Jono Bacon

The Linux UK website served as the initial platform for Jono Bacon, a software engineer who transitioned from early open-source contributions to professional roles in global technology management. Born in 1979 in Wolverhampton, he established a career spanning technical writing, community strategy consulting, and audio production, eventually moving from the United Kingdom to his current base in California.

Technical Foundations and Community Work

Bacon pursued his education at Wootton Upper School and the University of Wolverhampton. His entry into the technology sector focused on the Linux community. After launching Linux UK, he collaborated with the KDE team on the KDE::Enterprise project and the KDE Usability Study. He later expanded his focus to include the GNOME project. His early career included professional writing for several publications, including Linux Format, Linux Magazine, MacTech, MacFormat, and PC Plus.

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Professional Roles in Open Source

Following a period as a Linux journalist, Bacon joined OpenAdvantage in 2006 to assist organizations in adopting open-source solutions. His corporate tenure includes a significant term at Canonical Ltd. from 4 September 2006 until 28 May 2014, where he served as the Ubuntu Community Manager. He subsequently held positions at the XPRIZE Foundation as Senior Director of Community between 29 May 2014 and 30 October 2015, followed by a role as Director of Community at GitHub from 14 November 2015 to May 2016.

Authorship and Consulting

Bacon founded Stateshift, a consulting firm specializing in developer relations and go-to-market strategies. His literary contributions cover technical instruction and organizational theory. He authored The Art of Community, Linux Desktop Hacks, and PHP and MySQL Web Applications: Building Eight Dynamic Web Sites. He co-authored The Official Ubuntu Book with Benjamin Mako Hill, Corey Burger, and Jonathan Jesse. His 2019 book, People Powered: How Communities Can Supercharge Your Business, Brand, and Teams, examines methods for scaling community engagement.

Podcasting and Musical Interests

Beyond his engineering work, Bacon maintained an active role in digital media as a co-founder of the LugRadio and Bad Voltage podcasts, in addition to co-hosting FLOSS Weekly. He also engaged in professional musical activities as a singer and guitarist. Between 2008 and 2012, he collaborated with Defiance guitarist Jim Adams in the metal band Severed Fifth. The group released three albums and utilized a Creative Commons license for their distribution.