[Image credit: "Openness and Collaboration" by psd (CC - by)]

When I observe people who live in an open paradigm, where learning, teaching, sharing, collaborating, and communicating are done publicly, and made freely available to others to rip, mix and burn, I see far more than simply the act of doing so, or the resulting output of tangible objects – I see a philosophy for living and being. A philosophy that is not based on self-satisfaction, personal gain, or what’s in it for you; but in the fundamental belief that it is the best way of working – best for ourselves, for our peers, and for society.

Here’s the paradox of it all: The more we give away; the more we share; the more we think of others, and what we can contribute to The Common Good – the more we receive in return. This has been my experience.

Open is Free

My experience also says that openness is far more about “free as in freedom,” than “free as in beer.” Free as in beer certainly lowers the investment requirents to engage, but ultimately the value I’ve derived from openness – and indeed opening – lay in the freedom it has afforded me to meet, interact, and contribute.

I believe that the economic concept of The Tragedy of the Commons does not apply in an open paradigm. Some economists believe that “public goods” (that is, goods and services for which no fee or cost is incurred during consumption or use, and no barriers to access exist) are inevitably exploited. They say people use or consume a public good as much as they can as quickly as they can, with little or no thought of others, in the belief that the good or service exists in only finite quantities that will inevitably disappear.

I believe The Tragedy of the Commons does not apply to openness because openness is not a public good. It can’t be purchased, sold or stolen. It’s an ethos and philosophical belief that is embodied.

Openness works because “open” is an action verb, like “leap,” “explore,” or “embrace.” Openness means participating, engaging, and connecting. The more open the environment or system, the greater the opportunities.

My experience has been that the value of openness lay less in the use of the artifacts of openness (though there is certainly value here) – such as open educational resources, open courseware or open source software – and more through engaging in the ongoing processes that lead to their creation, interpretation, negotiation of meaning, re-evaluation and ultimately sharing.

Open is Messy

Openness is unplanned, messy and unpredictable; yet these are also some of its strongest assets. In messiness and unpredictability lay diversity and experiences or knowledge that have not yet been realised, explored, or considered. As such openness is inherently experiential; you never know what you’re going to discover, and it’s only through engaging, interpreting and negotiating that the implications and opportunities become clear.

Openness is unbounded and ongoing. It’s not something that you plan or implement; it’s something that you do, something that you are, or something that you choose to become.

Open is good.