Tim Morris wrote: [Lots of relevant and interesting stuff about marketing targeting]
> Again, what John has done is the first step towards addressing these > issues assuming we are targeting the corporate user. > > However, what I was saying in my original post was, speaking as a > market researcher, the target market was undefined and I believe this > is causing the current disagreement. Tim has some very good points on this. Ubuntu's marketing is very grassroots, bottom-up and organic. As it should be. It's not going to win corporate users by matching other IT companies at being corporate and proper-looking. You'll note that Ubuntu is winning most support among engineering companies such as Sun and Google that are already sympathetic to F/OSS, as well as public sector organizations such as schools, universities and hospitals. I don't think that the typical corporate environment should be Ubuntu's main focus, but rather sympathetic companies and public services that have need for customized versions of Ubuntu. In this regard, Ubuntu being free (both gratis and libre) is essential. And the various derivatives of Ubuntu show not only the diversity and customizability of Ubuntu, but also the fact that it is within the reach of most government and non-government organizations to do. What we might need to focus on instead is that power of diversity within Ubuntu, and how potential users can harness that. But the primary focus should still be on the single home user wanting to give up Windows or Mac with all their Trusted Computing, DRM and licensing (just to name a few of the reasons why they might want to switch). These are the ones who will be interested in the primary, community focus of Ubuntu. > > I just want to emphasize that I have no problems with the current > branding or architecture, and I am not calling for change because (1) > I think the "brown, anti-corporate, neo-communist, new-new, school > project, benevolently dictated collective" image works with the people > I think are actually making the decision to install *buntu today > [including me] and (2) I don't think corporate users are the logical > target. Yes! Ubuntu is all about people! (says the anthropologist...) Andreas -- https://launchpad.net/people/lloydinho -- ubuntu-marketing mailing list [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-marketing
