from contributing to consuming
DESCRIPTION
Tech Talk on how and why students can get involved in open source projects. Delivered at Georgia Gwinnett College on March 22, 2013. (Note that there were several websites displayed in the browser that are not in the slides; however, the URLs of those sites are on the last slide of the deck.)TRANSCRIPT
Humanitarian Free Humanitarian Free and Open Source and Open Source Software (HFOSS):Software (HFOSS):Doing Good With Doing Good With FOSSFOSS
Mel ChuaMel Chuabit.ly/ggc-hfossbit.ly/ggc-hfoss
From consuming to From consuming to contributingcontributing
Mel ChuaMel Chuabit.ly/ggc-hfossbit.ly/ggc-hfoss
Four FreedomsFreedom to use
Freedom to shareFreedom to modify
Freedom to share modifications
MEL CHUA
studenthacker
academic
BE BOLDBE BOLD
ask forgiveness,ask forgiveness,not permissionnot permission
MAGIC WORD:
educa
tional
CC-BY-SA from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ykjc9/4143179870
Good Excusesclass project
independent study (STEC 2500/4500)undergraduate research
get a jobuse your job
Write your own job description
Hi, (future boss). I noticed (concrete observation) It seems like (problem or opportunity). I could do (this job) – I've
already done (experience), and it would only take (resources). If we do this, we might get (result). What do you think?
Run OLPC's first hackathon
Hi, (OLPC engineers). I noticed (you're very busy) It seems like (a good time to get technical volunteers to help). I could (pull a hackathon together so you could teach them how to use your platform) – I've already (got a hosting place), and it would only take (a day of your time). If we do this, we might get (volunteers to
help you). What do you think?
Lead Fedora's marketing team
Hi, (PR dept). I noticed (you always write our press release from scratch). It seems like (a good chance to make a
template). I could do (this job) – I've (got no experience), but it would only take (2 lunch meetings for you to teach me). If
we do this, we might get (the press release done ourselves in the future).
What do you think?
Reduce deployment cost from $200 to $10
Hi, (college admissions). I noticed ($200 is a lot of money) It seems like (we could run this software from a $10 thumbdrive instead). I could do (a
thumbdrive-based distribution) – I've already (made a few), and it would only take (access to a build machine). If we
do this, we might get (cheaper deployment). What do you think?
O
Hackathons
IRCinternetrelaychat
bugtrackerticket tracker
wiki
Networking for IntrovertsMy Google search is my resume.
Nothing is under NDA (non-disclosure).
I work alongside people from a lot of different companies.
Basic infrastructureA website (wordpress.com) with an about, contact, and projects page.
A (micro)blog (wordpress, twitter, identi.ca) with updates on your work.
Github, wiki, etc. accounts for wherever your work goes – and open-license it!
(creativecommons.org)
You're already ready.Be productively lost.
(don't fall into impostor syndrome!)
CHALLENGE1. Find FOSS projects related to something you're interested in. (Google search: open source topic of interest)2. Find one with a mailing list that has had at least 10 posts every week for the past 3 weeks.3. Subscribe to it. Lurk for a week.
CHALLENGE4. During that week, take 30 minutes to look through the list archives for a post that's a new person introducing themselves. Notice the responses.5. At the end of the week, take another 30 minutes to write your own introduction post (use #4 as a template.) Ask a question or make a proposal in it.
CHALLENGE6. Send the email.
CHALLENGE7. Show a professor.
Good Excusesclass project
independent study (STEC 2500/4500)undergraduate research
get a jobuse your job
You're already ready.Be productively lost.
(Not everything will work. Keep trying.)(You only need one yes to win.)
Questions?
melchua.com/contact
LINKShttp://blog.melchua.comhttp://fedoraproject.org/
http://one.laptop.org/http://sugarlabs.org/
https://developers.google.com/open-source/soc/https://live.gnome.org/OutreachProgramForWomen
http://github.comhttp://wordpress.com