Pre-FOSDEM Fun

I'm arriving in Brussels a few days early, getting the old internal clock adjusted and catching up with some old friends. Most of the core team for Melange will also be coming to FOSDEM, so I'll be spending most of my time haunting the halls with them. If you have have questions about the new workflow application for Google Summer of Code come and find me and I'll introduce you to the development team.

On Friday, 6 February. I'll be heading to the EduCamp organized by the Mozilla Foundation folks. Should be a great meetup for those of us interested in seeing FLOSS development added to the standard academic curricula, as well as a chance for us to talk about more ways to scale some of the burgeoning efforts in this area. Even if you can't attend the camp, I'd encourage you to follow our discussions on the wiki amd contribute your thoughts. For those interested in learning more about some of the FLOSS in Education initiatives out there, there's an excellent list of resources available, also courtesy of Mozillans.

And let's not forget the traditional Friday night beer blast. I'm usally not a big fan of beer, but watching the improved beer distribution algorithm - version 3.1 to be exact - in action should make for one exciting evening. Looking forward to dusting off those old armchair anthropologist skills....

17 Days to FOSDEM

Well, 16 according to the conference website, but I'm in California.

I'll be giving my first keynote presentation at this year's FOSDEM conference on Large Scale Community Management. 2009 will be my second FOSDEM and I'm excited about giving this talk. I speak about Google Summer of Code quite a bit, and this keynote promises to be one of the first inside looks at all the work done behind the scenes to make the program happen each year. It'll be a great opportunity to give some well deserved accolades to all the unsung heroes and heroines that have made the Summer of Code what it is today.

On a more personal note, I'm particularly excited about having the opportunity to share some of the lessons I've learned as the Community Manager for this large and incredibly diverse global group of FLOSS developers. I think my journey into the world of FLOSS was quite different than most, and writing this talk has helped me be more introspective about the skills I brought with me when entering the foray and the skills I've gained along the way. I'm looking forward to sharing my story right alongside the story of Google Summer of Code and using my experiences to better inform folks about how to run their own community outreach campaigns and best welcome new contributors to their projects. I'm hopeful that my exploration of why I've chosen the career path that I have and why I have been successful in doing so will be a source of inspiration. If not, at least there will be some pictures of cats and other merriment.

I'll be around for the entire conference and the pre-FOSDEM party. I'm pretty hard to miss, so please do come by and say hello and, if we haven't met yet, introduce yourself!