Marketing Fedora Worldwide

[Greg DeKoenigsberg]

On Wed, 19 Oct 2005, David Barzilay wrote:

> Can you help me with these:
> . What are the goals of fedora-marketing?

To come up with ways of encouraging use of, and *participation in*, Fedora 
projects.  Dead simple.

> . Who are we approaching?

Anyone who's standing in a crowd of three or more people, and doesn't 
break eye contact with us when we approach them.  Like bums, or Amway 
salesmen.

> . How are we approaching the different audiences?
> . Then: what are the best marketing and communication actions to
> approach these?

I don't even think we're at the market segmentation phase.  I think we're
still at the *basic* messaging phase.

See, here's the problem: we're immersed in Fedora, so we make basic
assumptions about other people's knowledge that is just wrong.  We assume
everyone knows that Fedora has this great technical backing and lineage,
and they don't.  We assume everyone knows that Fedora is libre now and
forever, and they don't.  We assume everyone knows that Fedora comes out
every six months or so, and they don't.  We assume everyone knows that
Fedora is the most "secure and yet usable" operating system ever invented
by man, and they don't.  They really don't.  What they *think* they know,
when they know anything, is that Fedora is what Red Hat shat out when they
turned into the debbil.

Anyway, we need a better FAQ that is well-positioned and well-advertised.  
I'm working on it late nights these days, because it's pretty much the 
most important thing we can get done to start with.  CMCs, trade shows, 
carpet-bombing the planet with FC4 DVDs... none of it matters if Joe Blow 
asks "why doesn't it play mp3s?" and we don't have a kick-ass answer at 
the ready.

> Agreed! CMCs can also "recruit" other Fedora enthusiasts in their market
> to share the weight...

I'm starting to thing that the term "CMC" is just not sexy enough.  Not at
all.  Not even close.  I'm thinking "Fedora Enthusiasts" or "Fedora
Evangelists" or "Fedora Heralds" or "Fedora Messengers" or "Fedora
Advocates" or "Fedora Champions".  

Anything but "Fedora CMCs."  The name flat out sucks rocks.  We hates it,
precious.  It burns us.

--g-->

_____________________  ____________________________________________
  Greg DeKoenigsberg ] [ the future masters of technology will have
 Community Relations ] [ to be lighthearted and intelligent.  the
             Red Hat ] [ machine easily masters the grim and the 
                     ] [ dumb.  --mcluhan