Tag Archives: Opensource.com

Hire for Culture Fit, Not Groupthink

20150920_153700Open. Transparent. Collaborative. Fast-paced. Constant change.

Those are words that I’d use to describe the work culture I’ve lived in for the last 13 years as a Red Hat associate.

I love every bit of it, but the culture at Red Hat isn’t for everyone. Years ago, I’d see people join the organization and leave after a short period of time. I convinced myself that our environment is very much a place where people “sink or swim.” If you can deal with an ever-changing environment, then at least you have a shot at being successful.
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Boston Fun on Father’s Day Weekend: Waterfront

June has been a busy month. I helped with a book launch, CityCamp NC, and now this…

boston_travel_20150620_132554June started off with the launch of The Open Organization, a new book from Red Hat CEO, Jim Whitehurst. My role has changed over the last few months, and while I’m still working on Opensource.com, I’m now leading the effort to build community around the book. This means that we are exploring how leaders lead in an open organization and what makes them successful. Continue reading

What every marketer should know about community management

Zero Paid Media as the new marketing modelI recently finished the book Z.E.R.O.: Zero Paid Media as the New Marketing Model by Joseph Jaffe and Maarten Albarda (Amazon) and wanted to share a few thoughts. In my role as an online marketing specialist and project manager, I had some key take-aways that I found very useful. Continue reading

Soaking in OpenStack and the Georgia Aquarium

OpenStack Summit Atlanta 2014

openstack_summit_2014_ATL_06The agenda was overflowing at the OpenStack Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. There were almost 5,000 people attending keynotes, sessions, networking, and a little bit of night life. I’ve had a blast, learning as much as possible from the OpenStack fire hose. Here’s what my experience looked like from the OpenStack Summit, including some amazing pictures from the Georgia Aquarium. Continue reading

OBX Sandbars and Board Shorts Day Four: Taco Tuesday

obx_foj13_d4_12Not only was it Taco Tuesday on day four of our OBX beach week, but it was “Work From OBX” day. On Tuesday, July 2, Merri Beth and I were working remote and getting stuff done. Red Hat is great that way. I have the ability to work remote and still operate pretty smoothly with my team. My mom had today off and needed to run some errands. Zander tagged along with her. Continue reading

How Raleigh became an open source city

Cover design option 2And I’m published! This is it folks. After months of hard work and a longer than anticipated editing process, you can get your official copy of my book, The foundation for an open source city, at Lulu.com.

It tells the story about how Raleigh became an open source city and showcases the open source culture, government policies, and economic development in Raleigh. Beyond that, this book acts as a guide for other cities to pursue their open source city brand.

I will publish the eCopy version later this week after a few minor changes, then I’ll be investigating how I can add both the paper back and epub versions to Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Continue reading

Open source all the cities – Indiegogo crowdfunding launch

Cover design option 2My book, The foundation for an open source city, is in the final stages of completion. I’m very excited. I know many of you have been eager to read the book and get your hands on a copy. And lucky for you, I’ve got a great way to reserve your copy before I release it to the general public.

I decided to launch an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign (think Kickstarter, but cooler, and much more inline with the open source philosophy). My goal is to raise $3000 to get the first 500 copies of my book printed. I plan on self-publishing through Lulu.com, Raleigh’s goto open source publisher! Continue reading

Help select my open source city book cover

I’m making great progress on my book. Pam Chestek has completed the first round of editing and I’ve gone through all those edits and made additions, updates, and corrections where needed. Now it’s going through a second round of editing thanks to Jen Wike from Go To Writer.

Update: I’ve launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the book. Show your support today! Read more about the campaign.

Last week I shared the introduction to The Foundation for an Open Source City. So far, excellent feedback and lots of excitement. As I prepare to self-publish, it’s time to think about the cover for my book. Continue reading

Book introduction: The foundation for an open source city

As a preview to the book I’m working on, currently in editing, I wanted to share the introduction to my book and get some feedback from some of my potential readers. Please let me know what you think. Good, bad, what you were expecting, way off the mark. You won’t hurt my feelings.

Update: I’ve launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the book. Show your support today! Read more about the campaign.

Here goes… Continue reading

Interview with Drupal and open source evangelist, Jeffrey A. “Jam” McGuire

I remember first meeting Jeffrey A. “Jam” McGuire in person at DrupalCon Denver. We talked about communities, music, and shared ways to show why open source is a better way. Even before meeting him, I could tell from my first interaction with him that he was passionate about Drupal and open source. He’s becoming an in-demand Keynote speaker and presenter at Drupal and other business and software events around the world. He’s already a staple for the Intro to DrupalCon session and always seems to incorporate music and singing as part of the performance. Continue reading