Art Of Community Online » Publicity http://www.artofcommunityonline.org The Book On Community Management, by Jono Bacon Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:43:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Four Steps Toward a Successful Open Source Project http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2011/08/31/four-steps-toward-a-successful-open-source-project/ http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2011/08/31/four-steps-toward-a-successful-open-source-project/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:59:28 +0000 Jono Bacon http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/?p=446 Carla Schroder has written an excellent piece entitled Four Steps Toward a Successful Open Source Project in which The Art of Community is featured. Carla specifically outlines the focus on social capital in the book.

Thanks, Carla!

]]> http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2011/08/31/four-steps-toward-a-successful-open-source-project/feed/ 0 The Art Of Community Rated #2 Must Have Social Media Book By Mashable http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/12/22/the-art-of-community-rated-2-must-have-social-media-book-by-mashable/ http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/12/22/the-art-of-community-rated-2-must-have-social-media-book-by-mashable/#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:10 +0000 Jono Bacon http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/?p=370 Two lovely nuggets of Art Of Community information to share:

  • Firstly, The Art Of Community was rated #2 in Top 10 must-have books on social media by Mashable. Wow, I am tickled pink about this. Thanks, Mashable folks!
  • Secondly, I have have heard from a bunch of people that the legendary .net Magazine reviewed The Art Of Community saying it was well written, well structured and intriguing that O’Reilly support it as a free e-book too. Rock and roll. :-)

If you lovely people spot any more reviews, do let me know. :-)

]]> http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/12/22/the-art-of-community-rated-2-must-have-social-media-book-by-mashable/feed/ 0 The Art of Community Comedy Photo Comp http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/09/28/the-art-of-community-comedy-photo-comp/ http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/09/28/the-art-of-community-comedy-photo-comp/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:08:45 +0000 Jono Bacon http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/?p=359

Since I released The Art of Community, one thing has become evident: the people who are buying it are awesome. If you have bought it you are awesome. If you have not, you too can be awesome.

This got my mind thinking. We should put a face to the names of these awesome people. Credit where credit is due to those of you who are supporting a Creative Commons licensed book about building collaborative communities.

So, I have a fun little competition meme. It works like this:

  1. Holding your copy of The Art of Community, have a picture taken of yourself with it. Really go for gold in the picture: extra points are awarded for outfits, hats, exciting locations and comedy faces.
  2. Upload your photo to Flickr (or other fave photo sharing site) with the tag artofcommunity and if you use Twitter/identi.ca, use the #artofcommunity hashtag.

I will look over all the photos and pick a winner. The winner of the competition will get a special prize. The deadline for the competition is October 25th.

Should be a little fun. :-)

]]> http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/09/28/the-art-of-community-comedy-photo-comp/feed/ 1 Free Art of Community Book For Approved Ubuntu LoCo Teams http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/08/21/free-art-of-community-book-for-approved-ubuntu-loco-teams/ http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/08/21/free-art-of-community-book-for-approved-ubuntu-loco-teams/#comments Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:12:29 +0000 Jono Bacon http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/?p=351

Recently I announced my brand spanking new book The Art of Community and so far the reception has been fantastic! Thanks to everyone who has been spreading the news about the book – continue to do your good thang! :-)

Well, I am a firm believer that you should look after your own family, and I am a member of the awesome Ubuntu family, so I have managed to swing a sweet deal with O’Reilly, the publishers of the book, to send all approved USA based teams a free printed copy of the book and all other approved teams a free electronic copy of the book. While we wish we could send all approved teams across the world a free printed copy, O’Reilly are only able to cater to USA based teams right now. Damn economy.

To keep this as simple as possible, you can request your book by following these steps:

  1. The team contact shown on our LoCo Team List (and only the team contact) should send me an email to jono AT ubuntu DOT com with the subject line Free Art of Community Book For LoCo Team (be sure to type this subject line exactly as here or it may slip through the net). In your email include all the following details:
    • Your full name.
    • Which team you are from.
    • Your full address (including zip/postal code, region and country).
    • Your phone number, including country and area code.
  2. I will assess whether you will receive a print or electronic edition.
  3. A few weeks after the deadline you should receive your edition of The Art of Community, for free!

A few notes:

  • Only approved teams are eligible for the free copies of the book.
  • Only the team contact for each team (shown on this page) can make the request for the book.
  • There is a limit of one copy of each book per approved team.
  • O’Reilly will kindly cover postage, but not any import tax or other shipping fees.
  • When you have the book, it is up to you what you do with it. We recommend you share it between members of the team. LoCo Leaders: please don’t hog it for yourselves! I would also really appreciate if you write a review of the book on your nearest Amazon website. :-)
  • The deadline for getting your requests in Wed 2nd September 2009.

