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Michael,<br>
I agree that we have expanded the Ambassador role to include what
you have referred to as a "Speakers bureau", which I think is a good
thing. It is also opt-in; charter members need not register
themselves if they don't want to. It is also deliberately
non-exclusive, as any member of the greater OSGeo community should
qualify as a "user or developer of OSGeo Software".<br>
<br>
The board can still be exclusive in who they select to negotiate on
behalf of the board. Eg: when OSGeo board wishes to send someone to
negotiate a MOU or similar, they can specify that it be done by one
of the more qualified Ambassadors - Eg: Board or Charter members.<br>
<br>
What we gain is a way for members to promote themselves, and a
channel for conferences and the like to readily or more economically
find a local OSGeo expert.<br>
<br>
<br>
On 06/05/12 01:07, Michael P. Gerlek wrote:
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">As
far as I’m aware, the original “Ambassador” concept came up
during a board meeting, where it was intended to just
address the question that the board very occasionally needs
to send a board member, or someone equally prominent, to
certain events we’d been invited to participate in. For
purposes of discussion and assigning a budget to it, we just
called it “being an ambassador”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">This
discussion seems to envision a wider, more general role,
however.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">I’m
very much in favor of having members act as ambassadors for
the ideas of open source in the geo marketplace, but I’m not
sure I understand yet the value of making this a formal
function. It is already the case that members can – and do!
– give talks and such all the time about open source and
GIS; indeed, it is expected that active members, especially
Charter Members, of the community would do so.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">I
don’t see that OSGeo, as a formal body, should be in the
position of limiting this function to certain people.
Philosophically I’m against that, and practically I don’t
see how we could anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">We
once brought up the idea of having a “speakers bureau”: a
list of people who can speak to certain topics, much like
the Service Providers Directory. Something like that I’d be
in favor of…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">-mpg<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:discuss-bounces@lists.osgeo.org">discuss-bounces@lists.osgeo.org</a>
[<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:discuss-bounces@lists.osgeo.org">mailto:discuss-bounces@lists.osgeo.org</a>] <b>On Behalf
Of </b>Margherita Di Leo<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Saturday, May 05, 2012 5:02 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Cameron Shorter<br>
<b>Cc:</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:discuss@lists.osgeo.org">discuss@lists.osgeo.org</a>; OSGeo-Board;
marketing<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Defining an OSGeo
Ambassador role<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hi all,<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">I support the ideas exposed by Cameron
and Stefano. Particularly for what concerns charter
members, as a charter member, I am aware that voting the
boarding members is a strong responsibility, but I think
we should have more responsibilities linked to our role.
Personally, since I have been voted as a charter member, I
have considered myself somehow an OSGeo "ambassador", for
example including the Foundation in my presentations,
spreading out FOSS4G among the academy (students and
colleagues) and professionals, organizing events and
conferences, etc.. <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Also, I think it would be nice to have
a dedicated wiki page and email address (or alias).<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Regards,<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">madi<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Sat, May 5, 2012 at 7:33 AM,
Cameron Shorter <<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:cameron.shorter@gmail.com"
target="_blank">cameron.shorter@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Following on from ideas from this
previous email thread, and in particular picking up on
Stefano's ideas, I'd like to make the following
proposal:<br>
<br>
I suggest that we define an OSGeo Ambassador role very
widely, but also have different levels of Ambassador -
so that conference organisors can still feel like they
are getting someone distinguished and pick someone
exclusive.<br>
<br>
The OSGeo Ambassador categories would be:<br>
<br>
1. OSGeo Board Member<br>
2. Ex OSGeo Board Member<br>
These are the elite of the OSGeo community. We only have
8 active board members in the world, which have been
peer selected based upon their outstanding leadership in
the greater OSGeo community.<br>
<br>
3. Charter member<br>
Charter membership is obtained through a strongly
contested selective process. Members tend to be
developers and leaders in one or more OSGeo projects,
and/or OSGeo business leaders, and have a deep
understanding in many of the OSGeo projects and
principles of Open Source.<br>
<br>
4. Voted position in an OSGeo community<br>
These people hold a position of responsibility within
one of the OSGeo sub-communities. This may be a chair of
an OSGeo Regional Chapter, or as a member of a project's
Project Steering Committee.<br>
<br>
5. OSGeo community member<br>
These people are actively involved in one or more OSGeo
communities, acting as a developer, user or supporter of
OSGeo software.<br>
<br>
Anyone fitting one of the above categories, may put
themselves forward as an OSGeo Ambassador. Each
ambassador would be expected to create a profile for
themselves on an OSGeo Ambassador wiki page, which
includes:<br>
<br>
* Name<br>
* City and Country of residence<br>
* Phone, Email<br>
* Photo<br>
* OSGeo relevant experience. (~150 words)<br>
<br>
I also propose that the OSGeo Marketing committee would
be responsible for overseeing the Ambassador wiki page,
once the guidelines have been put into place.<br>
<br>
I welcome feedback from all, and call upon the board to
make a final vote on whether this proposal (or a
variant) should be put into action.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
<br>
On 21/04/12 20:47, Stefano Costa wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Il 21/04/2012 12:28, Jody Garnett
ha scritto:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
I would hope that our charter members (who have been
through a public<br>
nomination process in part for their involvement)
are already acting in<br>
the capacity of "Ambassador" for OSGeo.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
I totally agree on this point. The fact that charter
members only official role is to nominate new
charter members and the Board is IMHO a weakness.
