Re: Some Finnish thoughts of Guadec+aKademy 2009

[Behdad Esfahbod <behdad behdad org>]

On Sat, 2008-07-05 at 13:52 -0400, Liam R E Quin wrote:
> On Sat, 2008-07-05 at 20:30 +0300, Petri Räsänen wrote:
> [...]
> > As a final remark I believe that one factor in the decision making
> > process will be the message that will be read "between the lines" of
> > the decision. I can speak only speculatively and on behalf of our
> > proposal, but if the choice is Tampere, I believe it can be
> > interpreted as a sign openness to new countries as a location,
> > respecting the diversity of the community and in a way as decision to
> > take a fresh new step in the country where it all more or less got
> > started.  Not a bad message, right?
> 
> A good message, worth exploring...

Yep.

> Questions to ask are
> (1) where is Free Software in most need of support?

The community-building card has been the defining factor for France vs
UK for example.  But I didn't expect to see it played by Finland or
Spain bids, given how integrated Nokia and Igalia are in the GNOME
ecosystem.  Gran Canaria on the other hand... ;).

>     For example, identify places where there are strong challenges, or
>     where there are new and young communities starting that need to be
>     encouraged;
> (2) If that is not a strong factor, then identify the key people you
>     want at the conference, and ask which places are they most likely to
>     attend.  A survey can be helpful here.
> (3) If there are no overall clear answers from (1) and (2), where will the
>     conference get good press coverage and media visibility?
> 
> Of course, the purpose is for Free Desktop People to get together, exchange
> ideas, boost morale, and admire each other's ankles.  But the outreach aspects
> are also important, and I think are more important than the cost of a pint
> of beer or a pair of socks in a given location.
> 
> Liam
> 
-- 
behdad
http://behdad.org/

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