Plone is top 10 Content Managment Systems

So have you checked out Google rank lately?  Content Management - by Google.  Besides Plone being one of the best Content Management Systems (NOTE: We are not interested in Enterprise Content Management) in the entire marketplace - Google searches and websites are starting to really increase dramatically.  A search for Plone yields over 15 million results when googled. And ya know -- that query is really telling.

Plone makes money; car dont make no money

If you have seen Hands on a Hard Body there is a guy who says "Truck make money; car don't make no money" and that is absolutely true.  Trucks can make money but most importantly -- Plone makes money.  Look at the google results for searching for Plone -- we have consulting firms galore advertising.  This is indicative of people making money -- because they are paying money for these adwords.  Not hosting services or low-cost services.  But business oriented consulting; people providing solutions with Plone. 

Giving back?

Are these people giving back?  A lot of these companies are not involved in the Plone Foundation.  Which is mildly depressing to say the least.  But not only that - they dont contribute to the protection of Plone or advancement of Plone.  ZeoMega for instance helped the Plone Foundation with a booth for the O'Reilly conference.  I've never heard of Opatros or Enomaly.  Are they giving back?  Are they helping with Marketing?

Ways of Giving Back

• Submit your website's to plone.org to be listed on plone.org
• Tag your website's with plone-site using del.icious.us - it looks like we have over 600 sites taged.
• Sites that are using Plone should have a link to plone.org -- to increase our google rank along with icon
  

You should always ask your client.  I've never had a client that did not want to link to plone.org -- they are getting a very capable product for free.  Enfold Systems didnt do the skin/design for Oxfam America but they were so happy with Plone they agreed to put a plone powered icon with a link to plone.org.

•  Help out with marketing analysis.  Donate to the Foundation.  Come to a Symposium or Conference and do a presentation or sponsor a sprint. 
  
• Contribute code, enhancements, pay developers to work on features or work on documentation.
• Be creative - you started a company - what can help both your organization and Plone?
  

Open Source is not a Fad

I believe a lot of people have "caught on" to this Open Source as the DotCom phenomenon and a great place to make money without having to contribute.  But if I was a client looking at firms to provide solutions with Open Source -- I would ask for firm evidence they are tightly involved with the project.  There are reasons:

• If you are not a contributor or work with the project - if there are deep changes need to be made for your client - there is ZERO possibility of the code going back into the main project.  Which is a shame - because deep changes (if applicable) are what Open Source evolution are all about.
• You are a consumer of Open Source but have ZERO legitimacy which means you will not be able to control your destiny.  Most vendors who work with large CMS provides - are not used to this relationship between organization and community but the idea of Controlling Your Destiny is critical in Open Source.  Because the software exists today but if no one pushes the software further or the people who are pushing - move it into a direction you do not like -- you will have no recourse.
• If you only take and do not give - that is Evil.  I am not a fan of Bush and I'm not interested in politics on the internet (only in person ;).  But if you are a constant taker of Open Source gifts without any contribution -- you are doing Evil.  Sorry to say it - but you are.  Dont be evil.  Its Christmas - people!  It's the time for *giving*.

Laissez le bon temps Roulez

And on that note - I'm gonna load up my Egg Nog with some Myers Dark Rum and crank up James Booker's Junco Partner  and do a tad of coding.  At Enfold Systems we have recently been working with Democracy in Action which is a ASP similiar to GetActive.  We now have a Python API into Democracy in Action in our SVN.  svn co https://svn.enfoldsystems.com/public/deminaction -- they are inexpensive.  Cant wait till we show you guys how and where we are using it -- its gonna blow you away!

Oh and before I leave.. the title of this blog - is inspired by James Booker's song.  Which you really should listen to while reading this posting.  Some lyrics:
"The world we know is built on skills, but that alone dont count"
"You gotta live and give; share and care"
"Everybody lets sing let freedom ring"

"Society is the priority, we're all one part of a whole
Whenever people shout, we gotta here them out,
Everyones a beautiful song."

fsck honkey ole Richard Stallman - I elect James Booker as the new Free Software Movement spokesman.

Everyone please be safe over the New Year - I hope this project and community is as inspiring to you as it is to me each day.  If not start giving a little more, and go buy the Junco Partner album -- if giving isnt making you groove enough

your friend and dictator, alan runyan