+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"><title>Made with Creative Commons</title><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.79.1"></head><body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"><div lang="en" class="book"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="idm1"></a>Made with Creative Commons</h1></div><div><div class="authorgroup"><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Paul</span> <span class="surname">Stacey</span></h3></div><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Sarah Hinchliff</span> <span class="surname">Pearson</span></h3></div></div></div><div><p class="copyright">Copyright © 2017 Creative Commons</p></div><div><div class="legalnotice"><a name="idm18"></a><p>
+ This book is published under a CC BY-SA license, which means that
+ you can copy, redistribute, remix, transform, and build upon the
+ content for any purpose, even commercially, as long as you give
+ appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if
+ changes were made. If you remix, transform, or build upon the
+ material, you must distribute your contributions under the same
+ license as the original. License details:
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" target="_top">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/</a>
+ </p></div></div></div><hr></div><div class="dedication"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="dedication"></a></h1></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>I don’t know a whole lot about nonfiction journalism. . . The
+ way that I think about these things, and in terms of what I can do
+ is. . . essays like this are occasions to watch somebody reasonably
+ bright but also reasonably average pay far closer attention and
+ think at far more length about all sorts of different stuff than
+ most of us have a chance to in our daily lives.</p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{ David Foster Wallace }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="preface"><a href="#foreword">Foreword</a></span></dt><dt><span class="preface"><a href="#introduction">Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="part"><a href="#the-big-picture">I. The Big Picture</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#the-new-world-of-digital-commons">1. The New World of Digital Commons</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#how-to-be-made-with-creative-commons">2. How to Be Made with Creative Commons</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#the-creative-commons-licenses">3. The Creative Commons Licenses</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="part"><a href="#the-case-studies">II. The Case Studies</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#arduino">4. Arduino</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#artica">5. Ártica</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#blender-institute">6. Blender Institute</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#cards-against-humanity">7. Cards Against Humanity</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#the-conversation">8. The Conversation</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#cory-doctorow">9. Cory Doctorow</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#figshare">10. Figshare</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#figure.nz">11. Figure.NZ</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#knowledge-unlatched">12. Knowledge Unlatched</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#lumen-learning">13. Lumen Learning</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#jonathan-mann">14. Jonathan Mann</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#noun-project">15. Noun Project</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#open-data-institute">16. Open Data Institute</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#opendesk">17. OpenDesk</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#openstax">18. OpenStax</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#amanda-palmer">19. Amanda Palmer</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#plos-public-library-of-science">20. PLOS (Public Library of Science)</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#rijksmuseum">21. Rijksmuseum</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#shareable">22. Shareable</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#siyavula">23. Siyavula</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#sparkfun">24. SparkFun</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#teachaids">25. TeachAIDS</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#tribe-of-noise">26. Tribe of Noise</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#wikimedia-foundation">27. Wikimedia Foundation</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="appendix"><a href="#bibliography">A. Bibliography</a></span></dt><dt><span class="appendix"><a href="#acknowledgments">B. Acknowledgments</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="list-of-figures"><p><b>List of Figures</b></p><dl><dt>1.1. <a href="#fig-1">Enterprise engagement with commons, state and
+ market.</a></dt><dt>1.2. <a href="#fig-2">Four aspects of resource management</a></dt><dt>1.3. <a href="#fig-3">How the market, commons and state concieve of
+ resources.</a></dt><dt>1.4. <a href="#fig-4">In preindustrialized society.</a></dt><dt>1.5. <a href="#fig-5">The commons is gradually superseded by the state.</a></dt><dt>1.6. <a href="#fig-6">How the market, the state and the commons look
+ today.</a></dt></dl></div><div class="preface"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="foreword"></a>Foreword</h1></div></div></div><p>
+ Three years ago, just after I was hired as CEO of Creative Commons,
+ I met with Cory Doctorow in the hotel bar of Toronto’s Gladstone
+ Hotel. As one of CC’s most well-known proponents—one who has also
+ had a successful career as a writer who shares his work using CC—I
+ told him I thought CC had a role in defining and advancing open
+ business models. He kindly disagreed, and called the pursuit of
+ viable business models through CC <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">a red herring.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ He was, in a way, completely correct—those who make things with
+ Creative Commons have ulterior motives, as Paul Stacey explains in
+ this book: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Regardless of legal status, they all have a social
+ mission. Their primary reason for being is to make the world a
+ better place, not to profit. Money is a means to a social end, not
+ the end itself.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ In the case study about Cory Doctorow, Sarah Hinchliff Pearson cites
+ Cory’s words from his book Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free:
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Entering the arts because you want to get rich is like buying
+ lottery tickets because you want to get rich. It might work, but it
+ almost certainly won’t. Though, of course, someone always wins the
+ lottery.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Today, copyright is like a lottery ticket—everyone has one, and
+ almost nobody wins. What they don’t tell you is that if you choose
+ to share your work, the returns can be significant and long-lasting.
+ This book is filled with stories of those who take much greater
+ risks than the two dollars we pay for a lottery ticket, and instead
+ reap the rewards that come from pursuing their passions and living
+ their values.
+ </p><p>
+ So it’s not about the money. Also: it is. Finding the means to
+ continue to create and share often requires some amount of income.
+ Max Temkin of Cards Against Humanity says it best in their case
+ study: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We don’t make jokes and games to make money—we make
+ money so we can make more jokes and games.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Creative Commons’ focus is on building a vibrant, usable commons,
+ powered by collaboration and gratitude. Enabling communities of
+ collaboration is at the heart of our strategy. With that in mind,
+ Creative Commons began this book project. Led by Paul and Sarah, the
+ project set out to define and advance the best open business models.
+ Paul and Sarah were the ideal authors to write Made with Creative
+ Commons.
+ </p><p>
+ Paul dreams of a future where new models of creativity and
+ innovation overpower the inequality and scarcity that today define
+ the worst parts of capitalism. He is driven by the power of human
+ connections between communities of creators. He takes a longer view
+ than most, and it’s made him a better educator, an insightful
+ researcher, and also a skilled gardener. He has a calm, cool voice
+ that conveys a passion that inspires his colleagues and community.
+ </p><p>
+ Sarah is the best kind of lawyer—a true advocate who believes in the
+ good of people, and the power of collective acts to change the
+ world. Over the past year I’ve seen Sarah struggle with the
+ heartbreak that comes from investing so much into a political
+ campaign that didn’t end as she’d hoped. Today, she’s more
+ determined than ever to live with her values right out on her
+ sleeve. I can always count on Sarah to push Creative Commons to
+ focus on our impact—to make the main thing the main thing. She’s
+ practical, detail-oriented, and clever. There’s no one on my team
+ that I enjoy debating more.
+ </p><p>
+ As coauthors, Paul and Sarah complement each other perfectly. They
+ researched, analyzed, argued, and worked as a team, sometimes
+ together and sometimes independently. They dove into the research
+ and writing with passion and curiosity, and a deep respect for what
+ goes into building the commons and sharing with the world. They
+ remained open to new ideas, including the possibility that their
+ initial theories would need refinement or might be completely wrong.
+ That’s courageous, and it has made for a better book that is
+ insightful, honest, and useful.
+ </p><p>
+ From the beginning, CC wanted to develop this project with the
+ principles and values of open collaboration. The book was funded,
+ developed, researched, and written in the open. It is being shared
+ openly under a CC BY-SA license for anyone to use, remix, or adapt
+ with attribution. It is, in itself, an example of an open business
+ model.
+ </p><p>
+ For 31 days in August of 2015, Sarah took point to organize and
+ execute a Kickstarter campaign to generate the core funding for the
+ book. The remainder was provided by CC’s generous donors and
+ supporters. In the end, it became one of the most successful book
+ projects on Kickstarter, smashing through two stretch goals and
+ engaging over 1,600 donors—the majority of them new supporters of
+ Creative Commons.
+ </p><p>
+ Paul and Sarah worked openly throughout the project, publishing the
+ plans, drafts, case studies, and analysis, early and often, and they
+ engaged communities all over the world to help write this book. As
+ their opinions diverged and their interests came into focus, they
+ divided their voices and decided to keep them separate in the final
+ product. Working in this way requires both humility and
+ self-confidence, and without question it has made Made with Creative
+ Commons a better project.
+ </p><p>
+ Those who work and share in the commons are not typical creators.
+ They are part of something greater than themselves, and what they
+ offer us all is a profound gift. What they receive in return is
+ gratitude and a community.
+ </p><p>
+ Jonathan Mann, who is profiled in this book, writes a song a day.
+ When I reached out to ask him to write a song for our Kickstarter
+ (and to offer himself up as a Kickstarter benefit), he agreed
+ immediately. Why would he agree to do that? Because the commons has
+ collaboration at its core, and community as a key value, and because
+ the CC licenses have helped so many to share in the ways that they
+ choose with a global audience.
+ </p><p>
+ Sarah writes, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Endeavors that are Made with Creative Commons
+ thrive when community is built around what they do. This may mean a
+ community collaborating together to create something new, or it may
+ simply be a collection of like-minded people who get to know each
+ other and rally around common interests or beliefs. To a certain
+ extent, simply being Made with Creative Commons automatically brings
+ with it some element of community, by helping connect you to
+ like-minded others who recognize and are drawn to the values
+ symbolized by using CC.</span>”</span> Amanda Palmer, the other musician
+ profiled in the book, would surely add this from her case study:
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">There is no more satisfying end goal than having someone tell
+ you that what you do is genuinely of value to them.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ This is not a typical business book. For those looking for a recipe
+ or a roadmap, you might be disappointed. But for those looking to
+ pursue a social end, to build something great through collaboration,
+ or to join a powerful and growing global community, they’re sure to
+ be satisfied. Made with Creative Commons offers a world-changing set
+ of clearly articulated values and principles, some essential tools
+ for exploring your own business opportunities, and two dozen doses
+ of pure inspiration.
+ </p><p>
+ In a 1996 Stanford Law Review article <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The Zones of
+ Cyberspace</span>”</span>, CC founder Lawrence Lessig wrote,
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cyberspace is a place. People live there. They experience all
+ the sorts of things that they experience in real space, there. For
+ some, they experience more. They experience this not as isolated
+ individuals, playing some high tech computer game; they experience
+ it in groups, in communities, among strangers, among people they
+ come to know, and sometimes like.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ I’m incredibly proud that Creative Commons is able to publish this
+ book for the many communities that we have come to know and like.
+ I’m grateful to Paul and Sarah for their creativity and insights,
+ and to the global communities that have helped us bring it to you.
+ As CC board member Johnathan Nightingale often says, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It’s all
+ made of people.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ That’s the true value of things that are Made with Creative Commons.
+ </p><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p></p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{ Ryan Merkley, CEO, Creative Commons}
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div></div><div class="preface"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="introduction"></a>Introduction</h1></div></div></div><p>
+ This book shows the world how sharing can be good for business—but
+ with a twist.
+ </p><p>
+ We began the project intending to explore how creators,
+ organizations, and businesses make money to sustain what they do
+ when they share their work using Creative Commons licenses. Our goal
+ was not to identify a formula for business models that use Creative
+ Commons but instead gather fresh ideas and dynamic examples that
+ spark new, innovative models and help others follow suit by building
+ on what already works. At the onset, we framed our investigation in
+ familiar business terms. We created a blank <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">open business
+ model canvas,</span>”</span> an interactive online tool that would help
+ people design and analyze their business model.
+ </p><p>
+ Through the generous funding of Kickstarter backers, we set about
+ this project first by identifying and selecting a diverse group of
+ creators, organizations, and businesses who use Creative Commons in
+ an integral way—what we call being Made with Creative Commons. We
+ interviewed them and wrote up their stories. We analyzed what we
+ heard and dug deep into the literature.
+ </p><p>
+ But as we did our research, something interesting happened. Our
+ initial way of framing the work did not match the stories we were
+ hearing.
+ </p><p>
+ Those we interviewed were not typical businesses selling to
+ consumers and seeking to maximize profits and the bottom line.
+ Instead, they were sharing to make the world a better place,
+ creating relationships and community around the works being shared,
+ and generating revenue not for unlimited growth but to sustain the
+ operation.
+ </p><p>
+ They often didn’t like hearing what they do described as an open
+ business model. Their endeavor was something more than that.
+ Something different. Something that generates not just economic
+ value but social and cultural value. Something that involves human
+ connection. Being Made with Creative Commons is not <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">business
+ as usual.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ We had to rethink the way we conceived of this project. And it
+ didn’t happen overnight. From the fall of 2015 through 2016, we
+ documented our thoughts in blog posts on Medium and with regular
+ updates to our Kickstarter backers. We shared drafts of case studies
+ and analysis with our Kickstarter cocreators, who provided
+ invaluable edits, feedback, and advice. Our thinking changed
+ dramatically over the course of a year and a half.
+ </p><p>
+ Throughout the process, the two of us have often had very different
+ ways of understanding and describing what we were learning. Learning
+ from each other has been one of the great joys of this work, and, we
+ hope, something that has made the final product much richer than it
+ ever could have been if either of us undertook this project alone.
+ We have preserved our voices throughout, and you’ll be able to sense
+ our different but complementary approaches as you read through our
+ different sections.
+ </p><p>
+ While we recommend that you read the book from start to finish, each
+ section reads more or less independently. The book is structured
+ into two main parts.
+ </p><p>
+ Part one, the overview, begins with a big-picture framework written
+ by Paul. He provides some historical context for the digital
+ commons, describing the three ways society has managed resources and
+ shared wealth—the commons, the market, and the state. He advocates
+ for thinking beyond business and market terms and eloquently makes
+ the case for sharing and enlarging the digital commons.
+ </p><p>
+ The overview continues with Sarah’s chapter, as she considers what
+ it means to be successfully Made with Creative Commons. While making
+ money is one piece of the pie, there is also a set of public-minded
+ values and the kind of human connections that make sharing truly
+ meaningful. This section outlines the ways the creators,
+ organizations, and businesses we interviewed bring in revenue, how
+ they further the public interest and live out their values, and how
+ they foster connections with the people with whom they share.
+ </p><p>
+ And to end part one, we have a short section that explains the
+ different Creative Commons licenses. We talk about the misconception
+ that the more restrictive licenses—the ones that are closest to the
+ all-rights-reserved model of traditional copyright—are the only ways
+ to make money.
+ </p><p>
+ Part two of the book is made up of the twenty-four stories of the
+ creators, businesses, and organizations we interviewed. While both
+ of us participated in the interviews, we divided up the writing of
+ these profiles.
+ </p><p>
+ Of course, we are pleased to make the book available using a
+ Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. Please copy,
+ distribute, translate, localize, and build upon this work.
+ </p><p>
+ Writing this book has transformed and inspired us. The way we now
+ look at and think about what it means to be Made with Creative
+ Commons has irrevocably changed. We hope this book inspires you and
+ your enterprise to use Creative Commons and in so doing contribute
+ to the transformation of our economy and world for the better.
+ </p><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p></p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{ Paul and Sarah }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div></div><div class="part"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="the-big-picture"></a>Part I. The Big Picture</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#the-new-world-of-digital-commons">1. The New World of Digital Commons</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#how-to-be-made-with-creative-commons">2. How to Be Made with Creative Commons</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#the-creative-commons-licenses">3. The Creative Commons Licenses</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="the-new-world-of-digital-commons"></a>Chapter 1. The New World of Digital Commons</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#the-commons-the-market-and-the-state">The Commons, the Market, and the State</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#the-four-aspects-of-a-resource">The Four Aspects of a Resource</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#a-short-history-of-the-commons">A Short History of the Commons</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#the-digital-revolution">The Digital Revolution</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#the-birth-of-creative-commons">The Birth of Creative Commons</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#the-changing-market">The Changing Market</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#benefits-of-the-digital-commons">Benefits of the Digital Commons</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#our-case-studies">Our Case Studies</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p></p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{ Paul Stacey}
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ Jonathan Rowe eloquently describes the commons as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">the air
+ and oceans, the web of species, wilderness and flowing water—all
+ are parts of the commons. So are language and knowledge, sidewalks
+ and public squares, the stories of childhood and the processes of
+ democracy. Some parts of the commons are gifts of nature, others
+ the product of human endeavor. Some are new, such as the Internet;
+ others are as ancient as soil and calligraphy.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm111" class="footnote" name="idm111"><sup class="footnote">[1]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ In Made with Creative Commons, we focus on our current era of
+ digital commons, a commons of human-produced works. This commons
+ cuts across a broad range of areas including cultural heritage,
+ education, research, technology, art, design, literature,
+ entertainment, business, and data. Human-produced works in all
+ these areas are increasingly digital. The Internet is a kind of
+ global, digital commons. The individuals, organizations, and
+ businesses we profile in our case studies use Creative Commons to
+ share their resources online over the Internet.
+ </p><p>
+ The commons is not just about shared resources, however. It’s also
+ about the social practices and values that manage them. A resource
+ is a noun, but to common—to put the resource into the commons—is a
+ verb.<a href="#ftn.idm115" class="footnote" name="idm115"><sup class="footnote">[2]</sup></a> The creators, organizations, and businesses we profile
+ are all engaged with commoning. Their use of Creative Commons
+ involves them in the social practice of commoning, managing
+ resources in a collective manner with a community of
+ users.<a href="#ftn.idm117" class="footnote" name="idm117"><sup class="footnote">[3]</sup></a> Commoning is guided by a set of values and norms that
+ balance the costs and benefits of the enterprise with those of the
+ community. Special regard is given to equitable access, use, and
+ sustainability.
+ </p><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="the-commons-the-market-and-the-state"></a>The Commons, the Market, and the State</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ Historically, there have been three ways to manage resources and
+ share wealth: the commons (managed collectively), the state
+ (i.e., the government), and the market—with the last two being
+ the dominant forms today.<a href="#ftn.idm122" class="footnote" name="idm122"><sup class="footnote">[4]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ The organizations and businesses in our case studies are unique
+ in the way they participate in the commons while still engaging
+ with the market and/or state. The extent of engagement with
+ market or state varies. Some operate primarily as a commons with
+ minimal or no reliance on the market or state.<a href="#ftn.idm125" class="footnote" name="idm125"><sup class="footnote">[5]</sup></a> Others are very much a part of the market or state,
+ depending on them for financial sustainability. All operate as
+ hybrids, blending the norms of the commons with those of the
+ market or state.
+ </p><p>
+ Fig. <a class="xref" href="#fig-1" title="Figure 1.1. Enterprise engagement with commons, state and market.">1.1</a> is a depiction of how an enterprise can have varying
+ levels of engagement with commons, state, and market.
+ </p><p>
+ Some of our case studies are simply commons and market
+ enterprises with little or no engagement with the state. A
+ depiction of those case studies would show the state sphere as
+ tiny or even absent. Other case studies are primarily
+ market-based with only a small engagement with the commons. A
+ depiction of those case studies would show the market sphere as
+ large and the commons sphere as small. The extent to which an
+ enterprise sees itself as being primarily of one type or another
+ affects the balance of norms by which they operate.
+ </p><p>
+ All our case studies generate money as a means of livelihood and
+ sustainability. Money is primarily of the market. Finding ways
+ to generate revenue while holding true to the core values of the
+ commons (usually expressed in mission statements) is
+ challenging. To manage interaction and engagement between the
+ commons and the market requires a deft touch, a strong sense of
+ values, and the ability to blend the best of both.
+ </p><p>
+ The state has an important role to play in fostering the use and
+ adoption of the commons. State programs and funding can
+ deliberately contribute to and build the commons. Beyond money,
+ laws and regulations regarding property, copyright, business,
+ and finance can all be designed to foster the commons.
+ </p><div class="figure"><a name="fig-1"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1.1. Enterprise engagement with commons, state and
+ market.</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><table border="0" summary="manufactured viewport for HTML img" style="cellpadding: 0; cellspacing: 0;" width="80.0%"><tr><td><img src="Pictures/10000201000008000000045C30360249076453E6.png" width="100%" alt="Enterprise engagement with commons, state and market."></td></tr></table></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"><p>
+ It’s helpful to understand how the commons, market, and state
+ manage resources differently, and not just for those who
+ consider themselves primarily as a commons. For businesses or
+ governmental organizations who want to engage in and use the
+ commons, knowing how the commons operates will help them
+ understand how best to do so. Participating in and using the
+ commons the same way you do the market or state is not a
+ strategy for success.
+ </p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="the-four-aspects-of-a-resource"></a>The Four Aspects of a Resource</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ As part of her Nobel Prize–winning work, Elinor Ostrom developed
+ a framework for analyzing how natural resources are managed in a
+ commons.<a href="#ftn.idm143" class="footnote" name="idm143"><sup class="footnote">[6]</sup></a> Her framework considered things like the biophysical
+ characteristics of common resources, the community’s actors and
+ the interactions that take place between them, rules-in-use, and
+ outcomes. That framework has been simplified and generalized to
+ apply to the commons, the market, and the state for this
+ chapter.
+ </p><p>
+ To compare and contrast the ways in which the commons, market,
+ and state work, let’s consider four aspects of resource
+ management: resource characteristics, the people involved and
+ the process they use, the norms and rules they develop to govern
+ use, and finally actual resource use along with outcomes of that
+ use (see Fig. <a class="xref" href="#fig-2" title="Figure 1.2. Four aspects of resource management">1.2</a>).
+ </p><div class="figure"><a name="fig-2"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1.2. Four aspects of resource management</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><table border="0" summary="manufactured viewport for HTML img" style="cellpadding: 0; cellspacing: 0;" width="80.0%"><tr><td><img src="Pictures/10000201000007D0000007D0ACF13F8B71EAF0B9.png" width="100%" alt="Four aspects of resource management"></td></tr></table></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="characteristics"></a>Characteristics</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Resources have particular characteristics or attributes that
+ affect the way they can be used. Some resources are natural;
+ others are human produced. And—significantly for today’s
+ commons—resources can be physical or digital, which affects a
+ resource’s inherent potential.
+ </p><p>
+ Physical resources exist in limited supply. If I have a
+ physical resource and give it to you, I no longer have it.
+ When a resource is removed and used, the supply becomes scarce
+ or depleted. Scarcity can result in competing rivalry for the
+ resource. Made with Creative Commons enterprises are usually
+ digitally based but some of our case studies also produce
+ resources in physical form. The costs of producing and
+ distributing a physical good usually require them to engage
+ with the market.
+ </p><p>
+ Physical resources are depletable, exclusive, and rivalrous.
+ Digital resources, on the other hand, are nondepletable,
+ nonexclusive, and nonrivalrous. If I share a digital resource
+ with you, we both have the resource. Giving it to you does not
+ mean I no longer have it. Digital resources can be infinitely
+ stored, copied, and distributed without becoming depleted, and
+ at close to zero cost. Abundance rather than scarcity is an
+ inherent characteristic of digital resources.
+ </p><p>
+ The nondepletable, nonexclusive, and nonrivalrous nature of
+ digital resources means the rules and norms for managing them
+ can (and ought to) be different from how physical resources
+ are managed. However, this is not always the case. Digital
+ resources are frequently made artificially scarce. Placing
+ digital resources in the commons makes them free and abundant.
+ </p><p>
+ Our case studies frequently manage hybrid resources, which
+ start out as digital with the possibility of being made into a
+ physical resource. The digital file of a book can be printed
+ on paper and made into a physical book. A computer-rendered
+ design for furniture can be physically manufactured in wood.
+ This conversion from digital to physical invariably has costs.
+ Often the digital resources are managed in a free and open
+ way, but money is charged to convert a digital resource into a
+ physical one.
+ </p><p>
+ Beyond this idea of physical versus digital, the commons,
+ market, and state conceive of resources differently (see Fig. <a class="xref" href="#fig-3" title="Figure 1.3. How the market, commons and state concieve of resources.">1.3</a>). The market sees resources as private goods—commodities for
+ sale—from which value is extracted. The state sees resources
+ as public goods that provide value to state citizens. The
+ commons sees resources as common goods, providing a common
+ wealth extending beyond state boundaries, to be passed on in
+ undiminished or enhanced form to future generations.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="people-and-processes"></a>People and processes</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ In the commons, the market, and the state, different people
+ and processes are used to manage resources. The processes used
+ define both who has a say and how a resource is managed.
+ </p><p>
+ In the state, a government of elected officials is responsible
+ for managing resources on behalf of the public. The citizens
+ who produce and use those resources are not directly involved;
+ instead, that responsibility is given over to the government.
+ State ministries and departments staffed with public servants
+ set budgets, implement programs, and manage resources based on
+ government priorities and procedures.
+ </p><p>
+ In the market, the people involved are producers, buyers,
+ sellers, and consumers. Businesses act as intermediaries
+ between those who produce resources and those who consume or
+ use them. Market processes seek to extract as much monetary
+ value from resources as possible. In the market, resources are
+ managed as commodities, frequently mass-produced, and sold to
+ consumers on the basis of a cash transaction.
+ </p><p>
+ In contrast to the state and market, resources in a commons
+ are managed more directly by the people involved.<a href="#ftn.idm170" class="footnote" name="idm170"><sup class="footnote">[7]</sup></a> Creators of human produced resources can put them
+ in the commons by personal choice. No permission from state or
+ market is required. Anyone can participate in the commons and
+ determine for themselves the extent to which they want to be
+ involved—as a contributor, user, or manager. The people
+ involved include not only those who create and use resources
+ but those affected by outcome of use. Who you are affects your
+ say, actions you can take, and extent of decision making. In
+ the commons, the community as a whole manages the resources.
+ Resources put into the commons using Creative Commons require
+ users to give the original creator credit. Knowing the person
+ behind a resource makes the commons less anonymous and more
+ personal.
+ </p><div class="figure"><a name="fig-3"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1.3. How the market, commons and state concieve of
+ resources.</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><table border="0" summary="manufactured viewport for HTML img" style="cellpadding: 0; cellspacing: 0;" width="80.0%"><tr><td><img src="Pictures/10000201000009C40000065D9EC4F530BD4DFBE0.png" width="100%" alt="How the market, commons and state concieve of resources."></td></tr></table></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="norms-and-rules"></a>Norms and rules</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ The social interactions between people, and the processes used
+ by the state, market, and commons, evolve social norms and
+ rules. These norms and rules define permissions, allocate
+ entitlements, and resolve disputes.
+ </p><p>
+ State authority is governed by national constitutions. Norms
+ related to priorities and decision making are defined by
+ elected officials and parliamentary procedures. State rules
+ are expressed through policies, regulations, and laws. The
+ state influences the norms and rules of the market and commons
+ through the rules it passes.
+ </p><p>
+ Market norms are influenced by economics and competition for
+ scarce resources. Market rules follow property, business, and
+ financial laws defined by the state.
+ </p><p>
+ As with the market, a commons can be influenced by state
+ policies, regulations, and laws. But the norms and rules of a
+ commons are largely defined by the community. They weigh
+ individual costs and benefits against the costs and benefits
+ to the whole community. Consideration is given not just to
+ economic efficiency but also to equity and
+ sustainability.<a href="#ftn.idm185" class="footnote" name="idm185"><sup class="footnote">[8]</sup></a>
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="goals"></a>Goals</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ The combination of the aspects we’ve discussed so far—the
+ resource’s inherent characteristics, people and processes, and
+ norms and rules—shape how resources are used. Use is also
+ influenced by the different goals the state, market, and
+ commons have.
+ </p><p>
+ In the market, the focus is on maximizing the utility of a
+ resource. What we pay for the goods we consume is seen as an
+ objective measure of the utility they provide. The goal then
+ becomes maximizing total monetary value in the
+ economy.<a href="#ftn.idm191" class="footnote" name="idm191"><sup class="footnote">[9]</sup></a> Units consumed translates to sales, revenue,
+ profit, and growth, and these are all ways to measure goals of
+ the market.
+ </p><p>
+ The state aims to use and manage resources in a way that
+ balances the economy with the social and cultural needs of its
+ citizens. Health care, education, jobs, the environment,
+ transportation, security, heritage, and justice are all facets
+ of a healthy society, and the state applies its resources
+ toward these aims. State goals are reflected in quality of
+ life measures.
+ </p><p>
+ In the commons, the goal is maximizing access, equity,
+ distribution, participation, innovation, and sustainability.
+ You can measure success by looking at how many people access
+ and use a resource; how users are distributed across gender,
+ income, and location; if a community to extend and enhance the
+ resources is being formed; and if the resources are being used
+ in innovative ways for personal and social good.
+ </p><p>
+ As hybrid combinations of the commons with the market or
+ state, the success and sustainability of all our case study
+ enterprises depends on their ability to strategically utilize
+ and balance these different aspects of managing resources.
+ </p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="a-short-history-of-the-commons"></a>A Short History of the Commons</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ Using the commons to manage resources is part of a long
+ historical continuum. However, in contemporary society, the
+ market and the state dominate the discourse on how resources are
+ best managed. Rarely is the commons even considered as an
+ option. The commons has largely disappeared from consciousness
+ and consideration. There are no news reports or speeches about
+ the commons.
+ </p><p>
+ But the more than 1.1 billion resources licensed with Creative
+ Commons around the world are indications of a grassroots move
+ toward the commons. The commons is making a resurgence. To
+ understand the resilience of the commons and its current
+ renewal, it’s helpful to know something of its history.
+ </p><p>
+ For centuries, indigenous people and preindustrialized societies
+ managed resources, including water, food, firewood, irrigation,
+ fish, wild game, and many other things collectively as a
+ commons.<a href="#ftn.idm202" class="footnote" name="idm202"><sup class="footnote">[10]</sup></a> There was no market, no global economy. The state in
+ the form of rulers influenced the commons but by no means
+ controlled it. Direct social participation in a commons was the
+ primary way in which resources were managed and needs met. (Fig. <a class="xref" href="#fig-4" title="Figure 1.4. In preindustrialized society.">1.4</a> illustrates the commons in relation to the state and the
+ market.)
+ </p><div class="figure"><a name="fig-4"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1.4. In preindustrialized society.</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><table border="0" summary="manufactured viewport for HTML img" style="cellpadding: 0; cellspacing: 0;" width="80.0%"><tr><td><img src="Pictures/10000201000009C4000005153EACBD62F00F6BA9.png" width="100%" alt="In preindustrialized society."></td></tr></table></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"><p>
+ This is followed by a long history of the state (a monarchy or
+ ruler) taking over the commons for their own purposes. This is
+ called enclosure of the commons.<a href="#ftn.idm213" class="footnote" name="idm213"><sup class="footnote">[11]</sup></a> In olden days, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">commoners</span>”</span> were evicted
+ from the land, fences and hedges erected, laws passed, and
+ security set up to forbid access.<a href="#ftn.idm216" class="footnote" name="idm216"><sup class="footnote">[12]</sup></a> Gradually, resources became the property of the
+ state and the state became the primary means by which resources
+ were managed. (See Fig. <a class="xref" href="#fig-5" title="Figure 1.5. The commons is gradually superseded by the state.">1.5</a>).
+ </p><p>
+ Holdings of land, water, and game were distributed to ruling
+ family and political appointees. Commoners displaced from the
+ land migrated to cities. With the emergence of the industrial
+ revolution, land and resources became commodities sold to
+ businesses to support production. Monarchies evolved into
+ elected parliaments. Commoners became labourers earning money
+ operating the machinery of industry. Financial, business, and
+ property laws were revised by governments to support markets,
+ growth, and productivity. Over time ready access to market
+ produced goods resulted in a rising standard of living, improved
+ health, and education. Fig. <a class="xref" href="#fig-6" title="Figure 1.6. How the market, the state and the commons look today.">1.6</a> shows how today the market is the
+ primary means by which resources are managed.
+ </p><div class="figure"><a name="fig-5"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1.5. The commons is gradually superseded by the state.</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><table border="0" summary="manufactured viewport for HTML img" style="cellpadding: 0; cellspacing: 0;" width="80.0%"><tr><td><img src="Pictures/10000201000009C4000005150F069409C1CC12F0.png" width="100%" alt="The commons is gradually superseded by the state."></td></tr></table></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"><p>
+ However, the world today is going through turbulent times. The
+ benefits of the market have been offset by unequal distribution
+ and overexploitation.
+ </p><p>
+ Overexploitation was the topic of Garrett Hardin’s influential
+ essay <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The Tragedy of the Commons,</span>”</span> published in
+ Science in 1968. Hardin argues that everyone in a commons seeks
+ to maximize personal gain and will continue to do so even when
+ the limits of the commons are reached. The commons is then
+ tragically depleted to the point where it can no longer support
+ anyone. Hardin’s essay became widely accepted as an economic
+ truism and a justification for private property and free
+ markets.
+ </p><p>
+ However, there is one serious flaw with Hardin’s <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The
+ Tragedy of the Commons</span>”</span>—it’s fiction. Hardin did not
+ actually study how real commons work. Elinor Ostrom won the 2009
+ Nobel Prize in economics for her work studying different commons
+ all around the world. Ostrom’s work shows that natural resource
+ commons can be successfully managed by local communities without
+ any regulation by central authorities or without privatization.
+ Government and privatization are not the only two choices. There
+ is a third way: management by the people, where those that are
+ directly impacted are directly involved. With natural resources,
+ there is a regional locality. The people in the region are the
+ most familiar with the natural resource, have the most direct
+ relationship and history with it, and are therefore best
+ situated to manage it. Ostrom’s approach to the governance of
+ natural resources broke with convention; she recognized the
+ importance of the commons as an alternative to the market or
+ state for solving problems of collective action.<a href="#ftn.idm233" class="footnote" name="idm233"><sup class="footnote">[13]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Hardin failed to consider the actual social dynamic of the
+ commons. His model assumed that people in the commons act
+ autonomously, out of pure self-interest, without interaction or
+ consideration of others. But as Ostrom found, in reality,
+ managing common resources together forms a community and
+ encourages discourse. This naturally generates norms and rules
+ that help people work collectively and ensure a sustainable
+ commons. Paradoxically, while Hardin’s essay is called The
+ Tragedy of the Commons it might more accurately be titled The
+ Tragedy of the Market.
+ </p><p>
+ Hardin’s story is based on the premise of depletable resources.
+ Economists have focused almost exclusively on scarcity-based
+ markets. Very little is known about how abundance
+ works.<a href="#ftn.idm238" class="footnote" name="idm238"><sup class="footnote">[14]</sup></a> The emergence of information technology and the
+ Internet has led to an explosion in digital resources and new
+ means of sharing and distribution. Digital resources can never
+ be depleted. An absence of a theory or model for how abundance
+ works, however, has led the market to make digital resources
+ artificially scarce and makes it possible for the usual market
+ norms and rules to be applied.
+ </p><p>
+ When it comes to use of state funds to create digital goods,
+ however, there is really no justification for artificial
+ scarcity. The norm for state funded digital works should be that
+ they are freely and openly available to the public that paid for
+ them.
+ </p><div class="figure"><a name="fig-6"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1.6. How the market, the state and the commons look
+ today.</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><table border="0" summary="manufactured viewport for HTML img" style="cellpadding: 0; cellspacing: 0;" width="80.0%"><tr><td><img src="Pictures/10000201000009C400000515F1CAA15B223F6BAF.png" width="100%" alt="How the market, the state and the commons look today."></td></tr></table></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="the-digital-revolution"></a>The Digital Revolution</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ In the early days of computing, programmers and developers
+ learned from each other by sharing software. In the 1980s, the
+ free-software movement codified this practice of sharing into a
+ set of principles and freedoms:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ The freedom to run a software program as you wish, for any
+ purpose.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ The freedom to study how a software program works (because
+ access to the source code has been freely given), and change
+ it so it does your computing as you wish.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ The freedom to redistribute copies.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions
+ to others.<a href="#ftn.idm261" class="footnote" name="idm261"><sup class="footnote">[15]</sup></a>
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+ These principles and freedoms constitute a set of norms and
+ rules that typify a digital commons.
+ </p><p>
+ In the late 1990s, to make the sharing of source code and
+ collaboration more appealing to companies, the
+ open-source-software initiative converted these principles into
+ licenses and standards for managing access to and distribution
+ of software. The benefits of open source—such as reliability,
+ scalability, and quality verified by independent peer
+ review—became widely recognized and accepted. Customers liked
+ the way open source gave them control without being locked into
+ a closed, proprietary technology. Free and open-source software
+ also generated a network effect where the value of a product or
+ service increases with the number of people using it.<a href="#ftn.idm267" class="footnote" name="idm267"><sup class="footnote">[16]</sup></a> The dramatic growth of the Internet itself owes much
+ to the fact that nobody has a proprietary lock on core Internet
+ protocols.
+ </p><p>
+ While open-source software functions as a commons, many
+ businesses and markets did build up around it. Business models
+ based on the licenses and standards of open-source software
+ evolved alongside organizations that managed software code on
+ principles of abundance rather than scarcity. Eric Raymond’s
+ essay <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The Magic Cauldron</span>”</span> does a great job of
+ analyzing the economics and business models associated with
+ open-source software.<a href="#ftn.idm272" class="footnote" name="idm272"><sup class="footnote">[17]</sup></a> These models can provide examples of sustainable
+ approaches for those Made with Creative Commons.
+ </p><p>
+ It isn’t just about an abundant availability of digital assets
+ but also about abundance of participation. The growth of
+ personal computing, information technology, and the Internet
+ made it possible for mass participation in producing creative
+ works and distributing them. Photos, books, music, and many
+ other forms of digital content could now be readily created and
+ distributed by almost anyone. Despite this potential for
+ abundance, by default these digital works are governed by
+ copyright laws. Under copyright, a digital work is the property
+ of the creator, and by law others are excluded from accessing
+ and using it without the creator’s permission.
+ </p><p>
+ But people like to share. One of the ways we define ourselves is
+ by sharing valuable and entertaining content. Doing so grows and
+ nourishes relationships, seeks to change opinions, encourages
+ action, and informs others about who we are and what we care
+ about. Sharing lets us feel more involved with the
+ world.<a href="#ftn.idm278" class="footnote" name="idm278"><sup class="footnote">[18]</sup></a>
+ </p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="the-birth-of-creative-commons"></a>The Birth of Creative Commons</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ In 2001, Creative Commons was created as a nonprofit to support
+ all those who wanted to share digital content. A suite of
+ Creative Commons licenses was modeled on those of open-source
+ software but for use with digital content rather than software
+ code. The licenses give everyone from individual creators to
+ large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to
+ grant copyright permissions to their creative work.
+ </p><p>
+ Creative Commons licenses have a three-layer design. The norms
+ and rules of each license are first expressed in full legal
+ language as used by lawyers. This layer is called the legal
+ code. But since most creators and users are not lawyers, the
+ licenses also have a commons deed, expressing the permissions in
+ plain language, which regular people can read and quickly
+ understand. It acts as a user-friendly interface to the
+ legal-code layer beneath. The third layer is the
+ machine-readable one, making it easy for the Web to know a work
+ is Creative Commons–licensed by expressing permissions in a way
+ that software systems, search engines, and other kinds of
+ technology can understand.<a href="#ftn.idm285" class="footnote" name="idm285"><sup class="footnote">[19]</sup></a> Taken together, these three layers ensure creators,
+ users, and even the Web itself understand the norms and rules
+ associated with digital content in a commons.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2015, there were over one billion Creative Commons licensed
+ works in a global commons. These works were viewed online 136
+ billion times. People are using Creative Commons licenses all
+ around the world, in thirty-four languages. These resources
+ include photos, artwork, research articles in journals,
+ educational resources, music and other audio tracks, and videos.
+ </p><p>
+ Individual artists, photographers, musicians, and filmmakers use
+ Creative Commons, but so do museums, governments, creative
+ industries, manufacturers, and publishers. Millions of websites
+ use CC licenses, including major platforms like Wikipedia and
+ Flickr and smaller ones like blogs.<a href="#ftn.idm291" class="footnote" name="idm291"><sup class="footnote">[20]</sup></a> Users of Creative Commons are diverse and cut across
+ many different sectors. (Our case studies were chosen to reflect
+ that diversity.)
+ </p><p>
+ Some see Creative Commons as a way to share a gift with others,
+ a way of getting known, or a way to provide social benefit.
+ Others are simply committed to the norms associated with a
+ commons. And for some, participation has been spurred by the
+ free-culture movement, a social movement that promotes the
+ freedom to distribute and modify creative works. The
+ free-culture movement sees a commons as providing significant
+ benefits compared to restrictive copyright laws. This ethos of
+ free exchange in a commons aligns the free-culture movement with
+ the free and open-source software movement.
+ </p><p>
+ Over time, Creative Commons has spawned a range of open
+ movements, including open educational resources, open access,
+ open science, and open data. The goal in every case has been to
+ democratize participation and share digital resources at no
+ cost, with legal permissions for anyone to freely access, use,
+ and modify.
+ </p><p>
+ The state is increasingly involved in supporting open movements.
+ The Open Government Partnership was launched in 2011 to provide
+ an international platform for governments to become more open,
+ accountable, and responsive to citizens. Since then, it has
+ grown from eight participating countries to seventy.<a href="#ftn.idm297" class="footnote" name="idm297"><sup class="footnote">[21]</sup></a> In all these countries, government and civil society
+ are working together to develop and implement ambitious
+ open-government reforms. Governments are increasingly adopting
+ Creative Commons to ensure works funded with taxpayer dollars
+ are open and free to the public that paid for them.
+ </p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="the-changing-market"></a>The Changing Market</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ Today’s market is largely driven by global capitalism. Law and
+ financial systems are structured to support extraction,
+ privatization, and corporate growth. A perception that the
+ market is more efficient than the state has led to continual
+ privatization of many public natural resources, utilities,
+ services, and infrastructures.<a href="#ftn.idm304" class="footnote" name="idm304"><sup class="footnote">[22]</sup></a> While this system has been highly efficient at
+ generating consumerism and the growth of gross domestic product,
+ the impact on human well-being has been mixed. Offsetting rising
+ living standards and improvements to health and education are
+ ever-increasing wealth inequality, social inequality, poverty,
+ deterioration of our natural environment, and breakdowns of
+ democracy.<a href="#ftn.idm306" class="footnote" name="idm306"><sup class="footnote">[23]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ In light of these challenges there is a growing recognition that
+ GDP growth should not be an end in itself, that development
+ needs to be socially and economically inclusive, that
+ environmental sustainability is a requirement not an option, and
+ that we need to better balance the market, state and
+ community.<a href="#ftn.idm309" class="footnote" name="idm309"><sup class="footnote">[24]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ These realizations have led to a resurgence of interest in the
+ commons as a means of enabling that balance. City governments
+ like Bologna, Italy, are collaborating with their citizens to
+ put in place regulations for the care and regeneration of urban
+ commons.<a href="#ftn.idm314" class="footnote" name="idm314"><sup class="footnote">[25]</sup></a> Seoul and Amsterdam call themselves <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">sharing
+ cities,</span>”</span> looking to make sustainable and more efficient
+ use of scarce resources. They see sharing as a way to improve
+ the use of public spaces, mobility, social cohesion, and
+ safety.<a href="#ftn.idm318" class="footnote" name="idm318"><sup class="footnote">[26]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ The market itself has taken an interest in the sharing economy,
+ with businesses like Airbnb providing a peer-to-peer marketplace
+ for short-term lodging and Uber providing a platform for ride
+ sharing. However, Airbnb and Uber are still largely operating
+ under the usual norms and rules of the market, making them less
+ like a commons and more like a traditional business seeking
+ financial gain. Much of the sharing economy is not about the
+ commons or building an alternative to a corporate-driven market
+ economy; it’s about extending the deregulated free market into
+ new areas of our lives.<a href="#ftn.idm323" class="footnote" name="idm323"><sup class="footnote">[27]</sup></a> While none of the people we interviewed for our case
+ studies would describe themselves as part of the sharing
+ economy, there are in fact some significant parallels. Both the
+ sharing economy and the commons make better use of asset
+ capacity. The sharing economy sees personal residents and cars
+ as having latent spare capacity with rental value. The equitable
+ access of the commons broadens and diversifies the number of
+ people who can use and derive value from an asset.
+ </p><p>
+ One way Made with Creative Commons case studies differ from
+ those of the sharing economy is their focus on digital
+ resources. Digital resources function under different economic
+ rules than physical ones. In a world where prices always seem to
+ go up, information technology is an anomaly. Computer-processing
+ power, storage, and bandwidth are all rapidly increasing, but
+ rather than costs going up, costs are coming down. Digital
+ technologies are getting faster, better, and cheaper. The cost
+ of anything built on these technologies will always go down
+ until it is close to zero.<a href="#ftn.idm326" class="footnote" name="idm326"><sup class="footnote">[28]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Those that are Made with Creative Commons are looking to
+ leverage the unique inherent characteristics of digital
+ resources, including lowering costs. The use of
+ digital-rights-management technologies in the form of locks,
+ passwords, and controls to prevent digital goods from being
+ accessed, changed, replicated, and distributed is minimal or
+ nonexistent. Instead, Creative Commons licenses are used to put
+ digital content out in the commons, taking advantage of the
+ unique economics associated with being digital. The aim is to
+ see digital resources used as widely and by as many people as
+ possible. Maximizing access and participation is a common goal.
+ They aim for abundance over scarcity.
+ </p><p>
+ The incremental cost of storing, copying, and distributing
+ digital goods is next to zero, making abundance possible. But
+ imagining a market based on abundance rather than scarcity is so
+ alien to the way we conceive of economic theory and practice
+ that we struggle to do so.<a href="#ftn.idm330" class="footnote" name="idm330"><sup class="footnote">[29]</sup></a> Those that are Made with Creative Commons are each
+ pioneering in this new landscape, devising their own economic
+ models and practice.
+ </p><p>
+ Some are looking to minimize their interactions with the market
+ and operate as autonomously as possible. Others are operating
+ largely as a business within the existing rules and norms of the
+ market. And still others are looking to change the norms and
+ rules by which the market operates.
+ </p><p>
+ For an ordinary corporation, making social benefit a part of its
+ operations is difficult, as it’s legally required to make
+ decisions that financially benefit stockholders. But new forms
+ of business are emerging. There are benefit corporations and
+ social enterprises, which broaden their business goals from
+ making a profit to making a positive impact on society, workers,
+ the community, and the environment.<a href="#ftn.idm334" class="footnote" name="idm334"><sup class="footnote">[30]</sup></a> Community-owned businesses, worker-owned businesses,
+ cooperatives, guilds, and other organizational forms offer
+ alternatives to the traditional corporation. Collectively, these
+ alternative market entities are changing the rules and norms of
+ the market.<a href="#ftn.idm336" class="footnote" name="idm336"><sup class="footnote">[31]</sup></a>
+ </p><p><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">A book on open business models</span>”</span> is how we
+ described it in this book’s Kickstarter campaign. We used a
+ handbook called Business Model Generation as our reference for
+ defining just what a business model is. Developed over nine
+ years using an <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">open process</span>”</span> involving 470
+ coauthors from forty-five countries, it is useful as a framework
+ for talking about business models.<a href="#ftn.idm341" class="footnote" name="idm341"><sup class="footnote">[32]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ It contains a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">business model canvas,</span>”</span> which
+ conceives of a business model as having nine building
+ blocks.<a href="#ftn.idm346" class="footnote" name="idm346"><sup class="footnote">[33]</sup></a> This blank canvas can serve as a tool for anyone to
+ design their own business model. We remixed this business model
+ canvas into an open business model canvas, adding three more
+ building blocks relevant to hybrid market, commons enterprises:
+ social good, Creative Commons license, and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">type of open
+ environment that the business fits in.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm350" class="footnote" name="idm350"><sup class="footnote">[34]</sup></a> This enhanced canvas proved useful when we analyzed
+ businesses and helped start-ups plan their economic model.
+ </p><p>
+ In our case study interviews, many expressed discomfort over
+ describing themselves as an open business model—the term
+ business model suggested primarily being situated in the market.
+ Where you sit on the commons-to-market spectrum affects the
+ extent to which you see yourself as a business in the market.
+ The more central to the mission shared resources and commons
+ values are, the less comfort there is in describing yourself, or
+ depicting what you do, as a business. Not all who have endeavors
+ Made with Creative Commons use business speak; for some the
+ process has been experimental, emergent, and organic rather than
+ carefully planned using a predefined model.
+ </p><p>
+ The creators, businesses, and organizations we profile all
+ engage with the market to generate revenue in some way. The ways
+ in which this is done vary widely. Donations, pay what you can,
+ memberships, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">digital for free but physical for a
+ fee,</span>”</span> crowdfunding, matchmaking, value-add services,
+ patrons . . . the list goes on and on. (Initial description of
+ how to earn revenue available through reference note. For latest
+ thinking see How to Bring In Money in the next
+ section.)<a href="#ftn.idm358" class="footnote" name="idm358"><sup class="footnote">[35]</sup></a> There is no single magic bullet, and each endeavor
+ has devised ways that work for them. Most make use of more than
+ one way. Diversifying revenue streams lowers risk and provides
+ multiple paths to sustainability.
+ </p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="benefits-of-the-digital-commons"></a>Benefits of the Digital Commons</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ While it may be clear why commons-based organizations want to
+ interact and engage with the market (they need money to
+ survive), it may be less obvious why the market would engage
+ with the commons. The digital commons offers many benefits.
+ </p><p>
+ The commons speeds dissemination. The free flow of resources in
+ the commons offers tremendous economies of scale. Distribution
+ is decentralized, with all those in the commons empowered to
+ share the resources they have access to. Those that are Made
+ with Creative Commons have a reduced need for sales or
+ marketing. Decentralized distribution amplifies supply and
+ know-how.
+ </p><p>
+ The commons ensures access to all. The market has traditionally
+ operated by putting resources behind a paywall requiring payment
+ first before access. The commons puts resources in the open,
+ providing access up front without payment. Those that are Made
+ with Creative Commons make little or no use of digital rights
+ management (DRM) to manage resources. Not using DRM frees them
+ of the costs of acquiring DRM technology and staff resources to
+ engage in the punitive practices associated with restricting
+ access. The way the commons provides access to everyone levels
+ the playing field and promotes inclusiveness, equity, and
+ fairness.
+ </p><p>
+ The commons maximizes participation. Resources in the commons
+ can be used and contributed to by everyone. Using the resources
+ of others, contributing your own, and mixing yours with others
+ to create new works are all dynamic forms of participation made
+ possible by the commons. Being Made with Creative Commons means
+ you’re engaging as many users with your resources as possible.
+ Users are also authoring, editing, remixing, curating,
+ localizing, translating, and distributing. The commons makes it
+ possible for people to directly participate in culture,
+ knowledge building, and even democracy, and many other socially
+ beneficial practices.
+ </p><p>
+ The commons spurs innovation. Resources in the hands of more
+ people who can use them leads to new ideas. The way commons
+ resources can be modified, customized, and improved results in
+ derivative works never imagined by the original creator. Some
+ endeavors that are Made with Creative Commons deliberately
+ encourage users to take the resources being shared and innovate
+ them. Doing so moves research and development (R&D) from
+ being solely inside the organization to being in the
+ community.<a href="#ftn.idm369" class="footnote" name="idm369"><sup class="footnote">[36]</sup></a> Community-based innovation will keep an organization
+ or business on its toes. It must continue to contribute new
+ ideas, absorb and build on top of the innovations of others, and
+ steward the resources and the relationship with the community.
+ </p><p>
+ The commons boosts reach and impact. The digital commons is
+ global. Resources may be created for a local or regional need,
+ but they go far and wide generating a global impact. In the
+ digital world, there are no borders between countries. When you
+ are Made with Creative Commons, you are often local and global
+ at the same time: Digital designs being globally distributed but
+ made and manufactured locally. Digital books or music being
+ globally distributed but readings and concerts performed
+ locally. The digital commons magnifies impact by connecting
+ creators to those who use and build on their work both locally
+ and globally.
+ </p><p>
+ The commons is generative. Instead of extracting value, the
+ commons adds value. Digitized resources persist without becoming
+ depleted, and through use are improved, personalized, and
+ localized. Each use adds value. The market focuses on generating
+ value for the business and the customer. The commons generates
+ value for a broader range of beneficiaries including the
+ business, the customer, the creator, the public, and the commons
+ itself. The generative nature of the commons means that it is
+ more cost-effective and produces a greater return on investment.