Make sure you get your requests in by the deadline, anything after that will be sent to the bit bucket. :-)

If you have any questions or queries, feel free to drop me an email. :-)

All in all a pretty sweet deal, methinks. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/08/21/free-art-of-community-book-for-approved-ubuntu-loco-teams/feed/ 1 The Art of Community Now Available http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/08/19/the-art-of-community-now-available/ http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/08/19/the-art-of-community-now-available/#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:05:36 +0000 Jono Bacon http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/?p=347

After months of writing, editing, copy-editing, reviews and production, I am pleased to announce the general availability of The Art of Community! The book is printed and on its way to bookstores – it may take a few days for it to hit your local bookstore or regional online store.

This is a book that I have been working on since November, designed to provide a solid guide to building, energizing and enabling pro-active, productive and enjoyable communities. The book covers the major areas of community leadership, distilling a set of best practices and experiences, illustrated by countless stories, anecdotes and tales.

While the book draws from my experience in Open Source and cites the experience of others in other communities, the book is not explicitly designed for technical communities and the content is applicable to any community of any size. This has been a deliberate decision: I am really keen that anyone from a knitting group to a neighbourhood watch group to a political activism group to a globally distributed Open Source project can get some real value from the book.

Throughout the eleven chapters and 360+ pages the book covers the major elements of building strong community:

  • Foreword by Leo Laporte – emmy award-winning broadcaster and founder of the TWiT Network provides a thoughtful foreword, complete with his expected wit and repartee.
  • Preface
  • Chapter 1 – The Art of Community – We begin the book with a bird’s-eye view of how communities function at a social science level. We cover the underlying nuts and bolts of how people form communities, what keeps them involved, and the basis and opportunities behind these interactions.
  • Chapter 2 – Planning Your Community – Next we carve out and document a blueprint and strategy for your community and its future growth. Part of this strategy includes the target objectives and goals and how the community can be structured to achieve them.
  • Chapter 3 – Communicating Clearly – At the heart of community is communication, and great communicators can have a tremendously positive impact. Here we lay down the communications backbone and the best practices associated with using it.
  • Chapter 4 – Processes: Simple Is Sustainable – We then move on to focus on putting the facilities in place for your community to do great things. In this chapter we build simple, effective, and nonbureaucratic processes that enable your community to conduct tasks, work together, and share their successes.
  • Chapter 5 – Supporting Workflow with Tools – We continue our discussion of community facilities to build workflows that are driven by accessible, sensible, and rock-solid tools that enable your contributors to do great work quickly and easily.
  • Chapter 6 – Building Buzz – With a solid foundation in place, we move on to build excitement and buzz around your community and encourage and enthuse every man, woman, dog and pony to get involved and participate.
  • Chapter 7 – Measuring Community – Although many consider community hand-wavey and unmeasurable, this chapter confronts the myth and guides you in tracking, monitoring, and otherwise measuring the work going on the community so it can be optimized and simplified.
  • Chapter 8 – Governance – Our next stop is the wide-ranging and seemingly complex topic of governance. We explore what options are available for a low-friction, capable, and representative governance strategy for your community.
  • Chapter 9 – Handling Conflict – One of the most sensitive topics in community leadership is handling conflict. In this chapter we explore how to identify, handle, and prevent irksome conflict; handle divisive personalities; and unblock problems.
  • Chapter 10 – Creating and Running Events – Events offer an excellent opportunity for your community to bond, be productive, and have fun, and this is where we cast our beady eye in our penultimate chapter.
  • Chapter 11 – Hiring a Community Manager – Finally, we close The Art of Community with some advice and guidance for organizations who want to hire a community manager to conduct and implement the wide range of topics that we have discussed throughout the book.
  • Index
  • Colophon

The book is further augmented with an active website complete with discussion, articles and updated news and content about The Art of Community. You can find out more at www.artofcommunityonline.org.

Reviews

I am proud to see that the The Art of Community has already received some glowing reviews and it got a great response from everyone we put the book in front of as part of the review period. Here are some of the reviews:

“In the age of participation, there is no better tour guide than Jono Bacon. The Art of Community teaches leaders how to increase collaboration and authenticity to build belonging. This isn’t just for technology leaders; anyone who wants to harness community for their cause should read this book.”

