Leading by doing: Social Signal open-sources their consultancy

I had the opportunity to talk to Alex Samuel and Rob Cottingham recently both at Twestival and at the launch party of The Vancouver Observer, and told both of them (separately) that I really look up to them in the field social media. They push the boundaries, challenge the status quo, they challenge themselves and re-invent themselves in this field. I would like to believe that my own work in this field is on par or at least, following on the tracks of these amazing folks, but today’s announcement just left me saying “WOW”.

In a move that promises to shake the way in which social media consulting is done, they’re (slowly but surely) open sourcing their consultancy. Alex and Rob explains in their blog post:

We’re taking the intellectual property we’ve generated and gleaned from Social Signal’s four years of consulting, strategy and development and making it available for free online, under a Creative Commons license.

What are the implications of this for the social media world? Many, I believe. But I would like to point out to the last part of the above sentence. Under a Creative Commons license. That means, that their intellectual property can be (depending on the specific license they choose) reproduced, built-upon, adapted, etc. NOT STOLEN. So, those sneaky evil types who may want to steal Alex and Rob’s acumen may find themselves on the other end of a really nice lawsuit should things go awry (please note that this analysis is mine and only mine, not Alex and Rob’s – knowing them, I am pretty sure that they aren’t the litigious type. I, being the son of two lawyers, on the other hand, very much am, hehe).

What this means is that yes, you may build upon what Alex and Rob have created (in this case, they’re open-sourcing one of their first products, the concept jam). But (a) you would be expected to credit them, (b) you would be expected to link to their posts, most likely (as it happens with any Creative Commons license) and (c) if the license is Share-Alike, you would be expected to share with the community your new concept. So, if you reproduce and adapt the concept jam in a way that grows the initial concept, you may have to share it with the world too.

This has HUGE implications for the community at large, in that the impact is definitely longer-lasting and much more far-reaching. I don’t believe this will reduce the amount of work that Rob and Alex will get, but it will definitely refine the way in which social media is done. Open sourcing their consultancy doesn’t mean that they’re giving their knowledge for free (a topic we debated here on my blog for a long, long time). It means that their knowledge base will help further the social media field.

Even though my leg is still hurting, I’m probably going to go get a bottle of wine and hunt down Alex and Rob and share a glass with them, because frankly, this is a bold, strong, daring, brave, valiant move and one that makes me even prouder of calling them my friends.

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