[TriLUG-announce] May 10 Meeting - OpenSource.com

[Bill Farrow]

Topic: OpenSource.com
Presenter: Ruth Suehle
When: Thursday, May 10, 7pm
Where: Red Hat HQ, NCSU Centennial Campus, 1801 Varsity Dr, Raleigh, NC
Webpage: http://trilug.org/2012-05-10/opensource-com
Sponsor: http://www.caktusgroup.com/about/

"Open source" isn't just about code anymore. It's a successful
business model for selling that software — Red Hat recently became the
first billion-dollar open source company. Then other businesses took
notice and adopted openness principles. Now we see openness in
education. In governments and laws. The principles of open source are
changing everything about our lives — principles that you use in
software development every day.

At opensource.com, we explore all of that. We examine what happens
when those principles — openness, transparency, collaboration, rapid
prototyping, community — are applied to the world. We’ve found
hundreds of stories of how openness has solved problems. Changed the
way our children learn. Increased governmental transparency. Created
collaboration in business. Helped save lives in times of crisis. "Open
source" now defines a culture — a culture that’s changing the world.

But to help spread openness, you have to be able to talk about it in a
way that keeps people from immediately thinking it's all about
software. I'll tell you how to use pop culture — from Iron Man to The
Hunger Games, World of Goo to Star Trek — to explain these principles
and how you can apply them beyond the code.

Ruth Suehle is a writer and editor in Brand Communications + Design at
Red Hat, Fedora contributor, and moderator of the opensource.com Life
channel. She's a maker at heart who is often behind a sewing machine,
rolling fondant, or looking for the next DIY project. You can find her
on Twitter and identi.ca as @suehle.