📖 Open Source Contributions and the Risk of IP Exposure
The risk of exposing something that will harm the business is real, but it’s not as likely as many would have you think.
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- 2012 12
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2024
2023
Hire me!
Thanks to good progress on the book, I’m able to join your team. What can I do for you?
Book update and cover reveal
Beta release is nigh!
Prepare to Forge Your Future with Hacktoberfest and Pragmatic Bookshelf
30% off Pragmatic Bookshelf Open Source Books with code HACKTOBERFEST23 through October
The latest (good!) news about the book
Delays, progress, and—finally—a title!
📖 Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)
Those who wish to incorporate SBOMs into their processes must deal with the growing pains of an evolving ecosystem.
📖 FOSS License Compliance Enforcement
Don’t worry and don’t believe the FUD. If your company is aware of the links in its software supply chain, does its good faith best to remain in compliance w...
2022
VS Code Extensions for Writing
I’ve slowly acquired a small handful of VS Code extensions that have been invaluable in the process of writing this book.
📖 Open source relicensing: A risk for your business
Consider: your company lacks visibility into its software supply chain and a link of that chain is a FOSS component that changes its license. That’s a busine...
Announcing the Open Source Series at Pragmatic Bookshelf
Starting today, Pragmatic kicks off a new series dedicated to practical books that will help you understand and get more done with open source.
2021
Hello, Wipro!
I’m very happy to announce that as of today I’ve joined Wipro as Open Source and Technical Strategist.
📖 FOSS’ killer app: Licensing innovation
FOSS licenses are the ‘killer app’ of free and open source software. Rather than waiting for a lawyer to draft a custom license for the software, you can sel...
Put down the torch, pick up the scalpel: The Future of the FSF
Put away the torches and pitchforks. Pick up your scalpels. We have some cancer to excise from the FSF and that cancer is the board of directors.
📖 Software and Copyright: It’s Complicated
Intellectual property (IP) concepts play a huge role in software in general and free and open source software in particular. IP is a complex and nuanced body...
Hire me!
Does your company or organisation need help with its open source strategy? Does it want to know how its open source use and involvement can help its bottom l...
📖 The difference between Free Software and Open Source
For the most part they can be treated as a single entity in conversation (FOSS). That’s how they will be treated in this book, but never forget that they’re ...
📖 The importance of standards for your business
Without standards, your company would have a difficult time doing business. Like other standards, ‘open source’ is vital for the operations of any business t...
Coming soon: A new book about FOSS strategy in business
I’m happy to announce that in 2021 (probably), Pragmatic Bookshelf will publish my next book! 🎉📖🎉
Elasticsearch and Kibana are now business risks
If your organisation uses the open source versions of either Elasticsearch or Kibana in its products or projects, it is now at risk of being forced to releas...
8 tips for attending virtual conferences
The health and safety of our community are more important than anything else, which means in-person events are now a no-go. Rather than canceling, most tech ...
2020
Spread the word: Marketing your FOSS project
You have a new open source project and you’d like to publicise it to a wide audience. How can you get started with the marketing? I provide several pointers.
Personality in Open Source
In September I was interviewed for an article about how personality affects the development process in open source projects. The article was inspired by a st...
An Easy Introduction to Open Source Projects
Welcome to open source! We have thousands upon thousands of projects available for you to use and contribute to. This might seem a bit overwhelming, but it’s...
Announcing the FOSS Governance Collection
Announcing a catalogued and indexed collection of governance documents from across the world of free and open source projects.
Farewell, Juniper Networks
On May 27, 2020, Juniper Networks laid off its open source team. I’m now free to pursue other opportunities. What may I do for you?
The Real Costs of Open Source Sustainability
How much do you know about your open source supply chain? Are there any weak links in that chain? Do you know what to do about that? This talk will give you ...
A Brief Introduction to Copyright and Licensing
This is an excerpt from my book ‘Forge Your Future with Open Source’. It does exactly what it says in the title: provides a brief introduction to copyright a...
FOSS Community interview for Brandeis University
Brandeis University is offering micro-courses about Free/Open Source Software. Georg Link, of Bitergia, is teaching the one about open source communities and...
Meet People Where They Are: Four Ways to Spread the Four Freedoms.
In November 2018 I presented this keynote at the freenode #live conference in Bristol, UK. This is a transcript of that keynote.
2019
My travel habits
Over the years I’ve developed some habits that have made my travel life, while not easy, at least less unpleasant. As I complete my final trip for the year i...
2018
Farewell freelancing, Hello Juniper Networks!
Hello, World. Please say hello to the new Director of Open Source Strategy at Juniper Networks.
Redis Labs and the Questionable Business Decision
A screenshot from the Redis Labs website, taken 2018-08-21.
Open Hardware: Good for Your Brand, Good for Your Bottom Line
Article originally published in the June 2018 issue of Linux Journal
The Past, Present, and Future of Open Source
Last week Christina Cardoza of SD Times published an excellent article about the first 20 years of open source. I was interviewed for the article, but natura...
