Development Overview

Overview
This is a general overview of this course and some key tenets which have emerged from what we are doing.

Accumulation: Development is a cumulative process
You might not have much now, but if you keep adding and revising, you will all the sudden have tons of work

Bright Node vs. Dark Node: Networking and participation
Be a bright node socially and with your work.

While going dark is good for getting large amounts of work done, one should still maintain a network and let other know why they are dark.

Individual vs. Group: Increase the level of the water for all boats
While it is easy to be selfish and build your own network exclusively, the person who builds the network, sets trends, etc, is usually the most respected in a network.

Events: the best way to publicize yourself
While online projects are great, until we get rid of our bodies, people still like to go to events, meet people, and see interesting things

Incremental vs. Monolithic: Release Early, Release Often
Keep all information about yourself up-to-date including your projects, CV, bio, etc.

Do not wait months between updating your bio, information, etc. Updating you cv, website, etc, incrementally and often!

Accessibility: Keep all of your information accessible
Focus your work into large cubby holes like your website, which you should look at as your centralized hub for your activities. If you create too many places for your information, just remember to keep accessible on your main site.

Community Building & Collaboration
'''It is good to participate in other groups, start some, and also consolidate efforts. While working individually is strong, true synergy and large amounts of work is always done by groups.'''


 * Contribution to large movements (open source, free culture, open content, open education)
 * Simple and easy way to get credit for cv.
 * A good way to make connections if you work on a project relating to your interests.
 * A great way to actualize ideas that might otherwise be out of reach is by signing on with and helping out a bigger project already doing something similar and seeing if your idea can't be added to the agenda.
 * group collaborations
 * When you collaborate with someone, you not only have their skills and efforts, but what they do can also motivate you to work harder.
 * Especially when a project seems overwhelming, it is great to have someone to share the burden.

Open Source Ideals

 * 1) Let the Source/Content be Open
 * 2) Release Early, Release Often
 * 3) Reward Contribution with Praise
 * 4) Collaborate and contribute

Reward Contribution

 * Remember, the best reward is praise (nonmaterial) and upping reputation/status, but if you can reward materially (objects/money), do this (2nd).

Recommended Readings

 * How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
 * summary of book
 * The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by: Stephen Covey
 * Building character v.s. personality
 * Group dynamics: how it works, and how to do it well.
 * Goes further into what Jon talked about in class.
 * One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by: Robert Maurer
 * More a business book than a self-help book btw.
 * Short, concise book on the Kaizen principle: making big changes in small incremental steps.
 * Idea used by companies and organizations throughout the world.
 * Jump Start Your Business Brain by: Doug Hall
 * Business principles that can be applied to any project that's about having a great idea and getting people behind it.
 * How to know if you have a good idea or if you need to keep going.
 * How to stand out from the crowd.
 * The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by: Malcolm Gladwell
 * Theories behind Hush Puppies, drug addiction, NYC crime wave, Blue's Clues, "six-degrees of Kevin Bacon," and more.
 * How and why does something get popular?
 * VERY relevant to our class and also a fun read.