Thanks for bringing this one to my attention. Clay Shirky has a forceful and persuasive style that raises the profile of open, transparent and collaborative capabilities. As he points out the potential of DVCS (distributed version control system) is obscured by its software development background. While the value of public political and legislative participation cannot ever be understated, it does omit the potential for DVCS to contribute to a plethora of social, commercial, and community activities that are neither technical or civic. Essentials of Collaboration - Version Control
http://wp.me/p2e52m-3s highlights three case studies that would benefit from immediate adoption and use.
What is important here, however, is the practice of contributing and trusting to virtual communities. The Open Source community is a shining example of this for well over a decade. We need to cross pollinate other communities with the power and the fulfillment that comes from successful collaboration. We can accelerate the political and legislative collaborative efforts if we have seasoned practitioners beyond the realms of IT.
I agree with Shirky's comment that this is a major change, and yes it will provide new and louder ways to argue. But the benefit comes from being able to record contributions, to merge as optimally as possible and also to track back to earlier decisions when new information becomes available. We do have a new set of tools, lets not wait 160 years for the equivalent of the scientific journal, we just need to GIT going in whatever collaborative efforts we encounter.
Great story. Given the open and generous nature of Atlassian do you know if they have any plans to train and distribute Fedex-day missionaries, and if so are they looking for applicants? It seems such an approach would reach more than 1/150 entrants very quickly.
Authored Comments
Thanks for bringing this one to my attention. Clay Shirky has a forceful and persuasive style that raises the profile of open, transparent and collaborative capabilities. As he points out the potential of DVCS (distributed version control system) is obscured by its software development background. While the value of public political and legislative participation cannot ever be understated, it does omit the potential for DVCS to contribute to a plethora of social, commercial, and community activities that are neither technical or civic. Essentials of Collaboration - Version Control
http://wp.me/p2e52m-3s highlights three case studies that would benefit from immediate adoption and use.
What is important here, however, is the practice of contributing and trusting to virtual communities. The Open Source community is a shining example of this for well over a decade. We need to cross pollinate other communities with the power and the fulfillment that comes from successful collaboration. We can accelerate the political and legislative collaborative efforts if we have seasoned practitioners beyond the realms of IT.
I agree with Shirky's comment that this is a major change, and yes it will provide new and louder ways to argue. But the benefit comes from being able to record contributions, to merge as optimally as possible and also to track back to earlier decisions when new information becomes available. We do have a new set of tools, lets not wait 160 years for the equivalent of the scientific journal, we just need to GIT going in whatever collaborative efforts we encounter.
Great story. Given the open and generous nature of Atlassian do you know if they have any plans to train and distribute Fedex-day missionaries, and if so are they looking for applicants? It seems such an approach would reach more than 1/150 entrants very quickly.