The All Things Open Network is truly one of the best tech organizations in existence. Their commitment to getting more people into open source is not something they take lightly. With education, internships, networking opportunities, and more, it’s clear that the future of tech is open source, and they have their foot on the gas pedal. I had the extreme pleasure of attending and writing about All Things Open’s large conference in October of last year. This week I had the pleasure of attending another one of their conferences, Open Source 101.
Open Source 101 is a one-day conference focusing on the foundation of open source and educating and onboarding people into the community. In their own words,
“Open Source 101 is a one-day conference focusing on the “basics” of open source. Content is generally introductory – intermediate level in nature and is designed as an “on-ramp” to open source, open tech, and the open web for most and as a refresher for others. The goal is to provide enough education and guidance so those attending can effectively contribute to and consume open source and generally operate within an open source environment.”
It does not matter if you are completely new to open technology or if you are a veteran, everyone can find something meaningful there. Open Source 101 is also available for free if you want to attend virtually.
The Talks
My favorite talks at the conference were:
Establishing a Code of Conduct and Response Team for Your Global Open Source Project By Angela Jin
Angela Jin uses the WordPress code of conduct to show people how to effectively make sure their community is open, healthy, and accepting.
Getting Started With Good First Issues By Brian Douglas
Brian Douglas talks about how to contribute to open source as a complete newcomer. (This is very handy for WordPress community members who want more people to contribute!)
The Mystical Nature of Open Source Marketing By Swarna Podila
Swarna’s chat is about how tricky marketing can be for people with open source. Enterprise products are sometimes seen as a bad sign, and there are ways to go about marketing your business.
Lessons Learned in Promoting OSS Contribution from Latam By Pedro Galvan
Pedro Galvan gives an incredible chat about the background of the average open source contributor and why it’s so hard to get people from Latin America to contribute more. Mentoring and onboarding are just two of the many issues people face.
All the talks dealt with how to deal with a specific issue you may be facing in open source once you first enter the space, or how to effectively welcome people into an open-source space comfortably. We often hear in the WordPress space that there need to be more contributors to the project but it’s often hard to get started. Each one of these talented speakers has advice for people hesitating to take that first step and even offer help.
Networking and Companies
Along with the talks, there were companies who were looking for new talent, people interested in meeting more experts in their fields, and excellent teachers/authors like Lin Sun who provided free copies of their books that help others become better in their respective fields.
All in all, Open Source 101 was another amazing event. I was able to bring a few of my mentees so that they could experience it and they were impressed! They did not feel overwhelmed, they made a lot of new professional connections and most importantly they came away with a better understanding of the pros of becoming a part of the open source community. If you haven’t had a chance yet to attend an event by the All Things Open network, please come and join the action! You won’t regret it.
