Advocacy
From LibrePlanet
This is a practical guide on how to advocate for free software and free/open standards. It doesn't focus on the what (e.g. ask a webmaster to link to pdfreaders.org), but rather on the how.
- Strength in numbers: a group of people making the same case is not as easily ignored as just one person speaking.
- Know what you're talking about: you don't want to come across as a drone who just repeats whatever a lobbying organization feeds him. So read, analyze and prepare (alternative) solutions.
- Know who you need to talk to: chatting with a desk clerk is good to influence general opinion, but if you want to have a law changed then you'd better speak with a member of parliament.
- Choose the right medium: e-mails might get lost in the flood. A written and signed paper letter will get more attention. You might even want to consider certified mail. Or write to newspapers and magazines to get your message published.
- Practice a good writing style: write clearly and to the point. Nobody pays attention to rambling or ranting.
- Be respectful: don't insult the person you want to influence or her friends/sponsors. Stay focussed on the issue instead.
- Speak positively: say what should be done instead of what should not happen. Focus on the solution rather than the problem.
- First impressions matter: if you're going to meet someone, pay some attention to how you look. That doesn't mean you should wear a suit if you're not a suit kind of person. It's about looking confident, not about looking expensive.
- Keep at it: you might not see results immediately or often. But if only 1 out of 10 issues gets resolved into free software's advantage, that's still better than none at all. The emails or letters that didn't have the full effect you were hoping for could still have nudged some people in the right direction so that they might see things more your way next time.
- Share your successes: tell like-minded people about it, so that they will be encouraged to join you in your efforts. However, be aware that the people you want to convince and you adversaries can also read your blog/microblog/mailing list, so don't gloat about it.
