Open Source Bridge is accepting proposals for our 2013 conference, happening 18-21 June, 2013 in Portland, Oregon. The deadline for submitting your proposal is 11:59 PM PDT (UTC-7:00) on 23 March*. Read on for complete details.
Our Goal
Our goal with Open Source Bridge is to gather a diverse citizenry and inspire one another to make the world a better place through open source technology and open culture principles.
In this regard, Open Source Bridge is unique among the landscape of community-driven technology conferences. Rather than focusing on a single language, platform, or knowledge-set, we strive to unite those working across the spectrum of open technology and culture.
As such, we are looking for people from all experience areas to submit talk proposals. Your background can be web development, project management, open hardware engineering, security, quality assurance, data visualization, user experience, etc. If you work or play in open source, we want to hear from you. Let us know how you are improving your communities, small or large. All speaking experience levels welcome.
Some talks from last year that we really liked and felt captured the spirit of our event include:
- Why You Need to Host 100 New Wikis Just for Yourself, Ward Cunningham
- Future of Wearable Computing: Constraint, Context and Location, Amber Case
- Thriving in Chaos: An Introduction to Systems Thinking, Alex Kroman
- Open Education Tools for Mentoring and Learning, Molly de Blanc
- Identity, Reputation and Gratitude: Designing for a Community, Brandon Harris
- A Snapshot of Open Source in West Africa, Renaud Gaudin
- Rise of the Indie Web, Tantek Çelik
- Be Bold: An Origin Story, Sumana Harihareswara
Conference Tracks
In order to create a conference that promotes cross-pollination as well as providing space for detailed discussion, we’ve split the tracks into the following five areas:
Business
How do you contribute to open technology and culture projects while still putting food on the table and paying the bills? How do you run a business on open principles?
Share what you know about making a living in the f/oss world. From finding open source jobs, to choosing a software license, to open source-friendly business plans, to making the sales pitch and connecting with customers. Example topics from the past include “Learn Tech Management in 45 Minutes” and “The Independent Software Developer.”
Cooking
How did you get something to work? Show us how to write the script, configure the utility, debug the code. Share your best recipes.
From the beginner to the advanced level, we’re looking for tips, tutorials, best practices, and collaborative development sessions. Share what you know about your favorite tools, programming languages, and development techniques. Example topics from the past include “Data Science in the Open” and “Hands-on Virtualization with Ganeti.”
Chemistry
We know that a recipe works, but why? Show us the science behind the recipe. Explain the components of a project and how they interact.
Explore how our technology works on the lowest levels, and what that can teach us about optimal use. Tell us your analysis and profiling techniques, how implementation affects function, and what a kernel is made of. Example topics from the past include “OSWALD: Lessons from and for the Open Hardware Movement” and “Doing NoSQL with SQL.”
Culture
Give us your people recipes! What makes open technology and culture communities effective? Demonstrate how you motivate people to work together well.
Working in open source means working with people. This track explores how we work in groups, both small and large, how we motivate volunteers, how we share knowledge, work through conflict and how we can increase inclusivity and diversity. Example topics from the past include “‘Why did you do that?’ You’re more automated than you think” and “Seven Habits Of Highly Obnoxious Trolls.”
Hacks
We want to know how you pulled it off. Show us your most ingenious hacks, kludges, work-arounds, and duct-tape jobs. It doesn’t have to be elegant, it just has to work!
Hacks are clever, sometimes not. They break the rules. They force the available material into doing what you need or want. Some hacks are illegal, and some just make you proud and/or embarrassed that it worked. Sometimes a hack is the only way. Show the world how you make your hardware and software obey your every whim. Example topics from the past include “Control Emacs with Your Beard: the All-Singing All-Dancing Intro to Hacking the Kinect” and “Location-Based Hacks – How to Automate Your Life with SMS and GPS.”
Don’t fret too much about selecting the perfect track. If you’re not sure, drop us a note. If we think you’ve mis-categorized something, we’ll ask you about it.
Presentation formats
Presentations can fit either a short- or long-form slot. Short-form presentations will receive a 45 minute session, and long-form will have 1 hour and 45 minutes. Pick the format that best fits the scope and style of your presentation. Short-form could be a set of lightning talks, a one-or-more person presentation, a panel, or something else covering specific, concise material.
Tagging
We also encourage you to tag your proposal with any relevant subject tags. This will make it easier for people interested in certain subjects to find your presentation.
Public Proposals & Feedback Wanted
All proposals are public (except for fields marked private to organizers) and we encourage everyone to read through the submitted ones, leave comments and favorite talks you would like to see at the conference. Your feedback is extremely useful to our content selection committee. If you’ve submitted a talk, publicize it and ask others to leave feedback.
Also, all proposals also have a unique identifier (like a course number) you can use to tag your blog posts or other online content with discussion and related materials. Later we’ll use this ID to connect the conference sessions with content from around the web.
Speaker Benefits
If you are selected to speak at Open Source Bridge, we will waive your attendance fee. We regret that we are not able to cover the cost of travel or lodging for speakers at this time. By not covering travel costs for our speakers, we are able to keep ticket prices low and make the conference accessible to the largest number of participants possible. However, if your proposal is accepted but you are unable to come due to travel costs, please let us know and we will do what we can to help out.
Speaking at Open Source Bridge is a fantastic way to participate in the conference. Start working on your proposal today and then submit it here.
Additionally, all those who submit a proposal but are not selected to speak will receive a $25 discount on the current registration price.
Acceptance Notifications
Proposal acceptances and wait-list notifications will be sent by 10 April.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please drop us a line and let us know.
We’ll also be holding a public Townhall via Google Hangout on 19 February at 4pm PT. You are welcome to attend and have your questions answered then.
*While it’s true that in previous years we have extended the deadline, this is never a guarantee. Get your proposal in early!