Comments on: Marketing FOSS http://www.dhanapalan.com/blog/2008/05/20/marketing-foss/ Freedom is the right of all sentient beings Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:58:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Gustavo Narea http://www.dhanapalan.com/blog/2008/05/20/marketing-foss/#comment-248 Gustavo Narea Wed, 21 May 2008 16:55:35 +0000 http://www.dhanapalan.com/blog/2008/05/20/marketing-foss/#comment-248 Hello, I think you'd love to know about the GNU/Linux Matters non-profit (www.gnulinuxmatters.org). Cheers. Gustavo. Hello,

I think you’d love to know about the GNU/Linux Matters non-profit (www.gnulinuxmatters.org).

Cheers. Gustavo.

]]> By: jldugger http://www.dhanapalan.com/blog/2008/05/20/marketing-foss/#comment-246 jldugger Mon, 19 May 2008 23:04:30 +0000 http://www.dhanapalan.com/blog/2008/05/20/marketing-foss/#comment-246 If marketing isn't dirty, why are you calling what everyone else associates with "advertising" under a different name? Everyone associates advertising with lying and misleading practices, and in the very first bullet point we find weasel words to dodge unacceptable connotations. Marketing means directing investment, advertising is making do with what you have. To make the distinction more concrete: Marketing is researching to find out that people want a suitable replacement for MS Office, and allocating resources to make it happen, and Advertising is telling people it's OpenOffice.org. You pay lipservice to the distinction, but your definition doesn't sound all that different than advertising. Certainly, the rest of the bulletpoints talk about advertising. If marketing isn’t dirty, why are you calling what everyone else associates with “advertising” under a different name? Everyone associates advertising with lying and misleading practices, and in the very first bullet point we find weasel words to dodge unacceptable connotations. Marketing means directing investment, advertising is making do with what you have. To make the distinction more concrete: Marketing is researching to find out that people want a suitable replacement for MS Office, and allocating resources to make it happen, and Advertising is telling people it’s OpenOffice.org.

You pay lipservice to the distinction, but your definition doesn’t sound all that different than advertising. Certainly, the rest of the bulletpoints talk about advertising.

]]> By: Jakob Marberger http://www.dhanapalan.com/blog/2008/05/20/marketing-foss/#comment-245 Jakob Marberger Mon, 19 May 2008 21:38:27 +0000 http://www.dhanapalan.com/blog/2008/05/20/marketing-foss/#comment-245 hi sridhar, i think what you say it totally correct. and it is totally true. but noone can keep 31 things/topics/stuff in her/his head when talking anything. the point is - people should talk about what they care about... that's important. a hobby astronomer using kstars can do his stuff better... because the community helps him. a child in kongo can program computers because she/he got an olpc. a government official in india can share information on a tsunami with his/her counterpart in indonesia because a foss document format is available and foss systems make their communication safe, secure and affordable. foss stuff is just the best way to do these things. but the importand stuff is not foss. it's what is (and can be) done with it. jakob hi sridhar,

i think what you say it totally correct.
and it is totally true.
but noone can keep 31 things/topics/stuff in her/his head when talking anything.

the point is - people should talk about what they care about… that’s important.
a hobby astronomer using kstars can do his stuff better… because the community helps him.
a child in kongo can program computers because she/he got an olpc.
a government official in india can share information on a tsunami with his/her counterpart in indonesia because a foss document format is available and foss systems make their communication safe, secure and affordable.

foss stuff is just the best way to do these things.
but the importand stuff is not foss.
it’s what is (and can be) done with it. jakob

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