Crisp. Clear. Fun. But what?
As part of the new messaging for Mozilla Drumbeat, we need some crisp new headline copy for the front page. A quick lightning bolt that answers: “What is this? Why am I here?” It should be ruthlessly clear and simple, ideally with a little poetry or play thrown in. Instead of “eat your broccoli” earnestness or buzzwords.
What are these Drumbeaters *doing*?
That’s the question this copy should answer. It’s not really “What is Drumbeat?” But more: “What do I do here?” The new front page will include an activity stream that highlights the most recent examples of people *doing stuff* on Drumbeat. It’s a great way to show instead of tell. But what, in a nutshell, are those people doing? “Building a better web and world?” “Open collaboration on awesome projects?” “Making cool stuff on the web together?”
Foursquare = “Connect with friends. Unlock your city.”
Foursquare does this well. From the moment you land, you grok exactly what the application is all about. The activity stream immediately telegraphs what people do here. And the copy fires three crisp bullets (in just 8 words): “Check in. Connect with friends. Unlock your city.”
What’s the Drumbeat equivalent?
One of Mark Surman‘s earlier tag lines was: “Innovation for the open web. Powered by everyone.” Drumbeat is about open web tools and thinking. Applied to new projects in areas like education, media and science. Co-creation and building together is key. Working in the open. Using open technologies. And experimenting with what else we can do with “open.” Open collaboration on projects. Open innovation through design and developer challenges. Open education, open media, open science, open hardware, open data… It’d be nice to have the word “open” in there. But how exactly?
Using open technologies to build the world we want
I keep coming back to these slides for inspiration:
What would you do?
What headline would you put on Drumbeat’s new front page? Propose an awesome answer as a comment here, and earn bragging rights and undying respect from the Drumbeat community. And of course a snazzy t-shirt and swag.
How about “Drumbeat: Trying to make the IRS think Mozilla is a charity!”
Mozilla is a registered non-profit, so no worries there.
http://www.mozilla.org/foundation/about.html
IRS Investigating Status of Mozilla Foundation
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/nonprofit/2008/11/irs-investigati.html
I propose:
“Do the change you want to see in the web”
I was here when the Mitchell Baker photo was taken (I was actually sit very close from where the photo has been taken). I remember that she said that she (and Mozilla overall) was looking for a small catchphrase like the “if you can’t open it, you don’t own it” from Arduino.
It got me thinking. What is Mozilla about? The web, obviously. But what else? Being new in the community, I have started to realize, that at Mozilla, there is a huge “do it!” culture and your post shows it well.
There is also the idea of non-profit, of improving “individual empowerment”, of a somehow humanistic view of what the web should be/do for us as users of it. There is participation, collaboration.
“Do the change you want to see in the web” is a play on word with Gandhi’s famous quote “be the change you want to see in the world”.
I have mainly technical examples of this quote and I hope Mozilla through Drumbeat will be able to create new ways for people to do the change they want to see in the web.
Examples I have:
– David Humphrey’s Audio API:
He wanted to be able to do live analysis of sound and to be able to dynamically create sounds (music, text to speech generator) in the web browser. He did it on Firefox (http://vocamus.net/dave/?cat=25) and it’s on its way to being standardized
– Localisers:
They wanted to have a web browser which menus are in their own language. They have done it by translating Firefox.
– Webcraft toolshed: a good up-to-date web school was missing. @pipstar is working (and she’s way from being alone, the mailing list is very active) on making it happen.
As I said, my examples are quite technical (and I haven’t mentionned things that are web standards related, but Mozilla has done tremendous works on that too in orderto make the web interoperable). However, with current Drumbeat projets, you know people, you know stories, you know intention of changes and you know results.
You know what some people wanted to see in the web and what they have done to make it happen and you know how you (Mozilla/Drumbeat) have been involved to help them.
Agreed. The “Just do it” philosophy in Gandhi’s famous quote seems the best among what is proposed here 🙂
“Do the change you want to see in the web” seems quite awkward for a slogan though.
“Build the change you want to see in the web” ?
By the way, in my opinion the best slogan in this post is “Open collaboration. On your big idea.”
Looking forward to the new Drumbeats 🙂
Thanks.
I have already talked about this idea to a few people a while ago. There is indeed a debate on the first word. Do/create/build/construct/make could all fit within the “do it” theme. I have a preference for “do” since it’s more neutral and I think a better response to the “be”.
