Last week I wrote an article discussing why Linux isn’t very popular on the desktop. I argued the point that people don’t value that which comes too easily. And Linux, being free, falls in that category. I then decided to do an experiment - during this week, I advertised Ubuntu to my friends as a posh elitist OS that costs over $500.
The reaction was unanimous:
People don’t care.
They were interested in the visual effects and intrigued by the fact that there aren’t any viruses. But the price didn’t make any difference. This confirms that people simply assume OS’s are free.
All of the above means one thing. I officially had my first crackpot theory. Wheeee!
Advertising Linux
So what’s the best way to advertise Linux?
My own experience as well as those of other readers suggest this:
- Be seen is public using Linux.
- If someone curious asks what’s that on your computer, briefly explain, highlighting the advantages. (Another plus: If someone is computer-savvy enough to notice you’re using something unusual, they have the right stuff to give Linux a shot)
- If they’re interested, offer to burn them a live CD (explain what an awesome thing a live CD is)
Another important aspect in advertising anything is keeping your power.
When advertising Linux, there’s a specific way to do this. Don’t be needy. We don’t need more Linux users. We like having more users, but we don’t need them.
Also make it clear Linux won’t try to satisfy all their whims. Linux is NOT Windows. Make it quite clear Linux won’t do all the same things as Windows. It doesn’t try to.
A reader comment expresses this nicely:
I usually “sell” Linux by saying over and over againt that “Linux is great, it’s simple to use, the Beryl 3D desktop graphics is stunning, it’s stable, it never crashes, you never have to reinstall it.
But see, you can’t have it - you simply don’t have enough skill. Not that it’s difficult to install or use, anyone can do that. But I don’t think you can handle it.
You can’t have it, I’m sorry,”
Strangely, this turns them on, and they soooo want to try out Linux. And when they do install it, I never get any complaints about it being to difficult to install or use =)
The message is clear: Linux isn’t here to satisfy you personally. It just is what it is. If you can’t handle it, that’s your problem.
If you can make that clear, you will create happy Linux users. And you will weed out those we don’t want in our community anyway.
Next saturday, I’ll post more self-improvement material. I’ve got a real killer article in the works, one that immediately creates positive changes in your life! Until then.
Long days and pleasant nights.
###
Response to readers’ comments from last week
A couple of people pointed out “dog’s bollocks” actually means “great”. Thanks. I promise to never misuse the term again. Cuz that would be dog’s bollocks.
No, really, thanks for pointing it out.
—
To all of you who expressed support with my experiment - I love you guys.
To all you who disagreed, I respect that you have a different opinion. (And apparently you’re right. And I’m wrong. Sigh. Just don’t go around saying “Told you so! Nyah nyah nyah!”)
But my heart goes to the rarest of you out there. A very special group. Those who used Windows, then switched to Linux for some months, and then decided to go back to Windows. I really respect you for making an informed decision (unlike most Windows users). I also pity you for not having the great first Linux experience I had. Guess I got lucky with my hardware.
—
vishal said:
(…) problem is that as soon as a person is hearing the word linux…he makes the picture of some dreadfull, hard to use, meant for geeks OS in his mind (…)
Strange. When I mention Linux, all I get is a blank stare. Still, just in case, I prefer using “Ubuntu” when advertising my distro to people.
—
And finally, several readers’ comments strung together (slightly out of context):
(…) Linux (…) turns (…) me (…) on (…)
Booyah!
I wouldn’t say that it has to do with the fact that people don’t care about price. Ultimately, its about whats more well known, and more popular when it comes to things like this.
I think it has to do with the fact that humans have a great desire to conform to what is perceived by the public as the “norm”. People don’t like to stand out, or be different, if it is going to cause them to be shunned.
I saw a program on the Discovery channel a while ago that performed experiments on this idea. They got a random guy to sit in a room with where everyone else is involved with the experiment. They asked the “audience” a simple question, and the whole room would answer incorrectly on purpose, to see if the random guy would challenge them with the answer he knew to be true.
They did this with 10 different people, and 8 out of those 10 times, the person being tested conformed with the crowd, and when asked why, admitted that they were afraid of maybe being wrong, or by being different.
What needs to happen with Linux, is we need to change the public perception of what Linux really is. Because perception, is reality. And if the general public perceives Linux as being a “geek OS”, then that is exactly what it is.
