Encyclopedia Bestpractica

The Mozilla universe is vast, and full of tons of incredible projects, products, and Mozillians working around the world to make it all happen. And sometimes, that can be a little difficult to keep track of. Ever wondered how you can talk about something at Mozilla, get the word out about your project, or get people to listen? Encyclopedia Bestpractica, built by the Engagement team at the Foundation, is the one stop shop for all of these asks. Browse through here for strategies, processes, and best practices, or check out the accompanying Foundation projects page to see the breakdown of each initiative that the Mozilla Foundation is working on.

Project Information

Curious about all of the projects MoFo has a hand in? Want to know how to explain them to your friends and fans? Head over to the Foundation Projects page for the individual breakdown.

Keeping in Touch- Engagement Team Resources & Information

Engagement Team- Who We Are & How We Work

The Basics: The engagement team has one purpose: to get people to contribute their time or money. How do we do this? From the top and from the bottom.

• From the top: We help determine the overall narrative arc for the Mozilla Foundation, and ensure we’re telling one, solid, cohesive story. We help increase quality by providing market research and user feedback to the product teams. And we generally harass you about meeting targets.
• From the bottom: We provide support and empowerment, so that each project team can be the best it can be, and hit its goals. We literally provide services with our in-house service team (more on that in a bit) who can help with design, copywriting, and building sites and assets. We provide training, support, and run campaigns to help teams to help get people into their engagement funnels. We also run our fundraising programs, including working with you to secure big grants.
• Workflow: How does the engagement team get things done? Much of our work is curated and tracked on Bugzilla. You can view our updated list of open bugs here. We also adhere to a narrative arc created at the beginning of the year to help tell the Mozilla story. You can see a spreadsheet outline of the calendar here or a breakdown of bugs filed each month according to the arc here.

I keep hearing about Studio Mofo. What is that?

Studio Mofo

The Basics: Studio Mofo is our in-house design/communications shop. Currently staffed by web developer, Mavis Ou, graphic designer, Sabrina Ng, and copywriter, Erika Drushka, Studio Mofo produces the graphic assets, copy, websites, and other materials the rest of MoFo doesn’t have the capacity to create. They also filter grant requests, communications and marketing campaigns, and social media promotion.

If you need something from Studio Mofo, file a request on their website, studiomofo.org. A consultation meeting will be scheduled and you’ll be asked to provide the following information:

• What’s your deadline?
• Who’s involved and who gives final signoff?
• Which resources exist and which need to be built?
• What’s the lifespan of your project and your plans for maintenance?

Studio Mofo will help you define a MVP and set milestones for your project. In situations where Studio Mofo is unavailable to take on your project, they can work with you to find and manage contractors.

• Studio Mofo Website: http://studiomofo.org/

Where can I find the engagement team online?

Channels:

• #mofoengagement on IRC
• Email engagement@mozillafoundation.org
• Team etherpad: https://engagement.etherpad.mozilla.org/

Where to find Mozilla on Social Media

Type	Name	Link	Owner
Twitter	@webmaker	https://twitter.com/webmaker	Kat Braybrooke / Amira Dhalla
Twitter	@openbadges	https://twitter.com/OpenBadges	Sunny Lee / Meg Cole
Twitter	@mozillascience	https://twitter.com/mozillascience	Kaitlin Thaney / Greg Wilson
Twitter	@mozhacks	https://twitter.com/mozhacks	Robert Nyman
Twitter	@swcarpentry	https://twitter.com/swcarpentry	Greg Wilson
Twitter	@HiveLearningNYC	https://twitter.com/@HiveLearningNYC	Lainie DeCoursy
Twitter	@OpenNews	https://twitter.com/OpenNews	Dan Sinker / Erika Owens
Twitter	@source	https://twitter.com/source	Dan Sinker / Erika Owens
Twitter	@WebLitStdd	https://twitter.com/weblitstd	Doug Belshaw
Twitter	@mozillaappmaker	https://twitter.com/mozillaappmaker	Robert Richter
Twitter	#teachtheweb	https://twitter.com/search?q=%23teachtheweb&src=typd	n/a
Twitter	#mozfest	https://twitter.com/search?q=%23mozfest&src=typd	n/a
Twitter	#makerparty	https://twitter.com/search?q=%23makerparty&src=typd	n/a
Twitter	#lovetheweb	https://twitter.com/search?q=%23lovetheweb&src=typd	n/a
Twitter	#openbadges	https://twitter.com/search?q=%23openbadges&src=typd	n/a
Twitter List	Mozilla Channels	https://twitter.com/mozilla/lists/mozilla-channels	@mozilla
Facebook	Mozilla	https://www.facebook.com/mozilla	Sydney Moyer / Erica Sackin
Facebook	Hive Learning Network NYC	https://www.facebook.com/HiveLearningNYC	Lainie DeCoursy
Facebook	Mozilla Open Badges	https://www.facebook.com/MozillaOpenBadges	Meg Cole / Sunny Lee
YouTube	Mozilla Webmakers	http://www.youtube.com/user/MozillaWebmakers	?
Tumblr	Mozilla Webmaker	ttp://mozillawebmaker.tumblr.com/	?
Tumblr	Open Badges	http://openbadges.tumblr.com/	Sydney Moyer / Erica Sackin
Twitter	@mozteach	https://twitter.com/mozteach	Lainie DeCoursy
Twitter	@mozillagigabit	https://twitter.com/mozillagigabit	Ben Moscowitz
Slideshare	Mozilla Open Badges	http://www.slideshare.net/openbadges	Meg Cole
Google Group	Mozilla Open Badges Dev Group	https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/openbadges-dev	?
Google Group	Open Badges Community Group	https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/openbadges	?
Google+	Mozilla Webmaker	https://plus.google.com/109202799759481879063/posts	?
Google+	Mozilla Webmaker Community	https://plus.google.com/communities/106022863174952221205	Lainie DeCoursy / Laura Hilliger