+ Value is not just measured in financial terms. Each new resource
+ added to the commons provides value to the public and
+ contributes to the overall value of the commons.
+ </p><p>
+ The commons brings people together for a common cause. The
+ commons vests people directly with the responsibility to manage
+ the resources for the common good. The costs and benefits for
+ the individual are balanced with the costs and benefits for the
+ community and for future generations. Resources are not
+ anonymous or mass produced. Their provenance is known and
+ acknowledged through attribution and other means. Those that are
+ Made with Creative Commons generate awareness and reputation
+ based on their contributions to the commons. The reach, impact,
+ and sustainability of those contributions rest largely on their
+ ability to forge relationships and connections with those who
+ use and improve them. By functioning on the basis of social
+ engagement, not monetary exchange, the commons unifies people.
+ </p><p>
+ The benefits of the commons are many. When these benefits align
+ with the goals of individuals, communities, businesses in the
+ market, or state enterprises, choosing to manage resources as a
+ commons ought to be the option of choice.
+ </p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="our-case-studies"></a>Our Case Studies</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ The creators, organizations, and businesses in our case studies
+ operate as nonprofits, for-profits, and social enterprises.
+ Regardless of legal status, they all have a social mission.
+ Their primary reason for being is to make the world a better
+ place, not to profit. Money is a means to a social end, not the
+ end itself. They factor public interest into decisions,
+ behavior, and practices. Transparency and trust are really
+ important. Impact and success are measured against social aims
+ expressed in mission statements, and are not just about the
+ financial bottom line.
+ </p><p>
+ The case studies are based on the narratives told to us by
+ founders and key staff. Instead of solely using financials as
+ the measure of success and sustainability, they emphasized their
+ mission, practices, and means by which they measure success.
+ Metrics of success are a blend of how social goals are being met
+ and how sustainable the enterprise is.
+ </p><p>
+ Our case studies are diverse, ranging from publishing to
+ education and manufacturing. All of the organizations,
+ businesses, and creators in the case studies produce digital
+ resources. Those resources exist in many forms including books,
+ designs, songs, research, data, cultural works, education
+ materials, graphic icons, and video. Some are digital
+ representations of physical resources. Others are born digital
+ but can be made into physical resources.
+ </p><p>
+ They are creating new resources, or using the resources of
+ others, or mixing existing resources together to make something
+ new. They, and their audience, all play a direct, participatory
+ role in managing those resources, including their preservation,
+ curation, distribution, and enhancement. Access and
+ participation is open to all regardless of monetary means.
+ </p><p>
+ And as users of Creative Commons licenses, they are
+ automatically part of a global community. The new digital
+ commons is global. Those we profiled come from nearly every
+ continent in the world. To build and interact within this global
+ community is conducive to success.
+ </p><p>
+ Creative Commons licenses may express legal rules around the use
+ of resources in a commons, but success in the commons requires
+ more than following the letter of the law and acquiring
+ financial means. Over and over we heard in our interviews how
+ success and sustainability are tied to a set of beliefs, values,
+ and principles that underlie their actions: Give more than you
+ take. Be open and inclusive. Add value. Make visible what you
+ are using from the commons, what you are adding, and what you
+ are monetizing. Maximize abundance. Give attribution. Express
+ gratitude. Develop trust; don’t exploit. Build relationship and
+ community. Be transparent. Defend the commons.
+ </p><p>
+ The new digital commons is here to stay. Made With Creative
+ Commons case studies show how it’s possible to be part of this
+ commons while still functioning within market and state systems.
+ The commons generates benefits neither the market nor state can
+ achieve on their own. Rather than the market or state dominating
+ as primary means of resource management, a more balanced
+ alternative is possible.
+ </p><p>
+ Enterprise use of Creative Commons has only just begun. The case
+ studies in this book are merely starting points. Each is
+ changing and evolving over time. Many more are joining and
+ inventing new models. This overview aims to provide a framework
+ and language for thinking and talking about the new digital
+ commons. The remaining sections go deeper providing further
+ guidance and insights on how it works.
+ </p></div><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm111" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm111" class="para"><sup class="para">[1] </sup></a>
+ Jonathan Rowe, Our Common Wealth (San Francisco:
+ Berrett-Koehler, 2013), 14.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm115" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm115" class="para"><sup class="para">[2] </sup></a>
+ David Bollier, Think Like a Commoner: A Short Introduction to
+ the Life of the Commons (Gabriola Island, BC: New Society,
+ 2014), 176.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm117" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm117" class="para"><sup class="para">[3] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 15.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm122" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm122" class="para"><sup class="para">[4] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 145.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm125" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm125" class="para"><sup class="para">[5] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 175.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm143" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm143" class="para"><sup class="para">[6] </sup></a>
+ Daniel H. Cole, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Learning from Lin: Lessons and
+ Cautions from the Natural Commons for the Knowledge
+ Commons,</span>”</span> in Governing Knowledge Commons, eds. Brett
+ M. Frischmann, Michael J. Madison, and Katherine J.
+ Strandburg (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 53.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm170" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm170" class="para"><sup class="para">[7] </sup></a>
+ Max Haiven, Crises of Imagination, Crises of Power:
+ Capitalism, Creativity and the Commons (New York: Zed
+ Books, 2014), 93.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm185" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm185" class="para"><sup class="para">[8] </sup></a>
+ Bollier, Think Like a Commoner, 175.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm191" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm191" class="para"><sup class="para">[9] </sup></a>
+ Joshua Farley and Ida Kubiszewski, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The Economics of
+ Information in a Post-Carbon Economy,</span>”</span> in Free
+ Knowledge: Confronting the Commodification of Human
+ Discovery, eds. Patricia W. Elliott and Daryl H. Hepting
+ (Regina, SK: University of Regina Press, 2015), 201–4.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm202" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm202" class="para"><sup class="para">[10] </sup></a>
+ Rowe, Our Common Wealth, 19; and Heather Menzies, Reclaiming
+ the Commons for the Common Good: A Memoir and Manifesto
+ (Gabriola Island, BC: New Society, 2014), 42–43.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm213" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm213" class="para"><sup class="para">[11] </sup></a>
+ Bollier, Think Like a Commoner, 55–78.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm216" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm216" class="para"><sup class="para">[12] </sup></a>
+ Fritjof Capra and Ugo Mattei, The Ecology of Law: Toward a
+ Legal System in Tune with Nature and Community (Oakland, CA:
+ Berrett-Koehler, 2015), 46–57; and Bollier, Think Like a
+ Commoner, 88.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm233" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm233" class="para"><sup class="para">[13] </sup></a>
+ Brett M. Frischmann, Michael J. Madison, and Katherine J.
+ Strandburg, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Governing Knowledge Commons,</span>”</span> in
+ Frischmann, Madison, and Strandburg Governing Knowledge
+ Commons, 12.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm238" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm238" class="para"><sup class="para">[14] </sup></a>
+ Farley and Kubiszewski, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Economics of
+ Information,</span>”</span> in Elliott and Hepting, Free Knowledge,
+ 203.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm261" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm261" class="para"><sup class="para">[15] </sup></a><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">What Is Free Software?</span>”</span> GNU Operating
+ System, the Free Software Foundation’s Licensing and
+ Compliance Lab, accessed December 30, 2016,
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw" target="_top">http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm267" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm267" class="para"><sup class="para">[16] </sup></a>
+ Wikipedia, s.v. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Open-source software,</span>”</span> last
+ modified November 22, 2016.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm272" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm272" class="para"><sup class="para">[17] </sup></a>
+ Eric S. Raymond, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The Magic Cauldron,</span>”</span> in The
+ Cathedral and the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source
+ by an Accidental Revolutionary, rev. ed. (Sebastopol, CA:
+ O’Reilly Media, 2001),
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/" target="_top">http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm278" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm278" class="para"><sup class="para">[18] </sup></a>
+ New York Times Customer Insight Group, The Psychology of
+ Sharing: Why Do People Share Online? (New York: New York
+ Times Customer Insight Group, 2011),
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.iab.net/media/file/POSWhitePaper.pdf" target="_top">http://www.iab.net/media/file/POSWhitePaper.pdf</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm285" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm285" class="para"><sup class="para">[19] </sup></a><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Licensing Considerations,</span>”</span> Creative Commons,
+ accessed December 30, 2016,
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/licensing-considerations/" target="_top">http://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/licensing-considerations/</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm291" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm291" class="para"><sup class="para">[20] </sup></a>
+ Creative Commons, 2015 State of the Commons (Mountain View,
+ CA: Creative Commons, 2015),
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://stateof.creativecommons.org/2015/" target="_top">http://stateof.creativecommons.org/2015/</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm297" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm297" class="para"><sup class="para">[21] </sup></a>
+ Wikipedia, s.v. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Open Government Partnership,</span>”</span>
+ last modified September 24, 2016,
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Government_Partnership" target="_top">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Government_Partnership</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm304" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm304" class="para"><sup class="para">[22] </sup></a>
+ Capra and Mattei, Ecology of Law, 114.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm306" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm306" class="para"><sup class="para">[23] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 116.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm309" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm309" class="para"><sup class="para">[24] </sup></a>
+ The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency,
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Stockholm Statement</span>”</span> accessed February 15,
+ 2017,
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://sida.se/globalassets/sida/eng/press/stockholm-statement.pdf" target="_top">http://sida.se/globalassets/sida/eng/press/stockholm-statement.pdf</a>
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm314" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm314" class="para"><sup class="para">[25] </sup></a>
+ City of Bologna, Regulation on Collaboration between
+ Citizens and the City for the Care and Regeneration of Urban
+ Commons, trans. LabGov (LABoratory for the GOVernance of
+ Commons) (Bologna, Italy: City of Bologna, 2014),
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.labgov.it/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/Bologna-Regulation-on-collaboration-between-citizens-and-the-city-for-the-cure-and-regeneration-of-urban-commons1.pdf" target="_top">http://www.labgov.it/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/Bologna-Regulation-on-collaboration-between-citizens-and-the-city-for-the-cure-and-regeneration-of-urban-commons1.pdf</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm318" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm318" class="para"><sup class="para">[26] </sup></a>
+ The Seoul Sharing City website is
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://english.sharehub.kr" target="_top">http://english.sharehub.kr</a>; for
+ Amsterdam Sharing City, go to
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.sharenl.nl/amsterdam-sharing-city/" target="_top">http://www.sharenl.nl/amsterdam-sharing-city/</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm323" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm323" class="para"><sup class="para">[27] </sup></a>
+ Tom Slee, What’s Yours Is Mine: Against the Sharing Economy
+ (New York: OR Books, 2015), 42.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm326" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm326" class="para"><sup class="para">[28] </sup></a>
+ Chris Anderson, Free: How Today’s Smartest Businesses Profit
+ by Giving Something for Nothing, Reprint with new preface.
+ (New York: Hyperion, 2010), 78.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm330" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm330" class="para"><sup class="para">[29] </sup></a>
+ Jeremy Rifkin, The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet
+ of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of
+ Capitalism (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), 273.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm334" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm334" class="para"><sup class="para">[30] </sup></a>
+ Gar Alperovitz, What Then Must We Do? Straight Talk about
+ the Next American Revolution: Democratizing Wealth and
+ Building a Community-Sustaining Economy from the Ground Up
+ (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2013), 39.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm336" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm336" class="para"><sup class="para">[31] </sup></a>
+ Marjorie Kelly, Owning Our Future: The Emerging Ownership
+ Revolution; Journeys to a Generative Economy (San Francisco:
+ Berrett-Koehler, 2012), 8–9.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm341" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm341" class="para"><sup class="para">[32] </sup></a>
+ Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, Business Model Generation
+ (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2010). A preview of the
+ book is available at
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://strategyzer.com/books/business-model-generation" target="_top">http://strategyzer.com/books/business-model-generation</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm346" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm346" class="para"><sup class="para">[33] </sup></a>
+ This business model canvas is available to download at
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas" target="_top">http://strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm350" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm350" class="para"><sup class="para">[34] </sup></a>
+ We’ve made the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Open Business Model Canvas,</span>”</span>
+ designed by the coauthor Paul Stacey, available online at
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1QOIDa2qak7wZSSOa4Wv6qVMO77IwkKHN7CYyq0wHivs/edit" target="_top">http://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1QOIDa2qak7wZSSOa4Wv6qVMO77IwkKHN7CYyq0wHivs/edit</a>.
+ You can also find the accompanying Open Business Model
+ Canvas Questions at
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1kACK7TkoJgsM18HUWCbX9xuQ0Byna4plSVZXZGTtays/edit" target="_top">http://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1kACK7TkoJgsM18HUWCbX9xuQ0Byna4plSVZXZGTtays/edit</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm358" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm358" class="para"><sup class="para">[35] </sup></a>
+ A more comprehensive list of revenue streams is available in
+ this post I wrote on Medium on March 6, 2016. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">What Is
+ an Open Business Model and How Can You Generate
+ Revenue?</span>”</span>, available at
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://medium.com/made-with-creative-commons/what-is-an-open-business-model-and-how-can-you-generate-revenue-5854d2659b15" target="_top">http://medium.com/made-with-creative-commons/what-is-an-open-business-model-and-how-can-you-generate-revenue-5854d2659b15</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm369" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm369" class="para"><sup class="para">[36] </sup></a>
+ Henry Chesbrough, Open Innovation: The New Imperative for
+ Creating and Profiting from Technology (Boston: Harvard
+ Business Review Press, 2006), 31–44.
+ </p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="how-to-be-made-with-creative-commons"></a>Chapter 2. How to Be Made with Creative Commons</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#problem-zero-getting-discovered">Problem Zero: Getting Discovered</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#making-money">Making Money</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#making-human-connections">Making Human Connections</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p></p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{ Sarah Hinchliff Pearson}
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ When we began this project in August 2015, we set out to write a
+ book about business models that involve Creative Commons licenses
+ in some significant way—what we call being Made with Creative
+ Commons. With the help of our Kickstarter backers, we chose
+ twenty-four endeavors from all around the world that are Made with
+ Creative Commons. The mix is diverse, from an individual musician
+ to a university-textbook publisher to an electronics manufacturer.
+ Some make their own content and share under Creative Commons
+ licensing. Others are platforms for CC-licensed creative work made
+ by others. Many sit somewhere in between, both using and
+ contributing creative work that’s shared with the public. Like all
+ who use the licenses, these endeavors share their work—whether
+ it’s open data or furniture designs—in a way that enables the
+ public not only to access it but also to make use of it.
+ </p><p>
+ We analyzed the revenue models, customer segments, and value
+ propositions of each endeavor. We searched for ways that putting
+ their content under Creative Commons licenses helped boost sales
+ or increase reach. Using traditional measures of economic success,
+ we tried to map these business models in a way that meaningfully
+ incorporated the impact of Creative Commons. In our interviews, we
+ dug into the motivations, the role of CC licenses, modes of
+ revenue generation, definitions of success.
+ </p><p>
+ In fairly short order, we realized the book we set out to write
+ was quite different from the one that was revealing itself in our
+ interviews and research.
+ </p><p>
+ It isn’t that we were wrong to think you can make money while
+ using Creative Commons licenses. In many instances, CC can help
+ make you more money. Nor were we wrong that there are business
+ models out there that others who want to use CC licensing as part
+ of their livelihood or business could replicate. What we didn’t
+ realize was just how misguided it would be to write a book about
+ being Made with Creative Commons using only a business lens.
+ </p><p>
+ According to the seminal handbook Business Model Generation, a
+ business model <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">describes the rationale of how an
+ organization creates, delivers, and captures
+ value.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm396" class="footnote" name="idm396"><sup class="footnote">[37]</sup></a> Thinking about sharing in terms of creating and
+ capturing value always felt inappropriately transactional and out
+ of place, something we heard time and time again in our
+ interviews. And as Cory Doctorow told us in our interview with
+ him, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Business model can mean anything you want it to
+ mean.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Eventually, we got it. Being Made with Creative Commons is more
+ than a business model. While we will talk about specific revenue
+ models as one piece of our analysis (and in more detail in the
+ case studies), we scrapped that as our guiding rubric for the
+ book.
+ </p><p>
+ Admittedly, it took me a long time to get there. When Paul and I
+ divided up our writing after finishing the research, my charge was
+ to distill everything we learned from the case studies and write
+ up the practical lessons and takeaways. I spent months trying to
+ jam what we learned into the business-model box, convinced there
+ must be some formula for the way things interacted. But there is
+ no formula. You’ll probably have to discard that way of thinking
+ before you read any further.
+ </p><p>
+ In every interview, we started from the same simple questions.
+ Amid all the diversity among the creators, organizations, and
+ businesses we profiled, there was one constant. Being Made with
+ Creative Commons may be good for business, but that is not why
+ they do it. Sharing work with Creative Commons is, at its core, a
+ moral decision. The commercial and other self-interested benefits
+ are secondary. Most decided to use CC licenses first and found a
+ revenue model later. This was our first hint that writing a book
+ solely about the impact of sharing on business might be a little
+ off track.
+ </p><p>
+ But we also started to realize something about what it means to be
+ Made with Creative Commons. When people talked to us about how and
+ why they used CC, it was clear that it meant something more than
+ using a copyright license. It also represented a set of values.
+ There is symbolism behind using CC, and that symbolism has many
+ layers.
+ </p><p>
+ At one level, being Made with Creative Commons expresses an
+ affinity for the value of Creative Commons. While there are many
+ different flavors of CC licenses and nearly infinite ways to be
+ Made with Creative Commons, the basic value system is rooted in a
+ fundamental belief that knowledge and creativity are building
+ blocks of our culture rather than just commodities from which to
+ extract market value. These values reflect a belief that the
+ common good should always be part of the equation when we
+ determine how to regulate our cultural outputs. They reflect a
+ belief that everyone has something to contribute, and that no one
+ can own our shared culture. They reflect a belief in the promise
+ of sharing.
+ </p><p>
+ Whether the public makes use of the opportunity to copy and adapt
+ your work, sharing with a Creative Commons license is a symbol of
+ how you want to interact with the people who consume your work.
+ Whenever you create something, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">all rights reserved</span>”</span>
+ under copyright is automatic, so the copyright symbol (©) on the
+ work does not necessarily come across as a marker of distrust or
+ excessive protectionism. But using a CC license can be a symbol of
+ the opposite—of wanting a real human relationship, rather than an
+ impersonal market transaction. It leaves open the possibility of
+ connection.
+ </p><p>
+ Being Made with Creative Commons not only demonstrates values
+ connected to CC and sharing. It also demonstrates that something
+ other than profit drives what you do. In our interviews, we always
+ asked what success looked like for them. It was stunning how
+ rarely money was mentioned. Most have a deeper purpose and a
+ different vision of success.
+ </p><p>
+ The driving motivation varies depending on the type of endeavor.
+ For individual creators, it is most often about personal
+ inspiration. In some ways, this is nothing new. As Doctorow has
+ written, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Creators usually start doing what they do for
+ love.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm410" class="footnote" name="idm410"><sup class="footnote">[38]</sup></a> But when you share your creative work under a CC
+ license, that dynamic is even more pronounced. Similarly, for
+ technological innovators, it is often less about creating a
+ specific new thing that will make you rich and more about solving
+ a specific problem you have. The creators of Arduino told us that
+ the key question when creating something is <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Do you as the
+ creator want to use it? It has to have personal use and
+ meaning.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Many that are Made with Creative Commons have an express social
+ mission that underpins everything they do. In many cases, sharing
+ with Creative Commons expressly advances that social mission, and
+ using the licenses can be the difference between legitimacy and
+ hypocrisy. Noun Project co-founder Edward Boatman told us they
+ could not have stated their social mission of sharing with a
+ straight face if they weren’t willing to show the world that it
+ was OK to share their content using a Creative Commons license.
+ </p><p>
+ This dynamic is probably one reason why there are so many
+ nonprofit examples of being Made with Creative Commons. The
+ content is the result of a labor of love or a tool to drive social
+ change, and money is like gas in the car, something that you need
+ to keep going but not an end in itself. Being Made with Creative
+ Commons is a different vision of a business or livelihood, where
+ profit is not paramount, and producing social good and human
+ connection are integral to success.
+ </p><p>
+ Even if profit isn’t the end goal, you have to bring in money to
+ be successfully Made with Creative Commons. At a bare minimum, you
+ have to make enough money to keep the lights on.
+ </p><p>
+ The costs of doing business vary widely for those made with CC,
+ but there is generally a much lower threshold for sustainability
+ than there used to be for any creative endeavor. Digital
+ technology has made it easier than ever to create, and easier than
+ ever to distribute. As Doctorow put it in his book Information
+ Doesn’t Want to Be Free, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If analog dollars have turned into
+ digital dimes (as the critics of ad-supported media have it),
+ there is the fact that it’s possible to run a business that gets
+ the same amount of advertising as its forebears at a fraction of
+ the price.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Some creation costs are the same as they always were. It takes the
+ same amount of time and money to write a peer-reviewed journal
+ article or paint a painting. Technology can’t change that. But
+ other costs are dramatically reduced by technology, particularly
+ in production-heavy domains like filmmaking.<a href="#ftn.idm419" class="footnote" name="idm419"><sup class="footnote">[39]</sup></a> CC-licensed content and content in the public domain,
+ as well as the work of volunteer collaborators, can also
+ dramatically reduce costs if they’re being used as resources to
+ create something new. And, of course, there is the reality that
+ some content would be created whether or not the creator is paid
+ because it is a labor of love.
+ </p><p>
+ Distributing content is almost universally cheaper than ever. Once
+ content is created, the costs to distribute copies digitally are
+ essentially zero.<a href="#ftn.idm422" class="footnote" name="idm422"><sup class="footnote">[40]</sup></a> The costs to distribute physical copies are still
+ significant, but lower than they have been historically. And it is
+ now much easier to print and distribute physical copies on-demand,
+ which also reduces costs. Depending on the endeavor, there can be
+ a whole host of other possible expenses like marketing and
+ promotion, and even expenses associated with the various ways
+ money is being made, like touring or custom training.
+ </p><p>
+ It’s important to recognize that the biggest impact of technology
+ on creative endeavors is that creators can now foot the costs of
+ creation and distribution themselves. People now often have a
+ direct route to their potential public without necessarily needing
+ intermediaries like record labels and book publishers. Doctorow
+ wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If you’re a creator who never got the time of day
+ from one of the great imperial powers, this is your time. Where
+ once you had no means of reaching an audience without the
+ assistance of the industry-dominating megacompanies, now you have
+ hundreds of ways to do it without them.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm426" class="footnote" name="idm426"><sup class="footnote">[41]</sup></a> Previously, distribution of creative work involved the
+ costs associated with sustaining a monolithic entity, now creators
+ can do the work themselves. That means the financial needs of
+ creative endeavors can be a lot more modest.
+ </p><p>
+ Whether for an individual creator or a larger endeavor, it usually
+ isn’t enough to break even if you want to make what you’re doing a
+ livelihood. You need to build in some support for the general
+ operation. This extra bit looks different for everyone, but
+ importantly, in nearly all cases for those Made with Creative
+ Commons, the definition of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">enough money</span>”</span> looks a lot
+ different than it does in the world of venture capital and stock
+ options. It is more about sustainability and less about unlimited
+ growth and profit. SparkFun founder Nathan Seidle told us,
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Business model is a really grandiose word for it. It is
+ really just about keeping the operation going day to day.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ This book is a testament to the notion that it is possible to make
+ money while using CC licenses and CC-licensed content, but we are
+ still very much at an experimental stage. The creators,
+ organizations, and businesses we profile in this book are blazing
+ the trail and adapting in real time as they pursue this new way of
+ operating.
+ </p><p>
+ There are, however, plenty of ways in which CC licensing can be
+ good for business in fairly predictable ways. The first is how it
+ helps solve <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">problem zero.</span>”</span>
+ </p><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="problem-zero-getting-discovered"></a>Problem Zero: Getting Discovered</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ Once you create or collect your content, the next step is
+ finding users, customers, fans—in other words, your people. As
+ Amanda Palmer wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It has to start with the art. The
+ songs had to touch people initially, and mean something, for
+ anything to work at all.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm438" class="footnote" name="idm438"><sup class="footnote">[42]</sup></a> There isn’t any magic to finding your people, and
+ there is certainly no formula. Your work has to connect with
+ people and offer them some artistic and/or utilitarian value. In
+ some ways, this is easier than ever. Online we are not limited
+ by shelf space, so there is room for every obscure interest,
+ taste, and need imaginable. This is what Chris Anderson dubbed
+ the Long Tail, where consumption becomes less about mainstream
+ mass <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">hits</span>”</span> and more about micromarkets for every
+ particular niche. As Anderson wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We are all
+ different, with different wants and needs, and the Internet now
+ has a place for all of them in the way that physical markets did
+ not.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm442" class="footnote" name="idm442"><sup class="footnote">[43]</sup></a> We are no longer limited to what appeals to the
+ masses.
+ </p><p>
+ While finding <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">your people</span>”</span> online is theoretically
+ easier than in the analog world, as a practical matter it can
+ still be difficult to actually get noticed. The Internet is a
+ firehose of content, one that only grows larger by the minute.
+ As a content creator, not only are you competing for attention
+ against more content creators than ever before, you are
+ competing against creativity generated outside the market as
+ well.<a href="#ftn.idm446" class="footnote" name="idm446"><sup class="footnote">[44]</sup></a> Anderson wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The greatest change of the
+ past decade has been the shift in time people spend consuming
+ amateur content instead of professional
+ content.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm449" class="footnote" name="idm449"><sup class="footnote">[45]</sup></a> To top it all off, you have to compete against the
+ rest of their lives, too—<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">friends, family, music
+ playlists, soccer games, and nights on the
+ town.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm452" class="footnote" name="idm452"><sup class="footnote">[46]</sup></a> Somehow, some way, you have to get noticed by the
+ right people.
+ </p><p>
+ When you come to the Internet armed with an all-rights-reserved
+ mentality from the start, you are often restricting access to
+ your work before there is even any demand for it. In many cases,
+ requiring payment for your work is part of the traditional
+ copyright system. Even a tiny cost has a big effect on demand.
+ It’s called the penny gap—the large difference in demand between
+ something that is available at the price of one cent versus the
+ price of zero.<a href="#ftn.idm455" class="footnote" name="idm455"><sup class="footnote">[47]</sup></a> That doesn’t mean it is wrong to charge money for
+ your content. It simply means you need to recognize the effect
+ that doing so will have on demand. The same principle applies to
+ restricting access to copy the work. If your problem is how to
+ get discovered and find <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">your people,</span>”</span> prohibiting
+ people from copying your work and sharing it with others is
+ counterproductive.
+ </p><p>
+ Of course, it’s not that being discovered by people who like
+ your work will make you rich—far from it. But as Cory Doctorow
+ says, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Recognition is one of many necessary preconditions
+ for artistic success.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm460" class="footnote" name="idm460"><sup class="footnote">[48]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Choosing not to spend time and energy restricting access to your
+ work and policing infringement also builds goodwill. Lumen
+ Learning, a for-profit company that publishes online educational
+ materials, made an early decision not to prevent students from
+ accessing their content, even in the form of a tiny paywall,
+ because it would negatively impact student success in a way that
+ would undermine the social mission behind what they do. They
+ believe this decision has generated an immense amount of
+ goodwill within the community.
+ </p><p>
+ It is not just that restricting access to your work may
+ undermine your social mission. It also may alienate the people
+ who most value your creative work. If people like your work,
+ their natural instinct will be to share it with others. But as
+ David Bollier wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Our natural human impulses to
+ imitate and share—the essence of culture—have been
+ criminalized.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm465" class="footnote" name="idm465"><sup class="footnote">[49]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ The fact that copying can carry criminal penalties undoubtedly
+ deters copying it, but copying with the click of a button is too
+ easy and convenient to ever fully stop it. Try as the copyright
+ industry might to persuade us otherwise, copying a copyrighted
+ work just doesn’t feel like stealing a loaf of bread. And, of
+ course, that’s because it isn’t. Sharing a creative work has no
+ impact on anyone else’s ability to make use of it.
+ </p><p>
+ If you take some amount of copying and sharing your work as a
+ given, you can invest your time and resources elsewhere, rather
+ than wasting them on playing a cat and mouse game with people
+ who want to copy and share your work. Lizzy Jongma from the
+ Rijksmuseum said, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We could spend a lot of money trying to
+ protect works, but people are going to do it anyway. And they
+ will use bad-quality versions.</span>”</span> Instead, they started
+ releasing high-resolution digital copies of their collection
+ into the public domain and making them available for free on
+ their website. For them, sharing was a form of quality control
+ over the copies that were inevitably being shared online. Doing
+ this meant forgoing the revenue they previously got from selling
+ digital images. But Lizzy says that was a small price to pay for
+ all of the opportunities that sharing unlocked for them.
+ </p><p>
+ Being Made with Creative Commons means you stop thinking about
+ ways to artificially make your content scarce, and instead
+ leverage it as the potentially abundant resource it
+ is.<a href="#ftn.idm471" class="footnote" name="idm471"><sup class="footnote">[50]</sup></a> When you see information abundance as a feature, not
+ a bug, you start thinking about the ways to use the idling
+ capacity of your content to your advantage. As my friend and
+ colleague Eric Steuer once said, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Using CC licenses shows
+ you get the Internet.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Cory Doctorow says it costs him nothing when other people make
+ copies of his work, and it opens the possibility that he might
+ get something in return.<a href="#ftn.idm475" class="footnote" name="idm475"><sup class="footnote">[51]</sup></a> Similarly, the makers of the Arduino boards knew it
+ was impossible to stop people from copying their hardware, so
+ they decided not to even try and instead look for the benefits
+ of being open. For them, the result is one of the most
+ ubiquitous pieces of hardware in the world, with a thriving
+ online community of tinkerers and innovators that have done
+ things with their work they never could have done otherwise.
+ </p><p>
+ There are all kinds of way to leverage the power of sharing and
+ remix to your benefit. Here are a few.
+ </p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="use-cc-to-grow-a-larger-audience"></a>Use CC to grow a larger audience</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Putting a Creative Commons license on your content won’t make
+ it automatically go viral, but eliminating legal barriers to
+ copying the work certainly can’t hurt the chances that your
+ work will be shared. The CC license symbolizes that sharing is
+ welcome. It can act as a little tap on the shoulder to those
+ who come across the work—a nudge to copy the work if they have
+ any inkling of doing so. All things being equal, if one piece
+ of content has a sign that says Share and the other says Don’t
+ Share (which is what <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">©</span>”</span> means), which do you
+ think people are more likely to share?
+ </p><p>
+ The Conversation is an online news site with in-depth articles
+ written by academics who are experts on particular topics. All
+ of the articles are CC-licensed, and they are copied and
+ reshared on other sites by design. This proliferating effect,
+ which they track, is a central part of the value to their
+ academic authors who want to reach as many readers as
+ possible.
+ </p><p>
+ The idea that more eyeballs equates with more success is a
+ form of the max strategy, adopted by Google and other
+ technology companies. According to Google’s Eric Schmidt, the
+ idea is simple: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Take whatever it is you are doing and
+ do it at the max in terms of distribution. The other way of
+ saying this is that since marginal cost of distribution is
+ free, you might as well put things
+ everywhere.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm485" class="footnote" name="idm485"><sup class="footnote">[52]</sup></a> This strategy is what often motivates companies to
+ make their products and services free (i.e., no cost), but the
+ same logic applies to making content freely shareable. Because
+ CC-licensed content is free (as in cost) and can be freely
+ copied, CC licensing makes it even more accessible and likely
+ to spread.
+ </p><p>
+ If you are successful in reaching more users, readers,
+ listeners, or other consumers of your work, you can start to
+ benefit from the bandwagon effect. The simple fact that there
+ are other people consuming or following your work spurs others
+ to want to do the same.<a href="#ftn.idm488" class="footnote" name="idm488"><sup class="footnote">[53]</sup></a> This is, in part, because we simply have a
+ tendency to engage in herd behavior, but it is also because a
+ large following is at least a partial indicator of quality or
+ usefulness.<a href="#ftn.idm490" class="footnote" name="idm490"><sup class="footnote">[54]</sup></a>
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="use-cc-to-get-attribution-and-name-recognition"></a>Use CC to get attribution and name recognition</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Every Creative Commons license requires that credit be given
+ to the author, and that reusers supply a link back to the
+ original source of the material. CC0, not a license but a tool
+ used to put work in the public domain, does not make
+ attribution a legal requirement, but many communities still
+ give credit as a matter of best practices and social norms. In
+ fact, it is social norms, rather than the threat of legal
+ enforcement, that most often motivate people to provide
+ attribution and otherwise comply with the CC license terms
+ anyway. This is the mark of any well-functioning community,
+ within both the marketplace and the society at
+ large.<a href="#ftn.idm495" class="footnote" name="idm495"><sup class="footnote">[55]</sup></a> CC licenses reflect a set of wishes on the part of
+ creators, and in the vast majority of circumstances, people
+ are naturally inclined to follow those wishes. This is
+ particularly the case for something as straightforward and
+ consistent with basic notions of fairness as providing credit.
+ </p><p>
+ The fact that the name of the creator follows a CC-licensed
+ work makes the licenses an important means to develop a
+ reputation or, in corporate speak, a brand. The drive to
+ associate your name with your work is not just based on
+ commercial motivations, it is fundamental to authorship.
+ Knowledge Unlatched is a nonprofit that helps to subsidize the
+ print production of CC-licensed academic texts by pooling
+ contributions from libraries around the United States. The
+ CEO, Frances Pinter, says that the Creative Commons license on
+ the works has a huge value to authors because reputation is
+ the most important currency for academics. Sharing with CC is
+ a way of having the most people see and cite your work.
+ </p><p>
+ Attribution can be about more than just receiving credit. It
+ can also be about establishing provenance. People naturally
+ want to know where content came from—the source of a work is
+ sometimes just as interesting as the work itself. Opendesk is
+ a platform for furniture designers to share their designs.
+ Consumers who like those designs can then get matched with
+ local makers who turn the designs into real-life furniture.
+ The fact that I, sitting in the middle of the United States,
+ can pick out a design created by a designer in Tokyo and then
+ use a maker within my own community to transform the design
+ into something tangible is part of the power of their
+ platform. The provenance of the design is a special part of
+ the product.
+ </p><p>
+ Knowing the source of a work is also critical to ensuring its
+ credibility. Just as a trademark is designed to give consumers
+ a way to identify the source and quality of a particular good
+ and service, knowing the author of a work gives the public a
+ way to assess its credibility. In a time when online discourse
+ is plagued with misinformation, being a trusted information
+ source is more valuable than ever.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="use-cc-licensed-content-as-a-marketing-tool"></a>Use CC-licensed content as a marketing tool</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ As we will cover in more detail later, many endeavors that are
+ Made with Creative Commons make money by providing a product
+ or service other than the CC-licensed work. Sometimes that
+ other product or service is completely unrelated to the CC
+ content. Other times it’s a physical copy or live performance
+ of the CC content. In all cases, the CC content can attract
+ people to your other product or service.
+ </p><p>
+ Knowledge Unlatched’s Pinter told us she has seen time and
+ again how offering CC-licensed content—that is, digitally for
+ free—actually increases sales of the printed goods because it
+ functions as a marketing tool. We see this phenomenon
+ regularly with famous artwork. The Mona Lisa is likely the
+ most recognizable painting on the planet. Its ubiquity has the
+ effect of catalyzing interest in seeing the painting in
+ person, and in owning physical goods with the image. Abundant
+ copies of the content often entice more demand, not blunt it.
+ Another example came with the advent of the radio. Although
+ the music industry did not see it coming (and fought it!),
+ free music on the radio functioned as advertising for the paid
+ version people bought in music stores.<a href="#ftn.idm505" class="footnote" name="idm505"><sup class="footnote">[56]</sup></a> Free can be a form of promotion.
+ </p><p>
+ In some cases, endeavors that are Made with Creative Commons
+ do not even need dedicated marketing teams or marketing
+ budgets. Cards Against Humanity is a CC-licensed card game
+ available as a free download. And because of this (thanks to
+ the CC license on the game), the creators say it is one of the
+ best-marketed games in the world, and they have never spent a
+ dime on marketing. The textbook publisher OpenStax has also
+ avoided hiring a marketing team. Their products are free, or
+ cheaper to buy in the case of physical copies, which makes
+ them much more attractive to students who then demand them
+ from their universities. They also partner with service
+ providers who build atop the CC-licensed content and, in turn,
+ spend money and resources marketing those services (and by
+ extension, the OpenStax textbooks).
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="use-cc-to-enable-hands-on-engagement-with-your-work"></a>Use CC to enable hands-on engagement with your
+ work</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ The great promise of Creative Commons licensing is that it
+ signifies an embrace of remix culture. Indeed, this is the
+ great promise of digital technology. The Internet opened up a
+ whole new world of possibilities for public participation in
+ creative work.
+ </p><p>
+ Four of the six CC licenses enable reusers to take apart,
+ build upon, or otherwise adapt the work. Depending on the
+ context, adaptation can mean wildly different
+ things—translating, updating, localizing, improving,
+ transforming. It enables a work to be customized for
+ particular needs, uses, people, and communities, which is
+ another distinct value to offer the public.<a href="#ftn.idm512" class="footnote" name="idm512"><sup class="footnote">[57]</sup></a> Adaptation is more game changing in some contexts
+ than others. With educational materials, the ability to
+ customize and update the content is critically important for
+ its usefulness. For photography, the ability to adapt a photo
+ is less important.
+ </p><p>
+ This is a way to counteract a potential downside of the
+ abundance of free and open content described above. As
+ Anderson wrote in Free, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">People often don’t care as much
+ about things they don’t pay for, and as a result they don’t
+ think as much about how they consume them.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm516" class="footnote" name="idm516"><sup class="footnote">[58]</sup></a> If even the tiny act of volition of paying one
+ penny for something changes our perception of that thing, then
+ surely the act of remixing it enhances our perception
+ exponentially.<a href="#ftn.idm518" class="footnote" name="idm518"><sup class="footnote">[59]</sup></a> We know that people will pay more for products
+ they had a part in creating.<a href="#ftn.idm520" class="footnote" name="idm520"><sup class="footnote">[60]</sup></a> And we know that creating something, no matter
+ what quality, brings with it a type of creative satisfaction
+ that can never be replaced by consuming something created by
+ someone else.<a href="#ftn.idm522" class="footnote" name="idm522"><sup class="footnote">[61]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Actively engaging with the content helps us avoid the type of
+ aimless consumption that anyone who has absentmindedly
+ scrolled through their social-media feeds for an hour knows
+ all too well. In his book, Cognitive Surplus, Clay Shirky
+ says, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To participate is to act as if your presence
+ matters, as if, when you see something or hear something, your
+ response is part of the event.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm526" class="footnote" name="idm526"><sup class="footnote">[62]</sup></a> Opening the door to your content can get people
+ more deeply tied to your work.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="use-cc-to-differentiate-yourself"></a>Use CC to differentiate yourself</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Operating under a traditional copyright regime usually means
+ operating under the rules of establishment players in the
+ media. Business strategies that are embedded in the
+ traditional copyright system, like using digital rights
+ management (DRM) and signing exclusivity contracts, can tie
+ the hands of creators, often at the expense of the creator’s
+ best interest.<a href="#ftn.idm531" class="footnote" name="idm531"><sup class="footnote">[63]</sup></a> Being Made with Creative Commons means you can
+ function without those barriers and, in many cases, use the
+ increased openness as a competitive advantage. David Harris
+ from OpenStax said they specifically pursue strategies they
+ know that traditional publishers cannot. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Don’t go into
+ a market and play by the incumbent rules,</span>”</span> David said.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Change the rules of engagement.</span>”</span>
+ </p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="making-money"></a>Making Money</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ Like any moneymaking endeavor, those that are Made with Creative
+ Commons have to generate some type of value for their audience
+ or customers. Sometimes that value is subsidized by funders who
+ are not actually beneficiaries of that value. Funders, whether
+ philanthropic institutions, governments, or concerned
+ individuals, provide money to the organization out of a sense of
+ pure altruism. This is the way traditional nonprofit funding
+ operates.<a href="#ftn.idm538" class="footnote" name="idm538"><sup class="footnote">[64]</sup></a> But in many cases, the revenue streams used by
+ endeavors that are Made with Creative Commons are directly tied
+ to the value they generate, where the recipient is paying for
+ the value they receive like any standard market transaction. In
+ still other cases, rather than the quid pro quo exchange of
+ money for value that typically drives market transactions, the
+ recipient gives money out of a sense of reciprocity.
+ </p><p>
+ Most who are Made with Creative Commons use a variety of methods
+ to bring in revenue, some market-based and some not. One common
+ strategy is using grant funding for content creation when
+ research-and-development costs are particularly high, and then
+ finding a different revenue stream (or streams) for ongoing
+ expenses. As Shirky wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The trick is in knowing when
+ markets are an optimal way of organizing interactions and when
+ they are not.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm544" class="footnote" name="idm544"><sup class="footnote">[65]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Our case studies explore in more detail the various
+ revenue-generating mechanisms used by the creators,
+ organizations, and businesses we interviewed. There is nuance
+ hidden within the specific ways each of them makes money, so it
+ is a bit dangerous to generalize too much about what we learned.
+ Nonetheless, zooming out and viewing things from a higher level
+ of abstraction can be instructive.
+ </p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="market-based-revenue-streams"></a>Market-based revenue streams</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ In the market, the central question when determining how to
+ bring in revenue is what value people are willing to pay
+ for.<a href="#ftn.idm550" class="footnote" name="idm550"><sup class="footnote">[66]</sup></a> By definition, if you are Made with Creative
+ Commons, the content you provide is available for free and not
+ a market commodity. Like the ubiquitous freemium business
+ model, any possible market transaction with a consumer of your
+ content has to be based on some added value you
+ provide.<a href="#ftn.idm552" class="footnote" name="idm552"><sup class="footnote">[67]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ In many ways, this is the way of the future for all
+ content-driven endeavors. In the market, value lives in things
+ that are scarce. Because the Internet makes a universe of
+ content available to all of us for free, it is difficult to
+ get people to pay for content online. The struggling newspaper
+ industry is a testament to this fact. This is compounded by
+ the fact that at least some amount of copying is probably
+ inevitable. That means you may end up competing with free
+ versions of your own content, whether you condone it or
+ not.<a href="#ftn.idm555" class="footnote" name="idm555"><sup class="footnote">[68]</sup></a> If people can easily find your content for free,
+ getting people to buy it will be difficult, particularly in a
+ context where access to content is more important than owning
+ it. In Free, Anderson wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Copyright protection
+ schemes, whether coded into either law or software, are simply
+ holding up a price against the force of gravity.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Of course, this doesn’t mean that content-driven endeavors
+ have no future in the traditional marketplace. In Free,
+ Anderson explains how when one product or service becomes
+ free, as information and content largely have in the digital
+ age, other things become more valuable. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Every abundance
+ creates a new scarcity,</span>”</span> he wrote. You just have to
+ find some way other than the content to provide value to your
+ audience or customers. As Anderson says, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It’s easy to
+ compete with Free: simply offer something better or at least
+ different from the free version.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm561" class="footnote" name="idm561"><sup class="footnote">[69]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ In light of this reality, in some ways endeavors that are Made
+ with Creative Commons are at a level playing field with all
+ content-based endeavors in the digital age. In fact, they may
+ even have an advantage because they can use the abundance of
+ content to derive revenue from something scarce. They can also
+ benefit from the goodwill that stems from the values behind
+ being Made with Creative Commons.
+ </p><p>
+ For content creators and distributors, there are nearly
+ infinite ways to provide value to the consumers of your work,
+ above and beyond the value that lives within your free digital
+ content. Often, the CC-licensed content functions as a
+ marketing tool for the paid product or service.
+ </p><p>
+ Here are the most common high-level categories.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="providing-a-custom-service-to-consumers-of-your-work-market-based"></a>Providing a custom service to consumers of your work
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[MARKET-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ In this age of information abundance, we don’t lack for
+ content. The trick is finding content that matches our needs
+ and wants, so customized services are particularly valuable.
+ As Anderson wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Commodity information (everybody
+ gets the same version) wants to be free. Customized
+ information (you get something unique and meaningful to you)
+ wants to be expensive.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm571" class="footnote" name="idm571"><sup class="footnote">[70]</sup></a> This can be anything from the artistic and
+ cultural consulting services provided by Ártica to the
+ custom-song business of Jonathan <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Song-A-Day</span>”</span>
+ Mann.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="charging-for-the-physical-copy-market-based"></a>Charging for the physical copy
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[MARKET-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ In his book about maker culture, Anderson characterizes this
+ model as giving away the bits and selling the atoms (where
+ bits refers to digital content and atoms refer to a physical
+ object).<a href="#ftn.idm578" class="footnote" name="idm578"><sup class="footnote">[71]</sup></a> This is particularly successful in domains where
+ the digital version of the content isn’t as valuable as the
+ analog version, like book publishing where a significant
+ subset of people still prefer reading something they can hold
+ in their hands. Or in domains where the content isn’t useful
+ until it is in physical form, like furniture designs. In those
+ situations, a significant portion of consumers will pay for
+ the convenience of having someone else put the physical
+ version together for them. Some endeavors squeeze even more
+ out of this revenue stream by using a Creative Commons license
+ that only allows noncommercial uses, which means no one else
+ can sell physical copies of their work in competition with
+ them. This strategy of reserving commercial rights can be
+ particularly important for items like books, where every
+ printed copy of the same work is likely to be the same
+ quality, so it is harder to differentiate one publishing
+ service from another. On the other hand, for items like
+ furniture or electronics, the provider of the physical goods
+ can compete with other providers of the same works based on
+ quality, service, or other traditional business principles.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="charging-for-the-in-person-version-market-based"></a>Charging for the in-person version
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[MARKET-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ As anyone who has ever gone to a concert will tell you,
+ experiencing creativity in person is a completely different
+ experience from consuming a digital copy on your own. Far from
+ acting as a substitute for face-to-face interaction,
+ CC-licensed content can actually create demand for the
+ in-person version of experience. You can see this effect when
+ people go view original art in person or pay to attend a talk
+ or training course.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="selling-merchandise-market-based"></a>Selling merchandise
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[MARKET-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ In many cases, people who like your work will pay for products
+ demonstrating a connection to your work. As a child of the
+ 1980s, I can personally attest to the power of a good concert
+ T-shirt. This can also be an important revenue stream for
+ museums and galleries.
+ </p><p>
+ Sometimes the way to find a market-based revenue stream is by
+ providing value to people other than those who consume your
+ CC-licensed content. In these revenue streams, the free
+ content is being subsidized by an entirely different category
+ of people or businesses. Often, those people or businesses are
+ paying to access your main audience. The fact that the content
+ is free increases the size of the audience, which in turn
+ makes the offer more valuable to the paying customers. This is
+ a variation of a traditional business model built on free
+ called multi-sided platforms.<a href="#ftn.idm589" class="footnote" name="idm589"><sup class="footnote">[72]</sup></a> Access to your audience isn’t the only thing
+ people are willing to pay for—there are other services you can
+ provide as well.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="charging-advertisers-or-sponsors-market-based"></a>Charging advertisers or sponsors
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[MARKET-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ The traditional model of subsidizing free content is
+ advertising. In this version of multi-sided platforms,
+ advertisers pay for the opportunity to reach the set of
+ eyeballs the content creators provide in the form of their
+ audience.<a href="#ftn.idm595" class="footnote" name="idm595"><sup class="footnote">[73]</sup></a> The Internet has made this model more difficult
+ because the number of potential channels available to reach
+ those eyeballs has become essentially infinite.<a href="#ftn.idm597" class="footnote" name="idm597"><sup class="footnote">[74]</sup></a> Nonetheless, it remains a viable revenue stream
+ for many content creators, including those who are Made with
+ Creative Commons. Often, instead of paying to display
+ advertising, the advertiser pays to be an official sponsor of
+ particular content or projects, or of the overall endeavor.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="charging-your-content-creators-market-based"></a>Charging your content creators
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[MARKET-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Another type of multisided platform is where the content
+ creators themselves pay to be featured on the platform.
+ Obviously, this revenue stream is only available to those who
+ rely on work created, at least in part, by others. The most
+ well-known version of this model is the
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">author-processing charge</span>”</span> of open-access
+ journals like those published by the Public Library of
+ Science, but there are other variations. The Conversation is
+ primarily funded by a university-membership model, where
+ universities pay to have their faculties participate as
+ writers of the content on the Conversation website.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="charging-a-transaction-fee-market-based"></a>Charging a transaction fee
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[MARKET-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ This is a version of a traditional business model based on
+ brokering transactions between parties.<a href="#ftn.idm608" class="footnote" name="idm608"><sup class="footnote">[75]</sup></a> Curation is an important element of this model.
+ Platforms like the Noun Project add value by wading through
+ CC-licensed content to curate a high-quality set and then
+ derive revenue when creators of that content make transactions
+ with customers. Other platforms make money when service
+ providers transact with their customers; for example, Opendesk
+ makes money every time someone on their site pays a maker to
+ make furniture based on one of the designs on the platform.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="providing-a-service-to-your-creators-market-based"></a>Providing a service to your creators
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[MARKET-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ As mentioned above, endeavors can make money by providing
+ customized services to their users. Platforms can undertake a
+ variation of this service model directed at the creators that
+ provide the content they feature. The data platforms Figure.NZ
+ and Figshare both capitalize on this model by providing paid
+ tools to help their users make the data they contribute to the
+ platform more discoverable and reusable.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="licensing-a-trademark-market-based"></a>Licensing a trademark
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[MARKET-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Finally, some that are Made with Creative Commons make money
+ by selling use of their trademarks. Well known brands that
+ consumers associate with quality, credibility, or even an
+ ethos can license that trademark to companies that want to
+ take advantage of that goodwill. By definition, trademarks are
+ scarce because they represent a particular source of a good or
+ service. Charging for the ability to use that trademark is a
+ way of deriving revenue from something scarce while taking
+ advantage of the abundance of CC content.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="reciprocity-based-revenue-streams"></a>Reciprocity-based revenue streams</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Even if we set aside grant funding, we found that the
+ traditional economic framework of understanding the market
+ failed to fully capture the ways the endeavors we analyzed
+ were making money. It was not simply about monetizing
+ scarcity.
+ </p><p>
+ Rather than devising a scheme to get people to pay money in
+ exchange for some direct value provided to them, many of the
+ revenue streams were more about providing value, building a
+ relationship, and then eventually finding some money that
+ flows back out of a sense of reciprocity. While some look like
+ traditional nonprofit funding models, they aren’t charity. The
+ endeavor exchange value with people, just not necessarily
+ synchronously or in a way that requires that those values be
+ equal. As David Bollier wrote in Think Like a Commoner,
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">There is no self-serving calculation of whether the
+ value given and received is strictly equal.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ This should be a familiar dynamic—it is the way you deal with
+ your friends and family. We give without regard for what and
+ when we will get back. David Bollier wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Reciprocal
+ social exchange lies at the heart of human identity, community
+ and culture. It is a vital brain function that helps the human
+ species survive and evolve.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ What is rare is to incorporate this sort of relationship into
+ an endeavor that also engages with the market.<a href="#ftn.idm626" class="footnote" name="idm626"><sup class="footnote">[76]</sup></a> We almost can’t help but think of relationships in
+ the market as being centered on an even-steven exchange of
+ value.<a href="#ftn.idm628" class="footnote" name="idm628"><sup class="footnote">[77]</sup></a>
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="memberships-and-individual-donations-reciprocity-based"></a>Memberships and individual donations
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[RECIPROCITY-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ While memberships and donations are traditional nonprofit
+ funding models, in the Made with Creative Commons context,
+ they are directly tied to the reciprocal relationship that is
+ cultivated with the beneficiaries of their work. The bigger
+ the pool of those receiving value from the content, the more
+ likely this strategy will work, given that only a small
+ percentage of people are likely to contribute. Since using CC
+ licenses can grease the wheels for content to reach more
+ people, this strategy can be more effective for endeavors that
+ are Made with Creative Commons. The greater the argument that
+ the content is a public good or that the entire endeavor is
+ furthering a social mission, the more likely this strategy is
+ to succeed.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="the-pay-what-you-want-model-reciprocity-based"></a>The pay-what-you-want model
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[RECIPROCITY-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ In the pay-what-you-want model, the beneficiary of Creative
+ Commons content is invited to give—at any amount they can and
+ feel is appropriate, based on the public and personal value
+ they feel is generated by the open content. Critically, these
+ models are not touted as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">buying</span>”</span> something free.
