OPEN CULTURE NETWORK A Proposal And Brain-storming Outline v. 0.01 ========== GOALS *** To create an outlet for a melding of the various aspects of Free/Libre Open Culture and Expression. These aspects include (but are certainly not limited to) software development, hardware hacking, fine art, music, writing, performing, political discussion (with a Free Thought/Open Culture spin -- no partisan crap), philosophy, religion (as it focuses -- or not -- on the concepts of Open Culture and Free Thinking), and more. In the immediate future, this outlet might take the form of a multi-cultured audiocast, distributed planet feed, or something else entirely. A little further off, perhaps a permanent online presence with sites/forums/wikis/IRC and microblogging groups/audio chatrooms (via things like Mumble, Asterisk, etc.), or anything else that might come to mind. *** To create a community wherein anyone with anything positive to add to the Open Culture Movement, however big or small, is welcome. Curiosity is a treasure, and, as such, those coming to this community solely from that particular motivation are as valued as any others. It is the blending of what, right now, may seem to be disparate cultures and sub-cultures online that will prove to be the most valuable asset this community can possess or even hope for. Synergy has become a trite word, and I will not use it here. But the power of collaboration and communication are undeniable, and this power can be turned to all the various elements of the Open Culture Movement, fostering new and unexpected methods of expression and creation. ========== PLAN *** Lay out a relatively comprehensive but flexible approach to the goals stated above. This would require input, review, and revision from and by multiple people with similar Open Cultural goals, and, ideally, a wide range of specific areas of interest...that is, various and sundry expressive and creative categories about which they are passionate. *** Create a new aggregated RSS feed (or "planet") in which a wide range of Open Culture enthusiasts can participate in and contribute to. The definition of Open Culture is deliberately loose, allowing for such things as audiocasts, art, blogs, articles, stories, serialized books, computer code, short videos, screencasts, and likely much more. These things can be contributed directly by the persons involved, or the planet can simply aggregate their RSS/Atom feeds from their own sites. Obviously, the wider the range of material here, the better; though, if the feed grew to be too busy, some sort of filtering system which the feed recipient could take advantage of could be instituted. Splintering a busy feed into smaller, more specialized feeds, however, could reduce the advantage of having an Open Cultural feed, and probably should be avoided. *** Create a new podcast that showcases these values and advantages, displaying a wide range of material, from a wide range of people, with a wide range of interests. This show would be syndicated through the planet. There could also be a companion videocast, to illustrate visual-based creative submissions. *** An active IRC/microblogging presence should be established, allowing for community members to socialize, and to collaborate on various issues and projects. *** A forum should be established to help do the same. *** An official stance on the licensing of all submitted works should be taken from the onset, and regularly re-evaluated. Obviously, the accent here would be on Free/Open Source/Creative Commons/Public Domain licenses, but the specifics ought to be established and published. *** At least one online site ought to be created, acting more-or-less as a gateway to all the other aspects of the Network. From here, one may subscribe to and filter a specific planet feed; join the forum; add to or consult the wiki; look up the details about the various microblogging/chat channels in use; read profiles of the contributors; etc. *** A community manager ought to be appointed early on -- though not necessarily immediately. The community is, in fact, the sole purpose of the Network, and, as such, should be treated as fundamental to it.