In 2011, Mozilla launched a program called the Mozilla Reps (ReMo).
The Mozilla Reps program aims to empower and support volunteer Mozillians who want to become official representatives of Mozilla in their region/locale.
The program provides a simple framework and a specific set of tools to help Mozillians to organize and/or attend events, recruit and mentor new contributors, document and share activities, and support their local communities better.
I was one of the first to apply from this side of the planet and was officially accepted to the program on 09 Sep 2011. Each Mozilla Rep is attached to another Rep, who acts as his/her Mentor — aptly called Rep Mentor.
A few months later, I was invited to be a Mozilla Reps Mentor. As of this writing, I am currently mentoring 09 Reps from different corners of the globe.
All Rep Mentors are eligible to run for a seat in the Mozilla Reps Council. The Reps Council is part of the Mozilla Leadership. Reps Council members have a fixed term of one (01) year.
So I did ran and became part of the 3rd Mozilla Reps Council in March 2013. I was the Reps Council Chairman from October to November of that year. As I personally see the need for Southeast Asian representation in the Mozilla Reps Council, I did ran (again) for the 6th Mozilla Reps Council last October 2014 — I won a seat. I was the Reps Council Chairman (again) from April to May of this year.
So much for that long introduction about me, being a Mozilla Rep. So, what is this article (blog post) all about?
Being a Mozilla Rep is not just about the fun or bragging rights of it … it entails a lot of RESPONSIBILITY and COMMITMENT. Being a Reps Mentor, I saw how awesome Mozillians (FSA’s to casual contributors) became Mozilla Reps and went on (indefinite) hiatus as they cannot simply allocate time to fulfill their duties and responsibilities as a Rep.
Being a Mozilla Rep, you need to talk to a lot of people. Community Building is a people’s and numbers game. If you’re too shy, or simply not a people’s person, the ReMo game may not be for you. Talking to people is not limited to just presenting a slide deck or reading a speech — you must know the organization that you are representing, by heart.
Being a Mozilla Rep, you need to love (e)paper works. If you only know how much time a Rep devotes in planning events and campaigns. Not only that … Reps are also required to have a post-event report and quantitative metrics to determine the success (or otherwise) of an event or campaign. Not to mention the tedious process of preparing a budget request, which is to be approved by your Reps Mentor and by the Reps Council.
Being a Mozilla Rep, you must know Mozilla by heart. Self explanatory. It is not enough that you use Mozilla products. You must know how the organization operates and the awesome people behind it.
You DO NOT NEED to become a Mozilla Rep to be an awesome Mozillian. Just do good — it’s part of our (Mozillian) code.