Nov
1
Written by:
Chris Chodnicki
11/1/2007 4:17 PM
Because open-source technology is freely distributed with limited or no intellectual property restrictions, it promotes progress through the contributions of collaborative users. When we think of open source, we might think of things like the operating system LINUX, the programming language PERL, the browser Firefox, or the database mySQL. The reality is that the open source movement extends to collaborative, user-generated content, like YouTube, MySpace, and Flickr, where the very substance of the site relies on community contribution. Open-source has grown beyond the software realm to become a cultural phenomenon for multi-generational segment of our society that I call the Open-Source Generation or Generation-O.
Today’s Internet user becomes a part of this open-source content culture by contributing to blogs & discussion forums, by adding a clip to YouTube, or by creating a personal Web page using social networking sites like MySpace or FaceBook for example. Generation-O is different from the constructs of Generation-X or Generation-Y because it does not segregate by age. Generation-O members of all ages, races, genders, and nationalities are producing content in a self-moderated, shared manner, as exemplified by Wikipedia. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that is continually updated by millions of regular people throughout the world. As new concepts, words, phrases and meanings happen, the Wikipedia entry is growing and evolving. Google is another monumental achievement of Generation-O. The technology for Internet searches was initially a text-related search algorithm only. Google, has now matured by introducing far-superior technology that employs an advanced interconnection of information, locations, media, and other data sources. Information to this volume of knowledge is only possible through the power of the open-source culture.
By using the internet and such social technologies as peer-to-peer networks, blogs and mashups the open source culture is a major stakeholder on the web. Add this to the low cost to create, access and distribute digital media and you get rocket fuel for Generation-O like never before.
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