Ubuntu Wiki

Ubuntu Open Week - Intro to the Ubuntu-News Team - JohnCrawford - Thu, Apr 30th, 2009

(03:01:35 PM) johnc4510: Hello everyone. Who loves Ubuntu?
(03:01:39 PM) johnc4510: w00t
(03:01:52 PM) johnc4510: My name is John Crawford(johnc4510), I live in Tucson, AZ USA, and I spend most of my free time doing volunteer work in the Ubuntu Community. Launchpad: https://launchpad.net/~johnc4510 Wiki: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/JohnCrawford
(03:02:26 PM) johnc4510: I am involved with several teams in the Ubuntu Community, but today I'm here as the chief editor of the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter and an editor for The Fridge.
(03:02:47 PM) johnc4510: I'll start off by giving you our news-team resources:
(03:03:00 PM) johnc4510: Launchpad: https://edge.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-news
(03:03:10 PM) johnc4510: Wiki: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NewsTeam
(03:03:20 PM) johnc4510: IRC Channel: #ubuntu-news on irc.freenode.net
(03:03:30 PM) johnc4510: Mailing List: ubuntu-news-team@lists.ubuntu.com
(03:03:49 PM) johnc4510: Here are the projects that the Ubuntu News Team is reponsible for are:
(03:03:59 PM) johnc4510: The Fridge: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Fridge
(03:04:10 PM) johnc4510: The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter
(03:04:51 PM) johnc4510: Joining our team is a great way to contribute and get involved in the Ubuntu Community. Not everyone using Ubuntu has the ability to develop, package or translate.
(03:05:09 PM) johnc4510: There are however, many things a non-technical person can do to contribute to our team, and the Ubuntu Community.
(03:05:30 PM) johnc4510: We'll start out today talking about The Fridge.
(03:05:42 PM) johnc4510: The Fridge: wiki: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Fridge and our website: http://fridge.ubuntu.com/
(03:06:04 PM) johnc4510: The Fridge is the official news site for the Ubuntu Community. The items reported in The Fridge are considered breaking news about Ubuntu and our community.
(03:06:29 PM) johnc4510: The scope of The Fridge is narrower than the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, which we will be discussing later
(03:06:42 PM) johnc4510: We concentrate on breaking Ubuntu and community news. Howto's, most blogging content about installing or configuring applications, etc are not considered appropriate Fridge material.
(03:07:10 PM) johnc4510: Now, even though The Fridge is considered the official news source for Ubuntu and our community, anyone can submit ideas for content.
(03:07:32 PM) johnc4510: It's very easy to do, just drop into #ubuntu-news, or send an email to the teams mailing list. ubuntu-news-team@lists.ubuntu.com
(03:08:05 PM) johnc4510: If your Ubuntu project is doing great things, and you'd like the greater Ubuntu Community to know more about it, simply write it up and submit it.
(03:08:38 PM) johnc4510: Please don't feel like you don't have the talent to write something up, you know the facts, and we can help polish it if needed.
(03:08:48 PM) plague is now known as sars
(03:09:17 PM) johnc4510: The Fridge is widely read not only by our community, but also by many big name news reporting agencies, and popular blog sites.
(03:09:44 PM) johnc4510: These outside reporting agencies often quote our content which increases Ubuntu's exposure. The more exposure we get, the more it helps to promote Ubuntu and our community.
(03:10:13 PM) johnc4510: The Fridge editors administer the site, and approve news content.
(03:10:30 PM) johnc4510: We are always looking for news content to add to the site to further promote Ubuntu and our community.
(03:10:40 PM) ***JManGt is away: Vengo al ratin...
(03:10:57 PM) johnc4510: What your team is doing is important to the project, and by helping us to report it you'll be doing you part to advocate Ubuntu, and fix bug #1!
(03:11:24 PM) johnc4510: Join our team, or keep us informed if you're on another team that is doing fantastic Ubuntu work.
(03:11:49 PM) johnc4510: also our events calendar is at http://fridge.ubuntu.com/calendar
(03:12:19 PM) johnc4510: this calendar shows all events within the community that are reported
(03:12:44 PM) johnc4510: it's a great way to keep up with the other teams in the Ubuntu community
(03:13:16 PM) johnc4510: instructions for the calendar are at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Fridge/Calendar
(03:13:40 PM) johnc4510: we encourage everyone to help us keep the calendar up to date
(03:14:20 PM) johnc4510: and to help advocate for Ubuntu and our community by keeping us informed of what your team is up to
(03:15:03 PM) johnc4510: Ok, lets move onto the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter now. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter
(03:15:40 PM) johnc4510: The UWN is a totally different news reporting outlet than The Fridge. It covers a much wider section of news than The Fridge does.
(03:16:07 PM) johnc4510: The UWN is a weekly publication that you could compare to your Sunday paper.
