Ubuntu Wiki

Introduction

Randall Ross, widely known as the Ubuntu Vancouver "Buzz Generator" is the Community Manager of the Ubuntu Vancouver LoCo. Randall has been an Ubuntu user since 2006. Before that, he used a long string of GNU/Linux distro's dating back to approximately 1996. He is a strong FLOSS advocate and supporter and a strong believer in the need to fix Bug #1.

History of Ubuntu Involvement

After attending some of the early meetings of the young Ubuntu Vancouver group Randall saw an opportunity to spread Ubuntu more rapidly across Vancouver. With this objective, he founded the "Ubuntu Vancouver Evangelism, Advocacy & Marketing" team in March 2009. See: Ubuntu Vancouver Evangelism, Advocacy & Marketing At that time the Ubuntu community in Vancouver was "struggling". Randall rapidly launched a number of marketing channels including: Meetup, Facebook, identica, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter to get the word out that spreading Ubuntu in Vancouver was a priority.

At last count (late March 2009) Randall had organized more than 34 meetings of Ubuntu Vancouver LoCo in support of local community building and the larger goal of spreading Ubuntu everywhere. (Refer to http://meetup.com/ubuntuvancouver) Ubuntu Vancouver currently averages 3-4 meetings per month.

Randall has envisioned, created, and supported several novel Ubuntu events that are designed to be 'viral' (in the meme sense). These include SupportSaturday, TreatTuesday, and "A Cup of Ubuntu". SupportSaturdays are a successful local community support resource in Vancouver. TreatTuesdays are a successful way to attract people to Ubuntu in neighbourhood settings. "A Cup of Ubuntu" remains a conceptual project with its first instance entitled "Ubuntu Vancouver Ambassadors", currently running as a pilot by RexAlemi.

Randall is active in Ubuntu bug reporting, Launchpad Answers, ubuntu-marketing, and the Ubuntu Canada mailing list and web site.

Testimonials

Seldom I have seen anyone so dedicated to any idea as I see Randall is to Ubuntu. A very gifted, very patient friend who works indefatigably to introduce Ubuntu to a community dominated by high budget marketing campaigns. A charismatic leader, Randall has succeeded in creating if not the most, then one of the most active Ubuntu communities with numerous events and themes. If Ubuntu is going to succeed in Vancouver, Randall is the key, because just like a good kernel programmer who can make a graphic card work with Ubuntu, Randall can persuade human beings to embrace Ubuntu culture. Reza "Rex" Alemi, Ubuntu Vancouver Member.