For Love, Not Money (or Leaving the Mozilla Paycheck)
Over the last three-and-a-half years, I’ve had a dream consulting gig as a Mozilla Foundation staff member.
Mozilla marked a major change for me. While I’ve worked on various electronic frontier, free software and open source projects over the last decade, working with Mozilla was the first time that I was able to focus solely on these issues without financial distractions. I still can’t believe my luck.
I also can’t believe that I’d ever want to stop being a Mozilla staffer. My colleagues are exceptional, the work is deeply rewarding, the Mozilla reputation opens most doors and Mozilla’s lovely accountants are as punctual as the sunrise.
Still, that’s where I’m at and, next Friday on March 13, I’m stepping down from my paid staff position.
When I started with Mozilla, I imagined that my passions and Mozilla’s interests would align beautifully. It’s never really happened and I’ve kept assuming that it would.
After the first year, I thought that I just needed more time to get comfortable and decided to be patient.
After the second year, I thought that I just needed more focus. I reduced my travel schedule, dropped a dozen other engagements (paid and volunteer) and worked almost exclusively with Mozilla.
After the third year, I thought that the Foundation team needed to be reinvigorated. Well, we’ve done that. Our little team is ticking along. Mark’s been a great addition, David and Frank are both powering through their projects, and in the near future we’ll have Gerv’s full attention.
The situation couldn’t be much better and it highlights the truth of what I felt at the beginning of my time at Mozilla – my passion is different than Mozilla’s passion.
Accepting this difference, it’s time for me to get back to working on my passions (and figuring out how to afford to do so.)
After reading this, it may surprise you to learn that I’ll be continuing much of my Mozilla work as a volunteer, developing the ideas in the Age of Literate Machines, continuing the Mozilla Net Effects program and working on ideas for building a broad social movement around the Mozilla values. I’m passionate about all of these things and look forward to the freedom to work on these ideas without being concerned about the immediate return on time spend or how it looks to have a Mozilla staffer going out on a limb or a hundred other small distractions.
Wish me luck! See you on the other side of a paycheck. 
