Sustainable Open Source
From talking to many people over the last few months about Open Source (who are not software developers) it was surprising just how few were aware of what open source is, let alone how critical it is. When the broader world knows so little, what can be done to explain the value that open source provides the world, and the necessity of making sure that continued development is sustainable?
That is a question I have been pondering. What would sustainable open source development look like? After much thought I have developed a vision:
Developer Stars
Within their own niche communities software developers can attain some level of stardom. However when you look at the artistic community things are drastically different — YouTube stars earn millions of dollars, some bloggers earn insane incomes, Etsy sellers can make a good income, and Instagram models are millionaires.
But those leading the development (often single-handed) of massively popular software are often working on it in their spare time for free.
I believe this discrepancy is because there hasn’t been a funding model that works well. People need to see something that works and then they’ll jump on it to follow the best practices. This is visible in the phenomenal growth of Patreon, which is shaking up YouTube.
YouTube stars produce another effect. Ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up.. there’s a good chance YouTube star is high on the list. We want more people to write awesome open source code because it can make life better for us all. Developer stars can become the role models for the next generation in a way that burned-out work-for-free open source developers cannot be.
Fostering Open Source
The star status can only be really attained if the other side of the equation is put in place: Important open source projects should be funded by those who value the work.
The obvious objection is “why pay for something that is free?” Certainly there are people who will never kick the developers a couple bucks, but many people are willing to.
People usually expect to get something of value for any money they spend and finding a way to deliver that value is going to be the the secret ingredient for any successful platform for funding FOSS.
I hope to see both end users, and corporations have reasons for regularly supporting all those open source developers they rely on. This is a theme that deserves its own story on — follow me to make sure you don’t miss it.
Sustainable
Sustainability requires a balance in demands and support. The current state of things puts heavy demands on open source developers with very little support. It means projects suffer, and the developers suffer. Sustainable Free and Open Source Software is going to be a game changer. It will change the dynamic for the entire community. It’ll create rewards for people where there it merit, draw more people into the industry.
I foresee a world where there are open-source millionaires who are able to spend their days writing and improving open source code. With all that time, they are able to provide support, and drive continual improvements. These developer stars will raise the eyebrows of their peers and kids around the world who will finally see the value of Open Source.
