[ubuntu-marketing] Marketing Ubuntu
Andy: I have to agree with much of your analysis and I've certainly had similar experiences. I've found some good to extraordinary pieces in the spreadubuntu site, but as far as a coordinated marketing approach? I don't see much of that happening. It's quite disappointing as I really do appreciate the Ubuntu product. Grass roots is all well and good, but I would hope that with a product as mature and developed as 10.04+ appears to be, more concrete, coordinated campaigns would be launched. Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:22:58 -0400 From: Andy Watson watson...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [ubuntu-marketing] This List Still alive? To: ubuntu-marketing@lists.ubuntu.com Message-ID: 4c5b0f92.4060...@gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hello, I am new here but I thought I would give my two cents on the matter of marketing Ubuntu. From my experience, people (around here at least) want their computer to run Facebook flawlessly and look pretty. As much as I like Ubuntu, it is by no means pretty. Even compared to Windows. Security? Not many 'average users' care about security. On paper they do but in the 'wild' they don't. They want it to be easy and quick. Security tends to add additional time to the user experience. I'm not saying this is bad. Free? People are used to paying hundreds of dollars (or pirating) their operating system so when a free one is introduced, it is automatically much worse. This is all well known I'm sure but everything I read about Ubuntu and GNU/Linux in general, it's all about being more secure and free. No one cares. This hasn't worked for the past 10+ years and it will continue not to work. Support. Oh support. None of my family or friends use forums, know what IRC is or have any inkling to contribute. We can't expect people to go to IRC to figure out their problems. They can now get official tech support which is awesome for everyone involved. This needs to be pushed more. There are two majour problems (in my opinion) with Ubuntu being accepted by the general population. Schools and computer sales/service stores. No school in Ontario (that I know of) use GNU/Linux in any part of the education system. If we're looking for a greater market share within the next 5-10 years, we're going to have to focus on the schools. Children will most likely use Windows or MacOS in their homes and with using Windows in school, they know nothing else. If they were to learn more about GNU/Linux in school (even how easy or comparable to Windows it is), they might be more inclined to purchase a Ubuntu machine when they go off to college/university or enter the work force. No education = no knowledge. Computer sales/service stores. If you walk into a tech repair shop around here and ask Do you deal with Ubuntu here?, they would reply with something along the lines of Ahh no, but there's a doctor's office next door if you need it checked out. I worked at a 'computer consultants' business for a while in high school years ago and no other employee had even heard of GNU/Linux. How is this possible? Seriously? So, back to marketing... I have just recently checked out the marketing material available for Ubuntu and I was greatly disappointed. Most of it is years old. We need to develop more marketing material that everyone could use. We need 'people of authority' (paid employees, etc) from the Ubuntu community to go to the school boards and other institutions to introduce Ubuntu as they tend not to take a couple guys off the street too seriously. Are there any 'official' reports on how much a school could save each year by going open source? Is there a fund that people can donate for the purpose of marketing? I would certain donate. The product could be the best thing since sliced bread but if no one knows about it, what good is it? The fund could be used for getting billboards in huge cities around the world, ads in magazines, a blimp, whatever. A central ad campaign would probably be good as well. I know there were attempts at a copy of the Apple commercials (or at least that's
Re: [ubuntu-marketing] Marketing Ubuntu
I think it can be done, a coordinated approach I mean, the problem is that people tend to believe that you can just post an idea and somebody will quickly come and make it real. It doesn't work like that, while this is a community projects are born of individual initiative, then later people will aid and the project will become a conjunct effort but it won't take out if somebody doesn't walk the first steps. Right now we have a lot of ideas but without volunteers those ideas will never see the light. I'm encouraging people to contact Ubuntu sympathizers working in news sites and social networks across the net so that we can build a database. 2010/8/8 C. F. Howlett seattlec...@gmail.com Andy: I have to agree with much of your analysis and I've certainly had similar experiences. I've found some good to extraordinary pieces in the spreadubuntu site, but as far as a coordinated marketing approach? I don't see much of that happening. It's quite disappointing as I really do appreciate the Ubuntu product. Grass roots is all well and good, but I would hope that with a product as mature and developed as 10.04+ appears to be, more concrete, coordinated campaigns would be launched. -- Lisandro H. Vaccaro -- ubuntu-marketing mailing list ubuntu-marketing@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-marketing
Re: [ubuntu-marketing] Marketing Ubuntu
