13:31:20 <jflory7> #startmeeting Fedora Magazine and what it teaches us about users - Speaker: Paul Frields (pfrields / stickster)
13:31:20 <zodbot> Meeting started Tue Aug  2 13:31:20 2016 UTC.  The chair is jflory7. Information about MeetBot at http://wiki.debian.org/MeetBot.
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13:31:20 <zodbot> The meeting name has been set to 'fedora_magazine_and_what_it_teaches_us_about_users_-_speaker:_paul_frields_(pfrields_/_stickster)'
13:31:20 <jflory7> #meetingname flock2016
13:31:20 <zodbot> The meeting name has been set to 'flock2016'
13:31:27 <jflory7> #topic Introductions
13:32:17 <jflory7> #info Talking a little bit about what the Magazine is for, what it's not for, and what it tells us about our audience
13:32:28 <jflory7> Slides are short, but open for discussion and Q&A!
13:32:32 <jflory7> #topic Magazine objectives
13:32:48 <zodbot> suehle: Error: Can't start another meeting, one is in progress.
13:32:52 <jflory7> #info We present general information about Fedora to the general public
13:32:56 <jflory7> suehle: Already got it :)
13:33:10 <jflory7> #info Aiming audience to the general public, not just people who are working on Fedora
13:33:11 <suehle> jflory7, I was jumping on because I asked Paul if someone was doing it, and he said no. But go you. :)
13:33:30 <jflory7> suehle: Oh, odd, I thought I was on the wiki page – no worries either way!
13:34:25 <jflory7> #info Does the Magazine only care about the desktop and desktop apps? NO! We love to have articles about the Server and Cloud editions. Some of the "regulars" tend to be oriented towards Workstation, but we're more than willing and welcome any contributions about other types of content
13:34:38 <jflory7> #topic How it worked then...
13:34:44 <jflory7> #info Daily or weekly articles of interest
13:34:47 <jflory7> #info About trying new apps
13:34:53 <jflory7> #info Release announcements / news
13:35:03 <jflory7> #info Test Days and other new-contributor announcements
13:35:21 <jflory7> Had a lot of content but wasn't getting all of the hits we were looking for
13:35:36 <jflory7> But we wanted to take it to the "next level"
13:35:39 <jflory7> What does that mean?
13:35:53 <jflory7> #info Trying to get Fedora seen by more people - "this isn't your father's fedora"
13:37:06 <jflory7> #info Fedora isn't a *bleeding* edge distro (think more along cutting edge) - helping convey that message via Magazine is one application
13:37:25 <jflory7> Not everyone udnerstands the mechanics of the release cycle
13:37:33 <jflory7> They often use Fedora for personal reasons, either for more free systems, newer software, etc.
13:37:50 <jflory7> Trying to get out message that Fedora is more than just a tinkerer's Linux – suitable for everyone
13:38:13 <jflory7> suehle: If there's anything you want to add in, feel free, I don't mind if anyone wants to add to the minutes either :)
13:38:20 <jflory7> #info === Biggest response ===
13:38:26 <jflory7> #info Always comes from new releases
13:38:30 <suehle> But you're doing such a good job! :)
13:38:34 <jflory7> #info Official announcement source as of lately
13:38:41 <jflory7> #info Moving average rising
13:39:18 <jflory7> Mailing lists are boring, not that pretty, "thread next" "thread previous", no way to embed photos or videos, no easy hyperlinking, no screenshots
13:39:32 <jflory7> Also doesn't have an easy way to visually point people to more helpful resources
13:39:41 <jflory7> No context for what else they can do, like reading resources
13:39:50 <jflory7> Moving release announcement process to the Magazine has helped tremendously
13:40:03 <jflory7> Tens or even hundreds of thousands of hits for release articles on the Magazine
13:40:10 <jflory7> puiterwijk++ for helping with all of that too ;)
13:40:25 <jflory7> Revisiting moving average with release announcements... wat?
13:40:46 <jflory7> Each release, there is a spike in traffic, every time, all the time – and then traffic moves back down, but it never drops back down to the previous level
13:41:18 <jflory7> Is from active people visiting the Magazine from the general web
13:41:18 <jflory7> #info === Next biggest response ===
13:41:21 <jflory7> #info Howtos are very popular
13:41:30 <jflory7> #info Upgrades, security fixes, broad appeal tools
13:41:38 <jflory7> #info Powerline, fonts, virt, Vagrant...
