I am an open source fangirl. And I think it should be celebrated much more. In a world that needs more sustainability, transparency, and equality, open source should be more prominent, embraced, acknowledged, and applauded by the whole world.
The advantages of open source are crystal clear. First, open source is the best way to find new knowledge and solutions. If you collaborate with many people in an open source project – especially people from different backgrounds – and cooperate on a project, the project will benefit. Secondly, open source is not as wasteful as other digital projects. Many developers worldwide are working on solving the same or similar problems. That’s a waste of talent and skills. We shouldn’t reinvent the wheel over and over again. And lastly, open source is an equalizer. These projects invite everybody to participate. Everybody. If you want to contribute to WordPress, you can do that. It doesn’t matter where you live. It doesn’t matter how much money you have or what you look like.
I often compare open source to being a vegetarian. Apart from the apparent benefits (health benefits of being a vegetarian and the above ones for open source), being a vegetarian and using open source software is the ‘right’ thing to do. If more people would become vegetarian (or eat less meat), that would benefit our planet. If more people choose open source over closed software, the world will become a slightly better place.
As the WordPress community, we should emphasize ‘open source is the right thing to do’ a little more. This message will resonate with conscious buyers looking for a new website. People want to feel good about new stuff they purchase (whether it is a sweater or a new website). Spreading the message that open source software is not wasteful but inclusive and the best way to unlock new knowledge is a great way to get more people excited about WordPress. This is our main advantage over all the Shopify’s, WIX’s, and every other proprietary CMS out there. Let’s celebrate and spread the message of open source!
