8:11 a.m.
Thomas Chung wrote:
On 6/17/07, Dimitris Glezos <dimitris(a)glezos.com> wrote:
> O/H Karlie Robinson έγραψε:
> > I haven't gotten much feed back from the Fedora Community on ways to
> > boost capacity (even just keep up with..) Free Media.
>
> First of all, a big 'bravo' for all those who have helped the Free
Media project
> so far. I belive these new, mostly off-broadband users who have
received a free
> media have probably spread the word about Fedora more than many
others who
> simply downloaded it.
Word of mouth is working very well for the users of Free Media, but it's
working poorly within the Fedora Marketing Community.
Do you remember a thank you note I sent to the list a few weeks ago? The
user shared his Fedora Free Media disc with no less than 38 people in
Mozambique.
While it's unreasonable to think that every free media disc is getting
that much use, Free Media does just as much for getting the word out -
especially in under served areas. (38 people who would never see the
LinuxTag booth or attend a FUDCon etc)
>
> I've met some ambassadors who would be very interested in helping
out, but
found
> the whole FreeMedia project a bit complicated for them to
participate. They
> prefer localized efforts, which sounds rational. They'd
prefer if
they received
> an email for each request in their language isntead of the web
form.
Also, I
> believe that eg. a greek user would prefer requesting a media
from
his local
> group of ambassadors instead of our (english) website.
While I do understand the language barrier, I don't understand the
confusion about being local.
Thomas Chung does an excellent job sorting out each request into an easy
to read list. All anyone has to do is look for a request by country.
Steps are...
1) Join the free Media Mailing list
2) Check the wiki for the current list
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Distribution/FreeMedia/F7DVD/June for
someone near you (every month has it's own list)
3) search your email or the list archives for the address
4) Reply to the Free Media Mailing list with "I accept this request" so
we know it's been filled.
5) mail the disc.
>
> I haven't studied in depth the current approach for sending media,
however
I'll
> jump straight to a suggestion. Probably some of the parts
following
are already
> happening. It's better than keep it in one's mind I
guess, so the
following is
> my 2 cents to the Free media program.
>
> 1. Let's find a way to have *translatable* web page with
information for
which
> countries we could send media to, and which members of the
community
can handle
> the requests. Probably a Google map? "Find your closest
Fedora
shop!" This
> shouldn't be on the wiki.
I think this creates way more work than is needed.
>
> 2. How very easy-to-understand, minimal-content pages on "How to
request".
> Should be as easy as: "Fill in this form, choose the closest
*person* to you
> from the following list".
Choosing the closest person will create more problems than it helps solve.
First off, this is a volunteer project so not everyone has the time and
resources to accept discs every week.
Second, we already have this system in place... It's just the other way
around (See above). We choose the user rather than a user choosing us.
>
> 3. Have a very easy-to-understand page on how to become a
volunteer. Should
be
> as easy as "Fill in this form. Say how many requests you
expect from
your
> country/region. Say how many CDs per week you can send."
I agree that this should be easy. I'm hoping this email will show how
easy it is.
>
> 4. Send this person a package with X CDs inside, envelopes, some
money to
buy
> stamps and a poster or hat as a "thanks". He will buy
stamps from
his local post
> office, and for each request, put a CD in an envelope, stick a
stamp, write an
> address, and slip it in the mailbox.
This further complicates the logistics.
As it is now, if you accept the request, you burn the disc, put it in a
package and mail it. Once in a while there are discs left over from
events that will be used for Free Media.
>
> 5. Have him register on a wiki page where he sent the CDs and how
many
stamps
> he put on the envelope.
We do use the wiki for tracking, but Thomas Chung does the updates.
>
>
> In the question "who will code the website?", the answer could be
"with clear
> enough specs, we can put a request to fedora-websites and someone
could jump
> right in. Besides, we are on coding spree in coding new
applications
lately. :-)
There has been talk of automating the current system, but until we get
to the point we can fill every request every month it seems kind of
pointless to put resources into coding an application when we can't find
enough people to burn/mail Free Media.
>
> My $.02
>
> -d
>
>
> --
> Dimitris Glezos
Hi Dimitris,
Thank you for your feedback on FreeMedia Program.
It's a little off topic for this thread so I would like you to join
FreeMedia Program and we can improve the program together.
Frankly, I don't think it is off topic to discuss the marketing
potentioal of Free Media on the marketing list and keep the Free Media
list on-task for sorting requests and replys.
Free Media is Grass Roots Marketing at it's finest, yet it's not treated
that way.
To join, please see refer to following page:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Distribution/FreeMedia/Contributors
I also think it's in appropriate for someone to join a project before
they know what they're getting into.
I hope this email has helped clear up the steps involved and show that
it's really more simple that it seems.