13:42:02 <jflory7> Upgrade articles are powerful articles over time too – they don't just have an initial buzz at original time of publication
13:42:32 <jflory7> Heartbleed / Shellshock announcements via the Fedora Magazine proved to be a valuable PR opportunity – offering a great explanation about contemporary news is always very popular
13:42:43 <jflory7> Anything about coverage about tools with broad appeal are also popular
13:43:03 <jflory7> Powerline making terminals pretty, fonts making reading pretty, virtualization + Vagrant for trying out Fedora or other software / distros, etc.
14:08:43 <jflory7> Think I just timed out... not sure how much of what I've been typing was covered... can anyone tell me my last message? I have a large clipboard of the notes I've been taking that I can paste in to catch up. cc: bexelbie ryanlerch suehle skamath
14:08:56 <suehle> <jflory7> Powerline making terminals pretty, fonts making reading pretty, virtualization + Vagrant for trying out Fedora or other software / distros, etc.
14:09:10 <jflory7> suehle++ Thanks!
14:09:10 <zodbot> jflory7: Karma for rsuehle changed to 1 (for the f24 release cycle):  https://badges.fedoraproject.org/tags/cookie/any
14:10:39 <jflory7> Powerline making terminals pretty, fonts making reading pretty, virtualization + Vagrant for trying out Fedora or other software / distros, etc.
14:10:42 <jflory7> #topic Things that don't work well
14:10:44 <jflory7> #info === 1. Interface tours ===
14:10:46 <jflory7> #info Rate of change, attention span, etc.
14:10:48 <jflory7> Going through all the screenshots, steps, to follow them is tiring to read
14:10:50 <jflory7> Also don't persist well
14:10:52 <jflory7> Become quickly dated especially in a fast-moving distro like Fedora
14:10:56 <jflory7> We would like the Magazine to have some staying power for the articles we publish on apps
14:10:58 <jflory7> #info === 2. Community internal topics ===
14:11:01 <jflory7> #info However, the CommBlog is awesome!
14:11:02 <jflory7> #link https://communityblog.fedoraproject.org
14:11:04 <jflory7> #info Also carries to the Fedora Planet
14:11:07 <jflory7> Example of this is the Elections
14:11:08 <jflory7> Important for the community
14:11:10 <jflory7> Establish platforms for what contributors are interested in
14:11:13 <jflory7> But user community is not along the same lines
14:11:14 <jflory7> Not as personally interesting or relevant
14:11:16 <jflory7> tl;dr: CommBlog is awesome for contributor-specific news
14:11:18 <jflory7> It focuses on information impacting to the Fedora community itself
14:11:20 <jflory7> Publish general info that's easy for general public to find
14:11:22 <jflory7> But it's really all about the Fedora community for the Fedora community
14:11:26 <jflory7> In our Magazine meetings, we try to distinguish what the direction for the article is
14:11:28 <jflory7> And where it fits in the Fedora ecosystem
14:11:30 <jflory7> #info === 3. Silent publishing ===
14:11:32 <jflory7> #info Social media – please help!
14:11:34 <jflory7> #info Our social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Diaspora, Telegram announcement channel, Reddit, and more
14:11:37 <jflory7> Impacts our own impact with articles
14:11:39 <jflory7> #link https://lists.fedoraproject.org/admin/lists/social-media@lists.fedoraproject.org
14:11:41 <jflory7> #info Q: Any thoughts on translating content?
14:11:43 <jflory7> #info A: Long and complicated answer: not easy to do, not always efficient (duplicating content), not always free (freedom or beer)... we've considered but an easy solution doesn't seem possible. Needs more thought and consideration.
14:11:47 <jflory7> #info Q: "Do we want to reach non-English native readers?"
14:11:49 <jflory7> #info A: Is a news website the best place to send foreign readership? Consider other publishing sites too. Biggest hurdle is the tech hurdle. Also quality of translated content too. Consistency is also important.
14:11:52 <jflory7> #help If you have ideas or thoughts on translating content for the Magazine, please share them with us in the Marketing team!
14:11:57 <jflory7> Tech seems a little bit behind right now
14:12:00 <jflory7> Maybe some day, but it's not at the level like we have for docs with Zanata or other tools
14:12:01 <jflory7> Much easier for software, not as much for published content
14:12:03 <jflory7> #topic Content changes
14:12:08 <jflory7> #info Focus on enabling users – NOT just desktop specific
14:12:09 <jflory7> We're trying to cover content that enables new users
14:12:10 <jflory7> #info Some announcements about broad public events
14:12:11 <jflory7> Like Flock!
14:12:13 <jflory7> It covers far-reaching, broad public event, we will cover that
14:12:15 <jflory7> When it makes sense for general users, we will publish too - blocks on requirements for mentorship and ease of use
14:12:18 <jflory7> #info Still carries release news!
