Apparently even though customers could have a choice of various versions of Vista and XP, it was an impossibly complex operation to add an Ubuntu option or an OpenOffice option or a Firefox option or even the option for a bare-bones system?

So we were only allowed select models pre-loaded with Ubuntu. Which was nice while it lasted. Especially with the introduction of some of the XPS models. But it didn’t last too long.

Fast forward to todays world and the Ubuntu options are quietly disappearing. The UK is now reduced to one model. The Mini 10. And it’s still buried in the basement of Dell.com.

Social networking is a dangerous business for corporations to get involved in. It requires interaction with the community. Which was something else Dell got wrong and still gets wrong.

Dell didn’t want to participate in it’s own community. Virtually all the talk was coming from dell customers. Even the mods and admins never took much time to participate. And again amongst those Dell employees that did participate, the most active were the Linux engineers. Particularly Matt Domsch.

Microsoft should stick to the blog model. That’s were it can control it’s corporate image and massage the content.

I’ve already begun investigating moving my organization from Ubuntu to Fedora to avoid the seemingly inevitable cease and desist letter from Microsoft’s legal department.

IdeaStorm had over 7000 ideas submitted in it’s first year. Unsurprisingly the first to catch on were the Linux and free open source software users. Almost all of the top voted most popular ideas involved open source software or greater control over choice.

Dell ignored those ideas or part-way implemented them with mealy mouthed excuses about why they couldn’t go the whole hog. IdeaStorm is now barren. It’s lucky if it gets a new idea per month.

Dell were also seriously paranoid about their corporate image. Words like “hell” were even barred from use. Dell treated it’s fans like children. Dumb retarded children at that. In the end some seriously hard core Dell fanatics saw the the light. Realised they are purely customers and started shopping around.

Social networking is just a bad idea for Microsoft and corporations in general. Their public image is far too exposed.

Right now, I follow this site and some others (re: news, tips, etc.) via RSS because that is what works best for me. (Incidentally, one of the feeds for a site I visit, Ubuntu Unleashed, is on the Blogger platform.) I think tapping into the currently popular social networks is *crucial* right now. Ubuntu is on a roll, IMHO, and it needs *more* visibility to continue breaking through to the mainstream. In some cases, some social networks already have groups dedicated to Ubuntu, so putting in more support should be a natural progression anyways.

I have used the Ubuntu forums and at times it has been a great help to me. But generally, with the way the open source community at large is still structured, I get more mileage from reading what others have done and written on than directly asking users for help.

When others ask me for help with Ubuntu, I usually do point them to the forums. But I will also point to other resources. If the open source community is all about choice anyways, why not embrace social networking as part of that choice?

Yes, social structures are already in place for Ubuntu. But most computer users will use mainstream sites whether the Ubuntu and open source communities approve or not. If we wish to reach out to those users, we might as well establish a presence there. Open source fans will continue to create and gravitate towards open source alternatives (like identi.ca), but advertising to the mainstream shouldn’t diminish the vision– if anything, it will give them more opportunities to cross over and/or bridge the gap.

WorksWithU is taking steps in those areas. A few weeks ago, Nick Ali and Joshua Chase (our WorksWithU Vodcast hosts) suggested that I set up a WorksWithU feed on Identi.ca — the open source alternative to Twitter.

I followed their advice and did so. Now we’re seeing Identi.ca followers become WorksWithU readers. And yes, we’ve got the WorksWithU Twitter feed going.

I’m curious to see which service (Identi.ca or Twitter) drives more readers and more discussion on WorksWithU. And we’ll be adding more social media in the days ahead.

So short term, I agree: The “official” world of Ubuntu hasn’t embraced some commercial social networks because it hasn’t needed to. But the independent world of Ubuntu — sites like WorksWithU — will continue to embrace commercial social media sites, so that non-techies discover Ubuntu and make more informed decisions about personal and corporate IT purchases.

Microsoft is, as usual, building a healthy community:
http://boycottnovell.com/2009/03/12/microsoft-astroturf-roundup/