Open sources

Imagine thousands of MDs sitting by their computers at home or at their offices developing a new drug against the AIDS virus. Without pay, without knowing each other, they research, analyse and write a common spec of how the drug can save thousands of lives.

Uthopia? Perhaps. But why is it possible in the world of IT to develop an operating system that seriously challange the market leader but not in the world of medicine?

Richard Watson from Global Innovation Network elaborate on this in a Fast Company article about open source innovation, or distributed innovation. Using the ideas from open source software projects where probably Linux stands out as the best known example , Watson means innovation may be carried out much more user centric to no or little cost. In many ways it equals the integrated approach of innovation I have previously been writing about.

The ideas are great. Because, as innovation is the behavior of the user, why don't we let the user do the actual development as well?