If you disagree with anything in my comment, or wish to respond to it, you can drop me an email through my blogger profile.
This sumup post is great
When I was new Ubuntu user I was overwhelmed by it/him. I got out and advertise it like it was some sort of best thing since sliced bread. And gues what no one wanted Ubuntu.
Now I have different approach. I use Ubuntu and don’t care what others use. When someone aproches me:” What is that on your computer. I say:Ubuntu. And most friends (even my non geeky female friend) asked if I could install that on their computer.
One friend totaly erased Windows from computer to give space for Ubuntu. For other I plan to set up Dual boot.
I managed to see that almost forcing choice of Ubuntu is plain wrong for advertising.
In last month 5 of my friends asked me to help them install Ubuntu.
HINT: I conviniently left my laptop on kitchen table so everybody could see my fancy setup.
Note: about the research - the people were afraid of being wrong i saw another one , where they gave to people a simple task (sort some items by colour or such) and they could see each other working. The people around the test subject were acting, and sorted the items in wrong way (but consistently).
It had the same effect as you write, but if they introduced one ‘loose cannon’ who sorted them correctly. again, most of people sorted the items according to their own judgement (correctly)
As for the problem with linux:Not really. What needs to happen to linux is that its user platform either must convince the big software developers, that it is valuable to produce commercial software for linux (some already do, especially soft for commercial application, or it must develop high quality equivalents on its own (OpenOffice or GIMP is the way to go). That is he most common cause for the, as Vlad describes them , rare cases - they can run linux, they like it, but they find out that they cannot do nearly as much as they need to, so they either keep it as their second OS or they with a sad feeling format the disk and put windows back.
Another problem is poor computer literacy. Not to be mistaken - i do not speak about the usage - that would be analogous to saying about somebody that he understands cars , when he simply knows how to drive.
The problem (and perhaps a virtue) of windows is the huge abstraction it provides - although it is slow buggy etc, it demands almost no knowledge of what is happening from the user, for him to be able to do what he wants. This creates bad practice - people can be ‘taught’ to use a computer in a very limited number of ways , without knowing what is happening , which is akin to riding bike with child sidewheels all the time - it is nice & easy, but when one breaks off, you are screwed (better example: Physics education in Brazil, according to R. Feynman’s autobiography)
Linux is not that way - it offers its user great power, but it demands knowledge, and effort (as any skill). That is another reason why changing any image would be counter-productive - it culd lead to ‘windowsication’ of linux ,which nobody wants - we need to do the exact opposite - slowly, silently change the people so they will gain ability to enjoy the benefits. Also for Vlad: A thing extremely worth propagating AFAIK is Cygwin and such projects - it brings bash,gcc suite and much more to windows - the user will be able to run all his win-dependant programs and also experience the benefits of the *NIX way, so that he will be likely to switch eventually (and even if not, you have hopefully succeeded in spawning an knowledgeable windows user - which, as i hope , further helps our case).
Finally, as i saw in statistics, the one company that can do the most for the spread of linux is Microsoft - by writing OSes such as Vista(TM) and by starkly enforcing anti-pirating laws in relation to their software - If the people will be forced to pay for such crap, they will think twice about using a free alternative. And, remember, our goal is to achieve the amount of users O S X has - then , hopefully the companies (Others than IBM and SUN) will start treating linux seriously.
drone91
Dell and Asus are also taking Linux (esp. Ubuntu) seriously enough to sell computers pre-installed with it.
The shift may have begun already
I actually agreed with u when u shared ur so called crackpot theory with us. I put it in my bookmarks right away and thought this could get interesting.
Since i dont consider myself a mainstream kind of computer user i obviously made the same mistake u did. Ive never really paid money for an operating system myself.
Coz lets face it windows comes preinstalled with the majority of computers and no one actually knows the difference because what you willingly spend your money on is the hardware.
But the main reason why i thought i had to comment on this one is because you said your heart goes to those who made the informed decision of going back to windows after trying linux.
Using Linux myself always got me to think that i could finally escape my windows world for good but i never really managed to. I learned a lot about Linux i hadnt known before but some of those lessons have been frustrating so far.
One of those lessons is that there is no way for me to ever learn to utilize the Terminal in a way that it would make me an equally powerful linux user compared to my windows skills.
