if place is a system, let's make it an open source one

If place is a system… let’s make it an open source one

Devon County Council12 November 2012

People + Process > Technology

Strategy

Training

Development

@davebriggs

dave@kindofdigital.com

kindofdigital.com

Computers are interesting things

"wholly new forms of encyclopedias will appear, ready made with a mesh of

associative trails running through them, ready to be dropped into the memex and

there amplified"

“The mother of all demos”

Video conferencingReal time collaborative editing

HypertextDynamically linked documents

Hypertext

Hypertext

Hypermedia

Hypertext

Hypermedia

Intertwingularity

Project Xanadu:

"the longest-running vaporware project in the history of

computing"

Hacker cultureRise of the software industry

Gnu (1983)FSF (1985)

Free as in speech, not as in beer

Open source (1998)

“Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow”

Most contributors to FOSS are users, not developers

The bug tracker

1. Identifies2. Prioritises

3. Solutionises4. Reportulises

An open source approach to place?

(If we view place as a system, albeit rather a complicated one)

1. Users spot bugs and report2. Progress is open and viewable

3. Anyone can suggest, and (if agreed) implement solutions.

Not “Fix My Street!”

1. Helps with cross-service issues

2. Visibility of process

3. Potential for left-field solutions

Don’t forget:

Open knowledge

Open data