The Correspondent program recognizes our most trusted and committed Opensource.com contributors. Authors who participate in this program receive additional benefits and are recognized for their impact on the open source community.
Benefits of the Correspondent program
All Correspondents have access to perks of the program as thanks for their contribution and ongoing collaboration. The greatest feature of this program is the ongoing relationship members build with the Opensource.com staff and each other. Other benefits include:
- Priority access to a global publishing platform with over 1 million unique readers a month.
- Invitation to an international community of open source advocates including sysadmins, developers, authors, and keynote presenters.
- Exclusive editorial support from the staff including content research and coaching to become the best author you can be.
- Visibility into daily, weekly, and monthly statistics that drive the site’s readership.
- Invitation to our behind-the-scenes weekly editorial roundtable.
- Encouragement to list Opensource.com as a highlight on your resume as you pursue career growth, job applications, and book deals.
- Custom swag to help keep you organized or warm on a winter day.
- A special invitation to virtual events a few times a year with your fellow Correspondents and the editorial team.
How does someone become a Correspondent?
This recognition is for site authors who have the greatest impact on the site through consistent contribution. That is defined as:
- Published at least 10 articles between July 1st of last year and July 1st of this year.
Correspondent membership will be reviewed every year in July to congratulate this year’s members.
The Fast Track to Correspondent
Every once in a while a new author will quickly contribute a significant amount of articles. In order to recognize them, there is one other way for members to become eligible:
- Published at least 4 articles in less than 6 months.
Fast Track allows for motivated authors to quickly join the ranks of fellow writers, and receive additional support from the editorial staff that is well deserved. These Correspondents will also be up for renewal at a prorated rate following the same system as above. See the nitty gritty below for more details.
What is expected of me as a Correspondent?
While membership is a recognition for past contributions, there are opportunities to make the most of the program. Here are some of the regular activities to expect from participating in the Opensource.com Correspondent program:
- Jump on a video chat or email to discuss your editorial goals and article edits.
- Send your comments, takeaways, or observations about the daily stats.
- Join the weekly newsroom discussions to discuss headlines and themes.
- Help promote yourself and peers on social media and syndication networks.
Correspondent values
They are:
- Kindness
- Humility
- Curiosity
For Correspondents, participation is about sharing through writing, encouraging others, learning together, and remaining kind to one another. The greatest feature of the program is the ongoing relationship build between all members, and Correspondent members value these traits.
How do I become a Correspondent?
It all starts by sharing your open source stories. By writing just one article you are on the path toward becoming a Correspondent. Let us know you are interested in membership and we will coach you along the way.
Here are some strategies that work for others:
- Listen to an open source-centric podcast and publish an annotated version of the show (example)
- Reach out to industry visionaries and interview them (example)
- Publish round-ups of software libraries, observability tools, or anything else (example)
- Sign up to publish our regular news round-ups by emailing open@opensource.com (example)
The nitty-gritty
- Membership includes an agreement to the site terms and conditions and rules for discussion.
- Eligibility is reviewed on a monthly cadence and reported back through articles under the Opensource.com Community tag.
- Given the amount of investment and 1:1 attention members receive, there are limitations to participation numbers.
- We do not guarantee or require membership of all contributors who are eligible, and we appreciate all those who can participate in a way that works for their schedule.
- All members of the Correspondent program receive the same benefits from the time they achieve the benefit through July 1st of the next calendar year.
- Membership crosses calendar years and is a yearly designation.
- For example, if I authored 10 articles between July 2018 and July 2019, I am a member of the Corrependents until July 2020.
- Fast Track eligibility includes previous Correspondents who are no longer members.
- For example, if I were a Correspondent until July 2020, but I am no longer a member because I wrote fewer than 10 articles that year, then I could write 4 articles in less than 6 months to rejoin the program.
- Fast Track members are review on the same cycle as other members.
- Fast Track members will be prorated two minus the number of full months left in the calendar year.
- Membership does mean Opensource.com staff will reach out regularly to support your continued membership in the following year.
- If, for any reason, members no longer wish to participate, send an email to the editorial staff and we will remove you from the program.
Are you interested in contributing but not sure if this is the right program for you? Contact the Opensource.com team. We are here to help you share your open source stories.