Summer of Content

What do software developers have to teach creators of other content? What do other content creators have to teach developers? What are the traditions that should be honored here, in the way that the FOSS and free licensing communities honor the idea of common spaces where creativity is shared, inspired, and grown? -paraphrasing Karsten Wade

Introduction

We believe that this is a powerful idea: that everyone is a creator, and that creativity and understanding improve when they are shared. Open source software is part of this; open content is another.

The Summer of Content program (SoCon) is a way for us to turn this belief into action. We are focusing on summers in the southern hemisphere as much as in the north; on local creation in developing nations; and on providing an outlet for creators devoting energy to freely licensed content and for organizations that want to support this creation.

2007 Sessions

• We are currently running a Northern Summer of Content 2007 session from August 10 to September 24. This page also has more general information applicable to all SoCon sessions in general. (discuss)
• We are also planning a Southern Summer of Content, with projects running from December 2007 to February 2008. (discuss)

Frequently asked questions

General

What is SoCon?

From the Summer of Content 2007 main page:

See the original proposal on Wikieducator and some first ideas about the first round at Summer of Content 2007/Archive, and add your own thoughts to the mix.

Why is this important?

From the Summer of Content 2007 main page:

We're lowering the barriers to participation in free culture and open content development, making it easier for everyone - including demographics that have traditionally been underrepresented in the open content world, such as non-technical people or residents of developing countries - to participate. We're not just building content, we're building an entire ecosystem - a community of content. This item on the FAQ has a more detailed explanation.

Isn't this just the Summer of Code... for content?

Yes and no.

The Summer of Content program draws much of its inspiration from the Google Summer of Code program, but aside from focusing on content rather than code, there are a few key differences:

• We're aiming for the inverse demographic. The Summer of Code program has traditionally attracted a large number of individual students with technical backgrounds from the developed world. By making our stipend $500 instead of $5000 and allowing teams to apply together, we're hoping to attract an even larger number of collaborating creators from the developing world - including non-students and people with non-technical backgrounds.
• "Content" doesn't just mean Content. We're aiming to nurture a self-supporting networked ecosystem of projects. In other words, in addition to more traditional content-production projects (write a book, curate an encyclopedia, compose a piece of music, etc) there will be meta-content projects - for instance, accessibility and documentation projects with interns whose jobs will be to publicize, disseminate, and make other SoCon projects more accessible to various populations, as well as event/testing projects with interns whose jobs will be to run Test Jams and other local free culture conferences/events to get feedback to other SoCon creators about the work they're producing. Other types of projects will also be encouraged, but the important point to note is that SoCon is not just about the creation of open content, but instead about making that content useful and accessible and therefore used for Awesome purposes by the rest of the world.
• Projects designed for people, not organizations. Unlike the Summer of Code program, interns do not go directly to individual mentoring organizations to apply. Instead, they post the projects they'd like to work on, and the mentors come to them. We hope this will encourage more freedom and creativity in project proposal and selection - we think it'll help us sponsor a few ideas that wouldn't otherwise have been suggested.

Why aren't your intern stipends higher?

We are not trying to match student salaries for the developed world, but rather to provide a large number of competitive stipends for contributors in the developing world.

Internships

Am I eligible to apply?

Probably. You don't have to be a student, live in a particular area, speak a particular language, or have a particular degree. You do need to be eligible to work in the country you will be residing in during the time of the Summer session. Certain mentor organizations may have their own restrictions; if you're interested in working with a specific mentor organization, check with them.

How do I apply?

See the Summer of Content interns for information.

How does payment work?

For the summer pilot, each mentor organization is sponsoring its own interns. This means that if you are accepted, your mentor organization will arrange payment with you individually.

Stipends are $500 for the Summer of Content 2007 session. This amount holds regardless of how many people are on a team. You may propose a larger budget in your application if you wish, but it is ultimately up to the mentor organizations to decide which proposals to accept and fund.

• An initial stipend of $100 at project start
• $200 at mid-term check in if progress is satisfactory, as determined by progress reports
• $200 at project end if progress is satisfactory, as determined by progress reports

Can I apply in a group?

Groups can apply (and indeed, are highly encouraged to apply) to share a stipend. Since one of the goals of the Summer of Content program is to reach as many people as possible, some mentors may give additional weight to teams with multiple people.

Mentorships

How do I apply to be a mentor?

By adding your name and a description about yourself to the mentors page, you are offering to be a mentor. A full mentor application should include filling out details of what projects you have experience with and what organizations you are with -- preference will be given to mentors with experience, or those from sponsoring/mentoring organizations.