+ They are similar to a tip jar. People make financial
+ contributions as an act of gratitude. These models capitalize
+ on the fact that we are naturally inclined to give money for
+ things we value in the marketplace, even in situations where
+ we could find a way to get it for free.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="crowdfunding-reciprocity-based"></a>Crowdfunding
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>[RECIPROCITY-BASED]</em></span></h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Crowdfunding models are based on recouping the costs of
+ creating and distributing content before the content is
+ created. If the endeavor is Made with Creative Commons, anyone
+ who wants the work in question could simply wait until it’s
+ created and then access it for free. That means, for this
+ model to work, people have to care about more than just
+ receiving the work. They have to want you to succeed. Amanda
+ Palmer credits the success of her crowdfunding on Kickstarter
+ and Patreon to the years she spent building her community and
+ creating a connection with her fans. She wrote in The Art of
+ Asking, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Good art is made, good art is shared, help is
+ offered, ears are bent, emotions are exchanged, the compost of
+ real, deep connection is sprayed all over the fields. Then one
+ day, the artist steps up and asks for something. And if the
+ ground has been fertilized enough, the audience says, without
+ hesitation: of course.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Other types of crowdfunding rely on a sense of responsibility
+ that a particular community may feel. Knowledge Unlatched
+ pools funds from major U.S. libraries to subsidize CC-licensed
+ academic work that will be, by definition, available to
+ everyone for free. Libraries with bigger budgets tend to give
+ more out of a sense of commitment to the library community and
+ to the idea of open access generally.
+ </p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="making-human-connections"></a>Making Human Connections</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ Regardless of how they made money, in our interviews, we
+ repeatedly heard language like <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">persuading people to
+ buy</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">inviting people to pay.</span>”</span> We heard
+ it even in connection with revenue streams that sit squarely
+ within the market. Cory Doctorow told us, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I have to
+ convince my readers that the right thing to do is to pay
+ me.</span>”</span> The founders of the for-profit company Lumen
+ Learning showed us the letter they send to those who opt not to
+ pay for the services they provide in connection with their
+ CC-licensed educational content. It isn’t a cease-and-desist
+ letter; it’s an invitation to pay because it’s the right thing
+ to do. This sort of behavior toward what could be considered
+ nonpaying customers is largely unheard of in the traditional
+ marketplace. But it seems to be part of the fabric of being Made
+ with Creative Commons.
+ </p><p>
+ Nearly every endeavor we profiled relied, at least in part, on
+ people being invested in what they do. The closer the Creative
+ Commons content is to being <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">the product,</span>”</span> the more
+ pronounced this dynamic has to be. Rather than simply selling a
+ product or service, they are making ideological, personal, and
+ creative connections with the people who value what they do.
+ </p><p>
+ It took me a very long time to see how this avoidance of
+ thinking about what they do in pure market terms was deeply tied
+ to being Made with Creative Commons.
+ </p><p>
+ I came to the research with preconceived notions about what
+ Creative Commons is and what it means to be Made with Creative
+ Commons. It turned out I was wrong on so many counts.
+ </p><p>
+ Obviously, being Made with Creative Commons means using Creative
+ Commons licenses. That much I knew. But in our interviews,
+ people spoke of so much more than copyright permissions when
+ they explained how sharing fit into what they do. I was thinking
+ about sharing too narrowly, and as a result, I was missing vast
+ swaths of the meaning packed within Creative Commons. Rather
+ than parsing the specific and narrow role of the copyright
+ license in the equation, it is important not to disaggregate the
+ rest of what comes with sharing. You have to widen the lens.
+ </p><p>
+ Being Made with Creative Commons is not just about the simple
+ act of licensing a copyrighted work under a set of standardized
+ terms, but also about community, social good, contributing
+ ideas, expressing a value system, working together. These
+ components of sharing are hard to cultivate if you think about
+ what you do in purely market terms. Decent social behavior isn’t
+ as intuitive when we are doing something that involves monetary
+ exchange. It takes a conscious effort to foster the context for
+ real sharing, based not strictly on impersonal market exchange,
+ but on connections with the people with whom you
+ share—connections with you, with your work, with your values,
+ with each other.
+ </p><p>
+ The rest of this section will explore some of the common
+ strategies that creators, companies, and organizations use to
+ remind us that there are humans behind every creative endeavor.
+ To remind us we have obligations to each other. To remind us
+ what sharing really looks like.
+ </p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="be-human"></a>Be human</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Humans are social animals, which means we are naturally
+ inclined to treat each other well.<a href="#ftn.idm661" class="footnote" name="idm661"><sup class="footnote">[78]</sup></a> But the further removed we are from the person
+ with whom we are interacting, the less caring our behavior
+ will be. While the Internet has democratized cultural
+ production, increased access to knowledge, and connected us in
+ extraordinary ways, it can also make it easy forget we are
+ dealing with another human.
+ </p><p>
+ To counteract the anonymous and impersonal tendencies of how
+ we operate online, individual creators and corporations who
+ use Creative Commons licenses work to demonstrate their
+ humanity. For some, this means pouring their lives out on the
+ page. For others, it means showing their creative process,
+ giving a glimpse into how they do what they do. As writer
+ Austin Kleon wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Our work doesn’t speak for itself.
+ Human beings want to know where things came from, how they
+ were made, and who made them. The stories you tell about the
+ work you do have a huge effect on how people feel and what
+ they understand about your work, and how people feel and what
+ they understand about your work affects how they value
+ it.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm665" class="footnote" name="idm665"><sup class="footnote">[79]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ A critical component to doing this effectively is not worrying
+ about being a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">brand.</span>”</span> That means not being
+ afraid to be vulnerable. Amanda Palmer says, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">When
+ you’re afraid of someone’s judgment, you can’t connect with
+ them. You’re too preoccupied with the task of impressing
+ them.</span>”</span> Not everyone is suited to live life as an open
+ book like Palmer, and that’s OK. There are a lot of ways to be
+ human. The trick is just avoiding pretense and the temptation
+ to artificially craft an image. People don’t just want the
+ glossy version of you. They can’t relate to it, at least not
+ in a meaningful way.
+ </p><p>
+ This advice is probably even more important for businesses and
+ organizations because we instinctively conceive of them as
+ nonhuman (though in the United States, corporations are
+ people!). When corporations and organizations make the people
+ behind them more apparent, it reminds people that they are
+ dealing with something other than an anonymous corporate
+ entity. In business-speak, this is about <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">humanizing
+ your interactions</span>”</span> with the public.<a href="#ftn.idm672" class="footnote" name="idm672"><sup class="footnote">[80]</sup></a> But it can’t be a gimmick. You can’t fake being
+ human.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="be-open-and-accountable"></a>Be open and accountable</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Transparency helps people understand who you are and why you
+ do what you do, but it also inspires trust. Max Temkin of
+ Cards Against Humanity told us, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">One of the most
+ surprising things you can do in capitalism is just be honest
+ with people.</span>”</span> That means sharing the good and the bad.
+ As Amanda Palmer wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">You can fix almost anything by
+ authentically communicating.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm679" class="footnote" name="idm679"><sup class="footnote">[81]</sup></a> It isn’t about trying to satisfy everyone or
+ trying to sugarcoat mistakes or bad news, but instead about
+ explaining your rationale and then being prepared to defend it
+ when people are critical.<a href="#ftn.idm681" class="footnote" name="idm681"><sup class="footnote">[82]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Being accountable does not mean operating on consensus.
+ According to James Surowiecki, consensus-driven groups tend to
+ resort to lowest-common-denominator solutions and avoid the
+ sort of candid exchange of ideas that cultivates healthy
+ collaboration.<a href="#ftn.idm684" class="footnote" name="idm684"><sup class="footnote">[83]</sup></a> Instead, it can be as simple as asking for input
+ and then giving context and explanation about decisions you
+ make, even if soliciting feedback and inviting discourse is
+ time-consuming. If you don’t go through the effort to actually
+ respond to the input you receive, it can be worse than not
+ inviting input in the first place.<a href="#ftn.idm686" class="footnote" name="idm686"><sup class="footnote">[84]</sup></a> But when you get it right, it can guarantee the
+ type of diversity of thought that helps endeavors excel. And
+ it is another way to get people involved and invested in what
+ you do.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="design-for-the-good-actors"></a>Design for the good actors</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Traditional economics assumes people make decisions based
+ solely on their own economic self-interest.<a href="#ftn.idm691" class="footnote" name="idm691"><sup class="footnote">[85]</sup></a> Any relatively introspective human knows this is a
+ fiction—we are much more complicated beings with a whole range
+ of needs, emotions, and motivations. In fact, we are hardwired
+ to work together and ensure fairness.<a href="#ftn.idm693" class="footnote" name="idm693"><sup class="footnote">[86]</sup></a> Being Made with Creative Commons requires an
+ assumption that people will largely act on those social
+ motivations, motivations that would be considered
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">irrational</span>”</span> in an economic sense. As Knowledge
+ Unlatched’s Pinter told us, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It is best to ignore people
+ who try to scare you about free riding. That fear is based on
+ a very shallow view of what motivates human behavior.</span>”</span>
+ There will always be people who will act in purely selfish
+ ways, but endeavors that are Made with Creative Commons design
+ for the good actors.
+ </p><p>
+ The assumption that people will largely do the right thing can
+ be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Shirky wrote in Cognitive
+ Surplus, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Systems that assume people will act in ways
+ that create public goods, and that give them opportunities and
+ rewards for doing so, often let them work together better than
+ neoclassical economics would predict.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm699" class="footnote" name="idm699"><sup class="footnote">[87]</sup></a> When we acknowledge that people are often
+ motivated by something other than financial self-interest, we
+ design our endeavors in ways that encourage and accentuate our
+ social instincts.
+ </p><p>
+ Rather than trying to exert control over people’s behavior,
+ this mode of operating requires a certain level of trust. We
+ might not realize it, but our daily lives are already built on
+ trust. As Surowiecki wrote in The Wisdom of Crowds,
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It’s impossible for a society to rely on law alone to
+ make sure citizens act honestly and responsibly. And it’s
+ impossible for any organization to rely on contracts alone to
+ make sure that its managers and workers live up to their
+ obligation.</span>”</span> Instead, we largely trust that
+ people—mostly strangers—will do what they are supposed to
+ do.<a href="#ftn.idm703" class="footnote" name="idm703"><sup class="footnote">[88]</sup></a> And most often, they do.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="treat-humans-like-well-humans"></a>Treat humans like, well, humans</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ For creators, treating people as humans means not treating
+ them like fans. As Kleon says, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If you want fans, you
+ have to be a fan first.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm709" class="footnote" name="idm709"><sup class="footnote">[89]</sup></a> Even if you happen to be one of the few to reach
+ celebrity levels of fame, you are better off remembering that
+ the people who follow your work are human, too. Cory Doctorow
+ makes a point to answer every single email someone sends him.
+ Amanda Palmer spends vast quantities of time going online to
+ communicate with her public, making a point to listen just as
+ much as she talks.<a href="#ftn.idm711" class="footnote" name="idm711"><sup class="footnote">[90]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ The same idea goes for businesses and organizations. Rather
+ than automating its customer service, the music platform Tribe
+ of Noise makes a point to ensure its employees have personal,
+ one-on-one interaction with users.
+ </p><p>
+ When we treat people like humans, they typically return the
+ gift in kind. It’s called karma. But social relationships are
+ fragile. It is all too easy to destroy them if you make the
+ mistake of treating people as anonymous customers or free
+ labor.<a href="#ftn.idm715" class="footnote" name="idm715"><sup class="footnote">[91]</sup></a> Platforms that rely on content from contributors
+ are especially at risk of creating an exploitative dynamic. It
+ is important to find ways to acknowledge and pay back the
+ value that contributors generate. That does not mean you can
+ solve this problem by simply paying contributors for their
+ time or contributions. As soon as we introduce money into a
+ relationship—at least when it takes a form of paying monetary
+ value in exchange for other value—it can dramatically change
+ the dynamic.<a href="#ftn.idm717" class="footnote" name="idm717"><sup class="footnote">[92]</sup></a>
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="state-your-principles-and-stick-to-them"></a>State your principles and stick to them</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Being Made with Creative Commons makes a statement about who
+ you are and what you do. The symbolism is powerful. Using
+ Creative Commons licenses demonstrates adherence to a
+ particular belief system, which generates goodwill and
+ connects like-minded people to your work. Sometimes people
+ will be drawn to endeavors that are Made with Creative Commons
+ as a way of demonstrating their own commitment to the Creative
+ Commons value system, akin to a political statement. Other
+ times people will identify and feel connected with an
+ endeavor’s separate social mission. Often both.
+ </p><p>
+ The expression of your values doesn’t have to be implicit. In
+ fact, many of the people we interviewed talked about how
+ important it is to state your guiding principles up front.
+ Lumen Learning attributes a lot of their success to having
+ been outspoken about the fundamental values that guide what
+ they do. As a for-profit company, they think their expressed
+ commitment to low-income students and open licensing has been
+ critical to their credibility in the OER (open educational
+ resources) community in which they operate.
+ </p><p>
+ When your end goal is not about making a profit, people trust
+ that you aren’t just trying to extract value for your own
+ gain. People notice when you have a sense of purpose that
+ transcends your own self-interest.<a href="#ftn.idm724" class="footnote" name="idm724"><sup class="footnote">[93]</sup></a> It attracts committed employees, motivates
+ contributors, and builds trust.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="build-a-community"></a>Build a community</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Endeavors that are Made with Creative Commons thrive when
+ community is built around what they do. This may mean a
+ community collaborating together to create something new, or
+ it may simply be a collection of like-minded people who get to
+ know each other and rally around common interests or
+ beliefs.<a href="#ftn.idm729" class="footnote" name="idm729"><sup class="footnote">[94]</sup></a> To a certain extent, simply being Made with
+ Creative Commons automatically brings with it some element of
+ community, by helping connect you to like-minded others who
+ recognize and are drawn to the values symbolized by using CC.
+ </p><p>
+ To be sustainable, though, you have to work to nurture
+ community. People have to care—about you and each other. One
+ critical piece to this is fostering a sense of belonging. As
+ Jono Bacon writes in The Art of Community, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If there is
+ no belonging, there is no community.</span>”</span> For Amanda Palmer
+ and her band, that meant creating an accepting and inclusive
+ environment where people felt a part of their <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">weird
+ little family.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm734" class="footnote" name="idm734"><sup class="footnote">[95]</sup></a> For organizations like Red Hat, that means
+ connecting around common beliefs or goals. As the CEO Jim
+ Whitehurst wrote in The Open Organization, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Tapping into
+ passion is especially important in building the kinds of
+ participative communities that drive open
+ organizations.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm737" class="footnote" name="idm737"><sup class="footnote">[96]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Communities that collaborate together take deliberate
+ planning. Surowiecki wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It takes a lot of work to
+ put the group together. It’s difficult to ensure that people
+ are working in the group’s interest and not in their own. And
+ when there’s a lack of trust between the members of the group
+ (which isn’t surprising given that they don’t really know each
+ other), considerable energy is wasted trying to determine each
+ other’s bona fides.</span>”</span><a href="#ftn.idm741" class="footnote" name="idm741"><sup class="footnote">[97]</sup></a> Building true community requires giving people
+ within the community the power to create or influence the
+ rules that govern the community.<a href="#ftn.idm743" class="footnote" name="idm743"><sup class="footnote">[98]</sup></a> If the rules are created and imposed in a top-down
+ manner, people feel like they don’t have a voice, which in
+ turn leads to disengagement.
+ </p><p>
+ Community takes work, but working together, or even simply
+ being connected around common interests or values, is in many
+ ways what sharing is about.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="give-more-to-the-commons-than-you-take"></a>Give more to the commons than you take</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Conventional wisdom in the marketplace dictates that people
+ should try to extract as much money as possible from
+ resources. This is essentially what defines so much of the
+ so-called sharing economy. In an article on the Harvard
+ Business Review website called <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The Sharing Economy
+ Isn’t about Sharing at All,</span>”</span> authors Giana Eckhardt and
+ Fleura Bardhi explained how the anonymous market-driven
+ trans-actions in most sharing-economy businesses are purely
+ about monetizing access.<a href="#ftn.idm750" class="footnote" name="idm750"><sup class="footnote">[99]</sup></a> As Lisa Gansky put it in her book The Mesh, the
+ primary strategy of the sharing economy is to sell the same
+ product multiple times, by selling access rather than
+ ownership.<a href="#ftn.idm754" class="footnote" name="idm754"><sup class="footnote">[100]</sup></a> That is not sharing.
+ </p><p>
+ Sharing requires adding as much or more value to the ecosystem
+ than you take. You can’t simply treat open content as a free
+ pool of resources from which to extract value. Part of giving
+ back to the ecosystem is contributing content back to the
+ public under CC licenses. But it doesn’t have to just be about
+ creating content; it can be about adding value in other ways.
+ The social blogging platform Medium provides value to its
+ community by incentivizing good behavior, and the result is an
+ online space with remarkably high-quality user-generated
+ content and limited trolling.<a href="#ftn.idm757" class="footnote" name="idm757"><sup class="footnote">[101]</sup></a> Opendesk contributes to its community by
+ committing to help its designers make money, in part by
+ actively curating and displaying their work on its platform
+ effectively.
+ </p><p>
+ In all cases, it is important to openly acknowledge the amount
+ of value you add versus that which you draw on that was
+ created by others. Being transparent about this builds
+ credibility and shows you are a contributing player in the
+ commons. When your endeavor is making money, that also means
+ apportioning financial compensation in a way that reflects the
+ value contributed by others, providing more to contributors
+ when the value they add outweighs the value provided by you.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="involve-people-in-what-you-do"></a>Involve people in what you do</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ Thanks to the Internet, we can tap into the talents and
+ expertise of people around the globe. Chris Anderson calls it
+ the Long Tail of talent.<a href="#ftn.idm765" class="footnote" name="idm765"><sup class="footnote">[102]</sup></a> But to make collaboration work, the group has to
+ be effective at what it is doing, and the people within the
+ group have to find satisfaction from being involved.<a href="#ftn.idm767" class="footnote" name="idm767"><sup class="footnote">[103]</sup></a> This is easier to facilitate for some types of
+ creative work than it is for others. Groups tied together
+ online collaborate best when people can work independently and
+ asynchronously, and particularly for larger groups with loose
+ ties, when contributors can make simple improvements without a
+ particularly heavy time commitment.<a href="#ftn.idm769" class="footnote" name="idm769"><sup class="footnote">[104]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ As the success of Wikipedia demonstrates, editing an online
+ encyclopedia is exactly the sort of activity that is perfect
+ for massive co-creation because small, incremental edits made
+ by a diverse range of people acting on their own are immensely
+ valuable in the aggregate. Those same sorts of small
+ contributions would be less useful for many other types of
+ creative work, and people are inherently less motivated to
+ contribute when it doesn’t appear that their efforts will make
+ much of a difference.<a href="#ftn.idm772" class="footnote" name="idm772"><sup class="footnote">[105]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ It is easy to romanticize the opportunities for global
+ cocreation made possible by the Internet, and, indeed, the
+ successful examples of it are truly incredible and inspiring.
+ But in a wide range of circumstances—perhaps more often than
+ not—community cocreation is not part of the equation, even
+ within endeavors built on CC content. Shirky wrote,
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Sometimes the value of professional work trumps the
+ value of amateur sharing or a feeling of belonging.<a href="#ftn.idm776" class="footnote" name="idm776"><sup class="footnote">[106]</sup></a> The textbook publisher OpenStax, which distributes
+ all of its material for free under CC licensing, is an example
+ of this dynamic. Rather than tapping the community to help
+ cocreate their college textbooks, they invest a significant
+ amount of time and money to develop professional content. For
+ individual creators, where the creative work is the basis for
+ what they do, community cocreation is only rarely a part of
+ the picture. Even musician Amanda Palmer, who is famous for
+ her openness and involvement with her fans, said,</span>”</span>The
+ only department where I wasn’t open to input was the writing,
+ the music itself."<a href="#ftn.idm778" class="footnote" name="idm778"><sup class="footnote">[107]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ While we tend to immediately think of cocreation and remixing
+ when we hear the word collaboration, you can also involve
+ others in your creative process in more informal ways, by
+ sharing half-baked ideas and early drafts, and interacting
+ with the public to incubate ideas and get feedback. So-called
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">making in public</span>”</span> opens the door to letting
+ people feel more invested in your creative work.<a href="#ftn.idm782" class="footnote" name="idm782"><sup class="footnote">[108]</sup></a> And it shows a nonterritorial approach to ideas
+ and information. Stephen Covey (of The 7 Habits of Highly
+ Effective People fame) calls this the abundance
+ mentality—treating ideas like something plentiful—and it can
+ create an environment where collaboration
+ flourishes.<a href="#ftn.idm784" class="footnote" name="idm784"><sup class="footnote">[109]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ There is no one way to involve people in what you do. They key
+ is finding a way for people to contribute on their terms,
+ compelled by their own motivations.<a href="#ftn.idm787" class="footnote" name="idm787"><sup class="footnote">[110]</sup></a> What that looks like varies wildly depending on
+ the project. Not every endeavor that is Made with Creative
+ Commons can be Wikipedia, but every endeavor can find ways to
+ invite the public into what they do. The goal for any form of
+ collaboration is to move away from thinking of consumers as
+ passive recipients of your content and transition them into
+ active participants.<a href="#ftn.idm789" class="footnote" name="idm789"><sup class="footnote">[111]</sup></a>
+ </p></div></div><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm396" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm396" class="para"><sup class="para">[37] </sup></a>
+ Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, Business Model Generation
+ (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2010), 14. A preview of the
+ book is available at
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://strategyzer.com/books/business-model-generation" target="_top">http://strategyzer.com/books/business-model-generation</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm410" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm410" class="para"><sup class="para">[38] </sup></a>
+ Cory Doctorow, Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free: Laws for
+ the Internet Age (San Francisco, CA: McSweeney’s, 2014) 68.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm419" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm419" class="para"><sup class="para">[39] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 55.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm422" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm422" class="para"><sup class="para">[40] </sup></a>
+ Chris Anderson, Free: How Today’s Smartest Businesses Profit
+ by Giving Something for Nothing, reprint with new preface (New
+ York: Hyperion, 2010), 224.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm426" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm426" class="para"><sup class="para">[41] </sup></a>
+ Doctorow, Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free, 44.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm438" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm438" class="para"><sup class="para">[42] </sup></a>
+ Amanda Palmer, The Art of Asking: Or How I Learned to Stop
+ Worrying and Let People Help (New York: Grand Central,
+ 2014), 121.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm442" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm442" class="para"><sup class="para">[43] </sup></a>
+ Chris Anderson, Makers: The New Industrial Revolution (New
+ York: Signal, 2012), 64.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm446" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm446" class="para"><sup class="para">[44] </sup></a>
+ David Bollier, Think Like a Commoner: A Short Introduction
+ to the Life of the Commons (Gabriola Island, BC: New
+ Society, 2014), 70.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm449" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm449" class="para"><sup class="para">[45] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Makers, 66.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm452" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm452" class="para"><sup class="para">[46] </sup></a>
+ Bryan Kramer, Shareology: How Sharing Is Powering the Human
+ Economy (New York: Morgan James, 2016), 10.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm455" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm455" class="para"><sup class="para">[47] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Free, 62.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm460" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm460" class="para"><sup class="para">[48] </sup></a>
+ Doctorow, Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free, 38.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm465" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm465" class="para"><sup class="para">[49] </sup></a>
+ Bollier, Think Like a Commoner, 68.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm471" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm471" class="para"><sup class="para">[50] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Free, 86.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm475" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm475" class="para"><sup class="para">[51] </sup></a>
+ Doctorow, Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free, 144.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm485" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm485" class="para"><sup class="para">[52] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Free, 123.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm488" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm488" class="para"><sup class="para">[53] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 132.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm490" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm490" class="para"><sup class="para">[54] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 70.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm495" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm495" class="para"><sup class="para">[55] </sup></a>
+ James Surowiecki, The Wisdom of Crowds (New York: Anchor
+ Books, 2005), 124. Surowiecki says, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The measure of
+ success of laws and contracts is how rarely they are
+ invoked.</span>”</span>
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm505" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm505" class="para"><sup class="para">[56] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Free, 44.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm512" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm512" class="para"><sup class="para">[57] </sup></a>
+ Osterwalder and Pigneur, Business Model Generation, 23.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm516" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm516" class="para"><sup class="para">[58] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Free, 67.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm518" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm518" class="para"><sup class="para">[59] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 58.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm520" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm520" class="para"><sup class="para">[60] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Makers, 71.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm522" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm522" class="para"><sup class="para">[61] </sup></a>
+ Clay Shirky, Cognitive Surplus: How Technology Makes
+ Consumers into Collaborators (London: Penguin Books,
+ 2010), 78.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm526" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm526" class="para"><sup class="para">[62] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 21.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm531" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm531" class="para"><sup class="para">[63] </sup></a>
+ Doctorow, Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free, 43.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm538" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm538" class="para"><sup class="para">[64] </sup></a>
+ William Landes Foster, Peter Kim, and Barbara Christiansen,
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Ten Nonprofit Funding Models,</span>”</span> Stanford Social
+ Innovation Review, Spring 2009,
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://ssir.org/articles/entry/ten_nonprofit_funding_models" target="_top">http://ssir.org/articles/entry/ten_nonprofit_funding_models</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm544" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm544" class="para"><sup class="para">[65] </sup></a>
+ Shirky, Cognitive Surplus, 111.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm550" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm550" class="para"><sup class="para">[66] </sup></a>
+ Osterwalder and Pigneur, Business Model Generation, 30.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm552" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm552" class="para"><sup class="para">[67] </sup></a>
+ Jim Whitehurst, The Open Organization: Igniting Passion
+ and Performance (Boston: Harvard Business Review Press,
+ 2015), 202.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm555" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm555" class="para"><sup class="para">[68] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Free, 71.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm561" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm561" class="para"><sup class="para">[69] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 231.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm571" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm571" class="para"><sup class="para">[70] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 97.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm578" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm578" class="para"><sup class="para">[71] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Makers, 107.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm589" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm589" class="para"><sup class="para">[72] </sup></a>
+ Osterwalder and Pigneur, Business Model Generation, 89.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm595" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm595" class="para"><sup class="para">[73] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 92.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm597" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm597" class="para"><sup class="para">[74] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Free, 142.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm608" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm608" class="para"><sup class="para">[75] </sup></a>
+ Osterwalder and Pigneur, Business Model Generation, 32.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm626" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm626" class="para"><sup class="para">[76] </sup></a>
+ Bollier, Think Like a Commoner, 150.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm628" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm628" class="para"><sup class="para">[77] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 134.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm661" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm661" class="para"><sup class="para">[78] </sup></a>
+ Dan Ariely, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That
+ Shape Our Decisions, rev. ed. (New York: Harper Perennial,
+ 2010), 109.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm665" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm665" class="para"><sup class="para">[79] </sup></a>
+ Austin Kleon, Show Your Work: 10 Ways to Share Your
+ Creativity and Get Discovered (New York: Workman, 2014),
+ 93.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm672" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm672" class="para"><sup class="para">[80] </sup></a>
+ Kramer, Shareology, 76.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm679" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm679" class="para"><sup class="para">[81] </sup></a>
+ Palmer, Art of Asking, 252.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm681" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm681" class="para"><sup class="para">[82] </sup></a>
+ Whitehurst, Open Organization, 145.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm684" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm684" class="para"><sup class="para">[83] </sup></a>
+ Surowiecki, Wisdom of Crowds, 203.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm686" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm686" class="para"><sup class="para">[84] </sup></a>
+ Whitehurst, Open Organization, 80.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm691" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm691" class="para"><sup class="para">[85] </sup></a>
+ Bollier, Think Like a Commoner, 25.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm693" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm693" class="para"><sup class="para">[86] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 31.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm699" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm699" class="para"><sup class="para">[87] </sup></a>
+ Shirky, Cognitive Surplus, 112.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm703" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm703" class="para"><sup class="para">[88] </sup></a>
+ Surowiecki, Wisdom of Crowds, 124.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm709" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm709" class="para"><sup class="para">[89] </sup></a>
+ Kleon, Show Your Work, 127.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm711" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm711" class="para"><sup class="para">[90] </sup></a>
+ Palmer, Art of Asking, 121.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm715" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm715" class="para"><sup class="para">[91] </sup></a>
+ Ariely, Predictably Irrational, 87.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm717" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm717" class="para"><sup class="para">[92] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 105.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm724" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm724" class="para"><sup class="para">[93] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 36.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm729" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm729" class="para"><sup class="para">[94] </sup></a>
+ Jono Bacon, The Art of Community, 2nd ed. (Sebastopol, CA:
+ O’Reilly Media, 2012), 36.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm734" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm734" class="para"><sup class="para">[95] </sup></a>
+ Palmer, Art of Asking, 98.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm737" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm737" class="para"><sup class="para">[96] </sup></a>
+ Whitehurst, Open Organization, 34.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm741" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm741" class="para"><sup class="para">[97] </sup></a>
+ Surowiecki, Wisdom of Crowds, 200.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm743" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm743" class="para"><sup class="para">[98] </sup></a>
+ Bollier, Think Like a Commoner, 29.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm750" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm750" class="para"><sup class="para">[99] </sup></a>
+ Giana Eckhardt and Fleura Bardhi, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The Sharing
+ Economy Isn’t about Sharing at All,</span>”</span> Harvard
+ Business Review (website), January 28, 2015,
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://hbr.org/2015/01/the-sharing-economy-isnt-about-sharing-at-all" target="_top">http://hbr.org/2015/01/the-sharing-economy-isnt-about-sharing-at-all</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm754" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm754" class="para"><sup class="para">[100] </sup></a>
+ Lisa Gansky, The Mesh: Why the Future of Business Is
+ Sharing, reprint with new epilogue (New York: Portfolio,
+ 2012).
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm757" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm757" class="para"><sup class="para">[101] </sup></a>
+ David Lee, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Inside Medium: An Attempt to Bring
+ Civility to the Internet,</span>”</span> BBC News, March 3, 2016,
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35709680" target="_top">http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35709680</a>.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm765" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm765" class="para"><sup class="para">[102] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Makers, 148.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm767" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm767" class="para"><sup class="para">[103] </sup></a>
+ Shirky, Cognitive Surplus, 164.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm769" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm769" class="para"><sup class="para">[104] </sup></a>
+ Whitehurst, foreword to Open Organization.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm772" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm772" class="para"><sup class="para">[105] </sup></a>
+ Shirky, Cognitive Surplus, 144.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm776" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm776" class="para"><sup class="para">[106] </sup></a>
+ Ibid., 154.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm778" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm778" class="para"><sup class="para">[107] </sup></a>
+ Palmer, Art of Asking, 163.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm782" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm782" class="para"><sup class="para">[108] </sup></a>
+ Anderson, Makers, 173.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm784" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm784" class="para"><sup class="para">[109] </sup></a>
+ Tom Kelley and David Kelley, Creative Confidence:
+ Unleashing the Potential within Us All (New York: Crown,
+ 2013), 82.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm787" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm787" class="para"><sup class="para">[110] </sup></a>
+ Whitehurst, foreword to Open Organization.
+ </p></div><div id="ftn.idm789" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm789" class="para"><sup class="para">[111] </sup></a>
+ Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers, What’s Mine Is Yours: The
+ Rise of Collaborative Consumption (New York: Harper
+ Business, 2010), 188.
+ </p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="the-creative-commons-licenses"></a>Chapter 3. The Creative Commons Licenses</h2></div></div></div><p>
+ All of the Creative Commons licenses grant a basic set of
+ permissions. At a minimum, a CC- licensed work can be copied and
+ shared in its original form for noncommercial purposes so long as
+ attribution is given to the creator. There are six licenses in the
+ CC license suite that build on that basic set of permissions,
+ ranging from the most restrictive (allowing only those basic
+ permissions to share unmodified copies for noncommercial purposes)
+ to the most permissive (reusers can do anything they want with the
+ work, even for commercial purposes, as long as they give the
+ creator credit). The licenses are built on copyright and do not
+ cover other types of rights that creators might have in their
+ works, like patents or trademarks.
+ </p><p>
+ Here are the six licenses:
+ </p><p>
+ <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="Pictures/10000201000001930000008D83BF99FC0821C489.png" width="40.0%"></span>
+ </p><p>
+ The Attribution license (CC BY) lets others distribute, remix,
+ tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as
+ they credit you for the original creation. This is the most
+ accommodating of licenses offered. Recommended for maximum
+ dissemination and use of licensed materials.
+ </p><p>
+ <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="Pictures/10000201000001930000008DFD3592CB17C4EC38.png" width="40.0%"></span>
+ </p><p>
+ The Attribution-Share-Alike license (CC BY-SA) lets others remix,
+ tweak, and build upon your work, even for commercial purposes, as
+ long as they credit you and license their new creations under
+ identical terms. This license is often compared to
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">copyleft</span>”</span> free and open source software licenses.
+ All new works based on yours will carry the same license, so any
+ derivatives will also allow commercial use.
+ </p><p>
+ <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="Pictures/10000201000001930000008D254882DE24793FEA.png" width="40.0%"></span>
+ </p><p>
+ The Attribution-NoDerivs license (CC BY-ND) allows for
+ redistribution, commercial and noncommercial, as long as it is
+ passed along unchanged with credit to you.
+ </p><p>
+ <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="Pictures/10000201000001930000008DCAF78FB61D1CBDA6.png" width="40.0%"></span>
+ </p><p>
+ The Attribution-NonCommercial license (CC BY-NC) lets others
+ remix, tweak, and build upon your work noncommercially. Although
+ their new works must also acknowledge you, they don’t have to
+ license their derivative works on the same terms.
+ </p><p>
+ <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="Pictures/10000201000001930000008D16DA603376395620.png" width="40.0%"></span>
+ </p><p>
+ The Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license (CC BY-NC-SA)
+ lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work
+ noncommercially, as long as they credit you and license their new
+ creations under the same terms.
+ </p><p>
+ <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="Pictures/10000201000001930000008DC3FEF92B21310965.png" width="40.0%"></span>
+ </p><p>
+ The Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license (CC BY-NC-ND) is
+ the most restrictive of our six main licenses, only allowing
+ others to download your works and share them with others as long
+ as they credit you, but they can’t change them or use them
+ commercially.
+ </p><p>
+ In addition to these six licenses, Creative Commons has two
+ public-domain tools—one for creators and the other for those who
+ manage collections of existing works by authors whose terms of
+ copyright have expired:
+ </p><p>
+ <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="Pictures/10000201000001900000008DBE3414994CD27786.png" width="40.0%"></span>
+ </p><p>
+ CC0 enables authors and copyright owners to dedicate their works
+ to the worldwide public domain (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">no rights
+ reserved</span>”</span>).
+ </p><p>
+ <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="Pictures/10000201000001900000008D36DCD649C5B1411F.png" width="40.0%"></span>
+ </p><p>
+ The Creative Commons Public Domain Mark facilitates the labeling
+ and discovery of works that are already free of known copyright
+ restrictions.
+ </p><p>
+ In our case studies, some use just one Creative Commons license,
+ others use several. Attribution (found in thirteen case studies)
+ and Attribution-ShareAlike (found in eight studies) were the most
+ common, with the other licenses coming up in four or so case
+ studies, including the public-domain tool CC0. Some of the
+ organizations we profiled offer both digital content and software:
+ by using open-source-software licenses for the software code and
+ Creative Commons licenses for digital content, they amplify their
+ involvement with and commitment to sharing.
+ </p><p>
+ There is a popular misconception that the three NonCommercial
+ licenses offered by CC are the only options for those who want to
+ make money off their work. As we hope this book makes clear, there
+ are many ways to make endeavors that are Made with Creative
+ Commons sustainable. Reserving commercial rights is only one of
+ those ways. It is certainly true that a license that allows others
+ to make commercial use of your work (CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC
+ BY-ND) forecloses some traditional revenue streams. If you apply
+ an Attribution (CC BY) license to your book, you can’t force a
+ film company to pay you royalties if they turn your book into a
+ feature-length film, or prevent another company from selling
+ physical copies of your work.
+ </p><p>
+ The decision to choose a NonCommercial and/or NoDerivs license
+ comes down to how much you need to retain control over the
+ creative work. The NonCommercial and NoDerivs licenses are ways of
+ reserving some significant portion of the exclusive bundle of
+ rights that copyright grants to creators. In some cases, reserving
+ those rights is important to how you bring in revenue. In other
+ cases, creators use a NonCommercial or NoDerivs license because
+ they can’t give up on the dream of hitting the creative jackpot.
+ The music platform Tribe of Noise told us the NonCommercial
+ licenses were popular among their users because people still held
+ out the dream of having a major record label discover their work.
+ </p><p>
+ Other times the decision to use a more restrictive license is due
+ to a concern about the integrity of the work. For example, the
+ nonprofit TeachAIDS uses a NoDerivs license for its educational
+ materials because the medical subject matter is particularly
+ important to get right.
+ </p><p>
+ There is no one right way. The NonCommercial and NoDerivs
+ restrictions reflect the values and preferences of creators about
+ how their creative work should be reused, just as the ShareAlike
+ license reflects a different set of values, one that is less about
+ controlling access to their own work and more about ensuring that
+ whatever gets created with their work is available to all on the
+ same terms. Since the beginning of the commons, people have been
+ setting up structures that helped regulate the way in which shared
+ resources were used. The CC licenses are an attempt to standardize
+ norms across all domains.
+ </p><p>
+ Note
+ </p><p>
+ For more about the licenses including examples and tips on sharing
+ your work in the digital commons, start with the Creative Commons
+ page called <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Share Your Work</span>”</span> at
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/" target="_top">http://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/</a>.
+ </p></div></div><div class="part"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="the-case-studies"></a>Part II. The Case Studies</h1></div></div></div><div class="partintro"><div></div><p>
+ The twenty-four case studies in this section were chosen from
+ hundreds of nominations received from Kickstarter backers, Creative
+ Commons staff, and the global Creative Commons community. We
+ selected eighty potential candidates that represented a mix of
+ industries, content types, revenue streams, and parts of the world.
+ Twelve of the case studies were selected from that group based on
+ votes cast by Kickstarter backers, and the other twelve were
+ selected by us.
+ </p><p>
+ We did background research and conducted interviews for each case
+ study, based on the same set of basic questions about the endeavor.
+ The idea for each case study is to tell the story about the endeavor
+ and the role sharing plays within it, largely the way in which it
+ was told to us by those we interviewed.
+ </p><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#arduino">4. Arduino</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#artica">5. Ártica</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#blender-institute">6. Blender Institute</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#cards-against-humanity">7. Cards Against Humanity</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#the-conversation">8. The Conversation</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#cory-doctorow">9. Cory Doctorow</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#figshare">10. Figshare</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#figure.nz">11. Figure.NZ</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#knowledge-unlatched">12. Knowledge Unlatched</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#lumen-learning">13. Lumen Learning</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#jonathan-mann">14. Jonathan Mann</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#noun-project">15. Noun Project</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#open-data-institute">16. Open Data Institute</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#opendesk">17. OpenDesk</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#openstax">18. OpenStax</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#amanda-palmer">19. Amanda Palmer</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#plos-public-library-of-science">20. PLOS (Public Library of Science)</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#rijksmuseum">21. Rijksmuseum</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#shareable">22. Shareable</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#siyavula">23. Siyavula</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#sparkfun">24. SparkFun</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#teachaids">25. TeachAIDS</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#tribe-of-noise">26. Tribe of Noise</a></span></dt><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#wikimedia-foundation">27. Wikimedia Foundation</a></span></dt></dl></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="arduino"></a>Chapter 4. Arduino</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Arduino is a for-profit open-source electronics platform and
+ computer hardware and software company. Founded in 2005 in
+ Italy.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.arduino.cc" target="_top">http://www.arduino.cc</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging for
+ physical copies (sales of boards, modules, shields, and kits),
+ licensing a trademark (fees paid by those who want to sell
+ Arduino products using their name)
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: February 4,
+ 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewees</strong></span>: David
+ Cuartielles and Tom Igoe, cofounders
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ In 2005, at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in northern
+ Italy, teachers and students needed an easy way to use electronics
+ and programming to quickly prototype design ideas. As musicians,
+ artists, and designers, they needed a platform that didn’t require
+ engineering expertise. A group of teachers and students, including
+ Massimo Banzi, David Cuartielles, Tom Igoe, Gianluca Martino, and
+ David Mellis, built a platform that combined different open
+ technologies. They called it Arduino. The platform integrated
+ software, hardware, microcontrollers, and electronics. All aspects
+ of the platform were openly licensed: hardware designs and
+ documentation with the Attribution-Share-Alike license (CC BY-SA),
+ and software with the GNU General Public License.
+ </p><p>
+ Arduino boards are able to read inputs—light on a sensor, a finger
+ on a button, or a Twitter message—and turn it into
+ outputs—activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing
+ something online. You send a set of instructions to the
+ microcontroller on the board by using the Arduino programming
+ language and Arduino software (based on a piece of open-source
+ software called Processing, a programming tool used to make visual
+ art).
+ </p><p><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The reasons for making Arduino open source are
+ complicated,</span>”</span> Tom says. Partly it was about supporting
+ flexibility. The open-source nature of Arduino empowers users to
+ modify it and create a lot of different variations, adding on top
+ of what the founders build. David says this <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ended up
+ strengthening the platform far beyond what we had even thought of
+ building.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ For Tom another factor was the impending closure of the Ivrea
+ design school. He’d seen other organizations close their doors and
+ all their work and research just disappear. Open-sourcing ensured
+ that Arduino would outlive the Ivrea closure. Persistence is one
+ thing Tom really likes about open source. If key people leave, or
+ a company shuts down, an open-source product lives on. In Tom’s
+ view, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Open sourcing makes it easier to trust a
+ product.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ With the school closing, David and some of the other Arduino
+ founders started a consulting firm and multidisciplinary design
+ studio they called Tinker, in London. Tinker designed products and
+ services that bridged the digital and the physical, and they
+ taught people how to use new technologies in creative ways.
+ Revenue from Tinker was invested in sustaining and enhancing
+ Arduino.
+ </p><p>
+ For Tom, part of Arduino’s success is because the founders made
+ themselves the first customer of their product. They made products
+ they themselves personally wanted. It was a matter of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I
+ need this thing,</span>”</span> not <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If we make this, we’ll make a
+ lot of money.</span>”</span> Tom notes that being your own first customer
+ makes you more confident and convincing at selling your product.
+ </p><p>
+ Arduino’s business model has evolved over time—and Tom says model
+ is a grandiose term for it. Originally, they just wanted to make a
+ few boards and get them out into the world. They started out with
+ two hundred boards, sold them, and made a little profit. They used
+ that to make another thousand, which generated enough revenue to
+ make five thousand. In the early days, they simply tried to
+ generate enough funding to keep the venture going day to day. When
+ they hit the ten thousand mark, they started to think about
+ Arduino as a company. By then it was clear you can open-source the
+ design but still manufacture the physical product. As long as it’s
+ a quality product and sold at a reasonable price, people will buy
+ it.
+ </p><p>
+ Arduino now has a worldwide community of makers—students,
+ hobbyists, artists, programmers, and professionals. Arduino
+ provides a wiki called Playground (a wiki is where all users can
+ edit and add pages, contributing to and benefiting from collective
+ research). People share code, circuit diagrams, tutorials, DIY
+ instructions, and tips and tricks, and show off their projects. In
+ addition, there’s a multilanguage discussion forum where users can
+ get help using Arduino, discuss topics like robotics, and make
+ suggestions for new Arduino product designs. As of January 2017,
+ 324,928 members had made 2,989,489 posts on 379,044 topics. The
+ worldwide community of makers has contributed an incredible amount
+ of accessible knowledge helpful to novices and experts alike.
+ </p><p>
+ Transitioning Arduino from a project to a company was a big step.
+ Other businesses who made boards were charging a lot of money for
+ them. Arduino wanted to make theirs available at a low price to
+ people across a wide range of industries. As with any business,
+ pricing was key. They wanted prices that would get lots of
+ customers but were also high enough to sustain the business.
+ </p><p>
+ For a business, getting to the end of the year and not being in
+ the red is a success. Arduino may have an open-licensing strategy,
+ but they are still a business, and all the things needed to
+ successfully run one still apply. David says, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If you do
+ those other things well, sharing things in an open-source way can
+ only help you.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ While openly licensing the designs, documentation, and software
+ ensures longevity, it does have risks. There’s a possibility that
+ others will create knockoffs, clones, and copies. The CC BY-SA
+ license means anyone can produce copies of their boards, redesign
+ them, and even sell boards that copy the design. They don’t have
+ to pay a license fee to Arduino or even ask permission. However,
+ if they republish the design of the board, they have to give
+ attribution to Arduino. If they change the design, they must
+ release the new design using the same Creative Commons license to
+ ensure that the new version is equally free and open.
+ </p><p>
+ Tom and David say that a lot of people have built companies off of
+ Arduino, with dozens of Arduino derivatives out there. But in
+ contrast to closed business models that can wring money out of the
+ system over many years because there is no competition, Arduino
+ founders saw competition as keeping them honest, and aimed for an
+ environment of collaboration. A benefit of open over closed is the
+ many new ideas and designs others have contributed back to the
+ Arduino ecosystem, ideas and designs that Arduino and the Arduino
+ community use and incorporate into new products.
+ </p><p>
+ Over time, the range of Arduino products has diversified, changing
+ and adapting to new needs and challenges. In addition to simple
+ entry level boards, new products have been added ranging from
+ enhanced boards that provide advanced functionality and faster
+ performance, to boards for creating Internet of Things
+ applications, wearables, and 3-D printing. The full range of
+ official Arduino products includes boards, modules (a smaller
+ form-factor of classic boards), shields (elements that can be
+ plugged onto a board to give it extra features), and
+ kits.<a href="#ftn.idm884" class="footnote" name="idm884"><sup class="footnote">[112]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Arduino’s focus is on high-quality boards, well-designed support
+ materials, and the building of community; this focus is one of the
+ keys to their success. And being open lets you build a real
+ community. David says Arduino’s community is a big strength and
+ something that really does matter—in his words, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It’s good
+ business.</span>”</span> When they started, the Arduino team had almost
+ entirely no idea how to build a community. They started by
+ conducting numerous workshops, working directly with people using
+ the platform to make sure the hardware and software worked the way
+ it was meant to work and solved people’s problems. The community
+ grew organically from there.
+ </p><p>
+ A key decision for Arduino was trademarking the name. The founders
+ needed a way to guarantee to people that they were buying a
+ quality product from a company committed to open-source values and
+ knowledge sharing. Trademarking the Arduino name and logo
+ expresses that guarantee and helps customers easily identify their
+ products, and the products sanctioned by them. If others want to
+ sell boards using the Arduino name and logo, they have to pay a
+ small fee to Arduino. This allows Arduino to scale up
+ manufacturing and distribution while at the same time ensuring the
+ Arduino brand isn’t hurt by low-quality copies.
+ </p><p>
+ Current official manufacturers are Smart Projects in Italy,
+ SparkFun in the United States, and Dog Hunter in Taiwan/China.
+ These are the only manufacturers that are allowed to use the
+ Arduino logo on their boards. Trademarking their brand provided
+ the founders with a way to protect Arduino, build it out further,
+ and fund software and tutorial development. The
+ trademark-licensing fee for the brand became Arduino’s
+ revenue-generating model.
+ </p><p>
+ How far to open things up wasn’t always something the founders
+ perfectly agreed on. David, who was always one to advocate for
+ opening things up more, had some fears about protecting the
+ Arduino name, thinking people would be mad if they policed their
+ brand. There was some early backlash with a project called
+ Freeduino, but overall, trademarking and branding has been a
+ critical tool for Arduino.
+ </p><p>
+ David encourages people and businesses to start by sharing
+ everything as a default strategy, and then think about whether
+ there is anything that really needs to be protected and why. There
+ are lots of good reasons to not open up certain elements. This
+ strategy of sharing everything is certainly the complete opposite
+ of how today’s world operates, where nothing is shared. Tom
+ suggests a business formalize which elements are based on open
+ sharing and which are closed. An Arduino blog post from 2013
+ entitled <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Send In the Clones,</span>”</span> by one of the founders
+ Massimo Banzi, does a great job of explaining the full
+ complexities of how trademarking their brand has played out,
+ distinguishing between official boards and those that are clones,
+ derivatives, compatibles, and counterfeits.<a href="#ftn.idm894" class="footnote" name="idm894"><sup class="footnote">[113]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ For David, an exciting aspect of Arduino is the way lots of people
+ can use it to adapt technology in many different ways. Technology
+ is always making more things possible but doesn’t always focus on
+ making it easy to use and adapt. This is where Arduino steps in.
+ Arduino’s goal is <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">making things that help other people make
+ things.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Arduino has been hugely successful in making technology and
+ electronics reach a larger audience. For Tom, Arduino has been
+ about <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">the democratization of technology.</span>”</span> Tom sees
+ Arduino’s open-source strategy as helping the world get over the
+ idea that technology has to be protected. Tom says,
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Technology is a literacy everyone should learn.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Ultimately, for Arduino, going open has been good business—good
+ for product development, good for distribution, good for pricing,
+ and good for manufacturing.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm884" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm884" class="para"><sup class="para">[112] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Products" target="_top">http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Products</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm894" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm894" class="para"><sup class="para">[113] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://blog.arduino.cc/2013/07/10/send-in-the-clones/" target="_top">http://blog.arduino.cc/2013/07/10/send-in-the-clones/</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="artica"></a>Chapter 5. Ártica</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Ártica provides online courses and consulting services focused
+ on how to use digital technology to share knowledge and enable
+ collaboration in arts and culture. Founded in 2011 in Uruguay.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.articaonline.com" target="_top">http://www.articaonline.com</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging for
+ custom services
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: March 9, 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewees</strong></span>: Mariana
+ Fossatti and Jorge Gemetto, cofounders
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Sarah Hinchliff Pearson
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ The story of Mariana Fossatti and Jorge Gemetto’s business,
+ Ártica, is the ultimate example of DIY. Not only are they
+ successful entrepreneurs, the niche in which their small business
+ operates is essentially one they built themselves.
+ </p><p>
+ Their dream jobs didn’t exist, so they created them.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2011, Mariana was a sociologist working for an international
+ organization to develop research and online education about
+ rural-development issues. Jorge was a psychologist, also working
+ in online education. Both were bloggers and heavy users of social
+ media, and both had a passion for arts and culture. They decided
+ to take their skills in digital technology and online learning and
+ apply them to a topic area they loved. They launched Ártica, an
+ online business that provides education and consulting for people
+ and institutions creating artistic and cultural projects on the
+ Internet.
+ </p><p>
+ Ártica feels like a uniquely twenty-first century business. The
+ small company has a global online presence with no physical
+ offices. Jorge and Mariana live in Uruguay, and the other two
+ full-time employees, who Jorge and Mariana have never actually met
+ in person, live in Spain. They started by creating a MOOC (massive
+ open online course) about remix culture and collaboration in the
+ arts, which gave them a direct way to reach an international
+ audience, attracting students from across Latin America and Spain.
+ In other words, it is the classic Internet story of being able to
+ directly tap into an audience without relying upon gatekeepers or
+ intermediaries.
