Open source is a company; social media is a country

At the Sourceforge breakfast this morning we got some questions on what the organizational differences are between open source and social media. Here’s my answer:

One of the paradoxes of early 20th Century management was the observation that companies are best run as dictatorships, while countries are best run as democracies. Why was this? Management theorist Charles Barnard, in his theory of the firm, proposed that it was because organizations existed for a common “shared purpose”.  Countries, on the other hand, existed only to serve their people.

Shared purpose required singular vision, leadership and top-down control. Serving the people, on the other hand, benefits from bottoms-up recognition of needs and collective decision-making (voting).

Many people mistakenly think that open source projects are emergent, self-organized and democratic. The truth is just the opposite: most are run by a benevolent dictator or two. What makes successful open source projects is leadership, plain and simple. One or two people articulate a vision, start building towards it and bring others on board with specific tasks and permissions. The best projects are the ones with the best leaders.

Social media, on the other hands, doesn’t exist for a shared purpose. It exists to serve the individual. We don’t tweet to built Twitter, we tweet to suit ourselves. We blog because we can, not because we have signed on to a blogging project.

Seen this way, open source projects are like companies. Social media is like a country. Benevolent dictatorships rule the first; democracy the second.

The point: the nature of participation is very different between open source and social media, even though people tend to lump them together into "peer production". Open source is hierarchical by design, while social media structure is simply ruled by popularity.

Comments

[mark]

never thought like this way but interesting...originally from Japan and I wonder how this viewpoint can be applied to different places

[Frank Turner]

Try and work as a social media engineer. Then it really does get complicated! I have to blog because I am told too and that goes for twitter and facebook too!

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[Angela]

I think the photo is hilarious with this article, @republican , lighten up.

[Patrick]

Given that I one day aspire to be a benevolent dictator, I find these developments encouraging. I don't even have to take over a country, just found a company!

In other news, how do we use this knowledge in the digital age. It seems that as dictatorial as you want to be, there will be a social media aspect to your project whether it is online or not.

Anyway, enlightening topic and discussion.

[Terri Altman]

I agree. It is the difference between organic growth and controlled growth. A predictable outcome versus a random outcome.

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[damon]

@Rich Berger: 100% agreed

[Marcia at candida cures]

Speaking of different cultures, would this apply to Europe as well? Interesting viewpoint. Love the comment on donkeys!

[medigap]

I suppose you are right about open source and social media. I just have never thought of it that way.

[Tristan]

Good article, are there any similar ones I can find elsewhere? I am doing a uni project on this subject.

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[john]

yeaaahhh

[Jessiev]

I am thinking that one of the key differences here is that social media is (usually) done for fun, enjoyment, and in your spare time (although that is changing, with businesses trying to have a web presence that includes social media). i'd think that open source is more of a work situation. no?

[Tristan]

all very true comments

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[Rav]

It's the same for countries. People vote for a person. Even if a program is set up by a community, to be elected you need somebody to personify it.

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[Credit Cards]

I appreciate sourceforge is best. You get great people helping you on open source there.

[commodity broker]

I'm tired of social media. Theirs too much of it too fast. In five years, whats going to be left?

[U.S News]

Absolutely Great post. You have clearly define the difference between the an open source and social media.

[Steve]

The Open Source community has helped to offer a viable alternative for many businesses who would have otherwise been slaves to the big boys, and also helped to bolster a much needed sense of urgency in developing and introducing new features in commercial software.

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[Mark K.]

Nice I really never thought on that one!

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Great post, subscribed to thread

[mj]

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[hlo]

very nice

[Web Directory]

Highly appreciated

[Website Design]

this is really good share. Excellent post

[alexandre Selman]

Some countries would be better off run by a benign dictator rather than the self-serving politicians and their rabble lobbyists and hangers-on who are making a complete mess of it.

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[Jeff]

Chris, you really opened my eyes. I never looked at it that way. There is a clear difference between social media and open source. (who would have figured).

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good post, bad picture

[Leon]

That is ezactly true, if you look at it from an economical perspective in terms of demand and supply, you'll find that social media and open source face very, very different market ezpectations.

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Well lets face it, without a strong leader in an organisation like this your eventually going to run into big problems.

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"One of the paradoxes of early 20th Century management was the observation that companies are best run as dictatorships, while countries are best run as democracies."

Companies i can understand having to be run like dictatorships - someone has to "steer" the ship but countries on the other hand need more than one captain. Just my two cents

[Kleeneze]

A great way of explaining the difference.. *gets printer fired up ready to print out*

[Dana DeArmond]

"Many people mistakenly think that open source projects are emergent, self-organized and democratic. The truth is just the opposite: most are run by a benevolent dictator or two."

You guys obviously haven't spent much time studying dictators (nor any history to speak of). Strangely you seem to have forgotten the gulags, re-education camps, gas chambers, secret police and all those associated nastiness that tend to be part of a dictatorship.

Maybe later might be worth considering actually learning about how Open Source project governance works (rather than playing silly word-association games) and perhaps start by reading up on "the right of succession".

[Ricky]

I agree. It is the difference between organic growth and controlled growth.

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[mike]

If companies were run like countries we would have no one to blame for thinks that go wrong because no one would take responsibility.
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[debbie]

"Companies are best run as dictatorships, while countries are best run as democracies."

Very true!

All the successful companies I have worked for have been run this way!

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[Rajj]

sourceforge is the mother of opensource

[Blackpool Cheap Hotel]

Where there is money to be made or perhaps more importantly jobs to be protected then democracy is an unwanted semantic.

The protection of employment which makes everything else work must take precedence and without it you would have nothing to build what democracy you could anyway

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very nice, just what i was looking for ty

[Mike Collins]

"One of the paradoxes of early 20th Century management was the observation that companies are best run as dictatorships, while countries are best run as democracies."

Very interesting observation here.

[6 Pack Abs]

What both open source and social media have in common is that both tend to be meritocracies. The great leaders in open source are followed voluntarily because they have proved their merit as designers, visionaries, or organizers. Similarly, social media recognizes those who make substantial contributions: contributors voluntarily link to other contributors who make worthwhile contributions.