Digital Communities

          Eric Raymond’s The Cathedral and the Bazaar  and the first several chapters of Howard Rheingold’s Smart Mobs  both stress the importance of collaboration through digital communities. I hadn’t anticipated my college courses on philosophy and game theory to come in handy while discussing technology, but this week’s readings proved me horribly wrong.

         Raymond applauds the Linux bazaar model where through the eyes of many, software bugs are found and programs are launched in a continuously evolving state. The mutually beneficial relationship rewards insights and pledges a cooperative spirit amongst strangers with similar pursuits. These co-developers have a non-verbal agreement with the software developer. The developer agrees to listen to the constructive criticism of his users, and the users are kept abreast with the latest version of the software. 

O’Reilly media blogger Tim O’Reilly mentions a blog post written by Kassia Krozser. Her open letter urges publishers to take part of the community that will shape its future. “South by Southwest, the interactive festival, is in full swing. Already, the panel sessions are cram-packed with innovators looking for the next Next Big Thing. Nay, many of the attendees at this year’s festival are already riding that wave that we call The Future…What we don’t have is a coterie of publishing house representatives. This is bad, dear publishers, very bad… Though we certainly hope it is already happening — given that the trend is well into its fourth year — you will hold meetings about community and building community and retaining community and the future of publishing and how you can really differentiate yourself in a fragmented world. These topics have been part of the SXSW conversation for some time…to the point where the more complex questions of identity management are not abstracts but areas for debate.”

Both Raymond and Rheingold would approve Krozser’s message to take part in a conversation that has already begun. Book publishers for the most part cringe from change, in part of a fear their trade will evolve into something they cannot participate in. But this community, once embraced, will allow publishers the ability to help shape what the future will hold. The digital community not attended to, is one that will work around obstacles to create a platform that meets their needs. 

I embrace this idea of community but I’m slightly concerned by the disjointed nature of these relationships. Although the idea that Raymond took on the project started by another, is quite entrepreneurial, much of this also represents the fear most have with where technology is going. There are bits and pieces of disjointed ideas floating around in a digital state. Even if the one to take over can instill the passion necessary to undertake the project, isn’t something irrevocably lost from the original owner’s intentions? One could argue, as Raymond would, that the new owner enlivens the project where success can surpass the original developer’s intentions.  

Rheingold similarly expresses interest in the social networking of digital communities. Through his interviews with the leaders in technological fields, he brings up the concept that a “public good is a resource from which all may benefit, regardless of whether they help create it” (p. 32). Raymond saw this in his own experience while developing his FetchMail software, those who collaborated with him to work out the kinks were rewarded with praise, however all benefited for their labors. 

Sentiments of the Public good establishes the philosophical notions of governing these digital communities. The problem when “ everyone succumbs to the temptation” of doing what is in their own self-interest is a perilous one (p. 34). Technology offers a multitude of benefits, but those who participate must be held accountable for actions that go against the online good of others.