Chapter 3

This chapter attempts to explain why people would voluntarily participate in open collaboration. I don't feel that the authors adequately answered their own question. I fully understand and believe that most people who participate in open-source projects do so because they enjoy the work, have specific expertise, and wish to help others. This utopian answer seems to make up the bulk of their argument and this just doesn't fly in the business world. The participants who are paid by their companies have, in my opinion, the strongest likelihood and reason to continue to participate; eventually those who simply enjoy the work will get bored or will want to be paid for their contributions. Those who are paid to participate, but not told specifically what they have to do, have an added incentive to stay with the open-source community; they are paid to be involved but not forced to complete specific projects or judged on what they do.

The authors go on to explain how money can be made through open-sourcing. Some companies charge for support services while, in other instances, collaborators join together to form companies that still participate in open-source-type relationships with other companies. These are rudimentary ways of joining the old system of business with the new wave of collaboration, but they will continue to evolve until we no longer recognize our business world.