This week’s reading raised a question that I always wanted to ask: how can you make money with open source? Since it’s open source, it belongs to everyone and can be used by anyone. Although some contributors are doing this for fun or for pride or for publicity, many people make a living out of it. I have no experience in Second Life, but, according to the Wikinomics, people, on average, can make $20000 a year by selling their creations in this virtual world. Is there really such a market for it? And what are they selling anyway? Virtual items? I am confused about the concept that you can generate profit from open source. Is it because I drew a too distinctive of a line between virtual and reality? Or am I just one of the old-minded people who couldn’t see the big picture? However, one thing that I understand is that collaboration can save cost, can give you the biggest bang of a buck; but I wouldn’t consider that “profit”.
I have a blast reading the chapter on “The Prosumer.” It is a very inspiring and a very insightful chapter. As an industrial design student, I am considering my study on interactive design. After reading this chapter, I think a interactive designer’s goal is not to create an end product but, like the book said, a platform for the audience. Such experience from the audience will bring the interaction to a deeper connection and a more emotional level.
One thing that I have noted, at the time when Tapscott and Williams published this book, Apple had yet given us the iPhone. In the book, Tapscott and Williams said that Apple is a close system, close platform; and yet, now, Apple has given the World a developer kit for it’s iPhone/iPod Touch. The innovation of the iPhone has bring Apple to another level, and has set a new benchmark in the way we use communication gadget. From all those apps on iPhone, I can truly see how Apple can harness the mass collaboration (and, well, how people can making money off it). Not only does Apple make profit out of selling these apps that created by the peers, but they also incorporate all these codes for their future uses. This is a zero-cost business model! Other people write and design the program, while you earn a fraction of the proceed, and received all the programming power for free.
May 24, 2009 at 1:42 am
I’ve played Second Life, and I know one girl in my animation year sells items in there. When it comes to virtual reality games like SL, its ALL about expression. You can sell anything from houses to skins for the person you control (and there’s some really awesome artists on there too). You can create 3D objects (like say a bunny toy) and sell that as well. (http://newlyborn84.blogspot.com/ is a really cool blog of a skin artist on SL, they make all sorts of objects like you would find in a real life clothing store.)
But I don’t really understand how Second Life is open source, it’s an open reality for sure, but each individual who creates is not asking for others to collaborate on that object they’re making. Rather I think it’s just a massive place for people to do whatever they want.
May 24, 2009 at 1:49 am
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