LM Screencast project: progress check

[professorsnapper]

Friends, Romans, countrypeople...

(steps off podium)

Snapper here. Looking at the previous threads on the LM screencast mailing list, it seems that despite some obvious enthusiasm for the LM Screencast project, that progress has so far been.... well, modest.

My $0.02: I think I know why, and I have a suggestion on how to overcome this.

To explain - last year, i tried to collaborate with a friend of mine, who was living in a town 2000km away, on creating some podcasts. We attempted to hatch some ideas via a basic wiki (text-only, and not very user-friendly), and the project disappeared with a whimper after we'd posted only three entries on the wiki, and before a single podcast was produced.

At that time, I said to myself, "Righto, lesson learned here. Collaboration on long-distance projects like media production really benefits when you can communicate in real-time. This back-and-forth, slo-mo text stuff is like playing chess by mail."

Today, I found the LM Screencast mailing list. Today, I also found free webconferencing software called DimDim (they have an open source edition as well).

http://www.dimdim.com/
http://www.dimdim.com/products/dimdim-video-tour.html

this program looks like it could be used to host this group's meetings AND potentially produce the actual screencasts themselves.

Have a look, and see what you think.

In the event that that app doesn't meet the need (and it looks like, in all likelihood, it will), then group chat via Skype is certainly do-able - even if only 3 or 4 people are available to meet at one time.

Oh, & as an interesting communication option which is currently in development, check out Google Wave ("What email would look like if it were invented today"):
http://lifehacker.com/5272048/google-wa ... e=true&s=x

Snapper.
**************

PS: A more prominent spot for "Community Projects" on the forum (more like on the Ubuntu forum), and even on the LM.com main menu, might help the projects (Screencast, MintMag etc) to gain more community profile & involvement...

[Husse]

Screencast, MintMag are dead as far as I know
I think it maybe was a bit too much to chew
But if we get enthusiasts like Charles Olsen (in the podcast) things may develop

[professorsnapper]

Screencast, MintMag are dead as far as I know
I think it maybe was a bit too much to chew
But if we get enthusiasts like Charles Olsen (in the podcast) things may develop

Husse, thanks - I got that impression too.

What I'm getting at is, I think those initiatives may have stalled, in large part, to the communication tools that were being used to co-ordinate them (ie the mailing list). If people were still keen to make a go of it, they'd probably make more headway with real-time communication tools, as outlined above.

Failing that, I may (MAY) just put my hand up to drive the SC project, or at least participate in it, subject to availability...

Snapper.

[Joejc]

what exactly does the LM Screencast team do?i signed up awhile ago and i think the email you sent was the first i got.i think having real time collaboration should bring the project back to life.

hopefully we can revive the project

[professorsnapper]

Check out Clem's original blog post for a starting point:
http://www.linuxmint.com/blog/?p=579

Joejc, I reckon your experience (signing up for mailing list, not hearing anything, being unsure what was going on) lends weight to my belief that there are better ways to co-ordinate a project than the mailing list.

I'll be unavailable for about a week, but after then would be keen to have a chat with you & anyone else who's interested, perhaps via Skype groupchat or DimDim, to get an idea of what time, energy & interests/expertise people have, & see if there's enough momentum to get a group going.

So, if you're keen to be involved, and you have some time & energy, flag your interest on this post below, and for the purpose of organising a realtime hookup, list your timezone and when you'd be free for a chat...

Snapper.

PS: Of course, if someone wants to organise a hookup before I get back in a week, go right ahead, then post a summary of what comes of it here, and I'll catch up on progress in a week or so.

[Joejc]

sorry it took me so long to post, i thought other people would come by. as far as contacting each other i don't really care how skype, dim dim, pidgin or whatever.I have lots of free time at least for the next 3 or so months.I'm interested in linux/linuxmint and making linux easier for new people. I haven't been using linux for that long but as the geek am I'v learned as much as i could in a short time.

Timezone: -8
Free: Whenever

[professorsnapper]

sorry it took me so long to post, i thought other people would come by. as far as contacting each other i don't really care how skype, dim dim, pidgin or whatever.I have lots of free time at least for the next 3 or so months.I'm interested in linux/linuxmint and making linux easier for new people. I haven't been using linux for that long but as the geek am I'v learned as much as i could in a short time.