Although i do not only know a lot about windows related software i also know a lot about hardware but from a linux point of view i speak as a total noob and therefore i think i know what linux still lacks which makes it less suitable for me (as a noob).
One totally über cool feature of linux that i discovered was the repository principal. While that is nice i still feel a lot more comfortable going on the internet with firefox searching for a program to end up downloading an exe-file and double clicking it to install what i want to have.
The reason why i think the windows way is better is because u never have to compile anything urself if u just want to install it and dont even have a clue what compiling actually means or so.
Ive found myself giving up on installing rare programs that arent in my repository after downloading a TAR archive and having no idea how to “configure”; “make” and “make install”. Ive been pretty darn close sometimes but then it just bugged me with some compiler library missing or whatever the hell it was trying to say. It was frustrating.
So as a Linux noob i always think its a pity im just too lazy to do research on the net in order to get better at using linux but then again what would my motivation be if im already good at something else that can do the same job for me?
Most probably i just havent discovered the full potential of Linux yet anyway coz im quite sure Linux has a lot more power under the hood than windows.
Id just use it the way i use Windows and some Linux-nerds might call that blasphemy anyway ^^
Linux *does* turn me on =P
Honestly I think one of the best ways to spread Linux is to tailor it to an audience. I’m a member of an expansive World of Warcraft blogging community, and I’ve had three or four people now tell me that they have either completely or mostly switched to Linux thanks to guides I have written about getting WoW working with Wine. I know a few other people who are planning on making the switch very soon.
These people would not have switched if I had simply been sitting there talking about the pretty graphics or the freedom or that stuff. They’re switching because they can play their favorite game and get all the other bonuses as icing on the cake.
I think it’s important to realize that most people regard using a computer as work. Installing an operating system is work. Fixing/troubleshooting problems is work. That’s what the IT guys do. In this kind of environment you won’t get people to switch.
The geeks will switch and they’ll bring some friends and family along with them. (I know I did.) After all, updating anti-virus and scanning, and checking firewalls is work to the average user as well. Linux has less of that, so they’ll like it once they get there.
To Martin Kuttner
Is not that linux is dificult to learn, it is only out of your skills.
(sorry, I just can’t resist)
j_secreto
Wonderful post. Thoughtful, premeditated … a pure contrast to today’s typed-in-two-minutes posts. I bookmarked your blog’s feed just to see if you’ll keep your word. I must say, I’m intrigued and silently awaiting your next post.
As for “teh Linux r0xx0rz”, I’m an avid *NIX user but I’m also a graphic designer. My problem (some say addiction) is that I’m dependent on Adobe’s Photoshop. I’ve created lovely works of art with Inkscape but GIMP doesn’t cut it. Maybe I haven’t tried hard enough?
Anyway, what got me to Linux was the hype — the hype of trying something different. Everybody has it, few admit it, some find it lame and stick to current (ugly) solutions. So, I tried and it worked. Since then I tried promoting my new experiment. Whilst everyone had a word in my presentation, few actually tried it. Why? Basic fear which we all have — fear of the unknown.
BUT, when I stick on a GNU beard and started acting rugged — naah, you ’s a script kiddie, you absolutely can not handle this — some started pondering! And so, today, three out of my fellowship of six have a UNIX clone on their home computers. They adore it, clothe it, worship it and (of course) brag about it.
Conclusion: None of my friends payed for Winschmlows so the price is not an issue. Few of my friends dared confessing to be incompetent schmucks who can’t handle it. The others — they’re writing academic papers in LaTeX and have never been happier.
This confirms my theory. It is not hard to make people use Linux, is hard to make they keep it.
Interesting findings, a well written article. Loves it.
Well is great that you are advertising Linux, I was chatting with a friend and she wanted me to put my camera, but as there isn’t much support for it I told her that I couldn’t and I told her I didn’t have Windows and she said 000ooo you got the one with the little Apple… and I said no, and she said ” huhhhh… ?” and I said is Linux, she said ” How rare are this programs now. ” and I just laugh and laugh..
I’ll try and burn some Ubuntu CD’s to give out at my school. and see what they do when I tell them it’s free.
