[open-economics] Hello - Open Economy

Mon Jun 20 21:25:01 UTC 2011

Hi Niall,

Thanks for your mail -- and thanks for contributing your idea! I hope
you don't mind if I CC this to the Open Economics mailing list as
other members might be interested in this as well.

Most (if not all) of the apps and codes we develop and use at Open
Knowledge Foundation is open source, so we surely appreciate the value
and role open source plays in generating externalities and fostering
technological innovation. So yes, I (and I'm sure OKF as well) agree
with your argument -

Of course, I'd be happy to add your note to the agenda - but I'm not
very clear about how to discuss your point during the conference.
Basically, your idea sounds like a research topic that needs to be
explored, for example by gathering more information about the Open
Source foundation and maybe even conduct some empirical analyses on
the relationship between technological innovation (e.g. in terms of
new software) and some indicator for open source penetration. But
again, these are just my quick thoughts and I'd be looking forward to
hear how we can work on this together!

Again, great to hear from you and talk soon - we will keep a protocol
of the meeting, so do enjoy the wedding. :)

Guo

PS: Could you drop me your Skype address (in private)? Thanks

On 20 June 2011 11:54, nmccarthy <nmccarthy at emergegroup.net> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I'd love to join in for the Skype meeting on the 23rd of June, but I cannot
> - it's my brother's wedding. Would it be possible to get something on the
> agenda in my absence please?
>
> I specialise (commercially as opposed to technically) in the field of
> technology known as Open Source. The more I work in the field, the more I am
> astonished at the extent to which Open Source software code is quite
> literally everywhere.  Here are some quick examples:
>
> a) I am reliably informed that the world of embedded electronic software
> (i.e. the software embedded in computer chips, network routers/switches and
> other electronic controllers) is now outrightly dominated by Open Source
> code (90% +). In other words, the "It's all around you and you haven't even
> noticed" phenomenon.
>
> b) The infrastructure underpinning the Internet is dominated by Open Source
> code (90%+)
>
> c) Cloud-Computing services are dominated by Open Source code (50%+)
>
> d) Companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter all readily admit their
> dependence upon Open Source code (e.g. type "Facebook Open Source" into
> Google). (90%+)
>
> The subject I am trying to address is the economic dependence of western
> economies, upon Open Source code. In particular, I'm interested in the
> extent to which Open Source has become a foundation for technological
> innovation.
>
> If technological innovation accounts for up to 50% of economic growth in
> western economies and it is to an ever-growing extent based upon Open Source
> code (IDC reported in 2009 that the Open Source Services industry alone is
> growing at a walloping 7 times the rate of average IT service industry),
> then the possibility exists that a critical part of the growth of western
> economies is based on a publicly owned and freely available global knowledge
> resource. This is new and has huge implications - I think...
>
> I'm happier than most to be constructively criticised, so please don't hold
> back! Also please feel free to forward/publish this email in its entirety.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Niall
>
> Niall McCarthy
> Tel:   +44 203 0510129
>

-- 
Coordinator, Open Economics Working Group
The Open Knowledge Foundation
http://www.okfn.org · http://openeconomics.net