The Rise of The Open Source Media (AKA, The Blogosphere)

THE BLOGOSPHERE AS "OPEN SOURCE MEDIA"
Is "Major" Media on the wane? Will competition with cable news, radio and the Internet, force network news shows into oblivion or, at the very least, obscurity? Is this post already sounding too much like the closing seconds of a 1970's episode of Batman?

Personally, I think the answer to all of the above is a resounding "NO!" It can be argued that the media as a whole in America is more powerful and vigorous than ever. And the Blogosphere? It is nothing more or less than a new and powerful facet of the modern media world.

Some may disagree, but there is no doubt in my mind that the Blogosphere has become a new media force in the world. But, with that said, I don't like the idea of calling the Blogosphere the "new media," or even the "alternate media."

Those titles just don't describe what we are well enough. In reality the Blogosphere is something never before seen in the world; it's a form of "Open Source" media.

What do I mean when I call the Blogosphere the "Open Source Media?" Let me explain.

"OPEN SOURCE" EXPLAINED
Ever heard of Linux? If you are part of the IT world, as I am, you almost certainly have. Linux is an "Open Source" operating system, built by thousands of independent software developers who, at one point or another, voluntarily donated their time and their talents to the design and construction of a new operating system which, over the years. has become very popular.

With the rise of the Internet, open source software development communities have become legion. Most open source software is free of charge, and easily found on websites such as the Free Software Foundation. The general rule of thumb is that the original creator of an application should always be credited for their work.

In the Open Source development world, software is easy to find and available to fit the numerous needs of consumers. Unfortunately, the quality of the software you find there may also be very low, even detrimental to your computer's performance, and consumers must be on their guard when downloading and using some of the available software they find.

Regardless of the risks, open source development has begun to transform the software industry. That hundred, thousands, even tens of thousands of talented developers can loosely collaborate to rapidly create and enhance thousands of different software applications, then distribute them freely on the Internet is a new paradigm in the development world with implications that we have only just begun to realize.

QUEUE THE WESTERN THEME MUSIC
And now there is a new open source community in town... Open Source Media; A.K.A, the Blogosphere!

In using the word "media," I do not mean to imply, as others have, that I am referring to audio, video, or other such types of "mass communication" tools. I mean, "the Media" as defined on Dictionary.com:

media (used with a sing. or pl. verb) The group of journalists and others who constitute the communications industry and profession.

In other words, we have the traditional media, the new media, and now, the Open Source Media. And the open source media community, AKA, the Blogosphere, has become a force to be reckoned with.

Article Author: David Flanagan

Visit David Flanagan's author page — David Flanagan's Blog