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Has bad branding ever turned you off from software, FOSS or not? (lemmy.world)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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I'll start: while looking at app theming I came across WallRizz, renamed from WallWiz. I haven't tried it, and looking at it documentation it seems well made, but I cringe at the name and the AI-generated penguin logo. It shares the art style of all the other AI slop, its basically italian brainrot but 2D. WallWiz sounds way better, rizz sounds like it was specially designed for gen alpha (little kids). If there are apps of even similar quality, why would I use this one?

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[–] 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Also, I have a rudimentary idea how to fix this. So if anyone who's more competent than me would like to have a go at it, please do so.

Basically found a non-profit ad agency for free software. Basically the agency would create turnkey ad and branding concepts for certain free software projects that would like to have it and in return they get 5% of their donations, for example. All of the money gets reinvested back into the advertising for the member software projects. Also, it could be very easy, the ad agency would, in broad strokes, just have a competition parity strategy where they essentially do whatever the competition does, in broad strokes, for their advertising and "just" adapt it to what the free software project needs.

Yes, it's some random "idea guy" on the internet coming up with something that's coherent and smart sounding. So take it for what you will.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Some projects that kind of do that come to mind:

    Beeper, which is a hosted Matrix server (probably Synapse) with bridges to other messengers, and a client (probably derived from Element?). But it's all called Beeper to be more "normal".

    Snikket is a "rebranded" prosody XMPP server, Conversations client for Android and Siskin IM client for iOS. Also, all are Snikket, no scary abbreviations and different app names.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    Why would a FOSS program, barely able to pay for developers and/or infrastructure give away money for marketing?

    It's highly unlikely that the extra users will result in enough donations to even recoup the funds or significant volunteered development.

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