My Outreachy Contribution Shines with the Fedora Project!

Kofo ColeKofo Cole
3 min read

Image by Mola Pahnadayan for Fedora Core 6

Introduction

It was an awesome day at 4 p.m. UTC when the Outreachy May 2024 initial application results were announced. I was expecting to receive a congratulatory email to move on to the contribution stage and behold, there it was in my spam mailbox. It was a task to write the four required essays.

This blog post showcases my contributions to the Fedora Project: "Create an outreach strategy, write documentation", run a marketing campaign, and measure results. It also displays my journey and how it affected or impacted my open-source adventure. Follow along with me as we travel.

Getting familiar with the Fedora community

Our mentor, Justin W. Flory, gave an introductory message where mentors and applicants introduced themselves and were welcomed to the project!. All applicants were required to join the community platforms and set up their Fedora Account System (FAS) and Fedora communication channels. These steps are covered in my previous blog post on the Fedora Project.

Outreachy Onboarding

At the onboarding, I read up on the following:

  • Fedora Project and community.

  • Red Hat, CentOS, Ubuntu, Linux, and open source.

  • I also visited the social media channels to study and observe what and how posts were made.

Prerequisites for the Community Architect Intern

Below are the prerequisite issues I worked on, and the comment link.

ISSUEGITLAB COMMENT LINK
Step 1 ( Issue #153): Set up your Fedora Account System (FAS) accountMy FAS account
Step 2 (Issue #154**):**Set up a personal blogMy personal blog
Step 3 (Issue #155):Write a blog post that introduces the Fedora community to your audienceTwitter link
Step 4 (Issue #156):Promote your intro blog post on social media- IssuePromoted blog
Step 5 (Issue #157):Write an onboarding guide for Outreachy2025 applicantsOnboarding guide

Some of the stretch goals I participated in.

STRETCH GOALGITLAB COMMENT LINK
Preparing a portfolio of your contributions (Issue #169)My portfolio link
Make a timeline of what you would like to do in the Outreachy internship Issue #170My Internship Timeline
Evaluate impact of your promotion campaign Issue #158My X post analysis
Prepare social media posts Issue #144
Write an article #148
Make a list of DEI-related holidays #147

My biggest contribution

So far, most of my contributions have been made to help me grow and learn about Fedora. This said, my biggest contribution would be the one aimed at informing the community about the Fedora Project, and how to get started in open source with the Fedora project.

As the writer, it was my first responsibility to do extensive study and gain a solid understanding of the subject—a lot of information for a novice in Fedora.

Furthermore, it was a pleasure to guide my audience through the process of selecting a project to begin their open source journey, as I am aware that many techies find it difficult to get started.

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How this stage had impacted my open-source adventure

This contribution stage has given me a broader and more detailed experience of Linux systems, and most especially Fedora. Before joining the project, I had never heard of Fedora, but as I round up this contribution phase, I am now very familiar with what Fedora do, their versions- I have the Fedora 39 installed on my system, their guiding principles, the types of events they participate in, and their community.

I am also very glad I chose this project because there are lots of exposure to FOSS events and activities to help boost my open source journey.

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Written by

Kofo Cole
Kofo Cole

Experienced Frontend Engineer, Social Media Manager, and Technical Writer with a passion for problem-solving and attention to detail. I offer comprehensive social media management, top-notch frontend development, and precise technical writing services to help your business achieve outstanding results.