Technologies for Free Culture World Domination Workshop Mike Linksvayer 2007-06-17

Workshop on opportunities, challenges and dependencies across the “open movements” (many of which are fundamentally technological)

10000m view Grounding in project examples Mapping strengths, weaknesses, dependencies, gaps across “open” Identify commonalities Distill core technical challenges and opportunities How should this inform actions going forward? In workshop notes are red

10000m view

Grounding in project examples

Mapping strengths, weaknesses, dependencies, gaps across “open”

Identify commonalities

Distill core technical challenges and opportunities

How should this inform actions going forward?

In workshop notes are red

Free/Libre/Open Source Software Free Culture P2P Open formats Open data Semantic Web Open Access Open protocols Open web Open education

Obvious 1 Challenge to FLOSS: Web applications Partial solutions from nearly every category, most completely and tenuously from P2P

Obvious 2 Legal challenges to P2P Only FLOSS has survived

(How much has legal cloud impacted P2P beyond filesharing? Would Web ~2 be less centralized without chilling of P2P?)

Obvious 3 DRM threat to Free Culture FLOSS not amenable to DRM (Cory's fun comment about demands that computers be made worse at copying)

Grounding in project examples How will your project be relevant and helpful in 10 years?

10000m view Grounding in project examples Mapping strengths, weaknesses, dependencies, gaps across “open” Identify commonalities Distill core technical challenges and opportunities How should this inform actions going forward?

10000m view

Grounding in project examples

Mapping strengths, weaknesses, dependencies, gaps across “open”

Identify commonalities

Distill core technical challenges and opportunities

How should this inform actions going forward?

Workshop: FLOSS Strengths it works; can fix if it doesn't work Challenges web applications; not fixable by most people; usability no HIG; closed drivers; DRM; too much NIH including wrt standards Dependencies open formats; open networks; open hardware;

Strengths

it works; can fix if it doesn't work

Challenges

web applications; not fixable by most people; usability no HIG; closed drivers; DRM; too much NIH including wrt standards

Dependencies

open formats; open networks; open hardware;

Workshop: Free Culture Strengths anyone can participate; permits production of free knowledge; lots of stuff out there; wikipedia; noninfringing use Challenges not enough experiences; not enough crossover between sharing and commercial economies; not using open formats; illiteracy/access to tools; versioning Dependencies open formats; free software (continuity, no-DRM, access to tools); open formats; non-centralized sharing platform; non-broken Internet;

Strengths

anyone can participate; permits production of free knowledge; lots of stuff out there; wikipedia; noninfringing use

Challenges

not enough experiences; not enough crossover between sharing and commercial economies; not using open formats; illiteracy/access to tools; versioning

Dependencies

open formats; free software (continuity, no-DRM, access to tools); open formats; non-centralized sharing platform; non-broken Internet;

Workshop: P2P Strengths scalability; failure safe Challenges research project; bandwidth; latency; NAT; legality; web applications; business models for P2P development Dependencies open networks; free culture; free software

Strengths

scalability; failure safe

Challenges

research project; bandwidth; latency; NAT; legality; web applications; business models for P2P development

Dependencies

open networks; free culture; free software

Workshop: Open formats Strengths interoperability Challenges closed formats have critical mass; marketing; patents Dependencies free software

Strengths

interoperability

Challenges

closed formats have critical mass; marketing; patents

Dependencies

free software

Workshop: Open data Strengths Challenges Dependencies

Strengths

Challenges

Dependencies

Workshop: Semantic Web Strengths Challenges Dependencies

Strengths

Challenges

Dependencies

Workshop: Commonalities decentralization willingness to collaboration/user innovation

decentralization

willingness to collaboration/user innovation

Workshop: Core Tech Challenges web applications legality common architectural format/compatibility

web applications

legality

common architectural format/compatibility

Crazy? Tilting at windmills? Is “world domination” remotely possible for any of the “opens”? Is irrelevance a real threat for any?

How can we know? More theory on societal salience (e.g. Benkler) More (any?) good and broad criticism Much more empirical research Prediction markets/technologies

Workshop: Going forward informed decentralization

decentralization

Experience Free Culture

Mike Linksvayer [email_address] presentation license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/