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[tofuji]

You don't really think you get the beautiful girl in the new car commercials do you? 

i already have the beautiful girl, it's just the new car that i need.   

[Chris J]

I'm a bit late into this thread, but I think I know how the original impression about worldwide chatting got started.

I installed a Sugar emulator on my PC way back before G1G1 started and tried the neighborhood view and a little chatting. In those days there was only one jabber server available, and it was a development server. There weren't very many people on it and the majority were OLPC insiders, but from time to time someone from another country would show up; the U.K., Italy, and Peru come to mind. On a few occasions there were a bunch of users apparently from somewhere in South America. Chatting with them wasn't real useful to me, since I didn't speak their language, but I confirmed that it was possible to at least connect to them.

I don't think the development Jabber server is available anymore. The server most people use seems to have few people on it from outside the U.S., although there is no fundamental reason why there shouldn't be. The community Jabber server will work just as well for people in Nigeria as for people in here. They just have to start using it.

Most likely, the children who were initially using the development server have since gone on to use their school servers, so they aren't showing up in our neighborhood view.

As for video chat, it apparently is on the way but not working yet. I'm not real visual so haven't looked into it. When it turns up on the Activities page I'll give it a try.

[GregoryBoysMom]

I think you are reading too much into this commercial.  The picture of smiling faces is simply that, a picture of smiling faces.

If you listen to the text, there are 2 operative words I notice and that stand out.
The first is "imagine" which implies a possibility, not a fact.
The second is the word "goal",  meaning the XO has this potential.

And one day it will, just a matter of time 

Hi there.. I just had to respond to this. I am the one that put up the initial question/concern.

I actually run a national marketing/PR communications firm for nonprofits, and the fact that the commercial implies things that are not yet reality is a COMMUNICATIONS NIGHTMARE that can seriously hurt the OLPC. I actually used this commercial/campaign in my workshops leading up to the first shipment of laptops... I used it as an example of a simple message. But I regret it now as it breaks the most simple "promise" rule of communications. you probably think "well, why does that even matter?" This is not about good commercials, right? The commercials were off the mark in terms of what the brand (the GIGI laptops) was promising. This can hurt the integrity of the program which leads to less donations, questions from corporate sponsors... it is endless.

Yes, the commercial worked and it got people excited and they ordered through the G1G1 program... but I am assuming that they want a SUSTAINED effort. If you "promise" something, then deliver something else, you can't sustain the effort.

Just wanted to clear that up. The commercial does imply video conferencing and encourages you do "get one for a child in your life" (someone somewhere said these were not marketed to children, which is also incorrect).

This actually would not be as big of a deal, except for the fact that I have not received one single follow-up email communication from OLPC (to help manage my expectations) since making my donation/order. Heck, I have not even received my receipt for a tax deduction. If they do not have one already, they seriously need a Communications Director over there at the OLPC. I they have spent one single penny on a PR firm, it is a darn shame and the firm should refund them.

Hannah
www.nonprofitPR.com

BTW...thanks "tofuji" !!!