Timezone: -8
Free: Whenever

Good work, Joejc. I'll PM you to make a plan to chat in realtime, once I've invited another one or 2 ppl to join us who I feel might make a valuable contribution (given that no-one else has specifically stepped fwd to explore this idea, other than those on the original Screencast mailing list - where are those people, I wonder?).

In my view, a group of 2 to 4 ppl could make a very effective core group (a la Mintcast group), and anyone else who wants to get on board can do so to the extent they'd like. NB: if this sounds like you, feel free to post a note below!

It'll also be good to keep the Mintcast team across this, as well as Clem/Husse, & maybe others...

Watch this space!

(I'm also reasonably free over the coming weeks, and given a focussed group with some clear outcomes in mind and a handful of enthusiasm, I reckon we can produce something worthwhile which will help benefit the project & develop some momentum around the video/screencast idea.)

Me: GMT +10
Also pretty flexible with times, mostly.

Snapper.
*************

[neo21]

First of all DimDim looks really great. I took a look at it some time ago and it seems to have made good progress concerning its usability.

Concerning the LM Screencasts...I will be glad to share some ideas, insights and opinions

[rothgar]

Hey snapper,
Thanks for you PM about what has been going on (I am not in the forums much). I defiantly think this project could do a lot of good and would love to be a part of it but my biggest problem at the moment is lack of free time.
One suggestion when this project was first announced was I thought it would be a good idea to join the podcast project with the screencast project. I thought this would be one of the best ways to keep a lot of information all in one place. It would also make one kick-ass site for how-to information for noobies to Liunx/Linux Mint. We could still keep projects separate with people but to have it all stored in one place would make the site even more useful I think.
Video conferencing would be a way to start communicating with people interested the only problem I see is time. Being spread out over so many timezones it is hard to get everyone in front of the computer at once. Charles and I currently use email to communicate our ideas and Google documents for show notes and collaborating on future episodes. It is very simple but for the two of us, it's very effective.
We are slowly working on a new site for mintCast and I would love to make this project a part of that if you are interested. I figure at the very least it will give you a starting place for people to come and find out how to get involved.
I will try to subscribe to this thread but if I don't respond please send me a PM or email with your thoughts.

[Joejc]

what r we doing/ r we doing anything?

[professorsnapper]

what r we doing/ r we doing anything?

Sorry for slow reply - been attending to other things.

I've set up a poll on Doodle (free web-based event scheduling service) to work out when's best for you, me, neo21 & anyone else who's keen to meet up - post your preferred days/times at the link below:
http://www.doodle.com/sxhwnvh74fxfue7e

I suggest we meet up over Skype (group chat, if need be) in the first instance.

Snapper

NB: Rothgar, Charles O., Clem &/or Husse are invited to listen in, or participate in the meeting, even if for sake of keeping abreast of what comes up in the meeting as it relates to your own work, & can contribute comment even if not wanting to participate in video production at this stage.

[professorsnapper]

Done - as per preferences on Doodle poll, we'll meet Sunday 28/6, 15:00 (Australian time) - anyone else who wants to attend / participate, simply post here or PM me.

Snapper.

[Joejc]

Done - as per preferences on Doodle poll, we'll meet Sunday 28/6, 15:00 (Australian time) - anyone else who wants to attend / participate, simply post here or PM me.

Snapper.

can you give me the time zone (like -8 or pst) or the time in gmt

[neo21]

why not using twitter (private mode) to keep everyone who is involved up to date? ...

[dequire]

Hey all. Found out about this thread from listening to the LM podcast that mentioned the Screencast Project and I thought I would throw my hat into the ring. I'm pretty versatile and have some time to help. Also been using Mint for a while. Let me know where this is at at present. I look forward to helping out in whatever capacity I can.

Thanks.

dequire

[JimBean]

what r we doing/ r we doing anything?

Sorry for slow reply - been attending to other things.

I've set up a poll on Doodle (free web-based event scheduling service) to work out when's best for you, me, neo21 & anyone else who's keen to meet up - post your preferred days/times at the link below:
http://www.doodle.com/sxhwnvh74fxfue7e

I like Doodle for what it is but it's not flexible I find, prefer to use the ScheduleOnce meeting scheduler