tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27581946796058101732024-03-12T16:23:13.833-07:00The ants have megaphonesmelissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-25194863926354218732016-10-30T06:50:00.001-07:002016-10-30T06:50:19.669-07:00Hello from over here This blog is a bit of a time capsule. I started it in 2006 and my last entry was posted in 2012.<br />
<br />
The content makes me smile. It's was mostly written during my twenties and has all the happy cringe that goes along with the perspective of time. Some of it has aged well, some of it...not so much. <br />
<br />
I find myself blogging again for the first time in half a decade. I'm not only blogging, I'm putting up a post a week. And all of these posts are about leading, managing, and growing in a tech org.<br />
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For me, everything I know about this topic is in some way tied to my time at Mozilla. That's not to say that Mozilla always got these things right. Sometimes the counterexample can be just as instructive as the model.<br />
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In many ways my life feels light years away from Building K in Mountain View. And in others, eternally linked. <a href="http://blog.johnath.com/2016/10/30/the-co-pour/">My husband</a> and I are both Mozilla alum. Our kids sleep in oversized Firefox t-shirts and play with red panda plushies. It's been years since I've filed anything in bugzilla or checked in on IRC. These days, we root from the sidelines. Our contributions happen via emails, coffees, and late night sessions in our living room when former colleagues are passing through Toronto.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3xRFXQ5TFjIkRET9MLbk1J0IuPLqsyaCbiDn9Y1t8SQIpIyTNSl8vyVbxNMCcR6z5ali46p3JNswKSo9gMC5SRGVRBMxTmOlJGQD9JWgKPCzh8_9LWcJZgplVk28axAmNJITiRVE77W0/s1600/logo-4web.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3xRFXQ5TFjIkRET9MLbk1J0IuPLqsyaCbiDn9Y1t8SQIpIyTNSl8vyVbxNMCcR6z5ali46p3JNswKSo9gMC5SRGVRBMxTmOlJGQD9JWgKPCzh8_9LWcJZgplVk28axAmNJITiRVE77W0/s320/logo-4web.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
We started <a href="https://mfbt.ca/">The Co-pour</a> to bring those living room conversations into the open, to share what we've learned, to talk about the hard things and address the lonely road of tech leadership.<br />
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If you're interested in checking out our posts, you can find the full collection at <a href="https://mfbt.ca/">https://mfbt.ca</a>. We won't be cross-posting to <a href="http://planet.mozilla.org/">planet</a> but if you have a Medium account, you can follow The Co-pour and get notified when new posts go up. <br />
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ICYMI: <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/are-strong-values-destroying-your-company-b5dabf7f2f72">Are Strong Values Destroying your Company?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/how-fucked-up-is-your-management-8a1086eeb4a9">How Fucked Up is Your Management?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/thanksgiving-87102caf01f0">Thanksgiving</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/how-to-kill-your-startups-referral-pipeline-in-a-single-interview-22c8082c8212">How to Kill your Startup’s Referral Pipeline in a Single Interview</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/valley-extraction-how-to-hire-senior-talent-away-from-silicon-valley-in-four-easy-steps-b75ef30a9b1b">Valley Extraction — How to Hire Senior Talent Away From Silicon Valley in Four Easy Steps</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/bullies-bylines-and-that-other-b-word-4431ea7bd4b8">Bullies, Bylines, and That Other B Word</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/why-more-companies-dont-do-remote-work-and-probably-shouldn-t-d8639cf26096">Why More Companies Don’t Do Remote Work (and probably shouldn’t)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/big-lies-little-lies-and-the-cheat-code-to-a-promotion-9d11fe7b0f73">Big Lies, Little Lies, and the Cheat Code to a Promotion</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/you-cant-be-what-you-can-t-see-e91b9db654c7">You Can’t be What you Can’t See</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/how-to-be-a-better-leader-in-4-badly-drawn-charts-1dc4de92d061">How to be a Better Leader In 4 Badly Drawn Charts</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/your-diversity-problem-isnt-the-pipeline-s-fault-820e8e7e2b77">Your Diversity Problem isn’t the Pipeline’s Fault</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/how-i-talk-to-leaders-about-firing-people-8149dfcb035b">How I Talk to Leaders about Firing People</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/why-it-is-a-mistake-to-hire-super-heroes-ead393ab77c1">Why it is a mistake to hire super heroes</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/unlimited-vacation-and-other-forms-of-guilt-based-management-44413269a184">Unlimited Vacation and Other Forms of Guilt-Based Management</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/the-tech-mechitza-b8808a88fbb2">The tech mechitza</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/why-its-a-mistake-to-be-a-startup-superhero-e221b0969ec9">Why it’s a Mistake to be a Startup Superhero</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/privilege-illegal-interviews-and-burning-curiosity-57f99b78d0bc">Privilege, illegal interviews, and burning curiosity</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/you-wont-brilliant-your-way-out-of-this-c469715fad13">You Won’t Brilliant Your Way Out of This</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/is-it-worth-your-time-to-be-excellent-ffcb419d5fdc">Is it Worth Your Time to be Excellent?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/a-brief-overview-of-failing-firing-and-scotch-96c8695890b">A Brief Overview of Failing, Firing, and Scotch</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/maternity-leave-an-american-in-canada-e0cb96a0e422">Maternity Leave — an American in Canada</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/family-planning-while-working-in-a-startup-8c4b5426258b">Family Planning While Working in a Startup</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mfbt.ca/stuck-how-leaders-get-trapped-and-how-to-save-yourself-bfd00fe4ba20">Stuck — How Leaders Get Trapped, and How to Save Yourself</a></li>
</ul>
melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-63011596406145168022012-04-17T13:07:00.002-07:002013-04-01T16:42:02.903-07:00One Post Behind<div class="MsoNormal">
I should blog more. I know it’s important. I enjoy doing it.
