Talk:Ambassador Basics

Startups

I think there's been some mission drift in ambassadors regarding a focus on startups. Ambassadors is broader than that and mostly about reaching out to the uninitiated public.

Here are some activities an ambassador might get involved in:

• a local conference here in Portland where folks want to know about our Free Geek
• a national conference here or elsewhere where we might meet folks who can help us (this is how we connected with LPI)
• a technical project (like Martin in Uganda)

In all the above cases, we are presenting Free Geek as a concept to some part of the general public. As such, ambassadors need to have a ready overview of our programs, but don't need to be well versed in the details. They need broad knowledge and need to know where to point people with specific questions.

If we send folks to a new startup, they aren't addressing the general public. Instead they're talking to folks like us. These people will have a lot of detail to their questions. Also these visitors should focus on establishing clear channels of communication (make sure people get on the appropriate email lists, get matched up with their counterparts in PDX, etc.). They should know the specifics of the franchise application process, and they should especially understand some of the basic legal strategy. Most of all that stuff is irrelevant if you're doing Free Geek outreach at, say, a recycling conference in San Francisco.

There will be people who don't have a handle on all that travelling around informally and visiting startups. These folks should be oriented by the people doing the work on building the umbrella organization and thinking about franchise issues.

Also, regular ambassadors (for instance those attending conferences) will also encounter people who want to learn more about the startup process. This is no different than encountering people who want to know how we write code or break apart a motherboard. We need to tell them what we know but mostly point them to the people who will know the details.

RfS 09:29, 24 Jul 2006 (PDT)