(03:16:40 PM) johnc4510: The idea is to report Community news, projects and also what is being said about Ubuntu out there in cyber space.
(03:17:06 PM) johnc4510: QUESTION: how did the fridge get it's name
(03:17:56 PM) johnc4510: lol, that's a good one...i'm not sure i know...but i would suspect it comes from someones humorous idea of notes posted on a refrigerator
(03:18:19 PM) knome: or things that are fresh
(03:18:24 PM) johnc4510: right
(03:18:25 PM) johnc4510: :)
(03:18:48 PM) johnc4510: maybe nixternal or boredandblogging would know, they've been around longer
(03:18:51 PM) johnc4510: ?
(03:19:22 PM) johnc4510: Sometimes that news isn't always favorable, but our publication is here to keep the community up to date with what's being said, good or bad.
(03:19:36 PM) nixternal: sure, Benjamin Mako Hill actually came up with the name at like the first UDS iirc
(03:19:51 PM) nixternal: he called it that because it was a spot to stick up little snippets pertaining to Ubuntu
(03:19:53 PM) johnc4510: nixternal: thx for bailing me out there :)
(03:19:58 PM) nixternal: hehe, no problem
(03:20:07 PM) nixternal: the original spec for the Fridge is still on the wiki somewhere
(03:20:11 PM) sars is now known as mODYe|
(03:20:29 PM) johnc4510: Since we publish a totally new edition every week, that means we start every week with a clean slate.
(03:20:59 PM) johnc4510: That gives us only one week to research, read, classify by section, summarize, refine, proof and publish a new edition.
(03:21:37 PM) johnc4510: We publish the edition, or links to it in serveral places.
(03:21:53 PM) johnc4510: Ubuntu Forums: http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=243
(03:22:04 PM) johnc4510: Planet Ubuntu: http://planet.ubuntu.com/
(03:22:22 PM) johnc4510: The Fridge: http://fridge.ubuntu.com/
(03:22:34 PM) johnc4510: By subcription to our ubuntu-news mailing list: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-news
(03:22:48 PM) johnc4510: And we also publish a teaser to dig, readit, Free Software News, and UbuntuPoint.
(03:23:25 PM) johnc4510: After we publish a new edition, we set up the next edition's wiki page, and start the process all over again for the next week.
(03:24:05 PM) johnc4510: We gather stories from many different sources: RSS feeds of major open source news reporting websites, searching google for blog items of interest, reading countless Ubuntu mailing list archives, keeping up with Planet Ubuntu, Launchpad, #ubuntu-meeting, etc.
(03:24:59 PM) johnc4510: We also get a lot on input from you, the Ubuntu Community. People often drop into the #ubuntu-news channel, email our ubuntu-news-team mailing list, or catch us in any one of a dozen channels our team members help to populate.
(03:25:58 PM) johnc4510: So as you can see, we are a very busy team working to keep up with all the great things going on in the greater Ubuntu Community, and what's being said about Ubuntu all over the world.
(03:26:54 PM) johnc4510: QUESTION: how guided are those poplulations
(03:27:18 PM) johnc4510: rufong: i'm not sure what your asking...can you rephrase?
(03:28:59 PM) johnc4510: QUESTION: rufong i mean did you have specific channels targeted to help spread /launch unbuntunews
(03:29:37 PM) johnc4510: rufong: we try to publish our newsletter to sites that have a rather large following in the open source community
(03:29:57 PM) johnc4510: the more people who read our publication the better
(03:30:24 PM) johnc4510: The Ubuntu distribution speaks for itself as far as quality goes
(03:30:47 PM) johnc4510: but it's up to the community to spread the word to the rest of the world
(03:31:06 PM) johnc4510: rufong: does that answer your question?
(03:31:21 PM) johnc4510: From time to time we do an interview of an especially prominent team or individual in the Ubuntu Community.
(03:31:23 PM) ***JManGt is away: Vengo al ratin...
(03:32:03 PM) johnc4510: After picking a subject to interview, we usually email them asking if they would be interested in answering some questions about themselves and/or their project.
(03:32:23 PM) johnc4510: We then collaborate to decide what questions the community might want answered and email them to the person.
(03:32:57 PM) johnc4510: Interviews are published as is and can help to promote what that individual or team is doing.
(03:33:18 PM) johnc4510: So if you know an individual or team that is making a difference within the greater Ubuntu Community, let us know so that we can share that with everyone.
(03:33:51 PM) johnc4510: Anyone can join our team, or submit links.
(03:34:17 PM) johnc4510: Unlike The Fridge where you need to submit news items anyone can add links to the wiki page of the next edition of the UWN.
(03:34:51 PM) johnc4510: You'll always find the edition that is being worked on here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter listed under the sub-header: Next Issue(Work in Progress)
(03:35:32 PM) johnc4510: The wiki page of the next edition has sections that make it fairly easy to decide where your link should go.
