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The marketing team is always looking for more people to help out and more interesting ideas. We have huge plans to bring the wonder of ubuntu to the world and the more people helping to do that the faster we can make progress.

New Ideas

Please add your ideas to the [http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com Brainstorm section] (using category "marketing")

Any existing items below are being moved to the brainstorm section

Remaining Ideas to move to brainstorm section

If any of your ideas are still on this page, please copy them to the brainstorm section. This way your ideas can be beter organised, will be viewed by a larger amount of cummunity members and increases the succes rate of new ideas.

Current page intro can stay as a suggestion to use the brainstorm section

Warbo: There have been successful projects/experiments where books would be left in prominent locations, such as train stations, with a label saying that whoever finds it can read it and similarly leave it somewhere else to be passed on. These either contain a list of previous readers which each new reader can add themselves to, or a link to an online tracker. Doing this with a few Ubuntu CDs (whilst also encouraging each recipient to make a copy for themselves) might be a useful way of passing knowledge about Ubuntu around. Good points about this are:

• It only takes a few CDs to reach many people
• The sense of participation created by (optionally) adding oneself to a tracker or list encourages spreading the discs to make the project you have participated in more substantial
• No direct interaction is needed, since many people would be wary of approaching strangers and offering them an Ubuntu CD, but since they can be left in busy areas the CDs get passed on without awkward conversations

• This can be started by any current Ubuntu user if they have x86 ShipIt CDs (x86 is the most common home computer architecture, and it includes x86_64, and it is a bad idea to use homebrew CDs since the public is finally realising that they shouldn't run random copied CDs they find in the street with no hint of corporate identity [ie. the Canonical text on the ShipIt discs provides a reassurance that someone is responsible for this software, not just some enterprising script kiddie])

• A tracker can be placed on the current Wiki, getting people involved as well as letting them request their own CDs (since ShipIt and the Wiki both use Launchpad accounts)

• For those who do not wish to give contact details away by signing up to Launchpad a paper insert can be used, with a request that the next person who does decide to sign up to put their name on the tracker also adds those which are written on the insert but not yet online
• Many of the "bad points" can be overcome by a polite request such as "If this does not interest you then please pass it to someone who you think it will, or else leave in a prominent location for the rest of the community. At the very least please do not throw this away"

Possible bad points are:

• Could be seen as a chain letter/pyramid scheme since each person adding themselves to the Wiki page would be encouraged to order their own CDs
• Awareness of malicious software is increasing, so untrusted CDs might not be run
• Many CDs might be "lost" due to selfish recipients, non-inquisitive cleaning staff, etc.

• It might be a bad idea to make this a subsection of "MarketingTeam" since such a URL might damage the credibility of the project (ie. it is supposed to be sharing knowledge within the community, rather than selling [another word for marketing] a product)

• There is a potential for a malicious individual to hijack one of the CD wallets and insert a CD containing malware with an Ubuntu label

Personally I only have 3 x86 ShipIt CDs left for Dapper, I will need to keep at least one (I am setting up a Free Software Society at my University and need some Free Software!) so that gives two potential candidates for Sheffield in the UK. The reason I haven't started this already is that any inserts/labels/etc will have to be unified (which requires discussion) and a permanent online home needs to be set up, the URL for which can be included with the discs. It would be a bad idea to release some candidates into the wild with URLs which get moved afterwards.

There's an unfinished mockup here [:CDSharingTrackerMockup]

Anti bot_net CD

As security gets more important, it may be a nice idea to bring out a live CD who helps determinate if the root Windows partition on a PC is put in to a bot_net.

What has that to do with marketing? Well it is a nice way, by distributing this CD to get many home Windows users accustomed with Ubuntu. It may also point out that it may be more save if they run their homebanking application from that live cd than from their surf-everywhere-and-receive-any mail PC. And it should make the association between Linux and security stronger.

I think the need for a secure PC could rise, even sharply. Many people use it for money transactions, and more and more criminals are looking for that money. And they get better in it. A secure environment could become an urgent need if those criminals get too successful in the future and it could be the only alternative to returning to pre-internet situations. OK this is speculation, but more people may have to be assured in the future.

Technically, I think the cd should start Ubuntu and the user should launch a program that checks many things like the the hostfile, the efficiency of the virus scanner update, traces of unwanted processes... If the CD would be used on many computers, criminals would adapt and either updates of the CD will be needed or a wide range of control methods should already be available on it besides the standard method. In fact I think some of both would be needed. In this field there may be some risks, and they probably should be considered to.

Demo as a web interface

Added by enbuyukfener on 03-Mar-2008

Some relevant background:

As a tech savvy user, it took years before I decided to install and regularly use Linux. ISP download limits, text file configurations and a number of other issues were the reason. I had tried a live CD or two and was not impressed, console lines flooding the screen for up to a few minutes and no idea what to do once the UI loaded. Tried to find files, surf the web and so forth but got nothing. I even had a partition set up and was ready for installation but never got to it.

I have now seen the light for the last 6 months and Ubuntu has been a great experience and I cannot get enough, upgrading to Hardy at alpha4 stage. However, I cannot help to think that Linux could do with a better first impression. Ubuntu Hardy does a great job at this but the live CDs and wubi leave lots to be desired.

Proposal:

Have a demo web interface:

• Message at start serving as a "quick start".
• "Access" to important aspects that Windows users can relate to such as the control centre and following controls, overlays for each interface element when needed that explain their functionality
• There would be an obvious declaration that it is not a functional OS, but then again, live CDs and wubi are not much in terms of flexibility
• Ability to introduce included programs
• Eliminate most of the negative connotations of or myths about Linux: difficulty to configure, "geek" look and feel, lack of programs - and to a lesser extent due to the limitations of a web interface: hardware compatibility (maybe some sort of detection or quick access to compatibility list, Java reqt?)
• Listed under something like "Experience Ubuntu" on the Ubuntu home page

Advantages:

• Quick easy access. No need for software, CD download and mount/burn etc.
• Showcases Ubuntu and Linux in general showing its simplicity, ease of use, graphical configuration, clean aesthetics etc.
• Informs the user instead of expecting them to figure it all out

Other methods of implementation:

• Combine the guided approach with wubi or live CDs, users do not like having to find and go through lots of documentation and guides, if you show them relevant short info, they will take more of it in

As a web designer/developer, I would be happy to make a mock up and contribute to the development (time permitting)