What is meant by open source?
How has sharing of information over the Internet impacted the way the world innovates?
What are the benefits and weaknesses of sharing data and information?
Understanding Open Source and Information Sharing
Open source is a term that is used to refer to software or material that has been made available to the public in a manner that allows its use, study, alteration, as well as distribution at the discretion of the user. These kinds of software or materials are usually available to the public through the internet, which makes them available to virtually any individual with access (Herstatt & Ehls, 2015). Open source software or material allows users to contribute to its development and progress by improving its functions in the case of software, or accuracy in terms of information. In this way, open sourcing material and software has allowed the world to innovate, develop, and change through collaborative effort.
The sharing of information has made voluminous amounts of information accessible to the public, which is essential to innovation. For instance, android technology is open source, and this has allowed other innovators to use it in a variety of innovations aimed at improving the quality of life (Wadhwa & Harper, 2014). As such, information sharing has allowed individuals across the world to innovate from an informed standpoint. By giving individuals a ‘head-start’ in terms of ideas, this sharing of information makes innovation more feasible. This is fundamental to the development of the world as an entity.
One of the core advantages of sharing information over the internet is the ability of individuals to collaborate in innovation, thereby improving the world in the process. Additionally, sharing data and information has enabled the enlightenment of significant amounts of people across the world, which is essential to global change and improvement. However, there are some disadvantages of this sharing as well. One of the biggest disadvantages is the breach of individual privacy (Gollin, 2008). In some cases, shared data may facilitate the breaching of privacy through hacking, which greatly inhibits the willingness of individuals to share information and data in the future.
References
Gollin, M. (2008). Driving Innovation: Intellectual Property Strategies for a Dynamic World. Cambridge University Press.
Herstatt, C. & Ehls, D. (2015). “Open Source Innovation: Phenomenon, Participant Behaviour, Impact”. Routledge.
Wadhwa, M. & Harper, A. (2014). Technology, Innovation, and Enterprise Transformation. IGI Global.
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