14:12:20 <jflory7> Past release was super well-synced
14:12:22 <jflory7> Boosts readership
14:12:26 <jflory7> #info Interviews (How do you Fedora?)
14:12:28 <jflory7> cprofitt++
14:12:30 <jflory7> Interested in being interviewed for something cool? Charles Profitt (cprofitt) regularly emails interviews to others for HDYF. You can be interviewed too!
14:12:33 <jflory7> #info Not asking for audience action – rather, help them do what *they* want
14:12:35 <jflory7> #topic Pragmatic approach
14:12:37 <jflory7> info FOSS software: OK (example: Firefox)
14:12:39 <jflory7> #info Non-FOSS software, licit software: OK (example: Chrome)
14:12:41 <jflory7> #info Illicit software (FOSS or not): Not OK
14:12:43 <jflory7> #info Q: "Do we have a responsibility to promote alternatives to non-free software?"
14:12:45 <jflory7> #info A: No, not really – usually if we're writing about software, we're not trying to argue in an article whether they can use it. We're focusing on enabling the author to write about using Fedora the way that they want to. If they like to include alternatives, they can.
14:12:49 <jflory7> #topic By the nmbers (*per Jetpack)
14:12:51 <jflory7> #info 2014: 271 articles, 666K views
14:12:55 <jflory7> #info 2015: 186 articles, 1.9M views
14:12:57 <jflory7> #info 2016: 96 articles, 1.25M views (so far)
14:12:59 <jflory7> #topic Writing process
14:13:01 <jflory7> #info All articles start as PITCH, an explanation of what the article wants to cover
14:13:03 <jflory7> #info Moves to draft stage while author works on the article
14:13:05 <jflory7> #info === Pending review ===
14:13:07 <jflory7> #info Author(s) submit draft
14:13:09 <jflory7> Editors tweak for readability, SEO, audience appeal
14:13:11 <jflory7> #info Create featured image for attractiveness
14:13:13 <jflory7> #info Target: publish 3x substantial articles each week
14:13:15 <jflory7> === Issue #1 ===
14:13:17 <jflory7> #info Basic writing execution
14:13:19 <jflory7> #info Solution (TBD): Guide laying out a generic article (beginning, middle, end)
14:13:21 <jflory7> #info Explain user benefit, explain process, test and practice it
14:13:25 <jflory7> #info How does it appeal to the user?
14:13:41 <jflory7> Reads better, performs well, draws more people in
14:13:45 <jflory7> #info === Issue #2 ===
14:13:49 <jflory7> #info Relevant content
14:14:01 <jflory7> #info Solution: "Starter pitches" – clear content outline
14:14:09 <jflory7> Consultation with OpenSource.com
14:14:15 <jflory7> Using online tools to determine search relevance
14:14:47 <jflory7> Some examples so far were GNOME Shell extensions
14:15:13 <jflory7> Rikki Endsley advised for identifying common search terms related to Fedora and how we can write to fulfill user's current wishes / desires based on current searches
14:15:31 * jflory7 is hoping this all parses correctly
14:15:40 <jflory7> #topic How to get involved!
14:15:54 <jflory7> #info Writer / editor: Be fluent (or just decent) at English
14:16:04 <jflory7> #info Tech editor: Test the process, engage with writer to fix
14:16:14 <jflory7> #info Artist: Design a featured image (and a well-documented process too!)
14:16:24 <jflory7> #link https://pagure.io/fedoramagazine-images
14:16:36 <jflory7> #info Marketing / Ambassador: Recruit others to helo
14:16:43 <jflory7> #undo
14:16:43 <zodbot> Removing item from minutes: INFO by jflory7 at 14:16:36 : Marketing / Ambassador: Recruit others to helo
14:17:04 <jflory7> ryanlerch++
14:17:05 <jflory7> ryanlerch++
14:17:05 <jflory7> ryanlerch++
14:17:27 <jflory7> #info Marketing / Ambassador: Recruit others to help
14:17:38 <jflory7> Don't have to be Fedora illuminaries to help!
14:18:33 <jflory7> #info ...we have badges. Four. ;)
14:18:42 <jflory7> #topic Resources
14:18:58 <jflory7> #info Mailing list: marketing@lists.fedoraproject.org
14:19:04 <jflory7> #info IRC channel: freenode, #fedora-mktg
14:19:11 <jflory7> #info Submit a tip or an idea!
14:19:23 <jflory7> #link https://fedoramagazine.org/submit-an-idea-or-tip/
14:22:01 <jflory7> stickster++
14:22:04 <jflory7> #endmeeting