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Open Source Content Management Systems

• Barry Madore
• Allie Micka
• Advantage Labs, Inc.

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Overview

• Definitions
• Background on Open Source
• Tools
• Questions

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DefinitionsSource Code

• human-readable language dictates how a program
  will function.
• To change how a program behaves, one must change
  its source code.

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Definitions Proprietary Software

• There is no access to the source code
• Nobody but that vendor can make changes.
• Customers place trust in people involved in every
  aspect of the coding, qa. and distribution process

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DefinitionsOpen Source

• In general, any application with source code
  available can be considered "Open Source"
• Usually downloaded for free
• No legal reason you cant charge money for the
  code or installation

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DefinitionsOpen Source Licensing

• There can be restrictions on use, to protect
  developers and end users
• Some licenses (e.g. GPL ) require that all
  changes you make to the source code are returned
  to the code
• Others permit you to make changes and distribute
  it as proprietary software

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Open Source CultureA Collaborative Development
Process

• Programmers improve the code and share the
  changes with the community
• Changes are based on peer review and decisions
  are made collaboratively
• Savvy users can submit fixes along with bug
  reports

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Open Source BenefitsRapid Deployment of New
Features

• If a tool is 80 useful, improving it is much
  cheaper than starting fresh.
• As an application gains supporters and users it
  grows along with their needs
• This process can move much faster than
  proprietary software, which is tied to the
  budget, market analysis and development resource
  constraints of one corporation

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Open Source BenefitsVendor Independence

• Vendors make decisions based on financial factors
• Licensing fees and policies change
• Vendors don't always survive

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Open Source BenefitsThe Flexibility to Adapt

• Internal Improvements
• Lack of vendor support is no reason to go
  without!
• Added features may just be a few development
  hours away
• Alternative Branches
• If a quorum of users disagrees with the direction
  of a project, they can take branch it and
  continue development

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Open Source BenefitsFree Support Options

• Searchable support forums
• Web-based documentation with public comments
• Free, local user groups
• Free mailing lists

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Open Source BenefitsPaid Support Options

• Broad community creates advanced users
• Competitive marketplace among these users
• Training opportunities
• Sustainability If your vendor goes away,
  someone else can take over.

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Content Management

• Definitions
• Background
• Tools

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Definitions Content Management

• Tools for editing pages and other resources on
  your site
• Blogs
• Wikis
• News items
• Job postings
• Event Calendar
• And much, much more!

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DefinitionsContent Management Tools

• Desktop
• Contribute, etc.
• Online Services
• Blogger, etc.
• Hosted on your web server
• Proprietary (e.g. Sharepoint )
• Open Source ( e.g. Drupal, Joomla, etc. )

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Content ManagementBackground Static web sites

• Back in the day, you thought you only needed 5
  pages of content
• Hire a webmaster for updates
• Content management? That sure sounds expensive!

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Content ManagementInteractive websites

• Then, you needed additional functionality
• Shopping cart
• Donations
• Take action
• Mailing lists
• Build a custom application? That sure sounds
  expensive!

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Content ManagementOnline Services to the Rescue!

• AKA Application Service Provider
• Monthly service is free, or much cheaper than
  custom development
• Add a link to their server and your worries are
  over!

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Content ManagementDownsides of Online Services

• Proprietary
• Cant make changes or upgrades
• Vendor dependence
• Information is stored in multiple places
• Often, you cant get your data out if you decide
  to change

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Content ManagementTools hosted on your server

• Can be proprietary OR open source
• Can be upgraded at your leisure

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OSCMSOpen Source

• Usually falls into the tools hosted on your
  server category
• Because its free to download, lots of people use
  it.
• Because lots of people use it, its growing fast!

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OSCMSLow improvement costs

• Hiring a consultant or adding a missing feature
  is
• More expensive than 1 month of service
• Less expensive than ?? months of service
• Cheaper than data integration problems
• More rewarding ( time, money ) with tailored
  results

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OSCMS GrowthOpen Source Rocks!

