Welcome to 2020 at Opensource.com!

Last month, on December 31, 2019, while our editorial team had settled down for a long winter's nap—no, truthfully we were simply taking a well-deserved break—Opensource.com hit a record with 2.1 million reads and 1.3 million unique visitors.

That kind of growth shows that people—a lot of them—are looking for help in figuring out how to choose and use open source. And our intention is for our community to be the place that continues to help them contribute. Here's what that will look like in 2020.

New ways to connect with your community

In 2020, we're setting our intentions to being a community where open and inclusive contributions can thrive.

Contributing as readers

Our mission is to provide articles, resources, and guides to help everyone learn more, do more, and be more. By being a regular reader, you are immediately a member of our community. We appreciate who you are and what you represent. Share the resources you love and add your thoughtful perspective through comments.  

First-time writers and beyond

We not only welcome new writers, we offer significant editorial support and coaching to all contributors to the site. After you share your first article, we include you in The Writer's List, which is a mailing list of nearly 500 active authors on Opensource.com. As a Writer's List member, you'll receive weekly notes to inspire and inform your writing and open source advocacy.

Joining the Correspondents

If you are the type of Opensource.com contributor who is looking to truly connect with an international community of open source advocates, then the Correspondent Program is right for you. It is a group of 20+ dedicated authors of all different backgrounds, ages, perspectives, and curiosities who proactively contribute to our mission. Learn more about this unique opportunity here.

On writing

Different and unique perspectives are vital, so if you have a great tip or trick or just a fun open source software suggestion, your fellow community members want to read it. There's no topic too big or too small. If it's open source, we want to spotlight it. Here are some popular or emerging aspects of open source that our readers love:

Topics

• Python
• Kubernetes
• Bash
• Linux
• Programming
• CI/CD
• Git
• Java
• Ansible
• DevOps
• and more!

Formats

They say storytelling's an art, but there are many ways to tell yours. We want to help you find the best way to tell your story. Here are some successful formats that are regularly used by contributors.

• Introductions to / Getting started guide for new technology as big as Kubernetes or a small as your favorite Python library.
• Tutorials that list their assumptions and guide readers with pictures and source code.
• Lists of your favorite tips, tricks, or resources for an open source related topic.
• Personal stories of career journeys, your Linux desktop setup, or how you do what you do!

Resources

You have ideas, we have ideas. After a decade of collaboratively creating articles with our community, we have plenty of resources to help authors express themselves clearly.

• Style guide for writing
• Best Of Opensource.com series
• Most frequently asked questions
• Popular topics as cheat sheets

Join us

In 2019, we published articles from over 300 authors! And we would love to see that number grow along with the diversity of our readers and authors alike. We're open, and we welcome people of all backgrounds and skill levels to share and write with Opensource.com.

Could 2020 be the year you become a contributor or share something new with us?