Thu, Feb 23, 2006
The Price of Openness
#
By many accounts, MashupCamp was pretty cool. But there were elements of the
event that were most definitely uncool. (K83)
RyanKing, one of the instigators behind the original BarCamp,
said it best: (K84)
On news.com.com.com.com today, there's a
pretty silly puff piece about the camp, focusing mainly on David
Berlind, one of the organizers (who happens to work for the same
company as the publication who published the article). (K85)
The article talks about the unique nature of MashupCamp, how it was
somewhat free-form, where the attendees created the experience as the
event unfolded, rather than having it all planned up front. And the
article makes it sound as if David Berlind invented the concepts. (K86)
That's bullshit. (K87)
It most certainly is. Other BarCamp instigators, such as ChrisMessina
and AndySmith, expressed
similar
sentiments. (K88)
These folks have every right to feel annoyed. Hell, even I'm annoyed,
and all I did was attend the first BarCamp. But my annoyance is
tempered by the following knowledge. (K89)
First, you pay a price for openness. People often talk about how
credit is currency in the OpenSource world. That may be true, but
there's no guarantee that anyone gets paid. (K8A)
For example, given the sudden interest in these so-called
unconferences, you would think that HarrisonOwen would be a household
name. But he's not. Who is Harrison? He invented OpenSpace, and
rather than trademark it or try to own it in other ways, he gifted it
to the world. Most of these gatherings are using some form of
OpenSpace. Has Harrison gotten his due reward for this great gift? (K8B)
Second, in the end, the cost of openness is worth it, because
authenticity always wins. (K8C)
I stayed away from MashupCamp, because it didn't feel authentic to me.
That's not to say that it wasn't valuable, or that there weren't great
folks involved. Quite the opposite. They did a lot of the things
that are critical for throwing great events. And if you examine the
Wiki, they credit BarCamp and OpenSpace.
For all of that, I applaud them. And if other types of gatherings do
the same, we will all be better for it. (K8D)
But what most people fail to get is that you can't just steal the
name and the format, slap together a Wiki, and expect to replicate the
spirit of the original event, just as you can't just slap an
OpenSource license on a piece of software and expect the hacker
community to shower you with love. You need to be authentic. (K8E)
The original BarCamp organizers were motivated by the beautiful things
that happen when brilliant people gather to share their knowledge and
passion, unencumbered by traditional boundaries and hierarchies. Not
unexpectedly, some folks saw their success and saw dollar signs.
Bully for them. That's what the market system is all about, and I'm a
capitalist through and through. (K8F)
But retaining the original spirit can be a tricky thing, and it's
impossible if it's just not in you. And if that spirit is not there,
then you lose something critical. Maybe that's not important to some,
and in the short term, it may seem even less so. But in the end,
authenticity always wins. For every MashupCamp, there's a
RecentChangesCamp, gatherings that not only embrace the original
spirit, but take it to new heights. If I were a betting man (and I
am), I'd bet that the gatherings that capture that original spirit are
the ones that will be around five, ten, twenty years from now, in some
form or another. (K8G)
/collaboration |
Posted at 2:50am
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