[OT] TV, Internet, and Democracy

[John Van Ostrand]

On Fri, 2007-05-25 at 11:32 -0400, Evan Leibovitch wrote:
> The point I'm making is that the public at this point, either
> 
> 1) doesn't care about computers (talking to this group is relatively
> pointless).
> 
> 2) uses computers but hates them and/or seeks to know the bare minimum
> about how they work (Telling them about Linux might evoke a little
> curiosity, but no more interest than telling them about a new brand of
> shock absorber or vacuum)
> 
> 3) is aware of the inner workings of their computers (Most of these
> people at this point are already aware of Linux, and have made a
> conscious decision to either try it or not. These people need advocacy,
> but they don't need more awareness of the Linux "brand".)

It seems to me that Microsoft thought that was good venue for
advertising.

> My point is that the message needs to shift from "what is Linux?" to
> "why use Linux?"

To some degree I agree with you there, however, I attend a Microsoft
user group here in Waterloo and many of their vendors barely know what
Open Source is. Sure they've heard of Linux but don't know much about it
and they don't understand open source at all. These are people who are
often new (or sheltered) in the IT field, or are enthusiasts that have
never really connected with anyone outside of the MS camp.

> These -- and BarCamp-type events -- will indeed grow in popularity. But
> these events are generally technical and introspective in nature, and
> exist to help people who are already sold on open source to deepen their
> skills at it. 

You've never been to the Ohio Linux Fest. It's a good mix of technical,
road map, BOF, motivational, historical, etc. Just like any conference
there  was a large number of experienced people there, but I also met
one tire kicker and lots of people who would be considered newbies.
Besides it's a conference it's supposed to be introspective.

> Meanwhile, conventional user group attendance -- based on my own
> observations at TLUG and other cities -- has been relatively static for
> quite a while, and certainly not reflected the increased use of open
> source within IT. Indeed, some groups -- such as the one in North Bay --
> have closed due to lack of interest. Groups in France and Japan are
> starving for members -- Tokyo's LUG, serving a city much bigger than
> Toronto in a country more hospitable to open source than Canada, is
> smaller than GTALUG.

That's sad to hear. Our LUG in KW is pretty strong too. Must be
cultural.

> The existing community does well at supporting itself, but its
> "outreach" tactics leave much to be desired. The message and strategies
> cannot be the same as they were a decade ago.

I don't know about that. The community has taken Linux and Open Source
very var in the last decade.

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