The syntax issue is why I think the Elixir programming language[1] has a good chance of improving the ecosystem around the Erlang VM. Although, most Erlang programmers, who i've spoken to, feel the syntax is a non-issue, so it is more likely to convert programmers who are new to, or curious about, Erlang.
It is also worth a note that Elixir adds language features, such as default UTF8 binary strings, real macros, Clojure-style protocols, tooling, etc, on top of the Ruby-style syntax.