The Meaning of Open

There are a lot of misconceptions about what open means, when it is the right strategy to apply, and the fundamental tradeoffs that go…

Things end users care about but programmers don't

A list of things I've noticed are important for end users but hard for programmers to understand or implement

The Open Organization Definition

Openness is becoming increasingly central to the ways groups and teams of all sizes are working together to achieve shared goals. And today, the most forward-thinking organizations—whatever their missions—are embracing openness as a necessary orientation toward success. They've seen that openness can lead to:

I hate the term “open source”

It doesn’t accurately reflect how people are building today anymore.

Being Open by Design

“We were born as a radically open, radically participatory organization, unbound to traditional corporate structure. We played a role in…

The Paradox of Open

Numerous organisations and initiatives have been launched with a belief in openness and free knowledge. Their proponents placed their bets on the combined power of networked information services and new governance models for the production and sharing of content and data. We – as members of this broad movement – were among those who believed it possible to leverage this combination of power and opportunity to build a more democratic society, unleashing the power of the internet to create universal access to knowledge and culture. For us, such openness meant not only freedom, but also presented a path to justice and equality.

Open Source or Open Core: Why Should You Care?

Open source software has gained its significant foothold because the community development model works everywhere. Its momentum has moved it into the underlying infrastructure of some of the most sophisticated web scale companies, like Facebook and Google. Open source underpinnings now drive many of the most significant advances in the worlds of cloud and big data.

Open Source or Open Core: Why Should You Care?

Open source software has gained its significant foothold because the community development model works everywhere. Its momentum has moved it into the underlying infrastructure of some of the most sophisticated web scale companies, like Facebook and Google. Open source underpinnings now drive many of the most significant advances in the worlds of cloud and big data.

Thinking about other industries like we think about data centers shows how impoverished the debate is

Clumsy, arbitrary environmental ideas ignore the incredible complexity of the systems modern society depends on

Diversity, equity and inclusion

I'm in favour of diversity, equity and inclusion in open source communities, and here's why I think it matters.

The open source community that embraces designers most, wins.

That’s my theory. Here’s my reasoning:

Scale deep — The Systems Sanctuary

The world calls us to shift our mindsets and values from outdated ways of being and doing rooted in dominance, hierarchy and harmful systems, towards new ways rooted in relationship, collaboration and innovation.

The Politics of Open Infrastructures: Power, Governance, and Justice in Digital Knowledge Practices

This volume examines how openness is designed, governed, contested and lived in contemporary digital knowledge infrastructures. From open source software and internet standards, to citizen science platforms, public sector data systems and alternative computing practices, the book shows that infrastructures are never neutral technical backbones.