Communication Working Group
• Our blog: blog.openstreetmap.org (RSS feed) |
Get in touch
| Contact us | |
|---|---|
| press@osmfoundation.org | Press enquiries You might also be interested in the Press portal (Overview of the project, Press kit, Press images, in the Media - The portal is updated by the community). |
| communication@osmfoundation.org |
Get in touch with the whole team for general discussion or if you would like to participate in this working group. |
Sections: Get in touch | What we do | Join us | Who we are | Meetings & minutes
Overview
The Communication Working Group (CWG) is an important voice for the OSM Foundation and community.
Primary Goals
- Support communications for and about the OSM Foundation, OSM.org
- Tell and amplify the many diverse stories of the OpenStreetMap community
- Respond to press and media enquiries about OSM
Additional Goals
- Support OSMF Board communications where needed
- Support broad base fundraising on behalf of the OSMF fundraising committee
- Support the OSMF Advisory Board advisor and Advisory Board on communications about and between corporate members
Content Pillars
The following content pillars are based on the CWG's goals.
| Content Pillar | Group Most Likely to Contribute | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Provide important information about the OSM project | OWG, OSMF staff | data, devs, server and other infrastructure news, service outages, technical projects, such as: A Year of Improvements from OSM's Site Reliability Engineer |
| Tell and amplify the diverse stories of the OpenStreetMap community | CWG, OSMF Board, LCWG, SotM WG, other WGs | projects, mapper of month, local and regional SotMs and other events, mapping success stories, humanitarian mapping, such as: Local Chapters |
| Support OSMF Board communications | Board | board elections and updates, strategic planning, other issues of transparency, global SotM, such as: OSM Foundation Board Elections 2023 |
| Support fundraising | Board, CWG, fundraising committee | social media fundraising campaigns, improvements to giving pages and wikis, communications about corporate memberships and to corporate members, such as: Ethical Considerations for Fundraising |
| Support communications about corporate members | Advisory committee coordinator, Board | new corporate members, corporate contributions, such as: OSMF Announces New Corporate Membership Guidelines |
Content Production, Translation & Ethical Considerations
Overview
The CWG oversees the creation of content for the official OSM blog and maintains an official public presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Mastodon, and Instagram. The CWG also "amplifies" content that is aligned with the CWG content pillars, by liking and reposting. The CWG works with OSM translators to localize content where possible, and seeks to faithfully represent the diverse stories of the entire OSM community.
Content Production
Sourcing Stories
- OSM'ers are able to submit drafts of blog or social media posts or requests for blog or social media posts to be written and published by creating a Gitlab ticket or, if necessary, by emailing communication - at - osmfoundation.org.
- Members of the CWG also propose story ideas and draft/publish posts based on their knowledge of OSM events and topics. The Weekly OSM, OSM on Mastodon, and this list and this list on X are also sources of content about the OSM community.
Writing, Editing and Publishing Stories
- Stories and requests for social media messages come in via the CWG email and other sources and are ticketed in Gitlab. Individual CWG members volunteer to write blog and/or social media posts, or both. The CWG reserves the right to edit any content that is submitted by the requester for grammar and clarity.
- Individual CWG members also volunteer to reply to inquiries sent to press - at - osmfoundation.org.
Translation
- The CWG is lucky to be supported by the many volunteers across the OSM community who translate blog posts into languages other than English. The CWG translation process, which is documented in the CWG Gitlab, is designed to allow the volunteers enough time to translate the blog posts ahead of publication.
Community Representation
When selecting and creating content, the CWG tries to ensure that the global OSM project and community are well-represented.
- Find a balance between the many OSM topics: ideally, 15 - 25% of posts from each content pillar on a semi-annual and annual basis
- Represent the global community, including underrepresented voices and regions; unique or unusual topics; and a diverse range of contributions to the project
- Cast a wide net
- try to have a dedicated contact in each of the WGs and regional communities
- collaborate with other OSM communicators
- delegate a CWG member to support the OSMF board and SotM WG
- delegate a CWG member to attend meetings of the OSMF Advisory Board
- delegate a CWG member to support the OSMF fundraising committee
- Language Localization: see "Translation"
Legal and Ethical Considerations
The CWG affirms the following legal and ethical considerations so that our communications about OSM are as accessible, free, and fairly attributed as possible.
- attribute photos clearly and correctly, including seeking permissions if needed and support the use of accessibility measures such as alternate text for photos
- obtain permission when quoting OSM diaries or other writing wherever possible
- be transparent about any corporate and OSM affiliations
- produce blog content in a timely manner, including following the process of requesting translations
- follow OSM's policies about open-source and free software, while acknowledging that this is not always possible with digital communications
Monitoring and Evaluation
Proposed Improvements
- Invest in software to 1.) make it easier to maintain and grow OSM's online presence and 2.) help evaluate the impact of the CWG's communications on behalf of OSM. This report-out is an example of how this kind of analysis could work.
- There is a very preliminary study of OSM communications channel data available. This project could be expanded to provide reliable data about how the community shares information.
Join Us
We are always looking out for new volunteers! The CWG monthly meeting: 1st Monday of every month at 14:00 UTC BBB link
We are particularly interested in people with skills and experience in writing, translating, graphic design, multimedia, social media management, press & media management and community engagement. Contributors are welcome whether they have a little time to offer, or a lot!
To join, we ask that you send an email to communications - at - osmfoundation.org with some basic information. Please include:
- Your name or OSM username
- Your affiliations - ie. which OSM-related communities, groups or companies are you a part of? (the reason we ask this is that we want to ensure that no one group has a majority voice within the working group)
- Some information about why you would like to join and the kinds of things you would like to do. This does not need to be extensive - just nice for existing WG members to know a little about you.
Once you have sent this information, the current CWG members have one week to discuss your request to join and then will get back to you with a decision. This decision is based on the affiliations you provide and the current composition of the CWG membership and not on the additional information you are invited to include - it is not a job application!
If you would like to know more about the CWG before requesting to join, please email us at communication - at osmfoundation.org and one of us will get back to you shortly.
Sections: Get in touch | What we do | Join us | Who we are | Meetings & minutes
Who we are
| Members | Translators | Former Members |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Per our Conflict of Interest Policy, CWG Members keep their up to date affiliations on this list.
Sections: Get in touch | What we do | Join us | Who we are | Meetings & minutes