There's been a lot of talk this year about two things. "Open Data" and "Open Web." These are seen as top priority projects by a lot of people, and I have been asked "Why don't you work on these?"
*Note that in my post I am going to use the word "open" prolifically. Not because I think it's the best term (I don't), but because it's the term that has become embedded in popular discussion.
So, back to the two opens. Sorry to burst any bubbles, but we cannot truly have them yet.
If you think you can, go outside to your back yard and try to build a deck that floats in the air. (Thanks Bruce Sterling for inspiring this metaphor.)
Open Data. Consider a thought experiment, purely hypothetical of course. Imagine a treasure chest of publicly-funded data, once tucked away in quaint cabinets now all "open". Imagine that it has been liberated from the shackles of bureaucracy by the most l33t team of hackers. Your local government's data is now all exposed, ready for you to harvest, mash, and presented to the world in a format so beautiful that Michelangelo himself would blush. So transparent that it's clearer that polished glass. Sounds idyllic.
Now imagine that everyone that's mashing this data is doing so using proprietary systems and tools. Notice the dichotomy? See the problem? What if the beautiful reports they generate are in a format that can only be viewed on devices that lock us in? What if they are stored (or processed) in a cloud that is hostile to the revelations they contain? What will we have gained? Freedom from one trap to be ensnared in a bigger one.
Open web. How does one get to it? If I have my newfangled googly chrome-like-gadget that takes me directly to proprietary online properties that speak a single philosophy, have I gained anything? Sure my gadget runs an "open" browser (kind of). However, even if this browser, and the underlying web is truly open (and standards-based, and perfectly neutral) a monopolist, or a fruit company, or a large-googly-number-company can decide at any time, and for any reason that you are out-of-bounds. You're out. Game over.
We get neither "Open Data" nor "Open Web" until we get one thing right: Open Operating System. Nothing is open until your OS is open. And, this is why I work on Ubuntu.
In 2011, I hope you too will make Ubuntu a priority. Let's build a solid platform that enables true openness. Let's do it together. Let's let every person on the planet in on our little project.
Happy holidays and all the best for the new year.