"Running a successful open source project is just Good Will Hunting in reverse, where you start out as a respected genius and end up being a janitor who gets into fights." - Byrne Hobart from The Diff on "Working in Public".
The book gives a nuanced overview of the many communities and economics of open source, from the idealistic communities of 30 years ago that we usually think about to the modern GitHub era.
"Working in Public" offers a unique lens into the economics and communities of online creatives, tracking open source's evolution from fringe idealism to becoming a ubiquitous utility - while creating trillions in economic value along the way (relatively little of which went to creators).
As work on a project gets less and less fun over time, the book offers creative solutions for incentive problems, ranging from creator monetization features from Twitch, to patronage, to a peer-sourced community, to not maintaining projects to get your attention back - all part of a buffet of emerging options for an economic model stuck in the past that looks like Esports a la 2011.
The book is also witty and funny (my favorite analogy for maintenance was a neighbor who comes and knocks on your doors with requests for how you should put up your Christmas lights), and has a high bar for craft throughout - everything is impeccably well designed, including the cover texture, page weight, and lie flat binding. The same level of craft and precision went into every detail about what was in and out of scope for the book, necessary given how demanding extractive contributors can be (and surely will be about this book!).
Creators first. This book lives that message, from its physical form to its message. Great book!
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From the Publisher
From the introduction
Until recently, information was good, and more information was better. If the free exchange of ideas formed the basis of a flourishing society, then we had a moral imperative to connect more people to one another.
The spirit of openness lasted more than 200 years. We championed the value of literacy and education. We built roads, bridges, and highways that brought together previously isolated communities. We careened toward the new millennium, flushed with the global triumph of Western liberal democracy.
Then we hit a snag. Suddenly, there was too much information. Too many notifications made us want to check them less. Too many social interactions made us want to post online less frequently. Too many emails made us not want to answer. Our online public lives became too much to handle, causing many of us to shrink back into our private spheres.
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A must-read in open source software communities"Working in Public is the fantastic follow-up to Roads and Bridges, and shows how Nadia's scope has widened and thoughts have evolved since the first book. A must-read for anyone interested in open source software communities." —Mike McQuaid, engineer at GitHub and Homebrew maintainer |
The definitive book on the dynamics of online creative communities"Nadia writes from a unique perspective at the intersection of open source, economics, and poetry. This is the definitive book on the dynamics of online creative communities." —Nat Friedman, CEO of GitHub |
An anthropological dive into the stories of real developers"In the age of information abundance, we're all maintainers now. Working in Public is an anthropological dive into the stories of real developers, providing us a lens of open source with which to ask new questions. Nadia presents us with a book not focused on just money, licenses, or code but for all of us who make, as creators of all kinds." —Henry Zhu, open source maintainer, Babel |
About the author
Nadia Eghbal is a writer and researcher who explores how the internet enables individual creators. From 2015 to 2019, she focused on the production of open source software, working independently and at GitHub to improve the open source developer experience. She is the author of Roads and Bridges: The Unseen Labor Behind Our Digital Infrastructure, published by the Ford Foundation, where she argued that open source code is a form of public infrastructure that requires maintenance.
About the publisher
Stripe Press publishes books about economic and technological advancement. Stripe partners with hundreds of thousands of the world’s most innovative businesses—organizations that will shape the world of tomorrow. These businesses are the result of many different inputs. Perhaps the most important ingredient is "ideas." Stripe Press highlights ideas that we think can be broadly useful. Some books contain entirely new material, some are collections of existing work reimagined, and others are republications of previous works that have remained relevant over time or have renewed relevance today.
Other titles by Stripe Press:
- High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil
- The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop
- Stubborn Attachments by Tyler Cowen
- The Revolt of the Public by Martin Gurri
- An Elegant Puzzle by Will Larson
- Get Together by Bailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh, and Kai Elmer Sotto
- The Making of Prince of Persia by Jordan Mechner
- The Art of Doing Science and Engineering by Richard W. Hamming
About the author
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Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
Opened my eyes to the challenges and potentials of open-source and content creation.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2022