• Extending functionality that others use means
  free support and features
• New features and connections you hadnt even
  thought of
• Cheap start-up costs
• Sustainable long-term costs
• Oh, and its altruistic.

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OSCMS GrowthAnd also Participatory websites

• Members-only areas
• Comments
• User posts
• Send to Friend and other viral marketing
• Bookmarking
• User profiles
• Buddies
• See also web 2.0

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Choosing an OSCMS

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Overview overview

• CMS definitions
• Survey of types of CMS application
• Decision-making considerations process
• Resources to help you

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CMS Definitions Practical

• Just what is a content management system, anyway?
• A content management system, or CMS, is a web
  application designed to make it easy for
  non-technical users to add, edit and, well,
  manage a website.

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CMS Definitions Practical

• Not only do content management systems help
  website users with content editing, they also
  take care of a lot of "behind the scenes" work
  such as
• Automatically generate navigation elements
• Making content searchable and indexable
• Keeping track of users, their permissions and
  security settings
• And much, much more.
• By Jon Stahl from http//plone.org/about/what-is-a
  -cms

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CMS Application Types

• General Platforms
• Blogware
• Wiki Applications

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General CMS Platform

• Software designed for wide variety of content and
  functionality
• Usually modular
• Framework for incorporating other
  applications/services

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General Platform Examples

• Drupal http//www.drupal.org
• Locally http//groups.drupal.org/twin-cities
• Joomla http//www.joomla.org
• Plone http//www.plone.org

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Blogware

• Designed to be host chronicle or journal site
  with chronologically arranged content
• Commonly has a central single focus (like an
  issue or a person) and/or single source (like a
  person or an organization)

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Blogware examples

• Wordpress http//www.wordpress.org
• Movable Type http//www.movabletype.org/

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Wiki applications

• Primary characteristic group editing
  capability, revisions, transparency
• Collections of content (like Wikipedia) meant for
  use for reference and as resource to be
  collaboratively edited, maintained

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Wiki application example

• Mediawiki http//www.mediawiki.org

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Choosing Planning

• Put together representative team
• Define your audience(s)
• Map your site needs with audiences in mind
• Get help

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Choosing Evaluating Options

• Solicit feedback from respected and similar orgs
• Review online literature and sites
• Find local users groups (if any) to attend with
  questions
• Vet your options both software and vendors
• Dont Forget
• Training
• Support
• Future development

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Choosing Resources

• Annotated list on del.icio.us (maposcms)
• http//del.icio.us/bmadore/maposcms
• General np/oss resource orgs/sites
• NOSI (nosi.net)
• Techsoup (techsoup.org)
• Idealware (idealware.org)
• Aspiration (aspiration.net)

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Resources Planning

• Techsoup Learning Center
• http//www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/webbuilding
  /index.cfm

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Resources OSCMS Primers

• NOSI Primer
• http//www.nosi.net (downloadable PDF)
• True costs of OSS
• http//www.idealware.org/articles/true_costs_softw
  are.php (Michelle Murrain)

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Resources Find/Try OSCMS

• Wikipedia OSCMS category index
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CategoryOpen_source_
  content_management_systems
• Mashables list of 80 OSCMS
• http//mashable.com/2007/07/30/content-management-
  systems/
• OpenSource CMS demo site
• http//www.opensourcecms.com/
• CMS Matrix comparison site
• http//www.cmsmatrix.org

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Resources Reviews

• NTEN Vendor Satisfaction Report
• http//nten.org/research/vendor-satisfaction
• Techsoups Idealware.org reprint of Drupal,
  Joomla, Plone review
• http//www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/webbuilding
  
• Adobe Newsletter Review of 5 OSCMS Apps
• http//www.adobe.com/newsletters/edge/april2008/ar
  ticles/article4/index.html
• Google a question, read site forums

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Questions?