rejon is Jon Phillips.

Here is the first pass at what I want to speak about at Libre Graphics Meeting 2009. It is a wake-up alarm to all making desktop applications. We need to be thinking about how our projects and data fit into the web-powered future. Whether or not we agree with the shift to the web is somewhat irrelevant if we want to stay relevant now into the future. As always, I’m stating this fast and early and hope to get some feedback in the comments or directly by editing the presentation proposal before I post the final up on the Libre Graphics Meeting 2009 proposal system I built:

Creating in the Cloud and Other Tales of Design Realidad

The trend towards web-based applications creates a question about the future of creativity on the web. With web projects like Aviary, Scribd and Slideshare, more people than ever have access to making and sharing creations. How do our beloved desktop applications such as Inkscape, Gimp, Scribus, Krita, and Blender fit into this new world wide web world order (NWWWWO)? How do our projects stay relevant in contemporary times as more users and technology move to use network services? How may we learn from the rapid development of web-based projects that don’t rely upon the ultra-long development cycles, arduous community learning curves and reliance upon cranky ingrained software development methodologies?

First, this presentation surveys the landscape of creative network services such as Aviary, DeviantArt, Scribd, and Docstoc. Then it investigates the the Free and Open Source Software (FLOSS) approach to on-line network services, Autonomo.us Free Network Services most commonly licensed with the GNU Affero GPL 3.0 software license. The Open Clip Art Library and Open Font Library communities are used as examples of pre-Free Network Services websites which can fit into the Autonomo.us Free Network Services definition.

This presentation is a call to arms for all FLOSS Graphics communities to think about how their applications integrate with the web, what pieces are missing, and how we can all collaborate on making a unlocked web-based graphics future.

Last week we opened the Libre Graphics Meeting 2009 website for presentation submissions (along with Andy’s awesome new header graphic show above). Please submit your talk! Don’t wait until the last minute, because we need to know how much money we need to allocate for travel. We are raising funds to support travel of supported talks and developers. We are quite eager to put this conference on this year and I’m very happy to be pushing the event towards more web-based autonomo.us projects with the rejuvenated Open Clip Art Library pushing hard. Please submit your presentation proposals now.

If you can’t make it, or you use free and open source graphics tools, please help support the premiere event for free and open source graphics applications. We need your continued support! We’ve raised ~ $4000 USD towards our $15,000 goal from the community. That is 100 supportive people who have supported the conference. If you have a business or want to donate a larger sum, we have sponsorship packages as well which will give you link love and more attention from our communities.

Please spread the announcement below far and wide! You will be rewarded with respect

Libre Graphics Meeting (LGM), the premiere workshop and conference for developers and enthusiasts of free software graphics, will be held May 6-9, 2009, at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

LGM invites you to share your work with the community. Topics of interest include reports on major open source graphics projects, technology previews, engineering talks, power-user techniques, graphics business best practices, and general issues such as open file formats and collaboration.

Interested projects and individuals should submit proposals for presentations, demonstrations, and birds-of-a-feather (BOF) sessions by visiting the talk submission page at the CREATE project wiki. Proposals should be at most two paragraph abstracts and should include any special technical requirements.

Individuals who already plan to attend can now register free of charge at the LGM Web site.

The call for participation ends April 1, so don’t delay!

About Libre Graphics Meeting:

For four years, the Libre Graphics Meeting has been the premiere conference for developers, users and supporters of free software graphics applications. Developers from projects such as GIMP, Inkscape, Blender, Krita, Scribus, Hugin, the Open Clipart Library, and the Open Font Library gather to work on interoperability, shared standards, and new ideas. Work at prior LGMs has pushed the state of the art in important areas such as color management, cross-application sharing of brushes and other assets, and common formats.

The face-to-face meetings and opportunities for collaboration are important to developers, but LGM offers plenty for end users as well. Tutorials, talks, and birds-of-a-feather (BOF) meetings to help free software users get the most out of their applications fill out the LGM schedule, and demonstrations from artists showcase what is possible.

For more information, visit www.libregraphicsmeeting.org

To support LGM 2009′s community fundraising campaign, visit pledgie.com/campaigns/2926