mi2.AED.marcell.notes

goal: to increase overall communication capability of the NGO sector and particulary our sub-sector by enhancement of their new media and technology competence, based on usage of open source technology and open access to ICT resources

AP Objectives:

a) Title of NGO Sector Support Action Plan (AP)

mi2lab 11/02 do 11/04

b) Problem

With commertialisation of Internet a very high standards of presentation and rich multimedia have been achieved. In presentatation of information on net media specific qualities have been underminded, while dinamics of TV production and glossy magazines are being used as models. In this system multimedia design has become more of a condition than one of the options. Most of the projects with smaller budgets due to this are mostly depandant on the availability of overworked webdesigner/webdeveloper. Dynamic updating of the content can afford only those projects that use this medium as primary mode of communication using regulary very high cost content managment systems.

Net is therefore mostly used for email exchange, while Web publishing rearrly reflects dynamic processies, activities and communication capacities of organisation. Most often it is used as multimedia representation of more or less static identity - as online bussines card.

On the other side there is a whole set of NGOs, especially new ones that are openned to the cooperation, networking and multi-directional communication. This can be easilly noted through the appearance of several newly founded net initiatives and media oriented projects that have great need for communication ?over a distannce? as well as use of technologies in the function of ??organisational planning? . Althogh net technologies usually allow very high level of independence of fisical space, experiance shows that collaborative networks without the network of physical spaces (in our case clubs and media labs) do not result in permanent co-operationand production. One of the key reasons is in the fact that there is no existing software/technology standard that would enable simple on-line "read/write/edit" interface. Relaying on widespread adoption of hyper text markup language with non-technical users proved to be bad assumtion.


c) Solution

mi2lab works on developing online collaboration tool TamTam based on original Ward Cunningham's wiki web concept. A wiki is freely expandable collection of interlinked Web "pages", a hypertext system for storing and modifying information - a database, where each page is easily editable by any user with a forms-capable Web browser client. One uses the same, today-ubiquitous application for navigating, reading, editing and making new pages of the wiki content.

TamTam is concived as wiki clone - network collaboration tool that covers the issues of :

TamTam supports:

Integration of TamTam with other net services is possible through the use of Twisted architecture(free softver), an asynchronous networking framework written in Python programming language.

e) Action Plan Staff/Volunteers

Nenad Romic - president of Multimedia institute; member of mi2 media campaign team; responsible for overall media lab production. Together with Aleksandar Erkalovic is founder of TamTam open source software, now it's project manager responsible for designing TamTam software architecture, writing documentation and user's manuals in Croatian; Also responsible for organizing public events for advocating open source issues. He curated mi2 annual exhibition, organized several events for advocating open source issues through LastTuesday program in club mama. He is well experienced Flash developer, web programmer and advanced Linux user. Involvement in AP - 100%.

Aleksandar Erkalovic - member of mi2lab (mi2 media lab); responsible for programing and maintaining source of TamTam, also responsible for seting up TamTam servers . He is well experienced C, Python programmer and advanced Linux user. Involvement in AP - 100%.

Vedran Gulin - member of mi2lab; member of mi2 media campaign team; responsible for designing templates and 'look and feel' of TamTam web interface; for web design and visual identity of NGOOffice; also responsible for education in multimedia design and digital video production; He is well experienced web designer (back to 1996.), Flash developer and graphic designer. Together with others he is one of the founder of club mama; Involvement in AP - 50%.

Teodor Celakoski - president of executive board of Multimedia institute; coordinator of mi2 media campaign team; responsible for education for NGOs and initiatives from Clubture network; He is founder of Clubture network, well experienced in fund raising, project management, strategic planning and organizational development. Involvement as a education assistant in AP - 50%.

Lina Kovacevic - member of mi2lab; responsible for translation of existing English wiki documentation to Croatian. Together with Nenad Romic also responsible for user's manuals in Croatian. She is one of the first test users of TamTam in early development. She is photograph in Duty Free presentation service. Lina is on final year of Faculty of graphic design in Zagreb. Involvement as a documentation assistant in AP - x%.

Emina Visnic - services coordinator; responsible for education for NGOs and initiatives which will use of our Duty free service (see core project). She is founder of Urban Festival, well experienced in project and art management. Involvement as a education assistant in AP - x%.

Chris Armstrong - member of Twisted Matrix Laboratories - distributed group of open source developers; Chris is responsible for consulting and programming groupware features of TamTam, seting up of TamTam developer site in English. He is part of mi2 residence program. With others from Twisted Matrix Laboratories he proved on 10th International Python Conference in Alexandria, Virginia, USA and European Python and Zope Conference 2002. in Charleroi, Belgium that Twisted framework is one of the leading Python project on the market. Invovlvement as a programmer in residence in AP - 100%.

Glyph Lefkowitz - founder of Twisted Matrix Laboratories; Glyph is responsible for consulting and supervision of the development of TamTam related to Twisted framework. He is well experienced in programming low level communication applications for multiuser game environments, which is the one of the most challenging field of network programming at all. Involvement as a programmer and consultant in residence in AP - x%.


(A) Salaries for NGO staff

Coordinator of media lab production is also coordinating development of TamTam, it's documentation and user manuala. Consulting with superviser, he is making strategic decisions on software architecture. He is also a coordinator in connecting documentation and user manual work with educational program in using TamTam, developing the main site for collaboration and development of TamTam. Organising public lectures and presentations of open source projects, as well as discussions on importance of having information as a common-pool resource. Coordinator of media lab production works full time on that position, through the full cicle (24 mjeseca).

Main TamTam developer is doing the programing, commenting code, testing of application. Sets up TamTam services for projects like Duty free service, NGOOfice etc. Co-ordinating contributions of other open source programers in main development TamTam-a. Main developer of TamTam works full time on that position, for the whole lenght of the project (24 mjeseca).

Web designer is setting-up the visual identity of TamTam, developing templates for generic TamTam servers, writes on standards/guidelince and conventions used in visual identity for every TamTam server. Web designer works full time for several months, after this period his work is organised based on needs. 3 months full time, 4 times for a weekthrough period of 2 years, with total of 4 months.

Documentation assistant together with coordinator of media lab production writes dokumentation and user's manual, translating existing english language wiki documentation into Croatian. Works on setting the standards and conventions for all future TamTam user manuals. Documentation assistant works 3 months half time at the begnning of the project, and afterwards from time to time, depending on mailstones of implementing new features, 3 times for a month and 2 months (after groupware features fase) half time. Total of 8 months half time.

Education assistant together with coordinator of media lab production organises and lead education process for speciffic target groups of TamTam users. Takes part in supervision and as educator on Tam Tam website dedicated to the education of TamTam use. Education assistant works more intensive in period of when workshop trainings accour, occasionaly working as educator on TamTam website. In case of permanent education for group of users of Duty free service education assistant works permanently on short half our crash courses for each group/individual separatly. 3/4 times for 3 days of full time work, permanently 20% of time through period of 2 years.

Programmer in residence jointly with coordinator of media lab and main TamTam developer programs, comments on code, tests code of apllication. Program lasts between 4 weeks and 2 months and in this period programmer works full time on project.


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