O’Reilly on Open Source architecture vs. goodwill

Tim O’Reilly: “Open source zealots need to realize that open source needs to be reinvented for the new platform architecture, and web 2.0 companies need to remember that open source isn’t just goodwill, but an integral part of keeping the developer ecosystem healthy. And everyone needs to experiment with new models, and not believe that the story has already been written.”

Interesting discussion of the evolution of the open source model for software in which O’Reilly explores some alternatives to open source code while still driving the innovation of open source business models. He discusses several options, including 1.) Creating proprietary applications based on open frameworks (e.g. Basecamp and Rails), 2.) Driving “open services” (he cites Yahoo and Google), and 3.) adopting a clonable apps model (e.g. Ning in the consumer space). O’Reilly nails number 1 and 3- for number 2 I think he’s really missing the boat and doesn’t fully recognize the implications of open data versus open services. Service providers on the Web may continue to elect to own the data to gain “loyalty”- every major provider today is already doing this and we haven’t seen any shift towards truly open formats or services. How many people have tried to move a blog between open services, or better yet move mail? Its pretty difficult. For people watching the evolution of open source, I think this is another provocative, must read from O’Reilly.