Nine Lives Media Inc. today launched Works With U, a Linux-oriented Web site for the rest of us. Works With U is set to document the rise of Ubuntu Linux in academia, business and consumer settings. We’ll show readers how to unlock the full power of Ubuntu in their organizations. And we’ll help millions of readers understand that Ubuntu is a true platform — mobile, desktop, server — for the modern age.
Now that you’ve got the “official” company line, let me share some less formal thoughts about Works With U, and driving our business forward. When we launched Nine Lives Media Inc., Amy Katz and I had a clear goal:
Go narrow and deep: The world is filled with broad IT media sites. They serve an important purpose. Be we wanted to “serve the under served” by going very narrow and very deep into highly targeted markets. Plus, we wanted to disrupt established markets, or generate community in emerging markets. Our first three media sites — The VAR Guy, MSPmentor and Works With U — fulfill those goals.
The VAR Guy and MSPmentor both launched in January 2008. And frankly, they’re doing well. Meanwhile, we’ve been kicking around the Works With U concept for about a year. But we kept getting distracted by our day jobs and deadlines tied to our existing sites.
But Works With U was a project we knew we had to pursue. Ubuntu is more than a technology and a business tool. It’s a social tool that delivers freedom of choice, opportunity and open collaboration. And, it may even bridge the digital divide in some communities.
We have high hopes for Works With U, and the broader Ubuntu Linux movement. For more on how — and why — we launched the site, see my May 1 blog entry on Works With U. And send us feedback.