— Amanda McPherson, The Linux Foundation


“The Internet provides the potential to separate us into a cacophony of discordant voices or to congregate us as purpose-driven communities. Jono Bacon, in his insightful ‘The Art of Community’, teaches the latter path, detailing the principles of successful community-building in a way that will appeal to both neophyte and expert alike. Given the increasingly critical role of community managers in the technology industry and beyond, ‘The Art of Community’ should find a place on any businessperson’s bookshelf, not to mention that of the PTA president, book club organizer, or union activist. Yes, it’s that good”.

— Matt Asay, Alfresco and C|NET


“Jono Bacon truly understands communities–and more importantly, how to build communities that thrive. This is the definitive guidebook to building successful communities–definitive because it is based on Jono’s extensive experience as community manager for Ubuntu, a product that inspires an Apple-esque devotion in very large part because of its vast and dedicated community. For developers and entrepreneurs who want to learn how to tap into the power of community, as Ubuntu has done so masterfully, this book is a must-read”.

— Ian Murdock, founder of Debian and Vice President of Emerging Platforms at Sun


“One thing that’s impressed me about Jono Bacon, something one can notice back when he and others were building a community around their pioneering Linux podcast, is that he simply gets the concept of community. It comes out in most everything he says, and most every decision he makes. This is the kind of a person you want writing a book on the topic. open source community building cannot be boiled down to a formula. It’s a constant effort, a soft science, an art, and Bacon is an ideal art teacher”.

— Dan Goldstein, Professor of Marketing, London Business School and Principal Research Scientist, Yahoo! Research


“The success of the open source software movement demonstrates that no obstacle is insurmountable when people come together around a shared vision. In ‘The Art of Community’, Ubuntu community manager Jono Bacon gives readers a profound glimpse into his hands-on experience as the orchestrator of one of the movement’s most powerful communities. His book offers valuable lessons on effective leadership and community building. Its compelling combination of useful theory, real-world best practices, and instructive personal anecdotes make it a richly comprehensive guide for both aspiring and experienced community leaders”.

— Ryan Paul, Ars Technica

There are many more reviews available on this page , including reviews from:

  • Danese Cooper, Open Source Diva and OSI Director
  • Mark R. Hinkle, Vice President of Community, Zenoss Inc.
  • Pete Kronowitt, Linux and Open Source Strategist, Intel
  • Jeremy Garcia, Founder of LinuxQuestions.org
  • Irina Slutsky, geekentertainment.tv
  • Don Marti, Conference Chair, OpenSource World and Organizer, Windows Refund Day, Burn All GIFs Day, Free Dmitry, and FreedomHEC.
  • Paul Cooper, Moblin UI & Apps Engineering Manager, Intel
  • Seif Lotfy, GNOME Foundation, Zeitgeist Co-Founder and Team Leader
  • David Schlesinger – Director, Open Source Technologies, ACCESS Co., Ltd.; GNOME Foundation Advisory Board Member”
  • Amber Graner, Ubuntu Community Member

As the book gets more reviews I will be updating that page. But you, dear reader, would you like to write a review of The Art of Community? If so, send the review text with your name and affiliation to jono AT jonobacon DOT org!

Availability

The book is available from all good bookshops and should start appearing in your local bookshops soon. You can also buy the book online from a variety of stores. Many of you use Amazon, so here are some links to the product pages:

The book is also available in electronic book format:

(prices may have changed when you visit these websites)

The book will also be freely available shortly under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike Non-Commercial license. It’s availability will be announced soon.

Build Some Book Buzz

If you would like to seat yourself firmly in the complete and totally frikken awesome person category and would like to help spread the word about the book, it would be fantastic if you could Twitter / identi.ca / Facebook / blog about the book, and importantly, provide a review for the book on Amazon. We also have some buttons available for your website too:

Art Of Community Website Button Art Of Community Website Button

Official button.

Add the following code to your website to add this button: <a href="http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3597/3516061651_8910ba25c9_m.jpg" alt="Art Of Community"></a>
Art Of Community Website Button Art Of Community Website Button

Official button.

Add the following code to your website to add this button: <a href="http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3310/3516110235_bc1c0116e2_m.jpg" alt="Art Of Community"></a>

Thanks to everyone who was involved in making this project a reality. I am really excited about this 1st Edition and I look forward to hearing your stories about how it has helped energize your communities – do let me know! :-)

Also, if you use IRC, do come and join us in #artofcommunity on irc.freenode.net and join in the fun. :-)

Go and Digg this!

