23 Empire Drive
St. Paul, Minnesota 55103

Hi folks,
As I mentioned in the meeting last night for Dec 20th we would like to do a Flash code/design jam. Here's the plan and we need your ideas to make it work so please chime in.
Objective:
To spend 2 hours working on a non-profit website and do a Flash project for them. It could be a website face lift. An intro clip. A simple game. A cool menu or widget. other? As long as it involves Flash in some way. It could involve other things as well but it should involve Flash. We'll have wireless and laptops and three projectors to make sure everyone can participate or observe what's going on. The objective is to see how this could be done. And for more experienced folks to show off their tips and tricks to the rest of us.
What could you do now to help:
* Spread the word that we're doing this and see if any non-profit organizations are interested. If you run a non-profit website please chime in with your own proposals. Please see the sample email at the end of this message as an example of what you could send out to possible non-profit websites or folks you know.(Toby wrote this initially and I edited it a little). If you find someone who is interested please ask them to send a proposal with the following information to me at csartang@hotmail.com:
1) organization's name
2) organization's mission (1 sentence)
3) Project that you would like FlashMN to complete
If we have multiple entries I'll try to choose one that would fit our code/design-jam constraints best. No worries we may do this again so other non-profits may get their turn in the future.
* We also need volunteers to lead three groups. I'm guessing we'll need a Design group, Flash Coder group and non-flash coder group (php, SQL etc.). If you are interested in leading one of these groups please send me your name with your preference. Also if you would like to be a member of one of these groups please send me your name so that we can organize these groups ahead of time. The groups are not set in stone and you can switch once you get here but I would like to have at least the leads for the three groups figured out before we begin on Dec 20th. Please email me if you have ideas on how to improve our chances of success and fun.
Here are the rules:
1. We need a representative from the selected non-profit group that should be available to answer questions via email before the event and be present during the code/design-jam.
2. We need to make sure that we know our goal for the evening before the event. So the non-profit needs to decide what they want before the meeting. If they need some help with that I'm sure some of us can help out via email before the event to pin it down or do some mock Photoshop's of it so come Dec 20th we'll know what needs to be done. Basically we need to have a spec before we begin.
3. Bring your laptops if you have it. Come anyway if you don't. We'll be group coding and we need ideas, coders and designers. If you are a beginner please show up and observe and learn the tricks of the trade from the more experienced folks. We'll have three paths during the jam that we'll show through three projectors that way everyone can see what's happening.
Example request to other folks you know so that we can get some proposals in.
Good afternoon!
I am part of an organization (FlashMN) that is looking into the possibility of offering some free website help to a non-profit or other organization on Dec 19th. FlashMN's members are some of the finest and well-respected website developers and designers in town, and the plan is to spend two hours developing either a website(s) or a website component(s) in Flash during the group's next meeting. This is an excellent opportunity for any organization that is looking to enhance its web presence.

In case you are wondering, Flash is software that is installed in 99% of all web browsers and does all the cool stuff you see on the web - video, audio, animations, dynamic menus, games, e-learning, e-commerce, etc. In a nutshell, it can pretty much do anything you can imagine doing in a web browser. :)

To submit a proposal, please submit the following information via email to Saviz Artang (csartang@hotmail.com):

1) Your organization's name
2) Your organization's mission (1 sentence)
3) Project that you would like FlashMN to complete for you

The deadline for entries is Friday Dec 10th at 5 p.m. Feel free to extend this invitation to any other organizations in town!

Have a great day!

Official Website: http://flashmn.com

Added by saviz on November 29, 2007