Hey everyone,
My name is Serkan Holat, I’m half Turkish half Dutch, currently living in Amsterdam area, Holland.
Next to my freelance software development job, I’m helping organize “tech for nonprofits” events, as part of Netsquared Amsterdam, an initiative from Techsoup. And also working on some experimental web based open source projects on the side.
Although I started developing applications in 2000, since I was always on Microsoft side, and worked for commercial companies / projects, it took a different path for me to figure out the importance of open source.
Around 2010, I had my eureka moment when I realized that I had to write same type of application (content management system) with more or less same features for four times, for different companies in the last ten years.
Therefore, I’m not only interested in the state of existing initiatives, but more curious about, how can we stop “reinventing the wheel” altogether? How a regular software company can get into open source, start sharing their knowledge, without taking a financial risk?
To be more specific:
- How many organizations are out there that are creating the same type of software, finding same solutions? And probably not only software, but any type of “knowledge” (architectural, industrial designs, formulas etc.)? In other words, what is the size of “knowledge investment” overlaps across industries?
- Can we find a way to make “using open source licenses” a financially viable option (subsidizing these investments), so the knowledge can be freely shared across organizations?
- And if we could achieve this, how would this affect our progress in all knowledge related areas (speed of innovation, technological advancements)? Or in short, what is exactly the sales pitch of open source?
I’m planning to open a new thread on these items / ideas, so we can brainstorm further.
From Holland with love,
Serkan