[Mageia-discuss] Mageia logo proposals and selection

[Graham Lauder]

On Saturday 16 Oct 2010 03:43:42 Ahmad Samir wrote:
> On 15 October 2010 16:22, Marcello Anni <marcello.anni at alice.it> wrote:
> >> I don't think any respectable Linux distro should go the Ubuntu way in
> >> the branding part. Promoting ourselves as just "Mageia" not as
> >> "Mageia, a Linux distro", even implicitly, is just wrong. People who
> >> contribute to the FOSS world still have ethics and "values" to uphold.
> >> I don't care if it's commercially successful or not, and we _can be a
> >> successful Linux distro_.
> > 
> > i'd prefer a user that chooses mageia as it is and then he becomes
> > interested in linux and in its community (and values) than considering
> > mageia as a linux distro and not to trying it as he thinks it is too
> > diffult...  do you agree?
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Marcello
> 
> It's the other way around, the user is interested in Linux, for whatever
> reason: - economical, he can't afford windows
> - usability, he's tired of fixing his windows boxes... etc
> - ideological, he wants to use free open source software

That is in fact a demographic, the dissatisfied Windows Power user.  But it's 
a very small one.  And in fact the "Linux Seeker" let's call her, will get 
that Mageia is Linux without needing to be told blatantly in the branding.  

The problem with the Linux brand for the unsophisticated End User is that it 
is seen as a geek only toy and so for a large proportion of the market it is 
seen as a disincentive ie: "It's too complicated"

What I would like to see is Users "Discover" Linux through Mageia.  IOW 
install it, it does all they want it to do and then they discover it's linux.  
Two good things about this.
One: it gives the user a buzz, because she suddenly discovers "Wow I can use 
that complicated Linux Thing"
Two:  It means her horizons are broadened because now she can look at other 
Linuxes in a different light 
> 
> then he looks for a distro and start using it.
> 
> Of course seeing an OS on a friend's machine may be an incentive to
> give that "thing" a shot, but he should know what he's about to use.

That's a "Close Community Network" Windows has it and it's the thing that 
Ubuntu have built so well and it's why I saw the family thing as a good target 
because a Family is the smallest "Close Community Network"


Cheers
GL
-- 
Graham Lauder,
OpenOffice.org MarCon (Marketing Contact) NZ
http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html

OpenOffice.org Migration and training Consultant.

INGOTs Assessor Trainer
(International Grades in Open Technologies)
www.theingots.org