On Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:32:29 Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier wrote:
On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 8:42 AM, Graham Lauder
wrote: But I disagree that the FSF should not have done this.
The FSF is not a sales organisation, it is not even a marketing organisation, it is a pressure group and this sort of thing is great for that sort of lobby group, they deal in politics not sales, in opinions not volume.
I suppose part of the FSF's mission is to be, as you say, a "pressure group," but I still don't think this campaign is at all effective - it'll be no more effective at convincing the average Windows user to not go to Win7 than a PETA campaign would convince the average Missourian that they shouldn't be having steak.
Heh, so true, but from a political perspective, negative campaigns work in the US market, MS has used and still uses the tactic, the "235 patents" campaign is a good example. The likely best outcome of this is to get people to question a little their present unthinking devotion to the MS upgrade treadmill.
Assuming they're trying to talk to "average" Windows users, they need to use language and graphics that appeal to those folks -- and I'd argue that by going negative + having a site that looks like a fringe political attack group, they're going to be about as effective as PETA for the FOSS cause. Which is to say, not very.
They do make good points, but the site is shrill and likely to drive people off before they get to any of them.
Possibly, but it's unlikely to drive all people off, for the others all it needs to do is insert a little doubt, it's then up to the individual FOSS vendors to make a reasonable case emphasising the positive. The reasonable middle ground is always a balance of two extremes. The FSF's position needs only to make people ask the question "Is this BS or not?" and then the seed is sown. Our biggest issue is brand awareness, anything that attracts attention is a good thing for mine. Imagine the following: CEO from an MS customer corporate sits down with FOSS Vendor CEO: What the hell is with those Free Software crazies, how much of that is BS. FV: I know, they can be a bit out there, however there is some truth to their statements, but what's really annoying is they ignored all the positive stuff about FOSS, let me explain..........
The tone of a message is often as important as the message itself.
Couldn't agree more and I think the tone of this message is probably acceptable for what it's trying to achieve and given the source. Extremist viewpoint is a necessary component of a political process and given that there is a substantial idealist component to Software Freedom it is going to be largely a political debate from that source. If MS is seen as the "other extreme" then I'm happy to be in the middle ground, bringing reason to the debate, while standing aside from the strident rhetoric. History shows that's where the silent majority will gather. I look forward to see if there is any response from MS or it's spokespeople and the tone of that response. Cheers GL -- Graham Lauder, INGOTs Assessor Trainer (International Grades in Office Technologies) http://www.theingots.org OpenOffice.org MarCon (Marketing Contact) NZ http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html Open Opportunities ltd. Open Technologies Training and Migration Consultants OOoGear: For the Well dressed OOo Advocate http://ooogear.co.nz -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-marketing+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-marketing+help@opensuse.org