There is a movement happening in cities around the world. Citizens are finding ways to rekindle their civic participation in government through technology.
I've been on the front lines of this movement for a number of years and one way positive change is happening is through open source programs, platforms, and philosophies. The movement is called: open government.
As many have, I found a powerful way to blend my passion for open source, local community, and civic participation in the open government movement. Along the way, I've met many civic-minded 'geeks' like me who have stepped up to advocate for a more open and transparent government.
My mission is to create a better citizen experience.
Improving the citizen experience means that interactions with government officials, policies, and plans are more participatory and collaborative. And that starts with having a more transparent, open, and inviting government.
I decided one of the best ways I could encourage this was to write a book about my experiences; I dubbed the journey: "the path to the open source city."
In my book, I explore what it means to be an open source city using Raleigh, North Carolina as an example. I highlight the elements of the open source culture there and provide insight into Raleigh's government policies and economic development in order to create a guide for other cities who want to or are currently pursuing an open source city brand.
Why this campaign?
This campaign will help fund the first 500 copies of my book, The foundation for an open source city. You can be one of the first to get a paperback copy of it--before the release to the general public--by supporting this campaign. I've published a version of the Introduction as a preview and to gather some feedback.
I've also created some fun perks for supporting the book--copies of the book (some signed), stickers, bookmarks, and, for a few, dinner and drinks in downtown Raleigh with yours truly.
Funding of this campaign will help with publishing the first copies of the book and fund the efforts to create an eCopy. All support and sharing of this campaign is greatly appreciated.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you're interested in helping to make this campaign successful but can't chip in, tell your friends, spread the word, and don't forget to use the Indiegogo share tools. Thanks!
What about the license?
A few folks have asked about what license the book will be published under. It will be released as a Creative Commons work. This is the licensing information in the book:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
