How #MozDrive started
For me, it all started with a phone call..
It was a lazy Monday morning when I got a phone call from my very good friend Ankurman from Cincinnati. It was the very next day after the Memorial Day Weekend, which meant I slept late and was in no intention to wake up early.
“Prashish! You’ve got to listen to what I’m planning to do.”
“Hey! What’s up? It’s 4 in the morning here by the way.”
I sensed his sudden realization of the time zone difference from the tone of my voice.
“I’m sorry to have awakened you. Do you want me to call you later?”
“Nah. Tell me.”
Then Ankurman started narrating his story:
“Imagine driving across the lower 48 States in the US, exploring the unknown lands, meeting with amazing people from different backgrounds, the cultural diversity, while raising social awareness regarding the obesity epidemic in the US.”
I had this sudden excitement which got me off my bed immediately. I went straight to the kitchen to get some caffeine.
“Okaay, I’m listening.”
He narrated me about the idea of his campaign and what he planned to achieve. We talked for more than an hour talking about various other awareness campaigns.
Later that evening while I was digging through my pictures from the MozFest in London earlier this year, the Mozillian inside me had the eureka moment.
“What if I could also travel across the United States and share the true story of Mozilla with the people; that we Mozillians truly care for the open web and that to make a positive impact in the society is one of our ulterior goals.”
You see, I was easily convinced by the idea of such public awareness campaigns. I was inspired by many stories of people traveling to raise funds for charity or awareness.
I found Tenlap by Greg Hartle, in particular, very interesting. Greg gave away all his possession and started off with $10 to understand and to create work in this world full of insecurity. He plans to travel to all 50 States, meet new people who are rebuilding their lives and then, launch businesses in areas new to him. All in 1,000 days. Gowtham Ramamurthy from my university just recently rode to all 48 States to raise funds for children and it was a massively successful.
The web is a global participative platform where everyone can have their own voice and opinion. Despite the presence of such a huge source of knowledge in the web, people are still confused about possibilities of the web.
People know Firefox as the browser with a blue globe and an orange fox around it.
But, we are more than a browser.
We are a global community of passionate volunteers and contributors whose mission is to serve the user above all, advance the state of the web and keep it open.
People need to know this.
People need understand the web better so that they can take control their online lives.
People need to know Mozilla’s mission, that we are more than a browser. They need to know what we are doing and how they can be a part of this global movement.
And it is our duty as Mozillians to spread this message to masses.
This is how #MozDrive started.
Follow the journey: Website, Twitter, Facebook or Feed.
Original Article: #MozDrive
