Facebook to go open source?
May 27th, 2008 | Published in Blog, Business, Design, Media, Web
Techcrunch is reporting that soon, maybe as soon as this week, Facebook will open source it’s code.
This would be a good move for Facebook, who has to constantly be aware that they can lose their users even faster than they got them. Facebook use in Canada is down from last fall when it was just exploding.
Social networks are ephemeral. They are not static and must be nurtured to grow. As these systems mature there will be a point where the “Parents” have to let them go out on their own, turning the private platform network inside-out and letting it grow free online.
This WILL happen. It must. MySpace was too overprotective of it’s network and refused to let it go free when it should have, now it’s not nearly as popular as it was when it was ready to leave the nest. MySpace is a 40 year old living at his parents house technologically.
I’m excited to see how opening Facebook might affect the social media wars in the coming months.
