[Marketing] [OSGeo-Discuss] Marketing meeting to finalise definition of an OSGeo Ambassador role

[Jeroen Ticheler]

Dear Puneet,

The idea is that conference organizers usually look for people to give keynotes etcetera at their event that have a higher than average visibility so they will attract a large audience to the conference in order to make it a success. Isn't it kind of natural to have such leaders in communities that stand out? We call them presidents, kings and queens, ministers, ambassadors, Nobel prize winners etc.. They are not super humans and we are not worth less than them. But reality is that it works this way. Even communist systems didn't manage to make us all equal. My street will be pretty crowded when our queen would walk by, but is very silent when I walk by. Still I consider myself equally human and accept that we all have different roles in life.

We as OSGeo are not much different. It kind of makes natural sense to have our community leaders stand out a little more, even if it is just for the benefit of our community. More publicity and thus more value for OSGeo. 

At the same time the discussion of having Ambassadors should not be mixed with OSGeo's democratic / do-ocratic nature. It will not create a new hierarchy level with a special voting right or so. It is "just" a way to do a better job towards the outside world in marketing OSGeo. The last years have shown that just on that aspect we need to do a better job and that it doesn't work to have the whole community serve as community leaders.

Just to be sure: I am NOT saying that we shouldn't ALL volunteer time and energy to OSGeo. Just that I think there are very good reasons to also have Ambassadors (or whatever we call them).

Cheers,
Jeroen

On 31 mei 2012, at 00:29, Puneet Kishor wrote:

> 
> On May 30, 2012, at 5:14 PM, Cameron Shorter wrote:
> 
>> On 31/05/2012 12:08 AM, Jo Cook wrote:
>>> My thoughts- initially I thought the idea was too complicated, but if we envisage outside organisations/conferences coming to us for speakers, then we will need something like you suggest. I wonder, in all honesty, how much that is going to happen, but at least we will have somewhere to point them to.
>> 
>> Jo,
>> In 2012, there have been 22 events that I'm aware of that have/are planning to made use of the OSGeo-Live DVD (or the presentation): http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Live_GIS_History
>> 
>> At most/all of these events there an OSGeo presentation, usually based upon our OSGeo-Live presentation, and I've usually been involved in finding someone to give these presentations.
>> 
>> I suspect that Arnulf and others could testify to similar numbers of approaches.
>> 
>> So, from personal experience, I would find it very useful to have a list of ambassadors to point conference organisors at.
>> 
> 
> 
> Here is what I don't understand --
> 
> Why call them "ambassadors"?
> 
> Why not simply have a list of Charter Members who have volunteered to make themselves available all around the world, and then, when an event comes up, ask the CMs close by (the event) if they would give a presentation, stand at a booth, demo an OSGeo-Live DVD, etc.?
> 
> In fact, I would contend that such volunteers need not even be a CM. They can simply be *any* user of OSGeo-endorsed products and knowledgeable about OSGeo in general.
> 
> Personally, I am with Jo in that I find this a needless extra hierarchy, but more than that, (as I mentioned in an earlier email), I find the language of the proposal a bit off-the-spirit of OSGeo. I point to the following text fragments in particular, as they connote "clubs" --
> 
> 	"elite of the OSGeo community" 
> 	"outstanding leadership in the greater OSGeo community"
> 	"strongly contested selective process"
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Puneet Kishor
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