Awesome. As long as you know what you might be getting into, it looks like they could really use the help. :-)
On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 10:58 AM, kirby urner <[email protected]> wrote: > Yes, that's good advice Dylan, glad you appreciate this is a workflow > issue, not just about what happens to an HttpRequest once it gets in > the door (lots fall off the roller coaster in this case, plunge to > their deaths, but hey, it's only virtual, plus there's a whole other > website that'll swap in if we're nuked or Hood blows or whatever, hope > we don't have to use it, might be written in ASP/VB?). > > However, I'm a good person to come forward with this as I've been > working in the non-profit sector for some years (Sisters of the Road, > Burnside Projects, Oregon Food Bank, Vision Northwest, Clackamas > County, Disability Determination Services, Aging Services of > Multnomah, and yes, Red Cross, though not any time recently -- been at > this since 1980s actually). In other words, I'm good at managing > workflow, plus have help. > > Kirby > > > On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 10:43 AM, Dylan Reinhardt > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Wow... there certainly is a lot of room for improvement here. > > > > That said, when an organization maintains its web site this badly, it's > not > > typically because of an inability to find programmers. It's because > their > > business processes don't include the web site and/or a lack of perceived > > value toward having an up-to-date web site. > > > > A new toolset might generate some heat, but it is not going to change > > management priorities nor will it fix their broken business processes. > I'd > > be really shy about dragging an ad hoc band of geeks into a project with > an > > international organization without having a really good idea of what > you're > > actually up against. > > > > FWIW, > > > > Dylan > > > > > > > > On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 8:31 AM, kirby urner <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > >> Hey there geeks! > >> > >> pursuant to my lightning talk this last time @ PPUG, which was > >> somewhat impromptu i.e. I only got the info that very day, here's more > >> of the deal on my Red Cross connection: > >> > >> (a) read both blog posts if interested in an idea of the current > >> status quo (fucked up): > >> > >> http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/04/ppug-2009414.html > >> http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/04/frustrated-with-red-cross.html > >> > >> (b) I'm staying in touch with the Red Cross CTO plus have forwarded > >> more details including some emails to our combined PPUG & OS Bridge > >> leadership, namely Jason and Michelle, Selena and Audrey, though I'm > >> thinking they're all too crazy busy to do much about it, just wanted > >> to scattergun across skill set communities, with Michelle strong in > >> Django, Jason in everything Python, Selena in PostgreSQL and Audrey in > >> Rails. > >> > >> Yes, I'm cluing the Rails community as I'm looking from over the > >> shoulder of Red Cross CTO towards Cubespace as this bevy of relevant > >> webapp developers, not differentiating much further than that, all > >> comers welcome (Perl Mongers, let's get on it). I do favor Django > >> though, have been consistently suggesting it both around Ecotrust > >> (which already uses GeoDjango) and around Center for Outcomes Research > >> and Education (Providence, more into MUMPS, not atypical in > >> hospitals). > >> > >> I also forwarded the data to Mosaic Consulting whom I contract with > >> for HR (human resources) consulting, in case this gets to the resume > >> stage or we actually want to offer Red Cross a coherent development > >> plan. Fred Meyer Trust is a puzzle piece. > >> > >> I'll be happy if we get that far, as I think the promise of open > >> source is it actually strengthens NGOs, nonprofits, those glue > >> organizations that serve community. It's not just that the tools are > >> powerful, but that we think more the way they do, in terms of freely > >> sharing our liberal arts (cite R0ml Lefkowitz et al). > >> > >> This has always been the hype, plus it's real on the ground in a great > >> many cases, however Portland, with a reputation as a FOSS capital > >> (CSM:2005) stands to improve its reputation as such if its signature > >> nonprofits aren't wallowing in licensing fee hell paying like double > >> for only half the result. > >> > >> As an erstwhile consultant with Free Geek (CollabTech chapter) I know > >> that serving in the nonprofit community is difficult, frustrating, > >> often uphill work but is also potentially rewarding and great for your > >> resume if you wanna be a USA senator someday (OK, most of us don't). > >> > >> I've played (and been paid) in this sandbox for years and have > >> treasured working with some really dedicated people doing obviously > >> important and interesting things. If you've not worked with > >> nonprofits before, I suggest trying to find out more at OS Bridge. Or > >> talk to me sometime (4dsolutions.net), maybe after a PPUG meeting, or > >> talk to Jason (idealist.org). > >> > >> Kirby > >> > >> PS: and again with the Pycon slides, which went by kinda faced on the > >> remotely operated white screen: > >> http://www.flickr.com/photos/17157...@n00/sets/72157616066135225/ > >> re my workshop: > http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/03/urner-workshop.html > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Portland mailing list > >> [email protected] > >> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/portland > >> > > -------------- next part -------------- > > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > > URL: < > http://mail.python.org/pipermail/portland/attachments/20090416/03ecd572/attachment.htm > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Portland mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/portland > > > _______________________________________________ > Portland mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/portland > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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