[pp.int.general] Mozilla Drumbeat - FYI

[Bogomil Shopov]

What is Mozilla Drumbeat?

Do you want to make sure the the internet is still open,
participatory, decentralized and public 100 years from now? Mozilla
Drumbeat is your chance to help.

Why Drumbeat?

Mozilla has a clear mission: to guard the open nature of the Internet.
The software created by Mozilla's developer community takes us a long
way towards this mission -- promoting openness, innovation and online
participation at a massive scale. We believe everyday internet users
also have a role to play in keeping the web open, especially over the
long haul. This is what Drumbeat is about.
What is Drumbeat?

Mozilla Drumbeat is a global community of Mozillians who *use* web
technology in new ways to understand, participate and take control of
their online lives. At a practical level, Drumbeat community members
use web technology to make things that improve and protect the open
internet. They run local events where people propose and work on these
practical projects. They encourage others to get involved. Mozilla
helps find contributors, funds and advice for the most promising
Drumbeat projects. It also directly leads a number of Drumbeat
projects of its own.
Who is Drumbeat?

Drumbeat is for anyone who wants to lend their skills and creativity
to the cause of creating a better internet. Teachers. Artists.
Lawyers. Filmmakers. Students. Plumbers. Web developers. Anyone who
uses -- and cares about -- the open internet. These are not the
traditional contributors to the Mozilla project. But we believe that
everyday internet users have ideas and energy that can help make the
web better. If this sounds like you: join the community, propose a
project or attend a local event. Help keep the web open for the next
100 years.
What do you mean by a "better Internet?"

Increasingly, the internet is becoming our global commons: a critical
public resource over a billion people use every day to learn,
innovate, trade, befriend and play.

We believe four key characteristics have helped build and make this
global commons great:

    * Open. Built on technologies that anyone, without permission, can
study, use or improve.
    * Participatory. fueled by the ideas and energy of more than a
billion people.
    * Decentralized in both architecture and control, ensuring
continued choice and diversity.
    * Generative. Evolving and improving as we each remix existing
parts of the internet into something that is our own.

By explaining, protecting and building things around these
characteristics, we create a better internet. An internet that is even
richer and more resilient. This is what the Mozilla Drumbeat community
is doing.


//Bogo