Episode 53: Tofus Wang on g0v (GovZero)

Guest Terry “Tofus” Wang Panelist Django Skorupa Show Notes In this episode of Sustain Open Source Design, Django Skorupa is joined by guest Tofus Wang, a UX designer and open source enthusiast from Taipei. Tofus shares his journey into open source, which began during his high school years. Currently, he is a junior UX designer at National Taiwan University, where he also studies economics. Tofus discusses the g0v (GovZero) hackathons, the challenges and opportunities of contributing to open source as a designer, and how non-coders contribute in meaningful ways. Press download now to hear more! [00:06:11] Django and Tofus discuss how contributions in open source design are often harder to track on platforms like GitHub, but they are equally important, and many g0v participants are not coders but contribute in significant ways. He also explains using HackMD, a note taking platform. [00:12:13] Tofus reflects on his contributions as a high school student, participating in g0v School001 project, which promotes hackathons and the spirit of civic hacking to high school students in Taiwan. [00:14:53] Tofus discusses his participation in Da0, a study group exploring decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). Although not fully developed, the project brought together people interested in blockchain and its potential applications for grassroots communities. [00:17:30] Tofus highlights the vital role of design in open source. He worked on visual design projects for multiple initiatives, including creating an interactive UI for Da0’s reputation accounting system. [00:19:54] Django and Tofus dive into projects such as the Plurality Book, an open source book exploring the future of democracy and technology. Tofus worked on the visual design for the book and helped refine its logo. Quotes [00:22:39] “The fundamental technology of digital technology is actually the collaborations of the people.” Spotlight [00:23:26] Tofus’s spotlight is a project he’s working on called, Open 165, a sub-project under Cofacts. Links Open Source Design X (https://twitter.com/opensrcdesign) Open Source Design (https://opensourcedesign.net/) Sustain Design & UX working group (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/t/design-ux-working-group/348) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) Richard Littauer Socials (https://www.burntfen.com/2023-05-30/socials) Django Skorupa Website (https://djangoskorupadesign.webflow.io/) Terry Wang LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-wang-7719111a9?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app) Terry Wang Website (https://bento.me/tofus) HackMD (https://hackmd.io/) Sch001 g0v (https://sch001.g0v.tw/) Plurality Docs (https://docs.plurality.net/) Plurality: The Future of Collaborative Technology and Democracy by E. Glen Weyl and Audrey Tang (https://github.com/pluralitybook/plurality) Open165 Anti-Fraud Information Site (https://github.com/cofacts/open165) Cofacts (https://en.cofacts.tw/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Terry Wang.