+ </p><p>
+ Ártica offers personalized education and consulting services, and
+ helps clients implement projects. All of these services are
+ customized. They call it an <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">artisan</span>”</span> process because
+ of the time and effort it takes to adapt their work for the
+ particular needs of students and clients. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Each student or
+ client is paying for a specific solution to his or her problems
+ and questions,</span>”</span> Mariana said. Rather than sell access to
+ their content, they provide it for free and charge for the
+ personalized services.
+ </p><p>
+ When they started, they offered a smaller number of courses
+ designed to attract large audiences. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Over the years, we
+ realized that online communities are more specific than we
+ thought,</span>”</span> Mariana said. Ártica now provides more options
+ for classes and has lower enrollment in each course. This means
+ they can provide more attention to individual students and offer
+ classes on more specialized topics.
+ </p><p>
+ Online courses are their biggest revenue stream, but they also do
+ more than a dozen consulting projects each year, ranging from
+ digitization to event planning to marketing campaigns. Some are
+ significant in scope, particularly when they work with cultural
+ institutions, and some are smaller projects commissioned by
+ individual artists.
+ </p><p>
+ Ártica also seeks out public and private funding for specific
+ projects. Sometimes, even if they are unsuccessful in subsidizing
+ a project like a new course or e-book, they will go ahead because
+ they believe in it. They take the stance that every new project
+ leads them to something new, every new resource they create opens
+ new doors.
+ </p><p>
+ Ártica relies heavily on their free Creative Commons–licensed
+ content to attract new students and clients. Everything they
+ create—online education, blog posts, videos—is published under an
+ Attribution-ShareAlike license (CC BY-SA). <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We use a
+ ShareAlike license because we want to give the greatest freedom to
+ our students and readers, and we also want that freedom to be
+ viral,</span>”</span> Jorge said. For them, giving others the right to
+ reuse and remix their content is a fundamental value. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">How
+ can you offer an online educational service without giving
+ permission to download, make and keep copies, or print the
+ educational resources?</span>”</span> Jorge said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If we want to do
+ the best for our students—those who trust in us to the point that
+ they are willing to pay online without face-to-face contact—we
+ have to offer them a fair and ethical agreement.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ They also believe sharing their ideas and expertise openly helps
+ them build their reputation and visibility. People often share and
+ cite their work. A few years ago, a publisher even picked up one
+ of their e-books and distributed printed copies. Ártica views
+ reuse of their work as a way to open up new opportunities for
+ their business.
+ </p><p>
+ This belief that openness creates new opportunities reflects
+ another belief—in serendipity. When describing their process for
+ creating content, they spoke of all of the spontaneous and organic
+ ways they find inspiration. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Sometimes, the collaborative
+ process starts with a conversation between us, or with friends
+ from other projects,</span>”</span> Jorge said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">That can be the
+ first step for a new blog post or another simple piece of content,
+ which can evolve to a more complex product in the future, like a
+ course or a book.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Rather than planning their work in advance, they let their
+ creative process be dynamic. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">This doesn’t mean that we
+ don’t need to work hard in order to get good professional results,
+ but the design process is more flexible,</span>”</span> Jorge said. They
+ share early and often, and they adjust based on what they learn,
+ always exploring and testing new ideas and ways of operating. In
+ many ways, for them, the process is just as important as the final
+ product.
+ </p><p>
+ People and relationships are also just as important, sometimes
+ more. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">In the educational and cultural business, it is more
+ important to pay attention to people and process, rather than
+ content or specific formats or materials,</span>”</span> Mariana said.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Materials and content are fluid. The important thing is the
+ relationships.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Ártica believes in the power of the network. They seek to make
+ connections with people and institutions across the globe so they
+ can learn from them and share their knowledge.
+ </p><p>
+ At the core of everything Ártica does is a set of values.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Good content is not enough,</span>”</span> Jorge said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We
+ also think that it is very important to take a stand for some
+ things in the cultural sector.</span>”</span> Mariana and Jorge are
+ activists. They defend free culture (the movement promoting the
+ freedom to modify and distribute creative work) and work to
+ demonstrate the intersection between free culture and other
+ social-justice movements. Their efforts to involve people in their
+ work and enable artists and cultural institutions to better use
+ technology are all tied closely to their belief system.
+ Ultimately, what drives their work is a mission to democratize art
+ and culture.
+ </p><p>
+ Of course, Ártica also has to make enough money to cover its
+ expenses. Human resources are, by far, their biggest expense. They
+ tap a network of collaborators on a case-by-case basis and hire
+ contractors for specific projects. Whenever possible, they draw
+ from artistic and cultural resources in the commons, and they rely
+ on free software. Their operation is small, efficient, and
+ sustainable, and because of that, it is a success.
+ </p><p><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">There are lots of people offering online courses,</span>”</span>
+ Jorge said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">But it is easy to differentiate us. We have an
+ approach that is very specific and personal.</span>”</span> Ártica’s
+ model is rooted in the personal at every level. For Mariana and
+ Jorge, success means doing what brings them personal meaning and
+ purpose, and doing it sustainably and collaboratively.
+ </p><p>
+ In their work with younger artists, Mariana and Jorge try to
+ emphasize that this model of success is just as valuable as the
+ picture of success we get from the media. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If they seek only
+ the traditional type of success, they will get frustrated,</span>”</span>
+ Mariana said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We try to show them another image of what it
+ looks like.</span>”</span>
+ </p></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="blender-institute"></a>Chapter 6. Blender Institute</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ The Blender Institute is an animation studio that creates 3-D
+ films using Blender software. Founded in 2006 in the
+ Netherlands.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.blender.org" target="_top">http://www.blender.org</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: crowdfunding
+ (subscription-based), charging for physical copies, selling
+ merchandise
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: March 8, 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Francesco Siddi,
+ production coordinator
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Sarah Hinchliff Pearson
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ For Ton Roosendaal, the creator of Blender software and its
+ related entities, sharing is practical. Making their 3-D content
+ creation software available under a free software license has been
+ integral to its development and popularity. Using that software to
+ make movies that were licensed with Creative Commons pushed that
+ development even further. Sharing enables people to participate
+ and to interact with and build upon the technology and content
+ they create in a way that benefits Blender and its community in
+ concrete ways.
+ </p><p>
+ Each open-movie project Blender runs produces a host of openly
+ licensed outputs, not just the final film itself but all of the
+ source material as well. The creative process also enhances the
+ development of the Blender software because the technical team
+ responds directly to the needs of the film production team,
+ creating tools and features that make their lives easier. And, of
+ course, each project involves a long, rewarding process for the
+ creative and technical community working together.
+ </p><p>
+ Rather than just talking about the theoretical benefits of sharing
+ and free culture, Ton is very much about doing and making free
+ culture. Blender’s production coordinator Francesco Siddi told us,
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Ton believes if you don’t make content using your tools,
+ then you’re not doing anything.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Blender’s history begins in the late 1990s, when Ton created the
+ Blender software. Originally, the software was an in-house
+ resource for his animation studio based in the Netherlands.
+ Investors became interested in the software, so he began marketing
+ the software to the public, offering a free version in addition to
+ a paid version. Sales were disappointing, and his investors gave
+ up on the endeavor in the early 2000s. He made a deal with
+ investors—if he could raise enough money, he could then make the
+ Blender software available under the GNU General Public License.
+ </p><p>
+ This was long before Kickstarter and other online crowdfunding
+ sites existed, but Ton ran his own version of a crowdfunding
+ campaign and quickly raised the money he needed. The Blender
+ software became freely available for anyone to use. Simply
+ applying the General Public License to the software, however, was
+ not enough to create a thriving community around it. Francesco
+ told us, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Software of this complexity relies on people and
+ their vision of how people work together. Ton is a fantastic
+ community builder and manager, and he put a lot of work into
+ fostering a community of developers so that the project could
+ live.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Like any successful free and open-source software project, Blender
+ developed quickly because the community could make fixes and
+ improvements. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Software should be free and open to
+ hack,</span>”</span> Francesco said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Otherwise, everyone is doing
+ the same thing in the dark for ten years.</span>”</span> Ton set up the
+ Blender Foundation to oversee and steward the software development
+ and maintenance.
+ </p><p>
+ After a few years, Ton began looking for new ways to push
+ development of the software. He came up with the idea of creating
+ CC-licensed films using the Blender software. Ton put a call
+ online for all interested and skilled artists. Francesco said the
+ idea was to get the best artists available, put them in a building
+ together with the best developers, and have them work together.
+ They would not only produce high-quality openly licensed content,
+ they would improve the Blender software in the process.
+ </p><p>
+ They turned to crowdfunding to subsidize the costs of the project.
+ They had about twenty people working full-time for six to ten
+ months, so the costs were significant. Francesco said that when
+ their crowdfunding campaign succeeded, people were astounded.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The idea that making money was possible by producing
+ CC-licensed material was mind-blowing to people,</span>”</span> he said.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">They were like, <span class="quote">‘<span class="quote">I have to see it to believe
+ it.</span>’</span></span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ The first film, which was released in 2006, was an experiment. It
+ was so successful that Ton decided to set up the Blender
+ Institute, an entity dedicated to hosting open-movie projects. The
+ Blender Institute’s next project was an even bigger success. The
+ film, Big Buck Bunny, went viral, and its animated characters were
+ picked up by marketers.
+ </p><p>
+ Francesco said that, over time, the Blender Institute projects
+ have gotten bigger and more prominent. That means the filmmaking
+ process has become more complex, combining technical experts and
+ artists who focus on storytelling. Francesco says the process is
+ almost on an industrial scale because of the number of moving
+ parts. This requires a lot of specialized assistance, but the
+ Blender Institute has no problem finding the talent it needs to
+ help on projects. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Blender hardly does any recruiting for
+ film projects because the talent emerges naturally,</span>”</span>
+ Francesco said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">So many people want to work with us, and we
+ can’t always hire them because of budget constraints.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Blender has had a lot of success raising money from its community
+ over the years. In many ways, the pitch has gotten easier to make.
+ Not only is crowdfunding simply more familiar to the public, but
+ people know and trust Blender to deliver, and Ton has developed a
+ reputation as an effective community leader and visionary for
+ their work. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">There is a whole community who sees and
+ understands the benefit of these projects,</span>”</span> Francesco said.
+ </p><p>
+ While these benefits of each open-movie project make a compelling
+ pitch for crowdfunding campaigns, Francesco told us the Blender
+ Institute has found some limitations in the standard crowdfunding
+ model where you propose a specific project and ask for funding.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Once a project is over, everyone goes home,</span>”</span> he
+ said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It is great fun, but then it ends. That is a
+ problem.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ To make their work more sustainable, they needed a way to receive
+ ongoing support rather than on a project-by-project basis. Their
+ solution is Blender Cloud, a subscription-style crowdfunding model
+ akin to the online crowdfunding platform, Patreon. For about ten
+ euros each month, subscribers get access to download everything
+ the Blender Institute produces—software, art, training, and more.
+ All of the assets are available under an Attribution license (CC
+ BY) or placed in the public domain (CC0), but they are initially
+ made available only to subscribers. Blender Cloud enables
+ subscribers to follow Blender’s movie projects as they develop,
+ sharing detailed information and content used in the creative
+ process. Blender Cloud also has extensive training materials and
+ libraries of characters and other assets used in various projects.
+ </p><p>
+ The continuous financial support provided by Blender Cloud
+ subsidizes five to six full-time employees at the Blender
+ Institute. Francesco says their goal is to grow their subscriber
+ base. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">This is our freedom,</span>”</span> he told us, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">and
+ for artists, freedom is everything.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Blender Cloud is the primary revenue stream of the Blender
+ Institute. The Blender Foundation is funded primarily by
+ donations, and that money goes toward software development and
+ maintenance. The revenue streams of the Institute and Foundation
+ are deliberately kept separate. Blender also has other revenue
+ streams, such as the Blender Store, where people can purchase
+ DVDs, T-shirts, and other Blender products.
+ </p><p>
+ Ton has worked on projects relating to his Blender software for
+ nearly twenty years. Throughout most of that time, he has been
+ committed to making the software and the content produced with the
+ software free and open. Selling a license has never been part of
+ the business model.
+ </p><p>
+ Since 2006, he has been making films available along with all of
+ their source material. He says he has hardly ever seen people
+ stepping into Blender’s shoes and trying to make money off of
+ their content. Ton believes this is because the true value of what
+ they do is in the creative and production process. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Even
+ when you share everything, all your original sources, it still
+ takes a lot of talent, skills, time, and budget to reproduce what
+ you did,</span>”</span> Ton said.
+ </p><p>
+ For Ton and Blender, it all comes back to doing.
+ </p></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="cards-against-humanity"></a>Chapter 7. Cards Against Humanity</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Cards Against Humanity is a private, for-profit company that
+ makes a popular party game by the same name. Founded in 2011 in
+ the U.S.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.cardsagainsthumanity.com" target="_top">http://www.cardsagainsthumanity.com</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging for
+ physical copies
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: February 3,
+ 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Max Temkin,
+ cofounder
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Sarah Hinchliff Pearson
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ If you ask cofounder Max Temkin, there is nothing particularly
+ interesting about the Cards Against Humanity business model.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We make a product. We sell it for money. Then we spend less
+ money than we make,</span>”</span> Max said.
+ </p><p>
+ He is right. Cards Against Humanity is a simple party game,
+ modeled after the game Apples to Apples. To play, one player asks
+ a question or fill-in-the-blank statement from a black card, and
+ the other players submit their funniest white card in response.
+ The catch is that all of the cards are filled with crude,
+ gruesome, and otherwise awful things. For the right kind of people
+ (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">horrible people,</span>”</span> according to Cards Against
+ Humanity advertising), this makes for a hilarious and fun game.
+ </p><p>
+ The revenue model is simple. Physical copies of the game are sold
+ for a profit. And it works. At the time of this writing, Cards
+ Against Humanity is the number-one best-selling item out of all
+ toys and games on Amazon. There are official expansion packs
+ available, and several official themed packs and international
+ editions as well.
+ </p><p>
+ But Cards Against Humanity is also available for free. Anyone can
+ download a digital version of the game on the Cards Against
+ Humanity website. More than one million people have downloaded the
+ game since the company began tracking the numbers.
+ </p><p>
+ The game is available under an
+ Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license (CC BY-NC-SA). That
+ means, in addition to copying the game, anyone can create new
+ versions of the game as long as they make it available under the
+ same noncommercial terms. The ability to adapt the game is like an
+ entire new game unto itself.
+ </p><p>
+ All together, these factors—the crass tone of the game and
+ company, the free download, the openness to fans remixing the
+ game—give the game a massive cult following.
+ </p><p>
+ Their success is not the result of a grand plan. Instead, Cards
+ Against Humanity was the last in a long line of games and comedy
+ projects that Max Temkin and his friends put together for their
+ own amusement. As Max tells the story, they made the game so they
+ could play it themselves on New Year’s Eve because they were too
+ nerdy to be invited to other parties. The game was a hit, so they
+ decided to put it up online as a free PDF. People started asking
+ if they could pay to have the game printed for them, and
+ eventually they decided to run a Kickstarter to fund the printing.
+ They set their Kickstarter goal at $4,000—and raised $15,000. The
+ game was officially released in May 2011.
+ </p><p>
+ The game caught on quickly, and it has only grown more popular
+ over time. Max says the eight founders never had a meeting where
+ they decided to make it an ongoing business. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It kind of
+ just happened,</span>”</span> he said.
+ </p><p>
+ But this tale of a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">happy accident</span>”</span> belies marketing
+ genius. Just like the game, the Cards Against Humanity brand is
+ irreverent and memorable. It is hard to forget a company that
+ calls the FAQ on their website <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Your dumb questions.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Like most quality satire, however, there is more to the joke than
+ vulgarity and shock value. The company’s marketing efforts around
+ Black Friday illustrate this particularly well. For those outside
+ the United States, Black Friday is the term for the day after the
+ Thanksgiving holiday, the biggest shopping day of the year. It is
+ an incredibly important day for Cards Against Humanity, like it is
+ for all U.S. retailers. Max said they struggled with what to do on
+ Black Friday because they didn’t want to support what he called
+ the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">orgy of consumerism</span>”</span> the day has become,
+ particularly since it follows a day that is about being grateful
+ for what you have. In 2013, after deliberating, they decided to
+ have an Everything Costs $5 More sale.
+ </p><p><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We sweated it out the night before Black Friday, wondering
+ if our fans were going to hate us for it,</span>”</span> he said.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">But it made us laugh so we went with it. People totally
+ caught the joke.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ This sort of bold transparency delights the media, but more
+ importantly, it engages their fans. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">One of the most
+ surprising things you can do in capitalism is just be honest with
+ people,</span>”</span> Max said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It shocks people that there is
+ transparency about what you are doing.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Max also likened it to a grand improv scene. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If we do
+ something a little subversive and unexpected, the public wants to
+ be a part of the joke.</span>”</span> One year they did a Give Cards
+ Against Humanity $5 event, where people literally paid them five
+ dollars for no reason. Their fans wanted to make the joke funnier
+ by making it successful. They made $70,000 in a single day.
+ </p><p>
+ This remarkable trust they have in their customers is what
+ inspired their decision to apply a Creative Commons license to the
+ game. Trusting your customers to reuse and remix your work
+ requires a leap of faith. Cards Against Humanity obviously isn’t
+ afraid of doing the unexpected, but there are lines even they do
+ not want to cross. Before applying the license, Max said they
+ worried that some fans would adapt the game to include all of the
+ jokes they intentionally never made because they crossed that
+ line. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It happened, and the world didn’t end,</span>”</span> Max
+ said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If that is the worst cost of using CC, I’d pay that a
+ hundred times over because there are so many benefits.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Any successful product inspires its biggest fans to create remixes
+ of it, but unsanctioned adaptations are more likely to fly under
+ the radar. The Creative Commons license gives fans of Cards
+ Against Humanity the freedom to run with the game and copy, adapt,
+ and promote their creations openly. Today there are thousands of
+ fan expansions of the game.
+ </p><p>
+ Max said, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">CC was a no-brainer for us because it gets the
+ most people involved. Making the game free and available under a
+ CC license led to the unbelievable situation where we are one of
+ the best-marketed games in the world, and we have never spent a
+ dime on marketing.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Of course, there are limits to what the company allows its
+ customers to do with the game. They chose the
+ Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license because it restricts
+ people from using the game to make money. It also requires that
+ adaptations of the game be made available under the same licensing
+ terms if they are shared publicly. Cards Against Humanity also
+ polices its brand. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We feel like we’re the only ones who can
+ use our brand and our game and make money off of it,</span>”</span> Max
+ said. About 99.9 percent of the time, they just send an email to
+ those making commercial use of the game, and that is the end of
+ it. There have only been a handful of instances where they had to
+ get a lawyer involved.
+ </p><p>
+ Just as there is more than meets the eye to the Cards Against
+ Humanity business model, the same can be said of the game itself.
+ To be playable, every white card has to work syntactically with
+ enough black cards. The eight creators invest an incredible amount
+ of work into creating new cards for the game. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We have
+ daylong arguments about commas,</span>”</span> Max said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The
+ slacker tone of the cards gives people the impression that it is
+ easy to write them, but it is actually a lot of work and
+ quibbling.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ That means cocreation with their fans really doesn’t work. The
+ company has a submission mechanism on their website, and they get
+ thousands of suggestions, but it is very rare that a submitted
+ card is adopted. Instead, the eight initial creators remain the
+ primary authors of expansion decks and other new products released
+ by the company. Interestingly, the creativity of their customer
+ base is really only an asset to the company once their original
+ work is created and published when people make their own
+ adaptations of the game.
+ </p><p>
+ For all of their success, the creators of Cards Against Humanity
+ are only partially motivated by money. Max says they have always
+ been interested in the Walt Disney philosophy of financial
+ success. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We don’t make jokes and games to make money—we
+ make money so we can make more jokes and games,</span>”</span> he said.
+ </p><p>
+ In fact, the company has given more than $4 million to various
+ charities and causes. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cards is not our life plan,</span>”</span>
+ Max said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We all have other interests and hobbies. We are
+ passionate about other things going on in our lives. A lot of the
+ activism we have done comes out of us taking things from the rest
+ of our lives and channeling some of the excitement from the game
+ into it.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Seeing money as fuel rather than the ultimate goal is what has
+ enabled them to embrace Creative Commons licensing without
+ reservation. CC licensing ended up being a savvy marketing move
+ for the company, but nonetheless, giving up exclusive control of
+ your work necessarily means giving up some opportunities to
+ extract more money from customers.
+ </p><p><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It’s not right for everyone to release everything under CC
+ licensing,</span>”</span> Max said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If your only goal is to make a
+ lot of money, then CC is not best strategy. This kind of business
+ model, though, speaks to your values, and who you are and why
+ you’re making things.</span>”</span>
+ </p></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="the-conversation"></a>Chapter 8. The Conversation</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ The Conversation is an independent source of news, sourced from
+ the academic and research community and delivered direct to the
+ public over the Internet. Founded in 2011 in Australia.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://theconversation.com" target="_top">http://theconversation.com</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging
+ content creators (universities pay membership fees to have their
+ faculties serve as writers), grant funding
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: February 4,
+ 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Andrew Jaspan,
+ founder
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ Andrew Jaspan spent years as an editor of major newspapers
+ including the Observer in London, the Sunday Herald in Glasgow,
+ and the Age in Melbourne, Australia. He experienced firsthand the
+ decline of newspapers, including the collapse of revenues,
+ layoffs, and the constant pressure to reduce costs. After he left
+ the Age in 2005, his concern for the future journalism didn’t go
+ away. Andrew made a commitment to come up with an alternative
+ model.
+ </p><p>
+ Around the time he left his job as editor of the Melbourne Age,
+ Andrew wondered where citizens would get news grounded in fact and
+ evidence rather than opinion or ideology. He believed there was
+ still an appetite for journalism with depth and substance but was
+ concerned about the increasing focus on the sensational and sexy.
+ </p><p>
+ While at the Age, he’d become friends with a vice-chancellor of a
+ university in Melbourne who encouraged him to talk to smart people
+ across campus—an astrophysicist, a Nobel laureate, earth
+ scientists, economists . . . These were the kind of smart people
+ he wished were more involved in informing the world about what is
+ going on and correcting the errors that appear in media. However,
+ they were reluctant to engage with mass media. Often, journalists
+ didn’t understand what they said, or unilaterally chose what
+ aspect of a story to tell, putting out a version that these people
+ felt was wrong or mischaracterized. Newspapers want to attract a
+ mass audience. Scholars want to communicate serious news,
+ findings, and insights. It’s not a perfect match. Universities are
+ massive repositories of knowledge, research, wisdom, and
+ expertise. But a lot of that stays behind a wall of their own
+ making—there are the walled garden and ivory tower metaphors, and
+ in more literal terms, the paywall. Broadly speaking, universities
+ are part of society but disconnected from it. They are an enormous
+ public resource but not that good at presenting their expertise to
+ the wider public.
+ </p><p>
+ Andrew believed he could to help connect academics back into the
+ public arena, and maybe help society find solutions to big
+ problems. He thought about pairing professional editors with
+ university and research experts, working one-on-one to refine
+ everything from story structure to headline, captions, and quotes.
+ The editors could help turn something that is academic into
+ something understandable and readable. And this would be a key
+ difference from traditional journalism—the subject matter expert
+ would get a chance to check the article and give final approval
+ before it is published. Compare this with reporters just picking
+ and choosing the quotes and writing whatever they want.
+ </p><p>
+ The people he spoke to liked this idea, and Andrew embarked on
+ raising money and support with the help of the Commonwealth
+ Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the
+ University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of
+ Technology Sydney, and the University of Western Australia. These
+ founding partners saw the value of an independent information
+ channel that would also showcase the talent and knowledge of the
+ university and research sector. With their help, in 2011, the
+ Conversation, was launched as an independent news site in
+ Australia. Everything published in the Conversation is openly
+ licensed with Creative Commons.
+ </p><p>
+ The Conversation is founded on the belief that underpinning a
+ functioning democracy is access to independent, high-quality,
+ informative journalism. The Conversation’s aim is for people to
+ have a better understanding of current affairs and complex
+ issues—and hopefully a better quality of public discourse. The
+ Conversation sees itself as a source of trusted information
+ dedicated to the public good. Their core mission is simple: to
+ provide readers with a reliable source of evidence-based
+ information.
+ </p><p>
+ Andrew worked hard to reinvent a methodology for creating
+ reliable, credible content. He introduced strict new working
+ practices, a charter, and codes of conduct.<a href="#ftn.idm1075" class="footnote" name="idm1075"><sup class="footnote">[114]</sup></a> These include fully disclosing who every author is
+ (with their relevant expertise); who is funding their research;
+ and if there are any potential or real conflicts of interest. Also
+ important is where the content originates, and even though it
+ comes from the university and research community, it still needs
+ to be fully disclosed. The Conversation does not sit behind a
+ paywall. Andrew believes access to information is an issue of
+ equality—everyone should have access, like access to clean water.
+ The Conversation is committed to an open and free Internet.
+ Everyone should have free access to their content, and be able to
+ share it or republish it.
+ </p><p>
+ Creative Commons help with these goals; articles are published
+ with the Attribution- NoDerivs license (CC BY-ND). They’re freely
+ available for others to republish elsewhere as long as attribution
+ is given and the content is not edited. Over five years, more than
+ twenty-two thousand sites have republished their content. The
+ Conversation website gets about 2.9 million unique views per
+ month, but through republication they have thirty-five million
+ readers. This couldn’t have been done without the Creative Commons
+ license, and in Andrew’s view, Creative Commons is central to
+ everything the Conversation does.
+ </p><p>
+ When readers come across the Conversation, they seem to like what
+ they find and recommend it to their friends, peers, and networks.
+ Readership has grown primarily through word of mouth. While they
+ don’t have sales and marketing, they do promote their work through
+ social media (including Twitter and Facebook), and by being an
+ accredited supplier to Google News.
+ </p><p>
+ It’s usual for the founders of any company to ask themselves what
+ kind of company it should be. It quickly became clear to the
+ founders of the Conversation that they wanted to create a public
+ good rather than make money off of information. Most media
+ companies are working to aggregate as many eyeballs as possible
+ and sell ads. The Conversation founders didn’t want this model. It
+ takes no advertising and is a not-for-profit venture.
+ </p><p>
+ There are now different editions of the Conversation for Africa,
+ the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, in addition to
+ the one for Australia. All five editions have their own editorial
+ mastheads, advisory boards, and content. The Conversation’s global
+ virtual newsroom has roughly ninety staff working with thirty-five
+ thousand academics from over sixteen hundred universities around
+ the world. The Conversation would like to be working with
+ university scholars from even more parts of the world.
+ </p><p>
+ Additionally, each edition has its own set of founding partners,
+ strategic partners, and funders. They’ve received funding from
+ foundations, corporates, institutions, and individual donations,
+ but the Conversation is shifting toward paid memberships by
+ universities and research institutions to sustain operations. This
+ would safeguard the current service and help improve coverage and
+ features.
+ </p><p>
+ When professors from member universities write an article, there
+ is some branding of the university associated with the article. On
+ the Conversation website, paying university members are listed as
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">members and funders.</span>”</span> Early participants may be
+ designated as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">founding members,</span>”</span> with seats on the
+ editorial advisory board.
+ </p><p>
+ Academics are not paid for their contributions, but they get free
+ editing from a professional (four to five hours per piece, on
+ average). They also get access to a large audience. Every author
+ and member university has access to a special analytics dashboard
+ where they can check the reach of an article. The metrics include
+ what people are tweeting, the comments, countries the readership
+ represents, where the article is being republished, and the number
+ of readers per article.
+ </p><p>
+ The Conversation plans to expand the dashboard to show not just
+ reach but impact. This tracks activities, behaviors, and events
+ that occurred as a result of publication, including things like a
+ scholar being asked to go on a show to discuss their piece, give a
+ talk at a conference, collaborate, submit a journal paper, and
+ consult a company on a topic.
+ </p><p>
+ These reach and impact metrics show the benefits of membership.
+ With the Conversation, universities can engage with the public and
+ show why they’re of value.
+ </p><p>
+ With its tagline, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Academic Rigor, Journalistic
+ Flair,</span>”</span> the Conversation represents a new form of
+ journalism that contributes to a more informed citizenry and
+ improved democracy around the world. Its open business model and
+ use of Creative Commons show how it’s possible to generate both a
+ public good and operational revenue at the same time.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1075" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1075" class="para"><sup class="para">[114] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://theconversation.com/us/charter" target="_top">http://theconversation.com/us/charter</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="cory-doctorow"></a>Chapter 9. Cory Doctorow</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Cory Doctorow is a science fiction writer, activist, blogger,
+ and journalist. Based in the U.S.
+ </p><p><a class="ulink" href="http://craphound.com" target="_top">http://craphound.com</a> and
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://boingboing.net" target="_top">http://boingboing.net</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging for
+ physical copies (book sales), pay-what-you-want, selling
+ translation rights to books
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: January 12,
+ 2016
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Sarah Hinchliff Pearson
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ Cory Doctorow hates the term <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">business model,</span>”</span> and he
+ is adamant that he is not a brand. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To me, branding is the
+ idea that you can take a thing that has certain qualities, remove
+ the qualities, and go on selling it,</span>”</span> he said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I’m
+ not out there trying to figure out how to be a brand. I’m doing
+ this thing that animates me to work crazy insane hours because
+ it’s the most important thing I know how to do.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Cory calls himself an entrepreneur. He likes to say his success
+ came from making stuff people happened to like and then getting
+ out of the way of them sharing it.
+ </p><p>
+ He is a science fiction writer, activist, blogger, and journalist.
+ Beginning with his first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom,
+ in 2003, his work has been published under a Creative Commons
+ license. Cory is coeditor of the popular CC-licensed site Boing
+ Boing, where he writes about technology, politics, and
+ intellectual property. He has also written several nonfiction
+ books, including the most recent Information Doesn’t Want to Be
+ Free, about the ways in which creators can make a living in the
+ Internet age.
+ </p><p>
+ Cory primarily makes money by selling physical books, but he also
+ takes on paid speaking gigs and is experimenting with
+ pay-what-you-want models for his work.
+ </p><p>
+ While Cory’s extensive body of fiction work has a large following,
+ he is just as well known for his activism. He is an outspoken
+ opponent of restrictive copyright and digital-rights-management
+ (DRM) technology used to lock up content because he thinks both
+ undermine creators and the public interest. He is currently a
+ special adviser at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where he is
+ involved in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. law that protects DRM.
+ Cory says his political work doesn’t directly make him money, but
+ if he gave it up, he thinks he would lose credibility and, more
+ importantly, lose the drive that propels him to create. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">My
+ political work is a different expression of the same
+ artistic-political urge,</span>”</span> he said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I have this
+ suspicion that if I gave up the things that didn’t make me money,
+ the genuineness would leach out of what I do, and the quality that
+ causes people to like what I do would be gone.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Cory has been financially successful, but money is not his primary
+ motivation. At the start of his book Information Doesn’t Want to
+ Be Free, he stresses how important it is not to become an artist
+ if your goal is to get rich. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Entering the arts because you
+ want to get rich is like buying lottery tickets because you want
+ to get rich,</span>”</span> he wrote. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It might work, but it almost
+ certainly won’t. Though, of course, someone always wins the
+ lottery.</span>”</span> He acknowledges that he is one of the lucky few
+ to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">make it,</span>”</span> but he says he would be writing no
+ matter what. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I am compelled to write,</span>”</span> he wrote.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Long before I wrote to keep myself fed and sheltered, I was
+ writing to keep myself sane.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Just as money is not his primary motivation to create, money is
+ not his primary motivation to share. For Cory, sharing his work
+ with Creative Commons is a moral imperative. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It felt
+ morally right,</span>”</span> he said of his decision to adopt Creative
+ Commons licenses. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I felt like I wasn’t contributing to the
+ culture of surveillance and censorship that has been created to
+ try to stop copying.</span>”</span> In other words, using CC licenses
+ symbolizes his worldview.
+ </p><p>
+ He also feels like there is a solid commercial basis for licensing
+ his work with Creative Commons. While he acknowledges he hasn’t
+ been able to do a controlled experiment to compare the commercial
+ benefits of licensing with CC against reserving all rights, he
+ thinks he has sold more books using a CC license than he would
+ have without it. Cory says his goal is to convince people they
+ should pay him for his work. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I started by not calling them
+ thieves,</span>”</span> he said.
+ </p><p>
+ Cory started using CC licenses soon after they were first created.
+ At the time his first novel came out, he says the science fiction
+ genre was overrun with people scanning and downloading books
+ without permission. When he and his publisher took a closer look
+ at who was doing that sort of thing online, they realized it
+ looked a lot like book promotion. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I knew there was a
+ relationship between having enthusiastic readers and having a
+ successful career as a writer,</span>”</span> he said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">At the
+ time, it took eighty hours to OCR a book, which is a big effort. I
+ decided to spare them the time and energy, and give them the book
+ for free in a format destined to spread.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Cory admits the stakes were pretty low for him when he first
+ adopted Creative Commons licenses. He only had to sell two
+ thousand copies of his book to break even. People often said he
+ was only able to use CC licenses successfully at that time because
+ he was just starting out. Now they say he can only do it because
+ he is an established author.
+ </p><p>
+ The bottom line, Cory says, is that no one has found a way to
+ prevent people from copying the stuff they like. Rather than
+ fighting the tide, Cory makes his work intrinsically shareable.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Getting the hell out of the way for people who want to
+ share their love of you with other people sounds obvious, but it’s
+ remarkable how many people don’t do it,</span>”</span> he said.
+ </p><p>
+ Making his work available under Creative Commons licenses enables
+ him to view his biggest fans as his ambassadors. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Being open
+ to fan activity makes you part of the conversation about what fans
+ do with your work and how they interact with it,</span>”</span> he said.
+ Cory’s own website routinely highlights cool things his audience
+ has done with his work. Unlike corporations like Disney that tend
+ to have a hands-off relationship with their fan activity, he has a
+ symbiotic relationship with his audience. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Engaging with
+ your audience can’t guarantee you success,</span>”</span> he said.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">And Disney is an example of being able to remain aloof and
+ still being the most successful company in the creative industry
+ in history. But I figure my likelihood of being Disney is pretty
+ slim, so I should take all the help I can get.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ His first book was published under the most restrictive Creative
+ Commons license, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND).
+ It allows only verbatim copying for noncommercial purposes. His
+ later work is published under the
+ Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license (CC BY-NC-SA), which
+ gives people the right to adapt his work for noncommercial
+ purposes but only if they share it back under the same license
+ terms. Before releasing his work under a CC license that allows
+ adaptations, he always sells the right to translate the book to
+ other languages to a commercial publisher first. He wants to reach
+ new potential buyers in other parts of the world, and he thinks it
+ is more difficult to get people to pay for translations if there
+ are fan translations already available for free.
+ </p><p>
+ In his book Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free, Cory likens his
+ philosophy to thinking like a dandelion. Dandelions produce
+ thousands of seeds each spring, and they are blown into the air
+ going in every direction. The strategy is to maximize the number
+ of blind chances the dandelion has for continuing its genetic
+ line. Similarly, he says there are lots of people out there who
+ may want to buy creative work or compensate authors for it in some
+ other way. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The more places your work can find itself, the
+ greater the likelihood that it will find one of those would-be
+ customers in some unsuspected crack in the metaphorical
+ pavement,</span>”</span> he wrote. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The copies that others make of
+ my work cost me nothing, and present the possibility that I’ll get
+ something.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Applying a CC license to his work increases the chances it will be
+ shared more widely around the Web. He avoids DRM—and openly
+ opposes the practice—for similar reasons. DRM has the effect of
+ tying a work to a particular platform. This digital lock, in turn,
+ strips the authors of control over their own work and hands that
+ control over to the platform. He calls it Cory’s First Law:
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Anytime someone puts a lock on something that belongs to
+ you and won’t give you the key, that lock isn’t there for your
+ benefit.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Cory operates under the premise that artists benefit when there
+ are more, rather than fewer, places where people can access their
+ work. The Internet has opened up those avenues, but DRM is
+ designed to limit them. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">On the one hand, we can credibly
+ make our work available to a widely dispersed audience,</span>”</span> he
+ said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">On the other hand, the intermediaries we historically
+ sold to are making it harder to go around them.</span>”</span> Cory
+ continually looks for ways to reach his audience without relying
+ upon major platforms that will try to take control over his work.
+ </p><p>
+ Cory says his e-book sales have been lower than those of his
+ competitors, and he attributes some of that to the CC license
+ making the work available for free. But he believes people are
+ willing to pay for content they like, even when it is available
+ for free, as long as it is easy to do. He was extremely successful
+ using Humble Bundle, a platform that allows people to pay what
+ they want for DRM-free versions of a bundle of a particular
+ creator’s work. He is planning to try his own pay-what-you-want
+ experiment soon.
+ </p><p>
+ Fans are particularly willing to pay when they feel personally
+ connected to the artist. Cory works hard to create that personal
+ connection. One way he does this is by personally answering every
+ single email he gets. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If you look at the history of
+ artists, most die in penury,</span>”</span> he said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">That reality
+ means that for artists, we have to find ways to support ourselves
+ when public tastes shift, when copyright stops producing.
+ Future-proofing your artistic career in many ways means figuring
+ out how to stay connected to those people who have been touched by
+ your work.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Cory’s realism about the difficulty of making a living in the arts
+ does not reflect pessimism about the Internet age. Instead, he
+ says the fact that it is hard to make a living as an artist is
+ nothing new. What is new, he writes in his book, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">is how
+ many ways there are to make things, and to get them into other
+ people’s hands and minds.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ It has never been easier to think like a dandelion.
+ </p></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="figshare"></a>Chapter 10. Figshare</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Figshare is a for-profit company offering an online repository
+ where researchers can preserve and share the output of their
+ research, including figures, data sets, images, and videos.
+ Founded in 2011 in the UK.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://figshare.com" target="_top">http://figshare.com</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: platform
+ providing paid services to creators
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: January 28,
+ 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Mark Hahnel,
+ founder
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ Figshare’s mission is to change the face of academic publishing
+ through improved dissemination, discoverability, and reusability
+ of scholarly research. Figshare is a repository where users can
+ make all the output of their research available—from posters and
+ presentations to data sets and code—in a way that’s easy to
+ discover, cite, and share. Users can upload any file format, which
+ can then be previewed in a Web browser. Research output is
+ disseminated in a way that the current scholarly-publishing model
+ does not allow.
+ </p><p>
+ Figshare founder Mark Hahnel often gets asked: How do you make
+ money? How do we know you’ll be here in five years? Can you, as a
+ for-profit venture, be trusted? Answers have evolved over time.
+ </p><p>
+ Mark traces the origins of Figshare back to when he was a graduate
+ student getting his PhD in stem cell biology. His research
+ involved working with videos of stem cells in motion. However,
+ when he went to publish his research, there was no way for him to
+ also publish the videos, figures, graphs, and data sets. This was
+ frustrating. Mark believed publishing his complete research would
+ lead to more citations and be better for his career.
+ </p><p>
+ Mark does not consider himself an advanced software programmer.
+ Fortunately, things like cloud-based computing and wikis had
+ become mainstream, and he believed it ought to be possible to put
+ all his research online and share it with anyone. So he began
+ working on a solution.
+ </p><p>
+ There were two key needs: licenses to make the data citable, and
+ persistent identifiers— URL links that always point back to the
+ original object ensuring the research is citable for the long
+ term.
+ </p><p>
+ Mark chose Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to meet the need for
+ a persistent identifier. In the DOI system, an object’s metadata
+ is stored as a series of numbers in the DOI name. Referring to an
+ object by its DOI is more stable than referring to it by its URL,
+ because the location of an object (the web page or URL) can often
+ change. Mark partnered with DataCite for the provision of DOIs for
+ research data.
+ </p><p>
+ As for licenses, Mark chose Creative Commons. The open-access and
+ open-science communities were already using and recommending
+ Creative Commons. Based on what was happening in those communities
+ and Mark’s dialogue with peers, he went with CC0 (in the public
+ domain) for data sets and CC BY (Attribution) for figures, videos,
+ and data sets.
+ </p><p>
+ So Mark began using DOIs and Creative Commons for his own research
+ work. He had a science blog where he wrote about it and made all
+ his data open. People started commenting on his blog that they
+ wanted to do the same. So he opened it up for them to use, too.
+ </p><p>
+ People liked the interface and simple upload process. People
+ started asking if they could also share theses, grant proposals,
+ and code. Inclusion of code raised new licensing issues, as
+ Creative Commons licenses are not used for software. To allow the
+ sharing of software code, Mark chose the MIT license, but GNU and
+ Apache licenses can also be used.
+ </p><p>
+ Mark sought investment to make this into a scalable product. After
+ a few unsuccessful funding pitches, UK-based Digital Science
+ expressed interest but insisted on a more viable business model.
+ They made an initial investment, and together they came up with a
+ freemium-like business model.
+ </p><p>
+ Under the freemium model, academics upload their research to
+ Figshare for storage and sharing for free. Each research object is
+ licensed with Creative Commons and receives a DOI link. The
+ premium option charges researchers a fee for gigabytes of private
+ storage space, and for private online space designed for a set
+ number of research collaborators, which is ideal for larger teams
+ and geographically dispersed research groups. Figshare sums up its
+ value proposition to researchers as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">You retain ownership.
+ You license it. You get credit. We just make sure it
+ persists.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ In January 2012, Figshare was launched. (The fig in Figshare
+ stands for figures.) Using investment funds, Mark made significant
+ improvements to Figshare. For example, researchers could quickly
+ preview their research files within a browser without having to
+ download them first or require third-party software. Journals who
+ were still largely publishing articles as static noninteractive
+ PDFs became interested in having Figshare provide that
+ functionality for them.
+ </p><p>
+ Figshare diversified its business model to include services for
+ journals. Figshare began hosting large amounts of data for the
+ journals’ online articles. This additional data improved the
+ quality of the articles. Outsourcing this service to Figshare
+ freed publishers from having to develop this functionality as part
+ of their own infrastructure. Figshare-hosted data also provides a
+ link back to the article, generating additional click-through and
+ readership—a benefit to both journal publishers and researchers.
+ Figshare now provides research-data infrastructure for a wide
+ variety of publishers including Wiley, Springer Nature, PLOS, and
+ Taylor and Francis, to name a few, and has convinced them to use
+ Creative Commons licenses for the data.
+ </p><p>
+ Governments allocate significant public funds to research. In
+ parallel with the launch of Figshare, governments around the world
+ began requesting the research they fund be open and accessible.
+ They mandated that researchers and academic institutions better
+ manage and disseminate their research outputs. Institutions
+ looking to comply with this new mandate became interested in
+ Figshare. Figshare once again diversified its business model,
+ adding services for institutions.
+ </p><p>
+ Figshare now offers a range of fee-based services to institutions,
+ including their own minibranded Figshare space (called Figshare
+ for Institutions) that securely hosts research data of
+ institutions in the cloud. Services include not just hosting but
+ data metrics, data dissemination, and user-group administration.
+ Figshare’s workflow, and the services they offer for institutions,
+ take into account the needs of librarians and administrators, as
+ well as of the researchers.
+ </p><p>
+ As with researchers and publishers, Fig-share encouraged
+ institutions to share their research with CC BY (Attribution) and
+ their data with CC0 (into the public domain). Funders who require
+ researchers and institutions to use open licensing believe in the
+ social responsibilities and benefits of making research accessible
+ to all. Publishing research in this open way has come to be called
+ open access. But not all funders specify CC BY; some institutions
+ want to offer their researchers a choice, including less
+ permissive licenses like CC BY-NC (Attribution-NonCommercial), CC
+ BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike), or CC BY-ND
+ (Attribution-NoDerivs).
+ </p><p>
+ For Mark this created a conflict. On the one hand, the principles
+ and benefits of open science are at the heart of Figshare, and
+ Mark believes CC BY is the best license for this. On the other
+ hand, institutions were saying they wouldn’t use Figshare unless
+ it offered a choice in licenses. He initially refused to offer
+ anything beyond CC0 and CC BY, but after seeing an open-source
+ CERN project offer all Creative Commons licenses without any
+ negative repercussions, he decided to follow suit.
+ </p><p>
+ Mark is thinking of doing a Figshare study that tracks research
+ dissemination according to Creative Commons license, and gathering
+ metrics on views, citations, and downloads. You could see which
+ license generates the biggest impact. If the data showed that CC
+ BY is more impactful, Mark believes more and more researchers and
+ institutions will make it their license of choice.
+ </p><p>
+ Figshare has an Application Programming Interface (API) that makes
+ it possible for data to be pulled from Figshare and used in other
+ applications. As an example, Mark shared a Figshare data set
+ showing the journal subscriptions that higher-education
+ institutions in the United Kingdom paid to ten major
+ publishers.<a href="#ftn.idm1183" class="footnote" name="idm1183"><sup class="footnote">[115]</sup></a> Figshare’s API enables that data to be pulled into an
+ app developed by a completely different researcher that converts
+ the data into a visually interesting graph, which any viewer can
+ alter by changing any of the variables.<a href="#ftn.idm1186" class="footnote" name="idm1186"><sup class="footnote">[116]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ The free version of Figshare has built a community of academics,
+ who through word of mouth and presentations have promoted and
+ spread awareness of Figshare. To amplify and reward the community,
+ Figshare established an Advisor program, providing those who
+ promoted Figshare with hoodies and T-shirts, early access to new
+ features, and travel expenses when they gave presentations outside
+ of their area. These Advisors also helped Mark on what license to
+ use for software code and whether to offer universities an option
+ of using Creative Commons licenses.
+ </p><p>
+ Mark says his success is partly about being in the right place at
+ the right time. He also believes that the diversification of
+ Figshare’s model over time has been key to success. Figshare now
+ offers a comprehensive set of services to researchers, publishers,
+ and institutions.<a href="#ftn.idm1191" class="footnote" name="idm1191"><sup class="footnote">[117]</sup></a> If he had relied solely on revenue from premium
+ subscriptions, he believes Figshare would have struggled. In
+ Figshare’s early days, their primary users were early-career and
+ late-career academics. It has only been because funders mandated
+ open licensing that Figshare is now being used by the mainstream.
+ </p><p>
+ Today Figshare has 26 million–plus page views, 7.5 million–plus
+ downloads, 800,000–plus user uploads, 2 million–plus articles,
+ 500,000-plus collections, and 5,000–plus projects. Sixty percent
+ of their traffic comes from Google. A sister company called
+ Altmetric tracks the use of Figshare by others, including
+ Wikipedia and news sources.
+ </p><p>
+ Figshare uses the revenue it generates from the premium
+ subscribers, journal publishers, and institutions to fund and
+ expand what it can offer to researchers for free. Figshare has
+ publicly stuck to its principles—keeping the free service free and
+ requiring the use of CC BY and CC0 from the start—and from Mark’s
+ perspective, this is why people trust Figshare. Mark sees new
+ competitors coming forward who are just in it for money. If
+ Figshare was only in it for the money, they wouldn’t care about
+ offering a free version. Figshare’s principles and advocacy for
+ openness are a key differentiator. Going forward, Mark sees
+ Figshare not only as supporting open access to research but also
+ enabling people to collaborate and make new discoveries.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1183" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1183" class="para"><sup class="para">[115] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://figshare.com/articles/Journal_subscription_costs_FOIs_to_UK_universities/1186832" target="_top">http://figshare.com/articles/Journal_subscription_costs_FOIs_to_UK_universities/1186832</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1186" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1186" class="para"><sup class="para">[116] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://retr0.shinyapps.io/journal_costs/?year=2014&inst=19,22,38,42,59,64,80,95,136" target="_top">http://retr0.shinyapps.io/journal_costs/?year=2014&inst=19,22,38,42,59,64,80,95,136</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1191" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1191" class="para"><sup class="para">[117] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://figshare.com/features" target="_top">http://figshare.com/features</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="figure.nz"></a>Chapter 11. Figure.NZ</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Figure.NZ is a nonprofit charity that makes an online data
+ platform designed to make data reusable and easy to understand.
+ Founded in 2012 in New Zealand.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://figure.nz" target="_top">http://figure.nz</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: platform
+ providing paid services to creators, donations, sponsorships
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: May 3, 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Lillian Grace,
+ founder
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ In the paper Harnessing the Economic and Social Power of Data
+ presented at the New Zealand Data Futures Forum in 2014,<a href="#ftn.idm1210" class="footnote" name="idm1210"><sup class="footnote">[118]</sup></a> Figure.NZ founder Lillian Grace said there are
+ thousands of valuable and relevant data sets freely available to
+ us right now, but most people don’t use them. She used to think
+ this meant people didn’t care about being informed, but she’s come
+ to see that she was wrong. Almost everyone wants to be informed
+ about issues that matter—not only to them, but also to their
+ families, their communities, their businesses, and their country.
+ But there’s a big difference between availability and
+ accessibility of information. Data is spread across thousands of
+ sites and is held within databases and spreadsheets that require
+ both time and skill to engage with. To use data when making a
+ decision, you have to know what specific question to ask, identify
+ a source that has collected the data, and manipulate complex tools
+ to extract and visualize the information within the data set.
+ Lillian established Figure.NZ to make data truly accessible to
+ all, with a specific focus on New Zealand.
+ </p><p>
+ Lillian had the idea for Figure.NZ in February 2012 while working
+ for the New Zealand Institute, a think tank concerned with
+ improving economic prosperity, social well-being, environmental
+ quality, and environmental productivity for New Zealand and New
+ Zealanders. While giving talks to community and business groups,
+ Lillian realized <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">every single issue we addressed would have
+ been easier to deal with if more people understood the basic
+ facts.</span>”</span> But understanding the basic facts sometimes
+ requires data and research that you often have to pay for.
+ </p><p>
+ Lillian began to imagine a website that lifted data up to a visual
+ form that could be easily understood and freely accessed.
+ Initially launched as Wiki New Zealand, the original idea was that
+ people could contribute their data and visuals via a wiki.
+ However, few people had graphs that could be used and shared, and
+ there were no standards or consistency around the data and the
+ visuals. Realizing the wiki model wasn’t working, Lillian brought
+ the process of data aggregation, curation, and visual presentation
+ in-house, and invested in the technology to help automate some of
+ it. Wiki New Zealand became Figure.NZ, and efforts were reoriented
+ toward providing services to those wanting to open their data and
+ present it visually.
+ </p><p>
+ Here’s how it works. Figure.NZ sources data from other
+ organizations, including corporations, public repositories,
+ government departments, and academics. Figure.NZ imports and
+ extracts that data, and then validates and standardizes it—all
+ with a strong eye on what will be best for users. They then make
+ the data available in a series of standardized forms, both human-
+ and machine-readable, with rich metadata about the sources, the
+ licenses, and data types. Figure.NZ has a chart-designing tool
+ that makes simple bar, line, and area graphs from any data source.
+ The graphs are posted to the Figure.NZ website, and they can also
+ be exported in a variety of formats for print or online use.
+ Figure.NZ makes its data and graphs available using the
+ Attribution (CC BY) license. This allows others to reuse, revise,
+ remix, and redistribute Figure.NZ data and graphs as long as they
+ give attribution to the original source and to Figure.NZ.
+ </p><p>
+ Lillian characterizes the initial decision to use Creative Commons
+ as naively fortunate. It was first recommended to her by a
+ colleague. Lillian spent time looking at what Creative Commons
+ offered and thought it looked good, was clear, and made common
+ sense. It was easy to use and easy for others to understand. Over
+ time, she’s come to realize just how fortunate and important that
+ decision turned out to be. New Zealand’s government has an
+ open-access and licensing framework called NZGOAL, which provides
+ guidance for agencies when they release copyrighted and
+ noncopyrighted work and material.<a href="#ftn.idm1218" class="footnote" name="idm1218"><sup class="footnote">[119]</sup></a> It aims to standardize the licensing of works with
+ government copyright and how they can be reused, and it does this
+ with Creative Commons licenses. As a result, 98 percent of all
+ government-agency data is Creative Commons licensed, fitting in
+ nicely with Figure.NZ’s decision.
