[Linux-aus] Marketing Linux

[John Vandenberg]

On 4/18/07, Paul Wayper <paul.wayper at anu.edu.au> wrote:
> Nigel Cunningham wrote:
> > I agree. I'd far rather see money spent on a really good TV ad.
> > Especially one that said "The 'Wow' started long ago" or highlighted the
> > benefits of Linux for your average home or business user.
> >
> I'm going to weigh in here before we get another one of the opinion wars
> that caused so much trouble the last time anyone suggested any kind of
> advertising for Linux.
>
> There seem to be a lot of hand-wringers who think that 'advertising
> Linux' is like 'advertising freedom' - no point, no specific goals, no
> 'how does this change your life' message, and we're not reaching the
> 'target audience'.  It's a very important criticism, except for the fact
> that all these are fairly easily rebuttable.  Microsoft obviously thinks
> that it's worth splattering "The Wow Starts Now" on TV screens,
> billboards and newspapers - they also, of course, have advertising all
> over places like Slashdot, SourceForge and other places where geeks of
> various source persuasions hang out on the internet.  One of the things
> that people (such as myself) in the FOSS community feel strongly about
> is combatting Microsoft's ads with our own advertising.  You have to
> open the door in order for people to want to come in.  You have to tell
> people there is an alternative in order for them to think they have a
> choice.
>
> The real problem with this idea, and the real reason nothing gets done
> about it, is that everyone agrees that we need to do something, but
> everyone's idea of what is different.

Perfect opportunity for me to add yet another brilliant idea :-)

Rather than a really good ad that is buying the eyes of people that
would rather not be watching, I would like to see a pilot cable
program developed around the theme of Linux, bringing people to the TV
set.  ... answering the hard questions that viewers have, and if there
are no answers, tracking project to conclusion; soup'ing up boxes;
routinely summarising major advances or things to try; interviews with
Australian companies that have converted.

News for Linux Nerds and Nerdettes in Australia.

Ideally everything related to the program would be contained in its
own open source project so that another group can re-use the framework
to do a similar program in another country.

If this was organised by LA, I would donate and help with coding or
project management.  If the pilot is successful, the cable companies
would then pay for the program to continue running, and the end result
is free as in beer advertising :-).

--
John Mark Vandenberg