This was it, our last day on the Outer Banks for FOJ. It was Sunday, July 7 and we had a blend of home-sickness but couldn’t pass up another beach opportunity. We had a great Saturday, enjoying all day on the beach. While we wanted to do the same today, it wasn’t in the cards. Instead, a condensed version of what we’ve been doing most of the week was in store. Continue reading
Image courtesy of Russ Stephenson
“Raleigh is a great place to call home” said Jim Whitehurst, CEO of Red Hat. Whitehurst led off as dignitaries from all levels of North Carolina government spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony held at Red Hat Tower on Monday, June 24, 2013.
Governor Pat McCory thanked Red Hat for their commitment to the urban core. Chairman of the Wake County Commissioners, Joe Bryan, highlighted the need for a grocery story in downtown Raleigh. After talking with a few Red Hat associates who live near downtown, Bryan took the opportunity to talk about improving the quality of life for downtown to attract more companies like Red Hat. Continue reading
It’s time for another update from my recently self-published book, The foundation for an open source city. First, an excerpt from Chapter one, a section called “The five elements of an open source city” which is the essence of the book and the framework for how to start an open government movement in your city. Then, a brief update on how sales of the book are going and a chance for you to add your review.
How can you apply the concepts of open source to a living, breathing city? An open source city is a blend of open culture, open government policies, and economic development. Continue reading
And 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
Image credits opensource.com
I gave the latest iteration of my “Open source all the cities talk” (slides) at BarCampRDU on Saturday May 18, 2013. When I got to my slide on how to get involved, someone in the room asked me if this was posted on the web. And I was like….no, but that’s a great idea.
There are a number of events or ways you can make our local government in the Triangle region more transparent, enhance citizen participation, or improve collaboration between citizens and government or regionally between municipalities. Here are a few events coming up and some other ways to get started. Continue reading
The foundation for an open source city book is done. I’m waiting on the latest print copy to review before the big order. Until then…we’re getting ready for the launch party. It’s a few weeks away and I’m getting very excited! Merri Beth is using Shutterfly to create the invitations. And it’s about time we “Open source all the cities.” Continue reading
On Thursday, April 11, I gave a talk called “Open source all the cities” at the monthly meeting of the Triangle Linux User Group (TriLUG). The presentation is a look at the open government movement in Raleigh, a preview for my book The Foundation for an Open Source City, and a overview of the different apps and platforms the City of Raleigh has deployed in the Open Raleigh portal. Continue reading
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