Linux.com Article DB: Does Linux Need Marketing?

What Marketers don't Get.

Linux isn't a product, it's a tool. I am sick of marketers forcing me to pay and pay. I want to obtain a tool to perform a task and do it reliably and well. If I can get that tool from an open, sharing community then I will. If I create a tool and can contribute to my community then that is better yet. If I can make an honest buck providing a service that is truly needed and not just marketing then that is best.
Linux isn't a service. Linux is huge and complicated and deeply rich in its variants. Over and over I have needed assistance to understand many aspects of it. In fact, most of my troubles with Linux have come down to my own lack of knowledge. Once I obtained that little bit of information that I lacked I have been able to make it do what I needed. There lies a business. Documentation, training, packaging of all the software libraries and their dependencies, the convenience of popping a CD in versus the time needed to download are all services that I have paid for.
Don't sell me software sell me a solution. Man, I hate it when advertising wants to sell a solution! They even use "solution" like it is an entity unto itself. Unfortunately, in this case I'm forced to use the term because it fits. I want a solution to the high costs of a Point of Sale system for my business. I want a solution to my problem of affording all the software I need to run my Computer Science program at University. I want a system that makes running my real estate company easier. I want to have a freely available Linux so I can continue to play around with it and learn more about computers and make my personal life simpler.

Linux will survive and thrive without those who would squeeze every dime from it and leave it as soon as the growth projections dip. Linux will do this because Linux meets a need (Marketing 101) and benefits from powerful community evangelism (Marketing 201 ala Guy Kawasaki). Please feel free to make money from Linux, sell to those that want that, just don't try to make it sound like Linux needs marketers when it is marketers that need Linux as the "Next Big Thing (tm)".

Mark Miller is a user of Linux since kernel 1.1 and can hack together the barest of Perl scripts when he needs to. His contributions to the Linux community consist mainly of articles and a few projects he has been meaning to get to.

Originally Published: Monday, 2 July 2001	Author: Mark Miller
Published to: opinion_articles/opinion	Page: 3/3 - [Printable]
Does Linux Need Marketing? Welcome to the new opinion section of Linux.com. This week's feature article is an introduction to Linux.com Opinion by correspondent Mark Miller. Miller takes a look at the debate sparked when free software genius and revolutionary Richard Stallman called Ransom Love (of Caldera Linux) "just a parasite". Oh dear! Well, Miller has his own take, which is the point of Linux.com Opinion. Do you have a view on this issue? Be sure to share it with the community in the comment section!

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What Marketers don't Get. Linux isn't a product, it's a tool. I am sick of marketers forcing me to pay and pay. I want to obtain a tool to perform a task and do it reliably and well. If I can get that tool from an open, sharing community then I will. If I create a tool and can contribute to my community then that is better yet. If I can make an honest buck providing a service that is truly needed and not just marketing then that is best. Linux isn't a service. Linux is huge and complicated and deeply rich in its variants. Over and over I have needed assistance to understand many aspects of it. In fact, most of my troubles with Linux have come down to my own lack of knowledge. Once I obtained that little bit of information that I lacked I have been able to make it do what I needed. There lies a business. Documentation, training, packaging of all the software libraries and their dependencies, the convenience of popping a CD in versus the time needed to download are all services that I have paid for. Don't sell me software sell me a solution. Man, I hate it when advertising wants to sell a solution! They even use "solution" like it is an entity unto itself. Unfortunately, in this case I'm forced to use the term because it fits. I want a solution to the high costs of a Point of Sale system for my business. I want a solution to my problem of affording all the software I need to run my Computer Science program at University. I want a system that makes running my real estate company easier. I want to have a freely available Linux so I can continue to play around with it and learn more about computers and make my personal life simpler. Linux will survive and thrive without those who would squeeze every dime from it and leave it as soon as the growth projections dip. Linux will do this because Linux meets a need (Marketing 101) and benefits from powerful community evangelism (Marketing 201 ala Guy Kawasaki). Please feel free to make money from Linux, sell to those that want that, just don't try to make it sound like Linux needs marketers when it is marketers that need Linux as the "Next Big Thing (tm)". Mark Miller is a user of Linux since kernel 1.1 and can hack together the barest of Perl scripts when he needs to. His contributions to the Linux community consist mainly of articles and a few projects he has been meaning to get to.
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