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Ask HN: promoting an open source product?
I am one of two main developers on a popular open source program (x264) used widely on both Windows and Linux (available under GPLv2). It has the following attributes:
1. Only one of its kind: there is no other free (open source or otherwise) program that can replace what it does. Consumer-level commercial competitors include Quicktime, Nero, and the new DivX 7. Professional-level commercial competitors include Mainconcept and Elecard.
2. Considerably better than the vast majority of commercial implementations--and arguably, for some purposes, the best in the world.
3. Already an important part of the backend on many major websites, such as Youtube and Facebook.
4. Critical to the entire business plan of many medium-size startups, such as Vudu and Avail Media.
5. Has helped me get a great deal of contracting and consulting work.
6. We own the best possible domain name for the program (www.x264.com).
However, the reason I'm asking about things here is the following problem: while we're extremely popular in the hobbyist world, in the commercial world, we're really only used among those "in the know," like Google; for every Youtube there are a hundred sites that have no idea what they're doing and don't know the benefits of using the product. Part of this is because there is no central website to provide basic information and support for the program--such are things when there are only two main developers on a project.
Worse, more and more commercial programs are ripping us off, usually in violation of the GPL. This is unavoidable, as most of these programs are sold out of China or similar, and if a crackdown ever occurs, they just change the product name again. But both for the future benefit of the project and the benefit of my wallet, I figure it is a good idea to try to spread name recognition. This is made an even bigger problem by the fact that it is apparently official Google policy to refuse to publicly acknowledge the internal use of open source products (yes, I am not kidding you, this is from directly from one of the main backend guys at Youtube)--meaning that we have to go out and say that Youtube is using us because they won't do it. Of course, it helps that our watermarks show up on their new HD videos.
Where is a good place to go to get a basic but professional-looking website for the project where we can post useful information, news updates, and so forth? I can write all the material, but I'm clueless when it comes to web design. The most HTML I've written is handwritten text, image layouts, and sometimes tables. Furthermore, what advice does HN have in general for an open source project looking to "go professional"? We already have corporate backing in the form of development resources and/or money from Joost and Avail Media, but from the outside, none of it shows through; we're just two bored hackers to everyone else.
- russell 18y agoOne of the most basic things to do is tell people who you are. HN readers can give lots of useful advice, but hiding yourself as $productname is a definite turn off.
- DarkShikari 18y agoI'll update the post to add more specific information.
- cdibona 18y agoI'd get a handle on how to understand those users. The smaller shops need a fair amount of help dealing with almost every aspect of codecs on their devices. From patent clearing to implementation, deploying these systems are ridiculously complicated if you want to do so legally and in compliance with the gpl, iso and other licenses around these tools and when you combine this with some of the less , ahem, legit codecs that are floating around (people pulling code from qt and wma players then representing them as their own work, etc...) there is a fair amount of consulting opportunity out there. This is assuming you are with any of the following: ffmpeg, mplayer, vlc, gstreamer, etc...
- cdibona 18y agoAlso, NVU is easy to use, go get some cheapo designer or grab a free template online.
- DarkShikari 18y agoWe're on good terms with VLC and I'm also an ffmpeg developer (mostly in the realm of h264-related stuff).
- cdibona 18y agoWell, honestly, there is a lot of revenue out there if you are willing to hustle for it. Some of the most difficult work with open sourcing (and just developing) a platform like android was the media codecs and opencore stuff. It's why companies like packetvideo and the like are so successful. It's a hard nut to work on, so those that can are valued.