[council] #66: What is a storyteller?

#66: What is a storyteller? ---------------------+------------------------ Reporter: jflory7 | Owner: Status: new | Priority: normal Component: General | Keywords: ambassadors ---------------------+------------------------ = Problem = The "Storyteller" position in Ambassador regions is not clearly defined, and expectations and responsibilities are left vague. = Analysis = As some background, the only public information that can be found about storytellers is on [https://budget.fedoraproject.org/ budget.fp.o]: don't necessarily have to write all the original content, they just need to be accountable for ensuring content makes it out onto our channels. It's enough to get a feel for what this position is likely trying to accomplish, but any real responsibilities or duties for someone who is holding this position are left mostly unclear. What is a regional report? What is the content we are wanting to share and what channels are we wanting to deliver it to? All of these details are left unclear to the reader. == In defense of the storyteller == Some of the sentiment I've seen about this position can be boiled down to one word: ''why?'' I think many Ambassadors are confused why we have this position, what objective it attempts to accomplish, and if it was just a foray to have "another title". However, I do think it is worthwhile to keep this position in Ambassador regions and not just discard the position. "Storytelling" in general is a field that the Ambassadors have struggled with for some time. Every region does it a little bit differently, some people write great wiki pages with event info, others have no wiki page, others write blog posts that may accidentally be lost years later, some regions use event badges, others don't. There's many inconsistencies between the regions that makes it hard to answer the question: "What are the Ambassadors up to? How are they impacting the project?" I think the Storyteller position is one of great interest to resolving this problem and pushing the Ambassadors program forward. This person should ideally be actively involved with the region and have an understanding about the events and activities happening throughout the region (even if they are not attending a majority of them). A Storyteller should follow up with Ambassadors and make sure that not only reports about the event are written, but a strong emphasis is placed on preservation and communicating those reports (I don't think personal blogs are a good place for these, but that might be a separate topic). '''''tl;dr'': If guidelines, expectations, and responsibilities are provided, the Storyteller has vast potential to help better communicate how Fedora is working in local communities across the world, how we are promoting the narrative of open source and Fedora globally, and tying how regional budgets are dispersed to real impacts on the Fedora Project.''' == Why the Council is needed == This issue is too great for any single region to handle. How this position is implemented or further shaped has an affect globally on all regions. I believe the Council is in the best position to: * Make a decision about what plan of action to pursue * Determine someone to help guide and lead on improving the Storyteller position and communicating with Storytellers across all four regions * Discuss and implement a plan that affects members of the global Fedora community, not just one region = Implementation proposal = The following is my basic proposal of what the storyteller position should be, and what we could do to get there. == jflory7's v1 "Storyteller" proposal == === Description === * Helps communicate the "story" of a region's participation and activity in local events and how Fedora is impacting these local communities and events * Demonstrates how regional spending is tied to real impacts and outcomes that affect the growth of the Fedora Project * Works with other Ambassadors on creating event reports and ensuring they are properly syndicated throughout the community * Helps come up with creative ideas to boost Fedora's impact at local events and how to measure our impact after an event === Responsibilities === * Communicate with local Ambassadors after an event to ensure report is written * Sharing those in a public, static place like the Fedora Community Blog * If possible, share story on social media or on relevant mailing lists * Work to create badges for every local event with a Fedora presence * Write a quarterly / bi-annual "report" on regional participation documenting what the region is up to * Other ideas...? === Steps to get there === 1. Create a proposal based on feedback from Council members and current holders of Storyteller position 2. Agree / vote on proposal 3. Create wiki page to hold information about Storyteller, role, responsibilities, etc. (''bonus cred'': write a Community Blog post announcing more details / info on the position) 4. Task current storytellers to share and disseminate this info across all regions / share on global Ambassadors mailing list 5. ??? 6. Profit! I'm really open to suggestions on this - all of this was a slew of ideas that came together pretty late. But I really want to help make this a better position to build and advance Fedora and our community forward, now and for the future. -- Ticket URL: <https://fedorahosted.org/council/ticket/66> council <https://fedorahosted.org/council> Fedora Council Public Tickets