Inline with “The Way Of Open Source” by Randall Packer, Yochai Benkler agrees that the assumption where people are only motivated to produce information should they be monetarily compensated is false. For example, a familiar open source we can look at is Wikipedia. A commons where individuals are constantly updating information without any said benefits. On top of Wiki,  NASA Clickworkers, or even the conversations from our Hardwarezone forums.

With our highly networked society today, the examples above and the article written by Randall Packer has indeed expanded my eyes to the potential of open source network have to individuals. To me, one open source platform that I utilize very much as a creative is Pinterest and Vimeo. Imagine the amount of inspiration one could receive – should everyone share their works and ideas openly on these platforms.

On the other side of the coin, is it possible to build a safe, buzzing and like-minded community where we all can share freely? For even should we not be driven by monetary gains to share the ongoings of our creative minds, we might have a different motivation to do so. Take for example Wikipedia again, where “Wiki wars” do actually happen due to different personal agendas individuals posses.

Perhaps should we acknowledge that the act of creation is indeed a social act (further explained below), maybe we would be more open to the concept of an Open Source Studio. And who knows what new, crazy ideas would be developed from there.

 

 

 

Art is a social act: It is very likely that we draw inspiration and ideas from somewhere, something, or from someone. Our own minds by itself, is moulded by people and we also learn from people. From the beginning of time, art itself was created by the entire community (think of Ang Kor Wat or the Pyramid), and was meant to be utilised for the community.