Ignite format: What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities
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Dawn M. Foster discusses lessons that can be learned from science fiction about building communities. Some key lessons include making sure the community is more than just the leaders by encouraging everyone to participate, understanding the community before trying to participate, contributing in a noticeable way, sharing useful skills with others, having guidelines that can change and evolve over time, showing empathy to others, disagreeing with ideas and not people, having a reputation that comes from good contributions, gradually growing the community while maintaining culture, being patient and allowing others to participate, maintaining a balance of control, and encouraging diversity.
Ignite format: What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities
- 1. WHAT SCIENCE FICTION CAN TEACH US ABOUT BUILDING COMMUNITIES Dawn M. Foster Community Lead at Puppet Labs @geekygirldawn dawn@puppetlabs.com
- 2. WHOAMI • Geek, traveler, reader • Past 12 years doing community & open source • Read 73 books last year, mostly sci-fi / fantasy • I keep a list: http://fastwonderblog.com/about/reading/ Photos by Josh Bancroft, Don Park
- 3. BIGGER ON THE INSIDE Have to go inside and participate to really understand the community
- 4. ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE Not about the leaders, it’s about everyone who participates
- 5. DON’T GO TOO FAR Understand and learn first before participating
- 6. DON’T BE A REDSHIRT Participate and contribute in a noticeable way Read John Scalzi’s ‘Redshirts’
- 7. SHARE USEFUL SKILLS Learn and share new ideas with the rest of the team
- 8. 3 LAWS AND GUIDELINES Guidelines / code of conduct that change and evolve as needed
- 9. ANDROIDS AND EMPATHY Don’t act like an android, show empathy and consider the impact of your actions
- 10. NO MONSTERS Different isn’t bad, disagree with ideas, not the person
- 11. WHUFFIE Reputation is currency, do good and recognize others
- 12. MANAGE GROWTH Gradual growth to keep with new contributions and maintain your culture
- 13. OUTLAST THEM Be patient and allow others to participate
- 14. CONTROL ISSUES Maintain balance to keep things productive while not being too controlling
- 15. PEOPLE EVERYWHERE Travel and meet interesting people working on global projects
- 16. MENTORING Train the next generation and help others succeed
- 17. THE YOUNG CAN CONTRIBUTE Age is often unknown, encourage young people to contribute
- 18. STRONG WOMEN Encourage women in our field and get more women speaking at our events
- 19. DON’T PANIC Things will go wrong keep things in perspective calmly recover
- 20. THANK YOU Contact info: Dawn Foster @geekygirldawn dawn@puppetlabs.com fastwonderblog.com Some of my favorite modern sci-fi / fantasy authors: Hugh Howey Lois McMaster Bujold Brandon Sanderson Connie Willis