Following on from a previous thread regarding What Non-techies like about Ubuntu Matthew Macdonald-Wallace wrote
"A few short video clips about how Linux has helped small businesses and non-technical people would be a real boost to anyone's "marketing" arsenal..." As a few ( or many ) may know I am self employed in the most basic sense of the word. I dont use Contractor Agencies[1] or have a third party finding me work on a regular basis and I have no "contract" to work for one company for a fixed period of time. All my employment comes directly from finding new clients by Marketing and Word Of Mouth. The Sales cycle on this can be very short since the value of word of mouth advertising is much greater since your reputation and your credibility is being discussed by your own clients. Marketing Ubuntu, or many open source applications , is hard work for people at my end of the OSS delivery spectrum though since there little or no material other than previous evidence. Ive been asking the question and looking around and im fairly convinced that a large area lacking for us in the Ubuntu-UK marketing sphere is the SME case studies. We seem to have some great case studies for the Larger enterprise environment and some good single desktop Ma and Pa end user tales but very few if any Ubuntu Desktops running a Business tales. I am quite fortunate that Suzy Miller of Certainshops has recognised in the Ubuntu ethos as a similar aspect to her own companies desires and as such is willing to give Ubuntu on the Desktop a serious trial and report bac to us. Several of my clients in both Civil Engineering and Finance are also making use of Open Source applications and are beginning to wonder if they need Windows on the deskopt at all. I am beginning to see a opportunity to build some good case studies for Ubuntu Desktop usage a the SME level and I want to find more. Specifically I want to find more people in the Ubuntu-UK Community like myself, full time self employed promoting Ubuntu desktops to Small and Medium Sized businesses. To date my only contact with a similar 'peer' has been David Goodwin of PalePurple although its clear that PalePurple is focussing clearly into the LAMP market and as such doesnt directly fit my search. So over to the community, is there anyone else out there like me doing this day in day out marketing directly at the Federation of Small Business or BNI Meetings is there anyone else using Chamber of Commerce or Business Network or Profitnet groups to talk about Open Source and Ubuntu Desktops ? I am keen to know if you are out there and if you want to help me build the marketing material for SME sectors ? Regards, and thanks for reading Nik [1] For all the Contractors out there reading this getting ready to launch the flames of war. this is not a dismissve posting nor is it derogatory comment on being a contractor . You guys are able to work within a "Corporate" structure and handle that type of client. I am not a corporate person and I dont fit well in their ethos since I tend to think in straight lines and tend to get things done directly rather than through tact and diplomacy. So please dont jump on this thread as a opportunity to critice and take the thread off message. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.kubuntu.org/UKTeam/
