this stuff on some "Boost for Managers" page instead of the start page. On that BoM page, we could also put

That should read "BfM", of course. We could also name that page "Why Boost?" and list technical and economical benefits from using Boost separately. Regards, m Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com

Peter Dimov wrote:

Martin Wille wrote:

...

Sorry disappoint you, but, frankly, "So download" <insert product here> "and start enjoying it" is exactly the kind of text I _never_ want to read in anything supposed to provide information.

In fact, way more often than not, that kind of phrase, in my experience, indicates an inferior product and make me not want to buy or even try some product (be it software or a vacuum cleaner).

Bragging about the number of happy customers has a similar effect.

I've always felt that a "Who is using our project" list actually means "We aren't a complete failure! Really!". :-)

The list is fine and motivating for us. It is more than just an attempt to use a big number as an argument. Announcing how many happy customers you have is a kind of an "a million flies can't err" argument, though. It's ok for a side note, but at a prominent place (like close to the top of the start page) it makes people ask "and that's the best you can tell us?". It feels like a second-hand car dealer type of argument. Regards, m Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com

On 7/4/05, Rob Stewart <stewart@sig.com> wrote:

There should be a download link that is prominent, but it doesn't need to be woven into the marketing so directly. "If you're interested in trying Boost, look for the download information in the sidebar" should work.

I think that a prominent download link is a very good idea. I, personally, commonly download lots of things and then check them later... I dont use to read ALL the page, download, open and etc... IMO, having a download link in the top of the main page will make people that are only surfing on the web for nothing to know a little of boost, at least uncompress it... IMO, heavier marketing on some "special" libraries of the boost in the main page could bring more immediate users for boost. As "special" libraries I mean smart_ptr, for example, that are almost essential in a C++ project. Sorry for my english...

-- Rob Stewart stewart@sig.com Software Engineer http://www.sig.com Susquehanna International Group, LLP using std::disclaimer; _______________________________________________ Unsubscribe & other changes: http://lists.boost.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/boost

-- Felipe Magno de Almeida Developer from synergy and Computer Science student from State University of Campinas(UNICAMP). Unicamp: http://www.ic.unicamp.br Synergy: http://www.synergy.com.br "There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark."

On 7/5/05, Jonathan Turkanis <technews@kangaroologic.com> wrote:

Felipe Magno de Almeida wrote:

...

IMO, heavier marketing on some "special" libraries of the boost in the main page could bring more immediate users for boost. As "special" libraries I mean smart_ptr, for example, that are almost essential in a C++ project.

Sorry for my english...

My wife tells me that "special" is usually an insult.

hahaha, sorry then, couldnt find a better word... What I meant was libraries that are more compelling to the website visitor, the ones that opened just to take a little look... and that may for some reason install and test it... IMO, if these users dont see any imediate use for the library, they wont demonstrate any interest in trying the lib or reading any documentation...

Jonathan

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-- Felipe Magno de Almeida Developer from synergy and Computer Science student from State University of Campinas(UNICAMP). Unicamp: http://www.ic.unicamp.br Synergy: http://www.synergy.com.br "There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark."

Martin Wille writes:

Sorry disappoint you, but, frankly, "So download" <insert product here> "and start enjoying it" is exactly the kind of text I _never_ want to read in anything supposed to provide information.

I wanted to say the say the exact same thing, Martin. I couldn't care less about having a link to "collected appeals to authority" on the front page. I use the Boost libraries for technical reasons, not because Bjarne Stroustrup (reportedly) uttered a fancy one-liner about them at one point. Peter

"David Abrahams" <dave@boost-consulting.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:ud5q29y8h.fsf@boost-consulting.com...

Peter Simons <simons@cryp.to> writes:

...

Martin Wille writes:

...

Sorry disappoint you, but, frankly, "So download" <insert product here> "and start enjoying it" is exactly the kind of text I _never_ want to read in anything supposed to provide information.

I wanted to say the say the exact same thing, Martin. I couldn't care less about having a link to "collected appeals to authority" on the front page. I use the Boost libraries for technical reasons, not because Bjarne Stroustrup (reportedly) uttered a fancy one-liner about them at one point.

You don't think we'll draw new users because Scott Meyers has recommended that people familiarize themselves with Boost?

Yes and no! People get _aware_ of Boost this way. But they start useing it because it helps them to solve a problem! Bertolt PS: Boost.org enables you to use bleeding edge technology without ending in a bloodbath.

Jonathan Turkanis wrote:

I started using boost regex a few years ago after carefully comparing a number of C++ regex packages. It turns out I picked a pretty good one ;-) But it would have been a more obvious choice if there had been quotes from Meyers and Stroustrup on the homepage (I'm not sure I knew who Herb Sutter was back then).

What about comparing boost to competitors? There are a lot of thread incapsulations, a lot of RegEx libraries etc. If you found a detailed technical comparison, would you read it? From one side, when I'm looking for a new library, I'd like to find a compact overview when several competitors are compared. It saves a lot of time. From other side, "feature comparison charts" are so offten used for pure marketing stuff... Andrey

Andrey Melnikov <melnikov@simplexsoft.com> writes:

David Abrahams wrote:

...

Should I or my organization use Boost? Indirectly, you're probably already a user, or soon will be, via the C++ Standard Library's TR1, or via programs which use Boost like Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0. So download Boost and start enjoying it directly!

A little too perky. And I betcha few people know what TR1 is. And nobody has it yet. And the paragraph doesn't answer the question it poses. So I suggest:

Boost libraries give C++ programmers worldwide an edge in developing reliable and maintainable programs. By using Boost, you will increase the expressiveness of your code and reduce the amount of time and code needed to build an application. Because you won't need to write, test, and maintain a broad category of foundation components, you'll be able to concentrate on code that directly addresses your application domain.

The paragraph looks still a pure add worth to skip it.

Then skip it. This information matters to some people (e.g. managers).

Why boost library does give an edge, and other good libraries don't?

I would never claim that other libraries don't (especially other good libraries). Please feel free to use any of them.

Your variant doesn't answer the question either.

Excuse me? You snipped the first word of my answer: Should I or my organization use Boost? Yes. Indirectly, you're ^^^ probably already a user, via popular programs like Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 that use Boost libraries internally. Boost libraries give C++ programmers worldwide an edge in developing reliable and maintainable programs. By using Boost, you will increase the expressiveness of your code and reduce the amount of time and code needed to build an application. Because you won't need to write, test, and maintain a broad category of foundation components, you'll be able to concentrate on code that directly addresses your application domain.

And there's no universal answer at all. The shortest answer would be:

Quality design of Boost libraries is confirmed by many famous C++ gurus. RTFM and check if Boost has a library that fit your needs.

That'll work great... for anyone who doesn't need to be convinced. -- Dave Abrahams Boost Consulting www.boost-consulting.com