+ </p><p>
+ Lillian thinks current ideas of what a business is are relatively
+ new, only a hundred years old or so. She’s convinced that twenty
+ years from now, we will see new and different models for business.
+ Figure.NZ is set up as a nonprofit charity. It is purpose-driven
+ but also strives to pay people well and thinks like a business.
+ Lillian sees the charity-nonprofit status as an essential element
+ for the mission and purpose of Figure.NZ. She believes Wikipedia
+ would not work if it were for profit, and similarly, Figure.NZ’s
+ nonprofit status assures people who have data and people who want
+ to use it that they can rely on Figure.NZ’s motives. People see
+ them as a trusted wrangler and source.
+ </p><p>
+ Although Figure.NZ is a social enterprise that openly licenses
+ their data and graphs for everyone to use for free, they have
+ taken care not to be perceived as a free service all around the
+ table. Lillian believes hundreds of millions of dollars are spent
+ by the government and organizations to collect data. However, very
+ little money is spent on taking that data and making it
+ accessible, understandable, and useful for decision making.
+ Government uses some of the data for policy, but Lillian believes
+ that it is underutilized and the potential value is much larger.
+ Figure.NZ is focused on solving that problem. They believe a
+ portion of money allocated to collecting data should go into
+ making sure that data is useful and generates value. If the
+ government wants citizens to understand why certain decisions are
+ being made and to be more aware about what the government is
+ doing, why not transform the data it collects into easily
+ understood visuals? It could even become a way for a government or
+ any organization to differentiate, market, and brand itself.
+ </p><p>
+ Figure.NZ spends a lot of time seeking to understand the
+ motivations of data collectors and to identify the channels where
+ it can provide value. Every part of their business model has been
+ focused on who is going to get value from the data and visuals.
+ </p><p>
+ Figure.NZ has multiple lines of business. They provide commercial
+ services to organizations that want their data publicly available
+ and want to use Figure.NZ as their publishing platform. People who
+ want to publish open data appreciate Figure.NZ’s ability to do it
+ faster, more easily, and better than they can. Customers are
+ encouraged to help their users find, use, and make things from the
+ data they make available on Figure.NZ’s website. Customers control
+ what is released and the license terms (although Figure.NZ
+ encourages Creative Commons licensing). Figure.NZ also serves
+ customers who want a specific collection of charts created—for
+ example, for their website or annual report. Charging the
+ organizations that want to make their data available enables
+ Figure.NZ to provide their site free to all users, to truly
+ democratize data.
+ </p><p>
+ Lillian notes that the current state of most data is terrible and
+ often not well understood by the people who have it. This
+ sometimes makes it difficult for customers and Figure.NZ to figure
+ out what it would cost to import, standardize, and display that
+ data in a useful way. To deal with this, Figure.NZ uses
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">high-trust contracts,</span>”</span> where customers allocate a
+ certain budget to the task that Figure.NZ is then free to draw
+ from, as long as Figure.NZ frequently reports on what they’ve
+ produced so the customer can determine the value for money. This
+ strategy has helped build trust and transparency about the level
+ of effort associated with doing work that has never been done
+ before.
+ </p><p>
+ A second line of business is what Figure.NZ calls partners. ASB
+ Bank and Statistics New Zealand are partners who back Figure.NZ’s
+ efforts. As one example, with their support Figure.NZ has been
+ able to create Business Figures, a special way for businesses to
+ find useful data without having to know what questions to
+ ask.<a href="#ftn.idm1228" class="footnote" name="idm1228"><sup class="footnote">[120]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Figure.NZ also has patrons.<a href="#ftn.idm1232" class="footnote" name="idm1232"><sup class="footnote">[121]</sup></a> Patrons donate to topic areas they care about,
+ directly enabling Figure.NZ to get data together to flesh out
+ those areas. Patrons do not direct what data is included or
+ excluded.
+ </p><p>
+ Figure.NZ also accepts philanthropic donations, which are used to
+ provide more content, extend technology, and improve services, or
+ are targeted to fund a specific effort or provide in-kind support.
+ As a charity, donations are tax deductible.
+ </p><p>
+ Figure.NZ has morphed and grown over time. With data aggregation,
+ curation, and visualizing services all in-house, Figure.NZ has
+ developed a deep expertise in taking random styles of data,
+ standardizing it, and making it useful. Lillian realized that
+ Figure.NZ could easily become a warehouse of seventy people doing
+ data. But for Lillian, growth isn’t always good. In her view,
+ bigger often means less effective. Lillian set artificial
+ constraints on growth, forcing the organization to think
+ differently and be more efficient. Rather than in-house growth,
+ they are growing and building external relationships.
+ </p><p>
+ Figure.NZ’s website displays visuals and data associated with a
+ wide range of categories including crime, economy, education,
+ employment, energy, environment, health, information and
+ communications technology, industry, tourism, and many others. A
+ search function helps users find tables and graphs. Figure.NZ does
+ not provide analysis or interpretation of the data or visuals.
+ Their goal is to teach people how to think, not think for them.
+ Figure.NZ wants to create intuitive experiences, not user manuals.
+ </p><p>
+ Figure.NZ believes data and visuals should be useful. They provide
+ their customers with a data collection template and teach them why
+ it’s important and how to use it. They’ve begun putting more
+ emphasis on tracking what users of their website want. They also
+ get requests from social media and through email for them to share
+ data for a specific topic—for example, can you share data for
+ water quality? If they have the data, they respond quickly; if
+ they don’t, they try and identify the organizations that would
+ have that data and forge a relationship so they can be included on
+ Figure.NZ’s site. Overall, Figure.NZ is seeking to provide a place
+ for people to be curious about, access, and interpret data on
+ topics they are interested in.
+ </p><p>
+ Lillian has a deep and profound vision for Figure.NZ that goes
+ well beyond simply providing open-data services. She says things
+ are different now. "We used to live in a world where it was
+ really hard to share information widely. And in that world, the
+ best future was created by having a few great leaders who
+ essentially had access to the information and made decisions on
+ behalf of others, whether it was on behalf of a country or
+ companies.
+ </p><p>
+ "But now we live in a world where it’s really easy to share
+ information widely and also to communicate widely. In the world we
+ live in now, the best future is the one where everyone can make
+ well-informed decisions.
+ </p><p>
+ "The use of numbers and data as a way of making well-informed
+ decisions is one of the areas where there is the biggest gaps. We
+ don’t really use numbers as a part of our thinking and part of our
+ understanding yet.
+ </p><p>
+ "Part of the reason is the way data is spread across hundreds
+ of sites. In addition, for the most part, deep thinking based on
+ data is constrained to experts because most people don’t have data
+ literacy. There once was a time when many citizens in society
+ couldn’t read or write. However, as a society, we’ve now come to
+ believe that reading and writing skills should be something all
+ citizens have. We haven’t yet adopted a similar belief around
+ numbers and data literacy. We largely still believe that only a
+ few specially trained people can analyze and think with numbers.
+ </p><p>
+ "Figure.NZ may be the first organization to assert that
+ everyone can use numbers in their thinking, and it’s built a
+ technological platform along with trust and a network of
+ relationships to make that possible. What you can see on Figure.NZ
+ are tens of thousands of graphs, maps, and data.
+ </p><p>
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Figure.NZ sees this as a new kind of alphabet that can help
+ people analyze what they see around them. A way to be thoughtful
+ and informed about society. A means of engaging in conversation
+ and shaping decision making that transcends personal experience.
+ The long-term value and impact is almost impossible to measure,
+ but the goal is to help citizens gain understanding and work
+ together in more informed ways to shape the future.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Lillian sees Figure.NZ’s model as having global potential. But for
+ now, their focus is completely on making Figure.NZ work in New
+ Zealand and to get the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">network effect</span>”</span>— users
+ dramatically increasing value for themselves and for others
+ through use of their service. Creative Commons is core to making
+ the network effect possible.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1210" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1210" class="para"><sup class="para">[118] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.nzdatafutures.org.nz/sites/default/files/NZDFF_harness-the-power.pdf" target="_top">http://www.nzdatafutures.org.nz/sites/default/files/NZDFF_harness-the-power.pdf</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1218" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1218" class="para"><sup class="para">[119] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.ict.govt.nz/guidance-and-resources/open-government/new-zealand-government-open-access-and-licensing-nzgoal-framework/" target="_top">http://www.ict.govt.nz/guidance-and-resources/open-government/new-zealand-government-open-access-and-licensing-nzgoal-framework/</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1228" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1228" class="para"><sup class="para">[120] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://figure.nz/business/" target="_top">http://figure.nz/business/</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1232" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1232" class="para"><sup class="para">[121] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://figure.nz/patrons/" target="_top">http://figure.nz/patrons/</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="knowledge-unlatched"></a>Chapter 12. Knowledge Unlatched</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Knowledge Unlatched is a not-for-profit community interest
+ company that brings libraries together to pool funds to publish
+ open-access books. Founded in 2012 in the UK.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://knowledgeunlatched.org" target="_top">http://knowledgeunlatched.org</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: crowdfunding
+ (specialized)
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: February 26,
+ 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Frances Pinter,
+ founder
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ The serial entrepreneur Dr. Frances Pinter has been at the
+ forefront of innovation in the publishing industry for nearly
+ forty years. She founded the UK-based Knowledge Unlatched with a
+ mission to enable open access to scholarly books. For Frances, the
+ current scholarly- book-publishing system is not working for
+ anyone, and especially not for monographs in the humanities and
+ social sciences. Knowledge Unlatched is committed to changing this
+ and has been working with libraries to create a sustainable
+ alternative model for publishing scholarly books, sharing the cost
+ of making monographs (released under a Creative Commons license)
+ and savings costs over the long term. Since its launch, Knowledge
+ Unlatched has received several awards, including the IFLA/Brill
+ Open Access award in 2014 and a Curtin University Commercial
+ Innovation Award for Innovation in Education in 2015.
+ </p><p>
+ Dr. Pinter has been in academic publishing most of her career.
+ About ten years ago, she became acquainted with the Creative
+ Commons founder Lawrence Lessig and got interested in Creative
+ Commons as a tool for both protecting content online and
+ distributing it free to users.
+ </p><p>
+ Not long after, she ran a project in Africa convincing publishers
+ in Uganda and South Africa to put some of their content online for
+ free using a Creative Commons license and to see what happened to
+ print sales. Sales went up, not down.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2008, Bloomsbury Academic, a new imprint of Bloomsbury
+ Publishing in the United Kingdom, appointed her its founding
+ publisher in London. As part of the launch, Frances convinced
+ Bloomsbury to differentiate themselves by putting out monographs
+ for free online under a Creative Commons license (BY-NC or
+ BY-NC-ND, i.e., Attribution-NonCommercial or
+ Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs). This was seen as risky, as
+ the biggest cost for publishers is getting a book to the stage
+ where it can be printed. If everyone read the online book for
+ free, there would be no print-book sales at all, and the costs
+ associated with getting the book to print would be lost.
+ Surprisingly, Bloomsbury found that sales of the print versions of
+ these books were 10 to 20 percent higher than normal. Frances
+ found it intriguing that the Creative Commons–licensed free online
+ book acts as a marketing vehicle for the print format.
+ </p><p>
+ Frances began to look at customer interest in the three forms of
+ the book: 1) the Creative Commons–licensed free online book in PDF
+ form, 2) the printed book, and 3) a digital version of the book on
+ an aggregator platform with enhanced features. She thought of this
+ as the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ice cream model</span>”</span>: the free PDF was vanilla
+ ice cream, the printed book was an ice cream cone, and the
+ enhanced e-book was an ice cream sundae.
+ </p><p>
+ After a while, Frances had an epiphany—what if there was a way to
+ get libraries to underwrite the costs of making these books up
+ until they’re ready be printed, in other words, cover the fixed
+ costs of getting to the first digital copy? Then you could either
+ bring down the cost of the printed book, or do a whole bunch of
+ interesting things with the printed book and e-book—the ice cream
+ cone or sundae part of the model.
+ </p><p>
+ This idea is similar to the article-processing charge some
+ open-access journals charge researchers to cover publishing costs.
+ Frances began to imagine a coalition of libraries paying for the
+ prepress costs—a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">book-processing charge</span>”</span>—and
+ providing everyone in the world with an open-access version of the
+ books released under a Creative Commons license.
+ </p><p>
+ This idea really took hold in her mind. She didn’t really have a
+ name for it but began talking about it and making presentations to
+ see if there was interest. The more she talked about it, the more
+ people agreed it had appeal. She offered a bottle of champagne to
+ anyone who could come up with a good name for the idea. Her
+ husband came up with Knowledge Unlatched, and after two years of
+ generating interest, she decided to move forward and launch a
+ community interest company (a UK term for not-for-profit social
+ enterprises) in 2012.
+ </p><p>
+ She describes the business model in a paper called Knowledge
+ Unlatched: Toward an Open and Networked Future for Academic
+ Publishing:
+ </p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist compact" type="1"><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Publishers offer titles for sale reflecting origination costs
+ only via Knowledge Unlatched.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Individual libraries select titles either as individual titles
+ or as collections (as they do from library suppliers now).
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Their selections are sent to Knowledge Unlatched specifying
+ the titles to be purchased at the stated price(s).
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ The price, called a Title Fee (set by publishers and
+ negotiated by Knowledge Unlatched), is paid to publishers to
+ cover the fixed costs of publishing each of the titles that
+ were selected by a minimum number of libraries to cover the
+ Title Fee.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Publishers make the selected titles available Open Access (on
+ a Creative Commons or similar open license) and are then paid
+ the Title Fee which is the total collected from the libraries.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Publishers make print copies, e-Pub, and other digital
+ versions of selected titles available to member libraries at a
+ discount that reflects their contribution to the Title Fee and
+ incentivizes membership.<a href="#ftn.idm1285" class="footnote" name="idm1285"><sup class="footnote">[122]</sup></a>
+ </p></li></ol></div><p>
+ The first round of this model resulted in a collection of
+ twenty-eight current titles from thirteen recognized scholarly
+ publishers being unlatched. The target was to have two hundred
+ libraries participate. The cost of the package per library was
+ capped at $1,680, which was an average price of sixty dollars per
+ book, but in the end they had nearly three hundred libraries
+ sharing the costs, and the price per book came in at just under
+ forty-three dollars.
+ </p><p>
+ The open-access, Creative Commons versions of these twenty-eight
+ books are still available online.<a href="#ftn.idm1290" class="footnote" name="idm1290"><sup class="footnote">[123]</sup></a> Most books have been licensed with CC BY-NC or CC
+ BY-NC-ND. Authors are the copyright holder, not the publisher, and
+ negotiate choice of license as part of the publishing agreement.
+ Frances has found that most authors want to retain control over
+ the commercial and remix use of their work. Publishers list the
+ book in their catalogs, and the noncommercial restriction in the
+ Creative Commons license ensures authors continue to get royalties
+ on sales of physical copies.
+ </p><p>
+ There are three cost variables to consider for each round: the
+ overall cost incurred by the publishers, total cost for each
+ library to acquire all the books, and the individual price per
+ book. The fee publishers charge for each title is a fixed charge,
+ and Knowledge Unlatched calculates the total amount for all the
+ books being unlatched at a time. The cost of an order for each
+ library is capped at a maximum based on a minimum number of
+ libraries participating. If the number of participating libraries
+ exceeds the minimum, then the cost of the order and the price per
+ book go down for each library.
+ </p><p>
+ The second round, recently completed, unlatched seventy-eight
+ books from twenty-six publishers. For this round, Frances was
+ experimenting with the size and shape of the offerings. Books were
+ being bundled into eight small packages separated by subject
+ (including Anthropology, History, Literature, Media and
+ Communications, and Politics), of around ten books per package.
+ Three hundred libraries around the world have to commit to at
+ least six of the eight packages to enable unlatching. The average
+ cost per book was just under fifty dollars. The unlatching process
+ took roughly ten months. It started with a call to publishers for
+ titles, followed by having a library task force select the titles,
+ getting authors’ permissions, getting the libraries to pledge,
+ billing the libraries, and finally, unlatching.
+ </p><p>
+ The longest part of the whole process is getting libraries to
+ pledge and commit funds. It takes about five months, as library
+ buy-in has to fit within acquisition cycles, budget cycles, and
+ library-committee meetings.
+ </p><p>
+ Knowledge Unlatched informs and recruits libraries through social
+ media, mailing lists, listservs, and library associations. Of the
+ three hundred libraries that participated in the first round, 80
+ percent are also participating in the second round, and there are
+ an additional eighty new libraries taking part. Knowledge
+ Unlatched is also working not just with individual libraries but
+ also library consortia, which has been getting even more libraries
+ involved.
+ </p><p>
+ Knowledge Unlatched is scaling up, offering 150 new titles in the
+ second half of 2016. It will also offer backlist titles, and in
+ 2017 will start to make journals open access too.
+ </p><p>
+ Knowledge Unlatched deliberately chose monographs as the initial
+ type of book to unlatch. Monographs are foundational and
+ important, but also problematic to keep going in the standard
+ closed publishing model.
+ </p><p>
+ The cost for the publisher to get to a first digital copy of a
+ monograph is $5,000 to $50,000. A good one costs in the $10,000 to
+ $15,000 range. Monographs typically don’t sell a lot of copies. A
+ publisher who in the past sold three thousand copies now typically
+ sells only three hundred. That makes unlatching monographs a low
+ risk for publishers. For the first round, it took five months to
+ get thirteen publishers. For the second round, it took one month
+ to get twenty-six.
+ </p><p>
+ Authors don’t generally make a lot of royalties from monographs.
+ Royalties range from zero dollars to 5 to 10 percent of receipts.
+ The value to the author is the awareness it brings to them; when
+ their book is being read, it increases their reputation. Open
+ access through unlatching generates many more downloads and
+ therefore awareness. (On the Knowledge Unlatched website, you can
+ find interviews with the twenty-eight round-one authors describing
+ their experience and the benefits of taking part.)<a href="#ftn.idm1301" class="footnote" name="idm1301"><sup class="footnote">[124]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Library budgets are constantly being squeezed, partly due to the
+ inflation of journal subscriptions. But even without budget
+ constraints, academic libraries are moving away from buying
+ physical copies. An academic library catalog entry is typically a
+ URL to wherever the book is hosted. Or if they have enough
+ electronic storage space, they may download the digital file into
+ their digital repository. Only secondarily do they consider
+ getting a print book, and if they do, they buy it separately from
+ the digital version.
+ </p><p>
+ Knowledge Unlatched offers libraries a compelling economic
+ argument. Many of the participating libraries would have bought a
+ copy of the monograph anyway, but instead of paying $95 for a
+ print copy or $150 for a digital multiple-use copy, they pay $50
+ to unlatch. It costs them less, and it opens the book to not just
+ the participating libraries, but to the world.
+ </p><p>
+ Not only do the economics make sense, but there is very strong
+ alignment with library mandates. The participating libraries pay
+ less than they would have in the closed model, and the open-access
+ book is available to all libraries. While this means
+ nonparticipating libraries could be seen as free riders, in the
+ library world, wealthy libraries are used to paying more than poor
+ libraries and accept that part of their money should be spent to
+ support open access. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Free ride</span>”</span> is more like
+ community responsibility. By the end of March 2016, the round-one
+ books had been downloaded nearly eighty thousand times in 175
+ countries.
+ </p><p>
+ For publishers, authors, and librarians, the Knowledge Unlatched
+ model for monographs is a win-win-win.
+ </p><p>
+ In the first round, Knowledge Unlatched’s overheads were covered
+ by grants. In the second round, they aim to demonstrate the model
+ is sustainable. Libraries and publishers will each pay a 7.5
+ percent service charge that will go toward Knowledge Unlatched’s
+ running costs. With plans to scale up in future rounds, Frances
+ figures they can fully recover costs when they are unlatching two
+ hundred books at a time. Moving forward, Knowledge Unlatched is
+ making investments in technology and processes. Future plans
+ include unlatching journals and older books.
+ </p><p>
+ Frances believes that Knowledge Unlatched is tapping into new ways
+ of valuing academic content. It’s about considering how many
+ people can find, access, and use your content without pay
+ barriers. Knowledge Unlatched taps into the new possibilities and
+ behaviors of the digital world. In the Knowledge Unlatched model,
+ the content-creation process is exactly the same as it always has
+ been, but the economics are different. For Frances, Knowledge
+ Unlatched is connected to the past but moving into the future, an
+ evolution rather than a revolution.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1285" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1285" class="para"><sup class="para">[122] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.pinter.org.uk/pdfs/Toward_an_Open.pdf" target="_top">http://www.pinter.org.uk/pdfs/Toward_an_Open.pdf</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1290" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1290" class="para"><sup class="para">[123] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://collections.knowledgeunlatched.org/collection-availability-1/" target="_top">http://collections.knowledgeunlatched.org/collection-availability-1/</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1301" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1301" class="para"><sup class="para">[124] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.knowledgeunlatched.org/featured-authors-section/" target="_top">http://www.knowledgeunlatched.org/featured-authors-section/</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="lumen-learning"></a>Chapter 13. Lumen Learning</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Lumen Learning is a for-profit company helping educational
+ institutions use open educational resources (OER). Founded in
+ 2013 in the U.S.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://lumenlearning.com" target="_top">http://lumenlearning.com</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging for
+ custom services, grant funding
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: December 21,
+ 2015
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewees</strong></span>: David Wiley and
+ Kim Thanos, cofounders
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ Cofounded by open education visionary Dr. David Wiley and
+ education-technology strategist Kim Thanos, Lumen Learning is
+ dedicated to improving student success, bringing new ideas to
+ pedagogy, and making education more affordable by facilitating
+ adoption of open educational resources. In 2012, David and Kim
+ partnered on a grant-funded project called the Kaleidoscope Open
+ Course Initiative.<a href="#ftn.idm1325" class="footnote" name="idm1325"><sup class="footnote">[125]</sup></a> It involved a set of fully open general-education
+ courses across eight colleges predominantly serving at-risk
+ students, with goals to dramatically reduce textbook costs and
+ collaborate to improve the courses to help students succeed. David
+ and Kim exceeded those goals: the cost of the required textbooks,
+ replaced with OER, decreased to zero dollars, and average
+ student-success rates improved by 5 to 10 percent when compared
+ with previous years. After a second round of funding, a total of
+ more than twenty-five institutions participated in and benefited
+ from this project. It was career changing for David and Kim to see
+ the impact this initiative had on low-income students. David and
+ Kim sought further funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates
+ Foundation, who asked them to define a plan to scale their work in
+ a financially sustainable way. That is when they decided to create
+ Lumen Learning.
+ </p><p>
+ David and Kim went back and forth on whether it should be a
+ nonprofit or for- profit. A nonprofit would make it a more
+ comfortable fit with the education sector but meant they’d be
+ constantly fund-raising and seeking grants from philanthropies.
+ Also, grants usually require money to be used in certain ways for
+ specific deliverables. If you learn things along the way that
+ change how you think the grant money should be used, there often
+ isn’t a lot of flexibility to do so.
+ </p><p>
+ But as a for-profit, they’d have to convince educational
+ institutions to pay for what Lumen had to offer. On the positive
+ side, they’d have more control over what to do with the revenue
+ and investment money; they could make decisions to invest the
+ funds or use them differently based on the situation and shifting
+ opportunities. In the end, they chose the for-profit status, with
+ its different model for and approach to sustainability.
+ </p><p>
+ Right from the start, David and Kim positioned Lumen Learning as a
+ way to help institutions engage in open educational resources, or
+ OER. OER are teaching, learning, and research materials, in all
+ different media, that reside in the public domain or are released
+ under an open license that permits free use and repurposing by
+ others.
+ </p><p>
+ Originally, Lumen did custom contracts for each institution. This
+ was complicated and challenging to manage. However, through that
+ process patterns emerged which allowed them to generalize a set of
+ approaches and offerings. Today they don’t customize as much as
+ they used to, and instead they tend to work with customers who can
+ use their off-the-shelf options. Lumen finds that institutions and
+ faculty are generally very good at seeing the value Lumen brings
+ and are willing to pay for it. Serving disadvantaged learner
+ populations has led Lumen to be very pragmatic; they describe what
+ they offer in quantitative terms—with facts and figures—and in a
+ way that is very student-focused. Lumen Learning helps colleges
+ and universities—
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ replace expensive textbooks in high-enrollment courses with
+ OER;
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ provide enrolled students day one access to Lumen’s fully
+ customizable OER course materials through the institution’s
+ learning-management system;
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ measure improvements in student success with metrics like
+ passing rates, persistence, and course completion; and
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ collaborate with faculty to make ongoing improvements to OER
+ based on student success research.
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+ Lumen has developed a suite of open, Creative Commons–licensed
+ courseware in more than sixty-five subjects. All courses are
+ freely and publicly available right off their website. They can be
+ copied and used by others as long as they provide attribution to
+ Lumen Learning following the terms of the Creative Commons
+ license.
+ </p><p>
+ Then there are three types of bundled services that cost money.
+ One option, which Lumen calls Candela courseware, offers
+ integration with the institution’s learning-management system,
+ technical and pedagogical support, and tracking of effectiveness.
+ Candela courseware costs institutions ten dollars per enrolled
+ student.
+ </p><p>
+ A second option is Waymaker, which offers the services of Candela
+ but adds personalized learning technologies, such as study plans,
+ automated messages, and assessments, and helps instructors find
+ and support the students who need it most. Waymaker courses cost
+ twenty-five dollars per enrolled student.
+ </p><p>
+ The third and emerging line of business for Lumen is providing
+ guidance and support for institutions and state systems that are
+ pursuing the development of complete OER degrees. Often called
+ Z-Degrees, these programs eliminate textbook costs for students in
+ all courses that make up the degree (both required and elective)
+ by replacing commercial textbooks and other expensive resources
+ with OER.
+ </p><p>
+ Lumen generates revenue by charging for their value-added tools
+ and services on top of their free courses, just as solar-power
+ companies provide the tools and services that help people use a
+ free resource—sunlight. And Lumen’s business model focuses on
+ getting the institutions to pay, not the students. With projects
+ they did prior to Lumen, David and Kim learned that students who
+ have access to all course materials from day one have greater
+ success. If students had to pay, Lumen would have to restrict
+ access to those who paid. Right from the start, their stance was
+ that they would not put their content behind a paywall. Lumen
+ invests zero dollars in technologies and processes for restricting
+ access—no digital rights management, no time bombs. While this has
+ been a challenge from a business-model perspective, from an
+ open-access perspective, it has generated immense goodwill in the
+ community.
+ </p><p>
+ In most cases, development of their courses is funded by the
+ institution Lumen has a contract with. When creating new courses,
+ Lumen typically works with the faculty who are teaching the new
+ course. They’re often part of the institution paying Lumen, but
+ sometimes Lumen has to expand the team and contract faculty from
+ other institutions. First, the faculty identifies all of the
+ course’s learning outcomes. Lumen then searches for, aggregates,
+ and curates the best OER they can find that addresses those
+ learning needs, which the faculty reviews.
+ </p><p>
+ Sometimes faculty like the existing OER but not the way it is
+ presented. The open licensing of existing OER allows Lumen to pick
+ and choose from images, videos, and other media to adapt and
+ customize the course. Lumen creates new content as they discover
+ gaps in existing OER. Test-bank items and feedback for students on
+ their progress are areas where new content is frequently needed.
+ Once a course is created, Lumen puts it on their platform with all
+ the attributions and links to the original sources intact, and any
+ of Lumen’s new content is given an Attribution (CC BY) license.
+ </p><p>
+ Using only OER made them experience firsthand how complex it could
+ be to mix differently licensed work together. A common strategy
+ with OER is to place the Creative Commons license and attribution
+ information in the website’s footer, which stays the same for all
+ pages. This doesn’t quite work, however, when mixing different OER
+ together.
+ </p><p>
+ Remixing OER often results in multiple attributions on every page
+ of every course—text from one place, images from another, and
+ videos from yet another. Some are licensed as Attribution (CC BY),
+ others as Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA). If this information
+ is put within the text of the course, faculty members sometimes
+ try to edit it and students find it a distraction. Lumen dealt
+ with this challenge by capturing the license and attribution
+ information as metadata, and getting it to show up at the end of
+ each page.
+ </p><p>
+ Lumen’s commitment to open licensing and helping low-income
+ students has led to strong relationships with institutions,
+ open-education enthusiasts, and grant funders. People in their
+ network generously increase the visibility of Lumen through
+ presentations, word of mouth, and referrals. Sometimes the number
+ of general inquiries exceed Lumen’s sales capacity.
+ </p><p>
+ To manage demand and ensure the success of projects, their
+ strategy is to be proactive and focus on what’s going on in higher
+ education in different regions of the United States, watching out
+ for things happening at the system level in a way that fits with
+ what Lumen offers. A great example is the Virginia community
+ college system, which is building out Z-Degrees. David and Kim say
+ there are nine other U.S. states with similar system-level
+ activity where Lumen is strategically focusing its efforts. Where
+ there are projects that would require a lot of resources on
+ Lumen’s part, they prioritize the ones that would impact the
+ largest number of students.
+ </p><p>
+ As a business, Lumen is committed to openness. There are two core
+ nonnegotiables: Lumen’s use of CC BY, the most permissive of the
+ Creative Commons licenses, for all the materials it creates; and
+ day-one access for students. Having clear nonnegotiables allows
+ them to then engage with the education community to solve for
+ other challenges and work with institutions to identify new
+ business models that achieve institution goals, while keeping
+ Lumen healthy.
+ </p><p>
+ Openness also means that Lumen’s OER must necessarily be
+ nonexclusive and nonrivalrous. This represents several big
+ challenges for the business model: Why should you invest in
+ creating something that people will be reluctant to pay for? How
+ do you ensure that the investment the diverse education community
+ makes in OER is not exploited? Lumen thinks we all need to be
+ clear about how we are benefiting from and contributing to the
+ open community.
+ </p><p>
+ In the OER sector, there are examples of corporations, and even
+ institutions, acting as free riders. Some simply take and use open
+ resources without paying anything or contributing anything back.
+ Others give back the minimum amount so they can save face.
+ Sustainability will require those using open resources to give
+ back an amount that seems fair or even give back something that is
+ generous.
+ </p><p>
+ Lumen does track institutions accessing and using their free
+ content. They proactively contact those institutions, with an
+ estimate of how much their students are saving and encouraging
+ them to switch to a paid model. Lumen explains the advantages of
+ the paid model: a more interactive relationship with Lumen;
+ integration with the institution’s learning-management system; a
+ guarantee of support for faculty and students; and future
+ sustainability with funding supporting the evolution and
+ improvement of the OER they are using.
+ </p><p>
+ Lumen works hard to be a good corporate citizen in the OER
+ community. For David and Kim, a good corporate citizen gives more
+ than they take, adds unique value, and is very transparent about
+ what they are taking from community, what they are giving back,
+ and what they are monetizing. Lumen believes these are the
+ building blocks of a sustainable model and strives for a correct
+ balance of all these factors.
+ </p><p>
+ Licensing all the content they produce with CC BY is a key part of
+ giving more value than they take. They’ve also worked hard at
+ finding the right structure for their value-add and how to package
+ it in a way that is understandable and repeatable.
+ </p><p>
+ As of the fall 2016 term, Lumen had eighty-six different open
+ courses, working relationships with ninety-two institutions, and
+ more than seventy-five thousand student enrollments. Lumen
+ received early start-up funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates
+ Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and the Shuttleworth
+ Foundation. Since then, Lumen has also attracted investment
+ funding. Over the last three years, Lumen has been roughly 60
+ percent grant funded, 20 percent revenue earned, and 20 percent
+ funded with angel capital. Going forward, their strategy is to
+ replace grant funding with revenue.
+ </p><p>
+ In creating Lumen Learning, David and Kim say they’ve landed on
+ solutions they never imagined, and there is still a lot of
+ learning taking place. For them, open business models are an
+ emerging field where we are all learning through sharing. Their
+ biggest recommendations for others wanting to pursue the open
+ model are to make your commitment to open resources public, let
+ people know where you stand, and don’t back away from it. It
+ really is about trust.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1325" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1325" class="para"><sup class="para">[125] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://lumenlearning.com/innovative-projects/" target="_top">http://lumenlearning.com/innovative-projects/</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="jonathan-mann"></a>Chapter 14. Jonathan Mann</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Jonathan Mann is a singer and songwriter who is most well known
+ as the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Song A Day</span>”</span> guy. Based in the U.S.
+ </p><p><a class="ulink" href="http://jonathanmann.net" target="_top">http://jonathanmann.net</a> and
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://jonathanmann.bandcamp.com" target="_top">http://jonathanmann.bandcamp.com</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging for
+ custom services, pay-what-you-want, crowdfunding
+ (subscription-based), charging for in-person version (speaking
+ engagements and musical performances)
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: February 22,
+ 2016
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Sarah Hinchliff Pearson
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ Jonathan Mann thinks of his business model as
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">hustling</span>”</span>—seizing nearly every opportunity he sees
+ to make money. The bulk of his income comes from writing songs
+ under commission for people and companies, but he has a wide
+ variety of income sources. He has supporters on the crowdfunding
+ site Patreon. He gets advertising revenue from YouTube and
+ Bandcamp, where he posts all of his music. He gives paid speaking
+ engagements about creativity and motivation. He has been hired by
+ major conferences to write songs summarizing what speakers have
+ said in the conference sessions.
+ </p><p>
+ His entrepreneurial spirit is coupled with a willingness to take
+ action quickly. A perfect illustration of his ability to act fast
+ happened in 2010, when he read that Apple was having a conference
+ the following day to address a snafu related to the iPhone 4. He
+ decided to write and post a song about the iPhone 4 that day, and
+ the next day he got a call from the public relations people at
+ Apple wanting to use and promote his video at the Apple
+ conference. The song then went viral, and the experience landed
+ him in Time magazine.
+ </p><p>
+ Jonathan’s successful <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">hustling</span>”</span> is also about
+ old-fashioned persistence. He is currently in his eighth straight
+ year of writing one song each day. He holds the Guinness World
+ Record for consecutive daily songwriting, and he is widely known
+ as the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">song-a-day guy.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ He fell into this role by, naturally, seizing a random opportunity
+ a friend alerted him to seven years ago—an event called Fun-A-Day,
+ where people are supposed to create a piece of art every day for
+ thirty-one days straight. He was in need of a new project, so he
+ decided to give it a try by writing and posting a song each day.
+ He added a video component to the songs because he knew people
+ were more likely to watch video online than simply listening to
+ audio files.
+ </p><p>
+ He had a really good time doing the thirty-one-day challenge, so
+ he decided to see if he could continue it for one year. He never
+ stopped. He has written and posted a new song literally every day,
+ seven days a week, since he began the project in 2009. When he
+ isn’t writing songs that he is hired to write by clients, he
+ writes songs about whatever is on his mind that day. His songs are
+ catchy and mostly lighthearted, but they often contain at least an
+ undercurrent of a deeper theme or meaning. Occasionally, they are
+ extremely personal, like the song he cowrote with his exgirlfriend
+ announcing their breakup. Rain or shine, in sickness or health,
+ Jonathan posts and writes a song every day. If he is on a flight
+ or otherwise incapable of getting Internet access in time to meet
+ the deadline, he will prepare ahead and have someone else post the
+ song for him.
+ </p><p>
+ Over time, the song-a-day gig became the basis of his livelihood.
+ In the beginning, he made money one of two ways. The first was by
+ entering a wide variety of contests and winning a handful. The
+ second was by having the occasional song and video go some varying
+ degree of viral, which would bring more eyeballs and mean that
+ there were more people wanting him to write songs for them. Today
+ he earns most of his money this way.
+ </p><p>
+ His website explains his gig as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">taking any message, from
+ the super simple to the totally complicated, and conveying that
+ message through a heartfelt, fun and quirky song.</span>”</span> He
+ charges $500 to create a produced song and $300 for an acoustic
+ song. He has been hired for product launches, weddings,
+ conferences, and even Kickstarter campaigns like the one that
+ funded the production of this book.
+ </p><p>
+ Jonathan can’t recall when exactly he first learned about Creative
+ Commons, but he began applying CC licenses to his songs and videos
+ as soon as he discovered the option. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">CC seems like such a
+ no-brainer,</span>”</span> Jonathan said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I don’t understand how
+ anything else would make sense. It seems like such an obvious
+ thing that you would want your work to be able to be
+ shared.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ His songs are essentially marketing for his services, so obviously
+ the further his songs spread, the better. Using CC licenses helps
+ grease the wheels, letting people know that Jonathan allows and
+ encourages them to copy, interact with, and remix his music.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If you let someone cover your song or remix it or use parts
+ of it, that’s how music is supposed to work,</span>”</span> Jonathan
+ said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">That is how music has worked since the beginning of
+ time. Our me-me, mine-mine culture has undermined that.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ There are some people who cover his songs fairly regularly, and he
+ would never shut that down. But he acknowledges there is a lot
+ more he could do to build community. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">There is all of this
+ conventional wisdom about how to build an audience online, and I
+ generally think I don’t do any of that,</span>”</span> Jonathan said.
+ </p><p>
+ He does have a fan community he cultivates on Bandcamp, but it
+ isn’t his major focus. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I do have a core audience that has
+ stuck around for a really long time, some even longer than I’ve
+ been doing song-a-day,</span>”</span> he said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">There is also a
+ transitional aspect that drop in and get what they need and then
+ move on.</span>”</span> Focusing less on community building than other
+ artists makes sense given Jonathan’s primary income source of
+ writing custom songs for clients.
+ </p><p>
+ Jonathan recognizes what comes naturally to him and leverages
+ those skills. Through the practice of daily songwriting, he
+ realized he has a gift for distilling complicated subjects into
+ simple concepts and putting them to music. In his song <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">How
+ to Choose a Master Password,</span>”</span> Jonathan explained the
+ process of creating a secure password in a silly, simple song. He
+ was hired to write the song by a client who handed him a long
+ technical blog post from which to draw the information. Like a
+ good (and rare) journalist, he translated the technical concepts
+ into something understandable.
+ </p><p>
+ When he is hired by a client to write a song, he first asks them
+ to send a list of talking points and other information they want
+ to include in the song. He puts all of that into a text file and
+ starts moving things around, cutting and pasting until the message
+ starts to come together. The first thing he tries to do is grok
+ the core message and develop the chorus. Then he looks for
+ connections or parts he can make rhyme. The entire process really
+ does resemble good journalism, but of course the final product of
+ his work is a song rather than news. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">There is something
+ about being challenged and forced to take information that doesn’t
+ seem like it should be sung about or doesn’t seem like it lends
+ itself to a song,</span>”</span> he said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I find that creative
+ challenge really satisfying. I enjoy getting lost in that
+ process.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Jonathan admits that in an ideal world, he would exclusively write
+ the music he wanted to write, rather than what clients hire him to
+ write. But his business model is about capitalizing on his
+ strengths as a songwriter, and he has found a way to keep it
+ interesting for himself.
+ </p><p>
+ Jonathan uses nearly every tool possible to make money from his
+ art, but he does have lines he won’t cross. He won’t write songs
+ about things he fundamentally does not believe in, and there are
+ times he has turned down jobs on principle. He also won’t stray
+ too much from his natural style. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">My style is silly, so I
+ can’t really accommodate people who want something super
+ serious,</span>”</span> Jonathan said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I do what I do very easily,
+ and it’s part of who I am.</span>”</span> Jonathan hasn’t gotten into
+ writing commercials for the same reasons; he is best at using his
+ own unique style rather than mimicking others.
+ </p><p>
+ Jonathan’s song-a-day commitment exemplifies the power of habit
+ and grit. Conventional wisdom about creative productivity,
+ including advice in books like the best-seller The Creative Habit
+ by Twyla Tharp, routinely emphasizes the importance of ritual and
+ action. No amount of planning can replace the value of simple
+ practice and just doing. Jonathan Mann’s work is a living
+ embodiment of these principles.
+ </p><p>
+ When he speaks about his work, he talks about how much the
+ song-a-day process has changed him. Rather than seeing any given
+ piece of work as precious and getting stuck on trying to make it
+ perfect, he has become comfortable with just doing. If today’s
+ song is a bust, tomorrow’s song might be better.
+ </p><p>
+ Jonathan seems to have this mentality about his career more
+ generally. He is constantly experimenting with ways to make a
+ living while sharing his work as widely as possible, seeing what
+ sticks. While he has major accomplishments he is proud of, like
+ being in the Guinness World Records or having his song used by
+ Steve Jobs, he says he never truly feels successful.
+ </p><p><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Success feels like it’s over,</span>”</span> he said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To a
+ certain extent, a creative person is not ever going to feel
+ completely satisfied because then so much of what drives you would
+ be gone.</span>”</span>
+ </p></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="noun-project"></a>Chapter 15. Noun Project</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ The Noun Project is a for-profit company offering an online
+ platform to display visual icons from a global network of
+ designers. Founded in 2010 in the U.S.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://thenounproject.com" target="_top">http://thenounproject.com</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging a
+ transaction fee, charging for custom services
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: October 6,
+ 2015
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Edward Boatman,
+ cofounder
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ The Noun Project creates and shares visual language. There are
+ millions who use Noun Project symbols to simplify communication
+ across borders, languages, and cultures.
+ </p><p>
+ The original idea for the Noun Project came to cofounder Edward
+ Boatman while he was a student in architecture design school. He’d
+ always done a lot of sketches and started to draw what used to
+ fascinate him as a child, like trains, sequoias, and bulldozers.
+ He began thinking how great it would be if he had a simple image
+ or small icon of every single object or concept on the planet.
+ </p><p>
+ When Edward went on to work at an architecture firm, he had to
+ make a lot of presentation boards for clients. But finding
+ high-quality sources for symbols and icons was difficult. He
+ couldn’t find any website that could provide them. Perhaps his
+ idea for creating a library of icons could actually help people in
+ similar situations.
+ </p><p>
+ With his partner, Sofya Polyakov, he began collecting symbols for
+ a website and writing a business plan. Inspiration came from the
+ book Professor and the Madman, which chronicles the use of
+ crowdsourcing to create the Oxford English Dictionary in 1870.
+ Edward began to imagine crowdsourcing icons and symbols from
+ volunteer designers around the world.
+ </p><p>
+ Then Edward got laid off during the recession, which turned out to
+ be a huge catalyst. He decided to give his idea a go, and in 2010
+ Edward and Sofya launched the Noun Project with a Kickstarter
+ campaign, back when Kickstarter was in its infancy.<a href="#ftn.idm1428" class="footnote" name="idm1428"><sup class="footnote">[126]</sup></a> They thought it’d be a good way to introduce the
+ global web community to their idea. Their goal was to raise
+ $1,500, but in twenty days they got over $14,000. They realized
+ their idea had the potential to be something much bigger.
+ </p><p>
+ They created a platform where symbols and icons could be uploaded,
+ and Edward began recruiting talented designers to contribute their
+ designs, a process he describes as a relatively easy sell. Lots of
+ designers have old drawings just gathering <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">digital
+ dust</span>”</span> on their hard drives. It’s easy to convince them to
+ finally share them with the world.
+ </p><p>
+ The Noun Project currently has about seven thousand designers from
+ around the world. But not all submissions are accepted. The Noun
+ Project’s quality-review process means that only the best works
+ become part of its collection. They make sure to provide
+ encouraging, constructive feedback whenever they reject a piece of
+ work, which maintains and builds the relationship they have with
+ their global community of designers.
+ </p><p>
+ Creative Commons is an integral part of the Noun Project’s
+ business model; this decision was inspired by Chris Anderson’s
+ book Free: The Future of Radical Price, which introduced Edward to
+ the idea that you could build a business model around free
+ content.
+ </p><p>
+ Edward knew he wanted to offer a free visual language while still
+ providing some protection and reward for its contributors. There
+ is a tension between those two goals, but for Edward, Creative
+ Commons licenses bring this idealism and business opportunity
+ together elegantly. He chose the Attribution (CC BY) license,
+ which means people can download the icons for free and modify them
+ and even use them commercially. The requirement to give
+ attribution to the original creator ensures that the creator can
+ build a reputation and get global recognition for their work. And
+ if they simply want to offer an icon that people can use without
+ having to give credit, they can use CC0 to put the work into the
+ public domain.
+ </p><p>
+ Noun Project’s business model and means of generating revenue have
+ evolved significantly over time. Their initial plan was to sell
+ T-shirts with the icons on it, which in retrospect Edward says was
+ a horrible idea. They did get a lot of email from people saying
+ they loved the icons but asking if they could pay a fee instead of
+ giving attribution. Ad agencies (among others) wanted to keep
+ marketing and presentation materials clean and free of attribution
+ statements. For Edward, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">That’s when our lightbulb went
+ off.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ They asked their global network of designers whether they’d be
+ open to receiving modest remuneration instead of attribution.
+ Designers saw it as a win-win. The idea that you could offer your
+ designs for free and have a global audience and maybe even make
+ some money was pretty exciting for most designers.
+ </p><p>
+ The Noun Project first adopted a model whereby using an icon
+ without giving attribution would cost $1.99 per icon. The model’s
+ second iteration added a subscription component, where there would
+ be a monthly fee to access a certain number of icons—ten, fifty, a
+ hundred, or five hundred. However, users didn’t like these
+ hard-count options. They preferred to try out many similar icons
+ to see which worked best before eventually choosing the one they
+ wanted to use. So the Noun Project moved to an unlimited model,
+ whereby users have unlimited access to the whole library for a
+ flat monthly fee. This service is called NounPro and costs $9.99
+ per month. Edward says this model is working well—good for
+ customers, good for creators, and good for the platform.
+ </p><p>
+ Customers then began asking for an application-programming
+ interface (API), which would allow Noun Project icons and symbols
+ to be directly accessed from within other applications. Edward
+ knew that the icons and symbols would be valuable in a lot of
+ different contexts and that they couldn’t possibly know all of
+ them in advance, so they built an API with a lot of flexibility.
+ Knowing that most API applications would want to use the icons
+ without giving attribution, the API was built with the aim of
+ charging for its use. You can use what’s called the
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Playground API</span>”</span> for free to test how it integrates
+ with your application, but full implementation will require you to
+ purchase the API Pro version.
+ </p><p>
+ The Noun Project shares revenue with its international designers.
+ For one-off purchases, the revenue is split 70 percent to the
+ designer and 30 percent to Noun Project.
+ </p><p>
+ The revenue from premium purchases (the subscription and API
+ options) is split a little differently. At the end of each month,
+ the total revenue from subscriptions is divided by Noun Project’s
+ total number of downloads, resulting in a rate per download—for
+ example, it could be $0.13 per download for that month. For each
+ download, the revenue is split 40 percent to the designer and 60
+ percent to the Noun Project. (For API usage, it’s per use instead
+ of per download.) Noun Project’s share is higher this time as it’s
+ providing more service to the user.
+ </p><p>
+ The Noun Project tries to be completely transparent about their
+ royalty structure.<a href="#ftn.idm1445" class="footnote" name="idm1445"><sup class="footnote">[127]</sup></a> They tend to over communicate with creators about it
+ because building trust is the top priority.
+ </p><p>
+ For most creators, contributing to the Noun Project is not a
+ full-time job but something they do on the side. Edward
+ categorizes monthly earnings for creators into three broad
+ categories: enough money to buy beer; enough to pay the bills; and
+ most successful of all, enough to pay the rent.
+ </p><p>
+ Recently the Noun Project launched a new app called Lingo.
+ Designers can use Lingo to organize not just their Noun Project
+ icons and symbols but also their photos, illustrations, UX
+ designs, et cetera. You simply drag any visual item directly into
+ Lingo to save it. Lingo also works for teams so people can share
+ visuals with each other and search across their combined
+ collections. Lingo is free for personal use. A pro version for
+ $9.99 per month lets you add guests. A team version for $49.95 per
+ month allows up to twenty-five team members to collaborate, and to
+ view, use, edit, and add new assets to each other’s collections.
+ And if you subscribe to NounPro, you can access Noun Project from
+ within Lingo.
+ </p><p>
+ The Noun Project gives a ton of value away for free. A very large
+ percentage of their roughly one million members have a free
+ account, but there are still lots of paid accounts coming from
+ digital designers, advertising and design agencies, educators, and
+ others who need to communicate ideas visually.
+ </p><p>
+ For Edward, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">creating, sharing, and celebrating the world’s
+ visual language</span>”</span> is the most important aspect of what they
+ do; it’s their stated mission. It differentiates them from others
+ who offer graphics, icons, or clip art.
+ </p><p>
+ Noun Project creators agree. When surveyed on why they participate
+ in the Noun Project, this is how designers rank their reasons: 1)
+ to support the Noun Project mission, 2) to promote their own
+ personal brand, and 3) to generate money. It’s striking to see
+ that money comes third, and mission, first. If you want to engage
+ a global network of contributors, it’s important to have a mission
+ beyond making money.
+ </p><p>
+ In Edward’s view, Creative Commons is central to their mission of
+ sharing and social good. Using Creative Commons makes the Noun
+ Project’s mission genuine and has generated a lot of their initial
+ traction and credibility. CC comes with a built-in community of
+ users and fans.
+ </p><p>
+ Edward told us, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Don’t underestimate the power of a
+ passionate community around your product or your business. They
+ are going to go to bat for you when you’re getting ripped in the
+ media. If you go down the road of choosing to work with Creative
+ Commons, you’re taking the first step to building a great
+ community and tapping into a really awesome community that comes
+ with it. But you need to continue to foster that community through
+ other initiatives and continue to nurture it.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ The Noun Project nurtures their creators’ second
+ motivation—promoting a personal brand—by connecting every icon and
+ symbol to the creator’s name and profile page; each profile
+ features their full collection. Users can also search the icons by
+ the creator’s name.
+ </p><p>
+ The Noun Project also builds community through
+ Iconathons—hackathons for icons.<a href="#ftn.idm1459" class="footnote" name="idm1459"><sup class="footnote">[128]</sup></a> In partnership with a sponsoring organization, the
+ Noun Project comes up with a theme (e.g., sustainable energy, food
+ bank, guerrilla gardening, human rights) and a list of icons that
+ are needed, which designers are invited to create at the event.
+ The results are vectorized, and added to the Noun Project using
+ CC0 so they can be used by anyone for free.
+ </p><p>
+ Providing a free version of their product that satisfies a lot of
+ their customers’ needs has actually enabled the Noun Project to
+ build the paid version, using a service-oriented model. The Noun
+ Project’s success lies in creating services and content that are a
+ strategic mix of free and paid while staying true to their
+ mission—creating, sharing, and celebrating the world’s visual
+ language. Integrating Creative Commons into their model has been
+ key to that goal.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1428" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1428" class="para"><sup class="para">[126] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tnp/building-a-free-collection-of-our-worlds-visual-sy/description" target="_top">http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tnp/building-a-free-collection-of-our-worlds-visual-sy/description</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1445" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1445" class="para"><sup class="para">[127] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://thenounproject.com/handbook/royalties/#getting_paid" target="_top">http://thenounproject.com/handbook/royalties/#getting_paid</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1459" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1459" class="para"><sup class="para">[128] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://thenounproject.com/handbook/royalties/#getting_paid" target="_top">http://thenounproject.com/handbook/royalties/#getting_paid</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="open-data-institute"></a>Chapter 16. Open Data Institute</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ The Open Data Institute is an independent nonprofit that
+ connects, equips, and inspires people around the world to
+ innovate with data. Founded in 2012 in the UK.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://theodi.org" target="_top">http://theodi.org</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: grant and
+ government funding, charging for custom services, donations
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: November 11,
+ 2015
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Jeni Tennison,
+ technical director
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ Cofounded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Sir Nigel Shadbolt in 2012,
+ the London-based Open Data Institute (ODI) offers data-related
+ training, events, consulting services, and research. For ODI,
+ Creative Commons licenses are central to making their own business
+ model and their customers’ open. CC BY (Attribution), CC BY-SA
+ (Attribution-ShareAlike), and CC0 (placed in the public domain)
+ all play a critical role in ODI’s mission to help people around
+ the world innovate with data.
