Posts by johnniec

1) Message boards : Promotion : Come discus BOINC at noon EST today (12/21/15) & checkout these new articles on it (Message 66322)
Posted 21 Dec 2015 by Profile johnniec
Post:
I'll be discussing the potential of BOINC on Digg today at noon EST here:
https://digg.com/dialog/cooperative-computer-network

And checkout these two articles on BOINC and Volunteer Computing. Share them on Facebook, Twitter, etc and help get the word out!
https://www.inverse.com/article/6592-the-strongest-supercomputer-on-earth-still-needs-your-laptop-to-cure-cancer
https://www.inverse.com/article/9261-how-to-start-volunteer-computing-in-2016
2) Message boards : Promotion : BOINC was promoted in a CNet article yesterday (2015-07/18) (Message 63211)
Posted 23 Jul 2015 by Profile johnniec
Post:
Nice. Seti got a lot of coverage this week too thanks to the big announcement. There has been a big spike in new volunteers for that project which highlights the importance of working for more media coverage of volunteer computing in general and the individual projects.

https://twitter.com/VolunteerComp
3) Message boards : Promotion : Using Notices in BOINC Manager to Help Get the Word Out (Message 63031)
Posted 13 Jul 2015 by Profile johnniec
Post:
I'm not clear on how the notices in BOINC manager work or who runs them, but it seems like they could be a good way to help spread the word on BOINC. Maybe once every week or two a notice could be sent out reminding people to tell their friends and family about BOINC or the successes the different projects have had recently. Prewritten tweets or Facebook posts with a "click here to share" option would make it even easier.

My apologies in advance if this is already being done. I only recall seeing notices about badges, software updates, and some project news.
4) Message boards : Promotion : Reaching More People (Message 62958)
Posted 9 Jul 2015 by Profile johnniec
Post:
Post something about a new cancer treatment made possible by Boinc research and you might get a lonely 'like' or two. Someone posts about the hairball their cat just threw up and they'll get a couple dozen comments & shares.

It's frustrating. Most people don't seem to give a rat's ass.


That is what I feel like I'm running into too. I am having a hard time believing people don't care about this stuff, but the evidence is hard to argue. I know individual projects get some press when they have success, but I wish people cared more about the potential of the concept of volunteer computing in general. The press covered its use for Ebola during the outbreak and I think that generated some new volunteers. More recent news relating to solar panel and clean water research doesn't seem to have hit the big time yet.
I'll keep trying different things and post here if anything works.
5) Message boards : Promotion : Reaching More People (Message 62908)
Posted 4 Jul 2015 by Profile johnniec
Post:
With the new community-based model for BOINC (and NSF funding gone), it is more important than ever for you to get the word out about volunteer computing & BOINC. There are billions of computers and devices out there that BOINC could be running on, but it is only actively running on a few hundred thousand. How can we boost awareness of BOINC and get more people signed up?

Let's share ideas and discuss what we've tried and what worked.
Have you told your friends and family about it? Tweeted about it? Posted about it on Facebook? Written a letter to the editor or your favorite magazine or newspaper?

https://twitter.com/VolunteerComp


Here are some things I have tried:

1. Pitching a story about Volunteer Computing to a non-tech, non-science website/magazine. So far this hasn't yielded any successes, but I will keep trying.

2. Tweeted about it. I can't yet tell if this is doing much in terms of reaching people unfamiliar with BOINC or volunteer computing, but you can help by tweeting your self or retweeting stuff from https://twitter.com/VolunteerComp

3. Posting on Reddit. Some of these attempts appear to have reached new people. A link about the WCG Clean Energy Project made it to the top of two subreddits for a bit.
http://redd.it/3asd8k
http://redd.it/3au8ya



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