Comments on: Ubuntu at Non-Technical Events

By: alan cocks

alan cocks — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:39:08 +0000

I displayed for two days at Wallingford Bunkfest last year, in the Craft Tent. Blessed with good weather too, it was very enjoyable and fairly successful. The display was under the Infopoint banner, inspired by Jono Bacon’s computer fairs initiative some years ago. (I display regularly at Bracknell Computer Fair). However, the display is very Ubuntu centric. Apart from the time and effort involved, significant issues for such events are 1) Public liability insurance or lack of, and 2) negotiating acceptance by the organisers as a non profit, community based item rather than a sales arm of a commercial business. Being labelled as a business not a community item has affected the Ubuntu Loco display arrangements at London Olympia MAC/Linux live I recall.
An exclusive Ubuntu display is easily misinterpreted by ‘onlookers’ as a retail business, leading to incorrect assumptions.
Photo: Wallingford Bunkfest 2009 Craft Tent
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll248/candtalan/IMG_1820-scaled.jpg
I would be happy to share leaflets and experiences with those interested, and also join a uk marketing advocacy group if one exists.

By: James

James — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:10:43 +0000

One event local to me that I'd like to see Ubuntu at is the annual da Vinci Days festival. The festival was created to celebrate art and technology, yet is not particularly geeky, so I think Ubuntu would be a perfect fit.

By: Silvi

Silvi — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 06:19:10 +0000

Just a thought: if you are trying to modernize image and reach out to new prospective converts, I would suggest thinking at a more macro-level at a few international profile events with underlying objectives.

Cannes Advertising Festival / AdAge awards / – net-stations set up for all their attendees. (Whilst the brand/advertising community tends to be mac converts, they deal with clients with responsibility at their core: if you market the space well, then opportunities to get free exposure or even have your marketing paid by other brands will start coming to you.ie at a Virgin Concert or GE Responsibility Conference and often they will pay for the correct brand alignment)

Davos – talk to Head of Africa about being computer-stations for visiting delegates to convert on government head level/educational front.

By: GhostLyrics

GhostLyrics — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:01:36 +0000

The big error in this is: geeks don’t go outside. Real geeks make someone go outside for them

By: Elizabeth Krumbach

Elizabeth Krumbach — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:59:58 +0000

The New Jersey team did an event at a Farmer's Market several years back: http://www.joeterranova.net/blog/2007/09/23/events-pictures/ (scroll down past the SFD event). A local LUG here in the Bay Area is also doing the Farmer's Market thing throughout the month of July. Here in the US they work well since tables tend to be cheap (or free) and the venue gets all kinds of people.