+ </p><p>
+ Data underpins planning and decision making across all aspects of
+ society. Weather data helps farmers know when to plant their
+ crops, flight time data from airplane companies helps us plan our
+ travel, data on local housing informs city planning. When this
+ data is not only accurate and timely, but open and accessible, it
+ opens up new possibilities. Open data can be a resource businesses
+ use to build new products and services. It can help governments
+ measure progress, improve efficiency, and target investments. It
+ can help citizens improve their lives by better understanding what
+ is happening around them.
+ </p><p>
+ The Open Data Institute’s 2012–17 business plan starts out by
+ describing its vision to establish itself as a world-leading
+ center and to research and be innovative with the opportunities
+ created by the UK government’s open data policy. (The government
+ was an early pioneer in open policy and open-data initiatives.) It
+ goes on to say that the ODI wants to—
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ demonstrate the commercial value of open government data and
+ how open-data policies affect this;
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ develop the economic benefits case and business models for
+ open data;
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ help UK businesses use open data; and
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ show how open data can improve public services.<a href="#ftn.idm1488" class="footnote" name="idm1488"><sup class="footnote">[129]</sup></a>
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+ ODI is very explicit about how it wants to make open business
+ models, and defining what this means. Jeni Tennison, ODI’s
+ technical director, puts it this way: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">There is a whole
+ ecosystem of open—open-source software, open government,
+ open-access research—and a whole ecosystem of data. ODI’s work
+ cuts across both, with an emphasis on where they overlap—with open
+ data.</span>”</span> ODI’s particular focus is to show open data’s
+ potential for revenue.
+ </p><p>
+ As an independent nonprofit, ODI secured £10 million over five
+ years from the UK government via Innovate UK, an agency that
+ promotes innovation in science and technology. For this funding,
+ ODI has to secure matching funds from other sources, some of which
+ were met through a $4.75-million investment from the Omidyar
+ Network.
+ </p><p>
+ Jeni started out as a developer and technical architect for
+ data.gov.uk, the UK government’s pioneering open-data initiative.
+ She helped make data sets from government departments available as
+ open data. She joined ODI in 2012 when it was just starting up, as
+ one of six people. It now has a staff of about sixty.
+ </p><p>
+ ODI strives to have half its annual budget come from the core UK
+ government and Omidyar grants, and the other half from
+ project-based research and commercial work. In Jeni’s view, having
+ this balance of revenue sources establishes some stability, but
+ also keeps them motivated to go out and generate these matching
+ funds in response to market needs.
+ </p><p>
+ On the commercial side, ODI generates funding through memberships,
+ training, and advisory services.
+ </p><p>
+ You can join the ODI as an individual or commercial member.
+ Individual membership is pay-what-you-can, with options ranging
+ from £1 to £100. Members receive a newsletter and related
+ communications and a discount on ODI training courses and the
+ annual summit, and they can display an ODI-supporter badge on
+ their website. Commercial membership is divided into two tiers:
+ small to medium size enterprises and nonprofits at £720 a year,
+ and corporations and government organizations at £2,200 a year.
+ Commercial members have greater opportunities to connect and
+ collaborate, explore the benefits of open data, and unlock new
+ business opportunities. (All members are listed on their
+ website.)<a href="#ftn.idm1498" class="footnote" name="idm1498"><sup class="footnote">[130]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ ODI provides standardized open data training courses in which
+ anyone can enroll. The initial idea was to offer an intensive and
+ academically oriented diploma in open data, but it quickly became
+ clear there was no market for that. Instead, they offered a
+ five-day-long public training course, which has subsequently been
+ reduced to three days; now the most popular course is one day
+ long. The fee, in addition to the time commitment, can be a
+ barrier for participation. Jeni says, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Most of the people
+ who would be able to pay don’t know they need it. Most who know
+ they need it can’t pay.</span>”</span> Public-sector organizations
+ sometimes give vouchers to their employees so they can attend as a
+ form of professional development.
+ </p><p>
+ ODI customizes training for clients as well, for which there is
+ more demand. Custom training usually emerges through an
+ established relationship with an organization. The training
+ program is based on a definition of open-data knowledge as
+ applicable to the organization and on the skills needed by their
+ high-level executives, management, and technical staff. The
+ training tends to generate high interest and commitment.
+ </p><p>
+ Education about open data is also a part of ODI’s annual summit
+ event, where curated presentations and speakers showcase the work
+ of ODI and its members across the entire ecosystem. Tickets to the
+ summit are available to the public, and hundreds of people and
+ organizations attend and participate. In 2014, there were four
+ thematic tracks and over 750 attendees.
+ </p><p>
+ In addition to memberships and training, ODI provides advisory
+ services to help with technical-data support, technology
+ development, change management, policies, and other areas. ODI has
+ advised large commercial organizations, small businesses, and
+ international governments; the focus at the moment is on
+ government, but ODI is working to shift more toward commercial
+ organizations.
+ </p><p>
+ On the commercial side, the following value propositions seem to
+ resonate:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Data-driven insights. Businesses need data from outside their
+ business to get more insight. Businesses can generate value
+ and more effectively pursue their own goals if they open up
+ their own data too. Big data is a hot topic.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Open innovation. Many large-scale enterprises are aware they
+ don’t innovate very well. One way they can innovate is to open
+ up their data. ODI encourages them to do so even if it exposes
+ problems and challenges. The key is to invite other people to
+ help while still maintaining organizational autonomy.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Corporate social responsibility. While this resonates with
+ businesses, ODI cautions against having it be the sole reason
+ for making data open. If a business is just thinking about
+ open data as a way to be transparent and accountable, they can
+ miss out on efficiencies and opportunities.
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+ During their early years, ODI wanted to focus solely on the United
+ Kingdom. But in their first year, large delegations of government
+ visitors from over fifty countries wanted to learn more about the
+ UK government’s open-data practices and how ODI saw that
+ translating into economic value. They were contracted as a service
+ provider to international governments, which prompted a need to
+ set up international ODI <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">nodes.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Nodes are franchises of the ODI at a regional or city level.
+ Hosted by existing (for-profit or not-for-profit) organizations,
+ they operate locally but are part of the global network. Each ODI
+ node adopts the charter, a set of guiding principles and rules
+ under which ODI operates. They develop and deliver training,
+ connect people and businesses through membership and events, and
+ communicate open-data stories from their part of the world. There
+ are twenty-seven different nodes across nineteen countries. ODI
+ nodes are charged a small fee to be part of the network and to use
+ the brand.
+ </p><p>
+ ODI also runs programs to help start-ups in the UK and across
+ Europe develop a sustainable business around open data, offering
+ mentoring, advice, training, and even office space.<a href="#ftn.idm1518" class="footnote" name="idm1518"><sup class="footnote">[131]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ A big part of ODI’s business model revolves around community
+ building. Memberships, training, summits, consulting services,
+ nodes, and start-up programs create an ever-growing network of
+ open-data users and leaders. (In fact, ODI even operates something
+ called an Open Data Leaders Network.) For ODI, community is key to
+ success. They devote significant time and effort to build it, not
+ just online but through face-to-face events.
+ </p><p>
+ ODI has created an online tool that organizations can use to
+ assess the legal, practical, technical, and social aspects of
+ their open data. If it is of high quality, the organization can
+ earn ODI’s Open Data Certificate, a globally recognized mark that
+ signals that their open data is useful, reliable, accessible,
+ discoverable, and supported.<a href="#ftn.idm1524" class="footnote" name="idm1524"><sup class="footnote">[132]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Separate from commercial activities, the ODI generates funding
+ through research grants. Research includes looking at evidence on
+ the impact of open data, development of open-data tools and
+ standards, and how to deploy open data at scale.
+ </p><p>
+ Creative Commons 4.0 licenses cover database rights and ODI
+ recommends CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC0 for data releases. ODI
+ encourages publishers of data to use Creative Commons licenses
+ rather than creating new <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">open licenses</span>”</span> of their
+ own.
+ </p><p>
+ For ODI, open is at the heart of what they do. They also release
+ any software code they produce under open-source-software
+ licenses, and publications and reports under CC BY or CC BY-SA
+ licenses. ODI’s mission is to connect and equip people around the
+ world so they can innovate with data. Disseminating stories,
+ research, guidance, and code under an open license is essential
+ for achieving that mission. It also demonstrates that it is
+ perfectly possible to generate sustainable revenue streams that do
+ not rely on restrictive licensing of content, data, or code.
+ People pay to have ODI experts provide training to them, not for
+ the content of the training; people pay for the advice ODI gives
+ them, not for the methodologies they use. Producing open content,
+ data, and source code helps establish credibility and creates
+ leads for the paid services that they offer. According to Jeni,
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The biggest lesson we have learned is that it is completely
+ possible to be open, get customers, and make money.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ To serve as evidence of a successful open business model and
+ return on investment, ODI has a public dashboard of key
+ performance indicators. Here are a few metrics as of April 27,
+ 2016:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Total amount of cash investments unlocked in direct
+ investments in ODI, competition funding, direct contracts, and
+ partnerships, and income that ODI nodes and ODI start-ups have
+ generated since joining the ODI program: £44.5 million
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Total number of active members and nodes across the globe:
+ 1,350
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Total sales since ODI began: £7.44 million
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Total number of unique people reached since ODI began, in
+ person and online: 2.2 million
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Total Open Data Certificates created: 151,000
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Total number of people trained by ODI and its nodes since ODI
+ began: 5,080<a href="#ftn.idm1546" class="footnote" name="idm1546"><sup class="footnote">[133]</sup></a>
+ </p></li></ul></div><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1488" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1488" class="para"><sup class="para">[129] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://e642e8368e3bf8d5526e-464b4b70b4554c1a79566214d402739e.r6.cf3.rackcdn.com/odi-business-plan-may-release.pdf" target="_top">http://e642e8368e3bf8d5526e-464b4b70b4554c1a79566214d402739e.r6.cf3.rackcdn.com/odi-business-plan-may-release.pdf</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1498" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1498" class="para"><sup class="para">[130] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://directory.theodi.org/members" target="_top">http://directory.theodi.org/members</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1518" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1518" class="para"><sup class="para">[131] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://theodi.org/odi-startup-programme" target="_top">http://theodi.org/odi-startup-programme</a>;
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://theodi.org/open-data-incubator-for-europe" target="_top">http://theodi.org/open-data-incubator-for-europe</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1524" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1524" class="para"><sup class="para">[132] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://certificates.theodi.org" target="_top">http://certificates.theodi.org</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1546" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1546" class="para"><sup class="para">[133] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://dashboards.theodi.org/company/all" target="_top">http://dashboards.theodi.org/company/all</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="opendesk"></a>Chapter 17. OpenDesk</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Opendesk is a for-profit company offering an online platform
+ that connects furniture designers around the world with
+ customers and local makers who bring the designs to life.
+ Founded in 2014 in the UK.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.opendesk.cc" target="_top">http://www.opendesk.cc</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging a
+ transaction fee
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: November 4,
+ 2015
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewees</strong></span>: Nick
+ Ierodiaconou and Joni Steiner, cofounders
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ Opendesk is an online platform that connects furniture designers
+ around the world not just with customers but also with local
+ registered makers who bring the designs to life. Opendesk and the
+ designer receive a portion of every sale that is made by a maker.
+ </p><p>
+ Cofounders Nick Ierodiaconou and Joni Steiner studied and worked
+ as architects together. They also made goods. Their first client
+ was Mint Digital, who had an interest in open licensing. Nick and
+ Joni were exploring digital fabrication, and Mint’s interest in
+ open licensing got them to thinking how the open-source world may
+ interact and apply to physical goods. They sought to design
+ something for their client that was also reproducible. As they put
+ it, they decided to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ship the recipe, but not the
+ goods.</span>”</span> They created the design using software, put it
+ under an open license, and had it manufactured locally near the
+ client. This was the start of the idea for Opendesk. The idea for
+ Wikihouse—another open project dedicated to accessible housing for
+ all—started as discussions around the same table. The two projects
+ ultimately went on separate paths, with Wikihouse becoming a
+ nonprofit foundation and Opendesk a for-profit company.
+ </p><p>
+ When Nick and Joni set out to create Opendesk, there were a lot of
+ questions about the viability of distributed manufacturing. No one
+ was doing it in a way that was even close to realistic or
+ competitive. The design community had the intent, but fulfilling
+ this vision was still a long way away.
+ </p><p>
+ And now this sector is emerging, and Nick and Joni are highly
+ interested in the commercialization aspects of it. As part of
+ coming up with a business model, they began investigating
+ intellectual property and licensing options. It was a thorny
+ space, especially for designs. Just what aspect of a design is
+ copyrightable? What is patentable? How can allowing for digital
+ sharing and distribution be balanced against the designer’s desire
+ to still hold ownership? In the end, they decided there was no
+ need to reinvent the wheel and settled on using Creative Commons.
+ </p><p>
+ When designing the Opendesk system, they had two goals. They
+ wanted anyone, anywhere in the world, to be able to download
+ designs so that they could be made locally, and they wanted a
+ viable model that benefited designers when their designs were
+ sold. Coming up with a business model was going to be complex.
+ </p><p>
+ They gave a lot of thought to three angles—the potential for
+ social sharing, allowing designers to choose their license, and
+ the impact these choices would have on the business model.
+ </p><p>
+ In support of social sharing, Opendesk actively advocates for (but
+ doesn’t demand) open licensing. And Nick and Joni are agnostic
+ about which Creative Commons license is used; it’s up to the
+ designer. They can be proprietary or choose from the full suite of
+ Creative Commons licenses, deciding for themselves how open or
+ closed they want to be.
+ </p><p>
+ For the most part, designers love the idea of sharing content.
+ They understand that you get positive feedback when you’re
+ attributed, what Nick and Joni called <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reputational
+ glow.</span>”</span> And Opendesk does an awesome job profiling the
+ designers.<a href="#ftn.idm1572" class="footnote" name="idm1572"><sup class="footnote">[134]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ While designers are largely OK with personal sharing, there is a
+ concern that someone will take the design and manufacture the
+ furniture in bulk, with the designer not getting any benefits. So
+ most Opendesk designers choose the Attribution-NonCommercial
+ license (CC BY-NC).
+ </p><p>
+ Anyone can download a design and make it themselves, provided it’s
+ for noncommercial use — and there have been many, many downloads.
+ Or users can buy the product from Opendesk, or from a registered
+ maker in Opendesk’s network, for on-demand personal fabrication.
+ The network of Opendesk makers currently is made up of those who
+ do digital fabrication using a computer-controlled CNC (Computer
+ Numeric Control) machining device that cuts shapes out of wooden
+ sheets according to the specifications in the design file.
+ </p><p>
+ Makers benefit from being part of Opendesk’s network. Making
+ furniture for local customers is paid work, and Opendesk generates
+ business for them. Joni said, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Finding a whole network and
+ community of makers was pretty easy because we built a site where
+ people could write in about their capabilities. Building the
+ community by learning from the maker community is how we have
+ moved forward.</span>”</span> Opendesk now has relationships with
+ hundreds of makers in countries all around the world.<a href="#ftn.idm1579" class="footnote" name="idm1579"><sup class="footnote">[135]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ The makers are a critical part of the Opendesk business model.
+ Their model builds off the makers’ quotes. Here’s how it’s
+ expressed on Opendesk’s website:
+ </p><p>
+ When customers buy an Opendesk product directly from a registered
+ maker, they pay:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ the manufacturing cost as set by the maker (this covers
+ material and labour costs for the product to be manufactured
+ and any extra assembly costs charged by the maker)
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ a design fee for the designer (a design fee that is paid to
+ the designer every time their design is used)
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ a percentage fee to the Opendesk platform (this supports the
+ infrastructure and ongoing development of the platform that
+ helps us build out our marketplace)
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ a percentage fee to the channel through which the sale is made
+ (at the moment this is Opendesk, but in the future we aim to
+ open this up to third-party sellers who can sell Opendesk
+ products through their own channels—this covers sales and
+ marketing fees for the relevant channel)
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ a local delivery service charge (the delivery is typically
+ charged by the maker, but in some cases may be paid to a
+ third-party delivery partner)
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ charges for any additional services the customer chooses, such
+ as on-site assembly (additional services are discretionary—in
+ many cases makers will be happy to quote for assembly on-site
+ and designers may offer bespoke design options)
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ local sales taxes (variable by customer and maker
+ location)<a href="#ftn.idm1599" class="footnote" name="idm1599"><sup class="footnote">[136]</sup></a>
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+ They then go into detail how makers’ quotes are created:
+ </p><p>
+ When a customer wants to buy an Opendesk . . . they are provided
+ with a transparent breakdown of fees including the manufacturing
+ cost, design fee, Opendesk platform fee and channel fees. If a
+ customer opts to buy by getting in touch directly with a
+ registered local maker using a downloaded Opendesk file, the maker
+ is responsible for ensuring the design fee, Opendesk platform fee
+ and channel fees are included in any quote at the time of sale.
+ Percentage fees are always based on the underlying manufacturing
+ cost and are typically apportioned as follows:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ manufacturing cost: fabrication, finishing and any other costs
+ as set by the maker (excluding any services like delivery or
+ on-site assembly)
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ design fee: 8 percent of the manufacturing cost
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ platform fee: 12 percent of the manufacturing cost
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ channel fee: 18 percent of the manufacturing cost
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ sales tax: as applicable (depends on product and location)
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+ Opendesk shares revenue with their community of designers.
+ According to Nick and Joni, a typical designer fee is around 2.5
+ percent, so Opendesk’s 8 percent is more generous, and providing a
+ higher value to the designer.
+ </p><p>
+ The Opendesk website features stories of designers and makers.
+ Denis Fuzii published the design for the Valovi Chair from his
+ studio in São Paulo. His designs have been downloaded over five
+ thousand times in ninety-five countries. I.J. CNC Services is Ian
+ Jinks, a professional maker based in the United Kingdom. Opendesk
+ now makes up a large proportion of his business.
+ </p><p>
+ To manage resources and remain effective, Opendesk has so far
+ focused on a very narrow niche—primarily office furniture of a
+ certain simple aesthetic, which uses only one type of material and
+ one manufacturing technique. This allows them to be more strategic
+ and more disruptive in the market, by getting things to market
+ quickly with competitive prices. It also reflects their vision of
+ creating reproducible and functional pieces.
+ </p><p>
+ On their website, Opendesk describes what they do as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">open
+ making</span>”</span>: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Designers get a global distribution
+ channel. Makers get profitable jobs and new customers. You get
+ designer products without the designer price tag, a more social,
+ eco-friendly alternative to mass-production and an affordable way
+ to buy custom-made products.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Nick and Joni say that customers like the fact that the furniture
+ has a known provenance. People really like that their furniture
+ was designed by a certain international designer but was made by a
+ maker in their local community; it’s a great story to tell. It
+ certainly sets apart Opendesk furniture from the usual
+ mass-produced items from a store.
+ </p><p>
+ Nick and Joni are taking a community-based approach to define and
+ evolve Opendesk and the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">open making</span>”</span> business model.
+ They’re engaging thought leaders and practitioners to define this
+ new movement. They have a separate Open Making site, which
+ includes a manifesto, a field guide, and an invitation to get
+ involved in the Open Making community.<a href="#ftn.idm1624" class="footnote" name="idm1624"><sup class="footnote">[137]</sup></a> People can submit ideas and discuss the principles and
+ business practices they’d like to see used.
+ </p><p>
+ Nick and Joni talked a lot with us about intellectual property
+ (IP) and commercialization. Many of their designers fear the idea
+ that someone could take one of their design files and make and
+ sell infinite number of pieces of furniture with it. As a
+ consequence, most Opendesk designers choose the
+ Attribution-NonCommercial license (CC BY-NC).
+ </p><p>
+ Opendesk established a set of principles for what their community
+ considers commercial and noncommercial use. Their website states:
+ </p><p>
+ It is unambiguously commercial use when anyone:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ charges a fee or makes a profit when making an Opendesk
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ sells (or bases a commercial service on) an Opendesk
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+ It follows from this that noncommercial use is when you make an
+ Opendesk yourself, with no intention to gain commercial advantage
+ or monetary compensation. For example, these qualify as
+ noncommercial:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ you are an individual with your own CNC machine, or access to
+ a shared CNC machine, and will personally cut and make a few
+ pieces of furniture yourself
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ you are a student (or teacher) and you use the design files
+ for educational purposes or training (and do not intend to
+ sell the resulting pieces)
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ you work for a charity and get furniture cut by volunteers, or
+ by employees at a fab lab or maker space
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+ Whether or not people technically are doing things that implicate
+ IP, Nick and Joni have found that people tend to comply with the
+ wishes of creators out of a sense of fairness. They have found
+ that behavioral economics can replace some of the thorny legal
+ issues. In their business model, Nick and Joni are trying to
+ suspend the focus on IP and build an open business model that
+ works for all stakeholders—designers, channels, manufacturers, and
+ customers. For them, the value Opendesk generates hangs off
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">open,</span>”</span> not IP.
+ </p><p>
+ The mission of Opendesk is about relocalizing manufacturing, which
+ changes the way we think about how goods are made.
+ Commercialization is integral to their mission, and they’ve begun
+ to focus on success metrics that track how many makers and
+ designers are engaged through Opendesk in revenue-making work.
+ </p><p>
+ As a global platform for local making, Opendesk’s business model
+ has been built on honesty, transparency, and inclusivity. As Nick
+ and Joni describe it, they put ideas out there that get traction
+ and then have faith in people.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1572" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1572" class="para"><sup class="para">[134] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.opendesk.cc/designers" target="_top">http://www.opendesk.cc/designers</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1579" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1579" class="para"><sup class="para">[135] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.opendesk.cc/open-making/makers/" target="_top">http://www.opendesk.cc/open-making/makers/</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1599" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1599" class="para"><sup class="para">[136] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.opendesk.cc/open-making/join" target="_top">http://www.opendesk.cc/open-making/join</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1624" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1624" class="para"><sup class="para">[137] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://openmaking.is" target="_top">http://openmaking.is</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="openstax"></a>Chapter 18. OpenStax</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ OpenStax is a nonprofit that provides free, openly licensed
+ textbooks for high-enrollment introductory college courses and
+ Advanced Placement courses. Founded in 2012 in the U.S.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.openstaxcollege.org" target="_top">http://www.openstaxcollege.org</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: grant funding,
+ charging for custom services, charging for physical copies
+ (textbook sales)
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: December 16,
+ 2015
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: David Harris,
+ editor-in-chief
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ OpenStax is an extension of a program called Connexions, which was
+ started in 1999 by Dr. Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron
+ Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice
+ University in Houston, Texas. Frustrated by the limitations of
+ traditional textbooks and courses, Dr. Baraniuk wanted to provide
+ authors and learners a way to share and freely adapt educational
+ materials such as courses, books, and reports. Today, Connexions
+ (now called OpenStax CNX) is one of the world’s best libraries of
+ customizable educational materials, all licensed with Creative
+ Commons and available to anyone, anywhere, anytime—for free.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2008, while in a senior leadership role at WebAssign and
+ looking at ways to reduce the risk that came with relying on
+ publishers, David Harris began investigating open educational
+ resources (OER) and discovered Connexions. A year and a half
+ later, Connexions received a grant to help grow the use of OER so
+ that it could meet the needs of students who couldn’t afford
+ textbooks. David came on board to spearhead this effort.
+ Connexions became OpenStax CNX; the program to create open
+ textbooks became OpenStax College, now simply called OpenStax.
+ </p><p>
+ David brought with him a deep understanding of the best practices
+ of publishing along with where publishers have inefficiencies. In
+ David’s view, peer review and high standards for quality are
+ critically important if you want to scale easily. Books have to
+ have logical scope and sequence, they have to exist as a whole and
+ not in pieces, and they have to be easy to find. The working
+ hypothesis for the launch of OpenStax was to professionally
+ produce a turnkey textbook by investing effort up front, with the
+ expectation that this would lead to rapid growth through easy
+ downstream adoptions by faculty and students.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2012, OpenStax College launched as a nonprofit with the aim of
+ producing high-quality, peer-reviewed full-color textbooks that
+ would be available for free for the twenty-five most heavily
+ attended college courses in the nation. Today they are fast
+ approaching that number. There is data that proves the success of
+ their original hypothesis on how many students they could help and
+ how much money they could help save.<a href="#ftn.idm1664" class="footnote" name="idm1664"><sup class="footnote">[138]</sup></a> Professionally produced content scales rapidly. All
+ with no sales force!
+ </p><p>
+ OpenStax textbooks are all Attribution (CC BY) licensed, and each
+ textbook is available as a PDF, an e-book, or web pages. Those who
+ want a physical copy can buy one for an affordable price. Given
+ the cost of education and student debt in North America, free or
+ very low-cost textbooks are very appealing. OpenStax encourages
+ students to talk to their professor and librarians about these
+ textbooks and to advocate for their use.
+ </p><p>
+ Teachers are invited to try out a single chapter from one of the
+ textbooks with students. If that goes well, they’re encouraged to
+ adopt the entire book. They can simply paste a URL into their
+ course syllabus, for free and unlimited access. And with the CC BY
+ license, teachers are free to delete chapters, make changes, and
+ customize any book to fit their needs.
+ </p><p>
+ Any teacher can post corrections, suggest examples for difficult
+ concepts, or volunteer as an editor or author. As many teachers
+ also want supplemental material to accompany a textbook, OpenStax
+ also provides slide presentations, test banks, answer keys, and so
+ on.
+ </p><p>
+ Institutions can stand out by offering students a lower-cost
+ education through the use of OpenStax textbooks; there’s even a
+ textbook-savings calculator they can use to see how much students
+ would save. OpenStax keeps a running list of institutions that
+ have adopted their textbooks.<a href="#ftn.idm1671" class="footnote" name="idm1671"><sup class="footnote">[139]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Unlike traditional publishers’ monolithic approach of controlling
+ intellectual property, distribution, and so many other aspects,
+ OpenStax has adopted a model that embraces open licensing and
+ relies on an extensive network of partners.
+ </p><p>
+ Up-front funding of a professionally produced all-color turnkey
+ textbook is expensive. For this part of their model, OpenStax
+ relies on philanthropy. They have initially been funded by the
+ William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Laura and John Arnold
+ Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the 20 Million
+ Minds Foundation, the Maxfield Foundation, the Calvin K. Kazanjian
+ Foundation, and Rice University. To develop additional titles and
+ supporting technology is probably still going to require
+ philanthropic investment.
+ </p><p>
+ However, ongoing operations will not rely on foundation grants but
+ instead on funds received through an ecosystem of over forty
+ partners, whereby a partner takes core content from OpenStax and
+ adds features that it can create revenue from. For example,
+ WebAssign, an online homework and assessment tool, takes the
+ physics book and adds algorithmically generated physics problems,
+ with problem-specific feedback, detailed solutions, and tutorial
+ support. WebAssign resources are available to students for a fee.
+ </p><p>
+ Another example is Odigia, who has turned OpenStax books into
+ interactive learning experiences and created additional tools to
+ measure and promote student engagement. Odigia licenses its
+ learning platform to institutions. Partners like Odigia and
+ WebAssign give a percentage of the revenue they earn back to
+ OpenStax, as mission-support fees. OpenStax has already published
+ revisions of their titles, such as Introduction to Sociology 2e,
+ using these funds.
+ </p><p>
+ In David’s view, this approach lets the market operate at peak
+ efficiency. OpenStax’s partners don’t have to worry about
+ developing textbook content, freeing them up from those
+ development costs and letting them focus on what they do best.
+ With OpenStax textbooks available at no cost, they can provide
+ their services at a lower cost—not free, but still saving students
+ money. OpenStax benefits not only by receiving mission-support
+ fees but through free publicity and marketing. OpenStax doesn’t
+ have a sales force; partners are out there showcasing their
+ materials.
+ </p><p>
+ OpenStax’s cost of sales to acquire a single student is very, very
+ low and is a fraction of what traditional players in the market
+ face. This year, Tyton Partners is actually evaluating the costs
+ of sales for an OER effort like OpenStax in comparison with
+ incumbents. David looks forward to sharing these findings with the
+ community.
+ </p><p>
+ While OpenStax books are available online for free, many students
+ still want a print copy. Through a partnership with a print and
+ courier company, OpenStax offers a complete solution that scales.
+ OpenStax sells tens of thousands of print books. The price of an
+ OpenStax sociology textbook is about twenty-eight dollars, a
+ fraction of what sociology textbooks usually cost. OpenStax keeps
+ the prices low but does aim to earn a small margin on each book
+ sold, which also contributes to ongoing operations.
+ </p><p>
+ Campus-based bookstores are part of the OpenStax solution.
+ OpenStax collaborates with NACSCORP (the National Association of
+ College Stores Corporation) to provide print versions of their
+ textbooks in the stores. While the overall cost of the textbook is
+ significantly less than a traditional textbook, bookstores can
+ still make a profit on sales. Sometimes students take the savings
+ they have from the lower-priced book and use it to buy other
+ things in the bookstore. And OpenStax is trying to break the
+ expensive behavior of excessive returns by having a no-returns
+ policy. This is working well, since the sell-through of their
+ print titles is virtually a hundred percent.
+ </p><p>
+ David thinks of the OpenStax model as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">OER 2.0.</span>”</span> So
+ what is OER 1.0? Historically in the OER field, many OER
+ initiatives have been locally funded by institutions or government
+ ministries. In David’s view, this results in content that has high
+ local value but is infrequently adopted nationally. It’s therefore
+ difficult to show payback over a time scale that is reasonable.
+ </p><p>
+ OER 2.0 is about OER intended to be used and adopted on a national
+ level right from the start. This requires a bigger investment up
+ front but pays off through wide geographic adoption. The OER 2.0
+ process for OpenStax involves two development models. The first is
+ what David calls the acquisition model, where OpenStax purchases
+ the rights from a publisher or author for an already published
+ book and then extensively revises it. The OpenStax physics
+ textbook, for example, was licensed from an author after the
+ publisher released the rights back to the authors. The second
+ model is to develop a book from scratch, a good example being
+ their biology book.
+ </p><p>
+ The process is similar for both models. First they look at the
+ scope and sequence of existing textbooks. They ask questions like
+ what does the customer need? Where are students having challenges?
+ Then they identify potential authors and put them through a
+ rigorous evaluation—only one in ten authors make it through.
+ OpenStax selects a team of authors who come together to develop a
+ template for a chapter and collectively write the first draft (or
+ revise it, in the acquisitions model). (OpenStax doesn’t do books
+ with just a single author as David says it risks the project going
+ longer than scheduled.) The draft is peer-reviewed with no less
+ than three reviewers per chapter. A second draft is generated,
+ with artists producing illustrations and visuals to go along with
+ the text. The book is then copyedited to ensure grammatical
+ correctness and a singular voice. Finally, it goes into production
+ and through a final proofread. The whole process is very
+ time-consuming.
+ </p><p>
+ All the people involved in this process are paid. OpenStax does
+ not rely on volunteers. Writers, reviewers, illustrators, and
+ editors are all paid an up-front fee—OpenStax does not use a
+ royalty model. A best-selling author might make more money under
+ the traditional publishing model, but that is only maybe 5 percent
+ of all authors. From David’s perspective, 95 percent of all
+ authors do better under the OER 2.0 model, as there is no risk to
+ them and they earn all the money up front.
+ </p><p>
+ David thinks of the Attribution license (CC BY) as the
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">innovation license.</span>”</span> It’s core to the mission of
+ OpenStax, letting people use their textbooks in innovative ways
+ without having to ask for permission. It frees up the whole market
+ and has been central to OpenStax being able to bring on partners.
+ OpenStax sees a lot of customization of their materials. By
+ enabling frictionless remixing, CC BY gives teachers control and
+ academic freedom.
+ </p><p>
+ Using CC BY is also a good example of using strategies that
+ traditional publishers can’t. Traditional publishers rely on
+ copyright to prevent others from making copies and heavily invest
+ in digital rights management to ensure their books aren’t shared.
+ By using CC BY, OpenStax avoids having to deal with digital rights
+ management and its costs. OpenStax books can be copied and shared
+ over and over again. CC BY changes the rules of engagement and
+ takes advantage of traditional market inefficiencies.
+ </p><p>
+ As of September 16, 2016, OpenStax has achieved some impressive
+ results. From the OpenStax at a Glance fact sheet from their
+ recent press kit:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Books published: 23
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Students who have used OpenStax: 1.6 million
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Money saved for students: $155 million
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Money saved for students in the 2016/17 academic year: $77
+ million
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Schools that have used OpenStax: 2,668 (This number reflects
+ all institutions using at least one OpenStax textbook. Out of
+ 2,668 schools, 517 are two-year colleges, 835 four-year
+ colleges and universities, and 344 colleges and universities
+ outside the U.S.)
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+ While OpenStax has to date been focused on the United States,
+ there is overseas adoption especially in the science, technology,
+ engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Large scale adoption in the
+ United States is seen as a necessary precursor to international
+ interest.
+ </p><p>
+ OpenStax has primarily focused on introductory-level college
+ courses where there is high enrollment, but they are starting to
+ think about verticals—a broad offering for a specific group or
+ need. David thinks it would be terrific if OpenStax could provide
+ access to free textbooks through the entire curriculum of a
+ nursing degree, for example.
+ </p><p>
+ Finally, for OpenStax success is not just about the adoption of
+ their textbooks and student savings. There is a human aspect to
+ the work that is hard to quantify but incredibly important. They
+ get emails from students saying how OpenStax saved them from
+ making difficult choices like buying food or a textbook. OpenStax
+ would also like to assess the impact their books have on learning
+ efficiency, persistence, and completion. By building an open
+ business model based on Creative Commons, OpenStax is making it
+ possible for every student who wants access to education to get
+ it.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1664" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1664" class="para"><sup class="para">[138] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://news.rice.edu/files/2016/01/0119-OPENSTAX-2016Infographic-lg-1tahxiu.jpg" target="_top">http://news.rice.edu/files/2016/01/0119-OPENSTAX-2016Infographic-lg-1tahxiu.jpg</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1671" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1671" class="para"><sup class="para">[139] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://openstax.org/adopters" target="_top">http://openstax.org/adopters</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="amanda-palmer"></a>Chapter 19. Amanda Palmer</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Amanda Palmer is a musician, artist, and writer. Based in the
+ U.S.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://amandapalmer.net" target="_top">http://amandapalmer.net</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: crowdfunding
+ (subscription-based), pay-what-you-want, charging for physical
+ copies (book and album sales), charg-ing for in-person version
+ (performances), selling merchandise
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: December 15,
+ 2015
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Sarah Hinchliff Pearson
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ Since the beginning of her career, Amanda Palmer has been on what
+ she calls a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">journey with no roadmap,</span>”</span> continually
+ experimenting to find new ways to sustain her creative
+ work.<a href="#ftn.idm1718" class="footnote" name="idm1718"><sup class="footnote">[140]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ In her best-selling book, The Art of Asking, Amanda articulates
+ exactly what she has been and continues to strive for—<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">the
+ ideal sweet spot . . . in which the artist can share freely and
+ directly feel the reverberations of their artistic gifts to the
+ community, and make a living doing that.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ While she seems to have successfully found that sweet spot for
+ herself, Amanda is the first to acknowledge there is no silver
+ bullet. She thinks the digital age is both an exciting and
+ frustrating time for creators. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">On the one hand, we have
+ this beautiful shareability,</span>”</span> Amanda said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">On the
+ other, you’ve got a bunch of confused artists wondering how to
+ make money to buy food so we can make more art.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Amanda began her artistic career as a street performer. She would
+ dress up in an antique wedding gown, paint her face white, stand
+ on a stack of milk crates, and hand out flowers to strangers as
+ part of a silent dramatic performance. She collected money in a
+ hat. Most people walked by her without stopping, but an essential
+ few stopped to watch and drop some money into her hat to show
+ their appreciation. Rather than dwelling on the majority of people
+ who ignored her, she felt thankful for those who stopped.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">All I needed was . . . some people,</span>”</span> she wrote in
+ her book. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Enough people. Enough to make it worth coming
+ back the next day, enough people to help me make rent and put food
+ on the table. Enough so I could keep making art.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Amanda has come a long way from her street-performing days, but
+ her career remains dominated by that same sentiment—finding ways
+ to reach <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">her crowd</span>”</span> and feeling gratitude when she
+ does. With her band the Dresden Dolls, Amanda tried the
+ traditional path of signing with a record label. It didn’t take
+ for a variety of reasons, but one of them was that the label had
+ absolutely no interest in Amanda’s view of success. They wanted
+ hits, but making music for the masses was never what Amanda and
+ the Dresden Dolls set out to do.
+ </p><p>
+ After leaving the record label in 2008, she began experimenting
+ with different ways to make a living. She released music directly
+ to the public without involving a middle man, releasing digital
+ files on a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">pay what you want</span>”</span> basis and selling CDs
+ and vinyl. She also made money from live performances and
+ merchandise sales. Eventually, in 2012 she decided to try her hand
+ at the sort of crowdfunding we know so well today. Her Kickstarter
+ project started with a goal of $100,000, and she made $1.2
+ million. It remains one of the most successful Kickstarter
+ projects of all time.
+ </p><p>
+ Today, Amanda has switched gears away from crowdfunding for
+ specific projects to instead getting consistent financial support
+ from her fan base on Patreon, a crowdfunding site that allows
+ artists to get recurring donations from fans. More than eight
+ thousand people have signed up to support her so she can create
+ music, art, and any other creative <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">thing</span>”</span> that she
+ is inspired to make. The recurring pledges are made on a
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">per thing</span>”</span> basis. All of the content she makes is
+ made freely available under an
+ Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license (CC BY-NC-SA).
+ </p><p>
+ Making her music and art available under Creative Commons
+ licensing undoubtedly limits her options for how she makes a
+ living. But sharing her work has been part of her model since the
+ beginning of her career, even before she discovered Creative
+ Commons. Amanda says the Dresden Dolls used to get ten emails per
+ week from fans asking if they could use their music for different
+ projects. They said yes to all of the requests, as long as it
+ wasn’t for a completely for-profit venture. At the time, they used
+ a short-form agreement written by Amanda herself. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I made
+ everyone sign that contract so at least I wouldn’t be leaving the
+ band vulnerable to someone later going on and putting our music in
+ a Camel cigarette ad,</span>”</span> Amanda said. Once she discovered
+ Creative Commons, adopting the licenses was an easy decision
+ because it gave them a more formal, standardized way of doing what
+ they had been doing all along. The NonCommercial licenses were a
+ natural fit.
+ </p><p>
+ Amanda embraces the way her fans share and build upon her music.
+ In The Art of Asking, she wrote that some of her fans’ unofficial
+ videos using her music surpass the official videos in number of
+ views on YouTube. Rather than seeing this sort of thing as
+ competition, Amanda celebrates it. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We got into this because
+ we wanted to share the joy of music,</span>”</span> she said.
+ </p><p>
+ This is symbolic of how nearly everything she does in her career
+ is motivated by a desire to connect with her fans. At the start of
+ her career, she and the band would throw concerts at house
+ parties. As the gatherings grew, the line between fans and friends
+ was completely blurred. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Not only did most our early fans
+ know where I lived and where we practiced, but most of them had
+ also been in my kitchen,</span>”</span> Amanda wrote in The Art of
+ Asking.
+ </p><p>
+ Even though her fan base is now huge and global, she continues to
+ seek this sort of human connection with her fans. She seeks out
+ face-to-face contact with her fans every chance she can get. Her
+ hugely successful Kickstarter featured fifty concerts at house
+ parties for backers. She spends hours in the signing line after
+ shows. It helps that Amanda has the kind of dynamic, engaging
+ personality that instantly draws people to her, but a big
+ component of her ability to connect with people is her willingness
+ to listen. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Listening fast and caring immediately is a skill
+ unto itself,</span>”</span> Amanda wrote.
+ </p><p>
+ Another part of the connection fans feel with Amanda is how much
+ they know about her life. Rather than trying to craft a public
+ persona or image, she essentially lives her life as an open book.
+ She has written openly about incredibly personal events in her
+ life, and she isn’t afraid to be vulnerable. Having that kind of
+ trust in her fans—the trust it takes to be truly honest—begets
+ trust from her fans in return. When she meets fans for the first
+ time after a show, they can legitimately feel like they know her.
+ </p><p><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">With social media, we’re so concerned with the picture
+ looking palatable and consumable that we forget that being human
+ and showing the flaws and exposing the vulnerability actually
+ create a deeper connection than just looking fantastic,</span>”</span>
+ Amanda said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Everything in our culture is telling us
+ otherwise. But my experience has shown me that the risk of making
+ yourself vulnerable is almost always worth it.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Not only does she disclose intimate details of her life to them,
+ she sleeps on their couches, listens to their stories, cries with
+ them. In short, she treats her fans like friends in nearly every
+ possible way, even when they are complete strangers. This
+ mentality—that fans are friends—is completely intertwined with
+ Amanda’s success as an artist. It is also intertwined with her use
+ of Creative Commons licenses. Because that is what you do with
+ your friends—you share.
+ </p><p>
+ After years of investing time and energy into building trust with
+ her fans, she has a strong enough relationship with them to ask
+ for support—through pay-what-you-want donations, Kickstarter,
+ Patreon, or even asking them to lend a hand at a concert. As
+ Amanda explains it, crowdfunding (which is really what all of
+ these different things are) is about asking for support from
+ people who know and trust you. People who feel personally invested
+ in your success.
+ </p><p><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">When you openly, radically trust people, they not only take
+ care of you, they become your allies, your family,</span>”</span> she
+ wrote. There really is a feeling of solidarity within her core fan
+ base. From the beginning, Amanda and her band encouraged people to
+ dress up for their shows. They consciously cultivated a feeling of
+ belonging to their <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">weird little family.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ This sort of intimacy with fans is not possible or even desirable
+ for every creator. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I don’t take for granted that I happen
+ to be the type of person who loves cavorting with
+ strangers,</span>”</span> Amanda said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I recognize that it’s not
+ necessarily everyone’s idea of a good time. Everyone does it
+ differently. Replicating what I have done won’t work for others if
+ it isn’t joyful to them. It’s about finding a way to channel
+ energy in a way that is joyful to you.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Yet while Amanda joyfully interacts with her fans and involves
+ them in her work as much as possible, she does keep one job
+ primarily to herself—writing the music. She loves the creativity
+ with which her fans use and adapt her work, but she intentionally
+ does not involve them at the first stage of creating her artistic
+ work. And, of course, the songs and music are what initially draw
+ people to Amanda Palmer. It is only once she has connected to
+ people through her music that she can then begin to build ties
+ with them on a more personal level, both in person and online. In
+ her book, Amanda describes it as casting a net. It starts with the
+ art and then the bond strengthens with human connection.
+ </p><p>
+ For Amanda, the entire point of being an artist is to establish
+ and maintain this connection. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It sounds so corny,</span>”</span>
+ she said, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">but my experience in forty years on this planet
+ has pointed me to an obvious truth—that connection with human
+ beings feels so much better and more fulfilling than approaching
+ art through a capitalist lens. There is no more satisfying end
+ goal than having someone tell you that what you do is genuinely of
+ value to them.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ As she explains it, when a fan gives her a ten-dollar bill,
+ usually what they are saying is that the money symbolizes some
+ deeper value the music provided them. For Amanda, art is not just
+ a product; it’s a relationship. Viewed from this lens, what Amanda
+ does today is not that different from what she did as a young
+ street performer. She shares her music and other artistic gifts.
+ She shares herself. And then rather than forcing people to help
+ her, she lets them.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1718" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1718" class="para"><sup class="para">[140] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2015/04/16/amanda-palmer-uncut-the-kickstarter-queen-on-spotify-patreon-and-taylor-swift/#44e20ce46d67" target="_top">http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2015/04/16/amanda-palmer-uncut-the-kickstarter-queen-on-spotify-patreon-and-taylor-swift/#44e20ce46d67</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="plos-public-library-of-science"></a>Chapter 20. PLOS (Public Library of Science)</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ PLOS (Public Library of Science) is a nonprofit that publishes a
+ library of academic journals and other scientific literature.
+ Founded in 2000 in the U.S.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://plos.org" target="_top">http://plos.org</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging
+ content creators an author processing charge to be featured in
+ the journal
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: March 7, 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Louise Page,
+ publisher
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ The Public Library of Science (PLOS) began in 2000 when three
+ leading scientists—Harold E. Varmus, Patrick O. Brown, and Michael
+ Eisen—started an online petition. They were calling for scientists
+ to stop submitting papers to journals that didn’t make the full
+ text of their papers freely available immediately or within six
+ months. Although tens of thousands signed the petition, most did
+ not follow through. In August 2001, Patrick and Michael announced
+ that they would start their own nonprofit publishing operation to
+ do just what the petition promised. With start-up grant support
+ from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, PLOS was launched to
+ provide new open-access journals for biomedicine, with research
+ articles being released under Attribution (CC BY) licenses.
+ </p><p>
+ Traditionally, academic publishing begins with an author
+ submitting a manuscript to a publisher. After in-house technical
+ and ethical considerations, the article is then peer-reviewed to
+ determine if the quality of the work is acceptable for publishing.
+ Once accepted, the publisher takes the article through the process
+ of copyediting, typesetting, and eventual publishing in a print or
+ online publication. Traditional journal publishers recover costs
+ and earn profit by charging a subscription fee to libraries or an
+ access fee to users wanting to read the journal or article.
+ </p><p>
+ For Louise Page, the current publisher of PLOS, this traditional
+ model results in inequity. Access is restricted to those who can
+ pay. Most research is funded through government-appointed
+ agencies, that is, with public funds. It’s unjust that the public
+ who funded the research would be required to pay again to access
+ the results. Not everyone can afford the ever-escalating
+ subscription fees publishers charge, especially when library
+ budgets are being reduced. Restricting access to the results of
+ scientific research slows the dissemination of this research and
+ advancement of the field. It was time for a new model.
+ </p><p>
+ That new model became known as open access. That is, free and open
+ availability on the Internet. Open-access research articles are
+ not behind a paywall and do not require a login. A key benefit of
+ open access is that it allows people to freely use, copy, and
+ distribute the articles, as they are primarily published under an
+ Attribution (CC BY) license (which only requires the user to
+ provide appropriate attribution). And more importantly, policy
+ makers, clinicians, entrepreneurs, educators, and students around
+ the world have free and timely access to the latest research
+ immediately on publication.
+ </p><p>
+ However, open access requires rethinking the business model of
+ research publication. Rather than charge a subscription fee to
+ access the journal, PLOS decided to turn the model on its head and
+ charge a publication fee, known as an article-processing charge.
+ This up-front fee, generally paid by the funder of the research or
+ the author’s institution, covers the expenses such as editorial
+ oversight, peer-review management, journal production, online
+ hosting, and support for discovery. Fees are per article and are
+ billed upon acceptance for publishing. There are no additional
+ charges based on word length, figures, or other elements.
+ </p><p>
+ Calculating the article-processing charge involves taking all the
+ costs associated with publishing the journal and determining a
+ cost per article that collectively recovers costs. For PLOS’s
+ journals in biology, medicine, genetics, computational biology,
+ neglected tropical diseases, and pathogens, the article-processing
+ charge ranges from $2,250 to $2,900. Article-publication charges
+ for PLOS ONE, a journal started in 2006, are just under $1,500.
+ </p><p>
+ PLOS believes that lack of funds should not be a barrier to
+ publication. Since its inception, PLOS has provided fee support
+ for individuals and institutions to help authors who can’t afford
+ the article-processing charges.
+ </p><p>
+ Louise identifies marketing as one area of big difference between
+ PLOS and traditional journal publishers. Traditional journals have
+ to invest heavily in staff, buildings, and infrastructure to
+ market their journal and convince customers to subscribe.
+ Restricting access to subscribers means that tools for managing
+ access control are necessary. They spend millions of dollars on
+ access-control systems, staff to manage them, and sales staff.
+ With PLOS’s open-access publishing, there’s no need for these
+ massive expenses; the articles are free, open, and accessible to
+ all upon publication. Additionally, traditional publishers tend to
+ spend more on marketing to libraries, who ultimately pay the
+ subscription fees. PLOS provides a better service for authors by
+ promoting their research directly to the research community and
+ giving the authors exposure. And this encourages other authors to
+ submit their work for publication.
+ </p><p>
+ For Louise, PLOS would not exist without the Attribution license
+ (CC BY). This makes it very clear what rights are associated with
+ the content and provides a safe way for researchers to make their
+ work available while ensuring they get recognition (appropriate
+ attribution). For PLOS, all of this aligns with how they think
+ research content should be published and disseminated.
+ </p><p>
+ PLOS also has a broad open-data policy. To get their research
+ paper published, PLOS authors must also make their data available
+ in a public repository and provide a data-availability statement.
+ </p><p>
+ Business-operation costs associated with the open-access model
+ still largely follow the existing publishing model. PLOS journals
+ are online only, but the editorial, peer-review, production,
+ typesetting, and publishing stages are all the same as for a
+ traditional publisher. The editorial teams must be top notch. PLOS
+ has to function as well as or better than other premier journals,
+ as researchers have a choice about where to publish.
+ </p><p>
+ Researchers are influenced by journal rankings, which reflect the
+ place of a journal within its field, the relative difficulty of
+ being published in that journal, and the prestige associated with
+ it. PLOS journals rank high, even though they are relatively new.
+ </p><p>
+ The promotion and tenure of researchers are partially based how
+ many times other researchers cite their articles. Louise says when
+ researchers want to discover and read the work of others in their
+ field, they go to an online aggregator or search engine, and not
+ typically to a particular journal. The CC BY licensing of PLOS
+ research articles ensures easy access for readers and generates
+ more discovery and citations for authors.
+ </p><p>
+ Louise believes that open access has been a huge success,
+ progressing from a movement led by a small cadre of researchers to
+ something that is now widespread and used in some form by every
+ journal publisher. PLOS has had a big impact. In 2012 to 2014,
+ they published more open-access articles than BioMed Central, the
+ original open-access publisher, or anyone else.
+ </p><p>
+ PLOS further disrupted the traditional journal-publishing model by
+ pioneering the concept of a megajournal. The PLOS ONE megajournal,
+ launched in 2006, is an open-access peer-reviewed academic journal
+ that is much larger than a traditional journal, publishing
+ thousands of articles per year and benefiting from economies of
+ scale. PLOS ONE has a broad scope, covering science and medicine
+ as well as social sciences and the humanities. The review and
+ editorial process is less subjective. Articles are accepted for
+ publication based on whether they are technically sound rather
+ than perceived importance or relevance. This is very important in
+ the current debate about the integrity and reproducibility of
+ research because negative or null results can then be published as
+ well, which are generally rejected by traditional journals. PLOS
+ ONE, like all the PLOS journals, is online only with no print
+ version. PLOS passes on the financial savings accrued through
+ economies of scale to researchers and the public by lowering the
+ article-processing charges, which are below that of other
+ journals. PLOS ONE is the biggest journal in the world and has
+ really set the bar for publishing academic journal articles on a
+ large scale. Other publishers see the value of the PLOS ONE model
+ and are now offering their own multidisciplinary forums for
+ publishing all sound science.
+ </p><p>
+ Louise outlined some other aspects of the research-journal
+ business model PLOS is experimenting with, describing each as a
+ kind of slider that could be adjusted to change current practice.
+ </p><p>
+ One slider is time to publication. Time to publication may shorten
+ as journals get better at providing quicker decisions to authors.
+ However, there is always a trade-off with scale, as the bigger the
+ volume of articles, the more time the approval process inevitably
+ takes.
+ </p><p>
+ Peer review is another part of the process that could change. It’s
+ possible to redefine what peer review actually is, when to review,
+ and what constitutes the final article for publication. Louise
+ talked about the potential to shift to an open-review process,
+ placing the emphasis on transparency rather than double-blind
+ reviews. Louise thinks we’re moving into a direction where it’s
+ actually beneficial for an author to know who is reviewing their
+ paper and for the reviewer to know their review will be public. An
+ open-review process can also ensure everyone gets credit; right
+ now, credit is limited to the publisher and author.
