Drumbeat/overview

This page is an expanded version of these widely circulated See also, overview slides. It exists to describe and gather feedback on Drumbeat. It changes often.

1. Vision

Mozilla Drumbeat is a global platform for people who want to improve and protect internet as a critical public resource. These people are stewards of the open web. They gather online and on the ground to raise awareness, generate new ideas and get involved in making the internet better. old versions

2. Goals

Over the long run, Mozilla Drumbeat aims to connect and support millions of people to steward the open web. We believe these people can reach three important goals together:

• Awareness: Widespread public understanding of the open web, why it matters and where Mozilla fits in.
  • gets us -> more informed web use and tech choices.
• Ideas: Critical internet issues more focused and clear, practical solutions on the table.
  • gets us -> opportunities for participation are clear.
• Action: Large, well organized community volunteering and participating to solve big web issues.
  • gets us ->web demonstrably healthier, safer, more resilient.

Each Drumbeat campaign or activity should include a specific set of objectives that move us measurably towards one of these goals.

3. Focus

3.1 The open web

A core focus of Drumbeat will be the open web -- both as an idea and as a concrete set of technologies. This is at the heart of Mozilla's identity and has to be a part of whatever Drumbeat does. Specific ideas and values to champion here include things like:

• Transparency
• Innovation without permission
• Innovation at the edges
• Decentralization of control
• Generativity, hackability

One of Drumbeat's first year objectives could be to drive a global conversation around the question 'what is the open web?', producing both a broad sketch of the the open web idea and a specific definition of 'open web technologies'. Chris Blizzard's 'what is the open web?' poll ( offers useful raw material) to feed this process. also add in links to open web blog posts

3.2 Big internet issues

Drumbeat will also provide a platform for people to dig into the big issues that will define the future of the internet. These might include:

• Security and privacy
• Data and identity in the cloud
• Mobile internet ecosystem
• Net neutrality (???)
• Open content (???)

With some of these issues, the focus may simply be awareness raising (e.g. did you know that site x owns your photos when you upload them?) In other cases, the goal may be generating new ideas or materials (e.g. a contest for demos showing how open video could shape the future of cinema). Finally, there may be a focus on concrete and specific improvements to the internet (e.g. getting rid of IE6). People generating Drumbeat campaigns would define the specific focus.

4. Functional Framework

At a functional level, Mozilla Drumbeat is a framework that helps people educate their neighbours or try out new ideas that make the web better. It includes two core elements -- criteria for assessing which ideas to tackle and a set of tools for community organizing. Specific Drumbeat campaigns and activities are generated by Mozilla and the broader community by combining these elements.

This section outlines the Drumbeat framework. The next section shows campaigns examples.

4.1 Criteria: what makes a good Drumbeat?

Criteria for review of overall themes and of individual campaigns.

• Important. Topic is critical to the future of the internet and the digital society we’re building.
• Participatory. Large numbers of people can (and will?) participate, regardless of technical ability.
• Generative. Plants seeds, and encourages others to quickly iterate and re-use in decentralized way.
• Leveraged. (or leveragable) Best ideas can move to scale as new people pick up and evolve.
• Resonant.. Echoes ideas we’re already championing w/ technology (e.g. privacy or open web).
• Impactful. Each act of participation helps grow awareness, develop ideas or drive action.
  • Alternate: Echoes ideas and values outlined in the Mozilla Manifesto.
• Sexy, or painful. Either has huge wow factor, or ties to critical pain point people have with the internet.
• Cofundable.(need better name) People in addition to Mozilla are willing to put their time or money in.

Question re: above -> do we want resonance w/ current issue we're trying to address through product, or just w/ broader mission.

4.2 Tools: what drums can people draw upon?

The Drumbeat framework includes three core main tools, plus a modest grants program to support other organizations promoting an open internet.

4.2a - Online - Bongo

• Description: simple and helpful email newsletter about the open web plus online campaigns and activities for people who want to be more involved.
• Purpose: 1) provide a point of contact for people w/ casual interest in Mozilla and the open web and then 2) give them an opportunity to get more involved in concrete campaigns and activities.
• Main elements: e-newsletters (information) plus web platform for online campaigns and local event organizing (get involved).
• Important: build around the engagement ladder concept. Once you indicate an interest in 'doing more' the content changes to bring you to the next level of engagement.
• See also: raw notes

4.2b - On the ground - Conga

• Description: Local community events, demos and discussions around Drumbeat themes.
• Purpose: Use personal connections as way to reach out to new groups, expand community and deepen awareness. Also, generate new ideas and campaigns from the ground.
• Main elements: High quality (and remixable) slide decks, discussion points and organizing guides. Use these at BarCamps, schools, meetings of local clubs, informal MeetUps.
• Important: This is where we build the most important leaders of the Drumbeat initiative. These people bring in more participants and generate new ideas.
• See also: raw notes, more notes, still more notes and a proposal

4.2c - Yearly event - Tympani

• Description: A yearly ideaswap / skillshare / hackfest for people creating a better internet.
• Purpose: Gather and connect community leaders, discuss current big internet issues. Also, showcase and celebrate great work people are doing to improve the open web.
• Main elements: Showcase and feedback on research / tech / films that connect to big open web issues. Sharing of skills and prototyping of demos re: open web.
• Important: Should be interactive and festival-like. Also, big tent including many 'unusual suspects' who are all contributing to the open internet.
• See also: raw notes

4.2d - Supporting Our Allies

• Drumbeat also needs a way to support a wide array of people and organizations promoting an open internet.
• Mostly, this support means inviting them into the Drumbeat tent -- doing campaigns via Bongo and participating in Conga and Tympani events.
• Drumbeat will also include a modest grants program to support a small handful of organizations playing a particularly strategic and complimentary role to Mozilla (e.g. Open Video Alliance).

