Amazing Wikipedia

I was so amazed by this the other day. In case anyone doesn't know, wikipedia is currently collecting donations for their operations. Their target seems to be about USD 1.6 million. Now, this may seem like a large sum, but I've seen the meter jump a lot just in a few days.

The first time I noticed anything was a scant 2 days ago. On tuesday, I saw the meter jump from 60k to 80k within half a day. And today, it's already at 172k. Wow! I've never seen so many people give so much money in such a short time before. This is one of the wonders of the new technology.

The internet has given power to the people. This is an example of how 'good' and democratic technology can encourage people to give. Wikipedia is truly a project, "of the people, by the people, for the people". It's also often used as an analogy of open source.

I was asked by a friend, a few days ago, about how open source companies make money. This might be a good project for my economist friends to pursue in their final year. Open source turns a lot of business models on their head. That's why Microsoft is scared. Open source isn't a development model, nor is it a marketing model, it is a business model.

The reason that I say this is because, open source is about the rules of distribution and benefits. When a piece of software/hardware is open sourced, it means that the source code is now available under a truly 'open' license. Open source recognises that the true value behind any software/hardware isn't the idea, but the implementation of the idea. This has always been true, and will always stay true. No one pays money for an idea. They pay money to get a real-world benefit from the idea.

So, by giving away the source code, open source companies are not losing much in terms of the value of the product. Taking the example of Linux, all source code is available. However, it would take many man months to compile and deploy all the necessary software for an entreprise. Hence, customers will pay for a 'finished product' that can be deployed and maintained well. That is the true 'value'. The source code on it's own does nothing, and has no intrinsic value to the customer.

Then, my friend asked me how a programmer can make money in the future if he/she has to give the code away. The answer is simple. If his/her product/code is good (e.g. Linux), he/she will have to constantly maintain it. Else, the code will just fall into disrepair and everything will flounder. This is where the community spirit can come in. Someone has to foot the bills. In the case of Linux, major companies foot the bill to pay the salaries of the core developers. For wikipedia, the community is footing the bill.

So, the idea of treating source code as a 'resource' to be controlled, is slowly losing it's lead. Source code is knowledge and knowledge wants to be free. Amazing ain't it?