Keeping One Eye On Open Source

An event called OpenTech took place last week in the UK.

The conference didn't receive a lot of press on these shores, despite the fact that key executives from Yahoo! and the BBC were on hand.  Perhaps this was because some of the other attendees might be perceived as anarchists or at the very least dismissed as antiglobalization twerps by those who didn't know better.

But tossing out the baby with the bathwater is always a bad idea.

The "baby" in this case is open source.  And it's no longer a baby.  It's more like a kicking, screaming, bratty 5th grader.  About ten years from now it'll be a college grad and entering the workplace.  And when that time comes, there's a very strong probability that open source will be behind many of the tech tools and applications we'll want to use.  Sure, Microsoft will still be around.  And Google.  And Yahoo! 

But maybe not MapQuest.  Why?  Because there will be Open Source Maps.  Maps you can customize on the fly.  Maps where you can plug in all the features you want attendees to know about.  You'd be able to add official hotels, shuttle routes, Kinkos, or whatever else is important to your show.  Exhibitors could add venues of their exhibitor parties.  Staff and/or attendees could add locations of their favorite restaurants, bars and jogging trails. 

You're seeing some of this already.  Most of you are well aware of the Linux operating system and the Firefox browser.  Some of you already know that RSS is replacing email as the preferred delivery method for newsletters and custom content.  We're now seeing events built on wiki platforms.  And of course there is open source blog software. 

There are also successful open source solutions in the database arena (MySQL), in business intelligence and reporting (BIRT) and in web development (PHP and content management systems).  Anything you can do with proprietary software you can do with open source, including security and commerce applications.

Without getting too geeky, the idea behind open source is that developers can take what's written and add to it.  This can be accomplished through using existing code that is under a GPL (General Public License) which means that modifications must be published publicly, or through a BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution) agreement whereby some proprietary code may remain proprietary.  In either case, the idea is that you can customize software to your needs.

The tradeshow world is pretty small and we don't have the luxury of an army of skilled coders and hackers working on our behalf.  But if we did (and we still may) you'd likely see open source competitors in registration and attendee management, floorplan management, exhibitor lead management, speaker management and possibly even hotel block and FBO management, although those last two are a bit trickier since they involve third-party hotels.

The impetus to develop open source solutions does take into account that there is a certain amount of "antiglobalization" fervor.  You can probably blame Microsoft for that. 

This is what the organizers Tom Chance of the Acrewoods Collective summarized the experience of OpenTech 2005 and suggests where the event's future may lie:

"If there is a single message to take from OpenTech 2005, it is an obvious one: the future should, and most probably will, be open. The efforts of the free software community are influencing major content providers, who are using open technology to provide open content.

Despite the barrage of legislation and litigation from advocates of closed or proprietary technology and content, many felt that we were at a turning point in the politics of openness. Though many technical, social, and political issues remain, there was optimism about the future, perhaps because the conference gathered those who believe passionately in that vision, and those who have a stake in it unfolding.

But if those with the awareness and expertise can redouble their efforts to improve, promote, and protect both open technology and content, these conferences may become simply a trade show for the community and industry rather than a talking shop for activism and advocacy."

In other words, Open Tech will know it has fully crossed the chasm when it's considered just another trade show.

I'd have to imagine whomever that show organizer is had better be using open source.

Comments

[Rich]

Tom,
My apologies for getting the citation wrong. I've corrected that.
On your other comments, we do know about the Linux shows. They've been around for years. When they announce something I feel is pertinent to the audience over here, I'll post it. Doesn't happen all that frequently.
This blog's audience is decidedly not techie. Our industry has no wikis, few blogs with critical mass and a history of being the penultimate adopter of just about anything new. My role with TSMR when it comes to tech trends is to simply say, "Psst... there's something out here you ought to take a look at."
I have recently done numerous posts on events like Gnomedex and Supernova, both of which appeared to elicit an audeince response of "Oh hell, more of this crap again." Much of my audience would rather read about industry gossip, M&A activity and case studies on traditional marketing than about tech trends and social movements that don't affect their next show.
So when I do post on events like OpenTech, it is to point out specific WIIFM attributes that might grab the attention of this group. Thus my focus on open source maps, which is relevant.
When Space Hijackers puts a gallery in Chicago's McCormick Place (or the NEC for that matter) and post the moblog on it, we'll think about covering it.
That said, I appreciate your coming over here to point out what I missed in the original post.

[Etienne Pollard]

1) The main reason Open Tech didn't get much repss was that we were more concerned with getting people to learn things by being there. however, all the talks were recorded, so when then mp3/ogg/aac versons are available you'll see some mentions in the UK press.

2) Tom's comment is spot on - Open Tech was not intended to be a trade show, it was simply a one-day meeting of technically-literate people discussing what they've been doing recently in the world open systems, and what they plan to do next. Afterwards, some of us went for beer and a curry, and then we missed the last tube home.

3) The vast, vast majority of the organisation was done by email (cc:, not even a mailing list). There was a small amount of wiki usage, and we exchanged maybe 20 SMS text messages and a few phone calls. The registration was done using a simple Perl script. We also used paper, pencils and blue tack extensively.

[Tom Chance]

At the risk of being labelled an "antiglobalization twerps", I'd like to point out that the quote you attribute to the organisers is in fact from my article, and I am most certainly not an organiser!

I'd also like to point out that there are endless trade shows for "open source" all year round, all over the world. Look for LinuxWorld exhibitions, for example, which are organised by an army of hackers and trade show types.

Finally, OpenTech != "open source trade show". Your definition of open source is far more narrow than the range of subjects discussed at open tech.