A Fool’s Wisdom

Is that free as in beer or as in freedom or as in non-material compensation?

Craig is generating some early flock traffic with his post titled Will WORK for FREE. which reads:

I know this is a long shot but I need something to keep my mind busy…
Something I can do from the comfort of my computer.
Anything, so long as someone is willing to mentor, manage, encourage me. Keep me on track. (A big ask, I know)
Blogging networks, creative web services, programming, design, theorising, brainstorming, psychoanalysing whatever…
Something fun, creative, like flock. I don’t know.

Anyone sane want help with a project?

This is great, even if Flock.Com(munity), and Craig do not turn out to be a good fit for each other, as it encourages us to think about one of the more interesting and challenging aspects of creating a community around a software project.

I replied there:

I have done a lot of mentoring both professionally and personally. Also, I can also wear the developer hat, in a pinch

You describe well your needs. It sounds like you are looking for more than what most open source projects can offer you, but there are still some other projects that may be a great fit. A challenge of many OSS projects is the (reasonable) need to prove yourself before you get much lovin’. As a OSS company, I hope we will specifically differentiate our self by our commitment to community — this is a great challenge as many companies and projects do a fantastic job. Choose us after considering all of your options

Finally, as a limited time offer hit me with an email and we will move forward with you working for “non-material benefit” — until I find out you suck ~_^ Remember at this time, this will mean much experimenting on you. You might find it an awesome opportunity to shape things!

Note to others, I can only (time considers) sponsor one person at a time, so if Craig does move forward with this, I will not be considering other people a until he fails :p or succeeds, or the role that he is most interested in and good at makes it clear that another mentor would be a better fit.

My decision to make this offer was not taken lightly. It is a significant commitment, even if things do not work out, because, like all aspects of life, it is about people interacting, and taking care of each other.

DISCLAIMER: I can be far from gentle at times, but I continue to grow.

Even with our small team, I am surprised by myself and my colleagues, by how capable we are. We are moving forward at maximum velocity on all fronts, while at the same time being (fairly ;-)) successful at making good decisions.

I look forward to getting our community contribution and mentoring to a place where we can use it as a pool for hiring, where I would be comfortable for someone to use me as a reference when looking for other work, and most importantly, where the people that contribute have come away with experience and skills that enrich their lives!

For people considering contributing for free to our community, or others, it is a challenging balance for them between their other commitments — they have to continue to put “bread on their table”. It feels very good how we are positioning ourselves to make sound business decisions, give back to the community through open source software, and also by rewarding people who contribute to our product.

Having fun is what it is all about!