WHY WE ALL SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO OPEN-SOURCE-PROJECTS

aentschus
aentschus
Aug 28, 2017 · 7 min read

The Internet behaves like a conduit to multiple perspectives. It’s like a natural evolution of one of humanity’s most needed qualities in order to survive: cooperation.

As Darwinian theory states:

Selfishness beats altruism within single groups. Altruistic groups beat selfish group (Wilson, David Sloan. 2007. Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin’s Theory Can Change the Way We Think about Our Lives. New York: Delacorte. S. 335)

In our lifetime, we have this breathtaking opportunity to build cooperation and a global community across almost unthinkable distances with just one click. Skyping with my friend in Malaysia and discussing the rise and fall of nation concepts while sitting at the canal side in Berlin was unthinkable just 100 years ago. Now, it is a common thread in our everyday reality of communication. For many of us it’s not clear yet how incredible impressive this is. How much potential we have in that to literally change the direction of this drowning world by putting our heads virtually together and find ways to live together, despite all our beautiful differences, no matter if they are social, economic, geographical, political, cultural or anyhow other rooted.

On the other hand, all that sounds a bit too good to be true, right?! Too idealistic. In the end, the state of mind of the Internet is not yet quite there to completely support this golden path. It is blocked in many ways, as not everybody has the same chance to access it equally for instance. It has countless flaws according online privacy, security and usability that are frustrating for us and which limit our urge to use it for the greater good. Now, we are facing a shift in how we use the Internet, a shift from desktop-browser to mobile browsers and applications and with that this frustration becomes even more hindering and evident. Let’s face it: it is not easy to do good — because it is just not evident enough how to do so without being confronted with all just mentioned. Actually anything can become quite a hassle when it comes to the Internet user experience, if one is not technologically savvy.

The user himself though gets stuck in a weird position, which arises out of his self-perception. For many of us, the Internet is something that is provided to us. Something, that we are using but not actually creating. If we are thinking about our roles in the Internet, it is mostly about us being scared about what it (the monster internet) is doing with our data and in which ways it will suck our time and social interaction dry. There is a growing gap between the Internet user as a exploiter and as a scared rabbit hesitating to interact with it. A browser should make it easy for you to move around the web. It should be educational but patient. Loving and challenging. It should make it easy for you to protect your own rights and privacy and those of others. It should show you your individuality without limiting your view. The Internet is our global home. We all rely on it as we live our daily lives. Therefore it needs to be open to everyone without being generic and shallow.

How to handle this? What to do about it? I believe the answer lies in an eye-opening thought: The world is us. What is in it, is us. The internet is us. Everything we see is what we created, we as a species equals the sum of all our brains and heartbeats. So in order to be less frustrated and to be able to use the Internet to its fullest potential, we have to contribute to it. And in order to do this, we need to feel safe, protected and comfortable. For a browser to secure these feelings from its users, the following qualities must be present:

  • It needs to speak all of our languages to makes us feel understood and part of a global community
  • It needs to be safe for our thoughts and characters — it needs to be data-save
  • It needs to be a place that is easy to develop and adaptable, a place that can openly speak about its needs so that those who are building it can actually address the issues
  • It needs to be user friendly and easy to learn, most of all for those who have never experienced it yet
  • It needs to be completely accessible, even in remote places where we can’t even think about internet yet, like in deserts.
  • It needs to be functional, educational, supportive and secure.

In short, it needs to be like a great diplomatic ambassador of the human species.

However, this is not an easy task. The sole responsibility does not rely upon Information Technology crews around the world developing programs, software and hammering code into their computers.

In order to become the best ambassador for humans, we need to be able to collaborate our minds and build the Internet together. This actually does not require any superhero skills. It simply needs an open mindset and the will to want to change the world for better with whatever you have in hand.

Your voice to teach the internet multiple languages, your stories to give the internet a reliable face, any idea can help. Look for what is out there or start something new. One amazing example is FarmBot, a project to revolutionize agriculture. Another is RefugeRestrooms, a project that maps bathrooms which are save for trans, intersex, and gender nonconforming individuals. These are just a few examples to show how much any idea can help. Isn’t that crazy exciting?

How to get started in the open-source community — There are a number of ways

First of all: Be patient, with yourself and others. Working together requires patience. And don’t get scared away. It is so rewarding.

Second: If you have never contributed to an open source project before and you’re just getting started, consider exploring these resources like http://up-for-grabs.net that gives you a good overview of projects that actively want help. Visit https://opensource.com/ to get a genuine feeling for what is out there.

Third: Don’t wait or hesitate. Just get started. Communicate and try to not be too shy (believe me, I know how that can be the hardest part). In the end, there is one thing to always remember: All of that is bigger than you. But without you, it just gets smaller. Contributing to an open-source project- (in whatever field, really) is your part of the world. It becomes a way to leave your footprint in history. As Annie Dillard said so wisely: How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. So spend it on open source and make the greatest contribution for those on Earth.

Fourth: Support those who make it possible for you to help. Who make it easier for you. Those, who spent their entire brain juice on making the flow of our ideas as liquid as possible. By choosing wisely which companies you support, which products you use and how conscious you are about your everyday habits, you can already contribute to open-source- projects, without actively making your hands dirty. It doesn’t require much to change big. Most of us are just not aware of the power of a simple decision and how much of a global impact it can make. Even just from the everyday action like downloading a particular browser or using a particular product or application can make a monumental change in the grand scheme of things.

Fifth: Stay concerned and critical. Inform yourself. We are living in a world where information is accessible with almost no effort. Use it. All you need is an open mind and the desire and determination to make a change.

Admittedly, we sometimes get burdened with everyday bullshit, but overcoming this and staying focused on building your project and making an impact is so rewarding, I promise you.

If you take one thing away from reading this article, let it be this:

By giving away the proudness of achieving something alone we can achieve to be proud of our species.

Because, we are still able to choose: Yes, we can be angry. We can be against the system. Against politicians. Against decisions. We can argue them. We can spread hate all over the net. We can repeatedly say: There must be change, without changing our habits. We can feel desperate and frightened by all this shit happening these years, decades, or since ever. We can blame single persons, or systems, or nations, or beliefs, or thoughts, or actions, or reactions, or happenings, or nature. There is a lot to hate. A lot.

But we can also decide, not to be angry. We can decide to use what we have created, the openness of knowledge, this thing called Internet and still believe in us. We are not all. But we are. A lot of chances and changes were made by small groups. We have all brains. We could use them. We could at least try to use our selves and any skill we may have, use the platforms we create and try to really changing a bit. Or even all. Let’s never stop thinking big.

It may sound too much. But at the end of the day, we all need to be aware of our contribution to the things we are complaining about. Only by doing this, we can actually get a better world where our kids and future generations can have a genuine smile on their faces.

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aentschus

Written by

aentschus

#Content #Marketing #Manager #editor #globalcitizen #activist + #writer, curious #perspectives lover and me

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