[asterisk-users] 3rd party app store

[Rod Montgomery]

That Apple App Store really gets imaginations going, doesn't it? 

Wouldn't it be great to just publish an AGI script and see even 1% 
of the Asterisk installed base buy it for the low, low price of $49? 

Yes, that would be great. But one of the significant components of 
the moneymaking App Store is platform control. Apple's is the sole 
legitimate App Store for their platform. Digium gave that sort of 
control away with the source code to Asterisk.

And really, who wants Digium to play middleman in their transaction?
We watched with interest when our friends at RedHat launched the 
RedHat Exchange (RHX). After three years, VP Mike Evans said, 
  "We no longer believe that it is productive for Red Hat to try 
   and front end the sale of third-party open source products. 
   It's more effective for them to line up in sales channels with 
   our partners."
Source: <URL:http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reports/6975/1/>

In short, what open source-based ISVs want is not a virtual 
storefront, but exposure to new customers through existing sales 
channels and partners. That's why we created AsteriskExchange.com.

AsteriskExchange.com provides free listings for free products and 
services, and paid listings for paid products and services. Digium 
has already consolidated many of its partnership types into the 
site, to cross-pollinate them and simplify the programs. The site 
receives roughly 1/10 the traffic of Asterisk.org and is growing.
There's a difference in the visitor as well -- Asterisk newcomers 
visit Asterisk.org; Asterisk users looking for complementary 
products and services visit AsteriskExchange.com.

Yes, there are fees associated with the AsteriskExchange. You've 
seen what happens on voip-info and other sites when the barrier 
is too low. AsteriskExchange is a business project that must 
earn enough to justify its development and tending. That said, 
please do get in touch with me if the listing fee is preventing 
you from joining. We aim to encourage innovative Asterisk 
applications, even the ones that haven't yet found commercial 
success.

Could we do a better job at getting the word out? Yes, definitely.
But we're also cautious about using Asterisk.org and such to 
promote things like AsteriskExchange. (Also a good reason to 
discuss this on asterisk-users rather than move it to -biz.) 
Is it a big deal to see commercial messages on Asterisk.org?  

We created AsteriskExchange.com as a separate website, but we 
could just fold it into the project site to raise its visibility 
and traffic. What waves (good and bad) might this create?
What could we do to make the AsteriskExchange more effective? 

Thanks,
rm
--
Rod Montgomery
Digium, Inc. | Product Manager
445 Jan Davis Drive NW - Huntsville, AL 35806 - USA
direct: +1 256 428 6267   fax: +1 256 864 0464
Check us out at: http://digium.com & http://asterisk.org