Ubuntu Hour Feedback

At the beginning of the year I decided to connect to more people and that it was ok to end up knowing more humans than computers. I wanted to do something about which I was passionate. I wanted to do something which I could sustain so that it wasn't just a transient blip. Ubuntu Hour was perfect.
Instructions from the website :

• Head out to a public space like a coffee shop. (ok I already do that on some Fridays to hang out and read and surf)
• Wear something with the Ubuntu logo or have a visible Ubuntu sticker on your laptop (if you bring one). (ok)
• When/if you show up, you agree to the Ubuntu Code of Conduct. (ok already done that)
• Anyone can start an Ubuntu Hour, anywhere, anytime. (ok that includes me, and you for that matter)
• Remember this is a social event, be approachable! (Hmmm supress inner geek a bit, but being social was the point for starting this)

What has happened

Since the first event on 5 Feb there has been a total of 5 Ubuntu Hours. Only once did I not have company but that was good too because I had a long chat with the owner of the coffee shop. I have made great new friends in the Ubuntu Community and sortof got myself involved in a bit more than I thought I would be when I started.

Reflection

My inner geek wants to take over and optimise the activity, asking questions like:

1. How many people who didn't know about ubuntu before did I actually speak to? [insert pie chart here] 
2. Wouldn't it be more efficient if I got a larger group at a time and more entertaining flashy activities? [insert a list of tasks with estimates here]

The short answer to this is it doesn't matter and no.

It's about doing something, anything, but committing to it and doing it regularly. If it were larger&/flashier, I'd have to carry around a projector an ask permission and become nervous about it and give up. That's not to say your Ubuntu Hour doesn't have to have projectors and permissions. For me though Ubuntu Hour isn't a substitute for having entertaining talks and get togethers, it has a different function. We can do all of that too, at a different forum eg Global Jam or Software Freedom day.

Notes to myself

• There can definitely be, in fact should be, more than one. So if the time/place doesn't fit, make another one.
• It was a good idea to pick something which I do already so it doesn't become a drag.
• It is actually ok if no-one comes because perhaps I end up talking to a complete stranger about Ubuntu and if nothing else I can blog or update a page on Ubuntu-za.org or hang out in #ubuntu-za.
• Since it's about talking to people, a laptop isn't essential.
• Be flexible and keep it simple.

A big thank you to drubin who has been a consistent, albeit sometimes bleary-eyed, face so far.

Double Ubuntu Hour (4 June and 2 July)

On 4 June we met at Java Cafe. Best turnout ever, even though the breakfast and the coffee wasn't necessarily the best. Various discussion on the closed sourceness and general monopoly of Deep Net academic texts and the new home of the Freedom Toaster. You can guess who took the pic on his android phone (it's the one who isn't in the photo). Can you tell it was freezing in Stellenbosch.

On 2 July we tried Vida e Cafe. Better coffee but breakfast was uhm simple as in plain croissant and muffin. I managed to hook up to the free hipzone webaccess. This time Cheese took the pic so no-one could be shy. We discussed long plans on how to setup a repository cache system to optimise the bandwidth usage of all the pc's who get ubuntu installs. I now have a todo list of instructions and a cool script to try. More about this later, once I have got it going and it's all tested and working.