And yet, I constantly feel as though I’m one post behind. I have
perpetual, nagging guilt about it. My blog is an electronic extension of my
Jewish mother – wondering why I haven’t written or called and manifesting as
mild but persistent anxiety. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m eager to start blogging about
my current adventure. But there’s a catch…I never closed the last chapter. I
didn’t take the advice I’ve given several times over: your blog is your story
and if you jump around, don’t be surprised when the people following along at
home look up and say, “wait a sec, I have no context for what’s going on here.” So two weeks ago, when <a href="http://stormyscorner.com/">Stormy</a> asked the <a href="https://wiki.mozilla.org/Conductors">Mozilla Conductors group</a> to blog, I realized I was a post behind.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kubina/912652067/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Juggling at OSCON 2007"><img alt="Juggling at OSCON 2007" src="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1178/912652067_ea44878d59_m.jpg" height="240" width="160" /></a><br />
<b>Staying involved </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In February, I left my full time post at Mozilla where I ran
the global PR team(1). My five years at Mozilla were pretty all encompassing
and the prospect of doing something new was incredibly exciting (but also
terrifying). At the time, I didn’t have a very clear idea of whether or how I’d
stay involved in the project. And it’s one of the reasons I delayed writing
this post. I wanted to figure out what my version of “staying involved”
looked like before I committed to it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Where to find me </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It no longer says Mozilla on my paychecks or my business
cards but I remain an active contributor as <a href="https://wiki.mozilla.org/Conductors#Melissa_Shapiro_.28.40shappy.29">a Mozilla Conductor</a>, <a href="https://webfwd.org/about/mentors/index.html">a MozillaWebFWD mentor</a>, and as part of the NorCal Mozilla surf crew. And while I never thought I’d miss it, I’m
occasionally hanging out in IRC. If you see me around, say hi. And if I can help with courageous
conversations, startup mentoring, or San Francisco restaurant recommendations, don’t
hesitate to ping.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(1)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My goodbye note: </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Mozillians,<br />
Over the past five years, numerous colleagues have approached me when it was
time for them to write goodbye emails to ask for some pointers. I always
said pretty much the same thing: draft it at home, take your time, speak from
your heart and know that no matter what you send, it’s unlikely to capture
everything.<br />
<br />
Now that I’m on the other side of that advice, I can tell you that leaving
Mozilla is exactly as hard as everyone says it is. Mozilla lines are
blurry: contributors are indistinguishable from employees, colleagues morph
into incredible friends, the work, though hard, frequently feels like
play.<br />
<br />
Next Friday (February 10th), I’ll leave Mozilla and move onto my next
adventure. I am honored to have worked for the Project and lucky to have
spent time in the trenches alongside all of you. It’s been an amazing
experience and one I’ll treasure for my entire career. Rarely does one
get to work with such a passionate, dedicated, and splendid group of people and
be entrusted to share their stories with the world.<br />
<br />
I look forward to the next time our paths cross. I’m including my contact
details below - please stay in touch.<br />
<br />
Fondly,<br />
Melissa<br />
xyz@gmail.com<br />
<a href="http://www.twitter.com/shappy">@shappy</a></div>
</blockquote>
melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-60243127909563210732011-10-28T13:15:00.000-07:002011-10-28T13:41:47.271-07:00Announcing Communications Reps SIGThe Mozilla Reps program aims to empower and support volunteer
Mozillians who want to become official representatives of Mozilla in
their region/locale. A few weeks ago, William shared the news that the <a href="http://somethin-else.org/index.php?post/2011/09/26/Introducing-the-Mozilla-Reps-Special-Interest-Groups-%28SIGs%29">Mozilla Reps program would be expanding to include Special Interest Groups</a>. Today, I'm incredibly proud to officially announce Mozilla's Communications Reps Special Interest Group.<br />
<br />
There are many
areas of PR/Communications where Mozillians can get involved and make a big impact.
As a Comms Reps, you will have an opportunity to get hands-on experience while working alongside one of the most innovative PR teams working in tech today. You will learn PR fundamentals, including how to share Mozilla news and
announcements, draft media pitches, monitor and analyze coverage, and conduct outreach to local media contacts. <br />
<br />
We're kicking off the Comms Reps program with sessions at the upcoming MozCamp events in <a href="https://wiki.mozilla.org/EU_MozCamp_2011">Berlin</a> and <a href="https://wiki.mozilla.org/AsiaCamp2011">KL</a>. To join the Comms Reps program, please fill out the following form: <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEVHNldzU1U4cDhOY3ZRWUJ4d25aZWc6MQ">https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEVHNldzU1U4cDhOY3ZRWUJ4d25aZWc6MQ</a>. We look forward to hearing from you!<br />
<br />
<i>A heartfelt thank you to Mozilla's PR intern, Annika Heinle, who
worked this summer to build out the infrastructure for the Comms Reps
SIG and to Shannon Prior, Annika's summer mentor. </i><br />
<br />
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<br />melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-20769967348639497492010-05-03T15:30:00.000-07:002010-05-03T18:42:46.168-07:00What’s in Your Backpack?After countless press tours, conferences, and events where I’m not only responsible for my own well-being but that of my traveling roadshow colleagues, I picked up a thing or two about road warrioring. “Be prepared” being the motto of the savvy pr professional, my colleagues joke that I’m better than a boy scout.<br /><br />Here is a collection of ten of my favorite/best travel tips. Some of them are specifically geared toward female business travelers, but most will work for everyone. The following items are in my backpack at all times. Just in case…<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Peekaboo, I can’t see you.</span> Bring an eyepillow. You never know when you’ll end up in a hotel room with a neon sign directly in front of your window. It also comes in handy during long flights where the person next to you is reading and you want to sleep.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReZz6mEAaXLlHkcCAFonYsx4m1uO42IjMSTrepehp0QwLVKZi4CJMhBUN6UIjqY19XaP1oAZB0ww2IAaBDUeRkZPe0omhOLYZimYvhoeeeqXl3E336krggG7PT65XcYhxrCudMJ64M9g/s1600/eyepillow.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReZz6mEAaXLlHkcCAFonYsx4m1uO42IjMSTrepehp0QwLVKZi4CJMhBUN6UIjqY19XaP1oAZB0ww2IAaBDUeRkZPe0omhOLYZimYvhoeeeqXl3E336krggG7PT65XcYhxrCudMJ64M9g/s200/eyepillow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467184357429834226" border="0" /></a><br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">La la la, I can’t hear you.</span> It is not the small child’s fault for screaming during the entire flight. It is your fault for being unprepared. Do not leave home without at least two pair of earplugs. If you are going to Vegas and have early morning meetings, earplugs are the difference between a sound night of sleep and staying up all night - people scream in the hallways at all hours for no apparent reason.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tea Party. </span>The tea in hotels (even fancy hotels) simply sucks. Travel with a few of your favorite bags. Oftentimes a nice cup of tea can make the difference between a good day and a bad day.<br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Be your own Starbucks. </span>Carry a coffee sleeve and one of those green coffee stoppers from Starbucks. They come in handy if you end up getting coffee from a place that doesn’t stock those things.