Beyond computing: open source thinking in practice

Open source thinking is now reaching beyond the domain of IT, and is re-shaping areas as diverse as the media, astronomy, politics and publishing.

Astronomy

Far from being the preserve of a few stargazers in the Mojave dessert, open source thinking has reconfigured astronomy. Worldwide, there are 10,000 professional astronomers, but hundreds of thousands of amateurs who collaborate across the internet.

Media

The media has had to respond to the emergence of co-creation – where people are acting as reporters and viewers, and not just passive consumers. In the UK, we have seen the first signs of this – the BBC received thousands of images from people's mobile phones and digital cameras after 7/7 and the Hemel Hempstead oil explosion.

It is Asia though that leads the way with the 'citizen journalism' phenomenon. In South Korea, the OhMyNews online newspaper is largely written by its own readers – 26,000 citizen reporters contribute 80% of the content.

Politics

Faced with the challenge of increasing mistrust towards politicians, innovative Governments have pioneered the development of deliberative democracy. Reflecting the principles of open source thinking, deliberative democracy is based on giving citizens the chance to help influence and even create legislation through discussion and debate. This is not superficial marketing, but a process that actively involves people in shaping real policy.

Publishing

The online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, operates on an open source basis. Anyone has the right to create, edit and amend an entry, and through voluntary contributions, the site has become a comprehensive resource that rivals traditional paper-bound versions. Wikipedia recently went past the million-entries mark, while a full size Encyclopaedia Britannica has only 120,000 entries (Schiff, 2006).

Branding

In contrast to conventional top-down branding campaigns, the !GuateAmala! campaign to promote the country's self-image has embraced open source thinking. Design templates have been made freely available, enabling people to use the graphics in how whatever way they want to. Blogs and chat rooms have attracted thousands of Guatemalans to debate the country's future (Rawsthorn, 2006).
 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 NEXT >>