Good Stuff

I'm been trying to get up to speed with JR5 from JR4 and I have to say a lot of things have changed.

Datastores - great idea.

Modules - man, you really can create anything.

This new version is probably one of the best CMSs I've seen. Brian - well thought out. You seem to do the work of a team of 10 developers. I'm really surprised more people aren't using Jamroom. My guess is that people still think it's "just for bands" (there's a lot of history there).
updated by @jimmy: 03/08/15 08:12:26AM

Thanks Jimmy.
I think the 'Just for Bands' stigma is still out there, but its slowly changing. Jamroom is running sites all about chocolate and concrete now (not the same site, I hasten to add )


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Paul Asher - JR Developer and System Import Specialist

Thanks a lot for the positive feedback - that's awesome

And like Paul mentions - we're working hard to change that perception!


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Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net

Chocolate and Concrete - I got a good laugh from that one!

IMO the name should be changed. I know, that's a big one... but moving away from "Jamroom" which probably tells people "band site" and comes up when people search for it online. But that's for you guys to decide. First impressions are everything and like they say, the name says it all.

One of the biggest problems I see, which doesn't seem to apply to WP, is PHP. I keep reading more and more people online bashing PHP. That moves people into Python, NodeJS, etc. for development. So, those power users are using other languages and promoting them. WP is obviously huge and there are a million templates for the script online on sites like themeforest. I personally like PHP.

Maybe it might be good to really get a couple banging templates created for JR. What you have is nice, but not the "holy cow" impact type of templates you can find for other scripts. Most novice people buy / get involved on looks alone and learn about the features after the fact.
updated by @jimmy: 01/28/15 01:26:57PM

Regardless of the Silicon Valley circle jerk on PHP, it's a very robust language that is available everywhere, so there's no chance we'll be rewriting it

As for a name change, I think ultimately "Jamroom" is just a name - if we put out an awesome product, it may take some time, but everything will take care of itself. I don't think starting over with a new name would really help much at this point.


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
updated by @brian: 01/28/15 01:32:25PM

I agree. I love PHP. But man have I read some quite lengthy, "reasons why PHP is a horrible language" write-ups. Yea, it seems that if someone wants SV VC capital, it's got to be using one of the "approved" "I'm too cool for school" languages.


I hear you on that and you do have an incredible product.

Did you ever think about posting on producthunt.com. Huge site for new products. The site just got a large amount of VC dollars. It's a very simple site but it's skyrocketing in rankings. Get listed on that site and expect some traffic.
updated by @jimmy: 01/28/15 01:39:33PM

Next time you want a point to raise in one of those PHP bashing discussions, try this image.
updated by @michael: 01/29/15 06:20:16AM

Nice chart. But as you know, you can't argue with those "PHP haters".

This is very true. I mean there are always things that a language can do better - and that applies to all languages - but I find most PHP haters are thinking of PHP circa 2005 and not what it is now.

Seriously though - in SV it has taken on almost a "meme" like quality on how you can hate on PHP. They will almost always advocate one of NodeJS, Ruby or Python:

- NodeJS is really nice - I've created some very large projects in NodeJS and I really like it. Async programming is NOT for someone who does not understand it - it can kill your performance. Written in javascript, so it has more warts and issues than PHP (but for some reason that's "OK")

- Ruby - have used it minimally, and most use Rails which is slow

- Python - if I was "brand new" and looking for a language I'd consider Python. A bit on the pokey side as well.

Pick any of those 3 over PHP though, and even though it will be for the wrong reasons, you'll at least be "cool" and can hang with the SF Hipsters


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
updated by @brian: 01/29/15 11:33:13AM

LMAO! Dead on with that statement.

I do a lot of research of VC funding, not by choice, but because I run a large forum and tend to follow a lot of VCs on twitter.

It's really amazing how a lot of tech VCs (a lot are based in SV) really discriminate based on location. I read company after company getting VC capital and most of them are in SV, there are a few in NYC. Any other location, unless the idea is an Uber idea, gets overlooked.
updated by @jimmy: 01/29/15 11:55:26AM

Even in this infographic:

http://fundersandfounders.com/startup-mistakes/

"Bad Location – you can change everything about a house but its location. Likewise, if your startup is in a bad location, you can’t change the nature of that location. It’s easier to move the startup. Where to? Silicon Valley."

Mistake: location. Idea can be great but if it's in a bad location... no funding.