Group:LibrePlanet Activists/Messaging Ideas

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:

• https://libreplanet.org/wiki/Group:LibrePlanet_Activists

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

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