+ </p><p>
+ Louise says research with negative outcomes is almost as important
+ as positive results. If journals published more research with
+ negative outcomes, we’d learn from what didn’t work. It could also
+ reduce how much the research wheel gets reinvented around the
+ world.
+ </p><p>
+ Another adjustable practice is the sharing of articles at early
+ preprint stages. Publication of research in a peer-reviewed
+ journal can take a long time because articles must undergo
+ extensive peer review. The need to quickly circulate current
+ results within a scientific community has led to a practice of
+ distributing pre-print documents that have not yet undergone peer
+ review. Preprints broaden the peer-review process, allowing
+ authors to receive early feedback from a wide group of peers,
+ which can help revise and prepare the article for submission.
+ Offsetting the advantages of preprints are author concerns over
+ ensuring their primacy of being first to come up with findings
+ based on their research. Other researches may see findings the
+ preprint author has not yet thought of. However, preprints help
+ researchers get their discoveries out early and establish
+ precedence. A big challenge is that researchers don’t have a lot
+ of time to comment on preprints.
+ </p><p>
+ What constitutes a journal article could also change. The idea of
+ a research article as printed, bound, and in a library stack is
+ outdated. Digital and online open up new possibilities, such as a
+ living document evolving over time, inclusion of audio and video,
+ and interactivity, like discussion and recommendations. Even the
+ size of what gets published could change. With these changes the
+ current form factor for what constitutes a research article would
+ undergo transformation.
+ </p><p>
+ As journals scale up, and new journals are introduced, more and
+ more information is being pushed out to readers, making the
+ experience feel like drinking from a fire hose. To help mitigate
+ this, PLOS aggregates and curates content from PLOS journals and
+ their network of blogs.<a href="#ftn.idm1796" class="footnote" name="idm1796"><sup class="footnote">[141]</sup></a> It also offers something called Article-Level Metrics,
+ which helps users assess research most relevant to the field
+ itself, based on indicators like usage, citations, social
+ bookmarking and dissemination activity, media and blog coverage,
+ discussions, and ratings.<a href="#ftn.idm1799" class="footnote" name="idm1799"><sup class="footnote">[142]</sup></a> Louise believes that the journal model could evolve to
+ provide a more friendly and interactive user experience, including
+ a way for readers to communicate with authors.
+ </p><p>
+ The big picture for PLOS going forward is to combine and adjust
+ these experimental practices in ways that continue to improve
+ accessibility and dissemination of research, while ensuring its
+ integrity and reliability. The ways they interlink are complex.
+ The process of change and adjustment is not linear. PLOS sees
+ itself as a very flexible publisher interested in exploring all
+ the permutations research-publishing can take, with authors and
+ readers who are open to experimentation.
+ </p><p>
+ For PLOS, success is not about revenue. Success is about proving
+ that scientific research can be communicated rapidly and
+ economically at scale, for the benefit of researchers and society.
+ The CC BY license makes it possible for PLOS to publish in a way
+ that is unfettered, open, and fast, while ensuring that the
+ authors get credit for their work. More than two million
+ scientists, scholars, and clinicians visit PLOS every month, with
+ more than 135,000 quality articles to peruse for free.
+ </p><p>
+ Ultimately, for PLOS, its authors, and its readers, success is
+ about making research discoverable, available, and reproducible
+ for the advancement of science.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1796" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1796" class="para"><sup class="para">[141] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://collections.plos.org" target="_top">http://collections.plos.org</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1799" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1799" class="para"><sup class="para">[142] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://plos.org/article-level-metrics" target="_top">http://plos.org/article-level-metrics</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="rijksmuseum"></a>Chapter 21. Rijksmuseum</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ The Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum dedicated to art and
+ history. Founded in 1800 in the Netherlands
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.rijksmuseum.nl" target="_top">http://www.rijksmuseum.nl</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: grants and
+ government funding, charging for in-person version (museum
+ admission), selling merchandise
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: December 11,
+ 2015
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Lizzy Jongma,
+ the data manager of the collections information department
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ The Rijksmuseum, a national museum in the Netherlands dedicated to
+ art and history, has been housed in its current building since
+ 1885. The monumental building enjoyed more than 125 years of
+ intensive use before needing a thorough overhaul. In 2003, the
+ museum was closed for renovations. Asbestos was found in the roof,
+ and although the museum was scheduled to be closed for only three
+ to four years, renovations ended up taking ten years. During this
+ time, the collection was moved to a different part of Amsterdam,
+ which created a physical distance with the curators. Out of
+ necessity, they started digitally photographing the collection and
+ creating metadata (information about each object to put into a
+ database). With the renovations going on for so long, the museum
+ became largely forgotten by the public. Out of these circumstances
+ emerged a new and more open model for the museum.
+ </p><p>
+ By the time Lizzy Jongma joined the Rijksmuseum in 2011 as a data
+ manager, staff were fed up with the situation the museum was in.
+ They also realized that even with the new and larger space, it
+ still wouldn’t be able to show very much of the whole
+ collection—eight thousand of over one million works representing
+ just 1 percent. Staff began exploring ways to express themselves,
+ to have something to show for all of the work they had been doing.
+ The Rijksmuseum is primarily funded by Dutch taxpayers, so was
+ there a way for the museum provide benefit to the public while it
+ was closed? They began thinking about sharing Rijksmuseum’s
+ collection using information technology. And they put up a
+ card-catalog like database of the entire collection online.
+ </p><p>
+ It was effective but a bit boring. It was just data. A hackathon
+ they were invited to got them to start talking about events like
+ that as having potential. They liked the idea of inviting people
+ to do cool stuff with their collection. What about giving online
+ access to digital representations of the one hundred most
+ important pieces in the Rijksmuseum collection? That eventually
+ led to why not put the whole collection online?
+ </p><p>
+ Then, Lizzy says, Europeana came along. Europeana is Europe’s
+ digital library, museum, and archive for cultural
+ heritage.<a href="#ftn.idm1822" class="footnote" name="idm1822"><sup class="footnote">[143]</sup></a> As an online portal to museum collections all across
+ Europe, Europeana had become an important online platform. In
+ October 2010 Creative Commons released CC0 and its public-domain
+ mark as tools people could use to identify works as free of known
+ copyright. Europeana was the first major adopter, using CC0 to
+ release metadata about their collection and the public domain mark
+ for millions of digital works in their collection. Lizzy says the
+ Rijksmuseum initially found this change in business practice a bit
+ scary, but at the same time it stimulated even more discussion on
+ whether the Rijksmuseum should follow suit.
+ </p><p>
+ They realized that they don’t <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">own</span>”</span> the collection
+ and couldn’t realistically monitor and enforce compliance with the
+ restrictive licensing terms they currently had in place. For
+ example, many copies and versions of Vermeer’s Milkmaid (part of
+ their collection) were already online, many of them of very poor
+ quality. They could spend time and money policing its use, but it
+ would probably be futile and wouldn’t make people stop using their
+ images online. They ended up thinking it’s an utter waste of time
+ to hunt down people who use the Rijksmuseum collection. And
+ anyway, restricting access meant the people they were frustrating
+ the most were schoolkids.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2011 the Rijksmuseum began making their digital photos of works
+ known to be free of copyright available online, using Creative
+ Commons CC0 to place works in the public domain. A
+ medium-resolution image was offered for free, but a
+ high-resolution version cost forty euros. People started paying,
+ but Lizzy says getting the money was frequently a nightmare,
+ especially from overseas customers. The administrative costs often
+ offset revenue, and income above costs was relatively low. In
+ addition, having to pay for an image of a work in the public
+ domain from a collection owned by the Dutch government (i.e., paid
+ for by the public) was contentious and frustrating for some. Lizzy
+ says they had lots of fierce debates about what to do.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2013 the Rijksmuseum changed its business model. They Creative
+ Commons licensed their highest-quality images and released them
+ online for free. Digitization still cost money, however; they
+ decided to define discrete digitization projects and find sponsors
+ willing to fund each project. This turned out to be a successful
+ strategy, generating high interest from sponsors and lower
+ administrative effort for the Rijksmuseum. They started out making
+ 150,000 high-quality images of their collection available, with
+ the goal to eventually have the entire collection online.
+ </p><p>
+ Releasing these high-quality images for free reduced the number of
+ poor-quality images that were proliferating. The high-quality
+ image of Vermeer’s Milkmaid, for example, is downloaded two to
+ three thousand times a month. On the Internet, images from a
+ source like the Rijksmuseum are more trusted, and releasing them
+ with a Creative Commons CC0 means they can easily be found in
+ other platforms. For example, Rijksmuseum images are now used in
+ thousands of Wikipedia articles, receiving ten to eleven million
+ views per month. This extends Rijksmuseum’s reach far beyond the
+ scope of its website. Sharing these images online creates what
+ Lizzy calls the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Mona Lisa effect,</span>”</span> where a work of
+ art becomes so famous that people want to see it in real life by
+ visiting the actual museum.
+ </p><p>
+ Every museum tends to be driven by the number of physical
+ visitors. The Rijksmuseum is primarily publicly funded, receiving
+ roughly 70 percent of its operating budget from the government.
+ But like many museums, it must generate the rest of the funding
+ through other means. The admission fee has long been a way to
+ generate revenue generation, including for the Rijksmuseum.
+ </p><p>
+ As museums create a digital presence for themselves and put up
+ digital representations of their collection online, there’s
+ frequently a worry that it will lead to a drop in actual physical
+ visits. For the Rijksmuseum, this has not turned out to be the
+ case. Lizzy told us the Rijksmuseum used to get about one million
+ visitors a year before closing and now gets more than two million
+ a year. Making the collection available online has generated
+ publicity and acts as a form of marketing. The Creative Commons
+ mark encourages reuse as well. When the image is found on protest
+ leaflets, milk cartons, and children’s toys, people also see what
+ museum the image comes from and this increases the museum’s
+ visibility.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2011 the Rijksmuseum received €1 million from the Dutch lottery
+ to create a new web presence that would be different from any
+ other museum’s. In addition to redesigning their main website to
+ be mobile friendly and responsive to devices like the iPad, the
+ Rijksmuseum also created the Rijksstudio, where users and artists
+ could use and do various things with the Rijksmuseum
+ collection.<a href="#ftn.idm1834" class="footnote" name="idm1834"><sup class="footnote">[144]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ The Rijksstudio gives users access to over two hundred thousand
+ high-quality digital representations of masterworks from the
+ collection. Users can zoom in to any work and even clip small
+ parts of images they like. Rijksstudio is a bit like Pinterest.
+ You can <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">like</span>”</span> works and compile your personal
+ favorites, and you can share them with friends or download them
+ free of charge. All the images in the Rijksstudio are copyright
+ and royalty free, and users are encouraged to use them as they
+ like, for private or even commercial purposes.
+ </p><p>
+ Users have created over 276,000 Rijksstudios, generating their own
+ themed virtual exhibitions on a wide variety of topics ranging
+ from tapestries to ugly babies and birds. Sets of images have also
+ been created for educational purposes including use for school
+ exams.
+ </p><p>
+ Some contemporary artists who have works in the Rijksmuseum
+ collection contacted them to ask why their works were not included
+ in the Rijksstudio. The answer was that contemporary artists’
+ works are still bound by copyright. The Rijksmuseum does encourage
+ contemporary artists to use a Creative Commons license for their
+ works, usually a CC BY-SA license (Attribution-ShareAlike), or a
+ CC BY-NC (Attribution-NonCommercial) if they want to preclude
+ commercial use. That way, their works can be made available to the
+ public, but within limits the artists have specified.
+ </p><p>
+ The Rijksmuseum believes that art stimulates entrepreneurial
+ activity. The line between creative and commercial can be blurry.
+ As Lizzy says, even Rembrandt was commercial, making his
+ livelihood from selling his paintings. The Rijksmuseum encourages
+ entrepreneurial commercial use of the images in Rijksstudio.
+ They’ve even partnered with the DIY marketplace Etsy to inspire
+ people to sell their creations. One great example you can find on
+ Etsy is a kimono designed by Angie Johnson, who used an image of
+ an elaborate cabinet along with an oil painting by Jan Asselijn
+ called The Threatened Swan.<a href="#ftn.idm1842" class="footnote" name="idm1842"><sup class="footnote">[145]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ In 2013 the Rijksmuseum organized their first high-profile design
+ competition, known as the Rijksstudio Award.<a href="#ftn.idm1846" class="footnote" name="idm1846"><sup class="footnote">[146]</sup></a> With the call to action Make Your Own Masterpiece, the
+ competition invites the public to use Rijksstudio images to make
+ new creative designs. A jury of renowned designers and curators
+ selects ten finalists and three winners. The final award comes
+ with a prize of €10,000. The second edition in 2015 attracted a
+ staggering 892 top-class entries. Some award winners end up with
+ their work sold through the Rijksmuseum store, such as the 2014
+ entry featuring makeup based on a specific color scheme of a work
+ of art.<a href="#ftn.idm1851" class="footnote" name="idm1851"><sup class="footnote">[147]</sup></a> The Rijksmuseum has been thrilled with the results.
+ Entries range from the fun to the weird to the inspirational. The
+ third international edition of the Rijksstudio Award started in
+ September 2016.
+ </p><p>
+ For the next iteration of the Rijksstudio, the Rijksmuseum is
+ considering an upload tool, for people to upload their own works
+ of art, and enhanced social elements so users can interact with
+ each other more.
+ </p><p>
+ Going with a more open business model generated lots of publicity
+ for the Rijksmuseum. They were one of the first museums to open up
+ their collection (that is, give free access) with high-quality
+ images. This strategy, along with the many improvements to the
+ Rijksmuseum’s website, dramatically increased visits to their
+ website from thirty-five thousand visits per month to three
+ hundred thousand.
+ </p><p>
+ The Rijksmuseum has been experimenting with other ways to invite
+ the public to look at and interact with their collection. On an
+ international day celebrating animals, they ran a successful
+ bird-themed event. The museum put together a showing of two
+ thousand works that featured birds and invited bird-watchers to
+ identify the birds depicted. Lizzy notes that while museum
+ curators know a lot about the works in their collections, they may
+ not know about certain details in the paintings such as bird
+ species. Over eight hundred different birds were identified,
+ including a specific species of crane bird that was unknown to the
+ scientific community at the time of the painting.
+ </p><p>
+ For the Rijksmuseum, adopting an open business model was scary.
+ They came up with many worst-case scenarios, imagining all kinds
+ of awful things people might do with the museum’s works. But Lizzy
+ says those fears did not come true because <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ninety-nine
+ percent of people have respect for great art.</span>”</span> Many museums
+ think they can make a lot of money by selling things related to
+ their collection. But in Lizzy’s experience, museums are usually
+ bad at selling things, and sometimes efforts to generate a small
+ amount of money block something much bigger—the real value that
+ the collection has. For Lizzy, clinging to small amounts of
+ revenue is being penny-wise but pound-foolish. For the
+ Rijksmuseum, a key lesson has been to never lose sight of its
+ vision for the collection. Allowing access to and use of their
+ collection has generated great promotional value—far more than the
+ previous practice of charging fees for access and use. Lizzy sums
+ up their experience: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Give away; get something in return.
+ Generosity makes people happy to join you and help out.</span>”</span>
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1822" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1822" class="para"><sup class="para">[143] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.europeana.eu/portal/en" target="_top">http://www.europeana.eu/portal/en</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1834" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1834" class="para"><sup class="para">[144] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio" target="_top">http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1842" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1842" class="para"><sup class="para">[145] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/175696771/fringe-kimono-silk-kimono-kimono-robe" target="_top">http://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/175696771/fringe-kimono-silk-kimono-kimono-robe</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1846" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1846" class="para"><sup class="para">[146] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio-award" target="_top">http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio-award</a>;
+ the 2014 award:
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio-award-2014" target="_top">http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio-award-2014</a>;
+ the 2015 award:
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio-award-2015" target="_top">http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio-award-2015</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1851" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1851" class="para"><sup class="para">[147] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/rijksstudio/142328--nominees-rijksstudio-award/creaties/ba595afe-452d-46bd-9c8c-48dcbdd7f0a4" target="_top">http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/rijksstudio/142328--nominees-rijksstudio-award/creaties/ba595afe-452d-46bd-9c8c-48dcbdd7f0a4</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="shareable"></a>Chapter 22. Shareable</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Shareable is an online magazine about sharing. Founded in 2009
+ in the U.S.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.shareable.net" target="_top">http://www.shareable.net</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: grant funding,
+ crowdfunding (project-based), donations, sponsorships
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: February 24,
+ 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Neal Gorenflo,
+ cofounder and executive editor
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Sarah Hinchliff Pearson
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ In 2013, Shareable faced an impasse. The nonprofit online
+ publication had helped start a sharing movement four years prior,
+ but over time, they watched one part of the movement stray from
+ its ideals. As giants like Uber and Airbnb gained ground,
+ attention began to center on the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">sharing economy</span>”</span> we
+ know now—profit-driven, transactional, and loaded with
+ venture-capital money. Leaders of corporate start-ups in this
+ domain invited Shareable to advocate for them. The magazine faced
+ a choice: ride the wave or stand on principle.
+ </p><p>
+ As an organization, Shareable decided to draw a line in the sand.
+ In 2013, the cofounder and executive editor Neal Gorenflo wrote an
+ opinion piece in the PandoDaily that charted Shareable’s new
+ critical stance on the Silicon Valley version of the sharing
+ economy, while contrasting it with aspects of the real sharing
+ economy like open-source software, participatory budgeting (where
+ citizens decide how a public budget is spent), cooperatives, and
+ more. He wrote, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It’s not so much that collaborative
+ consumption is dead, it’s more that it risks dying as it gets
+ absorbed by the <span class="quote">‘<span class="quote">Borg.</span>’</span></span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Neal said their public critique of the corporate sharing economy
+ defined what Shareable was and is. He does not think the magazine
+ would still be around had they chosen differently. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We would
+ have gotten another type of audience, but it would have spelled
+ the end of us,</span>”</span> he said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We are a small,
+ mission-driven organization. We would never have been able to
+ weather the criticism that Airbnb and Uber are getting
+ now.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Interestingly, impassioned supporters are only a small sliver of
+ Shareable’s total audience. Most are casual readers who come
+ across a Shareable story because it happens to align with a
+ project or interest they have. But choosing principles over the
+ possibility of riding the coattails of the major corporate players
+ in the sharing space saved Shareable’s credibility. Although they
+ became detached from the corporate sharing economy, the online
+ magazine became the voice of the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">real sharing
+ economy</span>”</span> and continued to grow their audience.
+ </p><p>
+ Shareable is a magazine, but the content they publish is a means
+ to furthering their role as a leader and catalyst of a movement.
+ Shareable became a leader in the movement in 2009. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">At that
+ time, there was a sharing movement bubbling beneath the surface,
+ but no one was connecting the dots,</span>”</span> Neal said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We
+ decided to step into that space and take on that role.</span>”</span> The
+ small team behind the nonprofit publication truly believed sharing
+ could be central to solving some of the major problems human
+ beings face—resource inequality, social isolation, and global
+ warming.
+ </p><p>
+ They have worked hard to find ways to tell stories that show
+ different metrics for success. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We wanted to change the
+ notion of what constitutes the good life,</span>”</span> Neal said. While
+ they started out with a very broad focus on sharing generally,
+ today they emphasize stories about the physical commons like
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">sharing cities</span>”</span> (i.e., urban areas managed in a
+ sustainable, cooperative way), as well as digital platforms that
+ are run democratically. They particularly focus on how-to content
+ that help their readers make changes in their own lives and
+ communities.
+ </p><p>
+ More than half of Shareable’s stories are written by paid
+ journalists that are contracted by the magazine.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Particularly in content areas that are a priority for us,
+ we really want to go deep and control the quality,</span>”</span> Neal
+ said. The rest of the content is either contributed by guest
+ writers, often for free, or written by other publications from
+ their network of content publishers. Shareable is a member of the
+ Post Growth Alliance, which facilitates the sharing of content and
+ audiences among a large and growing group of mostly nonprofits.
+ Each organization gets a chance to present stories to the group,
+ and the organizations can use and promote each other’s stories.
+ Much of the content created by the network is licensed with
+ Creative Commons.
+ </p><p>
+ All of Shareable’s original content is published under the
+ Attribution license (CC BY), meaning it can be used for any
+ purpose as long as credit is given to Shareable. Creative Commons
+ licensing is aligned with Shareable’s vision, mission, and
+ identity. That alone explains the organization’s embrace of the
+ licenses for their content, but Neal also believes CC licensing
+ helps them increase their reach. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">By using CC
+ licensing,</span>”</span> he said, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">we realized we could reach far
+ more people through a formal and informal network of republishers
+ or affiliates. That has definitely been the case. It’s hard for us
+ to measure the reach of other media properties, but most of the
+ outlets who republish our work have much bigger audiences than we
+ do.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ In addition to their regular news and commentary online, Shareable
+ has also experimented with book publishing. In 2012, they worked
+ with a traditional publisher to release Share or Die: Voices of
+ the Get Lost Generation in an Age of Crisis. The CC-licensed book
+ was available in print form for purchase or online for free. To
+ this day, the book—along with their CC-licensed guide Policies for
+ Shareable Cities—are two of the biggest generators of traffic on
+ their website.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2016, Shareable self-published a book of curated Shareable
+ stories called How to: Share, Save Money and Have Fun. The book
+ was available for sale, but a PDF version of the book was
+ available for free. Shareable plans to offer the book in upcoming
+ fund-raising campaigns.
+ </p><p>
+ This recent book is one of many fund-raising experiments Shareable
+ has conducted in recent years. Currently, Shareable is primarily
+ funded by grants from foundations, but they are actively moving
+ toward a more diversified model. They have organizational sponsors
+ and are working to expand their base of individual donors.
+ Ideally, they will eventually be a hundred percent funded by their
+ audience. Neal believes being fully community-supported will
+ better represent their vision of the world.
+ </p><p>
+ For Shareable, success is very much about their impact on the
+ world. This is true for Neal, but also for everyone who works for
+ Shareable. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We attract passionate people,</span>”</span> Neal said.
+ At times, that means employees work so hard they burn out. Neal
+ tries to stress to the Shareable team that another part of success
+ is having fun and taking care of yourself while you do something
+ you love. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">A central part of human beings is that we long to
+ be on a great adventure with people we love,</span>”</span> he said.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We are a species who look over the horizon and imagine and
+ create new worlds, but we also seek the comfort of hearth and
+ home.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ In 2013, Shareable ran its first crowdfunding campaign to launch
+ their Sharing Cities Network. Neal said at first they were on pace
+ to fail spectacularly. They called in their advisers in a panic
+ and asked for help. The advice they received was simple—<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Sit
+ your ass in a chair and start making calls.</span>”</span> That’s exactly
+ what they did, and they ended up reaching their $50,000 goal. Neal
+ said the campaign helped them reach new people, but the vast
+ majority of backers were people in their existing base.
+ </p><p>
+ For Neal, this symbolized how so much of success comes down to
+ relationships. Over time, Shareable has invested time and energy
+ into the relationships they have forged with their readers and
+ supporters. They have also invested resources into building
+ relationships between their readers and supporters.
+ </p><p>
+ Shareable began hosting events in 2010. These events were designed
+ to bring the sharing community together. But over time they
+ realized they could reach far more people if they helped their
+ readers to host their own events. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If we wanted to go big on
+ a conference, there was a huge risk and huge staffing needs, plus
+ only a fraction of our community could travel to the
+ event,</span>”</span> Neal said. Enabling others to create their own
+ events around the globe allowed them to scale up their work more
+ effectively and reach far more people. Shareable has catalyzed
+ three hundred different events reaching over twenty thousand
+ people since implementing this strategy three years ago. Going
+ forward, Shareable is focusing the network on creating and
+ distributing content meant to spur local action. For instance,
+ Shareable will publish a new CC-licensed book in 2017 filled with
+ ideas for their network to implement.
+ </p><p>
+ Neal says Shareable stumbled upon this strategy, but it seems to
+ perfectly encapsulate just how the commons is supposed to work.
+ Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, Shareable puts the tools
+ out there for people take the ideas and adapt them to their own
+ communities.
+ </p></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="siyavula"></a>Chapter 23. Siyavula</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Siyavula is a for-profit educational-technology company that
+ creates textbooks and integrated learning experiences. Founded
+ in 2012 in South Africa.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.siyavula.com" target="_top">http://www.siyavula.com</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging for
+ custom services, sponsorships
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: April 5, 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Mark Horner, CEO
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ Openness is a key principle for Siyavula. They believe that every
+ learner and teacher should have access to high-quality educational
+ resources, as this forms the basis for long-term growth and
+ development. Siyavula has been a pioneer in creating high-quality
+ open textbooks on mathematics and science subjects for grades 4 to
+ 12 in South Africa.
+ </p><p>
+ In terms of creating an open business model that involves Creative
+ Commons, Siyavula—and its founder, Mark Horner—have been around
+ the block a few times. Siyavula has significantly shifted
+ directions and strategies to survive and prosper. Mark says it’s
+ been very organic.
+ </p><p>
+ It all started in 2002, when Mark and several other colleagues at
+ the University of Cape Town in South Africa founded the Free High
+ School Science Texts project. Most students in South Africa high
+ schools didn’t have access to high-quality, comprehensive science
+ and math textbooks, so Mark and his colleagues set out to write
+ them and make them freely available.
+ </p><p>
+ As physicists, Mark and his colleagues were advocates of
+ open-source software. To make the books open and free, they
+ adopted the Free Software Foundation’s GNU Free Documentation
+ License.<a href="#ftn.idm1924" class="footnote" name="idm1924"><sup class="footnote">[148]</sup></a> They chose LaTeX, a typesetting program used to
+ publish scientific documents, to author the books. Over a period
+ of five years, the Free High School Science Texts project produced
+ math and physical-science textbooks for grades 10 to 12.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2007, the Shuttleworth Foundation offered funding support to
+ make the textbooks available for trial use at more schools.
+ Surveys before and after the textbooks were adopted showed there
+ were no substantial criticisms of the textbooks’ pedagogical
+ content. This pleased both the authors and Shuttleworth; Mark
+ remains incredibly proud of this accomplishment.
+ </p><p>
+ But the development of new textbooks froze at this stage. Mark
+ shifted his focus to rural schools, which didn’t have textbooks at
+ all, and looked into the printing and distribution options. A few
+ sponsors came on board but not enough to meet the need.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2007, Shuttleworth and the Open Society Institute convened a
+ group of open-education activists for a small but lively meeting
+ in Cape Town. One result was the Cape Town Open Education
+ Declaration, a statement of principles, strategies, and commitment
+ to help the open-education movement grow.<a href="#ftn.idm1930" class="footnote" name="idm1930"><sup class="footnote">[149]</sup></a> Shuttleworth also invited Mark to run a project
+ writing open content for all subjects for K–12 in English. That
+ project became Siyavula.
+ </p><p>
+ They wrote six original textbooks. A small publishing company
+ offered Shuttleworth the option to buy out the publisher’s
+ existing K–9 content for every subject in South African schools in
+ both English and Afrikaans. A deal was struck, and all the
+ acquired content was licensed with Creative Commons, significantly
+ expanding the collection beyond the six original books.
+ </p><p>
+ Mark wanted to build out the remaining curricula collaboratively
+ through communities of practice—that is, with fellow educators and
+ writers. Although sharing is fundamental to teaching, there can be
+ a few challenges when you create educational resources
+ collectively. One concern is legal. It is standard practice in
+ education to copy diagrams and snippets of text, but of course
+ this doesn’t always comply with copyright law. Another concern is
+ transparency. Sharing what you’ve authored means everyone can see
+ it and opens you up to criticism. To alleviate these concerns,
+ Mark adopted a team-based approach to authoring and insisted the
+ curricula be based entirely on resources with Creative Commons
+ licenses, thereby ensuring they were safe to share and free from
+ legal repercussions.
+ </p><p>
+ Not only did Mark want the resources to be shareable, he wanted
+ all teachers to be able to remix and edit the content. Mark and
+ his team had to come up with an open editable format and provide
+ tools for editing. They ended up putting all the books they’d
+ acquired and authored on a platform called Connexions.<a href="#ftn.idm1936" class="footnote" name="idm1936"><sup class="footnote">[150]</sup></a> Siyavula trained many teachers to use Connexions, but
+ it proved to be too complex and the textbooks were rarely edited.
+ </p><p>
+ Then the Shuttleworth Foundation decided to completely restructure
+ its work as a foundation into a fellowship model (for reasons
+ completely unrelated to Siyavula). As part of that transition in
+ 2009–10, Mark inherited Siyavula as an independent entity and took
+ ownership over it as a Shuttleworth fellow.
+ </p><p>
+ Mark and his team experimented with several different strategies.
+ They tried creating an authoring and hosting platform called Full
+ Marks so that teachers could share assessment items. They tried
+ creating a service called Open Press, where teachers could ask for
+ open educational resources to be aggregated into a package and
+ printed for them. These services never really panned out.
+ </p><p>
+ Then the South African government approached Siyavula with an
+ interest in printing out the original six Free High School Science
+ Texts (math and physical-science textbooks for grades 10 to 12)
+ for all high school students in South Africa. Although at this
+ point Siyavula was a bit discouraged by open educational
+ resources, they saw this as a big opportunity.
+ </p><p>
+ They began to conceive of the six books as having massive
+ marketing potential for Siyavula. Printing Siyavula books for
+ every kid in South Africa would give their brand huge exposure and
+ could drive vast amounts of traffic to their website. In addition
+ to print books, Siyavula could also make the books available on
+ their website, making it possible for learners to access them
+ using any device—computer, tablet, or mobile phone.
+ </p><p>
+ Mark and his team began imagining what they could develop beyond
+ what was in the textbooks as a service they charge for. One key
+ thing you can’t do well in a printed textbook is demonstrate
+ solutions. Typically, a one-line answer is given at the end of the
+ book but nothing on the process for arriving at that solution.
+ Mark and his team developed practice items and detailed solutions,
+ giving learners plenty of opportunity to test out what they’ve
+ learned. Furthermore, an algorithm could adapt these practice
+ items to the individual needs of each learner. They called this
+ service Intelligent Practice and embedded links to it in the open
+ textbooks.
+ </p><p>
+ The costs for using Intelligent Practice were set very low, making
+ it accessible even to those with limited financial means. Siyavula
+ was going for large volumes and wide-scale use rather than an
+ expensive product targeting only the high end of the market.
+ </p><p>
+ The government distributed the books to 1.5 million students, but
+ there was an unexpected wrinkle: the books were delivered late.
+ Rather than wait, schools who could afford it provided students
+ with a different textbook. The Siyavula books were eventually
+ distributed, but with well-off schools mainly using a different
+ book, the primary market for Siyavula’s Intelligent Practice
+ service inadvertently became low-income learners.
+ </p><p>
+ Siyavula’s site did see a dramatic increase in traffic. They got
+ five hundred thousand visitors per month to their math site and
+ the same number to their science site. Two-fifths of the traffic
+ was reading on a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">feature phone</span>”</span> (a nonsmartphone
+ with no apps). People on basic phones were reading math and
+ science on a two-inch screen at all hours of the day. To Mark, it
+ was quite amazing and spoke to a need they were servicing.
+ </p><p>
+ At first, the Intelligent Practice services could only be paid
+ using a credit card. This proved problematic, especially for those
+ in the low-income demographic, as credit cards were not prevalent.
+ Mark says Siyavula got a harsh business-model lesson early on. As
+ he describes it, it’s not just about product, but how you sell it,
+ who the market is, what the price is, and what the barriers to
+ entry are.
+ </p><p>
+ Mark describes this as the first version of Siyavula’s business
+ model: open textbooks serving as marketing material and driving
+ traffic to your site, where you can offer a related service and
+ convert some people into a paid customer.
+ </p><p>
+ For Mark a key decision for Siyavula’s business was to focus on
+ how they can add value on top of their basic service. They’ll
+ charge only if they are adding unique value. The actual content of
+ the textbook isn’t unique at all, so Siyavula sees no value in
+ locking it down and charging for it. Mark contrasts this with
+ traditional publishers who charge over and over again for the same
+ content without adding value.
+ </p><p>
+ Version two of Siyavula’s business model was a big, ambitious
+ idea—scale up. They also decided to sell the Intelligent Practice
+ service to schools directly. Schools can subscribe on a
+ per-student, per-subject basis. A single subscription gives a
+ learner access to a single subject, including practice content
+ from every grade available for that subject. Lower subscription
+ rates are provided when there are over two hundred students, and
+ big schools have a price cap. A 40 percent discount is offered to
+ schools where both the science and math departments subscribe.
+ </p><p>
+ Teachers get a dashboard that allows them to monitor the progress
+ of an entire class or view an individual learner’s results. They
+ can see the questions that learners are working on, identify areas
+ of difficulty, and be more strategic in their teaching. Students
+ also have their own personalized dashboard, where they can view
+ the sections they’ve practiced, how many points they’ve earned,
+ and how their performance is improving.
+ </p><p>
+ Based on the success of this effort, Siyavula decided to
+ substantially increase the production of open educational
+ resources so they could provide the Intelligent Practice service
+ for a wider range of books. Grades 10 to 12 math and science books
+ were reworked each year, and new books created for grades 4 to 6
+ and later grades 7 to 9.
+ </p><p>
+ In partnership with, and sponsored by, the Sasol Inzalo
+ Foundation, Siyavula produced a series of natural sciences and
+ technology workbooks for grades 4 to 6 called Thunderbolt Kids
+ that uses a fun comic-book style.<a href="#ftn.idm1955" class="footnote" name="idm1955"><sup class="footnote">[151]</sup></a> It’s a complete curriculum that also comes with
+ teacher’s guides and other resources.
+ </p><p>
+ Through this experience, Siyavula learned they could get sponsors
+ to help fund openly licensed textbooks. It helped that Siyavula
+ had by this time nailed the production model. It cost roughly
+ $150,000 to produce a book in two languages. Sponsors liked the
+ social-benefit aspect of textbooks unlocked via a Creative Commons
+ license. They also liked the exposure their brand got. For roughly
+ $150,000, their logo would be visible on books distributed to over
+ one million students.
+ </p><p>
+ The Siyavula books that are reviewed, approved, and branded by the
+ government are freely and openly available on Siyavula’s website
+ under an Attribution-NoDerivs license (CC BY-ND) —NoDerivs means
+ that these books cannot be modified. Non-government-branded books
+ are available under an Attribution license (CC BY), allowing
+ others to modify and redistribute the books.
+ </p><p>
+ Although the South African government paid to print and distribute
+ hard copies of the books to schoolkids, Siyavula itself received
+ no funding from the government. Siyavula initially tried to
+ convince the government to provide them with five rand per book
+ (about US35¢). With those funds, Mark says that Siyavula could
+ have run its entire operation, built a community-based model for
+ producing more books, and provide Intelligent Practice for free to
+ every child in the country. But after a lengthy negotiation, the
+ government said no.
+ </p><p>
+ Using Siyavula books generated huge savings for the government.
+ Providing students with a traditionally published grade 12 science
+ or math textbook costs around 250 rand per book (about US$18).
+ Providing the Siyavula version cost around 36 rand (about $2.60),
+ a savings of over 200 rand per book. But none of those savings
+ were passed on to Siyavula. In retrospect, Mark thinks this may
+ have turned out in their favor as it allowed them to remain
+ independent from the government.
+ </p><p>
+ Just as Siyavula was planning to scale up the production of open
+ textbooks even more, the South African government changed its
+ textbook policy. To save costs, the government declared there
+ would be only one authorized textbook for each grade and each
+ subject. There was no guarantee that Siyavula’s would be chosen.
+ This scared away potential sponsors.
+ </p><p>
+ Rather than producing more textbooks, Siyavula focused on
+ improving its Intelligent Practice technology for its existing
+ books. Mark calls this version three of Siyavula’s business
+ model—focusing on the technology that provides the
+ revenue-generating service and generating more users of this
+ service. Version three got a significant boost in 2014 with an
+ investment by the Omidyar Network (the philanthropic venture
+ started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his spouse), and
+ continues to be the model Siyavula uses today.
+ </p><p>
+ Mark says sales are way up, and they are really nailing
+ Intelligent Practice. Schools continue to use their open
+ textbooks. The government-announced policy that there would be
+ only one textbook per subject turned out to be highly contentious
+ and is in limbo.
+ </p><p>
+ Siyavula is exploring a range of enhancements to their business
+ model. These include charging a small amount for assessment
+ services provided over the phone, diversifying their market to all
+ English-speaking countries in Africa, and setting up a consortium
+ that makes Intelligent Practice free to all kids by selling the
+ nonpersonal data Intelligent Practice collects.
+ </p><p>
+ Siyavula is a for-profit business but one with a social mission.
+ Their shareholders’ agreement lists lots of requirements around
+ openness for Siyavula, including stipulations that content always
+ be put under an open license and that they can’t charge for
+ something that people volunteered to do for them. They believe
+ each individual should have access to the resources and support
+ they need to achieve the education they deserve. Having
+ educational resources openly licensed with Creative Commons means
+ they can fulfill their social mission, on top of which they can
+ build revenue-generating services to sustain the ongoing operation
+ of Siyavula. In terms of open business models, Mark and Siyavula
+ may have been around the block a few times, but both he and the
+ company are stronger for it.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm1924" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1924" class="para"><sup class="para">[148] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl" target="_top">http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1930" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1930" class="para"><sup class="para">[149] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.capetowndeclaration.org" target="_top">http://www.capetowndeclaration.org</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1936" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1936" class="para"><sup class="para">[150] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://cnx.org" target="_top">http://cnx.org</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm1955" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm1955" class="para"><sup class="para">[151] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.siyavula.com/products-primary-school.html" target="_top">http://www.siyavula.com/products-primary-school.html</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="sparkfun"></a>Chapter 24. SparkFun</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ SparkFun is an online electronics retailer specializing in open
+ hardware. Founded in 2003 in the U.S.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.sparkfun.com" target="_top">http://www.sparkfun.com</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging for
+ physical copies (electronics sales)
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: February 29,
+ 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Nathan Seidle,
+ founder
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Sarah Hinchliff Pearson
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ SparkFun founder and former CEO Nathan Seidle has a picture of
+ himself holding up a clone of a SparkFun product in an electronics
+ market in China, with a huge grin on his face. He was traveling in
+ China when he came across their LilyPad wearable technology being
+ made by someone else. His reaction was glee.
+ </p><p><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Being copied is the greatest earmark of flattery and
+ success,</span>”</span> Nathan said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I thought it was so cool that
+ they were selling to a market we were never going to get access to
+ otherwise. It was evidence of our impact on the world.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ This worldview runs through everything SparkFun does. SparkFun is
+ an electronics manufacturer. The company sells its products
+ directly to the public online, and it bundles them with
+ educational tools to sell to schools and teachers. SparkFun
+ applies Creative Commons licenses to all of its schematics,
+ images, tutorial content, and curricula, so anyone can make their
+ products on their own. Being copied is part of the design.
+ </p><p>
+ Nathan believes open licensing is good for the world. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It
+ touches on our natural human instinct to share,</span>”</span> he said.
+ But he also strongly believes it makes SparkFun better at what
+ they do. They encourage copying, and their products are copied at
+ a very fast rate, often within ten to twelve weeks of release.
+ This forces the company to compete on something other than product
+ design, or what most commonly consider their intellectual
+ property.
+ </p><p><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We compete on business principles,</span>”</span> Nathan said.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Claiming your territory with intellectual property allows
+ you to get comfy and rest on your laurels. It gives you a safety
+ net. We took away that safety net.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ The result is an intense company-wide focus on product development
+ and improvement. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Our products are so much better than they
+ were five years ago,</span>”</span> Nathan said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We used to just
+ sell products. Now it’s a product plus a video, a seventeen-page
+ hookup guide, and example firmware on three different platforms to
+ get you up and running faster. We have gotten better because we
+ had to in order to compete. As painful as it is for us, it’s
+ better for the customers.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ SparkFun parts are available on eBay for lower prices. But people
+ come directly to SparkFun because SparkFun makes their lives
+ easier. The example code works; there is a service number to call;
+ they ship replacement parts the day they get a service call. They
+ invest heavily in service and support. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I don’t believe
+ businesses should be competing with IP [intellectual property]
+ barriers,</span>”</span> Nathan said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">This is the stuff they
+ should be competing on.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ SparkFun’s company history began in Nathan’s college dorm room. He
+ spent a lot of time experimenting with and building electronics,
+ and he realized there was a void in the market. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If you
+ wanted to place an order for something,</span>”</span> he said,
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">you first had to search far and wide to find it, and then
+ you had to call or fax someone.</span>”</span> In 2003, during his third
+ year of college, he registered
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://sparkfun.com" target="_top">http://sparkfun.com</a> and started reselling
+ products out of his bedroom. After he graduated, he started making
+ and selling his own products.
+ </p><p>
+ Once he started designing his own products, he began putting the
+ software and schematics online to help with technical support.
+ After doing some research on licensing options, he chose Creative
+ Commons licenses because he was drawn to the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">human-readable
+ deeds</span>”</span> that explain the licensing terms in simple terms.
+ SparkFun still uses CC licenses for all of the schematics and
+ firmware for the products they create.
+ </p><p>
+ The company has grown from a solo project to a corporation with
+ 140 employees. In 2015, SparkFun earned $33 million in revenue.
+ Selling components and widgets to hobbyists, professionals, and
+ artists remains a major part of SparkFun’s business. They sell
+ their own products, but they also partner with Arduino (also
+ profiled in this book) by manufacturing boards for resale using
+ Arduino’s brand.
+ </p><p>
+ SparkFun also has an educational department dedicated to creating
+ a hands-on curriculum to teach students about electronics using
+ prototyping parts. Because SparkFun has always been dedicated to
+ enabling others to re-create and fix their products on their own,
+ the more recent focus on introducing young people to technology is
+ a natural extension of their core business.
+ </p><p><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We have the burden and opportunity to educate the next
+ generation of technical citizens,</span>”</span> Nathan said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Our
+ goal is to affect the lives of three hundred and fifty thousand
+ high school students by 2020.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ The Creative Commons license underlying all of SparkFun’s products
+ is central to this mission. The license not only signals a
+ willingness to share, but it also expresses a desire for others to
+ get in and tinker with their products, both to learn and to make
+ their products better. SparkFun uses the Attribution-ShareAlike
+ license (CC BY-SA), which is a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">copyleft</span>”</span> license
+ that allows people to do anything with the content as long as they
+ provide credit and make any adaptations available under the same
+ licensing terms.
+ </p><p>
+ From the beginning, Nathan has tried to create a work environment
+ at SparkFun that he himself would want to work in. The result is
+ what appears to be a pretty fun workplace. The U.S. company is
+ based in Boulder, Colorado. They have an
+ eighty-thousand-square-foot facility (approximately
+ seventy-four-hundred square meters), where they design and
+ manufacture their products. They offer public tours of the space
+ several times a week, and they open their doors to the public for
+ a competition once a year.
+ </p><p>
+ The public event, called the Autonomous Vehicle Competition,
+ brings in a thousand to two thousand customers and other
+ technology enthusiasts from around the area to race their own
+ self-created bots against each other, participate in training
+ workshops, and socialize. From a business perspective, Nathan says
+ it’s a terrible idea. But they don’t hold the event for business
+ reasons. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The reason we do it is because I get to travel and
+ have interactions with our customers all the time, but most of our
+ employees don’t,</span>”</span> he said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">This event gives our
+ employees the opportunity to get face-to-face contact with our
+ customers.</span>”</span> The event infuses their work with a human
+ element, which makes it more meaningful.
+ </p><p>
+ Nathan has worked hard to imbue a deeper meaning into the work
+ SparkFun does. The company is, of course, focused on being
+ fiscally responsible, but they are ultimately driven by something
+ other than money. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Profit is not the goal; it is the outcome
+ of a well-executed plan,</span>”</span> Nathan said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We focus on
+ having a bigger impact on the world.</span>”</span> Nathan believes they
+ get some of the brightest and most amazing employees because they
+ aren’t singularly focused on the bottom line.
+ </p><p>
+ The company is committed to transparency and shares all of its
+ financials with its employees. They also generally strive to avoid
+ being another soulless corporation. They actively try to reveal
+ the humans behind the company, and they work to ensure people
+ coming to their site don’t find only unchanging content.
+ </p><p>
+ SparkFun’s customer base is largely made up of industrious
+ electronics enthusiasts. They have customers who are regularly
+ involved in the company’s customer support, independently
+ responding to questions in forums and product-comment sections.
+ Customers also bring product ideas to the company. SparkFun
+ regularly sifts through suggestions from customers and tries to
+ build on them where they can. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">From the beginning, we have
+ been listening to the community,</span>”</span> Nathan said.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Customers would identify a pain point, and we would design
+ something to address it.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ However, this sort of customer engagement does not always
+ translate to people actively contributing to SparkFun’s projects.
+ The company has a public repository of software code for each of
+ its devices online. On a particularly active project, there will
+ only be about two dozen people contributing significant
+ improvements. The vast majority of projects are relatively
+ untouched by the public. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">There is a theory that if you
+ open-source it, they will come,</span>”</span> Nathan said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">That’s
+ not really true.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Rather than focusing on cocreation with their customers, SparkFun
+ instead focuses on enabling people to copy, tinker, and improve
+ products on their own. They heavily invest in tutorials and other
+ material designed to help people understand how the products work
+ so they can fix and improve things independently. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">What
+ gives me joy is when people take open-source layouts and then
+ build their own circuit boards from our designs,</span>”</span> Nathan
+ said.
+ </p><p>
+ Obviously, opening up the design of their products is a necessary
+ step if their goal is to empower the public. Nathan also firmly
+ believes it makes them more money because it requires them to
+ focus on how to provide maximum value. Rather than designing a new
+ product and protecting it in order to extract as much money as
+ possible from it, they release the keys necessary for others to
+ build it themselves and then spend company time and resources on
+ innovation and service. From a short-term perspective, SparkFun
+ may lose a few dollars when others copy their products. But in the
+ long run, it makes them a more nimble, innovative business. In
+ other words, it makes them the kind of company they set out to be.
+ </p></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="teachaids"></a>Chapter 25. TeachAIDS</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ TeachAIDS is a nonprofit that creates educational materials
+ designed to teach people around the world about HIV and AIDS.
+ Founded in 2005 in the U.S.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://teachaids.org" target="_top">http://teachaids.org</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: sponsorships
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: March 24,
+ 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewees</strong></span>: Piya Sorcar,
+ the CEO, and Shuman Ghosemajumder, the chair
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Sarah Hinchliff Pearson
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ TeachAIDS is an unconventional media company with a conventional
+ revenue model. Like most media companies, they are subsidized by
+ advertising. Corporations pay to have their logos appear on the
+ educational materials TeachAIDS distributes.
+ </p><p>
+ But unlike most media companies, Teach-AIDS is a nonprofit
+ organization with a purely social mission. TeachAIDS is dedicated
+ to educating the global population about HIV and AIDS,
+ particularly in parts of the world where education efforts have
+ been historically unsuccessful. Their educational content is
+ conveyed through interactive software, using methods based on the
+ latest research about how people learn. TeachAIDS serves content
+ in more than eighty countries around the world. In each instance,
+ the content is translated to the local language and adjusted to
+ conform to local norms and customs. All content is free and made
+ available under a Creative Commons license.
+ </p><p>
+ TeachAIDS is a labor of love for founder and CEO Piya Sorcar, who
+ earns a salary of one dollar per year from the nonprofit. The
+ project grew out of research she was doing while pursuing her
+ doctorate at Stanford University. She was reading reports about
+ India, noting it would be the next hot zone of people living with
+ HIV. Despite international and national entities pouring in
+ hundreds of millions of dollars on HIV-prevention efforts, the
+ reports showed knowledge levels were still low. People were
+ unaware of whether the virus could be transmitted through coughing
+ and sneezing, for instance. Supported by an interdisciplinary team
+ of experts at Stanford, Piya conducted similar studies, which
+ corroborated the previous research. They found that the primary
+ cause of the limited understanding was that HIV, and issues
+ relating to it, were often considered too taboo to discuss
+ comprehensively. The other major problem was that most of the
+ education on this topic was being taught through television
+ advertising, billboards, and other mass-media campaigns, which
+ meant people were only receiving bits and pieces of information.
+ </p><p>
+ In late 2005, Piya and her team used research-based design to
+ create new educational materials and worked with local partners in
+ India to help distribute them. As soon as the animated software
+ was posted online, Piya’s team started receiving requests from
+ individuals and governments who were interested in bringing this
+ model to more countries. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We realized fairly quickly that
+ educating large populations about a topic that was considered
+ taboo would be challenging. We began by identifying optimal local
+ partners and worked toward creating an effective, culturally
+ appropriate education,</span>”</span> Piya said.
+ </p><p>
+ Very shortly after the initial release, Piya’s team decided to
+ spin the endeavor into an independent nonprofit out of Stanford
+ University. They also decided to use Creative Commons licenses on
+ the materials.
+ </p><p>
+ Given their educational mission, TeachAIDS had an obvious interest
+ in seeing the materials as widely shared as possible. But they
+ also needed to preserve the integrity of the medical information
+ in the content. They chose the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
+ license (CC BY-NC-ND), which essentially gives the public the
+ right to distribute only verbatim copies of the content, and for
+ noncommercial purposes. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We wanted attribution for
+ TeachAIDS, and we couldn’t stand by derivatives without vetting
+ them,</span>”</span> the cofounder and chair Shuman Ghosemajumder said.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">It was almost a no-brainer to go with a CC license because
+ it was a plug-and-play solution to this exact problem. It has
+ allowed us to scale our materials safely and quickly worldwide
+ while preserving our content and protecting us at the same
+ time.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Choosing a license that does not allow adaptation of the content
+ was an outgrowth of the careful precision with which TeachAIDS
+ crafts their content. The organization invests heavily in research
+ and testing to determine the best method of conveying the
+ information. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Creating high-quality content is what matters
+ most to us,</span>”</span> Piya said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Research drives everything
+ we do.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ One important finding was that people accept the message best when
+ it comes from familiar voices they trust and admire. To achieve
+ this, TeachAIDS researches cultural icons that would best resonate
+ with their target audiences and recruits them to donate their
+ likenesses and voices for use in the animated software. The
+ celebrities involved vary for each localized version of the
+ materials.
+ </p><p>
+ Localization is probably the single-most important aspect of the
+ way TeachAIDS creates its content. While each regional version
+ builds from the same core scientific materials, they pour a lot of
+ resources into customizing the content for a particular
+ population. Because they use a CC license that does not allow the
+ public to adapt the content, TeachAIDS retains careful control
+ over the localization process. The content is translated into the
+ local language, but there are also changes in substance and format
+ to reflect cultural differences. This process results in minor
+ changes, like choosing different idioms based on the local
+ language, and significant changes, like creating gendered versions
+ for places where people are more likely to accept information from
+ someone of the same gender.
+ </p><p>
+ The localization process relies heavily on volunteers. Their
+ volunteer base is deeply committed to the cause, and the
+ organization has had better luck controlling the quality of the
+ materials when they tap volunteers instead of using paid
+ translators. For quality control, TeachAIDS has three separate
+ volunteer teams translate the materials from English to the local
+ language and customize the content based on local customs and
+ norms. Those three versions are then analyzed and combined into a
+ single master translation. TeachAIDS has additional teams of
+ volunteers then translate that version back into English to see
+ how well it lines up with the original materials. They repeat this
+ process until they reach a translated version that meets their
+ standards. For the Tibetan version, they went through this cycle
+ eleven times.
+ </p><p>
+ TeachAIDS employs full-time employees, contractors, and
+ volunteers, all in different capacities and organizational
+ configurations. They are careful to use people from diverse
+ backgrounds to create the materials, including teachers, students,
+ and doctors, as well as individuals experienced in working in the
+ NGO space. This diversity and breadth of knowledge help ensure
+ their materials resonate with people from all walks of life.