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34HrSsmL-WP6TCG0rJs9BgV27DIMTWt4oZQtQCWEu-tybrVoHKSa510Ip4CM9FoTrcE_gndSqr5oK1kQOzoiOfXaj7_qhNDbCWjuRu9mIdjUAchViBls4-n1OVbzWToM-itcfBw_u4aw/s1600/Starbucks.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34HrSsmL-WP6TCG0rJs9BgV27DIMTWt4oZQtQCWEu-tybrVoHKSa510Ip4CM9FoTrcE_gndSqr5oK1kQOzoiOfXaj7_qhNDbCWjuRu9mIdjUAchViBls4-n1OVbzWToM-itcfBw_u4aw/s200/Starbucks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467220977143091682" border="0" /></a><br /><br />5. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Be your own RiteAid/Walgreens/CVS/Duane Reed.</span> Pack a coughdrop. Just one. Pack two Dayquil. And at least four Benedryl. If you or your spokesperson goes into a coughing fit in a press briefing, you’ll be ready – it’s easy enough to buy more if you need them. If you or your spokesperson gets a cold on the plane, the Dayquil may save you from rescheduling a full day of meetings – that stuff is amazing. The Benedryl is the most fantastic of all. It’s intended for allergies and does a bang up job as an anti-histamine. But what the label doesn’t tell you is that if you’re stuck in an unfamiliar time zone, it’ll help you sleep with minimal side effects and no Ambien hangover.<br /><br />6. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Meal in bar form. </span>You should always have at least one granola bar in your bag and at least one piece of gum. A spokesperson with low blood sugar will make your life miserable. And garlic breath is not an effective message delivery vehicle.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiphHtOgNASIXAylY1kje7eYL__4o-DZZrrWU731hWsrUuvX3737s1bhxKnF4BJJKtyL7Ni1gip7pTAxFzixG5-wg3w7I0OfXpID08nQYjqUWlKoCiQAvys81st1FXQXmPyR7Ifn8SE_g/s1600/garlic.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiphHtOgNASIXAylY1kje7eYL__4o-DZZrrWU731hWsrUuvX3737s1bhxKnF4BJJKtyL7Ni1gip7pTAxFzixG5-wg3w7I0OfXpID08nQYjqUWlKoCiQAvys81st1FXQXmPyR7Ifn8SE_g/s200/garlic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467221729929814082" border="0" /></a><br /><br />7. <span style="font-weight: bold;">These lips were made for talking. </span> Chapstick is a modern miracle. It does not matter if it is winter or summer, your lips will be chapped after three days of meetings.<br /><br />8. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Summertime and the livin’s easy.</span> Bring flip flops on every trip, even if you’re going someplace cold. After a day in work shoes, no matter how comfortable, you’ll enjoy walking around the hotel in them. And if you find out those new shoes aren’t quite as comfortable after you’ve walked the length of Manhattan in ‘em, you can always throw them in your backpack, use the flip flops to hike across the city, and change back in the elevator. No one will ever be the wiser.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdczX-dNLAUtJs-kBJMpr5KMR-ZCFiZM9ws1n2H5K-tqLgF0oY8swdyix1x2ZZj8_EAWNkE_VzErJYt4gkCqiQ7TDr51O17nmiswCoe0ugHbUB7iY8zl-rkDsxg_27S3zMWSC-HMY7txs/s1600/flipflops.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdczX-dNLAUtJs-kBJMpr5KMR-ZCFiZM9ws1n2H5K-tqLgF0oY8swdyix1x2ZZj8_EAWNkE_VzErJYt4gkCqiQ7TDr51O17nmiswCoe0ugHbUB7iY8zl-rkDsxg_27S3zMWSC-HMY7txs/s200/flipflops.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467183522572688898" border="0" /></a><br /><br />9.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Oops, I did it again.</span> Those little tiny sewing kits they have in most hotels? Take one and put it in your backpack. It doesn’t take up any space and if you lose a button, split your pants, or get your sweater caught on a turnstile, you’ll be glad it’s there.<br /><br />10. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cousin It stand-in. </span>Bring a hairtie and at least two barrettes no matter the length or style of your hair. Cute as your hair may be when at home, humidity is a wondrous thing. You can suffer through the frizz or pull it all back in a tight bun and let it down again once you’re safely inside.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqNRAQFzSvPCAEtoO_AwBclyJTE5UORBy8PwpBu4HR4WrCbuc2MapPMBk_9PpcRuijyT0NCeo2lQZnq2HsJmgX1aTyCSlgkZsvRM4_neMAq6ERiyRwTouzNmKcHuk7SUnxq1BZUg2f5E/s1600/FrizzyHair.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqNRAQFzSvPCAEtoO_AwBclyJTE5UORBy8PwpBu4HR4WrCbuc2MapPMBk_9PpcRuijyT0NCeo2lQZnq2HsJmgX1aTyCSlgkZsvRM4_neMAq6ERiyRwTouzNmKcHuk7SUnxq1BZUg2f5E/s200/FrizzyHair.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467223265112244274" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Photo credits:<br />Flipflops. <div cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" about="http://www.flickr.com/photos/static/86284087/"><a rel="cc:attributionURL" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/static/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/static/</a> / <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC BY-SA 2.0</a></div><br />Eyepillow. <div cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" about="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yelahneb/336001507/"><a rel="cc:attributionURL" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yelahneb/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/yelahneb/</a> / <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a></div><br />Starbucks. <div cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" about="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cups/4126122835/"><a rel="cc:attributionURL" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cups/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/cups/</a> / <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a></div><br />Garlic. <div cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" about="http://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/7472855/"><a rel="cc:attributionURL" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/</a> / <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY 2.0</a></div><br />Cute kid with the wild hair. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/foto-motto/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/foto-motto/</a>melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-13095927968645067782009-11-19T15:34:00.000-08:002009-11-19T16:25:51.048-08:00Mozilla Security Quiz Live on Facebook!Today, we released the <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/mozillasecurityquiz/">Mozilla Security Quiz</a> to the world! We're very excited to share the application with everyone. <br /><br />You can go take the quiz here: <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/mozillasecurityquiz/">http://apps.facebook.com/mozillasecurityquiz</a><br /><br />Months ago, we sat down to talk about how - in addition to the work we were doing with security research and technical communities - we could have a direct role in educating users about online security. We saw an opportunity to communicate information that we felt was very important - key tips for keeping people safe online. <br /><br />While we were working through the concept, the marketing and web development teams were in tight coordination with Mozilla's world-class security experts to make the survey adhere to Mozilla stringent privacy requirements. Where most Facebook applications allow developers a lot of access to personal data, we wanted to collect as little information as possible. In fact, we only wanted to see how people did on the quiz, we didn't care about location, gender, education, etc. To make sure we weren't collecting any secondary information, we hashed the Facebook user ID. This means that neither Mozilla, nor anyone else, can tell who answered which questions or what their responses were. <br /><br />Please go <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/mozillasecurityquiz">check out the quiz</a> and let us know what you think!