European Open Source Think Tank
Next week I'll be attending the 2008 Europe Open Source Think Tank. As those of you who read this blog now and then know, I really like the OSTT events.
Like any good think tank, I'm hoping for a mix of people, from early innovators, community types, commercial developers and supporters, big companies, legal aces, and so on. Part of the strength of think tank is the mix of people and the networks we build, part of it is the sheer fun in discussing the world from so many different points of view. And the intelligence in the room is awe inspiring.
Since this is the first one in Europe, I suspect the mix will be different. And I'm all for that. A good think tank also needs new blood, new ideas. I'd probably say that the attendees from the last two in California know my personal hot buttons, at what points I'll go from serene to savage. And I do admit poking hot buttons myself every now and again :-) .
Yes, the event is limited in attendance. But any good think tank needs such limitations, or little thinking gets done. I'm not a believer in the "intelligence of crowds", at least not where innovation is concerned. Instead, give me a few smart people, a technological lever, and we can move the financial worlds. ("And that's what open source is all about, Charlie Brown").
Think Tank gives me a chance to discuss the impacts that open source can have on commercial practices. Fanatics aside, just releasing all software to open source and depending on the goodwill of our fellows doesn't work in the current commercial practices of software companies. Companies are beginning to recognize open source is important and needs to co-exist in some level, hybrid or mixed.
Anyway, if you're around the OSTT in Paris next week, stop by and let me know.