2014

2014 Goals

We're not doing a bunch of random initiatives; we're doing stuff that fits together for a reason. We're building a better internet. This is an easy thing for even newcomers to Mozilla to know. We have a certain set of values. The moment we're at right now, which we started at the Summit, is to ask what is a practical way to actually live and build out that mission, and how do we make an impact today?

As Mitchell Baker said in her talk at the beginning of the Summit, Mozilla is about taking action and building things to make this mission real. We hope that we shape how the internet works - and really how the world works - and really build our values in.

Below is a list of our top-line product and support team goals for 2014 as well as a link to a visual dashboard (Coming Soon) to track progress.

We know that solid execution will beat an awesome plan with no execution every time. We can play with the numbers and debate the plan, but really we need to go for a while and then evaluate. The very idea of an annual plan is something new for us and it may feel strange because of that. These days in software you go in sprints, not waterfalls. So, let's not try to build the perfect plan. Let's build a good enough plan, and move fast and change things as we go.

~ From the Mozillians Town Hall re: 2014 Goals (February 2014):

  SUPPORT GROUP GOALS 

2014 Goals Detail

Scale Firefox OS

2014 is really critical for Firefox OS. In 2013 we proved the viability of the platform, our ability to deliver it, and the existence of a nascent ecosystem. Now it's really a momentum play to scale Firefox OS in 2014. A question was recently asked in a staff meeting, "Isn't Firefox OS over Horizon 2?" No, it's not over that hump. We've proven that we are the ones who can do this now, but to actually do it is going to take the same kind of concerted effort we've been applying for the past two years.

Add Services to our Product Lines

One thing we've learned at Mozilla is there is no such thing as client software succeeding on its own anymore. When a user is looking at which phone to purchase, they're not just looking at the hardware and the OS. They want movies, music, games, communications. It's all about giving users the whole end-to-end experience. We need to ask how to create horizontal platforms that anyone can build on. What Mozilla can do is create a services hub around a user. It may include services we build (like Marketplace) and services other people build (maybe a storage service). We need an account that is open so that anyone can hang that sort of information off of it.

Get Firefox on a Growth Trajectory

Firefox is critical. Firefox is what gives us the ability to move the web forward. The APIs that we ship in Firefox OS could not be standardized without the pull we get from Firefox. We're also helping hundreds of millions of people to navigate the web. And it gives our brand its strength and the trust people place in it. Desktop is not going to go away overnight. We can get a lot out of it and do a lot for people if we keep improving it.

Invest in Sustainability

We are applying more focus than ever before to the long-term sustainability of Mozilla. That sounds like a fancy way of saying money, and maybe it is. We want to be around for 50, 100 years. We need to hedge against the idea that desktop search over time will deteriorate and is not the source of revenue that will take us through the next 50 years.

It's been a challenge. The relationship between money and open source can be strained. But it shouldn't be. It's a tool in the toolbox; there's no need to be overly religious about it. And participation in the commercial ecosystem is something that we believe is necessary; it's part of our manifesto. We should be very attentive toward what we believe is the right thing to do, and we will have debates about it. But we have the opportunity and the goal to make Mozilla sustainable for the next 50 or 100 years.

Grow Adoption of Webmaker & Open Badges

One thing the Mozilla Foundation team has been working on for a couple of years is helping people understand how the web works at a much more sophisticated level. Our goal of improving the web is easier if people understand what the web can do for them, and also if they can build a connection to us and begin to share our values about the web.

How do we help people learn how the web works and its importance? We've built a good set of tools, but now we need to focus on growing adoption of those tools and programs. There are a couple of particular tactics we plan to use. The first is to take the core Webmaker sites and products, and to invest a lot in refining the UX and content. The second is to build a set of engagement funnels to help people who want to get involved in our activity.

Objective

Grow adoption of Mozilla Webmaker and Open Badges. With the ultimate goal of getting more people to embrace the open technology and culture of the web.

Measurable goal in 2014

A majority of the 10,000 contributors we recruit for Mozilla education initiatives in 2014 are actively bringing in new end users by using Webmaker and Open Badges as part of their daily work.

Strategy

• Put in place clear engagement ladders.
• Prioritize lead users who will help us build and teach.
• Build on-boarding pathways and teaching kits that make it easy for educators to use Webmaker with the people they work with and teach every day.
• Launch BadgeKit and deploy for Mozilla Webmaker, Mozilla Contributor Program, and city governments doing summer learning programs.

Enable Communities that have Impact

The bedrock of everything we do, built into how we do things, is how we do things openly and transparently. Frankly, from a competitive standpoint, it's how we punch above our weight. We couldn't do the local launch activities for Firefox OS without our local communities. We couldn't have built the product without our community of partners. We need to continue to focus on how we work and how to be open.