The Ubuntu Global Jam is approaching, and in Florida organization is underway.  It looks like we may be able to hit my previously stated goal of having 5 Jams here in Florida.  So far we have definite plans in Gainesville and Orlando, and we have team members who have stepped up to start organizing in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa.  Nothing to confirm on the last two yet, but we’re making headway.  We also have team members who have already started pre-planning for Lucid Release Parties!

With DrupalCamp, FOWA, BarCamp Orlando,  and BarCamp Miami coming up, in addition to our regular meetups and public service, its going to be a busy couple of months!

We’ll be out there advocating, installing, supporting, and learning!

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GunbladeIV | ha.. chaynie wussup?                                                             │ Ax3            
GunbladeIV | chaynie: what time is it in fl right now?                                        │ boredandblogging
   chaynie | 4:43 am                                                                          │ c0mp133713313371
   chaynie | Finishing up a project due in a few hours.                                       │ Catsceo       
GunbladeIV | chaynie: well, good luck then.. it's 4.44pm in my country so my eyes are widely  │ clintc_home
             open                                                                             │ crashsystems0
GunbladeIV | chaynie:                                                                        │ dantalizing
   chaynie | where is that?                                                                   │ hal14450       
GunbladeIV | chaynie: Malaysia.                                                               │ ianmcorvidae
   chaynie | GunbladeIV: oh, nice.                                                            │ itnet7     
GunbladeIV | chaynie: actually i join here a few days ago.                                    │ locobot_4      
GunbladeIV | chaynie: and seem like people here is great and friendly..                       │ Lupine      
GunbladeIV | chaynie:                                                                        │ maxolasersquad
   chaynie | GunbladeIV: I'd agree. I've only been here for a little less than two weeks      │ MianoSM1     
             myself.                                                                          │ pak33m|work
GunbladeIV | chaynie: it's a great pleasure to see friendly people in loco channel            │ roadmap     
zzzzzZZZZzzz | ;P                                                                             │ ropetin   
   chaynie | GunbladeIV: Have you had unpleasant experiences in other channels previously?    │ sfire    
GunbladeIV | chaynie: not really, just some of loco channels are quiet for the whole weeks    │ Sindacious     
   chaynie | GunbladeIV: I believe this is one of the more active Loco groups, both on the    │ statik       
             Internet and off.                                                                │ zbrown      
GunbladeIV | chaynie: indeed                                                                  │ zoopster   

As many have heard by now, we are looking at 6 or 7 release parties here in Florida.  Gainesville, Orlando, Melbourne, Tampa, St. Augustine/Jacksonville, Miami, and Tallahassee.  This is really a tribute to the efforts of the people getting involved at the local level.  Douglass, Jimmy, Chris, John, Jon, Raphael, and David are all great examples of the enthusiasm, not just for Ubuntu, but for GNU, Linux, and Open Standards, that exist here in Florida.

While its true we wont reach the shear numbers generated by the some other groups, and not every party we have is going to have 40-50 people attending, our goal is to be able to hit every corner of Florida with at least 1 launch event.

I think we can do this everywhere.  And we should.

There is no reason that someone in Lincoln, Billings, Lubbock, or Shreveport cant print out some fliers and go stand in front of a Library.  Or that folks in Camas, Louisville, Trenton, or Anchorage can burn some CDs and hand them out at schools.

You get my point.  Release parties can happen everywhere.  It doesn’t have to be pizza and beer with 50, 20, or even 10 people.  If there is no release party in your area, make one!  A single person answering questions and getting the word out is still a huge success.

In the words of asommer: Party On!

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, linux, jaunty, florida, gainesville, orlando, melbourne, tampa, jacksonvile, miami, tallahassee

Ubuntu Nebraska has recently rededicated to becoming approved and Dave Thacker is leading the charge.  There was a great deal of camaraderie built when Florida was trying to become approved.  Those bonds are still very tight.  And while Nebraska has some unique challenges, I think its going to be a fun ride.

If you’re in Nebraska and would like to contribute back to Ubuntu, I suggest you join the Launchpad team, the mailing list, and let Dave know you’re interested.

https://launchpad.net/~nebraskateam
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-ne

more information:
https//wiki.ubuntu.com/NebraskaTeam

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, nebraska

Lots going on these days around Ubuntu Florida.  Several of us will be attending the newly started Tampa Linux & OSS Meetup this Saturday, the 10th.  As a team, we’re gearing up to have a face-to-face meetup in Miami around the BarCamp Miami and FOWA timeframe, and then two weeks after that, we have the Florida Linux Show in Jacksonville.  Last years show was a great success so I’m really shooting to go big this year.

If you’re in Florida and would like to become involved, hang out, or just have ubuntu questions, join us on freenode.net in #ubuntu-florida, or join the mailing list here.