Business models around Open Source Software have matured over the last 10 years generating significant revenues for those organisations that open up their intellectual property. This open source approach is now spreading into other areas where collaboration, peering, openness and sharing can bring tangible benefits to all participants.

Open Source Software (as opposed to free as in free beer software) has matured significantly over the last few years together with many revenue generating business models being adopted but this open approach is rapidly spreading into other areas.

Sharing ideas has now become big business in the 21st century marketplace. Switched-on firms share ideas for numerous reasons; to build their reputation, save on research and development costs, collect feedback from their customers, get new products to market quicker – to name but a few; have you opened your mind to sharing innovation?

O Static has an interesting blog article on "Beyond Open Source Software" that illustrates other ways of of people are using the open source principles to distribute their IP such as the RepRep self replicating machine, the Open Prosthetics Project and the BioBricks Foundation whose goal is to open source synthetic "BioBricks". 

I've always liked The Goldcorp Challenge story illustrated in Wikinomics where Considerable gold-mining geology information and data for a 55,000 acre property was released to the public as part of a competition (the Goldcorp Challenge) together with a total of over $0.5m prize money. Within weeks “contestants” had identified 110 potential targets in the property, half of which had never been identified by Goldcorp Inc themselves, over 80% of the new targets went on to yield substantial quantities of gold - in total 8m oz of gold have been found since the competition started. This collaborative “open source” approach is also considered by Goldcorp to have taken 2-3 years off their exploration time.

In education the "open source" approach combined with social and collaborative learning and engaging in "Communities of Practice" offers the potential to change the way people learn, interact, develop, apply and reflect for life that will undoubtedly have an effect on people around them. This "linking, lurking and learning" approach is a fundamental underpinning of the evolution of education that is taking place embracing Web2.0 technologies and techniques, as John Seely Brown put it:

• “Lurk is the cognitive apprenticeship term for legitimate peripheral participation. The culture of the Internet allows you to link, lurk, and learn. You can move from the periphery to the centre safely asking a question – sometimes more safely virtually than physically - and then back out again. It has provided a platform for perhaps the most successful form of learning that civilization has ever seen.
• "The evolution of the Internet can facilitate this approach, he said. Web 2.0 tools, such as wikis and blogs, make information sharing and content creation easier."
• "Online communities are forming around a wide variety of topics. Amateur astronomers, for example, are sharing information among themselves and even with professionals."
• "The Internet is also helping drive a transformation from a mass media model--where information is delivered from experts to consumers--to a situation that allows people to create content online, often by using existing content."
• "A 'hybrid' learning approach where schools can teach essential knowledge and critical thinking through somewhat traditional means. But they should complement that teaching with "passion-based learning" that focuses on getting students more engaged with topic experts."
• John Seely Brown's website

Philip Oakley has an interesting post on Open Source Politics where he gleans from the UK political parties websites their approaches to Open Source Software.

George Osbourne from the Conservative Party delivered a good speech on this matter, and social networking in March 2007 and predicted that the US presidential elections would "push the envelope" even further, however the Cabinet Office UK (via Gov Talk website) certainly does not appear to be embracing Open Source going by the latest publish date of their Open Source Software policy which is 28th October 2004.

Change.Gov, the new website of the President-Elect Barack Obama outlines their "agenda for change" very clearly and invites the submission of ideas so that change can be "of the people, by the people". Some extracts from the Technology Agenda:

• Protect the Openness of the Internet: A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history. It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet.
• Open Up Government to its Citizens: The Bush Administration has been one of the most secretive, closed administrations in American history. Our nation’s progress has been stifled by a system corrupted by millions of lobbying dollars contributed to political campaigns, the revolving door between government and industry, and privileged access to inside information-all of which have led to policies that favor the few against the public interest. An Obama presidency will use cutting-edge technologies to reverse this dynamic, creating a new level of transparency, accountability and participation for America's citizens.
• Bring Government into the 21st Century: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will use technology to reform government and improve the exchange of information between the federal government and citizens while ensuring the security of our networks. Obama and Biden believe in the American people and in their intelligence, expertise, and ability and willingness to give and to give back to make government work better. Obama will appoint the nation's first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century. The CTO will ensure the safety of our networks and will lead an interagency effort, working with chief technology and chief information officers of each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices.

So, could Change.Gov lead to a new "open source" business model where collaboration, peering, openness and sharing is used for the benefit "of the people, by the people"?