Community Initiative In Small Business
The open source mantra is alive and well today. Whether it be in the realm of software development or the sphere of ideas, the wisdom of crowds is alive and well. Tracy asks about the role of the small business in this idea and it is a good question. I wish I had more data so as to provide a break down of contributions made to various projects, whether the majority are backed by bigger companies (say, an IBM) vs. smaller ones (say 37signals size, or smaller).
It’s interesting to note because I think the perception from this side of the community might be that the smaller companies are often the bigger contributers. Take a look at any mailing list or blog and you’ll find that most folks in the blogosphere contributing tirelessly to make things better are either a) doing it on the side because it’s fun (and despite all the “regular” work they have to do), b) are doing it because it solves a need they are currently facing and have a vested interest in making things better, or are c) doing it because their work has asked them to take an active role somehow. I wouldn’t say that having support from bigger companies is helpful in many instances and can provide a great amount of exposure. (A good example is the support that Dojo has received from IBM and AOL.) But how important are the big guys? Not very. Previously, there were instances where one would wait for larger companies to take things up, shake things out, and support a technology or idea by name (think “Java”). These days all it takes is a blog entry. Anyone remember when script.aculo.us came out or when TurboGears started up? (I do! I do!) Both projects serve fairly small subset of folks within their communities but are highly regarded and well supported within them.
The small business community has a vested interest in helping out with the heavy lifting. Smaller, more focused projects that solve niche problems, are of higher quality because of the folks involved and because of the increased communication and awareness that new tools on the net provide. I can admit, given all the other things that small businesses must deal with on a day to day basis (something I’m very aware of at this point), that giving back is not easy. But whether it is through software development or the sphere of ideas, giving back is the most important thing you can do.
Aside: At Axiomfire, while we were always on top of what was going on in the community we weren’t ever able to be in a place where we could be more than just helpers on the mailing lists or offer up smallish bug fixes. This was certainly not out of lack of desire. We were, as they say, getting work done to pay the bills - Tracy is right though - it was one of the best work environments one could ask for (despite the rough times)…