OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE, ACCESS, AND CONTENT CREATION IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

摘要

In the information economy, software and content are inextricably linked. Software has become the primary tool technical communicators use to both generate new content and edit existing material. Software has also become a (if not the) primary mechanism technical communicators use to categorize and organize that content (e.g., tagging structures and database technologies) as well as one of the primary mechanisms for delivering content to users (e.g., online or small-screen interfaces). Software also allows individuals to manipulate the content they have into new configurations via different management systems. Moreover, software is often a key component in sharing content with others online. That is, programs such as browsers, file transfer software, and web editors are essential tools for locating online information or posting web-based content for others to use. As a result, today's technical communication practices are as much about the software used to create, organize, and manage content as they are about the content itself. To borrow from Marshall McLuhan, it is as if the delivery and management systems are the content. Within this context, access to software is power. That is, individuals who have access to the software needed to create, organize, or distribute content can plug in to and participate in the global economy. Those who cannot are increasingly left behind. In this way, access to the software needed to perform central tasks can create a divide between those who have and those who have not.