Happy New Year Maemo Community!

As we move into the new year, we’re also faced with a very new phase of life — that is, complete control of the maemo.org infrastructure, meaning community governance of the Maemo Community and everything that it implies (community servers and software repositories, various maemo-related software and technology, the talk.maemo.org forum and wiki, etc.). It’s a lot to fathom, but we are certain that if any community can handle it, this one can.

Fundraising

Likewise, most of you know that the new changes require that we, as a community, foot the bill for all of these new responsibilities. Late last year, we began a fundraising drive that began on TMO and then received a permanent home at http://hildonfoundation.org/support/. If you haven’t donated yet, please consider it. You may donate any amount. Just keep in mind that you money really matters — it is what will help to keep this community alive and functioning.

Volunteers

Now, more than ever, we need your help. We need those who can donate to donate, of course. But, we also a need a President and others with advanced business-related skills such as accounting, marketing, public relations, and social media, just to mention just a few. We especially need those who can manage the technical infrastructure to step up and volunteer. There are many new ways you can now contribute even if you are not a software developer or engineer.

Sponsorship

Speaking of money, it is one of the reasons why we are asking for your ear — and cooperation — again. In the coming weeks, we are going to be asking a number of open source companies and projects to also consider sponsoring the Maemo cause. During the past eight years, Maemo has done more for open source than just housing a niche mobile OS. If you think about it, technologies such as Linux, Debian, GNOME, Qt, Mozilla (and a whole lot more) have all benefited from both downstream and upstream support and enhancements due to this community. Similarly, that corporations and technology of all sorts can flourish with the support of open source advocates. And, if you didn’t know this already, the Maemo Community has become one of the largest open source communities in the world, currently standing at approximately 60,000 members, 5,000 of you being active participants in some way or another.

So who are some good candidates who might sponsor Maemo?

As stated, there are several initiatives whom we might approach. But, these decisions shouldn’t just be made by the Hildon Foundation or the Maemo Community Council. They should be made by you — active, participating Maemo Community members — as well. Do you have any ideas? Are you in a position where you can help us contact someone you know or work with? Please let us know.

Open Communication

One of the things that the Hildon Foundation will attempt to do (when practical) is keep communications relating to possible community sponsorship in the open. So, keep this in mind when giving us your suggestions. We will have a standard, unified letter drafted soon in which we can send to any potential sponsors — and the community at large. Hopefully, this will help to create a cohesive conversation about our community in which every voice is heard.

Jolla

One obvious candidate that we are going to contact is Jolla. Not only does Jolla find its roots in the history of Maemo, but many of the people who started Jolla come from this community and from Nokia. You will see our correspondence with them soon.

In Conclusion

Please consider helping in any way. If you have the means to donate, do so. If you know people in the open source world who could help us, please connect us. If you’ve never known how to participate in the Maemo Community before, please let this be the time when you join us. Our community is important. Help us to keep it strong.

Thank you,
The Hildon Foundation