An idea to fund Linux Ubuntu: - Ubugle -

[simone.brunozzi]

(you can find this document at www.ubuntu.it/files/ubugle.pdf)

An idea to fund Linux Ubuntu:
Ubugle

From: Simone Brunozzi (simone.brunozzi@gmail.com), Assisi, ITALY (www.ubuntu.it)

To: Mark Richard Shuttleworth
updated 31st july 2006

Two minutes to read this

I'm a Linux Ubuntu user, and a community member. I have some things in mind that are (shuttle) worth sharing with you, but I'd like to focus only on this one, that I called Ubugle.

The idea is rather simple: funding Linux Ubuntu (or the Ubuntu Foundation) through a simple web site that uses Search Engine interfaces to bring results to the viewer, and to give small amounts of money to the web site owner (Ubuntu Foundation). Google, for example, offers this kind of service as part of its Adsense tools. Other search engines, like Yahoo, offer it as well.

The web site would merely be a search interface, much similar to Google's home page, in order to give no disadvantages to its users.

Furhtermore, we could add Ubugle search to the list of search engines on the top right corner of Firefox interface (the way some people prefer to search the web).

Let's see the potential of this idea, using a very conservative extimate.

Counting only the 140,000 members of Ubuntulinux.org forums (as of 30th july 2006), and supposing that 10% of them will “adopt” Ubugle web site as their main search site (or use Ubugle in Firefox) because they like to help Ubuntu in this way, and supposing that, on average, one user can “produce” 0.10 USD of daily revenues from his searches, in one year this idea will bring (0.10*14,000*365) = 511,000.00 USD.

Remember again that those are very conservative extimates.

The 0.10 USD is considered to include bandwidth and server costs for the web site (the gross revenue could be 0.13 USD for example; this is just my personal extimate).

We can stimulate Ubugle's adoption by community members in some ways: tracking the single user's revenues, and thus informing him of its help for Ubuntu (this stimulates its use); adding in Ubuntu Linux Desktop a simple way to start using Ubugle (simple like the icon to install Ubuntu from the live CD). We can also seal a special agreement with Google, or Yahoo, thus obtaining a better yield for the user activities.

If we could involve not only 14,000 members of the forums, but, let's say, 100,000 users worldwide, we could reach (0.10 * 100,000 * 365) 3,650,000 USD per year.

I'm sharing this idea with you hoping that it could benefit Ubuntu, and that I could be involved in order to put it into practice... How? I don't know yet.

If I have created enough interest in you, contact me.

Thanks!

Simone Brunozzi

This document is licensed under the following license: Creative Commons “Attribution-Share Alike 2.5”, see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/

[curuxz]

have you any idea the amount of server power it takes to run a search engine, let alone one that would rival google (a company that with all its might still only hits around 20-30% of the internet by most anyalists).

This idea is crazy, if it was that easy to make money like google everyone would be doing it, there is no USP to this either other than the expectation the community would ditch good searching for ubuntu searching just because its ubuntu.

This is a get-rich-quick pipe dream im afraid, it would never work.

[ELD]

It wouldn't be its own search engine, that is just stupid, think about it curuxz, there are many way to grab results from other search engines.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

have you any idea the amount of server power it takes to run a search engine, let alone one that would rival google (a company that with all its might still only hits around 20-30% of the internet by most anyalists).

Where does it say Ubugle wants to rival Google? Nowhere. In fact, Shuttleworth spoke of ways of working with them in case they'd be willing to create something like Google, but in Ubugle's name. All the images and text would say Ubugle but it would really be Google's search engine. The ads would also be by Google, and therefore, because Linux has a more devoted userbase, it would presumably work well.

By devoted, I mean Linux users are more willing to support a cause, and help out, because most of us like to see the advancement of Linux in all areas. Mistake by comments not for Linux zealotry.

There's no doubt I am in favor of this happening, and if such a website was created, I would immediatedly switch to it, making it my main search engine. If I can support both Ubuntu and Google, that would be superb! I always liked Google (I don't want to work with Yahoo), and I use Ubuntu.

[simone.brunozzi]

curuxz, you probably didn't read my post with attention, as others said.

If you look here:
http://www.golan.it/ubugle.php

You can see that I've added a google search box in my web site.

That's all... when you search with it, and click ads, I earn few cents.

If thousands of people of this forum search through a similar thing, it would be thousands of dollars for Ubuntu Foundation's bank account.

I hope this time it is clearer :-)

Also, note that this is a proposal FOR Murk Shuttleworth, not FROM Mark himself!!! In fact, it is FROM me, Simone Brunozzi.

Cheers,

[simone.brunozzi]

Hmm... seems like this thread is slowing down...
People, please write your opinion, it is important!

Thanks