I understand your point about the community, Jacqueline, but the media is going to do as is beneficial to it. What journalists say and how they say it has a huge impact on readers and potential users. Sometimes in marketing, you have to roll with whatever name customers associate with your product to get the most mileage out of your relationship with them.
According to a September 2004 Hitwise report, the top search term users typed in before reaching OpenOffice.org, the website, was "open office" (20% typed this phrase). That's how people think of us and remember us. The best thing to do is talk to that constituency in its own language rather than trying to educate them on the "proper" way to say it, even if that's less than perfect (FedEx is no longer "Federal Express" because "FedEx" is what customers called it- http://www.fool.com/portfolios/rulemaker/2001/rulemaker010502.htm). Here's an excerpt from the Hitwise report on how people are finding OpenOffice.org:
In September 2004, OpenOffice.org received 28% of its traffic from search engines and directories.
71% used Google 19% used Yahoo 6% used MSN 4% used something else
20.18% used open office 19.30% used openoffice 12.28% used openoffice.org 3.51% used "open office" 3.51% used open office.org
So based on what people are typing into the front door of the Internet, open office and openoffice are the ways we are primarily viewed and remembered.
What people type into search engines doesn't work so well in this case. If people call it "OpenOffice.org," then they are more likely to type that in the address bar and that doesn't register as a hit from a search engine.
Andrew
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