Linux Community\’s unoffical mascot taken by Microsoft

2010-06-04 3 min read Linux

Ok, this is mostly a Linux advocacy and I kind of completely agree with <a href="http://linuxlock.blogspot.com/2008/11/congrats-linux-community-youve-been.html" target="_blank">this.

Here&#8217;s the main text, but dont forget to go to the page to read the comments( quite good and interesting thoughts by lot of people).

OK group…let&#8217;s see a show of hands…

How many people believe that the current way Linux markets itself is sufficient? That would be the combination of apathy, inertia and a smattering of guerrilla marketing.

Good, Good….yeah, that&#8217;s a majority all right. Thanks for taking your hand out of the Cheeto&#8217;s bag long enough to be inconvenienced. You might want to wipe it against your t-shirt before you begin your flaming response.

Which is unlikely. If you are reading this blog or any publication that might post this blog, you more than likely don&#8217;t fit into this group

Now, how many of you think that we need to get the word out to the everyday computer user and let them know they have a choice in the way they operate their computers?

Oops…Well, that was expected as well. Now you know what it&#8217;s like to be a Ron Paul Supporter.

So…one more question then we&#8217;ll wrap this up.

How many of you feel comfortable that Linux has a firm hold on the penguin as an unofficial trademark of Linux?

My goodness. There is a veritable sea of hands in the air. That&#8217;s a good thing. Well, at least we agree on something.

Now let me show you how a consensus of opinion is as reliable as an unbooted Windows server. Not to mention those that hold said opinion.

Many of you in the first group I queried can take pride in this. Congratulations to everyone who made this possible.
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_afk-Egip2qY/SSDg4vHX4HI/AAAAAAAABF0/uUfiJIIiO44/s1600-h/microtheft.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269458829348167794" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 509px; height: 136px;" src="http://blog.amit-agarwal.com/wp-content/uploads/4.bp.blogspot.com/_afk-Egip2qY/SSDg4vHX4HI/AAAAAAAABF0/uUfiJIIiO44/s320/microtheft.png" border="0" alt="" />

Excuse the poor photograph. This billboard picture was taken on IH 35 in Austin from the upper deck in a car doing 70 mph. Stopping on the upper deck for any reason is almost certain catastrophe. It&#8217;s good enough however to make the point.

Microsoft has now successfully claimed the penguin as their &#8221;symbol&#8221;. Yep, I see it coming…&#8221;What&#8217;s the big deal helios? So they use a flock of penguins to advertise.&#8221; If those words come out of your mouth, I would make certain they weren&#8217;t heard too loudly. Ask yourself this. Why penguins? How many tens of thousands of other animals could they have chosen?

Why penguins? It&#8217;s obvious if you just spend a few minutes thinking about it.

These billboards are going up all over the United States. I&#8217;ve called Microsoft numerous times Friday to get a statement but they&#8217;ve yet to respond.

By the way, the rest of the text from that sign reads <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">&#8221;Life Without Walls&#8221;.

That is funny in itself. Microsoft trying to equate itself with freedom. They better hope people continue to ignore their EULA.

So…let&#8217;s keep on handing out cd&#8217;s, holding our Lindependence events, flooding You Tube with Cube videos ad nauseum and anything else we can think of that reaches hundreds of people in a months time. Microsoft is reaching millions a day.

And their doing it with <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">your penguin.

Guerrilla marketing…now that&#8217;s effective. Instead of getting the community organized into some sort of legitimate promotional entity, and Heaven knows we&#8217;ve tried… we&#8217;ve screwed around and let Microsoft take the one thing we thought they could never touch. Don&#8217;t forget…Linus chose the penguin himself as our mascot/symbol.

Congratulations to all who made this possible.

All-Righty Then

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