Dutch spreadfirefox users

Posted by Up North on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 07:17Improving Firefox Retention

Dear fellow Dutch Firefox users,

Apparently a lot of you use Hyves

We also saw in the new (and old ) XiTi figures that adaptation to Firefox in the Netherlands is one of the lowest in Europe. As a fanatic Firefox spreader living in Finland you can understand that on this point I am a not so proud Dutch guy.

So a few questions arise to me right now:

1) Why is adaptation so low (high msn usage for sure, lots of illegal windows copies?)
2) Who here at sfx is Dutch (and what are you doing to spread Firefox?)
3) How can we "infiltrate" Hyves and tell people about Firefox, take away prejudices, and not be to forceful?

Internet usage is high in the Netherlands, Firefox usage is not. Please do not let our fellow Dutchies suffer!

and this is just one example of a needed localized strategy, now that Firefox is mainstream in some countries... Are there other countries out there with similar problems?

Let's do it! And thank's for the feed-back

Marco


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Adaption is low ...
Submitted by suus on Sun, 08/12/2007 - 10:54.

Adaption is low since the dutch are extremely conservative. Maybe only users under the age of about 30 or so are willing to switch to something new or different.

And yes, Hyves has a lot of young 'friends' but they are all neatly arranged in small hyves, isolated from new ideas and influences. This has much todo with the current state of culture and politics in the Netherlands. This is, IMHO, one of the reasons why so many highly educated people leave to live and work somewhere else... (Marco?)

Most dutch Firefox users I know just hate Hyves and they won't be 'infiltrating Hyves' for fun.

Some final ideas: 

  • Maybe you shouldn't sell Firefox in the Netherlands as something new, but as a proven thing used by Millions.
  • Make a campaign look 'international', but target it to the Netherlands.
  • Hyves is a hard place to promote non-profit goals, it seems it has zero priority with the Hyves company itself.
  • On hyves image is everything. I think hyvers see Firefox users wrongly as very nerdy. So Firefox isn't a big hit over there, and it will be a hell of a job changing that image, if you want to.


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 Yes I really agree with
Submitted by Up North on Sun, 08/12/2007 - 15:47.

 Yes I really agree with what you say. The Netherlands has to been seen as an early adopter country.

 The way it has been done in other countries is pointing out the benefits in grassroot efforts. Therefore I wanted to target a social network as an experiment, since many internet users do social netwerks in their own countries.

 Some strategies may be universal, just wanted to see if we can convince some Hyves uers, while not being nerdy...

 You have some good suggestions, lets see if we can make it into a project...

 
-- marco --

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spreading FF
Submitted by fletcher1991 on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 10:00.

I probably know some stratagies to get a firefox 'hype' around here (I'm Dutch), I can assure you that there is an high MSN usage (as you already knew), the netherlands is a country with much downloading (including windows). You know the software program Kazaa, a dutchman invented it with another guy. Some ways for spreading in the netherlands:

1. Go by companies as dell and HP to get FF pre-installed (<<that is going to be hard)

2. Let it work with msn (By changing the registry, with the ff install)

3.We love some style in our software, like those fancy (junk) 'load bars' in vista (that they move) So a good skin would defenatly work (some journalist on TV even asked what that new button in the down left corner was :-S)

4. Show off how safe ff is, there's a hype 'round here about safety

5. Get it installed @ schools and public computers, the more it is seen the familiar it gets.

6. If ff 3 is going to be launched, make rumour, get it into shows on tv (for free). And eventually it'll come on the news and i'm sure that the downloads will increse

7. Flyers, posters, and those little cards at bars also have a change to work

8. Let 'them' (a bit odd to write them for myself) think that it's cool

In the past i've tried to promote Y! messenger, but msn is far too intergrated into the dutch yought (like me :p) And of course, I'm working with ff, and sometimes on linux (I'll make a full switch when you can play every game on it)

If anybody has some  questions or just wan't to chat, you can add me @ msn (:p) or mail me @ tommievankalkeren(at)hotmail.com

 Cheers

 P.s. I'm going on holiday for the next two weeks, that you know

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sorry but i have to do this
Submitted by Phoenix00hacker on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 20:53.

POLO

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so...
Submitted by phoenixfox on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 20:54.

 ...immature


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I may be able to help with
Submitted by on Fri, 08/03/2007 - 00:59.