FOSS as a Part of a Corporate Sustainability Plan
Article originally published in the May 2018 issue of Linux Journal
Do I have to use a free/open source license?
Article originally published in the March 2018 issue of Linux Journal
Using Slack with IRCCloud
A while back I wrote a guide on how to add a Slack team to your ZNC IRC bouncer. Soon afterward, I switched from using ZNC to IRCCloud. I’m consistently impr...
Announcing “Forge Your Future With Open Source”: The first book to detail how to contribute to open source projects
Ever wanted to contribute to free and open source software but didn’t know how? You’re in luck! There’s now a book on the subject, and I’m honored to be its...
The OpenStack identity crisis
Does OpenStack have an identity crisis? I think it does, and solving it will help the project establish itself in the minds of infrastructure deciders.
2017
Jump-start your career with open source skills
Although attending college is not required for success in software development, college programs can provide a great deal of useful information in a relativ...
Google, can we talk?
The following is an edited screenshot of my Google Account profile:
Don’t hire team members like they’re consultants
There’s a problem I keep seeing when helping my clients, providing career coaching to job seekers, and participating in interviews myself: Tech companies co...
Entering the Free and Open Source emerging market
Originally published on opensource.com
Advice for new speakers
After my speaker training workshop at /dev/world/2017 last week, one of the attendees approached me asking whether they could contact me with some more quest...
Avoid failure when supporting free and open source communities
Originally published on opensource.com.
How your company can build and keep community trust
Originally published on opensource.com.
Practical business reasons to support open source communities
Originally published on opensource.com.
Google’s disappointing response to the “manifesto”
I’ve been sitting on this for a day, and I really do have better things to do than to scold strangers on the internet, but after sleeping on it I find I need...
What to know before you open source an internal project
Originally posted on opensource.com in June 2017.
I have time availability for another client! Is it you?
Since I left the Helion OpenStack team, I’ve been helping companies–particularly startups and small/medium businesses–with Open Source, Technology, Community...
Changing the language
The other day I tweeted this:
Public Speaking Resources
Had you told me 10 years ago that not only would I be on the open source/tech conference speaking circuit but that I would love it, I would’ve looked at you ...
Organise your job hunt with Trello
Because I’ve moved on from previous job I have the legitimate pleasure to be speaking with a number of organisations about my next steps. At current count I...
Thinking Outside the Big Green Box
In October I had the dubious honor of laying off my entire team (they’ve all found excellent new positions). At the time I was to have joined them in a workf...
No, I will not “lighten up”
Here’s a conversation I was in recently. It’s paraphrased and anonymized because I’m not here to name-n-shame.
3 ways to improve your hiring process
The new year often brings the end to a lot of finance- or holiday-imposed hiring freezes and a rush to get the hiring process wheels back into motion.
2016
On the occasional unpleasantness of community
Dear well-dressed lady who walked by as I was clearing the sidewalk of snow and ice,
How to record a presentation screencast video using Quicktime
I’m a frequent public speaker. The trend of late is for conferences to record presentations and then post them publicly later. This is a great trend, as it h...
You don’t get to decide what you’re “worth”
Folks frequently ask me for career advice, particularly when they’re starting a job hunt. In that situation, almost all of them ask the same general question...
Uploading a Video to Internet Archive
I make no secret of the fact that OSCON is one of my favorite conferences. I try to speak at it whenever I can and do what I can to support its community. Wh...
How NOT to Hire an Entirely Remote Workforce
Recently there was an article in the Harvard Business Review about how a particular company hired a 100% remote work force.
2015
Ops/DevOps Learning Resources
Last night I was speaking with a junior engineer who’s entering the job market. She’s had no trouble getting development internships (she has four of them un...
Open Source Leadership Succession Plan?
I present at a lot of FOSS conferences and therefore have the chance to meet and speak with a lot of FOSS luminaries. These are inspiring people who’ve been ...
Adding a Slack network to your znc IRC bouncer
Slack is taking the online world by storm. Most everyone I know in technology is a member of at least one Slack teams, and it’s not rare to find people who a...
OSCON Portland, 2015
Oh, my. My last OSCON trip report is only two posts back. It seems I’ve been rather a slacker on the blogging front. I’ll see what I can do to change that. I...
Badass: Making Teams Awesome
I read Kathy Sierra’s BADASS: Making Users Awesome back in February and haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since. The premise of the book rang true i...
2014
OSCON 2014
Another year, another OSCON. Now that I’m approaching caught up, here’s a quick recap of that busy week.
Moving On From The Errors of GitHub and The Ada Initiative
The Story So Far
A CEO is a Leader: The Recent Mozilla CEO Kerfuffle
Experience comes for free. Learning takes effort.
Dear Mister Independent Recruiter,
Hello. I saw your resume on the web and am writing to see if you or anyone that you know who may be interested in the following position in $city. It i...