]]> http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/08/19/the-art-of-community-now-available/feed/ 5 First Review Of The Art Of Community Draft http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/05/12/first-review-of-the-art-of-community-draft/ http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/05/12/first-review-of-the-art-of-community-draft/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 01:59:19 +0000 Jono Bacon http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/?p=243

Amber Graner gained press attention for her adventure of joining the Open Source community and writing a series of frank and to-the-point blog entries sharing her experience. Based upon her honesty and passion for learning about community, I was keen to ask her to review the book and offer some comments on the content. Well, she has just written up a rather nice blog entry:

Jono Bacon’s latest book, The Art of Community – ROCKS!

A few weeks ago I was given the awesome opportunity to review The Art of Community. I was surprised, excited, and humbled. However, as I read each chapter I realized that whether it is an Open Source Community, a Parent Teacher Group, or a Church Group, or your favorite book club, this book has something for you. Communities are Communities!

Some people know, I am new to both the Ubuntu and Open Source communities, yet through my life I have had opportunities to be part of other communities and I wish I had The Art of Community then. My participation and learning process would have been a bit easier. However, my learning process just got a little smoother.

The Art of Community will take you to the heart of what it takes to be part of, govern, deal with conflict and even what to look for in a community manager. Each chapter flows into the next, yet if you want to focus on a single topic, such as Creating Buzz or Events, each chapter will work well as a stand-alone guide.

The Art of Community will take you, as it did me, on your own personal journey through the most common themes of community such as “Where do I start?” “What do I do now that I am part of a community?” “How do I plan an event?” “I have a problem, now what?” “I want to start a team how do I?” – just to name of few. The Art of Community answers these questions and much, much, more.

Ready for the definitive community howto book? Then The Art of Community is for you. So what are you waiting for order now. Click here. If you pre-order don’t forget to add the “I have pre-ordered” to your websites, and blogs!

I just wanted to give you a hint at what to expect. I found each chapter to be a trigger for all sorts of ideas. The wheels are turning and smoke is coming out of my ears. Ok, there is no smoke, but I was overwhelmed out the amount of information that Jono has assembled into this book. I hope you will find it as exciting and useful as I have and will continue to! Enjoy!

Amber is one of the few people to have read the full draft of the book cover to cover, and as such, this is the very first review. Thanks so much for your kind words, Amber!

]]> http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/05/12/first-review-of-the-art-of-community-draft/feed/ 5 Website Buttons Ahoy! http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/05/09/website-buttons-ahoy/ http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/05/09/website-buttons-ahoy/#comments Sat, 09 May 2009 22:56:45 +0000 Jono Bacon http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/?p=238 Kings and queens of the Internet, I have just put online a bunch of website buttons for spreading the word about The Art Of Community. You can go and see them over on this page.

As an example, you can put this lovely specimen on your website:

Art Of Community Website Button

with the following code:

<a href=”http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3597/3516061651_8910ba25c9_m.jpg” alt=”Art Of Community”></a>

I would love to hear if you put it on your website, so do let the rest of us know in the comments on this blog entry. Thanks, folks!

]]> http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/05/09/website-buttons-ahoy/feed/ 6 Art Of Community ready for pre-order at Amazon http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/05/04/art-of-community-ready-for-pre-order-at-amazon/ http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/05/04/art-of-community-ready-for-pre-order-at-amazon/#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 22:37:06 +0000 Jono Bacon http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/?p=210

Folks, I am pleased to announce that The Art Of Community has now hit all of the Amazon stores and is available to pre-order. You can pre-order it by clicking any of the links below ready to get it first when it is released in August:

In addition to this, if you do order it I would love to encourage you to proudly show off your support for the Art Of Community project and put the following button on your website/blog:

Available in these sizes:

Of course, the book will also be available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike license, but buying a copy of the book will show your support for the project and provide you with a quality bound copy of the material that needs no batteries, needs no Kindle, and can be scribbled on with pencil for easy note-taking! Sounds like a good deal to me. :-)

]]> http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/05/04/art-of-community-ready-for-pre-order-at-amazon/feed/ 5 Two New Interviews http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/03/19/two-new-interviews/ http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/03/19/two-new-interviews/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:00:12 +0000 Jono Bacon http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/?p=178 Just a quick note on a few interviews I have done recently about community management:

More Art Of Community updates coming soon!

]]> http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/03/19/two-new-interviews/feed/ 1 Art Of Community hits oreilly.com http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/03/01/art-of-community-hits-oreillycom/ http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/03/01/art-of-community-hits-oreillycom/#comments Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:00:38 +0000 Jono Bacon http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/?p=165 Just a quick update: O’Reilly has added the Art Of Community to their website. Nice!

Do remember though that the cover shown on the website is not going to be the final cover!

]]> http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/03/01/art-of-community-hits-oreillycom/feed/ 1