a million monkeys typing

And the Community Reaches Back

Posted January 19th, 2006 at 01:28am

Well, I’m hard at work on the release candidate of the D*I*Y Planner, version 3.0, and I decided to ask for volunteers to help proof the templates, edit the handbook, and write new sections for the (already fairly copious) documentation. Seeing that DIYPlanner.com was set up essentially as a community-driven project to focus on paper-based productivity and creativity, centred somewhat on the ‘Planner, I thought it only right to invite those interested to participate in its development.

So, was that a smart thing? After all, the ‘Planner has been my little baby since its inception, and I’ve guided every line, checkbox and uneven margin via my “benevolent dictatorship.”

The response has been amazing, with about three dozen talented people coming forward out of the woodwork in just a day or two to volunteer their valuable time and skills. We’re just getting started, but already I have a great feeling about the contributions that these people will be making. We’ll not only be able to overhaul my rush-job handbook, but add helpful sections on planning in general, the uses of each of the forms, how to handle printing issues, getting started with your own custom-built D*I*Y Planner system, and so on. That’s not to mention all those eagle eyes proofing the templates and offering ideas and feedback, which will make this a far more professional release than version 2.0.

My friend asked me, “So, why are all these people working for you for free?” He’s a business guy, so it just doesn’t make sense to him. I spend a lot of time in the Open Source world, and I’ve worked for community-based non-profits, so I think that I inherently understand the intrinsic motivations of most volunteers a little better than that. I don’t figure they actually see it as working, no more so than I see my own project time as working. Many of the people putting forth their efforts are users of the non-profit D*I*Y Planner system and site, and from them, they’ve gleaned some advantage, such as enhanced productivity or ways to be more creative. But it’s not only a form of payback, it’s also a chance to pay it forward, to let the next generation of users derive some benefit, and just maybe earn a little good karma in the process.

The D*I*Y Planner has become a community affair, and the community has offered to help. I’m certainly proud of my part in the project’s creation, but these people –and all the creative and dedicated folks that post on the site, especially the volunteer writers– should be just as proud of the fact that they’re helping so many others. The daily letters and posts of thanks stand as strong testament to that. I don’t like to get too sentimental, but despite the hard times I’ve faced in the past few years, these continual acts of sharing and support are the sort of things which consistently renew my faith in the human species.