Five Tips for Better Cover Letters
A question from a friend for whom I consult on occasional career coaching matters:
Announcing Documentation for the Internet Archive S3 API
Back in 2011 I was hired at Internet Archive to develop a digital archive service for memory institutions. Unfortunately, after six months the project was sc...
2013
I’m in the Market for a New Job
After over a year working on my own projects, I find I really miss leading and working with a team of good people. Working alone has its advantages but isn’t...
The Rising Costs of Aging Perlers: Part 3, The Suggestions
So, what can the Perl community do to avert this decline and potential extinction? Probably a great many things, but here are my three top suggestions:
The Rising Costs of Aging Perlers: Part 2, The Business
At this point you’re entirely justified in asking, “So what?”
The Rising Costs of Aging Perlers: Part 1, The Data
Hello, Friendly Perl Community! You may not want to hear this, but you’re not getting any younger. This is having a dramatic effect on the bottom line of com...
Announcing the Perl Companies project
A month or so ago Jeff Thalhammer and I were chatting Perl over burritos. We got to discussing how many companies were currently using Perl actively and wond...
Rename Perl 5? Marketing: UR DOIN IT WRONG
Earlier this month Ovid once again raised the question: Should we rename Perl?”
Putting Away My Pitchfork: The Yahoo Remote Worker Announcement
On February 22nd, 2013, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer announced that all remote employees will be required to work from their local Yahoo! office by June.
Is it OK to apply at a company which doesn’t excite you?
A question which just arrived at my desk:
Four Questions To Answer For Every Project
Pause. Push away from your keyboard. Answer these questions:
Improving Perl’s New Programmer Outreach
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much demand for programmers or programming training. In an economy that’s still recovering from the recession, the remarkably...
2012
Stop Hoarding Knowledge
Imagine a manufacturer who starts up a production line knowing that each time a worker reached a certain point in the process she or he would have to walk ov...
‘Fail’ doesn’t have to be a four-letter word
Projects fail. Companies crash and burn. Screws fall out all the time; the world is an imperfect place. Just because it happens doesn’t mean we can’t do our ...
Common Resume Mistakes
I’ve been hiring in the tech industry for the past ten years or so. In that time I’ve looked at hundreds—if not thousands—of resumes from people applying for...
Managers: It is NEVER OK to be a jerk
Earlier today I had a conversation with a friend. She had just been chewed out by her manager. It seems my friend had let a typo slip into some copy. Normall...
Increasing the Role of OSCON in Community Education
I recently returned from OSCON. It was, as usual, brilliant. My talk—a part of Business Leadership Day—was well-received, which is always validating. As I pe...
Program Like a Pixar Story Artist
A friend recently tweeted a list of story basics from Pixar Story Artist Emma Coats. These basics are some of the story-writing guidelines Emma has learned f...
Open Source: Why Can’t We Just Make It Easy On New Contributors?
As an Open Source advocate I’m frequently asked to which projects I contribute. My answer is typically, “None right now.” Why is that? There are a few reason...
Staff Quality Deserves the Same Care as Software Quality
The Wikipedia definition of Continuous Integration (aka CI):
Rant: I Am Not a Cat Herder
It’s a no-brainer. It’ll happen. If I were the betting kind I’d lay good money on it. Any time I’m mingling at some social event (cocktail party, BBQ, confer...
Technical Job Postings: Know Your Audience
Spotted in a job posting for a technical position:
Book Review: “Process Improvement Essentials” by James R. Persse, PhD
tl;dr: A well-written book I’d recommend to all in the IT field who have any interest in working smarter rather than harder to bring their projects ...
2011
At Risk: An Online Service is Sometimes Neither Online Nor Serviceable
The down side of relying upon all these online services is that, well, they’re online services [1]. The sad truth of the internet is that these things disapp...
Online Services I Find Worth Paying For
While I appreciate getting something for free [1] as much as the next person, I’m also very willing to shell out cash for online services which I find both u...
It’s Called Marketing for a Reason
Let’s do a little experiment. The next time you’re in a room full of techies, say something along the lines of, “Hey, how about that marketing department, eh...
Rethinking Education Requirements in Tech Job Postings
A few days ago I posted this tweet:
Email Overload? Reclaim Your Inbox, Don’t Banish It
I recently read two articles while riding the bus[1]. The first one was in Forbes Magazine. Thierry Breton, the CEO of Atos Global, has decreed that since he...
Take The Red Pill: 8 non-programming books you should probably read
As techies we tend to suffer from a fair bit of professional tunnel vision. Like Neo, often all we see is the code. However there’s an entire world on the ot...
It’s About Needs.
I’ve been doing various bits of writing lately, both for my blogs and for other purposes. This morning I was sitting at a cafe, scrawling ideas in my notebo...
Unsuck Your Meeting
Yeah, that’s right: your meetings suck. Don’t deny it. No, don’t you dare even try to deny it. Can you seriously look me in the eye and tell me that you enjo...
Watch this space
Sixteen months ago I made the choice to stop posting to this blog as a way to reduce obligations on my time and free up some mental space for other personal ...