Marketing Linux - the penultimate barrier
Anyone familiar with the GNU/Linux community will understand what I mean when I say that it has come on in leaps and bounds over the past 12 months and is nearing what I would consider consumer readiness (although it's still not quite there). However, I see one major aspect separating these two conflicting eventualities - advertising.
When it's ready, it still won't be known
When a distro such as Ubuntu has reached that zen state of usability it can then be offered as a viable alternative to any Windows user. Let's face it, there's no shortage of strengths upon which it can be marketed but as things stand currently - you could visit any supermarket in the country and say "Ubuntu" to 100 people and more than 90 would look back at you, assuming you're trying to sell drugs. Public understanding of Linux is next to nothing and therein lies the biggest problem. You can have the best product in the world but if the majority of consumers don't know it exists then your sales/conversions are always going to be low.
So the ticket is going to be bringing something like Ubuntu into the public eye. But how...
Smart marketing
As I approached above, finding strengths upon which you could market a Linux distro is never going to be a difficult task (you know, being free and all) and I dare say that Ubuntu could be placed alongside the thousands of free AOL disks that litter shops around the globe.
Show me the money!My understanding of how the entire Linux world funds itself is very limited but I imagine there's a none-existent budget for promotion... Which probably isn't a good start. Product placement is always going to be good (provided people understand what they're seeing). But how is it that there are photos on the internet of Ubuntu billboards (well, billboard) which you can see to the right (and visit the site with the full story here. This is the sort of thing I'm talking about - a nice big banner for all to see. It doesn't explain what it is but it would help reduce the chance of you going to jail for saying "Ubuntu" to Joe Public.
Conclusions
Get the word out when it's ready, because however good a product you have is never going to take if 99% of people have never heard of it. On the basis this is something that could actually make their lives better (financially if nothing else) it really would be smart to give it a full push towards the mainstream (WHEN it's ready).
Do you have a good idea for how Ubuntu should be marketed? Comment it up!
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