Messaging Free Software - GNU 30th anniversary - Sept 29 2013
From LibrePlanet
Messaging Free Software - GNU 30th anniversary - Sept 29 2013
What do you love about free software? (Or why do you think it's important?)
- It's empowering, free software enables balancing power/resources access,
- Access to source code, becoming a developer and being able to learn how it works (education). Won't surveil you. Enables to DO. Came to political aspects later. * Puts people's interests above corporate interests. Allows people to build things and solve problems by themselves.
- Better quality : more eyes. Control: you can improve/fix.Fixes a lot of the issues that arise from being unable to gain access to what are considered 'industrial secrets by those that may make an effort to monetize product via lock-in.
- Non-free software is automatically dis-empowering: it goves lots of influence on our lives/control to who? Such controls are coded in technology. This can be tackled by free software.
- Anonymity
- Conversations are possible -> direct access to developers/contributors
better and safer over time - encourages collaboration. Free software implies choice. you don't need permissions/budgets to get started and prototype, implement, put into production. There are still costs, much like non-free software, but initial permissions/obstacles are not hard requirements.
What is the best way you've gotten someone else to use or care about free software?
- Do not be the annoying bbq guy, show by example
- Find out what people's problems with their computer are and help them find solutions using free software. Ask what you can help with.
- Teaching, finding people that are interested, teaching classes
- Never blame users, many don't have a choice.
- Don't make enemies, make allies: demonizing a technology or a user b/c of what they use will make for a veryshort conversation
- Using fear: it's very clear language, related to people's feelings
Brainstorming
- People doing social justice work. Groups working to liberation and civil society. People involved in political organizing.
- Apple is worth studying, for the nuances, and the way they subtly market to different groups
- Focus on Why, not the what. Why do I care? If people don't understand why to use free software, then you have to explain it.
- My friend is a lawyer and a corp attorney. She uses apple, because everything works and she doesn't have to think about it. Is not having to think about it a good thing?
- Picking your battles is important. My brother is a Mac User, but we share a lot of the same political beliefs. It can be very hard
Who should we be messaging to? (more stars=more important/more votes)
**** The people around you, family and friends parents
*** journalists, artists, digital media makers, radio artists
*** Social justice workers/activits, people organizing/working in political organizations
** Educators
* People already gathering around tech, technical/other groups that depend on free software, free software user groups who don't know they are free software users. Some examples from Quebec: http://wiki.facil.qc.ca/view/Communaut%C3%A9s_d%27utilisateurs_et_de_d%C3%A9veloppeurs_de_logiciels_libres_au_Qu%C3%A9bec
Cooperatives: already organized, share the same values
Librarians
* "Everybody" in different segments: simple message
* policymakers
"Cool" people, trendspotters/early adopters
kids
(Which of these are our top priorities?)
**** The people around you, family and friends parents
*** journalists, artists, digital media makers, radio artists
*** Social justice workers/activits, people organizing/working in political organizations
** Educators
* People already gathering around tech, technical/other groups that depend on free software, free software user groups who don't know they are free software users. Some examples from Quebec: http://wiki.facil.qc.ca/view/Communaut%C3%A9s_d%27utilisateurs_et_de_d%C3%A9veloppeurs_de_logiciels_libres_au_Qu%C3%A9bec
What is the desired outcome of these conversations?
Library computers run free software: public terminals, archives (media in open formats), staff
Get ambassadors of free software in each group
Legislation
Increasing code/digital literacy among social justice folks - http://www.code.org/ - http://khanacademy.org/
Kids learning to tinker
Encourage mindful tech use
More organizations committing to free software (artits, radio, media)
(Using the software? An understanding of the ethics, new evangelists?)
What do we think are the challenges to successful messaging?
- Software has to be better, less command line. An example: converting video (ffmpeg2theora)
- Corporate legal defense, in anti trust
- Inertia, status-quo
- Availability (or lack thereof) of pre-installed h/w
- Learning curve, training
- Easier technical support
legal subsidies/1st one's gratis/grants with strings, Microsoft Dreamspark
- Disinformation, bad PR, FUD, lobbying money
- DMCA
- Cross-compatibility
- Finding good, working alternatives to cloud computing - an example: http://mykolab.ch
- Language: using proper terminology : https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html
(Assumptions, framing, etc.)
- Pick your battles: some people don't know what the technology under the hood is, why should they care?
Sticky notes placed in an impact/effort matrix exercise: (30 minutes)
1. Suggest activities we can undertake to improve free software messaging. Items are in order of + to - High impact + High impact
develop Robust non-cloud alternatives to Adobe creative Cloud
Train community radio stations on free osftwar efor on air studio
Choose a political/social org and offer to host a session on installfest/free software info
Design a sample high shcoll free software philosophy curriculum
Propose talks to non floss users
Run a Gnome newcomers tutorial
Low effort, high impact
Older students mentoring younger students
High Impact, low effort
National free osftware parent association
Ask city council reps what theyre doing about FS advocacy
Artists: Dynabolic workshop at hackerspace, USB key
Medium impact, medium effort
Local library just received grant for new computer lab: meet librarian to make the case for installing fs
Make available content in free formats , upload to archive.org
Encourage creatives to spread information near art ed centers
Bring designers to FS
Propose to atlk about FS to your kid's class
Go to city council and provide opinions of FS
Lower impact, medium effort
Reach out to Outreach Program for Women
Invite more women to be part of Media Goblin
Technology bulleting board discussion for sdf.org
2. Let people move other people's tasks around Next steps: (25 minutes) Who do we think we should talk to next? Key groups to make contact with?
Former Google / Apple employees
Larry Lessig
Shared access to marketing/PR firms (via FSF?): Spitfire, Change through story, how to address the media
Cory Doctorow - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_doctorow
Dan Cohen
Yochai Benkler - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yochai_Benkler
Sue Gardner - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_Gardner
Mike Linksvayer - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Linksvayer
Gabrielle Coleman http://codingfreedom.com/
Move On
Noam Chomsky - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_chomski
George Lakoff - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lakoff
Michael Pollan - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lakoff
Eben Moglen - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eben_Moglen
Would we like to stay in touch as a group? If so, how? Join the mailing list:
IRC: #libreplanet Where can we share our existing resources with each other? Mailing list
In person events: let other people where we go through diaspora, mailing list, email
Publish on the Wiki