<br /><br />Big thank yous to:<br /><a href="http://www.sarahdoherty.net/blog/">Sarah Doherty</a><br /><a href="http://www.intothefuzz.com/">John Slater</a><br /><a href="http://morgamic.com/">Mike Morgan</a><br /><a href="http://blog.johnath.com/">Johnathan Nightingale</a><br />Brandon Sterne<br /><a href="http://livetolaugh85.blogspot.com/search/label/mozilla">Laura Mesa</a><br />AllWidgets<br />Elise Allenmelissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-66908890074838717132009-07-25T21:48:00.000-07:002009-07-25T22:05:49.363-07:00Mozilla in tomorrow's NYTA lot of work went <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/technology/companies/26mozilla.html?_r=1&ref=technology&pagewanted=all">into this article</a>. I think the New York Times piece, more than others, touched almost every part of Mozilla. These are my favorite kind of articles about Mozilla - the articles that offer the most comprehensive glimpse into who we are, why we do what we do, and capture the collective alarm call that wakes us up on a daily basis and drives us to make the Web a better place. <br /><br /><blockquote>For Mozilla and its millions of fans, Firefox is not just cool software but also a cause: to ensure that no company, whether Microsoft, Google or anyone else, can tilt the Web to its advantage by tweaking its browser to favor its products or applications.</blockquote><br /><br />Very pleased to post this one on my blog. Please read and share your thoughts in the comments. I'm interested to hear your feedback. <br /><br />Parting thoughts via @mitchellbaker:<br /><blockquote>“We succeeded because more people got engaged, helped us build a better product and helped us get the product into the hands of people,” Ms. Baker says. “We succeeded because of the mission.”</blockquote>melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-728045104299469852009-07-07T15:29:00.000-07:002009-07-07T15:39:00.534-07:00Firefox 3.5 Launch: A Day in PicturesUgh. My poor neglected blog. I haven't posted since May. But I have a good excuse - I've been pretty busy with work lately. If you didn't already know, Firefox 3.5 launched last week. <br /><br />Friends and family often ask me what it's like to be on the ground at Mozilla HQ for a Firefox launch. I brought my camera to the office for the 3.5 launch and tried to snap as many shots as I could - between fielding press calls and working through the challenges that come along with a global product launch. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/misdemeanor/3696191434/in/set-72157621076755770/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF8oOQBq_9-GXj5xlcRR9RVc8ZRlIcJpuSUd51qP0FiY06L6kqHr0fX7jnIQrn4B-1W5SPEcZXYPNeWsRf_iPWttssX5fD1Y0Pe4lIzXwFDs-on-c6KR9u5Ruu626W7y-Kiliaxi2qyOk/s320/WarRoom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355850887735244850" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So without further ado...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/misdemeanor/sets/72157621076755770/">here's a link to my flickr set</a> from the Firefox 3.5 launch.melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-65795090843452107992009-05-18T12:06:00.000-07:002009-05-18T18:42:15.721-07:00A year in the life...Updating some Mozilla slides from just about a year ago. <br /><br />Last year, Firefox had 175+ million users.<br />This year, Firefox has 270+ million users.<br /><br />Last year, Firefox was in 45+ languages.<br />This year, it's 70+.<br /><br />Last year, there were 500 million downloads.<br />This year, we're upwards of 800 million.<br /><br />The momentum is truly astounding. It's easy to get in the flow of things and focus on what's ahead but it's really amazing to peek back every so often. :)melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-73547930486927801072009-04-10T15:47:00.001-07:002009-04-10T20:35:13.319-07:00Fennec Sighting<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3372/3430306190_cd08f3b8ea.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3372/3430306190_cd08f3b8ea.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I was walking home from the bus and spotted a random <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fennec_Fox">fennec</a> picture about two blocks from my house. <br /><br />Internal monologue:<br /><blockquote><br />Huh, never noticed that picture before. <br />I better walk over and check it out. <br />Wait - is that a fennec? <br />Did someone in San Francisco take a picture of a fennec and put it in their window? Seriously? <br />This town is weirder than I thought.<br />I better take a photo of it so I can share this with <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/mobile/">Mozilla's mobile team</a>. </blockquote><br />Anyway, for your viewing pleasure and amusement, here's the picture:melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-73605042189465498392009-03-31T13:47:00.000-07:002009-03-31T17:49:31.179-07:00My favorite things about Firefox PersonasToday, Mozilla formally launched <a href="http://www.getpersonas.com/store/" target="_blank">Personas</a> - a free, easy-to-install “skins” for Firefox that make changing the look of the browser as easy as changing your shirt.<br /><br />I've been a bit remiss in my blogging lately but am taking time out from online hermitage to give a quick list of my favorite things about Firefox Personas:<br /><br />1. They are easy to change. As someone who rocked varying hair colors during high school, I appreciate being able to change my browser's style multiple times per day. So much easier than rinsing out <a href="http://manicpanic.com/">Manic Panic</a>!<br /><br />2. They match my mood. Spending several hours a day as a cubicle farmer can weigh on a treehugger's soul. Personas to the rescue! I can stare at the forest, the beach, the sky, and more.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCarm8Hbt0Y8YB8t12EBBB-INv3rUEq8v4DGERsPcqscIMaEc4ZTX-wNz8pXsuAoYI3bA1KSrE7WbpJa6W8fe5ZBptF78Cb-mukQD-pgDW0oi_LqhzsvijUr-s0iQejrk7aTYQoDzhXRY/s1600-h/office-sign-feeding.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCarm8Hbt0Y8YB8t12EBBB-INv3rUEq8v4DGERsPcqscIMaEc4ZTX-wNz8pXsuAoYI3bA1KSrE7WbpJa6W8fe5ZBptF78Cb-mukQD-pgDW0oi_LqhzsvijUr-s0iQejrk7aTYQoDzhXRY/s320/office-sign-feeding.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319506604646273186" border="0" /></a><br /><br />3. I <3 California. Personas offers me views of the GG Bridge, Yosemite, and a California sunset. All with no wind chill, chance of rain, or need for sunscreen. :) <br /><br />If you haven't already, head over to <a href="www.getpersonas.com">www.getpersonas.com</a> and start using Personas today!melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-72214293761544207512009-01-15T15:57:00.000-08:002009-01-29T14:39:37.880-08:00Tag, you're it!Serves me right for being a slack blogger. I got tagged multiple times for 7 things. Since <a href="http://www.dria.org/wordpress/archives/2009/01/10/834/">Deb tagged me first</a>, I confirmed with her that <a href="http://adblockplus.org/blog/now-it-got-me-as-well">Wladimir's subsequent tagging</a> and now <a href="http://autological.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/7-things-you-may-or-may-not-know-about-me/">Jane's tagging too </a>doesn't mean I'm on the hook for 21 things. Deb said 7 would be good. So here we go...<br /><br />Ground rules:<br />1. Link to your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.<br />2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post.<br />3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.<br />4. Let them know they’ve been tagged.<br /><br />7 things you may (or may not) know about me:<br />1. I left high school at 16 and didn't graduate yet I have a high school diploma due to a loophole in the way that my county handled their matriculation lists.<br /><br />2. I am absurdly particular about my mouse setup. I will only use the mouse with my left-hand and the mouse itself must be left-oriented and a trackball, preferably by <a href="http://us.kensington.com/index.html">Kensington</a>. I am so committed to this orientation that I bring along a trackball mouse while traveling just so I don't have to use the touchpad or a non-trackball mouse. I am *not* left handed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRi6HyZhfZOL1-kVoOINhsxQoxqOqcF0MioQnXc8Mygj5b8T-oFbu4cubFBt_3Bf5lwKrh8HkLVn_WKCsWW0fPrhXQTdkluAkOGkJCRin_1NI4JsAkZTNsf8cHRm9-lIVGqj0Y_fMlmAU/s1600-h/kensingtonmouse.