Where to find Mozilla Brand Assets

Need a logo? Here's our brand assets page.

What is the engagement team working on?

Here's the Bug calendar for the engagement team: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Engagementcalendar2014

MoFoTron Peer Assistance (AKA- help a MoFo out!)

Need help on something you're working on and wondering whether you can get it from your colleagues at MoFo? Just head over to MoFoTron to find the person with the skills you're looking for: https://toolness.makes.org/thimble/LTcwODI0NzU1Mg==/mofotron_

Top-level Press Materials

MoFo Spokespeople

Here's a list of some MoFos who have a penchant for public speaking. Think they should speak at an upcoming event? Email press@mozilla.com and Erica Sackin will help you out!

Speaking at Events About Your Work at Mozilla

Are *you* going to be speaking at an event about your work at Mozilla? That's great! Fill out this form and tell us all about it.

Top-level talking points

How do I talk about Mozilla or MoFo? How do I talk about our stance on privacy? Here's how!

How do I talk about Mozilla?

If you’re looking to arm yourself with some top-level language on Mozilla and its mission, you can check out our manifesto.

Hot-button issues-- where does Mozilla have skin in the game? How do I talk about it?

Privacy

• From the principles that guide our manifesto: “Individuals’ security and privacy on the Internet are fundamental and must not be treated as optional.”

Firefox is built with open-source code, which means that outsiders and users can monitor the source code to ensure privacy and security. Mozilla is firmly anti-mass surveillance when it comes to the approach executed by the NSA. We even created a campaign, Stop Watching Us, to say so. For official language on Mozilla’s stance on privacy, see our privacy page.

Web Literacy

• At Mozilla, we believe web literacy is just as important as learning to read, write and do math.

Mozilla’s Webmaker was born— our project to build the right tools and community to teach web literacy on a global scale. Read this piece on why web literacy should be part of every education: http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680264/why-web-literacy-should-be-part-of-every-education

Openness

• What does open actually mean and what does it have to do with the web?

MoFo Press Team

You can direct all press inquiries to press@mozilla.com. If it's urgent and pertains to Foundation projects only, pass along to Erica Sackin.

MoFo Press Kit

Here's a link to the first iteration of a Foundation press kit. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a-p8aeK-43zi6II0a8-oguEWOeeqhXYTwkvwkbmGH00/edit

DIY Communications (best practices, strategies, & tips)

Email

In this section, we'll show you how to get your black belt in email-fu (this is not your grandma's email).

Goal: Happy email recipients = better engagement = more contributors

The long and short of it is that people are busy. They don't have time to read their emails, especially not ones related to work or friends or family or food orders. And we're competing with all of that. And this is what it looks like:

Every individual is busy and has a bunch of important messages in their inbox. The goal is to deliver emails that users learn to look forward to opening. That takes work and skill.

Setting It Up

The right email, to the right person, at the right time.

Currently:

• The open rate for the MoFo email list of around 900,000 recipients is between 14 and 19%

• The open rate for segmented emails for Webmaker and Mozfest is between 35 and 60%

This means the smaller, and more targeted the audience for a specific topic, the better the response. The best user experience means we must target as much as resources will allow.

