[Ambassadors] clarity regarding budget (was Re: Meeting minutes FAmSCo 2010-2-19)

[inode0]

On Mon, Feb 21, 2011 at 3:30 PM, Max Spevack <mspevack at fedoraproject.org> wrote:
> I think the topic that we're trying to discuss here is how we can do a
> more efficient job of allocating that "regional support" chunk of
> budget.

That isn't quite what I had in mind ... a little more explanation below.

> Typically the vast majority of it is spent on media, swag, and
> Ambassador-related travel.
>
> I think there is a general desire to make sure that budget can also be
> spent to continue to facilitate non-ambassador work in regions.
>
> Want an example?  Ok.  Here's one:
>
> Ambassadors who are organizing events should desire that there is at
> least one TECHNICAL talk being given at each event by a Fedora
> contributor.
>
> Why not make sure that the event owners are thinking about what
> technical talks would be good -- based on the Fedora talking points,
> features, etc -- and making sure that the most qualified person to give
> that talk in the area gets the talk submitted, and if it is accepted,
> gets some travel funding to give the talk?
>
> That's an expanded use of regional support money, that relates not only
> to the evangelization and marketing side of Fedora in the region, but
> also makes sure that technical contributors are getting a chance to meet
> other Fedora folks, interact with the community, etc.

I think this is a brilliant suggestion on multiple levels. It will
improve our presence at events, improve the content delivered, and
create more engagement between ambassadors and other contributors
within the project. Win every which way I look!

SXSWi is another example that is about to happen that I think sort of
falls into this same category where ambassadors happen to see an
opportunity where other contributors can be helped to accomplish
things related to marketing, recruitment, and skill development all of
which benefit Fedora.

But I really was not thinking at all about the current FAmSCo budget
when I started this discussion. I was thinking about funding of
largely engineering efforts within the community that I don't see
being driven by ambassadors much if at all today but that I have no
doubt exists and should be promoted.

Examples:

* Who knew a "usability test kit" was needed by the design folks? I
know I heard absolutely nothing about this until it existed thanks to
another friendly funding source.

* Engineering FADs - I don't see very many of these happening and I
can't believe there aren't a large number of them sitting there
waiting to happen.

* Would 5 beagle boards make a difference in someone's efforts? I'm
sure you can imagine other opportunities where some small amount of
equipment might make a difference in someone's work. They aren't
coming to us now and if we don't happen to happily fall into knowledge
of the need we can't drive this sort of thing to happen.

So I was thinking more of a "fictional" small budget for these sorts
of engineering purposes that could be managed by people who simply are
closer to that action than we are. I know there is overlap, but the
folks who think engineering 24 hours a day know a lot more about needs
and opportunities for important kickstarts than I ever will.

This budget would necessarily be quite small out of the gate. But if
it ended up being spent on things that had real value, value that the
funding sources could clearly see, then I can imagine this part of the
budget growing over time without negatively impacting other budget
areas.

I hope this is more clear now. It may be a stupid idea, it may not be
the right time. I do hope a time comes when community engineers also
have a robust budget that they manage to further their contributions
to the project. I'll put this dog to bed now.

John