lessons about community from science fiction - linuxcon chicago
DESCRIPTION
If you think you saw this presentation at LinuxCon last year, you're wrong! To avoid boring people to death, I have a completely new set of slides and lessons for 2014. This talk focuses on community tips told through science fiction. While the topic is fun and a little silly, the lessons about communities are real and tangible. Here are just a few of the things that I will talk about: * Borg assimilation and bringing new community members into your collective for new ideas. * Specialization is for insects. The best community members are the ones who can help in a wide variety of ways. * Community members are valuable, don’t treat them like minions. * Travel to strange new worlds and meet interesting people.TRANSCRIPT
LESSONS ABOUT COMMUNITY FROMSCIENCE FICTION
Presenta(on (with notes) available at h3p://fastwonderblog.com/speaking/
Dawn M. Foster
Director of Community at Puppet Labs@geekygirldawn
WHOAMI
• Geek, traveler, reader
• Past 13 years doing community & open source
• Read 73 books last year, mostly sci-fi / fantasy
• I keep a list:http://fastwonderblog.com/about/reading/
Photos by Josh Bancroft, Don Park
DON’T PANIC
Most things will work out
if you have smart, flexible
people in your community.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Many people working
together on a common goal.
LIKE FAMILIES
You can’t fully
understand unless you are
part of the community.
YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED
Bring new community
members into your
collective for new ideas
NO MINIONS
Community members
are valuable,
don’t treat them like minions.
NO RAGE
Take time to cool off and
don’t participate when
you are angry.
RECOGNITION
Do good things for
others and recognize
their contributions.
INDIVIDUALISM
Open source communities are
filled with crazy (but awesome)
individualists doing interesting things.
SPECIALIZATION IS FOR INSECTS
The best community members
are the ones who can help
in a wide variety of ways
COOL TECHNOLOGY
Participation in communities
is a great excuse to
play with new technologies.
TRAINING
Participation in open source communities
gives people real-life, on the “job”
training that can help them get work later.
LEARN FROM OTHERS
Get new ideas and insights
from other people and
other communities.
GOOD INTENTIONS
Assume community members
have good intentions and
focus on education and improvement.
“Undomesticated equines could not drag me away.”
MORE DIVERSITY
Focus on the ideas and
work together with people
from diverse backgrounds.
MORE WOMEN
Encourage women in our field
and get more women
speaking at our events
www.usenix.org/blog/my-daughters-high-school-programming-teacher
COMMUNITY METRICS
Measure community activity
to track progress, identify issues
and recognize great community members
NOT AS EASY AS IT SEEMS
Community management is not all parties
and fun travel. It’s also a lot of real work
and sometimes involves being the bad cop.
BOLDLY GO
Travel to strange new worlds
and meet interesting people
THANK YOUContact info: Dawn Foster
Some of my favorite modern sci-fi / fantasy authors:Hugh Howey
Lois McMaster BujoldBrandon Sanderson