I may be able to help with Hyves I have some Dutch contacts ;) (Glaxstar co-founder is Dutch)

What do you have in mind Marco? 

- Ian Hayward

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He Ian ;o)
Submitted by Up North on Fri, 08/03/2007 - 07:34.

 Yes and your a bit closer to the country as well...

As we can see in emailing, online/social networking is taking over plain stand alone applications (as in the corporate world email clients are being integrated into work flow models), so for me spreading Mozilla seems wrong to me. I saw the biggest users concerning spreading Firefox is trying to spread Mozilla (even though they rule ;o)

I am not a Myspace/Hyves user, but messaging, new bulletins, and search is done from these sites. So once again a few things come to my mind:

1) Hyves toolbar extension for Firefox only (and promote it heavily)
2) Partner us with Hyves to bring Hyves to a new level (they are reaching their plateau) of possible services
3) Advertise on Hyves...
4) Roll Call Firefox Hyves users on Hyves and give away prizes
5) Convince user that it is safer to user Firefox than IE (and make them ask where ever they use the computer to access their network!)
6) ?

And this is where the community comes in as well. You at SFX! Ideas? There were some discussions in regards to Myspace, but it seems to me (thanks to Asa) that individual countries have their own social networks, so how can we target those areas...

Safety is a big thing, Individuality is another big thing...

Let keep thing rolling... (Another 15 Million users need you) 

-- marco --

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Why and how to change it
Submitted by ottodv on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 13:10.

I always wonder the same thing when I see those numbers. Why is the Netherlands always near the bottom when it comes to Firefox usage in Europe?

Now you and I are basing this on the Xiti report. Which is a French company and measures primarily French sites as far as I know. So the first question is, do we have other sources showing the same data? Still I think the Xiti numbers are probably not far from the truth.

Secondly, what's the cause? It could be the use of MSN as you suggest, with many people conforming to what others do and MSN being the dominant player and tied in with IE. Similarly hotmail is also dominant in the Netherlands.

I remember, when I still lived in the Netherlands some years ago, getting quite a lot of people asking me why I was not on MSN like them. (I refused to use MSN and told them to use Yahoo messenger to chat with me).

About the MSN tie in with IE, I also think it might be a violation of EU competition rules.

Are there other causes? 

What can we do about it?

  • On a personal level, you can move away from MSN and hotmail and get your friends to come along.
  • Drop notes about Firefox, when relevant, in Dutch blogs (I do that every once in a while).
  • Marco's idea to do something on hyves (another Dutch "standard").
  • File a complaint with the EU competition commissioner about the MSN-IE tie in. Only this will take years.


Otto

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Age of average internetter in the Netherlands
Submitted by harm.k on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 17:48.

Hi,

 i think probably one of the main reasons the usage of firefox is this low in the internet is probably cause we have one of the highest broadband acces in the world, probably meaning that, at least when i look around in my environment, that a lot of, well i cant call them old (40-60), people tend to use the internet. But, and trust me, i have tried, i couldnt get most of them to use Firefox. Everytime they just automatically clicked IE (which of course got them into trouble again). Untill (well at least at home with my parents) i just blocked IE. That made them switch to firefox, which they now just use as IE, no extensions and stuff. But im happy with that.

BTW, im dutch and i would really LOVE a Hyves extension/toolbar. It is the most popular site in the Netherlands, even surpassing goolge. So if u want a good plan i would suggest that as well.  

http://www.nu.nl/news/1179455/50/%27Hyves_is_groter_dan_Google%27.html

(dutch)
 

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Moving away from MNS tricky,
Submitted by Up North on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 13:50.

Moving away from MNS tricky, but I finally did it an combine now MSN and GTalk by using Psi

now I can talk to gmail users, yahoo users and msn users at the same time... For many it is a problem to find an IM that can communicate with MSN and other for free...

 So it you do not like IE but use it because it warns you about how many emails you have in hotmail, maybe Psi, gmail and Firefox are safer solution to keep you PC clean (oh wait I am preaching to the choir again ;o), but that is the message...

-- marco --

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On my Mac, I use Adium,
Submitted by ThreeDee912 on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 23:36.

On my Mac, I use Adium, which is based on Gaim/Pidgin. Supports a plethora of chat protocols.

ThreeDee912 aka. Big Pixel Software

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