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRi6HyZhfZOL1-kVoOINhsxQoxqOqcF0MioQnXc8Mygj5b8T-oFbu4cubFBt_3Bf5lwKrh8HkLVn_WKCsWW0fPrhXQTdkluAkOGkJCRin_1NI4JsAkZTNsf8cHRm9-lIVGqj0Y_fMlmAU/s320/kensingtonmouse.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291664670735919346" border="0" /></a><br />3. I am obsessed with all music despite the noticeable toll it's taking on my hearing. If I'm at my desk working, there's a good chance I've got headphones on. If I'm surfing the web, there's a good chance I'm pouring over music blogs looking for my next favorite band. From age 16-20, I saw the band Phish in concert more than 50 times. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKl1K6b-Pv-cUCU_C2YC7LQiXcWJjghJ4Q2JhflIdt7qtI5qjjAmeoWty4sOXIhqIV2frkTICkONHKDOrEHK22B-7b3DjeFMWl39UOCHVCCxK1xpmkAG4bMgesM8M_zwa4LL4PdBkroAs/s1600-h/phish1990.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKl1K6b-Pv-cUCU_C2YC7LQiXcWJjghJ4Q2JhflIdt7qtI5qjjAmeoWty4sOXIhqIV2frkTICkONHKDOrEHK22B-7b3DjeFMWl39UOCHVCCxK1xpmkAG4bMgesM8M_zwa4LL4PdBkroAs/s200/phish1990.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291664897247350482" border="0" /></a><br />4. While in college, I knew I wanted to do high tech pr but the field didn't exist at the time. I interned at Edelman PR, the largest independent PR firm in the world. They sent me to staff INET '99, an Internet conference in San Jose. I stayed at the Fairmont and they flew me out first class. It was the first time I'd ever flown first class. It was the first time I'd ever stayed at a fancy hotel - there was a tv in the bathroom! I staffed a press conference for Vint Cerf. I met Meg Whitman and Esther Dyson. I was 18. Life was good.<br /><br />5. I juggle. I'm actually pretty good.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8JajLicNLiDTo7byo9GP-CtbG-RPESm9XqQisPkqdeDSPDhhGeVJh36_njBXbygb3Hb2tU1fvnyodPgzQE9i4F2wgOiibOyjLYvkJr7EW9D7vfjm2vSKdFi9hkV473euM9zxVkrF8ti8/s1600-h/jugglingbride.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8JajLicNLiDTo7byo9GP-CtbG-RPESm9XqQisPkqdeDSPDhhGeVJh36_njBXbygb3Hb2tU1fvnyodPgzQE9i4F2wgOiibOyjLYvkJr7EW9D7vfjm2vSKdFi9hkV473euM9zxVkrF8ti8/s200/jugglingbride.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291665280853201442" border="0" /></a><br />6. I used to teach Sunday school to 4th and 5th graders.<br /><br />7. At 17, I became a vegetarian as a reaction to a lifetime of fast food. I started eating meat again at some point after college, but I haven't walked into a McDonald's in over a decade.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX99Yh0tuP9dm92h7yv-TpMNphVZEbAS5Jjv3DBv06E9ZOcJg9DK22eHnAcF6v1sCcyNDePhjvn5ebduExFzLaTSwsjb94lz9Yn01jBR-Q5qHdWhV0qlKfTuE9cD_I2O3Ks91FaOInBJM/s1600-h/cheezburger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX99Yh0tuP9dm92h7yv-TpMNphVZEbAS5Jjv3DBv06E9ZOcJg9DK22eHnAcF6v1sCcyNDePhjvn5ebduExFzLaTSwsjb94lz9Yn01jBR-Q5qHdWhV0qlKfTuE9cD_I2O3Ks91FaOInBJM/s400/cheezburger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291665647249732306" border="0" /></a><br />Seven people:<br /><a href="http://candycrimes.wordpress.com/">Candace</a> - because she's always up to something<br />Nicole - because she doesn't blog but this might help get her started<br /><a href="http://musingt.com/">Tara</a> - because she has a great sense of humor<br /><a href="http://damon.sicore.com/">Damon</a> - because he shares my music obsession<br /><a href="http://davedonohue.com/">Dave Donohue</a> - because he understands my complex relationship with Phish<br /><a href="http://joneserofthevalley.blogspot.com/">Asher</a> - because I love his writing but he rarely blogs unless he's thousands of miles from home<br /><a href="http://drspam.blogspot.com/">Francisco</a> - because he's one of my very favorite people<br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /></span>melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-52602006457886246862008-12-19T00:01:00.000-08:002008-12-19T00:01:03.480-08:00Second Annual Ken Kovash Day Celebrations BeginSecond Annual Ken Kovash Day Celebrations Begin<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Numbers panic, have nowhere to hide</span><br /><br />MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. - December 19, 2008 - Today ushers in the second annual Ken Kovash Day. <a href="http://icouldntfindanypaper.blogspot.com/2007/12/ken-kovash-day-declared.html">Last year’s celebration</a> was the first of its kind. It was a significant milestone for Ken Kovash fans worldwide. <br /><br />In its second year, Ken Kovash Day (KKD) celebrations went above and beyond those of last year. An official website, <a href="http://kenkovash.com">http://kenkovash.com</a>, officially launched today. Kovash fans everywhere can go online and share their adoration with the world. Additionally, fans can make and purchase KeKo-inspired clothing at http://www.zazzle.com/kenkovash+gifts. <br /><br />"Some people mistakenly think Ken looks out only for number one. But that sells him way, way short,” said, David Rolnitzky. “There are a lot of other numbers he looks out for."<br /><br />"I have never seen someone hunt down data abnormalities with such precision, determination, and skill as Ken Kovash,” said Justin Fligtar Scott. “Since Ken has been around, we've actually noticed data voluntarily working to correct itself rather than face a never-ending pursuit of the truth by The Numerator."<br /><br />About Ken Kovash<br />Kovash, aka the Numerator at Mozilla, began his career at Boomerang, followed by a brief stint at Yahoo. He also worked as a Research Associate at Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory. In 2006, Kovash graduated with an MBA from University of Chicago. He has an undergraduate degree in Economics from UC Berkeley.melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-64578726123538707062008-12-04T10:59:00.000-08:002008-12-04T11:06:02.427-08:00Mozilla Community StoreThis morning, <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/press/mozilla-2008-12-03.html">Mozilla and Zazzle announced a strategic partnership and the launch of the Mozilla Community Store</a>!<br /><br />At the <a href="http://communitystore.mozilla.org/">Mozilla Community Store</a>, folks can browse the gallery to shop from an array of community generated designs. Designs consist entirely of artwork supplied by Mozilla's worldwide community, with all designs available for customization on over 400 apparel products including t-shirts, sweatshirts and tank tops. To get things started, we've seeded the store with over 50 designs from the Firefox 3 t-shirt design contest, but anyone can start from scratch and add their own. <br /><br /><a href="http://musingt.com/?p=37">Tara over at MusingT</a> and <a href="http://www.intothefuzz.com/2008/12/04/the-mozilla-community-store-is-open/">John at Intothefuzz</a> have also posted about the exciting news!melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-61824860948341860032008-11-18T08:28:00.000-08:002008-11-18T11:17:02.315-08:00Introducing Fashion Your Firefox!This morning, Mozilla launched the <a href="http://www.fashionyourfirefox.com/">Fashion Your Firefox</a> application, making it easy to customize Firefox based on your interests and personal preferences. Great posts about the news can be found <a href="http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2008/11/18/fashion-your-firefox-launched-for-easy-discovery-and-installation-of-firefox-add-ons/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.giantspatula.com/?p=57">here</a>. The <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/press/mozilla-2008-11-18.html">press release is here</a>.melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-34356520311857787962008-10-28T15:48:00.001-07:002008-10-28T16:33:37.524-07:00Greetings from DetroitJust finished a few days of <a href="http://www.prsa.org/conf2008/">PR-related conferencing</a> in the Motor City. Couple of quick thoughts.