... Building the New Age of Participation
It doesn't matter if you are involved in an established Open Source community project, thinking of starting a new project or battling through some community issues this book is for you.
The author Jono Bacon has unparalleled experience in cultivating and motivating to become active parts of vibrant and successful on-line communities.
I first met Jono in about 2000 when he was trawling the first Linux Expo in the UK scavenging for freebies. Over the years I've shared many a beer and curry with him and seen his transition from "wanna be" Axl Rose or Alice Cooper, KDE developer, journalist, Open Source advocate, radio star through to his current role as Community Manager for Ubuntu.
Many times in Mambo's troubled past, and during the "re-birth" as Joomla, Jono was at the other end of the telephone line to offer advice and friendly support. Once you get past the "interesting" facial hair Jono really is a man to know.
We've lost contact a little in the last few years as he seems to spend his days now living out of a suitcase, travelling the globe for Ubuntu, spreading the word and encouraging community involvement.
I was pretty excited when I saw on his blog, www.jonobacon.org, a few months ago that he was writing a book "The Art of Community". I couldn't think of a better person to write this book, with all his experience, and Jono doesn't disappoint with the final manuscript.
I had intended to write an in-depth review of the book, picking out the highlites and explaining why you really need to read this book.
There are just too many essential chapters in "The Art of Community" that no review can really do this book justice.
There are only a few books that are generally considered to be essential reading in the Open Source world. Eric Raymond wrote the classic "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" but this is the first book that really addresses the sometimes thorny issue of community.
If I could give a gift to every Open Source project it would be this book.
Unfortunately I've not made my millions, yet, so I can't afford to do that but fortunately Jono has released the book under a Creative Commons licence. So even if you can't afford to purchase a copy yourself you can download a copy for free.
I guarantee that you won't be disappointed as there is at least one chapter that you will feel Jono has written especially for you.
When you've read the book for yourself I am confident that, like me, you will be enthused with new ideas that you are bursting to implement. I hope that you might even be encouraged to hop over to your favourite on-line bookseller and buy a copy of the book for someone in your community.