I had tried Ubuntu some time ago & given up in frustration at not being able to get my hardware going. That was with a rather old computer with a lot of oem onboard hardware. When MS said XP was going the way of the dinosaurs last year, I decided to give it a try again. At the time my XP puter had crashed and burnt & i had another puter I’d just bought second hand that was respectable but not quite as up to date as my main one. I started both installs at the same time & believe it or not I had the Ubuntu up, running & updated in less time than it took to do the same for XP. Since then I’ve fixed that one for triple boot, Ubuntu, Puppy, & XP. I suppose I was rather lucky most of the hardware had very good support out of the box. I do hope to eventually migrate completely to one type of Linux or another & yes one of the things stopping me is a problem getting some of my favorite Windows programs working inside of Linux.
To all you who disagreed, I respect that you have a different opinion. (And apparently you’re right. And I’m wrong. Sigh. Just don’t go around saying “Told you so! Nyah nyah nyah!”)
Well, I am one of the posters who disagreed; however, I don’t see it that way. Right? Wrong? Nope. I didn’t want you to burn your time; yes, it is your time and you can do with it as you choose.
“But my heart goes to the rarest of you out there. A very special group. Those who used Windows, then switched to Linux for some months, and then decided to go back to Windows. I really respect you for making an informed decision (unlike most Windows users). I also pity you for not having the great first Linux experience I had. Guess I got lucky with my hardware.”
Well, I use Windows not by choice but out of necessity. Here are a few simple items that has not been worked out.
1) Active X. One of the few things that I need. Well, actually I dislike it; I would prefer the world to actually embrace a (non-commercial) standard.
2) Crazy / insane MS Word documents. Sorry, but VBA doesn’t belong in documents or spreadsheets, but alas I need it. OO.o does 100% of what I do with it; however, the documents that I get don’t always translate, rare but it happens. For the record, I do use OO.o for 99% of what I need; but I have MS Office for everything else; ie: the documents that I receive.
So, don’t dish out pity. It bothers me more that you know.
On the hardware-driver “issue” with Linux:
I’ve got a laptop with WXP preinstalled (of course) about two years ago. I tried Linux but found that I would risk my hardware to overheat. (Some wierd ACPI-issue) So I obviously didn’t pursue it further.
But then some weeks later I got it: The Ubuntu Gutsy beta disk
With a current kernel the ACPI problem was gone and I could try Linux.
Long story short I’ve switched on my laptop from WXP to Ubuntu and on my desktop from W2K to Ubuntu and I’m happy with it since about 8 months now.
Now the twist:
Wanting to play “Company of Heroes” I needed WXP (yuck) and when my friend (he is the one who inspired me to try Linux with his Debian on his laptop) came by and showed how he played C&C on his WXP I really needed to play “real” games again. So I did it. Dual boot.
Windows takes the same time to boot to the first prompt of the install CD as Ubuntu takes to boot to the full fledged live-environment.
Windows asks questions during install requiring constant attention, Ubuntu has 8(!) simple questions up front and has done with it.
But the real shock was when I had installed WXP and even the network-drivers where missing. (That stuff works just fine with Ubuntu)
and an USB-memory-stick to get the contents of the (2.5 GiB!) driver pack from HP for my laptop unpacked.
I had to pull some weird stunts involving a Ubuntu desktop
Since I had that experience I’ll never think that Linux has bad hardware support again.
And I’m not even talking about all that configuration that was necessary to get WXP on a base usability level, or the activation process, or the really bad CLI.
- Rechteck
People don’t care for operating systems. They never did and never will.
It’s all about the applications and whether they help you get the job done.
When you’re a professional photographer, you need Lightroom or Aperture and Photoshop. The GIMP is not even close to being an alternative.
When you’re a musician, you need Ableton Live, Propellerhead Reason or Logic Studio.
When you are a medical doctor, you need software like Albis or MediStar (both products for the German market) to manage your office.
When you’re writing novels or screenplays, you want software like Scrivener (Mac-only) or Montage (Mac-only). You certainly do NOT want crap like Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.org Writer.
When you are editing movies, you want stuff like Final Cut Studio.
What you don’t want to do, unless you’re a geek, is study arcane commands and learn magical (GUI) tools like ‘Synaptics Package Manager’ and try to find something that might be useful in there.
The problem is that most GNU/Linux users just don’t get the idea. A computer is just a tool, and it better be a good one that’s not getting in your way. The computer has to help its user, not the other way ’round. A good tool is intuitive and easy to use and does not require the user to get a degree in computer science first.