Typically free software projects have lots of very smart developers. Large projects like GNOME might also be lucky enough to have lots of great translators, designers, artists and writers working on the project. However, marketing is not typically an area free software projects have worked much on. GNOME is changing that. Over the past couple […]
How does a free software project do marketing? Read More »
I’ve recently watched a few people struggle to get things done in online projects. I’ve written and spoken on 12 tips for getting things done in the open source community but now I see that people also need to learn how to work with mailing lists and virtual teams. Skills you should master if you
10 skills to master to get things done online Read More »
When it comes to web applications, I think free and open source software fans are settling for “free” instead of looking for the freedom they would get from open source. Here are some free applications that I wish had open source software equivalents. I am not unhappy with these applications. I just wish I had
10 free apps I wish were open source Read More »
In 2003 I gave a talk in Malaysia. What I noticed immediately is that my audience was well over half women. This was really noticeable because they were all wearing brightly colored hijabs. Usually I scan the room and count how many women I can find – usually on my fingers even in a room
How does Malaysia encourage so many women in software? Read More »
The GNOME community is extremely diverse when it comes to nationality. But we don’t have many women working on GNOME. We want to make sure that women interested in working on GNOME know they are welcome, so we have announced the GNOME Outreach Program for Women! The goal is to encourage women to participate in
More Women in GNOME Now! Read More »
Chris Blizzard introduced me to Clay Johnson. I had such an interesting time talking to him about social networking, free and open source software, governments and fundraising that I asked if he’d share some of his points in a blog interview. Meet Clay Johnson, Director of Sunlight Labs! Hi Clay, you have a lot of
Should you ask developers for money? And other interesting fundraising dilemnas. Read More »
The GNOME Foundation's mission is to provide a free desktop accessible to everyone. Accessible regardless of their ability to pay, their physical ability or the language they speak. But I bet if you polled all 400 members of the GNOME Foundation and a few 1000 GNOME fans, you'd get a lot of different visions of
What’s your vision of GNOME? Read More »
I “multitask” all the time. But every time I’m on a conference call and I have to say “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that,” I know I can’t really multitask. Nobody can really multitask. When you try to do more than one thing at once, you are actually switching between the tasks continuously. You lose
Why you should only pick one New Year’s Resolution Read More »
Etherpad is being released as open source software because the team is moving onto Google Wave. As an open source web hosted project, without a company behind it, it is unlikely to succeed. Back when I used to talk about the business reasons for open sourcing code, “end-of-life” was always one of my first examples.
Can free software transition to the web services world? Read More »
Since I’ve started talking about Would you do it again for free?, I’ve been very interested in any studies that show how extrinsic rewards change intrinsic rewards. The theory is that external rewards can replace your internal values to the point that you’ll no longer do what you valued without external payment or reward of
Unexpected rewards are better than expected rewards Read More »