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diff --git a/content/publishing.md b/content/publishing.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d135229 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/publishing.md @@ -0,0 +1,276 @@ +Title: ElenQ Publishing +Date: 2020-02-18 +Category: +Tags: +Slug: elenq-publishing +Lang: en +Summary: + ElenQ Publishing is a technical book publishing project that aims to open + the door of technical knowledge to everyone. + + +Hi all, + +This 18th of February of 2020 the crowdfunding campaign of ElenQ Publishing +started and I'd like to talk a bit about it. + +<http://en.goteo.org/project/elenq-publishing> + + +## The platform + +First of all, I want to talk you about the crowdfunding platform: +<http://goteo.org>. + +Goteo is platform for social crowdfunding that aims to support projects with a +social goal. The software it runs is Free Software licensed under the Affero +GPL license, meaning if you want to make your own crowdfunding platform you can +use the code that Goteo shares, as long as you provide the <del>users</del> +people the source code that is running in your platform (server and client). + +Goteo Foundation, the maintainers of the code and the people behind goteo.org, +fund themselves with the 5% of the crowdfunded money from the campaigns, a fair +price for their services. They also receive some help from different government +entities like Barcelona's local government or Spanish Education, Culture and +Sports Ministry because of their social impact. + +At least in Spain, people that takes part in the campaigns run in goteo.org +have the chance to declare they donated money for social goals and get some +money back in their tax returns. + +For those who want to make a campaign, Goteo reviews and gives feedback, they +make the campaign management easier and they are really focused on being +multilingual. They support translations for the campaigns and the UI is in many +languages, including local all Spanish regional languages and some extra +languages more. + +This platform is perfectly aligned with the philosophy of ElenQ Technology. + +## The story + +I don't talk about it enough, but I've been teaching informatics related topics +since I started with ElenQ Technology. In these 3 years I gave many courses: +introductory python, advanced python, data analysis, web scraping, bitcoin +and blockhain[^blockchain], introductory clojure... And some more I can't +remember at the moment. All of those were done in different contexts, from +courses for young unemployed people to courses for engineers in research +centers. Also, it looks I'm going to keep teaching, because I like it and +the students say I'm good at it. + +But this is not good enough. It helps me to make a living but it's not enough. +I want to make my best to correct many of the issues I found in this 3 year +travel. + +I realized I have some tested course structure and materials I want to share. + +I realized many people's English level is not good enough for learning by +technology by themselves. They needed someone like me to serve as a bridge. +They are isolated from knowledge because the place they come from and the +culture they have. + +I realized all the technical publications I was reading were written from the +same perspective of technology. That made sense, because every author authors +came from the same context. I would like to have more diverse people writing +about technology and the only way to do it is to make technology more +accessible. + +I realized that, in my local context, access to knowledge is broken in many +ways that looks nobody is willing to change: + +- In my area, government backed courses only focus in groups of people that are + likely to get a job soon anyway. This way they can say they got the job + thanks to the money the government invested on the courses and win elections + with that. Young people that finished university this year are likely to get + a job in the next year. This doesn't mean they don't need the + course[^course], but the course itself won't really affect their + employability. What about people with **real** employability + problems[^employability-problems]? + +- Some people have individual problems that don't fit in the goals of social + campaigns run by the government or other entities because they focus on large + groups of society with similar problems and they don't focus the individual. + It makes sense because they can help more efficiently that way, but the net + has some holes we should repair. + +- There is no structural support for people who just want to learn new things + with no further intention. University is deriving. Now it's just a place + where you get a paper that helps you get a job, but it's not fulfilling the + goals of knowledge it should. It's not a place where you find knowledge + anymore. Many people don't want to think or learn, but some do and we are + preventing them from doing it. + +- In other places the problem of education is even worse and they don't have + resources (or will[^will]) to solve it. Individuals shouldn't suffer from + that. It's our responsibility to help everyone have all the chances to + develop themselves as much as they want, regardless of their context. + +In general, all the points are summarized in one: Knowledge should be free +(libre). If it's not free it's not knowledge, is just something that makes you +more powerful than others: it's injustice. + +I realized many of these things could be solved with a good repository of +knowledge in different languages, and, as I'm teaching stuff and I like to +write, I considered interesting to work a little bit more on the notes I give +my students and make them look like a book. + +With [a little bit of +effort](https://ekaitz.elenq.tech/templates-released.html), I can make a book +that can be published on the web, on a physical book and on a easy-to-print PDF +that anyone can print and copy in a local print shop. I can make it arrive any +place in this world. + +Not only that. Some people designed a license that lets others create new +contents on top of what I did and force them to share what they did with the +same license: Creative Commons. + +So, with some effort and some funding (and a smile in my face) I can create a +publishing project where I gather all the knowledge that my job makes me deal +with and I can share it in a way that is ethical and respects everyone's +circumstances. + +This is something I want to try. It's something I *need* to try. + +[^blockchain]: don't judge me too fast: the course was a technical explanation + about every detail of how does bitcoin work. I wanted students to learn the + cryptography behind and all the good design ideas bitcoin has while I tried + to make them be critical about the blockchain technology during the + blockchain boom. + +[^course]: They need it, more if its a course like mine where I talk them about + working with ethics and being independent. :D + +[^employability-problems]: Say: women, unemployed people in their 50s dropped + out of their jobs because of the + [de-industrialization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deindustrialization), + immigrants, people with disabilities, people that just get out of jail... + +[^will]: USA, I'm looking at you. + +## The campaign + +That's why I'm trying it. + +This campaign is the first attempt to make this happen. If it's successful, it +will make me spend some of my time giving love to the contents I want to +release and let me talk with people who have knowledge in areas I don't and +help them publish it. + +The campaign has physical books as a goal but they are just a vehicle to be +able to publish them in a way that is easy to share. The physical objects are +just a way to get funds. + +The main goal is not just to make books: it's the creation of an infrastructure +to share knowledge that I can use for the things I research but it can be used +also for things other people researches. All the content is going to be +published in raw in a repository that anyone could audit, review, improve or +create a new project based on it. + +Once the infrastructure is ready, publishing new books should be a piece of +cake. This first project is going to teach us how to make the paperwork for the +ISBN and the book registration and is going to give us time to create the +website where the content is going to be stored. Once all those points are +ready, the rest of it is "just" write and publish. + +The campaign's goals are separated in two levels: the minimum and the optimum. + +The minimum is the publishing of the books in Spanish, my mother tongue +language, and covers all the infrastructure costs of that. This way Spanish +speaking people will have at least some technical books in their language. + +The optimum ensures the publishing in English[^english]. This goal enables the +translation to different languages because many people would probably know or +Spanish or English, because they are two of the most widely spoken languages in +the world, and that way they would be able to translate the books to their +mother tongue language to help their own community. I'm not able to supervise a +translation to a language I don't know, but I'm able to make a reliable +material in both of these languages for people to work on top of. + +As you see, the goals have a really interesting point of contradiction: I want +to provide technical material for people that doesn't talk English, but I'm +trying to make it in English for it. Funny, huh? + +I'm just trying to be as practical as I can. + +There are many points I'd like to consider, many other translations I'd love to +do, but I need to focus my effort on something useful in the short term because +if it happens to be useful it's going to push me to keep working on it in the +future, providing more and more material and translations. + +[^english]: Don't worry, I know my English is bad and I'm not going to + translate them, a professional service will (under my supervision for the + terminology and stuff). + +## The feelings + +I like the idea of crowdfundings since I heard about them and I've been +planning to make one for years. Electronic devices, software, miniature games +and collections... Everything was candidate for a crowdfunding campaign in my +mind, but I didn't want to disappoint the patrons and I never started one. + +This time I think it's possible to provide good material. The content is +already defined and tested in my courses, it only needs to be updated, the +goals are simple and doable, and I have all the good people around me that is +going to help me with everything. + +This project helped me connect with the people I love and that's one of the +best things in life. I know everything is going to be fine with their help and +support. + +Since I started with ElenQ Technology I had the chance to meet many good people +with incredible skills and love in their heart. This project is somehow the +result of the love they gave me because it filled me with the courage I needed. + +Just wanted to express my gratitude[^gratitude]. + +Thank you all. + +[^gratitude]: I don't know why... I'm like that I guess. + +<hr style="border-width: 1px; height: 4em;"> + +#### If you want to take part... + +There are many ways you can help but crowdfunding campaigns look like the only +one is giving money and that's not true. Also, there are many ways to give +money and some are more effective than others. + +For people that is not able to provide funds but want to take part there are +also very helpful tasks: + +- Sharing the campaign with people, communities, universities, libraries and so + on, that might be interested is always good. + +- Once the contents are released in our repository, reviewing the content or + improving it will help us a lot. + +- Translating the content to other languages will help other communities we + can't directly help. Your language skills are valuable. + +- Your love and support is always welcome and it helps us to keep on the good + job. + +For the people that want to provide monetary help, there are points to consider: + +- The best way to help is to give money and don't ask for any physical good + (the first reward is for that) because the books have an associated printing + and shipping cost. They are going to be released online anyway so if you + don't really like the idea of having a physical object, you can also take + part and get the result of the campaign. + +- The second best way is to give money and ask for the physical good(s). In the + case of this campaign, more books you order the cheaper their production is + (bulk orders and scale economy, you know...). + +- One of the highest costs is the shipping, asking us to get the goods in + person[^coffee] (Bilbao) or making bulk shippings reduces the costs and makes + the donation more efficient. It's better for us if a group of friends make + just one big order than having many small orders. + +That said, here goes the link to the campaign if you want to take part. + +<http://en.goteo.org/project/elenq-publishing> + +Thank you. + + +[^coffee]: If you get the books in person I'll take a coffee/tea with you. |