Archive for December, 2008

Probably our last such discussion before the goals are done. I plan to focus on the revisions I’ve posted over the last few days. Today on Air Mozilla at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time. You can tune in by logging in to air.mozilla.com, and IRC discussion will take place at #airmozilla.

Goal: Reinforce Firefox mindshare and marketshare momentum

I think this goal stays as is, other than changing the verb from “continue” to “reinforce.” Today Firefox is by far the biggest lever we have to make our values and other goals real. If this were our only goal it would be a problem; Firefox is not an end in itself. Similarly leaving the health of our most powerful tool out of the goals would be odd.

If you feel the need for subpoints to parallel the other goals let me know and we can work on those.

My proposed revision of this goal is:

Goal:  Make the explosion in data safer, more valuable and more managable for  individuals

This would be followed by some subpoints, along the lines of those below. They need some work, but I want to post the general idea for reaction before I spend more time on the subpoints.

1. products offer people realistic options for managing data created by or about them
2. people EXPECT access to their data, ability to combine it, move it, manage it as theirs

The change is because I don’t feel we have a solid enough consensus on the original proposal. This was:  provide leadership in

• helping people exercise better ownership and control over their data
• making anonymous, aggregate “usage data” more of a public resource

The idea of making any data available to anyone has generated concern. Some of this I think is due to a lack of concrete examples, or to a misperception that this would involve Mozilla software tracking people’s behaviors, or to a concern that it’s hard to anonymize data. But some of the concern is a basic discomfort with the currently invisible generation and processing of so much data, or the idea of a public “data commons,” or a concern about what’s happening “to” me through my software.

The data explosion is only just beginning, and it’s powerful. New forms of data can help us understand new things and solve new problems we can’t even see the shape of yet. But there’s a risk that each one of us will end up at the mercy of others who control the data. This risk affects our privacy, the degrees of choice and innovation available, and the degree of centralization of our online lives.

We should have a goal that reflects both the potential benefits and the risks of the data explosion.

One of the proposed 2010 goals is “Deepen Mozilla’s role as a centerpiece of the Internet.” I received feedback that this goal feels wrong: it seems to be about promoting Mozilla rather than a healthy Internet. Once this was pointed out, it’s obvious. I’ve edited the proposed goal to reflect this and capture ideas raised during the various discussions.

Goal: Make openness, participation and distributed decision-making more real in Internet life.

1. More and stronger communities practicing these values
2. Scope expands to include things such as the open web, hybrid social enterprises, organizational sustainability, shared decision-making, individual control, and portability in Internet life
3. Innovations emerge from varied sources
4. Projects and products based on these values become increasingly vibrant
5. Leadership through excellence, technological and otherwise
6. Creation of open content becomes easier

As part of finalizing the 2010 goals I’ve been working through the feedback to each specific goal. I’ll post the results for each goal separately and then assemble them into a complete document.

Here’s the mobile piece. Everything is framed as a goal, rather than a big goal with specific tasks Mozilla ought to accomplish. I think this is the right approach, though I’ve gone back and forth. Many groups within the Mozilla community will identify specific tasks to accomplish these goals.

Goal: Integrate mobile into one unified, open, innovative web

1. Product(s)

• are as exciting to users and developers as products built on closed proprietary technologies
• accelerate innovation by reducing the fragmented operating system/ carrier / handset problems that developers face today
• have mindshare and marketshare to influence the industry

2.  The web becomes the primary “SDK” for applications, rather than product specific proprietary SDKs.

3.  New web standards are for all devices, not segregated into mobile-specific or “web” standards.