In February 2013, I launched an IndieGogo crowdfunding campaign called Open source all the cities to generate awareness for my book and to help raise money to get the first 500 copies printed. I was overwhelmed by the amount of support. There are still a few days left to contribute if you still want your name in the acknowledgements.
I finished my book today, The foundation for an open source city. As Zander said in the campaign video, “Good job Dad.” Continue reading
With 22 days left to go in the “Open source all the cities” campaign, we’re 94% of the way there with 73 funders. I’m very excited and thankful for all the support. I think we can get to 100 funders before the campaign is over. Can you help me get 27 more funders?
It’s been great to see supportive blog posts from folks like Anthony Pompliano, an entrepreneur in Raleigh interested in improving education, and Luke Fretwell from GovFresh saying, Continue reading
My 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
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
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
It’s about time to come out of hibernation mode and come out swinging for 2013. I’ve been quiet the last two weeks. Red Hat had their annual holiday shut down from December 24 to January 1 and I decided to extend that until January 3. I head back to the office this Friday.
Over the last two weeks, I spent some time with the family, did a lot of running (I made my goal of running 1,000 miles in 2012), and I played a little too much Skylanders Giants.
Before the break, I was contemplating writing a book about the open government movement in Raleigh with a focus on the characteristics of an open source city. I jotted down a few title ideas and drafted an outline in early December one Saturday morning. And I sat on that for a week or two. Letting the idea marinate. Continue reading
Originally posted on opensource.com and licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA.
What started with a unanimous vote to adopt an open source resolution eventually became a long-term commitment to the open source way. How many of you have had an elected official attend a citizen-lead event? Probably some of you. But how many of you have had your entire city or town council attend an unconference?
At a recent open government unconference, all city council members—including the mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina—attended some or all of the event. Their attendance wasn’t a requirement—and it wasn’t a political drive-by. It was genuine, natural. And some of them got knee-deep in the “code,” competing in the civic hackathon. Continue reading
The unconference at CityCamp Raleigh on June 2 was amazing. The ideas. The passion. The people. For those of you unfamiliar with the unconference format, we gathered at 9:00 am on Saturday. The coffee was a little late, so we didn’t start until 9:15 am. We explained the process for the day…which went something like this: Continue reading
Here is the agenda for CityCamp Raleigh, Friday, June 1 from 12pm – 5:30pm at Vintage 21′s West Campus at 117 S West St (map). Walk-up registrations are welcome. Registration is free, seating is limited. Be sure to vote on your favorite ideas. Continue reading
Here’s a peak at the agenda for Friday, June 1. Lunch will be provided from 12-1pm. There will also be a chance to network during this time. You should register so we know you’re coming.
On Saturday, June 2, we will kick off our unconference at 9am–where the agenda will be determined by those in attendance. Folks will pitch ideas to start off the morning, several workshops will be hosted, and teams will start to form around ideas on how to improve civic engagement or other civic-minded needs in the City of Raleigh.
On Sunday, June 3, starting at 9am, teams will collaborate on solving a civic issue that can improve the quality of life in Raleigh. Simultaneously, CityCamp Raleigh will host a Triangle Wiki content sprint to add pages, images, and ideas to trianglewiki.org. At 3pm, teams will present and CityCamp Raleigh will award one winning team with a cash reward at 4pm. Continue reading