Hey Lisandro, I don't think it's just that we haven't volunteers, I think that' the wrong way to look at the problem. We do actually have lots of people doing lots of different things. The key is that they're rarely talking to each other about what their doing. The other people, people in LoCo groups and other communities. They don't have a way to express what they need out of marketing either. Who knew there was a facebook group? Well I could have guessed there was, but did I know it was being run by someone enthusiastic who was even on this list? Fact is that a global strategy would need an authority like Canonical that we just don't have. I'm concerned Canonical don't want to do marketing, not even social media. If they did they'd have a little more structure and a lot less vague sentiment. I know Mark talks about word of mouth and such, but it's concerning that what those mouths are mainly wording are inaccuracies and undefinable characteristics about software which is made in ways most of the brains attached those mouths don't really understand. If we want a solid marketing push, it's going to need to be the community which does it and it's probably going to need us agreeing on a set of sentiments. We might not be able to get everything branded the same or worded exactly, but we shouldn't be still discussing the wording of Free and Open Source and the misuse of the Linux brand to describe an operating system. These are solved marketing problems. And yet, so many people aren't listening to Randall Ross and myself about the importance of coherence and not letting our own baggage clutter up our external communications to the wider public. Perhaps we should have a Marketing Pledge and some sort of location where we can discuss non-solved communication problems and list the ones that are already very solved. It would basically fall down to each person to abide by and structure their communication in the ways documented then get each loco leader on board and work our way out of the hole from there. Just throwing that out there, I've put no extra thought into it other than that. Martin, On Mon, 2010-08-09 at 01:03 -0300, Lisandro Vaccaro wrote: I think it can be done, a coordinated approach I mean, the problem is that people tend to believe that you can just post an idea and somebody will quickly come and make it real. It doesn't work like that, while this is a community projects are born of individual initiative, then later people will aid and the project will become a conjunct effort but it won't take out if somebody doesn't walk the first steps. Right now we have a lot of ideas but without volunteers those ideas will never see the light. I'm encouraging people to contact Ubuntu sympathizers working in news sites and social networks across the net so that we can build a database. -- ubuntu-marketing mailing list ubuntu-marketing@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-marketing
Re: [ubuntu-marketing] Marketing Ubuntu
That's exactly what I think, a lot more paraphrased I think we have a lot of individual efforts we should channel in a meaningful way and that's exactly what you and I want to do. So let's do it. Let's create a guideline for marketing. Let's give them a place to gather and in the process a tool to contact them all at once too. What do you think? 2010/8/9 Martin Owens docto...@gmail.com Hey Lisandro, I don't think it's just that we haven't volunteers, I think that' the wrong way to look at the problem. We do actually have lots of people doing lots of different things. The key is that they're rarely talking to each other about what their doing. The other people, people in LoCo groups and other communities. They don't have a way to express what they need out of marketing either. Who knew there was a facebook group? Well I could have guessed there was, but did I know it was being run by someone enthusiastic who was even on this list? Fact is that a global strategy would need an authority like Canonical that we just don't have. I'm concerned Canonical don't want to do marketing, not even social media. If they did they'd have a little more structure and a lot less vague sentiment. I know Mark talks about word of mouth and such, but it's concerning that what those mouths are mainly wording are inaccuracies and undefinable characteristics about software which is made in ways most of the brains attached those mouths don't really understand. If we want a solid marketing push, it's going to need to be the community which does it and it's probably going to need us agreeing on a set of sentiments. We might not be able to get everything branded the same or worded exactly, but we shouldn't be still discussing the wording of Free and Open Source and the misuse of the Linux brand to describe an operating system. These are solved marketing problems. And yet, so many people aren't listening to Randall Ross and myself about the importance of coherence and not letting our own baggage clutter up our external communications to the wider public. Perhaps we should have a Marketing Pledge and some sort of location where we can discuss non-solved communication problems and list the ones that are already very solved. It would basically fall down to each person to abide by and structure their communication in the ways documented then get each loco leader on board and work our way out of the hole from there. Just throwing that out there, I've put no extra thought into it other than that. Martin, On Mon, 2010-08-09 at 01:03 -0300, Lisandro Vaccaro wrote: I think it can be done, a coordinated approach I mean, the problem is that people tend to believe that you can just post an idea and somebody will quickly come and make it real. It doesn't work like that, while this is a community projects are born of individual initiative, then later people will aid and the project will become a conjunct effort but it won't take out if somebody doesn't walk the first steps. Right now we have a lot of ideas but without volunteers those ideas will never see the light. I'm encouraging people to contact Ubuntu sympathizers working in news sites and social networks across the net so that we can build a database. -- Lisandro H. Vaccaro -- ubuntu-marketing mailing list ubuntu-marketing@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-marketing