English isn’t my native language, though.
My proposal is CC licenced :-p. Please do remix/improve/throw ideas/suggestions/branch from it.
I love Arduino’s “if you can’t open it, you don’t own it”
(Here’s that slide from their presentation: http://mzl.la/eMpHQ0)
And you’re 100% right — the “do-it-yourself” / maker / builder / hacker ethos is at the hear of Mozilla. And we’re finding other people working in other areas (like education) who share those values and want to collaborate.
V cool. The Drumbeat header…A lol cat and/or Jimmy Wales or a mirror?
Love your work and would like to help (or help everyone help Mozilla help everyone err:). Made http://wwww.WEBiversity.org/ with inspiring video’s to help all too. Can we help you make an innovative charity education website (ideally crowdsource/crowdfund and run as registered charities or nfp) cheaply and quickly? Which innovative ‘yes’ mentality person in your team can I talk to about this? Can volunteers create one with your team who will allow this so we can help and empower everyone to help everyone free while improving their lives?! Looking to work with others on making a drupal one eg prototype at http://wwww.WEBiversity.org/ Ed @whymandesign
Open education, open media, open science, open hardware, open data…
How about:
“Open everything. Powered by everyone.”
Both a call to action (You CAN open everything) and a statement of what the site is about (We offer OPEN EVERYTHING) – and it suits the following statement in tone.
I kinda like “Open everything. Powered by everyone.” Though I worry it might sound too vague for some?
Unfortunately, “open” has become a buzzword. While it is certainly nice and descriptive, perhaps there are other phrasings that capture the gist even better. That said, “open web” in it self, to me(!), bears meaning that exceed the words in it self.
TBH, it took me quite a while to understand what Drumbeat was all about (I think the application like icon confused me). Now I believe I’ve understood and this is my interpretation:
Drumbeat is a platform for collaborations in project form aiming to protect and evolve the open web. Small projects that gathers in a larger community, where everyone is welcome, and encouraged, to contribute. Innovation is not explicitly necessary. Evolution of an already present idea, transformation of a “closed” solution into an “open” equivalent are equally welcome. (N.b. that I still might have the wrong idea about Drumbeat.)
The key words here I think are “collaboration”, “open web”, “welcome” and “projects”. The copys without the word “web” in I think are misleading. Open beer recipes have other homes. This is about the web.
Some ideas:
“Collaborate and grow ideas for the open web”.
“Advance ideas for the open web. You can make a difference. Welcome.”
Yep, you’ve got it. I like how you expressed it.
* Drumbeat is a platform for collaborating on projects that protect and evolve the open web.
* Small projects gathering in a larger community where everyone is welcome and encouraged to contribute.
some quick ideas…
“Build OPEN.
Powered by Everyone.
Located Everywhere.”
“Build OPEN to Grow Big.
Powered by Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime”
“OPEN Innovation.
Powered by Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime”
“Do it in the Open.
With Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime”
“Innovate in the Open.
With Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime”
I really like the title “____________ open”.
It very quickly explains that drumbeat is a tool for for your project. Titles like “open innovation” leave you feeling like you don’t understand quite drumbeat yet, there must be some part of it that hasn’t been explained, because it all sounds so meta and vague. The ___________ embraces the vague-metaness, and conveys that you aren’t actually missing anything, any details that are missing are in fact yours to provide.
Also, how after are titles themselves participatory 🙂
Open Innovation. Powered by You.
Where community happens: start, build, play.
Maybe instead of “everyone” it could be “you.”
“Collaborate. Innovate. Commence awesomeness.”
“Collaboration. Evolution. Web 2.infinity”
“Your ideas + web == innovation”
The ____ idea is cute but, unfortunately, that makes me think of myspace. Maybe a dialing whirly gig type thing in the space spot? Like the projects?
Oh, and, at first I thought the drum was a keg. I started going down the “free as in beer” (and libre) route 😉
Front Page suggestion?
“Honestly. Open Up.”
Could be construed as a bit racy or as dull as a trip to the dentist…
Oh hey tweet! Ha!
So many great ones, here and in the google group!
All I could come up with was this:
People. Possibilities. Ideas.
Think Open.*
This could be any of the secondary taglines above really.
“Build Open and Often” (but then I’m from Chicago where “vote early and often” is the ironic city motto)
How about: “Build Open, Think Big, Power Everyone.”
Think Big
Build Open
Power Everyone