A Fool’s Wisdom

2007-03-15 Update: Our application was accepted.

I was working on the details of WordPress as a Google Summer of Codeâ„¢ Organization Applicant, and happened to click on the link to the application form. Only five spots left the form warns!

I wonder how many organizations have applied? The application period is Monday, March 5, 2007 to Monday, March 12, 2007, I wonder why it tells you how many spots are left?

I submitted our application. It is an awesome commitment from Andy Skelton, Brian Layman, Matt Mullenweg, Michael Adams, Peter Westwood, and Robert Deaton who have already volunteered to be mentors.

I have been working on our ideas page. Please volunteer as a mentor: it is good for you, a student, and for WordPress.

Here is my answers to the application questions:

About Your Organization

3. Describe your organization.

WordPress is the most popular open source “state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform” (blogging software).

Matt Mullenweg and fellow WordPress developers founded Automattic to be able to work on WordPress full-time, provide a WordPress.com service, and other open source software products and services. I am employed by Automattic.

4. Why is your organization applying to participate in GSoC 2007? What do you hope to gain by participating?

Why: Google provides this awesome opportunity for students to get paid to work on open source. WordPress is a huge open source success story. Students should have the opportunity to work on WordPress!

What: current student contributors or new contributors to WordPress, and our mentors having awesome experiences.

About Your Mentors

1. What criteria did you use to select these individuals as mentors? Please be as specific as possible.

Volunteered, consistent, pleasant, and knowledgeable.

About The Program

1. What is your plan for dealing with disappearing students?

Regular checking in to see how they are doing. Once someone “disappears” there is little to be done, but encourage them to come back.

2. What is your plan for dealing with disappearing mentors?

Regular checking in to see how they are doing. If a mentor “disappears”, myself or someone else will step in.

3. What steps will you take to encourage students to interact with your project’s community before, during and after the program?

A big part of my job, and life is encouraging and supporting participation. WordPress itself is a tool for participation.

We regularly have a variety of activities, so people with different skills can participate.

4. What will you do to ensure that your accepted students stick with the project after GSoC concludes?

Ensure? After concludes? We are a dynamic, passionate community of participates. We will be there to support and encourage the students, but a student has a lot of demands on them, and outside of this program, I appreciate if our project is not a priority.