(03:36:00 PM) johnc4510: sections like: General Community News is for Ubuntu announcements
(03:36:37 PM) johnc4510: LoCo news is for reporting on the events for the Ubuntu LoCo teams project
(03:36:53 PM) johnc4510: lanuchpad is for launchpad news
(03:36:55 PM) johnc4510: etc
(03:37:02 PM) johnc4510: you should find a section
(03:37:14 PM) johnc4510: If you confused about what section to add it too, you can always ask in #ubuntu-news, or submit your link by email to our team at: ubuntu-news-team@lists.ubuntu.com
(03:38:01 PM) johnc4510: I have been working on the UWN for almost 2 years now. During that time, Ubuntu and our community has continued to grow at an astounding rate.
(03:38:31 PM) johnc4510: For our team, it is easy to see this growth because the size and scope of our publication has had to grow to keep up with the ever expanding array of quality material we find each week.
(03:39:09 PM) johnc4510: With this growth, we are also now starting to see constant news, blog, and community news items every week, allowing us to pick and choose from the best articles available.
(03:39:54 PM) johnc4510: Expansion and growth means that our team is experiencing new and exciting challenges each week, and that helps to keep us fresh and eager to report the news.
(03:40:31 PM) johnc4510: Unlike many Ubuntu teams, who might have 6 months to get their project ready, we have to have a finished product ready to go every week.
(03:40:58 PM) johnc4510: It's challenging, rewarding, and hard work. It's a new and fresh experience every week, and we love it!!
(03:41:27 PM) johnc4510: We have a great team of workers who are dedicated to publishing the lastest news about Ubuntu and our community.
(03:41:52 PM) johnc4510: Working on the UWN is a great way to contribute to the Ubuntu Project, and our community.
(03:42:24 PM) johnc4510: Our publication is widely read, highly regarded, and often linked to or quoted by large open source news site and blogs.
(03:42:54 PM) johnc4510: Anyone wanting to join our team should visit #ubuntu-news, or email me at johnc4510@ubuntu.com
(03:43:23 PM) johnc4510: We would be very happy to have you join our team to help us keep the Ubuntu Community and the world, up to date on the latest and greatest news about our favorite operating system "Ubuntu."
(03:43:50 PM) johnc4510: It's a very rewarding way to contribute,and a great way to get recognized within the community.
(03:44:14 PM) johnc4510: QUESTION: What are the requirments to join the team?
(03:45:10 PM) johnc4510: charlie-tca: anyone can join...just drop by our launchpad team and sign up Launchpad: https://edge.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-news
(03:45:45 PM) johnc4510: after doing that drop by the #ubuntu-news channel and chat with us
(03:45:47 PM) johnc4510: :)
(03:46:24 PM) johnc4510: since we are a weekly publication, dependency is a must, and basic english is needed
(03:47:07 PM) johnc4510: we have a tight schedule to hit each week, so we need folks that aren't afraid to get in there and work each wk
(03:47:10 PM) johnc4510: :)
(03:47:51 PM) johnc4510: QUESTION: Does the CofC influence our writing?
(03:48:18 PM) johnc4510: It sure does, as with all Ubuntu teams we adhere very strickly to the CofC
(03:49:07 PM) johnc4510: I hope everyone got a good feel for what the Ubuntu-News Team is all about during this session today. Whether or not our team is the right fit for you, I hope you'll find some way to contribute back to the Ubuntu project.
(03:50:04 PM) ball: s/monopole/monopoly/
(03:50:15 PM) johnc4510: Of note, we also are starting to carry more podcast links in the edition
(03:50:19 PM) sebsebseb: ball: wrong channel?
(03:50:22 PM) ***ball nods
(03:50:33 PM) johnc4510: it has become a very popular media outlet
(03:51:06 PM) johnc4510: 2 in particular are the Ubuntu-UK podcast the Ubuntu podcast that nick and josh do
(03:51:58 PM) johnc4510: QUESTION: Does the CofC cause us any conflict in reporting stories?
(03:52:30 PM) johnc4510: no, we try to keep the community informed about everything that is being said about Ubuntu
(03:53:03 PM) johnc4510: unless the story is totally off base, contains fowl language etc we will carry it
(03:54:27 PM) johnc4510: QUESTION: can the UWN have a more useful rss feed...containing the articles instead of just a feed of the issue
(03:55:16 PM) johnc4510: the feed is set up to come off the planet i believe...and we don't publish the whole edition to the planet
(03:55:22 PM) jcastro: 5 minute warning
(03:55:29 PM) johnc4510: jcastro: thx
(03:56:10 PM) johnc4510: in closing, we have a great team that works very hard to keep everyone informed about Ubuntu and the Ubuntu community
(03:56:31 PM) johnc4510: if you have an interest in helping out we would love to have you
(03:57:05 PM) johnc4510: thanks for listening and submitting your question...it's been great fun