<br /><br />- Bringing about 3000 PR peeps to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit#Crime">a city with an image problem</a> is simply brilliant<br />- Attending a PR-specific conference when you spend a lot of time at tech events is a refreshing change of pace (except for the enormous line at the ladies room)<br />- PR folks across all industries are <a href="http://tweetscan.com/index.php?s=%23prsa08">catching onto social media </a>and the importance of TRANSPARENCY - beyond just the high tech ones<br />- PR people are eager to share experiences, introduce themselves to strangers, network, ask questions, and speak up in sessions where they disagree with the speaker - all making for a highly interactive conference<br />- Only about 1% of conference attendees came to sessions with their laptops (I did the first day but soon discovered there was no wifi)<br />- Many of the proprietary PR internet applications in the expo center only run on IE<br />- Most of the PR professionals had not heard of Mozilla but were familiar with Firefox<br />- <a href="http://www.prssa.org/conference2008/">All of the PR students I met</a> both knew of, used, and evangelized Firefox (hello 2009 intern pool!)<br /><br />More to come when I've had time to digest my notes.melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-20529248869029021472008-09-30T12:35:00.000-07:002008-09-30T14:08:35.344-07:00Mozilla PR MetricsAt Mozilla, we are exploring ways to evaluate public relations programs to determine both short and long term efficacy. How do we know if we’re getting better if there’s no baseline indication of impact? The answer isn’t a pure science. True PR metrics are not just quantitative but qualitative as well. Quantitative analysis explores things like total number of articles, mentions in the press, coverage by country, etc. Qualitative analysis includes message penetration as well as audience and tone analysis. It turns out they are equally important in evaluating the success of Mozilla’s major PR initiatives.<br /><br />PR is notoriously difficult to quantify. Part of the challenge is developing PR metrics that will be meaningful over time. If PR objectives are constantly shifting, certain programs will undoubtedly get more attention than others. Setting PR metrics is a semi-existential undertaking. Will things that matter today still matter a year from now? Two years? Ten? Fifty?<br /><br />The first step in setting PR metrics is to look at our overarching PR/Communications goals. From there we can determine a solid methodology for tracking them in the short and long term. The idea is to compare apples to apples.<br /><br />In the pre-Internet days, every PR professional had a ruler at his or her desk and <a href="http://www.nku.edu/%7Eturney/prclass/readings/3eras1.html">would simply count newspaper and magazine column inches</a>. If the number of inches increased quarter over quarter or year over year, it was presumed that the PR team was doing a good job. Apples to apples? Yes. Meaningful? Not really. Print inches are great if every story is glowing but not if the content written in those inches says lousy things about the company/product/executive team/etc.<br /><br />Quantitative Analysis<br /><br />Quantitative analysis is decidedly less labor intensive than qualitative analysis and can be broken down into a number of subcategories. This is useful for media analysis in countries where we lack native speakers helping with PR. Much of the analysis can be done using structured query language and complex media databases. There are a number of these media database programs, but the people in the US tend to be most familiar with Lexis Nexis because of its prevalence on college campuses. The resulting analysis offers a breadth of insights about where, when, and on which topics we’re getting coverage.<br /><br />Examples of quantitative reports we can generate based on media tracking systems in place at Mozilla:<br />• Number of articles*<br />• Coverage by topic/keyword*<br />• Coverage by country*<br />• Coverage by language*<br />• Coverage by media type*<br />• Coverage within a specific date range*<br />• Overlays of active user data<br />• Competitive coverage<br />• Analysis of outreach<br /> o Number of reporters contacted v. number of reporters briefed<br /> o Number of reporters briefed v. number who wrote articles<br />• Apollo tracking – Mozilla mentions compared to other major technology companies (170,000 Web and print technology articles in 13 countries)<br />• Firefox market share (<a href="http://www.xitimonitor.com/en-us/index-0-2-0-0.html">Xiti</a> for Europe, <a href="http://marketshare.hitslink.com/">Net Applications</a> for worldwide)<br /><br />*Coverage maintained through <a href="http://meltwaternews.com/home/">Meltwater News System</a> (only online coverage)<br /><br />Use case for quantitative PR analysis:<br />The number of articles around Firefox during June 2007 looks very different than the number of articles written during June 2008. This is because Firefox 3 launched in 2008 but there was not a comparable launch happening at the same time a year prior. To make these numbers meaningful, we compared coverage for the Firefox 2 launch to the Firefox 3 launch. This gives us a much better sense of our PR reach over time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCc2GNUROMZo1Y9fIZSITHNUNIu7lxT1ck9GyNM7-w91ea4NRqyngHuHkBCLCrW-hcJnwpVqc1OWPLthQocqhGxBIDdecq0lMTkCgD8kqgzOqpeLfwWl3CrbJE98uexgXqlvb1H4SuVM/s1600-h/ff2vff3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCc2GNUROMZo1Y9fIZSITHNUNIu7lxT1ck9GyNM7-w91ea4NRqyngHuHkBCLCrW-hcJnwpVqc1OWPLthQocqhGxBIDdecq0lMTkCgD8kqgzOqpeLfwWl3CrbJE98uexgXqlvb1H4SuVM/s400/ff2vff3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251700607012352258" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The analysis of Firefox 2 v Firefox 3 coverage shows steady media interest throughout the betas followed by a statistically significant spike in launch day coverage. We know the media covering betas are primarily technology press and that more media outlets write articles about Firefox once it reaches general availability (GA). The graph is in keeping with what we expected to see, but it’s very interesting to see it demonstrated visually.<br /><br /><br />Qualitative Analysis<br /><br />Qualitative analysis can be very time and labor intensive, but often covers the things ordinary article counts miss. This type of analysis attempts to answer the following questions:<br />• Who did these articles reach and were they the target audience for our news?<br />• What key messages are they going to take away from the article?<br />• Was the tone of the article positive, negative, or neutral?<br /><br />Qualitative analysis is much more subjective but covers changes in types of coverage, rather than simply volume. Qualitative offers a “depth” counterpart to the “breadth” that quantitative analysis offers. Through qualitative analysis, we learn more about which messages are resonating with specific audiences. From this, we can uncover future targets for PR outreach.<br /><br />Examples of qualitative reports we can generate based on media tracking systems in place at Mozilla:<br />• Key message penetration<br />• Coverage in top publications: tech, business, consumer<br />• Tone analysis: positive, negative, neutral<br /><br />Use case for qualitative PR analysis:<br />For the Firefox 3 launch, there were literally thousands of articles from around the globe. The sheer volume of coverage was impressive but we wanted to focus on getting answers to the qualitative questions above. It would have taken our entire PR team working around the clock for months on end to fully analyze every Firefox 3 article. Instead, we opted to review non-tech coverage to see which messages non-users were most likely to have encountered during the launch. The analysis is available <a href="https://wiki.mozilla.org/images/a/ae/FF3CvgTopBizHits.pdf">here</a> in PDF format.<br /><br />Upon review, we found that all of the top non-tech publications had positive to neutral articles about Firefox 3. Key messages were picked up throughout. We did not conduct this type of review for Firefox 2 so we do not have a second data point to contrast the launches.