[Desktop_architects] RE: [Lf_desktop] LF Desktop Linux Workgroup Conference Call - Minutes1/16

[Scott Preece]

Hi,

I think "Choice, freedom, and community mean very little to most users" is missing 
an important qualification - most people do care deeply about choice, freedom, and 
community, they just don't think about the software they use as being the source of
a community important to them or to choice and freedom (in the particular sense that
the FLOSS community uses "freedom") as being important even to their software
choice, which isn't that important to them to begin with. They don't see computing
as about technology or software, but as about what they want to do (often in
support of communities they care about).

However, even so, having a *commercial* choice may be important to them - price
does resonate with people who don't care about the technology or the philosophy
of the people who make and sell the software they use. 

I also think this goes to my previous note about message and market - different
markets care about different things. Individuals largely are driven by the cost/benefit
equation within the realm of software and systems that can meet there needs, in
an off-the-shelf choice. The option of modifying or paying someone to modify their
software isn't on the table. And people have a wide range of interests and
activities that drive that decision. In selling to individuals it's important to hit on
price and ability to use existing hardware, but it's even more important to *show* them
the range of weird and specialized activities that you can find Linux-compatible
software to support. Business users are much more about interoperability, support
costs, availability of bundled packages, etc., and may be more open to hiring for
support and for extending software to meet specialized needs.

regards,
scott



----- Original Message ----

> From: Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier <xonker at gmail.com>

> Cc: lf_desktop at linux-foundation.org; desktop_architects at lists.linux-foundation.org

> Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 7:42:38 AM

> Subject: Re: [Desktop_architects] RE: [Lf_desktop] LF Desktop Linux Workgroup Conference Call - Minutes1/16

> 

> On Jan 18, 2008 7:24 AM, Dave Neary  wrote:

> > Plus: most people, I would guess, don't really want choice. Maybe I'm

> > wrong here, but I don't know many people who feel that

> they're

>   getting

> > rodgered by having Windows on their PC. Plus, people already

> feel

>   that

> > they have choice - there is the Mac, after all.

> 

> 

> 

> Nope, most people don't care much about "choice" at all, which has

> been one of the things I've had a hard time wrapping my head around

> over the past 12 years that I've been paying attention to the Linux /

> FOSS community.

> 

> The only thing that 97% of the population cares about is whether the

> OS meets their needs, and isn't too horribly painful to use or

> maintain. Choice, freedom, and community mean very little to most

> users -- at least, in as much as I've found while talking to people

> and trying to advocate Linux to people I know.

> 

> > What Free Software has going for it, more than any proprietary

> > alternative, is freedom, choice, community. I was very happy to

> see

>   the

> > first slogans here targeting choice ("The third way" type messaging),

> > but I have come to think that it's a weak message. I'd be

> much

>   happier

> > seeing us focus on freedom and community as the core message.

> 

> I think freedom and community are awesome things, but they don't

> really appeal to most people that I've talked to.

> 

> Think about some of the typical folks who use computers to accomplish

> a few set tasks like writing email, reading Web sites, messing with

> digital photos and their media player, using video chat to talk to

> friends or family, doing their checkbook and/or taxes, playing video

> games like World of Warcraft...

> 

> How does "freedom" or "community" speak to those folks in a concrete

> way? I don't think it does.

> 

> For those users, I'm not sure an abstract message about "Linux" is

> going to really make a difference. A decent ad campaign around

> specific Linux-based products that offer the features that they need

> at a price-point they can afford, yes. Absolutely. But generic Linux

> advertising is, at best, just going to muddy things.

> 

> At least, that's my two cents. I could be wrong.

> 

> 

> 

> Best,

> 

> Joe

> --

> Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier

> Editor-in-Chief, Linux Magazine Media Group

> jzb at zonker.net

> http://www.dissociatedpress.net/

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