1. Ahoj BRMLab! CommunityOrganizing forFreeSoftwareActivists DebNicholson October25th,2011

2. What I'm going to talk about Whyfreesoftwareiscritical Thestateofthemovement Strategyandperception Specifictacticsforgrowth 3. In the 60's, people believed that computers would be used primarily to enhance the power of the individual CCBYSADJBrandononFlickr 4. Freedomofspeech andfreedomofassembly aremeaninglessifthemethods ofexercisingthemarenot controlledbythepeople. 5. Powerconcedesnothing withoutademand.Itneverdid anditneverwill.FrederickDouglass 6. Freesoftwareisdistributedpower. 7. Today, free software users are the minority Asanorganizer Istartfromwheretheworldis,asitis, notwhereIwouldlikeittobe. SaulAlinsky 8. Thelowhangingfruitisalreadyhere. 9. AccordingtoFLOSSPOLS, womencompriselessthan2% ofthefreesoftwarecommunity. 10. Wehaveamovement thatneedstogrowand ahugepopulation wehaven'treached. 11. Lots of opportunity! Morepeoplespreadingtheword= Moreusers Moredesigners Moredevelopers Morepeoplespreadingtheword 12. Diversity beyond gender Peopleofcolor GLBTQ Peoplewithdisabilities Workingclasspeople Noncomputerpeople 13. ThetacticsI'mabouttoshare aren'tonlyforincreasingdiversitythey're goodguidelinesforreachingouttoanyone. 14. There are no shortcuts Effectiveorganizationisthwartedbythe desireforinstantanddramaticchange. Tobuildapowerfulorganizationtakestime. SaulAlinsky 15. How do we get there? CesarChavezwasonceaskedhowhedid allthatorganizing.Hisanswer,Italkedto oneperson,thenItalkedtoanotherperson, thenItalkedtoanotherperson... 16. Talking to people effectively Defineyourpurpose Plananeventor meeting Whoisyourtarget? Makeitpersonal 17. Define your goal It'shardtoinvitepeoplein whenyoucan'tarticulate whatyou'reinvitingthemto. 18. Stay on message Beupfrontabout yourgoal Keepattention gettingmeasures thematicallyrelated Consider#offtopic orbeerafterwards CCBYphotogirl7onflickr 19. Events or meetings Giveyouaspecifictimeandplaceto focuson Newcomers'eventscutouttheweirdness ofinvitingnewpeopleoneatatime Facetofacehelpspeoplefeelconnected 20. Planningyourevent... Apublicplace Enticepeoplewith snacks Makeaplanand sticktoit CCBYTomiTapioonflickr 21. Stay on target, stay on target... Whoareyou inviting? What'sinitforthem? Tailoryourapproach Repeatandrepeat andrepeat CCBYSAEricKilbyonFlickr 22. Perception & Recruitment It'seasytorecruit yourself Stereotypes Justanother membervs. unicorn CCBYSAsmwsonFlickr 23. Making it personal Whatisthepersonyou're talkingtointerestedin? Sendpersonalizedemails Talktopeopleinperson Repeatandrepeatandrepeat 24. They're here! Now what? Rungoodmeetings Followupwithpeople Analyzewhatyoujustdid Improveitfornexttime! 25. A few things to remember Introductionsasopportunity Thankpeopleconstantly Useinclusivelanguage Havenextstepsready 26. Growing Thinkofyournew participantsas seedlings,they'll needcareand feedingbutnot smothering. CCBYRevStanonflickr 27. 90%oforganizingisfollowthrough 28. Tools for follow-through Takenotesatyourmeetings Keepinstitutionalknowledgeuptodate andsomewhereeveryonecanaccessit Setdeadlinesandsticktothem Thankpeopleforthetasksthey've completedpubliclyifpossible! 29. Share the work Workisdigital Busfactor Burnoutfactor Documentation CCBYStevenDepoloonflickr 30. Share the power Don'tbetheboss Mission>details What'ssogreat aboutdoingityour way? Investedpeople stickaround CCBYSATomRafteryonflickr 31. Fostering Leadership Recognition:free andawesome Rewardpeople withmore responsibility Teach/empower peopletorecruit others CCBYmoonlightbulbonflickr 32. One on Ones Buildaccountability Listen Makeitbetter Stayontopic CCBYAnyaLogiconflickr 33. In closing... Morepeopleanddifferentpeople==larger andmoresuccessfulfreesoftware movement! Invitepeoplethoughtfullyandrepeatedly Sharetheworkandthedecisionmaking! Makesurepeoplearegettingsomething backsotheystickaround Alwaysbefosteringleadership 34. Want more? Emailme,deb@eximiousproductions.com Freesoftwareorganizingresources http://groups.fsf.org/wiki/Womenscaucus/resources RulesforRadicalsbySaulAlinski