the.world.is.flat-第26章
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those who know how to make the richest chocolate sauce； the sweetest； lightest whipped
cream； and the juiciest cherries to sit on top； or how to put them all together into
a sundae。 Jack Messman； chairman of the Novell software company； which has now become
a big distributor of Linux； the open…source operating system； atop which Novell
attaches gizmos to make it sing and dance just for your company； put it best：
〃Commercial software companies have to start operating further up the ＇software＇
stack to differentiate themselves。 The open source community is basically focusing
on infrastructure〃 （Financial Times； June 14； 2004）。
The IBM deal was a real watershed。 Big Blue was saying that it believed in the
open…source model and that with the Apache Web server； this open…source community
of engineers had created something that was not just useful and valuable but 〃best
in its class。〃 That's why the open…source movement has become a powerful flattener；
the effects of which we are just beginning to see。 〃It is incredibly empowering of
indi…
viduals；〃 Brian Behlendorf said。 〃It doesn't matter where you come from or where you
are…someone in India and South America can be just as effective using this software
or contributing to it as someone in Silicon Valley。〃 The old model is winner take
all： I wrote it； I own it…the standard software license model。 〃The only way to compete
against that；〃 concluded Behlendorf； 〃is to all become winners。〃
Behlendorf； for his part； is betting his career that more and more people and companies
will want to take advantage of the new flat…world platform to do open…source
innovation。 In 2004； he started a new company called CollabNet to promote the use
of open…sourcing asa tool to drive software innovation within companies。 〃Our premise
is that software is not gold； it is lettuce…it is a perishable good；〃 explained
Behlendorf。 〃If the software is not in a place where it is getting improved over time；
it will rot。〃 What the open…source community has been doing； said Behlendorf； is
globally coordinated distributed software development； where it is constantly
freshening the lettuce so that it never goes rotten。 Behlendorfs premise is that the
open…source community developed a better method for creating and constantly updating
software。 CollabNet is a company created to bring the best open…source techniques
to a closed community； i。e。； a commercial software company。
〃CollabNet is an arms dealer to the forces flattening the world；〃 said Behlendorf。
〃Our role in this world is to build the tools and infrastructure so that an individual
…in India； China； or wherever…as a consultant； an employee； or just someone sitting
at home can collaborate。 We are giving them the toolkit for decentralized
collaborative development。 We are enabling bottom…up development； and not just in
cyberspace 。 。 。 We have large corporations who are now interested in creating a
bottom…up environment for writing software。 The old top…down； silo software model
is broken。 That system said； 'I develop something and then I throw it over the wall
to you。 You find the bugs and then throw it back。 I patch it and then sell a new
version。' There is constant frustration with getting software that is buggy…maybe
it will get fixed or maybe not。 So we said； 'Wouldn't it be interesting if we could
take the open…source benefits of speed of innovation and higher…quality software；
and that feel…
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ing of partnership with all these stakeholders； and turn that into a business model
for corporations to be more collaborative both within and without？'〃
I like the way Irving Wladawsky…Berger； IBM's Cuban…born vice president for technical
strategy andinnovation； summed open…sourcing up： 〃This emerging era is characterized
by the collaborative innovation of many people working in gifted communities； just
as innovation in the industrial era was characterized by individual genius。〃
The strikingthing about the intellectual commons form of open…sourcing is how quickly
it has morphed into other spheres and spawned other self…organizing collaborative
communities； which are flattening hierarchies in their areas。 I see this most vividly
in the news profession； where bloggers； one…person online commentators； who often
link to one another depending on their ideology； have created a kind of open…source
newsroom。 I now read bloggers （the term comes from the word 〃Weblog〃） as part of my
daily information…gathering routine。 In an article about how a tiny group of
relatively obscure news bloggers were able to blow the whistle that exposed the bogus
documents used by CBS News's Dan Rather in his infamous report about President George
W。 Bush's Air National Guard service； Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post wrote
（September 20； 2004）； 〃It was like throwing a match on kerosene…soaked wood。 The
ensuing blaze ripped through the media establishment as previously obscure bloggers
managed to put the network of Murrow and Cronkite firmly on the defensive。 The secret；
says Charles Johnson； is 'open…source intelligence gathering。' Meaning： 'We've got
a huge pool of highly motivated people who go out there and use tools to find stuff。
We've got an army of citizen journalists out there。'〃 That army is often armed with
nothing more than a tape recorder； a camera…enabled cell phone； and a Web site； but
in a flat world it can collectively get its voice heard as far and wide as CBS or
The New York Times。 These bloggers have created their own online commons； with no
barriers to entry。 That open commons often has many rumors and wild
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allegations swirling in it。 Because no one is in charge； standards of practice vary
wildly； and some of it is downright irresponsible。 But because no one is in charge；
information flows with total freedom。 And when this community is on to something real；
like the Rather episode； it can create as much energy； buzz； and hard news as any
network or major newspaper。
Another intellectual commons collaboration that I used regularly in writing this book
is Wikipedia； the user…contributed online encyclopedia； also known as 〃the people's
encyclopedia。〃 The word 〃wikis〃 is taken from the Hawaiian word for 〃quick。〃 Wikis
are Web sites that allow users to directly edit any Web page on their own from their
home computer。 In a May 5； 2004； essay on YaleGlobal online； Andrew Lih； an assistant
professor at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong；
explained how Wikipedia works and why it is such a breakthrough。
〃The Wikipedia project was started by JimmyWales； head of Internet startup Bomis。com；
after his original project for a volunteer； but strictly controlled； free
encyclopedia ran out of money and resources after two years；〃 wrote Lih。 〃Editors
with PhD degrees were at the helm of the project then； but it produced only a few
hundred articles。 Not wanting the content to languish； Wales placed the pages on a
wiki Website in January 2001 and invited any Internet visitors to edit or add to the
collection。 The site became a runaway success in the first year and gained a loyal
following； generating over 20；000 articles and spawning over a dozen language
translations。 After two years； it had 100；000 articles； and in April 2004； it exceeded
250；000 articles in English and 600；000 articles in 50 other languages。And according
to Website rankings at Alexa。com； it has become more popular than traditional online
encyclopedias such as Britannica。com。〃
How； you might ask； does one produce a credible； balanced encyclopedia by way of an
ad hoc open…source； open…editing movement？ After all； every article in the Wikipedia
has an 〃Edit this page〃 button； allowing anyone who surfs along to add or delete
content on that page。
It starts with the fact； Lih explained； that 〃because wikis provide the
ability to track the status of articles； review individual changes； and discuss issues；
they function as social software。 Wiki Websites also track and store every
modification made to an article； so no operation is ever permanently destructive。
Wikipedia works by conse