<br /><br />Conclusion<br /><br />The qualitative and quantitative analyses from the Firefox 3 launch were Mozilla’s first look at how our PR activities relate to press coverage. We long suspected that the structure put in place for mainstream PR outreach and the increase in spokesperson training across the organization would result in a net positive change in press coverage; only we had no way of demonstrating that numerically. Until now…<br /><br />This post is meant to kick off a conversation about PR metrics. If we’re not analyzing PR activities, it’s hard to tell if we’re improving. Our goal is to post ongoing analysis of how we’re mapping to Mozilla’s PR objectives from both a quantitative and qualitative standpoint. The program is new and we’re starting with only a few data points. We hope to grow over time and generate better analysis to increase the impact of our PR campaigns.melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-32508088730756523982008-09-29T15:44:00.000-07:002008-09-29T19:51:15.019-07:00BusinessWeek's 25 Most Influential People on the WebExciting news - <a href="http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/09/0929_most_influential/index.htm">BusinessWeek just published their list of the 25 most influential people on the Web</a> and we have two Mozillians on the list! <a href="http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/09/0929_most_influential/3.htm">Mitchell Baker</a> and <a href="http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/09/0929_most_influential/9.htm">Joi Ito</a> were both included!melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-18956992982023482872008-08-14T23:30:00.000-07:002008-08-14T23:39:11.398-07:00Three days and counting...Planning a wedding can be extremely stressful. There are brides who take sabbaticals from work in order to plan their weddings. Others hire high-price professional wedding planners to help with the coordination and execution. And others opt to go it alone.<br /><br />On the night my fiancee and I got engaged, we made the decision to plan our wedding in San Francisco, where we've both lived for many years. We're East Coast transplants so planning the wedding here meant it would be very difficult for our families to support us during location scouting, vendor selection, menu selection, compiling guest lists, selecting gift registries, ketubah and wedding ring selection, dress selection and alterations, music selection, and general coordination of the entire event. We both work pretty intensive full time jobs and wedding planning was going to take a backseat if we didn’t figure out a way to get on top of it.<br /><br />How do we plan a wedding where nearly everyone except the bride and groom are from out of town? How do we make sure that our moms don’t miss out on the experience of planning the wedding with us? How do we bridge the 3000-mile distance between our guests and us? How do we get the wedding of our dreams without diverting too much attention from our demanding jobs?<br /><br />I had an idea.<br /><br />I spend an inordinate amount of time sitting in front of a computer. In fact, outside of Silicon Valley, the amount of time I spend online might be considered a severe illness. Lucky for me, I live in California where this is just par for the course.<br /><br />I’m three days away from my wedding and the only tool I used was free and under my nose the whole time. Firefox 3. My browser of choice since the first beta came out.<br /><br />Announcing that I wanted to plan my wedding using a Web browser that hadn't yet been declared "final" made some people very nervous. "You mean you're not only planning your wedding online, you're also planning it with BETA software?!" The moms were sufficiently horrified. What if something crashes? What if you lose everything you've been working on? What if? What if? The moms had an abundance of "what if's," particularly around wedding planning.<br /><br />There was an opportunity buried in this challenge. I work on public relations for Mozilla. Much of my job involves talking about the importance of the browser, why it matters, why it’s more than a commodity, how it can make you more efficient, more effective, and more organized. So, I decided to “dog food” Firefox 3 and plan my entire wedding on the Web and then share how I did it. Here’s a quick run down of all of the things I’ve used the Web to plan my wedding. After the honeymoon, I’ll let you know how it turned out. :)<br /><br />Using the Firefox 3 Awesome Bar:<br /><ol><li>Location scouting</li><li>Vendor selection</li><li>Gift registry</li><li>Ketubah and Wedding Ring Design</li><li>Wedding Dress Selection</li></ol><br />Using Gmail and Google Documents:<br /><ol><li>Compiling Guest Lists</li><li>Menu Selection</li><li>General Coordination</li><li>Music Selection</li><li>Shared Scheduling/Calendaring </li></ol>melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-18312380343702383862008-06-18T13:51:00.001-07:002008-06-18T13:59:48.659-07:00Quote of the day (Firefox 3 edition)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3197/2590913376_17ac6c329c_b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3197/2590913376_17ac6c329c_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The very famous, completely overused, almost ubiquitous quote from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_mead">Margaret Mead</a> has been running through my head all morning on the heals of more than <a href="http://john.jubjubs.net/2008/06/18/firefox-3s-first-24-hours/">8 million Firefox 3 downloads within the first 24 hours</a>.<br /><span class="quote"></span><blockquote><span class="quote">Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.</span></blockquote>The Mozilla community is precisely that. A small group of thoughtful, committed citizens - changing the world one download at a time.<br /><br />Congratulations all around on an amazing first 24 hours!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">photo credit: </span><em>Clare Bayley</em>melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-12918308216926776902008-06-17T12:19:00.000-07:002008-06-17T13:40:23.130-07:00Firefox 3 Live!Firefox 3 is officially live!<br /><br />The coverage to date has been astounding. I took a screenshot of our Google News feed for "Firefox." Check it out: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/misdemeanor/2588369710/">http://flickr.com/photos/misdemeanor/2588369710/</a>. According to Net Applications, Firefox market share is going up by the hour. You can view their full report here: <a href="http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=31">http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=31</a>.<br /><br />Also, if you haven't downloaded it yet, go here: <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html">http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html </a>and get it! Help Mozilla set the world record for most software downloads in a 24 hour period!melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-24285842865209636242008-06-05T10:57:00.001-07:002008-06-05T11:01:51.788-07:00More Mossberg!Just got <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=762325783">the link to a CNBC piece</a> that aired today. In the video, Walt is interviewed about Firefox 3 by <span class="content">CNBC's Bill Griffeth</span>. The CNBC folks also used the b-roll I mentioned in <a href="http://icouldntfindanypaper.blogspot.com/2008/06/mossberg-on-firefox-3.html">yesterday's post</a>.melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-51849675797451106832008-06-04T19:39:00.000-07:002008-06-04T20:27:42.711-07:00Mossberg on Firefox 3!A positive review from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Mossberg">Walt Mossberg</a> at <a href="http://wsj.com">The Wall Street Journal</a> is a highly valued thing in both PR and consumer technology circles. In his <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121261552570446443.html?mod=2_1571_topbox">comprehensive article and accompanying video</a>, Walt calls Firefox 3 "the best browser out there" and offers a personal recommendation to users.