I attended the first OSS and had a good time. I also really respect the people thinking hard about this difficult problem and spreading the word regarding what solutions may look like (Pia and Nadia rock!).
Now seems like a good time to take a step back and ask: what, exactly, are we trying to achieve? What does success look like?
My thinking is: rather than figuring out different ways of talking about possible ways to fund OSS that just might work, I’m more curious (1) what recent experiments people have done that actually have worked and (2) figuring out how to spread this expertise to the people who may act upon it in the cheapest and most effective way possible.
Therefore, I imagine that it would be quite valuable to conduct short(ish) video interviews via Google Hangouts (that are then posted to YouTube with minimal editing), as this would be a much faster, easier to produce, cheaper to produce, and more easily consumable way to spread our new ideas about what has worked and what just might work re: funding OSS than organizing a (centralized or decentralized) conference, then releasing a text report (which could be great for those looking for the deep dive, but not as the main output of all of our activity).
The incentive to be interviewed is to (1) pitch your project to a wider audience and to (2) feel a little famous – plenty strong enough to get people to volunteer, I suspect! Especially if it’s a success story or their OSS funding angle includes an exciting new idea.
Interviewees could also talk about what they’ve tried in the past that didn’t work very well so that we can all learn from unsuccessful funding strategies, too.
Thoughts?