The first post is always the most difficult for me. I told Kristin that
it might take some time before I find my voice here
at New Tactics. This is a much different venue than where I am used to
contributing. I'm a tech writer, and, honestly, I'm a little
intimidated by all of you. You are are real life Activists. You wake
up, go do something that makes a difference in someone's life, you go
to bed, and when you wake up the next morning, you do it all again.

Like I said, I'm a tech writer. I write a lot about new and upcoming
websites. You might have heard the term "Web 2.0"? That's what I write
about mostly. I seen a lot of websites out there that try to bring
together communities of people who want to make a difference in the
world. I've never seen anything like New Tactics. This site brings
together people who are making a difference. That's a big distinction.

You are all dreamers. You have to be, or else you would have given up
what you are doing long ago. I would like to share the beginnings of a
dream that I have. It's no more than a few ideas right now, but perhaps
those ideas will find a home here. It's actually rather simple. I would
like to help not for profit groups and schools replace expensive their
computer software packages with free and legal open source software and
web-based applications.

Commercial software packages, like Microsoft Office, can cost companies
and organizations hundreds or thousands of dollars per year. Even after
such commercial products are purchased, upgrades must be paid for by
the organization. This can be a serious drain on the resources of an
organization. Wouldn't it make more sense for the organization to use
that money to finance a humanitarian project, create a scholarship,
etc.? By using open source alternatives or online services instead of
commercial software, this money is freed to go toward the
organization's mission.

Many people are not familiar or comfortable with open source software
because it is free. They wonder if it is as good as commercial
software. Or they wonder if it is legal. The exciting part is that it
is both legal and as good (or sometimes better) than its commercial
competitors. Imagine giving your organization computer software that is
better than anything that you could purchase and that is completely
free!

What you've just read is my dream. It's mostly ideas, but the software
is real. It's out there and being used my companies, schools, and even
some governments. My expertise is in knowing what software is out
there, in determining what an organization might need, and deciding if
purchasing commercial software is a better option. (Even though it's a
dream, I am realistic, also. I recognize that an organization may not
be able to meet their needs using only open souce software.)

I have not done exhaustive research yet, but I have found no
organizations or projects with the same idea as mine. Perhaps you know
of one? Perhaps you can introduce me to someone who has similar ideas?
Or perhaps you would like to talk further about your own organization?

Thank you for taking the time to read about my ideas, and please send me your thoughts as well.

Cheers,

Matt