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The Power of Openness - Why Citizens, Education, Government and Business Should Care About the Coming Revolution in Open...

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Introduction: 

As software and networking technologies rapidly insinuate themselves into the deepest reaches of American commerce, culture and governance, the architecture of our democratic society is being transformed. One lesson that is becoming clearer is that the design of hardware and software and the governance of the Internet matters. These issues can profoundly affect competition and innovation  in markets, the ability of universities, libraries and nonprofits to pursue their missions, and the control that individuals can exercise over their lives. ...

This essay explains why open code software is so important, especially for various non-technical constituencies, and how a new organization - H20 - could help promote new development and usage of open source code software. This document is deliberately aimed at the layperson as much as the computer sophisticate because a new and broader conversation must be started, one that considers the far-reaching implications of open code software for how we shall govern ourselves, improve education, foster innovation and economic growth, and protect the sovereign interests of citizens and consumers. This text, then, is intended for anyone interested in these realms as well as for influential leaders of the foundation community who could catalyze some powerful changes by fostering the development of open source code software.