Two main types of emails we send:

• List emails
  • One sender to many (hundreds or hundreds of thousands)
• Trigger emails
  • One email triggered to send to one person when X happens.
  • Example: post-signup "welcome" auto-responder

Drafting the text

Before you write, establish the following:

• Keep them short. Most people skim, and don't read, emails. Set a word limit with teeth (unless testing tells you otherwise) Under 250 words is a good rule of thumb.
• What's the CTA (ahem, that's "Call To Action")? You should have exactly 1 action that you're requesting of a recipient per email (if you absolutely *need* to ask them to do more than 1 thing, put the secondary things in the bottom in form of a P.S.)
• Seriously, YOU HAVE TO HAVE ONE CALL TO ACTION. You don't want to be asking too much at a time. 4 bullets of things to do will result in an overwhelmed reader that abandons out of frustration and lack of a clear path. If you MUST have a 2nd CTA, put it in the P.S.
• Use the informational email sparingly. If you're emailing people tons of information all the time without asking them to actually do a thing, they'll be much more likely to disengage.
• Use the same signer to establish a consistent voice. For example, if Amira likes to use smiley face emoticons in her emails, use that to establish it as Amira's voice! People are more likely to engage if they feel like a person is talking directly to them and not at them.
• The subject line is not an afterthought. The subject line is really, really important because it's the point of entry that will likely tip the scale when a user is considering opening your email. Keep it short, and keep it exciting. Lead-ins that hint at information in the email are always good (think of Upworthy headlines).
• Subject line testing-- do you have to do it? If your audience is relatively large (more than 5,000 recipients), then yes. If it's less than that, your results won't be statistically significant (which, in non-math speak, means that the numbers are more or less unhelpful). Usually, best practice is to just poll your team and go with what everyone thinks is best. You could even have a "subject line derby" on IRC! Make it fun. :)
• Keep it evergreen. Will the content in your trigger emails ever get stale? You don't want to be sending out email with broken links or outdated content without even knowing you're doing it. Make sure they're timeless.
• Check your spelling! Have someone else check your spelling! Have a machine check your spelling!
• Don't add more than ONE exclamation point!!!!!!! If you do, the email client might log it as spam!!!!!!! That is bad!!!!!!!

Production steps

• Set a production schedule at the outset. Start at the launch date and work backwards, establishing deadlines for drafting, review, approvals, testing; etc.
• In production (putting the text into the email program for launch) -- ONLY add FINAL text -- the deadlines are important to prevent last-minute editing AFTER the email is put into the system.
• HTML wrapper for the fancier or more brand-driven of emails: set up along with your other campaign / event collateral if needed. Evergreen wrappers are good. The bottom should have a standardized, legally stipulated unsubscribe or opt-out text.
• Should you use fancy HTML to beautify your emails? Somewhat counter-intuitively, the answer is oftentimes no. The smaller and more specific the segmentation, the more people actually *prefer* plain text emails. It adds a personal feel that signals to recipient that an actual person is talking to them.
  • Example 1-- MoCo's Firefox & You newsletter goes out to millions of users, so the HTML wrapper is a chance to increase brand visibility and awareness.
  • Example 2-- If you're sending out a daily newsletter to MoFo employees (like this Daily Digest), they don't really need the fancy branding or wrapping-- they're already a smaller audience that knows a lot about Mozilla. They just want the information they need, as quickly as possible.
• When you do need HTML wrappers: What wrappers are needed? Request HTML email wrappers for campaigns or other big projects when you request logos; etc. Consult StudioMoFo.
• Things that might need or benefit from wrappers:
  • • Maker Party
    • Evergreen Webmaker
    • Evergreen Science Lab
• Follow a Q&A checklist to eliminate the risk of human error:
  • Draft
  • Reviews
  • Text Approvals, including the winning subject line (if there were tests)
  • Real-world send tests (sending the email in-template to small group)
  • Final approvals
  • Blind reviewer(s) before launch button-- get people who have no idea about anything in the email to take a look at it. They'll catch things that you'll have missed. This is a very important step!

Examples

So what do we mean when we say all this stuff about emails? Here are a few examples, good and bad, to give you some email-spiration.

GOOD EMAILS:

• The Humane Society
  • Why is it good?
    • There's a clear ask right at the top.

• Live Below the Line
  • Why is it good?
    • 245 words --- short! Yay!
    • Nice "hook 'em in" lead
    • ONE ASK! ONLY ONE!

NEEDS WORK:

• Megabus: http://imgur.com/LaUobEm
  • Why does it need work?
    • It's just a large chunk of information with an unclear CTA.
    • It's all one big, clunky paragraph. Recipients might look at that and think "TL:DR" before hitting 'delete'.
    • Snooze button subject line-- it sounds like business jargon, doesn't tease anything or offer value to the recipient.
    • The whole thing is wrapped in a lot of HTML that signals a bit to the recipient that it's an ad that doesn't have anything to offer, but wants something from them. We want to send the opposite message.

Aaaand, there you have it! Happy emailing, everybody!

Social media

Overall Social Strategy Best Practices

• Be clear and professional...

• ...But don't be a robot. You're a person! And you're talking to people! Keep it conversational.

• Know what each platform is for. Twitter is a place for conversation. Facebook is more visually oriented. Instagram is for cats.

