[Foundation-l] Rethinking brands

[Samuel Klein]

> Yann Forget wrote:
>
>> Beside, we should not think in terms of commercial products for our
>> projects. We have no deadline, no profits to make, no balance to adjust.
>> Why do people come to our projects? Not because we have a big brand, not
>> because they see an ad. They come because our content is free as a beer
>> and free as a speech. Rather than a brand, that the message we need to
>> spread out: Wikimedia is the greatest (and biggest) free project on the
>> planet.

Your last sentence raises an important distinction. Which is more 
appropriate?

  "Wikimedia is the greatest free project on the planet"

or

  "Wikimedia is incubating and supporting the greatest free projects
   on the planet"

?

SJ


> When I reflect on "Ten things that must be freed" I think less about
> free as in beer, or free as in speech than about free as a verb.
>
> I think there is room for all sorts of projects with overlapping goals,
> some of which may draw heavily on Wikipedia's content.  Isn't that what
> the viral nature of free knowledge is all about?  To me, drawing
> everything under a single Wikipedia umbrella seems too much like empire
> building.
>
> Ec