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.)

1. Humanitarian Free
and Open Source
Software (HFOSS):
Doing Good With
FOSS
Mel Chua
bit.ly/ggc-hfoss

2. From consuming to
contributing
Mel Chua
bit.ly/ggc-hfoss

3. Four Freedoms
Freedom to use
Freedom to share
Freedom to modify
Freedom to share modifications

4. MEL CHUA
student
hacker
academic

7. BE BOLD
ask forgiveness,
not permission

8. MAGIC
WORD:
edu
ca
tion
CC-BY-SA from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ykjc9/4143179870
al

9. Good Excuses
class project
independent study (STEC 2500/4500)
undergraduate research
get a job
use your job

10. 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?

11. 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?

12. 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?

13. 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?

14. O

15. Hackathons

16. IRC
internet
relay
chat

17. bugtracker
ticket tracker

18. wiki

19. Networking for Introverts
My Google search is my resume.
Nothing is under NDA (non-disclosure).
I work alongside people from a lot of
different companies.

20. Basic infrastructure
A 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)

21. You're already ready.
Be productively lost.
(don't fall into impostor syndrome!)

22. CHALLENGE
1. 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.

23. CHALLENGE
4. 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.

24. CHALLENGE
6. Send the email.

25. CHALLENGE
7. Show a professor.

26. Good Excuses
class project
independent study (STEC 2500/4500)
undergraduate research
get a job
use your job

27. You're already ready.
Be productively lost.
(Not everything will work. Keep trying.)
(You only need one yes to win.)

28. Questions?
melchua.com/contact

29. LINKS
http://blog.melchua.com
http://fedoraproject.org/
http://one.laptop.org/
http://sugarlabs.org/
https://developers.google.com/open-source/soc/
https://live.gnome.org/OutreachProgramForWomen
http://github.com
http://wordpress.com