(3rd in a series. Miss Part 1 or Part 2?)
Source code as derivatives market
(I know, I know — this doesn’t *exactly* meet the definition of a derivatives market as understood by Wall Street, but work with me here)
Now that I’ve told you how much we overvalue source code, I’m now going to argue that software does have inherent value. LOL Ok, fine — I admit it. Source code does have value. It’s just not in the way that you think.
Obviously, you have to build on something, and source code — and those who write it — lay the foundation, and the software licenses we choose define the rules for sharing and collaboration on said software. But that source code, on its own, cannot be sold for money. Instead, it’s a 2nd order source of value, or a derivative. You may not be able to sell source code, but you can certainly use it to your advantage, or create systems that work to your advantage: strategic partnerships, centers of gravity that attract users and developers, influential communities, and that’s before we get to the actual value created by the polished solutions built with the software itself. GitHub is a great example. The source code it hosts isn’t particularly valuable, but the coalescing of developer communities around its tools and services is extremely valuable…
