Almost every open-source project, no matter if it currently has ten or a million users or even more, would like to grow and have more users. Few projects, though, are good at promoting their software. Strangely, the same ideas are talked about over and over again, while there is an incredible example of an open-source project that has volunteers spreading it very successfully in all sorts of creative ways. This project, as you may have guessed, is Firefox.

You have probably already heard that Firefox far surpassed their goal and reached over 8 million downloads of Firefox 3 in just 24 hours! This is not, by far, though, the only promotional project Firefox has succeeded with. Everything from crop circles to newspaper ads to volunteer “Firefox Campus Reps,” Firefox has tried it. Firefox is easily the most widely recognized open-source project that I can think of. The point is, Firefox is really, really good at promoting itself. Because of this, other open-source projects should look to them as an example of how to spread their software and name. Granted, Firefox has an advantage in that it can be used by anyone, no matter what OS they use, and in that almost everyone uses a web browser, but still, more open-source projects should look to Firefox as a model for good promotion. I don’t mean everyone should copy exactly what Firefox has done, just be inspired by it. If every open-source project followed the example of Firefox and other widely-known open-source projects, my guess is that the number of projects that are common-place names would skyrocket.

Recently the YouTube Ubuntu Developer Channel has been launched. The channel currently has four videos from the Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS) that is going on this week. The videos interview various people involved with Ubuntu and discuss that person’s views, what the person does, and what the person sees in the future of Ubuntu. I don’t know where the idea for this came from, but I think it is a great idea. It gives people a chance to get an idea of what is going on in Canonical and Ubuntu and to get some idea who the main Ubuntu developers are.

Because the interviews are with developers, though, they tend to be fairly technical. Because of this, it would be great to have another channel that shows off the best promotional videos for the less technical. The two channels could then link to each other. This would help prevent new users from being intimidated or scared off by the level of technicality, but also let users who wanted to learn more about the developement of Ubuntu see more detail.

I don’t care what people say, if Linux ever goes mainstream, there will be real security threats to Linux. To be prepared for this, people should be encouraged to let Ubuntu automatically download and install security updates.

Now on to the promotion.

Both of these brainstorms propose something similar: an organized and focused effort to promote Ubuntu. Some projects like this exist already, but they should be better known. The question left is exactly what is the best way (or the best ways) of promoting Ubuntu. Below are some suggestions from Ubuntu Brainstorm. Feel free to discuss which ones you think are good in the comments.

The Idea: Distribute free advertising posters for Ubuntu to schools and stores.

The Idea: Start running ads online, on TVs, on the radio, etc.

The Idea: Create a screensaver that shows off the features of Ubuntu for stores to play on Ubuntu machines. (That sort of video could also be used as a general promotional video.)

Brilliant Brainstorms is a weekly-ish summary of some of the best brainstorms from the Ubuntu Brainstorm site. In the beginning it may not always come exactly once a week or on the same day, but, if it becomes popular, it should become more regular.

Today Brainstorm implemented an idea I wrote about last week, creating a blog to go along with the main site. Last week I said that “The idea behind Ubuntu Brainstorm is to get ideas and suggestions from Ubuntu users, but in order to expect feedback from users, developers must show how they are using that feedback.” Now, the first introductory post on the new blog says “But we understand brainstorming is not an one-way process: it is our duty to give you some feedback on the ideas you proposed. That will be the goal of this blog.” As you might guess, I am very happy about this new addition. Check it out here.

With videos being incredibly popular on the web and Ubuntu having tons of cool visual effects though Compiz Fusion, it makes a lot of sense to create an official Ubuntu promotion video.

Currently, if you want to create a custom theme for your desktop, you have to pick out individual pieces. This makes it so hard to create an appealing new theme for your desktop. Letting you just download one package would make it so much easier.

Open-source is about users contributing back, but far too often even users that want to help out don’t know how. Ubuntu needs an easy way for new helpers to figure out what they should do.

It is far too easy to accidentally quit out of X (essentially giving you a full screen terminal), which would leave a new user completely confused. It is essential that there are instructions on how to get back into the GUI.

I don’t know what the title is supposed to mean, but the idea here is to add links to various useful sites for new Ubuntu users to the desktop. I think this is a great idea, because the desktop is what the user first sees and so it is the most easily accessibly place for help. Once the user is more familiar with Ubuntu, he/she can delete those links.

One of the most annoying things about installing Windows is that it keeps stopping the process to ask you more questions. This basically forces you to sit there the whole time, unless you want the process to take a whole day. I have never had this problem with Ubuntu, but I certainly don’t want to start having it.

Ubuntu Brainstorm is one of the best ways for Ubuntu users to get themselves heard. It would be so simple to put a link to it on the front page of the Ubuntu site and it would give so many more people a voice.