The year 2006 was a good one for DotNetNuke. We made progress on a number of fronts, but more importantly, we set the wheels in motion for a very exciting 2007. Of the many strategic goals set for the project by DotNetNuke Corporation, there are two that I would like to focus on:
- increase DotNetNuke adoption worldwide by a broader audience, and
- make information about DotNetNuke readily available and easily accessible to all stakeholders
Conceptually, these goals overlap -- they focus on "opening" DotNetNuke in multiple ways. The first goal is about opening DotNetNuke to a larger and broader audience, and the second is about opening DotNetNuke knowledge to its stakeholders. It therefore makes sense to have an over-arching campaign called "Open" under which various initiatives to achieve these goals reside.
As an Open Source project with a liberal license, DotNetNuke has always been open. With the "Open" campaign, we aim to make it more so while responding to the needs of the DotNetNuke community. There will be numerous "Open" initiatives announced in 2007 and here are three to get the ball rolling:
OpenForce '07: In Spring 2007, DotNetNuke Corp. will host OpenForce '07, a one-day conference in New York City. Besides being a play on Open Source, the conference is aptly named as its intent is to bring together people from around the world for a one-day immersion in what continues to be a growing and powerful "force" -- DotNetNuke.
Open Knowledge Portal: The community has long requested a central repository for DotNetNuke information. In 2007, we will launch open.dotnetnuke.com. This "knowledge portal" is designed to be a comprehensive and authoritative resource site containing information on DotNetNuke for module developers, skin designers, webmasters, end-users and marketers. In addition to the long overdue API documentation, our vision is to provide technical information, tutorials, examples, marketing materials, podcasts and videos on the site, making it a place that opens a gateway to DotNetNuke knowledge for both new and experienced members of the community.
OpenPort: A program that affords key stakeholders in the DotNetNuke commercial ecosystem such as module developers, skin designers and hosters, the opportunity to communicate directly with DotNetNuke Corp. leadership through multiple online and offline channels. Just as opening a firewall port permits the free flow of data, it is our hope that OpenPort will enable the frank and constructive exchange of information, ideas and feedback among participants that will benefit the DotNetNuke commercial ecosystem.
As each of these initiatives is in the planning and development stages, it is an ideal time to gather feedback from the community. In my next few posts I will provide more detail about each of these initiatives and look forward to hearing your ideas on how to make these and other "Open" initiatives beneficial for the DotNetNuke community.
2007 is upon us -- here's to opening a new and exciting chapter in the journey of DotNetNuke.