[Ambassadors] ambassadors, marketing, etc

Max Spevack mspevack at redhat.com
Sun Jan 13 23:32:47 UTC 2008


Hi there Ambassadors and Marketing folks:

So, a few things that I would like to clarify now that the news about 
the changes in Fedora leadership is public, as well as some additional 
words about the role we are hoping Jack can fill.

(1) FOSDEM and LinuxTag:  A bunch of DVDs are on their way to Gerold, 
as well as some funding for some specific expenses tha thave been talked 
about.  Paul and I need to have a discussion (and Paul needs to think 
about his own schedule) and figure out his travel plans.  LinuxTag is 
not until May or June, and I think Paul should definitely plan to go to 
that -- it was an excellent show last year, and the opportunity to 
connect with the Ambassadors in Europe is 100% worth the cost of the 
trip.  As for FOSDEM, that is much sooner, so I should just leave that 
to Paul to address.

There is travel money in my budget for the FPL to make 2 trips overseas 
per year for Fedora-related activities.  I spent a little bit too much 
money at LinuxTag last year (as you recall, Fedora took care of the bill 
for the hostel for all the Ambassadors), so the total budget is a little 
bit less this year, but it is enough for two trips.  Until we get Paul 
officially into Red Hat and in control of his own funds, I will spend 
that money on his behalf and with his input.

(2) The FAMSCO elections, FAMSCO chair, and Jack.

I have received a few private emails asking me how Jack's new role 
impacts Ambassadors and FAMSCO.

The elections that you just finished for FAMSCO as well as the 
voting/decision that FAMSCO made on who the Chair should be is a result 
that should not, and will not be changed.

Over the past years, there has always been someone within Red Hat who 
has been the "go to person" for the Ambassadors group in terms of 
getting budget, swag, organizational help, etc.  For a while it was 
Greg.  Alex Maier has helped with that over time.  During my time as 
Fedora Project Leader, I did most of this.  Now we want Jack to be that 
person.  So FAMSCO should continue to operate.  Jack and FAMSCO should 
work together on a variety of things:

* increasing the size of the Ambassadors project
* encouraging and promoting leadership throughout the world
* continuing to help in North America, Europe, and Brazil, where we have 
particularly strong ambassadors communitites
* Identifying problems with Ambassadors and being a leader and advisor 
in resolving them.

In summary: the community leadership that is in place is exactly what we 
want, and it must continue to thrive.  Jack's job is to be your FIRST 
point of contact in Red Hat when you need something.  Paul, myself, 
Greg, the names you already know -- we will also continue to support and 
help you.

(3) For the marketing guys, the same general theme that is expressed 
above is true for the non-Ambassador marketing parts of Fedora.  We want 
Jack to be a facilitator, a liason between the community and Red Hat, 
and to work alongside the community leaders to make Fedora marketing 
more efficient, more on-message, etc.

I expect Jack to attend Marketing and Ambassadors meetings, and the 
Fedora Board should ask Jack for frequent updates on these two critical 
parts of the Fedora Project.

Any questions -- feel free to email.  Let's try to have the discussion 
on-list.

Regards,
Max




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