Why You Should Go Open Source
You should go Open Source if you want to change the world.
And I don't mean partial open source - I mean open source as in the Open Source Hardware Definition.
That means you not only publish your plans, but also allow others to use the technology commercially.
So how do you make a living?
You can sell your product.
But would giving the plans away kill your business?
No, it should enhance it...unless you are one of the largest multibillion dollar monopolies out there, and you can afford to waste a lot of resources on protectionism and patents. Did you know that in 2012, Apple and Google spent more on patents than on research and development?
Anyone who undertands that opensourcing your technology is good business is a genius. Elon Musk took the leadership on this - by opensourcing his electric car.
Elon Musk said that patents are just a waiting line for a lawsuit. He wanted his technology to spread, so he opensourced it.
OSE believes that open source is good for the world, and that the good energy that comes from open-sourcing allows a technology to spread.
Cesar Harada, founder of Protei - the open source sailing drones for ocean spill cleanup - told me that he opensourced his technology because he wants to change the world. Thus he went to China to produce them, with the expressed intention of gettig ripped off - because he wanted the technology to spread far and wide. Do you think he could capture value from this process?
The practical side is that giving away your blueprints for free is extremely positive marketing - and many customers will find out about you if you do that. It is free marketing.
If you open source your tech, you also gain access to a developer community. If you publish, others can contribute. You gain a free, distributed R&D department around the world.
Now the reality is that you will likely have to find a different, more innovative business model to make open source work. Open source is a development methodology. The business model is a separate issue. You will still have to run a business that works. But if you are with the times - you will look for ways to capitalize on the positive marketing, less competitive waste, and potential development talent - while doing the world good.
At Open Source Ecology - we want to see Distributive Enterprise become the norm - enterprise that encourages others to make a living from it by publishing the enterprise plans openly.
Additional Links
- Why Tesla Motors went open source in Forbes - [1]
- Why OSE Doesn't Support the Use of Creative Commons Non-Commercial Licenses