• Keep it simple! Don't try to cram an explanation or complicated definition into 140 characters-- the most complicated it gets, the more likely people are to scroll past it.

• In fact, on Twitter, tweets should be 125 characters in length, even though you're allotted 140. This leaves room for people to RT and comment. Keep the conversation going!

• Assume people don't know what you're talking about. You don't want to alienate people with jargon-y content or a #hashtag that isn't actually useful.

• #Seriously, #don't #use #a #hashtag #if #it's #not #going #to #offer #additional #value #or #context

• Be consistent! In the voice you take on, the frequency of your updates, etc...

• ...But don't be afraid to be nimble. It's great to have an editorial calendar and stick to it, but you also want to be able to be responsive to the real-time conversation that's happening around you.

• And don't update for updating's sake! You want to offer people valuable content, not just something that allows you to reach your goal of 3 posts per day.

• Listen. Plug in to your audience and follow the things that interest them and the things that they respond to. One way to do that is to...

• ...Experiment! Try different styles and types of content, then crunch the numbers to figure out what works and what doesn't. And speaking of numbers...

• ...The smallest number is the best number. It's great to have 1,560,432,321 followers, but at the end of the day, the number that matters is usually the smallest one, the one that tells you things like: how many people are engaging with your content? Responding? Interacting? Those are the figures that count.

• Use the language of the medium. Follow Friday on Twitter, #TBT on Instagram-- these are a way to be part of the conversation, and if it makes sense for your content to use it, then take advantage of the opportunity!

• Have fun! It's the Internet!

"What do I do if...": Questions of Process

How to get in social media channels

This info is likely to change soon when we implement a contributor badging system and process for our social media accounts. For now, for @Mozilla Twitter and Facebook, email Sydney Moyer and Erica Sackin. For other Mozillian accounts, take a look at this chart to see who runs them so you can get in touch.

How to get on the Monday Project call/ what to do

What is the Monday Project call?

These are the largest and most widely attended meetings at Mozilla. They are a great way to get a quick heads-up on upcoming events, key Mozilla products and projects, and meet colleagues and community. They’re also a great way for you to share your story with other Mozillians and invite them to get involved. The meetings generally last 15 to 30 mins and take place every week at 11am PST / 2pm EST / 19:00 UTC.

Contact

• Sydney Moyer can help coordinate
• Potch

How to launch a new project

Coming soon!

How to file a bug

Filing bugs on Bugzilla is the main way to track and share work with the Mofo Engagement team. Here’s how you do it.

• Look here for all open comms bugs to date:
• Create a comms bug here

* Standard way to file a comms bug:

• • Component: what the bug is creating
  • Status:
    • UNCONFIRMED - this means someone without full Bugzilla account access (often a new user, not one of us) filed a bug, and it needs triage (i.e., is it real? who should own it if so?, ...)
    • NEW - this means that a bug has been confirmed by one of us (i.e., someone with full bugzilla privileges), but it isn't owned yet. Doing this means it will land in our triage queue as well.
    • ASSIGNED - the bug is real, has an owner, and is being worked on.
    • RESOLVED - the bug is fixed or closed or done somehow.

When you file a bug you're going to do, or someone on your team, please Assign it to someone (i.e., Status=ASSIGNED and Assigned To=someone on your team).

• • • EVERY project should start with a "launch" bug, that all subsequent bugs are "dependent" on.
  • Assignee: Person to make it, if you don't know, assume Erica S, or no one.
  • CC List: Main Engagement team, as well as stakeholders.
  • Summary: START with "Project Name": Description of what bug is. This is so bugs are sortable by summary. If a project is recurring (e.g. Maker Party, MozFest, etc) please also include the year. Examples:
    • DML 2014: launch bug
    • DML 2014: create flyer for science fair
    • Maker Party 2014: send out press invite
  • Description: Describe the bug.
  • Depends on: any bugs that need to get finished in order to finish this one. So, press outreach will depend on messaging and blog posts, etc.
  • Blocks: any bugs that depend on the one you're filing. All other bugs in a project should block the "project launch" bug.
  • Whiteboard Status: make sure each bug includes the following tags. They are case-sensitive, so as a default use all lower case.
    • [project name] If a project is recurring (e.g. Maker Party, MozFest, etc) please also include the year
    • [tier X]
    • [month due/launching]
    • [program/product it's tied to] e.g. [webmaker] or [open news]
    • [social media channels] (if social media bug)

How to get a logo or website

Studio MoFo can help you out!

What are some external vendors we use?

Here’s a spreadsheet list of vendors we use both online and in different locales to help us pull together awesome events. If you have a vendor that has been really helpful to you in the past, add them to the list! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApySWCfBvo5jdElYdXF3WFIwWEF2ellzUjNyaXRLMUE#gid=0

What to do if a reporter contacts you

Forward the request to your favorite PR team at press@mozilla.com! They can help you out.