<br /><br />A few of us went to visit Walt in DC early last month. Our DC meetings kicked off several weeks of press meetings with what we PR folk call long lead publications. The online reporters and bloggers are typically known as short lead because they are able to turn around multiple articles per day and have them post almost instantaneously. <br /><br />You may be wondering where Walt picked up those images of the Mozilla campus. No, they didn't send a camera crew out to Mountain View. The Mozilla PR team actually provided the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-roll">B-roll</a> and Walt's team spliced it into the final version of the video he posted. B-roll is broadcast quality footage that companies create and provide to news organizations to help them augment visual stories. A huge thanks to all the Mozillians who allowed us to invade their space with cameras!<br /><br />Walt sums up the article nicely with the following bottom line: "Even though you already have a built-in browser, Firefox 3.0 can improve your Web experience."<br /><br />Couldn't agree more.melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-14735744327611042402008-05-28T13:31:00.000-07:002008-05-28T13:58:28.710-07:00Firefox World Record Attempt!<a href="http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2008/05/28/set-a-firefox-world-record/">Mary just posted</a> the exciting news that the Firefox community is attempting to set a Guinness world record for the most software downloads in 24 hours and will occur on Firefox 3 launch day. There's some <a href="http://chickswhoclick.wordpress.com/2008/05/28/at-last-a-shot-at-guinness-world-record-fame/">additional background on Mary's personal blog</a> as well.<br /><br />You can <a href="http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/">find out all the details here</a>. Please get involved with this awesome community effort and help set the world record!<br /><br />There are LOTS of ways to <a href="http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/getinvolved">get involved</a>. Here are a few ways you can help:<br /><ul><li>Plan an impromptu <a href="http://www.mozillaparty.com/">Download Fest</a> at your school, office, or home - anywhere with an Internet connection. Or, attend a <a href="http://www.mozillaparty.com/">Firefox 3 gathering</a>. </li><li>Join one of the following <a href="http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/getinvolved">social networking groups</a> and invite all your friends.</li><li><a href="http://www.spreadfirefox.com/campusreps">Find your Firefox Campus Rep</a> and see how you can help today or what festivities you can join. </li><li><a href="http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/getinvolved">Add our buttons or banners</a> to your site, blog, or profile.</li></ul>Sign up here: <a href="http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/">http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/</a>melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-14004651884645477392008-05-26T19:01:00.000-07:002008-05-26T19:12:29.652-07:00Two New York, Same News?Went to a corner store near my house to pick up a few extra copies of the New York Times. Mozilla is featured <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/technology/26firefox.html?_r=1&oref=slogin">above the fold on the front page of the Business section</a>. In a word: w00t!<br /><br />I grab two copies and head to the counter to pay. The corner store guy looks at me cockeyed.<br /><br />He says, "Two?"<br /><br />I smile. And nod.<br /><br />He looks at me again, profoundly perplexed.<br /><br />He says, "Two New York, same news?"<br /><br />I smile again and say, "Yes."<br /><br />Sometimes it's worth paying double in order to hear good news twice.melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758194679605810173.post-61447945885071704022008-05-08T00:11:00.000-07:002008-05-08T00:26:31.280-07:00The slow death of the press releasePeople often ask me why Mozilla doesn't put out more <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/press/news.html">press releases </a>or why the releases that we do put out are relatively short and news-driven. I then proceed to pull out my PR soapbox and spout off about the changing face of media and the need for PR to adapt beyond methods that are at best unproductive, and at worst detrimental to the entire industry. That's good for drunken debates at <a href="http://prsa.org/">PRSA</a> events but not quite palatable for everyone. When I'm talking to non-PR people, I typically illustrate the concept by telling a story about my early days in PR.<br /><br />In 1999, I was an intern on the Tech, Telecom, and Energy team at a global PR firm's DC office. Part of my job was to fax press releases to editorial teams at newsrooms nationwide. I would spend hours punching in the phone numbers of major newspapers and publications for a fax blast (anyone remember those?). I later heard from reporters that at the other end of the transmission, they had the incoming faxes feeding straight into a garbage can. They would use the discarded press releases as scrap paper.<br /><br />I love this story for two reasons. One, it explains the immediate failing of the press release; pushing news to people without any context or expressed interest is ineffective. Two, it illustrates the ever-changing face of media and the need for PR to adapt or get sucked into the newsroom garbage can (or its modern equivalent, the editor's spam folder).<br /><br />Back in October, Chris Anderson of Wired and Long Tail fame, posted a <a href="http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2007/10/sorry-pr-people.html">scathing indictment</a> of the PR industry. His complaint? Being blasted with news that he didn't request and wasn't interested in receiving.<br /><br /><blockquote>I've had it. I get more than 300 emails a day and my problem isn't spam (Cloudmark Desktop solves that nicely), it's PR people. Lazy flacks send press releases to the Editor in Chief of Wired because they can't be bothered to find out who on my staff, if anyone, might actually be interested in what they're pitching.</blockquote><br /><br />I am certainly not the first person to assert that the golden age of the lengthy mass-blast press release was coming to a close. <a href="http://flickr.com/">Flickr</a> <a href="http://blog.flickr.net/en">has long been a leader</a> in the movement to move PR beyond the press release. In early 2004, they began <a href="http://blog.flickr.net/en/2004/02/">blogging their announcements</a> in lieu of a traditional wire release. Tom Foremski <a href="http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2006/02/die_press_relea.php">wrote a post about this in 2006</a> but the progress has been slow. Two years later, <a href="http://edelman.com/news/storycrafter/EdelmanNews.aspx?hid=171">social news releases</a> are starting to gain traction but they tend to look like deconstructed versions of standard news releases.<br /><br />Perhaps we are in the Web 1.0 phase of the press release. When corporate content first appeared on the Web, most companies modeled their online presence after offline norms. Businesses took their existing marketing materials and simply put them online. Mainstream media did pretty much the same thing with early online news sites. Today, the Web has progressed far beyond that. Offline ported to online does not equal Web presence. Considering this, how do we advance our understanding of PR?<br /><br />At Mozilla, when we put out press releases they are often coupled with blog posts and/or FAQs in order to provide context or quick fodder for right click journalists looking for a quote. They offer a voice, a perspective, a point of view. Traditional press releases, by nature of their construct, simply cannot compete with the rich, interactive experience of the Web.<br /><br />The PR industry needs to revisit the concept of the next generation press release more than once every few years. Media is always changing. PR needs to keep pace or it will go the way of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_fax">fax blasting</a>: still around but <a href="http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/faxadvertising.html">completely out of touch</a> with the modern era.melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15969345670279965416noreply@blogger.com2