Linux: The Joe Sixpack Strategy

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Problems with your blog

those who may want newer software than what their current XP system provides

I would be curious to know what percentage of people upgrade their OS on their existing PC. My guess is that it is a tiny percentage. Of those who do, I would guess that a large percentage are technical enough to already have heard about Linux. You are targeting the wrong people here.

Linux is going to need lots of TV commercials and product placement.

Wrong. You expect people who don't understand the difference between between being low on RAM and being low on disk space will have any appreciation for what Linux is going to do for them? I think you need to take the Apple approach and offer a branded line of computers that happen to have Linux on them. Make them sleek, cheap, whatever, but have something to distinguish them from the Windows line of computers. For example, Dell could market the "Sapphire" model of PC and advertise that. "Sapphire" could simply be an Inspiron in a sparkly shell with Linux on it. People will want to buy a sparkly Sapphire, they don't want to buy a Linux OS. They won't even know how to ask for it!

To do this, somebody is going to have to spend money - but the question remains, who?

You focus on the software side of things but I think you need to court a hardware company. The good news is that this is already happening with Asus and Dell both offering computers with Linux on them. The problem is that there is no difference in branding between the Linux version and the Windows version. Given the choice, and given that the price is equal (or very close), people will choose Windows, not because of Jerry Seinfeld, but from habit. Competing with Windows by being the second radio button in the online ordering page will never work. As above, you need a branded line of computers that only comes with Linux and even then, Linux won't be the selling point, it will be the sparkly case or the lower price point.

The biggest problem with the Linux community is that they are far too hung up on their belief that Linux is technically better than Windows (and I'm not suggesting they're wrong). This leads them to make ludicrous suggestions like advertising the Linux OS on prime time TV. The instant they realize that, to the end user, Linux solves the exact same problems as Windows does, they will realize that they need to take a different approach: sell a computer that happens to have Linux in it. An example is the Mazda RX-8's rotary engine. Mazda doesn't use that rotary engine as the prime selling point of the RX-8 because in the end, the rotary engine does the same thing as the piston engine: it makes the car go. Put that engine in a sporty shell, add a half door to make it more practical than regular coupes, and the rotary engine will be sold to people who probably don't even know what a piston is.

Posted by: NonZealot   Posted on: 11/03/08  (Edited: 11/03/2008 @ 02:10) You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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