After writing a few (relatively obscure) OSS frameworks, I\'ve learned the hard
ID: 659537 • Letter: A
Question
After writing a few (relatively obscure) OSS frameworks, I've learned the hard way that writing a good framework isn't enough--there has to be some time spent marketing your framework as much as the time you spend coding it. So here's my question: What are some effective ways for making your OSS project become well-known? Aside from blogging, how do I gain the most market attention for my code with the least amount of effort as humanly possible?
(EDIT: I'm a lazy programmer and I hate documentation, but I'm biting the bullet. I want to be famous)
Explanation / Answer
Start making some friends with larger voices than yours.
Social networking is a great tool for this: influential people on Twitter, Facebook, Buzz, what-have-you love sharing new and interesting things their followers might enjoy. The novel link is like currency. So, think about people who are popular and have a large audience and would be interested in your work. Then, just let them know about it.
To facilitate this, you should be treating your project just like you would a startup: come up with an elevator pitch that succinctly describes what it is your project does, what problem it solves, and why someone should care. A blog or some sort of record of progress over time is also valuable, as people who are interested in following a project generally want to see how it evolves just as much, if not moreso, than the project itself.
9 out of 10 times if you're not spammy about it, realize you're talking to a person who is just trying to find something cool, and your project is interesting in its own right, they're going to talk about it to others, or at least link to it.