5. Campaign-storm: examples and scenarios

During any given year, Drumbeat will include a number of campaigns and activities built using the framework above. Some will be generate by Mozilla, some by others. The following 'campaignstorms' have been generated as a way to a) test the framework and b) test our own temperament around different campaign approaches and themes. 'We will build a Drumbeat 2010 plan based on discussion of the framework above plus these strawman scenarios.

5.1 Campaign Scenarios

These are small scale campaign scenarios. Imagine a number of these in a year. Some small. Some big. Many of these we're generated at EU MozCamp 2009 or through community discussions online.

still editing and adding to these actively - Oct 7, 2009

• Who owns your picture? Awareness and improvements on social media terms of service, using photographers as main audience. MozEU
• The Open Web for a 6 year old. Promoting the open web to kids, and using their feedback to test whether our ideas hold water. MozEU
• Kiss IE 6 Goodbye - End The Pain Set a date for ending IE6 support, get major sites plus 1000s of bloggers to sign on. MozEU
• We!: Linking public media (e.g. BBC) w/ the idea of the web as commons (e.g. Mozilla) Surman
• Open Video Competition for short videos that show the creative potential of open video on the web. Thompson
• Upgrade the Web Get web developers and the Mozilla community excited by sexy new trends in open web technology. Thompson
• You make the Web: Massive collaborative effort to visualize what the participatory, open web looks like. Thompson
• Leveraging open web social entrepreneurs: Showcase inspiring stories of tech-enabled trail blazers using the open web to solve real-world problems - Mitchell
• Why Open Web is better - MozEU
• Think open! - MozEU
• Teach the Irakasle - MozEU
• The web is not a textbook - MozEU

5.2 Bigger Scenarios

This was our first cut at (very unbaked) full year scenarios combining *all* of the elements in the Drumbeat framework. This proved too unwieldily and was dropped as an approach. However, we've left the material here for reference purposes.

• Upgrade the Web - N America and India, focus on 'open web / upgrade the web' (?)
• Open Video - open video, India, Brasil, N America, Europe (?)
• Web = Public Resource - global, broad focus on web as public resource
• Scenario template - used to flesh out how Drumbeat might work in year 1

6. Other useful stuff

6.1 Success metrics

Solid success metrics will be critical. Most important are:

• Moving the bar on specific issues tied to a particular theme or campaign
• These metrics are included in each of the scenarios

Metrics that relate to all scenarios will tie to:

• Participation levels
• Public awareness
• Press and blogger coverage
• Financial / fundraising

6.2 Audience

Drumbeat will start by focusing on one or two of these audience segments:

1. People who make the web. Anyone from tweeters to photographers to web developers. These people help make the web everyday. They have stake in it's openness, even if they don't know it.
2. Kids and teens. The web is like air for kids and teens in many countries. As is participation. Explaining why an open web matters to these people will be hard, but is essential.
3. Firefox fans. Already have an intuitive connection to Mozilla's values and the open web, but may not know what it means or what to do about it.

See also: Matt Thompson's blog post on What Drumbeat Can Learn From Firefox and audience notes from Prague meeting.

6.3 Engagement ladder

Within each audience segment, different people will be engaged at different levels. These levels form an engagement ladder something like this:

1. Aware that the web is important and that Mozilla is more than just Firefox. Using Firefox, or maybe subscribed to Firefox branded e-newsletter.
2. Informed about the open web and ways it can make their online life better. Subscribed to a Mozilla Drumbeat e-newsletter, or attended an even with Drumbeat presentation.
3. Active in sharing information on Drumbeat themes. Participates in online campaigns plus educates and recruits neighbours.
4. Committed to Mozilla and Drumbeat. Creates content, organizes local events, attends yearly event. A local Drumeat community leader. Supports other up and coming leaders.

6.4 Geography

Start Drumbeat in places that meet one of these criteria:

1. Firefox well established, social brands known to work well.

• Europe and North America
• Both engagement and fundraising possible here

2. Mozilla will invest in Firefox growth, social brands known to work well.

• Brasil and India
• Engagement but not fundraising, picks up and resonates w/ Firefox marketing

6.5 Logo Development

• Drumbeat Logo - Drafts by Sean Martell, plus creative brief

7. Imagine 3 Years of Drumbeat

mark to add imaginary three years of activities and achievements showing possible rhythm for drumbeat