Their role as OSGeo champions (and "Ambassadors" if
there's consensus on that) should be emphasised.
Quick ideas:<br>
<br>
- personal pages on <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://osgeo.org" target="_blank">osgeo.org</a>
(<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://osgeo.org/members/johndoe"
target="_blank">osgeo.org/members/johndoe</a>)<br>
- @<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://osgeo.org"
target="_blank">osgeo.org</a> e-mail address (even
an alias is fine) to be used as their primary
address<br>
- interviews on the main blog<br>
- a track record of their public activity wrt OSGeo
promotion, software development, management,
documentation and what else<br>
<br>
In this way the charter members could gain a higher
visibility in the wider geospatial community and be
recognised as official representatives.<br>
<br>
Ciao<br>
steko<br>
<br>
BTW is there any process in place to "remove"
charter members if they become inactive, move to
another planet or are deemed unfit for the purpose
by the community?<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
Discuss mailing list<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:Discuss@lists.osgeo.org"
target="_blank">Discuss@lists.osgeo.org</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss"
target="_blank">http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On 20/04/12 07:24, Cameron Shorter
wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On 20/04/2012 4:06 AM, Michael P.
Gerlek wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do we have any policies and cost
structures for the Ambassador function yet?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><br>
I've seen a few people talking about creating an OSGeo
Ambassador role. Arnulf I think might have been the
first to mention it, and I think it is an excellent
idea. I'm also aware that the OGC are considering
developing OGC ambassadors too.<br>
<br>
So I'd like to open the floor and see what people
think an ambassador's role could involve, which leads
into the qualities we would wish our ambassador's to
have, which leads into the ways we may select an
ambassador.<br>
<br>
Let me start by noting some of the driving factors:<br>
1. Arnulf has noted that as OSGeo president, he has
spent a significant amount of time on areoplanes
travelling around the world to talk on behalf of
OSGeo. He has suggested that this role should be
shared.<br>
Conference organisors, who have a primary goal of
attracting attendees, look for authoritative
figureheads to talk at conferences. They are expected
to have a deep insight into a specific domain, such as
OSGeo. They should also speak well, even better if
they are entertaining.<br>
<br>
2. OSGeo is a sexy topic has many conferences, and
there are hundreds, if not thousands of conferences
around the world which would like to see an OSGeo
presence.<br>
<br>
3. OSGeo is fortunate to draw membership from around
the world, including boasting a number of very healthy
local chapters. As such, we are likely to have
potential ambassadors in most counties. (We might be a
bit short in Antarctica)<br>
<br>
4. There are times when negotiating MOUs or similar
with other countries, it would be useful to have
someone local speak with authority on behalf of OSGeo.<br>
<br>
5. Note that there are conflicting interests here of
wanting to open up the role for anyone who volunteers,
verses maintaining a selectiveness and prestige for
the role which is the key selection criteria for
conferences asking for an ambassador.<br>
<br>
As such, I think it important that ambassadors can
only be voted into the position, and not handed out to
anyone. We already vote for a board, and charter
members.<br>
I think board members should be considered ambassadors
by default.<br>
Should charter members be considered ambassadors?
Charter members only get this role after demonstrating
a commitment to OSGeo, so will likely have a
reasonable depth of OSGeo knowledge. Maybe we should
ask for a history of speaking well (as demonstrated at
conferences), to the ambassador criteria.<br>
<br>
Then lastly, do we wish to invite ambassadors from a
greater circle? At this point, I'd probably err on
saying no, as if the entry bar to becoming an
ambassador is too easy, then the mystic of the role
will be lost.<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><br>
<br>
-- <br>
Cameron Shorter<br>
Geospatial Solutions Manager<br>
Tel: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="tel:%2B61%20%280%292%208570%205050"
target="_blank">+61 (0)2 8570 5050</a><br>
Mob: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="tel:%2B61%20%280%29419%20142%20254"
target="_blank">+61 (0)419 142 254</a><br>
<br>
Think Globally, Fix Locally<br>
Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and
Open Source<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.lisasoft.com" target="_blank">http://www.lisasoft.com</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">_______________________________________________<br>
Discuss mailing list<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:Discuss@lists.osgeo.org"
target="_blank">Discuss@lists.osgeo.org</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss"
target="_blank">http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss</a><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br>
<br clear="all">
<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">-- <br>
<span style="color:#666666">Ing. Margherita Di Leo, Ph.D. <br>
</span><br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Cameron Shorter
Geospatial Solutions Manager
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
Think Globally, Fix Locally
Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.lisasoft.com">http://www.lisasoft.com</a>
</pre>
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