Catharina Bethlehem wrote:
> Happy New Year to all the members of this list!
>
> I wrote an article about marketing of open source software and I would
> like to ask your help on reviewing it before I submit it to article
> directories and publish it on our website. It would be very helpful for
> me, if you would take some time to read it and let me know what you
> think, especially because English is not my native language.
>
> Catharina
> *Marketing of Open Source Software and the roll of the End-user.*
*Marketing of Open Source Software and the role of the End-user.*
> Since over six months now
Six months ago
> I've changed my Mac for an open source
I changed from my MAC to an open source
> system and I am very satisfied with it. What surprises me actually is
> that still so few people use a fully open source operating system, so
> I did some research to what keeps people from doing that.
I did some research to find what prevents people from doing that.
> * Out of an interview we did among starting entrepreneurs
> in The Netherlands, it became clear that most of them had never heard
in the Netherlands, it became clear that most of them had never heard
> about open source software
> * At posts on Internet forums it appears that among people that
* In posts on Internet forums it appears that among people who
> have heard about it, there is still a lot of ignorance and
> mistrust on the possibilities and the user friendliness of open
> source.
> * When we wanted to buy a laptop without a Windows license in the
> city where we live, we could not get it in any computer shop.
> This makes clear that the barriers for people to move to open source
> are related to:
>
> * Ignorance
> * Trust
> * Availability
> All of these aspects are related to the marketing of open source or in
> fact, the non-marketing of open source. Most open source projects
> hardly have a budget for marketing and their main goal is to develop
> the software. The companies that do have a budget for marketing mainly
> aim for the server or corporate market in stead of the desktop users.
aim for the server or corporate market instead of the desktop users.
> So, it is not a miracle that the general public has hardly any
> knowledge on the subject.
> The question raises what can be done about it and who should do it. We
The question arises about what can be done about it and who should
do it. We
> can't expect the open source community to spend huge budgets on
> marketing and if they did it would not be a healthy development. If
> more money is spent on marketing then on software development a
> more money is spent on marketing than on software development a
> company should ask it self what the point is of their existence. Such
> a strategy would certainly not fit in with the ideas behind the free
> software movement.
>
> But still, the open source community is not powerless compared to
> commercial companies with huge marketing budgets. The power of the
> marketing of open source software lies mainly at the end users en in
marketing of open source software lies mainly with the end users
and in
> total they outsize the amount of marketeers at companies as for
total they outnumber the marketeers in companies such as, for
> example Microsoft, Apple and Adobe. The end users also outsize the
example Microsoft, Apple and Adobe. The end users also outnumber the
> number of developers of open source who at the moment make the
developers of open source who at the moment make the
> biggest contribution to the existence of open source software. It's
> the end users that should take the responsibility for the marketing of
the end users who should take the responsibility for the marketing of
> open source. Some examples of what they can do:
>
> *Ignorance:*
>
> * Join social bookmarking sites, such as *Stumble Upon
> http://www.stumbleupon.com, digg http://www.digg.com and
> technorati http://www.technorati.com bookmark everything you
> come across and like in relation to open source software in
> general or the open source product you're enthusiastic about.
> * Take an active part in Internet forums where open source (but
> certainly also closed source) is a subject and in your signature
> enclose a reference to an interesting open source related
> subject or product.
> * Start a web log and blog about open source software.
> * Order promotional material, such as stickers or posters at
> companies that have that available and stick them to your
> laptop, car or spread them in public places.
>
> *Trust:*
>
> * Order or burn cd's with an open source operating system or other
> open source products and spread them among your friends and
> family and if needed, help them with installations.
> * Show people what software you use and what it can do.
>
> *Availability:*
>
> Ask at computer shops for a computer with a free operating system or
> without a license for a closed operating system. Demand generates
> availability; if enough people do that, the market must react.
>
> These are my ideas on what can be done by the end user to improve the
> marketing of open source software, but I am sure there is much more so
> please feel welcome to give more suggestions and let us start to
> become the biggest and most successful marketing team on the world..
> As a start I will post this article on our website
> http://www.open-of-course.org, a site for free and open content
> courses and tutorials. This article will be the start of a course in
> marketing open source and you are very welcome to join me to develop it.
hth
Well done!
--
alan cocks
Kubuntu user#10391
Linux user #360648
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