Drumbeat/Scenarios/scenario3

Drumbeat - Year One - Upgrade the Web

Purpose: answer the question 'what would one year of Drumbeat activity look like in a North America and India if focused on the open web and HTML5 as a platform for innovation?

Overview

• Title: Upgrade the web
  • Once Sentence: Create awareness and wide adoption of open web technology, and establish Mozilla as a leading org championing the values underlying this technology.
• Timing: throughout 2010
• Geography: North America and India to start, others may quickly join
• Language: English

Goals

• Goal #1 - Increased use of open web technologies by small business and bloggers. Recruit these people as champions and stewards of the open web.
  • Success metrics: Measurable increase in number of sites that use open web stack and render well in modern browsers. 10,000 site owners and bloggers as part of Drumbeat Open Web Champions program.
• Goal #2 - General consumer awareness than an open web = better internet, plus connections being made between sites / technologies / values that represent the open web.
  • Success metrics: Bigger percentage internet access through modern browsers. Donations to Mozilla Drumbeat Better Internet campaign. Mainstream press coverage of the open web idea.
• Goal #3 - Open web 'brand' and definition becomes established and accepted by diverse players in tech industry. Consistency on public communication.
  • Success metrics: Open Web definition and logo program established and being adopted. Conversation shifted to collaborative marketing and coopetition under open web banner.

• Non goals
  • Need to add this.

Community

• Core community: web site owners and bloggers, which includes:
  • Tech aware people who already feel affinity to Mozilla and Firefox (early)
    • These people become a part of Drumbeat campaigns and help spread ideas
  • Less tech aware people who want to reach more audience / look better online (later)

• Internet users in general are an important secondary audience, including:
  • Tech aware people who can help support the 'let's build a better internet' campaign
    • This is Spreadfirefox / Download Day audience reactivated
    • These people become a part of Drumbeat campaigns and help spread ideas
  • A larger general audience who notices 'something is going on' and also upgrades their browser

• There may also be an audience in government related to the adoption and support of standards based technology. (esp India?)

• Also, there is a web industry audience, although these people might be more correctly seen as partners

Framing

1. Upgrade the web.
2. An open web = a better internet.
3. An open web = a set of technologies anyone can use to innovate or create without asking permission.
4. Using open web technology for your site both makes both your web site and the whole internet better.
5. Supporting sites built using open web technology helps to ensure the internet remains a shared public asset.
6. The mobile web needs to be an open web.

• Overall goal -> make the link between a specific way of building the web and a set of values that are about protecting the web as a share resource.

• In certain contexts, there may also be a chance to do messaging on standards (India?).

Scope

In scope

• Open web technology (what is it? what is the definition?)
  • HTML5 elements eg. video
  • modern browser idea
• Other Drumbeat topics that tie to open web tech:
  • Video
  • Mobile

Out of scope

• Network and content layer open internet issues?
• Drumbeat issues less connected to open web tech:
  • Security
  • Privacy
  • Identity (?)

Partner organizations

• Web Foundation
• Global Voices?
• Wikipedia?
• Wordpress?
• Kaltura?
• Other orgs that produce modern browsers?
• Who else?

Campaigns and activities

Start up assets we need for all of these campaigns:

• Better definition of the open web, tied mostly to a list of technologies (HTML5, JS, etc) but also with a looser values explanation that can be used w/ broader public.
• Open Web logo program that people using these technologies on their sites can participate in.
• Data visualizations showing the topology of the open web -- what technologies are being used how much by whom.
  • This could grow over time to include 'open' at other layers of the internet stack (e.g. network or content)
• Demos that show open web technologies in action, illustrate what it can create and how its different

Bongo: online campaigns

• First campaign: get bloggers and site owners already using open web to adopt and promote Open Web logo program -- create a sense of community and belonging
• Second campaign: get bloggers and site owners who have joined the community to add code / plugins / pages that encourage site visitors to upgrade to a modern browser
• Third campaign: reach out to site owners who don't render well in Firefox and other modern browsers w/ a message saying 'x00 million internet users can't see your site properly'
  • Develop follow up and support campaign with this group

• Also, two more general 'I support the open web' campaigns
  • 1. Small, easy to take actions that promote open web awareness and adoption
  • 2. 'What the open web means to me' video contest
  • Both aimed at Download Day audience

Conga: ground game / local

• Built strongly around Conga strategy developed with Creative Commons
  • Remixable materials that Mozilla supporters can present at local events
  • BarCamps, Ignites, etc. reach bloggers and people who create social media
  • Chamber of Commerce and business clubs reach small site owners
  • Mozilla community members make and improve these presentations

• This is place where the campaign and definition of the open web can be much broader
  • Orgs like Creative Commons and Free Press telling story of open web at content and network layers of the internet

Tympani: focusing the discussion / major annual event

• Festival-like event gathering open web innovators, demo makers and industry leaders
• Multiple tracks and themes:
  • Future of the open web, core tech theme plus emerging issues
  • Presentation of draft research / visualizations / whitepaper
  • Sprints and demo making to show what the open web can do
  • Also, workshops by local evangelists re: building and improving presentations
  • Industry collaboration on open web logo, standards and shared marketing
  • Possibly creative / culture stream jointly w/ Creative Commons

• Hold somewhere outside of US to establish international cred, and / or do in multiple places
• Can probably be early in the year as way to generate content for other two campaign streams

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Concrete if we tie closely enough to open web technologies
• Could generate measurable improvements to the web
  • More sites built on open web technology
  • More people using modern browsers
• May be enough to establish open web as a 'values brand'
  • ... as long as we accept this probably vague and squishy
• Close resonance w/ values we're trying to promote through product

Weaknesses

• Starting from almost zero in terms of public understanding of 'open web'
  • Even tech insiders don't understand or agree what it means
• Technologies in question super arcane to almost everyone we want to reach
  • Will only work if we can get beyond this, explain the essence rather than specifics

Opportunities

• Tie into narrower but related Drumbeat activities and themes
  • Open video and mobile especially good connection
  • These could be looser, tying into bigger concept above
• Connect into efforts of others trying to promote open web

Threats

• Struggle w/ other players over what 'open web' means
  • Leading to confused public and even site owners
• Others widely establish a different version of open web concept first

Revenue potential

• At least 50% self funded by Mozilla
• Online donations from individuals and even site owners
• Event fees if we can make it big enough
• Possible grant revenue, although that is more of reach