I have been doing a little bit of research of statistics and trends related to Ubuntu. Of course, the base Ubuntu has been most popular because that's what everybody is talking about. The problem comes in where all too many people don't really know about other things that are directly related to Ubuntu, such as its derivatives like Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Mythbuntu. It's not that there's only a slight difference in these statistics, but very drastic differences. Using Ubuntu as a baseline, Kubuntu has only 8%, Xubuntu is at 2%, and Mythbuntu is at 0% in search quantity on Google Trends.

Recently, I saw parts of an article talking about how Canonical is operating at an extreme loss. My view of this is that it's probably because a majority of Ubuntu users don't really associate Ubuntu and it's derivatives with Canonical. I have seen this first hand. I company I was working for required that any software or operating systems used on the computers had to have paid support. Upon asking about the use of Ubuntu, the idea was shutdown with the standard response of, "Policy says that anything that is available for free and/or not offering commercial support is considered freeware and cannot be used." The person I was talking to didn't even know about Canonical offering paid commercial support. This was the head of the IT department. That means anybody above him also didn't know this. That's why Red Hat Enterprise Linux was pretty much the only distribution used on the network. Google Trends shows Canonical to be at 2% when compared to Ubuntu. That tells me that only 2% of Ubuntu users actually want to know more about the company behind Ubuntu. This is probably the most disturbing information that I found. At the current rate, Canonical, even though Mark Shuttleworth has a vast fortune, will eventually fall, and the distribution(s) that I feel are among the best available will fall with the company.

Something that I think could help prevent this is as simple as more references to Canonical on the Ubuntu website and even in the operating system itself. Maybe in the default wallpaper, instead of just simply saying "Ubuntu", maybe say something like "Ubuntu – From Canonical" with the URL to both websites below, in a smaller font of course so it doesn't take away from the appeal of the wallpapers. The packaging for the CDs from ShipIt only mention Canonical in rather small text on the back and once in the information sections inside under "Ubuntu Promise". If people don't see information about the company in more places and with a more obvious presence, they will continue to not associate the two together, let alone, know how much of a role Canonical really plays in the development and financial backing of Ubuntu and its derivatives.

Of course, I believe this problem was cause from the very start. Canonical had an Internet presence of their own, and then there was the separate Ubuntu presence. Since this is the way it's been from the start, it's probably way too late to make the change now. However, the Canonical website could host release announcements and other important news instead of on the Ubuntu website to get more people on the website. This alone would give a vast boost in exposure to Canonical. Free exposure at that.

The core developers for Ubuntu are employed by Canonical with little or no credit given to them from the average end user of the final product. They work hard on the operating system. The operating system that has 30% on the Linux market share deserves to have this exposure, credit, and in the end, probably some profit instead of operating at a loss.

Click here to see the Google Trends statistics regarding the subjects mentioned.