Volunteering with Mozilla
When I found out that I was capable of contribute to Mozilla projects it made me feel very happy and helpful. I can’t remember the details anymore but I was learning about HTML5 and Web Mobile using the MDN as my primary resource and I realized that some pages were in Portuguese and others weren’t. I figured out then that anyone could translate the pages so I started doing this because I wanted my English better and also wanted to make this content available to people who doesn’t know any English.
It was in 2014, I learned some things about the Web and also improved a little bit my English while translating MDN articles. Soon I was able to develop Web Apps and publish them at the Firefox Marketplace, Chrome Web Store and I also learned how to use PhoneGap to make my web apps installable in Android Devices. I gained a lot of new skills just by engaging more on translating these MDN articles thus studying more, and I’m sure lots of people were able to learn more now, with these articles also available in Portuguese. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.
As I am used to give talks, I prepared some content about these new things I learned, and gave talks and mini courses in some events in my city and other cities near by. At the end of all of these talks, I mentioned MDN and everything that happened with me, encouraging them to contribute with the articles too. Later I discovered that Mozilla community was large here in Brazil, and they do plenty of activities. Actually I learned that Mozilla has lists of activities and how to perform them, making the life of the contributor much easier.
At first I was overwhelmed finishing my graduation, changing work position, and these kinds of stuff that ties us to our routine, so I didn’t involve with the community. But things changed a little in 2016, when I found some friends of Mozilla Brazil living near me, and willing to join forces to perform those activities of Mozilla here in the West Center of Brazil (Goiás and Brasília). It was amazing news, they got me motivated. Soon we brainstormed to make an action plan and start to encourage more people to contribute with Mozilla.
In September, 2016, I gave talks in three different cities (Brasília, Ceres and Uruaçu) talking about Mozilla projects in general, and in one or two of these conferences, I also talked about Mozilla and IoT, AKA Connected Devices. People were amazed because they thought of Mozilla as a distant thing, but now they saw that we are everywhere, and also here, just beside them. I don’t know if any of the listeners already started contributing with Mozilla but I know that I planted some spark in their hearts.
I’m saving all my presentation slides at my github account, so you can just check my Talks repository and see what’s shaking there. But I want to highlight the slides used in those talks I gave in September:
I’d love to hear any kind of feedback of you, you can leave a comment here, or email me at sheldonled.ms@gmail.com
Now we are making a big activity on the most famous Free Software Conference in Goiás, called FGSL (Portuguese short of Goiano’s Free Software Forum) and we will be talking about Virtual Reality, Web Compatibility, Privacy and Security, and also about how to Contribute with Mozilla. I’ll be more than happy if you check out our agenda at the conference. Everything will be informed at http://fgsl.net
This is just a beginning. I know we’ll be doing great things from now on, and I want you to participate also. Take me for example, you’re bound to benefit, and also will be helping others to benefit as well.
