1. Give the prizes to the individuals, and blow the institutions.
Make the prizes MetaCard related, such as CDROMs. You're trying to
encourage individuals to do MORE. Institutions don't really exist
and, in any case, cash prizes would get eaten up in administrative
costs;
About the only prize I think would make an appreciable difference to
my company would be some kind of licensing break; on the off-chance
that we want to bundle MC with our own software.
3. A decisive YES. Interest in the product will grow as the
size of your contrib directory does. I have a hard time here
enthusing others about MetaCard, because most people perhaps think
of HyperCard as a colourless product;
I've also had a hard time enthusing others about MC (until recently
that is). Basically, the only thing that has gotten their attention
is when I do something twice as nice as the expected in half the
expected time. (getting harder to do since their expectations are
rising)
Another problem with hooking others on MC is that it can be such
different things to different people. I've gotten some people hooked
by telling them its a easy GUI builder for dialog boxes that they can
connect to their existing Unix applications. In one case I spend an
hour talking to a project manager about a dialog box he needed; then
45 minutes implementing it. When I called him in 45 minutes after he
left with a "finished" application, he was sold.
4. Speaking as a programming illiterate (I get others to do my
dirty work...), how about some easier documentation with thre
product for dummies like me? Publicise the Coulouris book
on "HyperProgramming"; break down your demo stack so that
beginners can see what the various parts are all about; perhaps
offer a commentary on the parts as a separate stack. Remember that
the product looks obscure to somebody without a HyperCard background.
And yes, I know I'm a wimp
Speaking as a programmer .... ditto.
(I've never heard of the "HyperProgramming" book, though)
Something very much like the "Guided Tour of HyperCard" would be very
useful. I constantly refer potential MC users to the HC guided tour.
They look at me funny when I tell them to go to the Mac to find out
about this Unix product. (They frequently look at me funny, so I'm not
sure if its due to their confusion or something more personal.)
-sp-