+ Additionally, TeachAIDS works closely with film writers and
+ directors to help keep the concepts entertaining and easy to
+ understand. The inclusive, but highly controlled, creative process
+ is undertaken entirely by people who are specifically brought on
+ to help with a particular project, rather than ongoing staff. The
+ final product they create is designed to require zero training for
+ people to implement in practice. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">In our research, we found
+ we can’t depend on people passing on the information correctly,
+ even if they have the best of intentions,</span>”</span> Piya said.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We need materials where you can push play and they will
+ work.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Piya’s team was able to produce all of these versions over several
+ years with a head count that never exceeded eight full-time
+ employees. The organization is able to reduce costs by relying
+ heavily on volunteers and in-kind donations. Nevertheless, the
+ nonprofit needed a sustainable revenue model to subsidize content
+ creation and physical distribution of the materials. Charging even
+ a low price was simply not an option. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Educators from
+ various nonprofits around the world were just creating their own
+ materials using whatever they could find for free online,</span>”</span>
+ Shuman said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The only way to persuade them to use our
+ highly effective model was to make it completely free.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Like many content creators offering their work for free, they
+ settled on advertising as a funding model. But they were extremely
+ careful not to let the advertising compromise their credibility or
+ undermine the heavy investment they put into creating quality
+ content. Sponsors of the content have no ability to influence the
+ substance of the content, and they cannot even create advertising
+ content. Sponsors only get the right to have their logo appear
+ before and after the educational content. All of the content
+ remains branded as TeachAIDS.
+ </p><p>
+ TeachAIDS is careful not to seek funding to cover the costs of a
+ specific project. Instead, sponsorships are structured as
+ unrestricted donations to the nonprofit. This gives the nonprofit
+ more stability, but even more importantly, it enables them to
+ subsidize projects being localized for an area with no sponsors.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">If we just created versions based on where we could get
+ sponsorships, we would only have materials for wealthier
+ countries,</span>”</span> Shuman said.
+ </p><p>
+ As of 2016, TeachAIDS has dozens of sponsors. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">When we go
+ into a new country, various companies hear about us and reach out
+ to us,</span>”</span> Piya said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We don’t have to do much to find
+ or attract them.</span>”</span> They believe the sponsorships are easy to
+ sell because they offer so much value to sponsors. TeachAIDS
+ sponsorships give corporations the chance to reach new eyeballs
+ with their brand, but at a much lower cost than other advertising
+ channels. The audience for TeachAIDS content also tends to skew
+ young, which is often a desirable demographic for brands. Unlike
+ traditional advertising, the content is not time-sensitive, so an
+ investment in a sponsorship can benefit a brand for many years to
+ come.
+ </p><p>
+ Importantly, the value to corporate sponsors goes beyond
+ commercial considerations. As a nonprofit with a clearly
+ articulated social mission, corporate sponsorships are donations
+ to a cause. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">This is something companies can be proud of
+ internally,</span>”</span> Shuman said. Some companies have even built
+ publicity campaigns around the fact that they have sponsored these
+ initiatives.
+ </p><p>
+ The core mission of TeachAIDS—ensuring global access to
+ life-saving education—is at the root of everything the
+ organization does. It underpins the work; it motivates the
+ funders. The CC license on the materials they create furthers that
+ mission, allowing them to safely and quickly scale their materials
+ worldwide. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The Creative Commons license has been a game
+ changer for TeachAIDS,</span>”</span> Piya said.
+ </p></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="tribe-of-noise"></a>Chapter 26. Tribe of Noise</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ Tribe of Noise is a for-profit online music platform serving the
+ film, TV, video, gaming, and in-store-media industries. Founded
+ in 2008 in the Netherlands.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.tribeofnoise.com" target="_top">http://www.tribeofnoise.com</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: charging a
+ transaction fee
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: January 26,
+ 2016
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewee</strong></span>: Hessel van
+ Oorschot, cofounder
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Paul Stacey
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ In the early 2000s, Hessel van Oorschot was an entrepreneur
+ running a business where he coached other midsize entrepreneurs
+ how to create an online business. He also coauthored a number of
+ workbooks for small- to medium-size enterprises to use to optimize
+ their business for the Web. Through this early work, Hessel became
+ familiar with the principles of open licensing, including the use
+ of open-source software and Creative Commons.
+ </p><p>
+ In 2005, Hessel and Sandra Brandenburg launched a niche
+ video-production initiative. Almost immediately, they ran into
+ issues around finding and licensing music tracks. All they could
+ find was standard, cold stock-music. They thought of looking up
+ websites where you could license music directly from the musician
+ without going through record labels or agents. But in 2005, the
+ ability to directly license music from a rights holder was not
+ readily available.
+ </p><p>
+ They hired two lawyers to investigate further, and while they
+ uncovered five or six examples, Hessel found the business models
+ lacking. The lawyers expressed interest in being their legal team
+ should they decide to pursue this as an entrepreneurial
+ opportunity. Hessel says, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">When lawyers are interested in a
+ venture like this, you might have something special.</span>”</span> So
+ after some more research, in early 2008, Hessel and Sandra decided
+ to build a platform.
+ </p><p>
+ Building a platform posed a real chicken-and-egg problem. The
+ platform had to build an online community of music-rights holders
+ and, at the same time, provide the community with information and
+ ideas about how the new economy works. Community willingness to
+ try new music business models requires a trust relationship.
+ </p><p>
+ In July 2008, Tribe of Noise opened its virtual doors with a
+ couple hundred musicians willing to use the CC BY-SA license
+ (Attribution-ShareAlike) for a limited part of their repertoire.
+ The two entrepreneurs wanted to take the pain away for media
+ makers who wanted to license music and solve the problems the two
+ had personally experienced finding this music.
+ </p><p>
+ As they were growing the community, Hessel got a phone call from a
+ company that made in-store music playlists asking if they had
+ enough music licensed with Creative Commons that they could use.
+ Stores need quality, good-listening music but not necessarily
+ hits, a bit like a radio show without the DJ. This opened a new
+ opportunity for Tribe of Noise. They started their In-store Music
+ Service, using music (licensed with CC BY-SA) uploaded by the
+ Tribe of Noise community of musicians.<a href="#ftn.idm2090" class="footnote" name="idm2090"><sup class="footnote">[152]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ In most countries, artists, authors, and musicians join a
+ collecting society that manages the licensing and helps collect
+ the royalties. Copyright collecting societies in the European
+ Union usually hold monopolies in their respective national
+ markets. In addition, they require their members to transfer
+ exclusive administration rights to them of all of their works.
+ This complicates the picture for Tribe of Noise, who wants to
+ represent artists, or at least a portion of their repertoire.
+ Hessel and his legal team reached out to collecting societies,
+ starting with those in the Netherlands. What would be the best
+ legal way forward that would respect the wishes of composers and
+ musicians who’d be interested in trying out new models like the
+ In-store Music Service? Collecting societies at first were
+ hesitant and said no, but Tribe of Noise persisted arguing that
+ they primarily work with unknown artists and provide them exposure
+ in parts of the world where they don’t get airtime normally and a
+ source of revenue—and this convinced them that it was OK. However,
+ Hessel says, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We are still fighting for a good cause every
+ single day.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Instead of building a large sales force, Tribe of Noise partnered
+ with big organizations who have lots of clients and can act as a
+ kind of Tribe of Noise reseller. The largest telecom network in
+ the Netherlands, for example, sells Tribe’s In-store Music Service
+ subscriptions to their business clients, which include fashion
+ retailers and fitness centers. They have a similar deal with the
+ leading trade association representing hotels and restaurants in
+ the country. Hessel hopes to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">copy and paste</span>”</span> this
+ service into other countries where collecting societies understand
+ what you can do with Creative Commons. Outside of the Netherlands,
+ early adoptions have happened in Scandinavia, Belgium, and the
+ U.S.
+ </p><p>
+ Tribe of Noise doesn’t pay the musicians up front; they get paid
+ when their music ends up in Tribe of Noise’s in-store music
+ channels. The musicians’ share is 42.5 percent. It’s not uncommon
+ in a traditional model for the artist to get only 5 to 10 percent,
+ so a share of over 40 percent is a significantly better deal.
+ Here’s how they give an example on their website:
+ </p><p>
+ A few of your songs [licensed with CC BY-SA], for example five in
+ total, are selected for a bespoke in-store music channel
+ broadcasting at a large retailer with 1,000 stores nationwide. In
+ this case the overall playlist contains 350 songs so the
+ musician’s share is 5/350 = 1.43%. The license fee agreed with
+ this retailer is US$12 per month per play-out. So if 42.5% is
+ shared with the Tribe musicians in this playlist and your share is
+ 1.43%, you end up with US$12 * 1000 stores * 0.425 * 0.0143 =
+ US$73 per month.<a href="#ftn.idm2099" class="footnote" name="idm2099"><sup class="footnote">[153]</sup></a>
+ </p><p>
+ Tribe of Noise has another model that does not involve Creative
+ Commons. In a survey with members, most said they liked the
+ exposure using Creative Commons gets them and the way it lets them
+ reach out to others to share and remix. However, they had a bit of
+ a mental struggle with Creative Commons licenses being perpetual.
+ A lot of musicians have the mind-set that one day one of their
+ songs may become an overnight hit. If that happened the CC BY-SA
+ license would preclude them getting rich off the sale of that
+ song.
+ </p><p>
+ Hessel’s legal team took this feedback and created a second model
+ and separate area of the platform called Tribe of Noise Pro. Songs
+ uploaded to Tribe of Noise Pro aren’t Creative Commons licensed;
+ Tribe of Noise has instead created a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">nonexclusive
+ exploitation</span>”</span> contract, similar to a Creative Commons
+ license but allowing musicians to opt out whenever they want. When
+ you opt out, Tribe of Noise agrees to take your music off the
+ Tribe of Noise platform within one to two months. This lets the
+ musician reuse their song for a better deal.
+ </p><p>
+ Tribe of Noise Pro is primarily geared toward media makers who are
+ looking for music. If they buy a license from this catalog, they
+ don’t have to state the name of the creator; they just license the
+ song for a specific amount. This is a big plus for media makers.
+ And musicians can pull their repertoire at any time. Hessel sees
+ this as a more direct and clean deal.
+ </p><p>
+ Lots of Tribe of Noise musicians upload songs to both Tribe of
+ Noise Pro and the community area of Tribe of Noises. There aren’t
+ that many artists who upload only to Tribe of Noise Pro, which has
+ a smaller repertoire of music than the community area.
+ </p><p>
+ Hessel sees the two as complementary. Both are needed for the
+ model to work. With a whole generation of musicians interested in
+ the sharing economy, the community area of Tribe of Noise is where
+ they can build trust, create exposure, and generate money. And
+ after that, musicians may become more interested in exploring
+ other models like Tribe of Noise Pro.
+ </p><p>
+ Every musician who joins Tribe of Noise gets their own home page
+ and free unlimited Web space to upload as much of their own music
+ as they like. Tribe of Noise is also a social network; fellow
+ musicians and professionals can vote for, comment on, and like
+ your music. Community managers interact with and support members,
+ and music supervisors pick and choose from the uploaded songs for
+ in-store play or to promote them to media producers. Members
+ really like having people working for the platform who truly
+ engage with them.
+ </p><p>
+ Another way Tribe of Noise creates community and interest is with
+ contests, which are organized in partnership with Tribe of Noise
+ clients. The client specifies what they want, and any member can
+ submit a song. Contests usually involve prizes, exposure, and
+ money. In addition to building member engagement, contests help
+ members learn how to work with clients: listening to them,
+ understanding what they want, and creating a song to meet that
+ need.
+ </p><p>
+ Tribe of Noise now has twenty-seven thousand members from 192
+ countries, and many are exploring do-it-yourself models for
+ generating revenue. Some came from music labels and publishers,
+ having gone through the traditional way of music licensing and now
+ seeing if this new model makes sense for them. Others are young
+ musicians, who grew up with a DIY mentality and see little reason
+ to sign with a third party or hand over some of the control. Still
+ a small but growing group of Tribe members are pursuing a hybrid
+ model by licensing some of their songs under CC BY-SA and opting
+ in others with collecting societies like ASCAP or BMI.
+ </p><p>
+ It’s not uncommon for performance-rights organizations, record
+ labels, or music publishers to sign contracts with musicians based
+ on exclusivity. Such an arrangement prevents those musicians from
+ uploading their music to Tribe of Noise. In the United States, you
+ can have a collecting society handle only some of your tracks,
+ whereas in many countries in Europe, a collecting society prefers
+ to represent your entire repertoire (although the European
+ Commission is making some changes). Tribe of Noise deals with this
+ issue all the time and gives you a warning whenever you upload a
+ song. If collecting societies are willing to be open and flexible
+ and do the most they can for their members, then they can consider
+ organizations like Tribe of Noise as a nice add-on, generating
+ more exposure and revenue for the musicians they represent. So
+ far, Tribe of Noise has been able to make all this work without
+ litigation.
+ </p><p>
+ For Hessel the key to Tribe of Noise’s success is trust. The fact
+ that Creative Commons licenses work the same way all over the
+ world and have been translated into all languages really helps
+ build that trust. Tribe of Noise believes in creating a model
+ where they work together with musicians. They can only do that if
+ they have a live and kicking community, with people who think that
+ the Tribe of Noise team has their best interests in mind. Creative
+ Commons makes it possible to create a new business model for
+ music, a model that’s based on trust.
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm2090" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm2090" class="para"><sup class="para">[152] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.instoremusicservice.com" target="_top">http://www.instoremusicservice.com</a></p></div><div id="ftn.idm2099" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm2099" class="para"><sup class="para">[153] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://www.tribeofnoise.com/info_instoremusic.php" target="_top">http://www.tribeofnoise.com/info_instoremusic.php</a></p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="wikimedia-foundation"></a>Chapter 27. Wikimedia Foundation</h2></div></div></div><div class="blockquote"><table border="0" class="blockquote" style="width: 100%; cellspacing: 0; cellpadding: 0;" summary="Block quote"><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td width="80%" valign="top"><p>
+ The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that
+ hosts Wikipedia and its sister projects. Founded in 2003 in the
+ U.S.
+ </p><p>
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://wikimediafoundation.org" target="_top">http://wikimediafoundation.org</a>
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Revenue model</strong></span>: donations
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interview date</strong></span>: December 18,
+ 2015
+ </p><p><span class="strong"><strong>Interviewees</strong></span>: Luis Villa,
+ former Chief Officer of Community Engagement, and Stephen
+ LaPorte, legal counsel
+ </p></td><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr><td width="10%" valign="top"> </td><td colspan="2" align="right" valign="top">--\begin{flushright}
+ \textit{
+ Profile written by Sarah Hinchliff Pearson
+ }
+ \end{flushright}</td></tr></table></div><p>
+ Nearly every person with an online presence knows Wikipedia.
+ </p><p>
+ In many ways, it is the preeminent open project: The online
+ encyclopedia is created entirely by volunteers. Anyone in the
+ world can edit the articles. All of the content is available for
+ free to anyone online. All of the content is released under a
+ Creative Commons license that enables people to reuse and adapt it
+ for any purpose.
+ </p><p>
+ As of December 2016, there were more than forty-two million
+ articles in the 295 language editions of the online encyclopedia,
+ according to—what else?—the Wikipedia article about Wikipedia.
+ </p><p>
+ The Wikimedia Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization
+ that owns the Wikipedia domain name and hosts the site, along with
+ many other related sites like Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons. The
+ foundation employs about two hundred and eighty people, who all
+ work to support the projects it hosts. But the true heart of
+ Wikipedia and its sister projects is its community. The numbers of
+ people in the community are variable, but about seventy-five
+ thousand volunteers edit and improve Wikipedia articles every
+ month. Volunteers are organized in a variety of ways across the
+ globe, including formal Wikimedia chapters (mostly national),
+ groups focused on a particular theme, user groups, and many
+ thousands who are not connected to a particular organization.
+ </p><p>
+ As Wikimedia legal counsel Stephen LaPorte told us, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">There
+ is a common saying that Wikipedia works in practice but not in
+ theory.</span>”</span> While it undoubtedly has its challenges and flaws,
+ Wikipedia and its sister projects are a striking testament to the
+ power of human collaboration.
+ </p><p>
+ Because of its extraordinary breadth and scope, it does feel a bit
+ like a unicorn. Indeed, there is nothing else like Wikipedia.
+ Still, much of what makes the projects successful—community,
+ transparency, a strong mission, trust—are consistent with what it
+ takes to be successfully Made with Creative Commons more
+ generally. With Wikipedia, everything just happens at an
+ unprecedented scale.
+ </p><p>
+ The story of Wikipedia has been told many times. For our purposes,
+ it is enough to know the experiment started in 2001 at a small
+ scale, inspired by the crazy notion that perhaps a truly open,
+ collaborative project could create something meaningful. At this
+ point, Wikipedia is so ubiquitous and ingrained in our digital
+ lives that the fact of its existence seems less remarkable. But
+ outside of software, Wikipedia is perhaps the single most stunning
+ example of successful community cocreation. Every day, seven
+ thousand new articles are created on Wikipedia, and nearly fifteen
+ thousand edits are made every hour.
+ </p><p>
+ The nature of the content the community creates is ideal for
+ asynchronous cocreation. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">An encyclopedia is something where
+ incremental community improvement really works,</span>”</span> Luis
+ Villa, former Chief Officer of Community Engagement, told us. The
+ rules and processes that govern cocreation on Wikipedia and its
+ sister projects are all community-driven and vary by language
+ edition. There are entire books written on the intricacies of
+ their systems, but generally speaking, there are very few
+ exceptions to the rule that anyone can edit any article, even
+ without an account on their system. The extensive peer-review
+ process includes elaborate systems to resolve disputes, methods
+ for managing particularly controversial subject areas, talk pages
+ explaining decisions, and much, much more. The Wikimedia
+ Foundation’s decision to leave governance of the projects to the
+ community is very deliberate. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">We look at the things that
+ the community can do well, and we want to let them do those
+ things,</span>”</span> Stephen told us. Instead, the foundation focuses
+ its time and resources on what the community cannot do as
+ effectively, like the software engineering that supports the
+ technical infrastructure of the sites. In 2015-16, about half of
+ the foundation’s budget went to direct support for the Wikimedia
+ sites.
+ </p><p>
+ Some of that is directed at servers and general IT support, but
+ the foundation also invests a significant amount on architecture
+ designed to help the site function as effectively as possible.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">There is a constantly evolving system to keep the balance
+ in place to avoid Wikipedia becoming the world’s biggest graffiti
+ wall,</span>”</span> Luis said. Depending on how you measure it,
+ somewhere between 90 to 98 percent of edits to Wikipedia are
+ positive. Some portion of that success is attributable to the
+ tools Wikimedia has in place to try to incentivize good actors.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The secret to having any healthy community is bringing back
+ the right people,</span>”</span> Luis said. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Vandals tend to get
+ bored and go away. That is partially our model working, and
+ partially just human nature.</span>”</span> Most of the time, people want
+ to do the right thing.
+ </p><p>
+ Wikipedia not only relies on good behavior within its community
+ and on its sites, but also by everyone else once the content
+ leaves Wikipedia. All of the text of Wikipedia is available under
+ an Attribution-ShareAlike license (CC BY-SA), which means it can
+ be used for any purpose and modified so long as credit is given
+ and anything new is shared back with the public under the same
+ license. In theory, that means anyone can copy the content and
+ start a new Wikipedia. But as Stephen explained, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Being open
+ has only made Wikipedia bigger and stronger. The desire to protect
+ is not always what is best for everyone.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ Of course, the primary reason no one has successfully co-opted
+ Wikipedia is that copycat efforts do not have the Wikipedia
+ community to sustain what they do. Wikipedia is not simply a
+ source of up-to-the-minute content on every given topic—it is also
+ a global patchwork of humans working together in a million
+ different ways, in a million different capacities, for a million
+ different reasons. While many have tried to guess what makes
+ Wikipedia work as well it does, the fact is there is no single
+ explanation. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">In a movement as large as ours, there is an
+ incredible diversity of motivations,</span>”</span> Stephen said. For
+ example, there is one editor of the English Wikipedia edition who
+ has corrected a single grammatical error in articles more than
+ forty-eight thousand times.<a href="#ftn.idm2145" class="footnote" name="idm2145"><sup class="footnote">[154]</sup></a> Only a fraction of Wikipedia users are also editors.
+ But editing is not the only way to contribute to Wikipedia.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Some donate text, some donate images, some donate
+ financially,</span>”</span> Stephen told us. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">They are all
+ contributors.</span>”</span>
+ </p><p>
+ But the vast majority of us who use Wikipedia are not
+ contributors; we are passive readers. The Wikimedia Foundation
+ survives primarily on individual donations, with about $15 as the
+ average. Because Wikipedia is one of the ten most popular websites
+ in terms of total page views, donations from a small portion of
+ that audience can translate into a lot of money. In the 2015-16
+ fiscal year, they received more than $77 million from more than
+ five million donors.
+ </p><p>
+ The foundation has a fund-raising team that works year-round to
+ raise money, but the bulk of their revenue comes in during the
+ December campaign in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the
+ United Kingdom, and the United States. They engage in extensive
+ user testing and research to maximize the reach of their
+ fund-raising campaigns. Their basic fund-raising message is
+ simple: We provide our readers and the world immense value, so
+ give back. Every little bit helps. With enough eyeballs, they are
+ right.
+ </p><p>
+ The vision of the Wikimedia Foundation is a world in which every
+ single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.
+ They work to realize this vision by empowering people around the
+ globe to create educational content made freely available under an
+ open license or in the public domain. Stephen and Luis said the
+ mission, which is rooted in the same philosophy behind Creative
+ Commons, drives everything the foundation does.
+ </p><p>
+ The philosophy behind the endeavor also enables the foundation to
+ be financially sustainable. It instills trust in their readership,
+ which is critical for a revenue strategy that relies on reader
+ donations. It also instills trust in their community.
+ </p><p>
+ Any given edit on Wikipedia could be motivated by nearly an
+ infinite number of reasons. But the social mission of the project
+ is what binds the global community together. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Wikipedia is
+ an example of how a mission can motivate an entire
+ movement,</span>”</span> Stephen told us.
+ </p><p>
+ Of course, what results from that movement is one of the
+ Internet’s great public resources. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The Internet has a lot
+ of businesses and stores, but it is missing the digital equivalent
+ of parks and open public spaces,</span>”</span> Stephen said.
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Wikipedia has found a way to be that open public
+ space.</span>”</span>
+ </p><div class="footnotes"><br><hr style="width:100; text-align:left;margin-left: 0"><div id="ftn.idm2145" class="footnote"><p><a href="#idm2145" class="para"><sup class="para">[154] </sup></a><a class="ulink" href="http://gimletmedia.com/episode/14-the-art-of-making-and-fixing-mistakes/" target="_top">http://gimletmedia.com/episode/14-the-art-of-making-and-fixing-mistakes/</a></p></div></div></div></div>\chapter*{<title>Bibliography</title>}\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{<title>Bibliography</title>}<p>
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+ Frischmann, Madison, and Strandburg, Governing Knowledge Commons.
+ </p><p>
+ Creative Commons. 2015 State of the Commons. Mountain View, CA:
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+ Doctorow, Cory. Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free: Laws for the
+ Internet Age. San Francisco: McSweeney’s, 2014.
+ </p><p>
+ Eckhardt, Giana, and Fleura Bardhi. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">The Sharing Economy Isn’t
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+ <a class="ulink" href="http://hbr.org/2015/01/the-sharing-economy-isnt-about-sharing-at-all" target="_top">http://hbr.org/2015/01/the-sharing-economy-isnt-about-sharing-at-all</a>.
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+ Information in a Post-Carbon Economy.</span>”</span> Chap. 11 in Elliott
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+ Innovation Review, Spring 2009.
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://ssir.org/articles/entry/ten_nonprofit_funding_models" target="_top">http://ssir.org/articles/entry/ten_nonprofit_funding_models</a>.
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+ Frischmann, Brett M. Infrastructure: The Social Value of Shared
+ Resources. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
+ </p><p>
+ Frischmann, Brett M., Michael J. Madison, and Katherine J.
+ Strandburg, eds. Governing Knowledge Commons. New York: Oxford
+ University Press, 2014.
+ </p><p>
+ Frischmann, Brett M., Michael J. Madison, and Katherine J.
+ Strandburg. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Governing Knowledge Commons.</span>”</span> Chap. 1 in
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+ Reprint with new epilogue. New York: Portfolio, 2012.
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+ New York: Viking, 2013.
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+ Haiven, Max. Crises of Imagination, Crises of Power: Capitalism,
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+ Harris, Malcom, ed. Share or Die: Voices of the Get Lost Generation
+ in the Age of Crisis. With Neal Gorenflo. Gabriola Island, BC: New
+ Society, 2012.
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+ Hermida, Alfred. Tell Everyone: Why We Share and Why It Matters.
+ Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2014.
+ </p><p>
+ Hyde, Lewis. Common as Air: Revolution, Art, and Ownership. New
+ York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010.
+ </p><p>
+ ———. The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World. 2nd
+ Vintage Books edition. New York: Vintage Books, 2007.
+ </p><p>
+ Kelley, Tom, and David Kelley. Creative Confidence: Unleashing the
+ Potential within Us All. New York: Crown, 2013.
+ </p><p>
+ Kelly, Marjorie. Owning Our Future: The Emerging Ownership
+ Revolution; Journeys to a Generative Economy. San Francisco:
+ Berrett-Koehler, 2012.
+ </p><p>
+ Kleon, Austin. Show Your Work: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and
+ Get Discovered. New York: Workman, 2014.
+ </p><p>
+ ———. Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You about Being
+ Creative. New York: Workman, 2012.
+ </p><p>
+ Kramer, Bryan. Shareology: How Sharing Is Powering the Human
+ Economy. New York: Morgan James, 2016.
+ </p><p>
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+ the Internet.</span>”</span> BBC News, March 3, 2016.
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35709680" target="_top">http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35709680</a>
+ </p><p>
+ Lessig, Lawrence. Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the
+ Hybrid Economy. New York: Penguin Press, 2008.
+ </p><p>
+ Menzies, Heather. Reclaiming the Commons for the Common Good: A
+ Memoir and Manifesto. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society, 2014.
+ </p><p>
+ Mason, Paul. Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future. New York:
+ Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015.
+ </p><p>
+ New York Times Customer Insight Group. The Psychology of Sharing:
+ Why Do People Share Online? New York: New York Times Customer
+ Insight Group, 2011.
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.iab.net/media/file/POSWhitePaper.pdf" target="_top">http://www.iab.net/media/file/POSWhitePaper.pdf</a>.
+ </p><p>
+ Osterwalder, Alex, and Yves Pigneur. Business Model Generation.
+ Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2010. A preview of the book is
+ available at
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://strategyzer.com/books/business-model-generation" target="_top">http://strategyzer.com/books/business-model-generation</a>.
+ </p><p>
+ Osterwalder, Alex, Yves Pigneur, Greg Bernarda, and Adam Smith.
+ Value Proposition Design. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2014. A
+ preview of the book is available at
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://strategyzer.com/books/value-proposition-design" target="_top">http://strategyzer.com/books/value-proposition-design</a>.
+ </p><p>
+ Palmer, Amanda. The Art of Asking: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying
+ and Let People Help. New York: Grand Central, 2014.
+ </p><p>
+ Pekel, Joris. Democratising the Rijksmuseum: Why Did the Rijksmuseum
+ Make Available Their Highest Quality Material without Restrictions,
+ and What Are the Results? The Hague, Netherlands: Europeana
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+ (licensed under CC BY-SA).
+ </p><p>
+ Ramos, José Maria, ed. The City as Commons: A Policy Reader.
+ Melbourne, Australia: Commons Transition Coalition, 2016.
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.academia.edu/27143172/The_City_as_Commons_a_Policy_Reader" target="_top">http://www.academia.edu/27143172/The_City_as_Commons_a_Policy_Reader</a>
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+ </p><p>
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+ <a class="ulink" href="http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/" target="_top">http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/</a>.
+ </p><p>
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+ Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. New
+ York: Crown Business, 2011.
+ </p><p>
+ Rifkin, Jeremy. The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of
+ Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism.
+ New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
+ </p><p>
+ Rowe, Jonathan. Our Common Wealth. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler,
+ 2013.
+ </p><p>
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+ Collaborators. London, England: Penguin Books, 2010.
+ </p><p>
+ Slee, Tom. What’s Yours Is Mine: Against the Sharing Economy. New
+ York: OR Books, 2015.
+ </p><p>
+ Stephany, Alex. The Business of Sharing: Making in the New Sharing
+ Economy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
+ </p><p>
+ Stepper, John. Working Out Loud: For a Better Career and Life. New
+ York: Ikigai Press, 2015.
+ </p><p>
+ Sull, Donald, and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt. Simple Rules: How to
+ Thrive in a Complex World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.
+ </p><p>
+ Sundararajan, Arun. The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and
+ the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2016.
+ </p><p>
+ Surowiecki, James. The Wisdom of Crowds. New York: Anchor Books,
+ 2005.
+ </p><p>
+ Tapscott, Don, and Alex Tapscott. Blockchain Revolution: How the
+ Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the
+ World. Toronto: Portfolio, 2016.
+ </p><p>
+ Tharp, Twyla. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life. With
+ Mark Reiter. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006.
+ </p><p>
+ Tkacz, Nathaniel. Wikipedia and the Politics of Openness. Chicago:
+ University of Chicago Press, 2015.
+ </p><p>
+ Van Abel, Bass, Lucas Evers, Roel Klaassen, and Peter Troxler, eds.
+ Open Design Now: Why Design Cannot Remain Exclusive. Amsterdam: BIS
+ Publishers, with Creative Commons Netherlands; Premsela, the
+ Netherlands Institute for Design and Fashion; and the Waag Society,
+ 2011. <a class="ulink" href="http://opendesignnow.org" target="_top">http://opendesignnow.org</a> (licensed under
+ CC BY-NC-SA).
+ </p><p>
+ Van den Hoff, Ronald. Mastering the Global Transition on Our Way to
+ Society 3.0. Utrecht, the Netherlands: Society 3.0 Foundation, 2014.
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://society30.com/get-the-book/" target="_top">http://society30.com/get-the-book/</a> (licensed
+ under CC BY-NC-ND).
+ </p><p>
+ Von Hippel, Eric. Democratizing Innovation. London: MIT Press, 2005.
+ <a class="ulink" href="http://web.mit.edu/evhippel/www/democ1.htm" target="_top">http://web.mit.edu/evhippel/www/democ1.htm</a>
+ (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND).
+ </p><p>
+ Whitehurst, Jim. The Open Organization: Igniting Passion and
+ Performance. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2015.
+ </p>\chapter*{<title>Acknowledgments</title>}\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{<title>Acknowledgments</title>}<p>
+ We extend special thanks to Creative Commons CEO Ryan Merkley, the
+ Creative Commons Board, and all of our Creative Commons colleagues
+ for enthusiastically supporting our work. Special gratitude to the
+ William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for the initial seed funding
+ that got us started on this project.
+ </p><p>
+ Huge appreciation to all the Made with Creative Commons interviewees
+ for sharing their stories with us. You make the commons come alive.
+ Thanks for the inspiration.
+ </p><p>
+ We interviewed more than the twenty-four organizations profiled in
+ this book. We extend special thanks to Gooru, OERu, Sage
+ Bionetworks, and Medium for sharing their stories with us. While not
+ featured as case studies in this book, you all are equally
+ interesting, and we encourage our readers to visit your sites and
+ explore your work.
+ </p><p>
+ This book was made possible by the generous support of 1,687
+ Kickstarter backers listed below. We especially acknowledge our many
+ Kickstarter co-editors who read early drafts of our work and
+ provided invaluable feedback. Heartfelt thanks to all of you.
+ </p><p>
+ Co-editor Kickstarter backers (alphabetically by first name):
+ Abraham Taherivand, Alan Graham, Alfredo Louro, Anatoly Volynets,
+ Aurora Thornton, Austin Tolentino, Ben Sheridan, Benedikt Foit,
+ Benjamin Costantini, Bernd Nurnberger, Bernhard Seefeld, Bethanye
+ Blount, Bradford Benn, Bryan Mock, Carmen Garcia Wiedenhoeft,
+ Carolyn Hinchliff, Casey Milford, Cat Cooper, Chip McIntosh, Chris
+ Thorne, Chris Weber, Chutika Udomsinn, Claire Wardle, Claudia
+ Cristiani, Cody Allard, Colleen Cressman, Craig Thomler, Creative
+ Commons Uruguay, Curt McNamara, Dan Parson, Daniel Dominguez, Daniel
+ Morado, Darius Irvin, Dave Taillefer, David Lewis, David Mikula,
+ David Varnes, David Wiley, Deborah Nas, Diderik van Wingerden, Dirk
+ Kiefer, Dom Lane, Domi Enders, Douglas Van Houweling, Dylan Field,
+ Einar Joergensen, Elad Wieder, Elie Calhoun, Erika Reid, Evtim
+ Papushev, Fauxton Software, Felix Maximiliano Obes, Ferdies Food
+ Lab, Gatien de Broucker, Gaurav Kapil, Gavin Romig-Koch, George
+ Baier IV, George De Bruin, Gianpaolo Rando, Glenn Otis Brown,
+ Govindarajan Umakanthan, Graham Bird, Graham Freeman, Hamish
+ MacEwan, Harry Kaczka, Humble Daisy, Ian Capstick, Iris Brest, James
+ Cloos, Jamie Stevens, Jamil Khatib, Jane Finette, Jason Blasso,
+ Jason E. Barkeloo, Jay M Williams, Jean-Philippe Turcotte, Jeanette
+ Frey, Jeff De Cagna, Jérôme Mizeret, Jessica Dickinson Goodman,
+ Jessy Kate Schingler, Jim O’Flaherty, Jim Pellegrini, Jiří Marek, Jo
+ Allum, Joachim von Goetz, Johan Adda, John Benfield, John Bevan,
+ Jonas Öberg, Jonathan Lin, JP Rangaswami, Juan Carlos Belair, Justin
+ Christian, Justin Szlasa, Kate Chapman, Kate Stewart, Kellie
+ Higginbottom, Kendra Byrne, Kevin Coates, Kristina Popova,
+ Kristoffer Steen, Kyle Simpson, Laurie Racine, Leonardo Bueno
+ Postacchini, Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, Livia Leskovec, Louis-David
+ Benyayer, Maik Schmalstich, Mairi Thomson, Marcia Hofmann, Maria
+ Liberman, Marino Hernandez, Mario R. Hemsley, MD, Mark Cohen, Mark
+ Mullen, Mary Ellen Davis, Mathias Bavay, Matt Black, Matt Hall, Max
+ van Balgooy, Médéric Droz-dit-Busset, Melissa Aho, Menachem
+ Goldstein, Michael Harries, Michael Lewis, Michael Weiss, Miha
+ Batic, Mike Stop Continues, Mike Stringer, Mustafa K Calik, MD, Neal
+ Stimler, Niall McDonagh, Niall Twohig, Nicholas Norfolk, Nick
+ Coghlan, Nicole Hickman, Nikki Thompson, Norrie Mailer, Omar
+ Kaminski, OpenBuilds, Papp István Péter, Pat Sticks, Patricia
+ Brennan, Paul and Iris Brest, Paul Elosegui, Penny Pearson, Peter
+ Mengelers, Playground Inc., Pomax, Rafaela Kunz, Rajiv Jhangiani,
+ Rayna Stamboliyska, Rob Berkley, Rob Bertholf, Robert Jones, Robert
+ Thompson, Ronald van den Hoff, Rusi Popov, Ryan Merkley, S Searle,
+ Salomon Riedo, Samuel A. Rebelsky, Samuel Tait, Sarah McGovern,
+ Scott Gillespie, Seb Schmoller, Sharon Clapp, Sheona Thomson, Siena
+ Oristaglio, Simon Law, Solomon Simon, Stefano Guidotti, Subhendu
+ Ghosh, Susan Chun, Suzie Wiley, Sylvain Carle, Theresa Bernardo,
+ Thomas Hartman, Thomas Kent, Timothée Planté, Timothy Hinchliff,
+ Traci Long DeForge, Trevor Hogue, Tumuult, Vickie Goode, Vikas Shah,
+ Virginia Kopelman, Wayne Mackintosh, William Peter Nash, Winie
+ Evers, Wolfgang Renninger, Xavier Antoviaque, Yancey Strickler
+ </p><p>
+ All other Kickstarter backers (alphabetically by first name): A.
+ Lee, Aaron C. Rathbun, Aaron Stubbs, Aaron Suggs, Abdul Razak Manaf,
+ Abraham Taherivand, Adam Croom, Adam Finer, Adam Hansen, Adam
+ Morris, Adam Procter, Adam Quirk, Adam Rory Porter, Adam Simmons,
+ Adam Tinworth, Adam Zimmerman, Adrian Ho, Adrian Smith, Adriane
+ Ruzak, Adriano Loconte, Al Sweigart, Alain Imbaud, Alan Graham, Alan
+ M. Ford, Alan Swithenbank, Alan Vonlanthen, Albert O’Connor, Alec
+ Foster, Alejandro Suarez Cebrian, Aleks Degtyarev, Alex Blood, Alex
+ C. Ion, Alex Ross Shaw, Alexander Bartl, Alexander Brown, Alexander
+ Brunner, Alexander Eliesen, Alexander Hawson, Alexander Klar,
+ Alexander Neumann, Alexander Plaum, Alexander Wendland, Alexandre
+ Rafalovitch, Alexey Volkow, Alexi Wheeler, Alexis Sevault, Alfredo
+ Louro, Ali Sternburg, Alicia Gibb & Lunchbox Electronics, Alison
+ Link, Alison Pentecost, Alistair Boettiger, Alistair Walder, Alix
+ Bernier, Allan Callaghan, Allen Riddell, Allison Breland Crotwell,
+ Allison Jane Smith, Álvaro Justen, Amanda Palmer, Amanda Wetherhold,
+ Amit Bagree, Amit Tikare, Amos Blanton, Amy Sept, Anatoly Volynets,
+ Anders Ericsson, Andi Popp, André Bose Do Amaral, Andre Dickson,
+ André Koot, André Ricardo, Andre van Rooyen, Andre Wallace, Andrea
+ Bagnacani, Andrea Pepe, Andrea Pigato, Andreas Jagelund, Andres
+ Gomez Casanova, Andrew A. Farke, Andrew Berhow, Andrew Hearse,
+ Andrew Matangi, Andrew R McHugh, Andrew Tam, Andrew Turvey, Andrew
+ Walsh, Andrew Wilson, Andrey Novoseltsev, Andy McGhee, Andy Reeve,
+ Andy Woods, Angela Brett, Angeliki Kapoglou, Angus Keenan,
+ Anne-Marie Scott, Antero Garcia, Antoine Authier, Antoine Michard,
+ Anton Kurkin, Anton Porsche, Antònia Folguera, António Ornelas,
+ Antonis Triantafyllakis, aois21 publishing, April Johnson, Aria F.
+ Chernik, Ariane Allan, Ariel Katz, Arithmomaniac, Arnaud Tessier,
+ Arnim Sommer, Ashima Bawa, Ashley Elsdon, Athanassios Diacakis,
+ Aurora Thornton, Aurore Chavet Henry, Austin Hartzheim, Austin
+ Tolentino, Avner Shanan, Axel Pettersson, Axel Stieglbauer, Ay
+ Okpokam, Barb Bartkowiak, Barbara Lindsey, Barry Dayton, Bastian
+ Hougaard, Ben Chad, Ben Doherty, Ben Hansen, Ben Nuttall, Ben
+ Rosenthal, Ben Sheridan, Benedikt Foit, Benita Tsao, Benjamin
+ Costantini, Benjamin Daemon, Benjamin Keele, Benjamin Pflanz,
+ Berglind Ósk Bergsdóttir, Bernardo Miguel Antunes, Bernd Nurnberger,
+ Bernhard Seefeld, Beth Gis, Beth Tillinghast, Bethanye Blount, Bill
+ Bonwitt, Bill Browne, Bill Keaggy, Bill Maiden, Bill Rafferty, Bill
+ Scanlon, Bill Shields, Bill Slankard, BJ Becker, Bjorn
+ Freeman-Benson, Bjørn Otto Wallevik, BK Bitner, Bo Ilsøe Hansen, Bo
+ Sprotte Kofod, Bob Doran, Bob Recny, Bob Stuart, Bonnie Chiu, Boris
+ Mindzak, Boriss Lariushin, Borjan Tchakaloff, Brad Kik, Braden
+ Hassett, Bradford Benn, Bradley Keyes, Bradley L’Herrou, Brady
+ Forrest, Brandon McGaha, Branka Tokic, Brant Anderson, Brenda
+ Sullivan, Brendan O’Brien, Brendan Schlagel, Brett Abbott, Brett
+ Gaylor, Brian Dysart, Brian Lampl, Brian Lipscomb, Brian S. Weis,
+ Brian Schrader, Brian Walsh, Brian Walsh, Brooke Dukes, Brooke
+ Schreier Ganz, Bruce Lerner, Bruce Wilson, Bruno Boutot, Bruno
+ Girin, Bryan Mock, Bryant Durrell, Bryce Barbato, Buzz Technology
+ Limited, Byung-Geun Jeon, C. Glen Williams, C. L. Couch, Cable
+ Green, Callum Gare, Cameron Callahan, Cameron Colby Thomson, Cameron
+ Mulder, Camille Bissuel / Nylnook, Candace Robertson, Carl Morris,
+ Carl Perry, Carl Rigney, Carles Mateu, Carlos Correa Loyola, Carlos
+ Solis, Carmen Garcia Wiedenhoeft, Carol Long, Carol marquardsen,
+ Caroline Calomme, Caroline Mailloux, Carolyn Hinchliff, Carolyn
+ Rude, Carrie Cousins, Carrie Watkins, Casey Hunt, Casey Milford,
+ Casey Powell Shorthouse, Cat Cooper, Cecilie Maria, Cedric Howe,
+ Cefn Hoile, @ShrimpingIt, Celia Muller, Ces Keller, Chad Anderson,
+ Charles Butler, Charles Carstensen, Charles Chi Thoi Le, Charles
+ Kobbe, Charles S. Tritt, Charles Stanhope, Charlotte Ong-Wisener,
+ Chealsye Bowley, Chelle Destefano, Chenpang Chou, Cheryl Corte,
+ Cheryl Todd, Chip Dickerson, Chip McIntosh, Chris Bannister, Chris
+ Betcher, Chris Coleman, Chris Conway, Chris Foote (Spike), Chris
+ Hurst, Chris Mitchell, Chris Muscat Azzopardi, Chris Niewiarowski,
+ Chris Opperwall, Chris Stieha, Chris Thorne, Chris Weber, Chris
+ Woolfrey, Chris Zabriskie, Christi Reid, Christian Holzberger,
+ Christian Schubert, Christian Sheehy, Christian Thibault, Christian
+ Villum, Christian Wachter, Christina Bennett, Christine Henry,
+ Christine Rico, Christopher Burrows, Christopher Chan, Christopher
+ Clay, Christopher Harris, Christopher Opiah, Christopher Swenson,
+ Christos Keramitsis, Chuck Roslof, Chutika Udomsinn, Claire Wardle,
+ Clare Forrest, Claudia Cristiani, Claudio Gallo, Claudio Ruiz,
+ Clayton Dewey, Clement Delort, Cliff Church, Clint Lalonde, Clint
+ O’Connor, Cody Allard, Cody Taylor, Colin Ayer, Colin Campbell,
+ Colin Dean, Colin Mutchler, Colleen Cressman, Comfy Nomad, Connie
+ Roberts, Connor Bär, Connor Merkley, Constantin Graf, Corbett Messa,
+ Cory Chapman, Cosmic Wombat Games, Craig Engler, Craig Heath, Craig
+ Maloney, Craig Thomler, Creative Commons Uruguay, Crina Kienle,
+ Cristiano Gozzini, Curt McNamara, D C Petty, D. Moonfire, D. Rohhyn,
+ D. Schulz, Dacian Herbei, Dagmar M. Meyer, Dan Mcalister, Dan Mohr,
+ Dan Parson, Dana Freeman, Dana Ospina, Dani Leviss, Daniel
+ Bustamante, Daniel Demmel, Daniel Dominguez, Daniel Dultz, Daniel
+ Gallant, Daniel Kossmann, Daniel Kruse, Daniel Morado, Daniel
+ Morgan, Daniel Pimley, Daniel Sabo, Daniel Sobey, Daniel Stein,
+ Daniel Wildt, Daniele Prati, Danielle Moss, Danny Mendoza, Dario
+ Taraborelli, Darius Irvin, Darius Whelan, Darla Anderson, Dasha
+ Brezinova, Dave Ainscough, Dave Bull, Dave Crosby, Dave Eagle, Dave
+ Moskovitz, Dave Neeteson, Dave Taillefer, Dave Witzel, David Bailey,
+ David Cheung, David Eriksson, David Gallagher, David H. Bronke,
+ David Hartley, David Hellam, David Hood, David Hunter, David
+ jlaietta, David Lewis, David Mason, David Mcconville, David Mikula,
+ David Nelson, David Orban, David Parry, David Spira, David T.
+ Kindler, David Varnes, David Wiley, David Wormley, Deborah Nas,
+ Denis Jean, dennis straub, Dennis Whittle, Denver Gingerich, Derek
+ Slater, Devon Cooke, Diana Pasek-Atkinson, Diane Johnston Graves,
+ Diane K. Kovacs, Diane Trout, Diderik van Wingerden, Diego Cuevas,
+ Diego De La Cruz, Dimitrie Grigorescu, Dina Marie Rodriguez, Dinah
+ Fabela, Dirk Haun, Dirk Kiefer, Dirk Loop, DJ Fusion - FuseBox Radio
+ Broadcast, Dom jurkewitz, Dom Lane, Domi Enders, Domingo Gallardo,
+ Dominic de Haas, Dominique Karadjian, Dongpo Deng, Donnovan Knight,
+ Door de Flines, Doug Fitzpatrick, Doug Hoover, Douglas Craver,
+ Douglas Van Camp, Douglas Van Houweling, Dr. Braddlee, Drew Spencer,
+ Duncan Sample, Durand D’souza, Dylan Field, E C Humphries, Eamon
+ Caddigan, Earleen Smith, Eden Sarid, Eden Spodek, Eduardo Belinchon,
+ Eduardo Castro, Edwin Vandam, Einar Joergensen, Ejnar Brendsdal,
+ Elad Wieder, Elar Haljas, Elena Valhalla, Eli Doran, Elias Bouchi,
+ Elie Calhoun, Elizabeth Holloway, Ellen Buecher, Ellen Kaye-
+ Cheveldayoff, Elli Verhulst, Elroy Fernandes, Emery Hurst Mikel,
+ Emily Catedral, Enrique Mandujano R., Eric Astor, Eric Axelrod, Eric
+ Celeste, Eric Finkenbiner, Eric Hellman, Eric Steuer, Erica
+ Fletcher, Erik Hedman, Erik Lindholm Bundgaard, Erika Reid, Erin
+ Hawley, Erin McKean of Wordnik, Ernest Risner, Erwan Bousse, Erwin
+ Bell, Ethan Celery, Étienne Gilli, Eugeen Sablin, Evan Tangman,
+ Evonne Okafor, Evtim Papushev, Fabien Cambi, Fabio Natali, Fauxton
+ Software, Felix Deierlein, Felix Gebauer, Felix Maximiliano Obes,
+ Felix Schmidt, Felix Zephyr Hsiao, Ferdies Food Lab, Fernand
+ Deschambault, Filipe Rodrigues, Filippo Toso, Fiona MacAlister,
+ fiona.mac.uk, Floor Scheffer, Florent Darrault, Florian Hähnel,
+ Florian Schneider, Floyd Wilde, Foxtrot Games, Francis Clarke,
+ Francisco Rivas-Portillo, Francois Dechery, Francois Grey, François
+ Gros, François Pelletier, Fred Benenson, Frédéric Abella, Frédéric
+ Schütz, Fredrik Ekelund, Fumi Yamazaki, Gabor Sooki-Toth, Gabriel
+ Staples, Gabriel Véjar Valenzuela, Gal Buki, Gareth Jordan, Garrett
+ Heath, Gary Anson, Gary Forster, Gatien de Broucker, Gaurav Kapil,
+ Gauthier de Valensart, Gavin Gray, Gavin Romig-Koch, Geoff Wood,
+ Geoffrey Lehr, George Baier IV, George De Bruin, George Lawie,
+ George Strakhov, Gerard Gorman, Geronimo de la Lama, Gianpaolo
+ Rando, Gil Stendig, Gino Cingolani Trucco, Giovanna Sala, Glen
+ Moffat, Glenn D. Jones, Glenn Otis Brown, Global Lives Project, Gorm
+ Lai, Govindarajan Umakanthan, Graham Bird, Graham Freeman, Graham
+ Heath, Graham Jones, Graham Smith-Gordon, Graham Vowles, Greg
+ Brodsky, Greg Malone, Grégoire Detrez, Gregory Chevalley, Gregory
+ Flynn, Grit Matthias, Gui Louback, Guillaume Rischard, Gustavo Vaz
+ de Carvalho Gonçalves, Gustin Johnson, Gwen Franck, Gwilym Lucas,
+ Haggen So, Håkon T Sønderland, Hamid Larbi, Hamish MacEwan, Hannes
+ Leo, Hans Bickhofe, Hans de Raad, Hans Vd Horst, Harold van Ingen,
+ Harold Watson, Harry Chapman, Harry Kaczka, Harry Torque, Hayden
+ Glass, Hayley Rosenblum, Heather Leson, Helen Crisp, Helen Michaud,
+ Helen Qubain, Helle Rekdal Schønemann, Henrique Flach Latorre
+ Moreno, Henry Finn, Henry Kaiser, Henry Lahore, Henry Steingieser,
+ Hermann Paar, Hillary Miller, Hironori Kuriaki, Holly Dykes, Holly
+ Lyne, Hubert Gertis, Hugh Geenen, Humble Daisy, Hüppe Keith, Iain
+ Davidson, Ian Capstick, Ian Johnson, Ian Upton, Icaro Ferracini,
+ Igor Lesko, Imran Haider, Inma de la Torre, Iris Brest, Irwin
+ Madriaga, Isaac Sandaljian, Isaiah Tanenbaum, Ivan F. Villanueva B.,
+ J P Cleverdon, Jaakko Tammela Jr, Jacek Darken Gołębiowski, Jack
+ Hart, Jacky Hood, Jacob Dante Leffler, Jaime Perla, Jaime Woo, Jake
+ Campbell, Jake Loeterman, Jakes Rawlinson, James Allenspach, James
+ Chesky, James Cloos, James Docherty, James Ellars, James K Wood,
+ James Tyler, Jamie Finlay, Jamie Stevens, Jamil Khatib, Jan E
+ Ellison, Jan Gondol, Jan Sepp, Jan Zuppinger, Jane Finette, jane
+ Lofton, Jane Mason, Jane Park, Janos Kovacs, Jasmina Bricic, Jason
+ Blasso, Jason Chu, Jason Cole, Jason E. Barkeloo, Jason Hibbets,
+ Jason Owen, Jason Sigal, Jay M Williams, Jazzy Bear Brown, JC Lara,
+ Jean-Baptiste Carré, Jean-Philippe Dufraigne, Jean-Philippe
+ Turcotte, Jean-Yves Hemlin, Jeanette Frey, Jeff Atwood, Jeff De
+ Cagna, Jeff Donoghue, Jeff Edwards, Jeff Hilnbrand, Jeff Lowe, Jeff
+ Rasalla, Jeff Ski Kinsey, Jeff Smith, Jeffrey L Tucker, Jeffrey
+ Meyer, Jen Garcia, Jens Erat, Jeppe Bager Skjerning, Jeremy Dudet,
+ Jeremy Russell, Jeremy Sabo, Jeremy Zauder, Jerko Grubisic, Jerome
+ Glacken, Jérôme Mizeret, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, Jessica Litman,
+ Jessica Mackay, Jessy Kate Schingler, Jesús Longás Gamarra, Jesus
+ Marin, Jim Matt, Jim Meloy, Jim O’Flaherty, Jim Pellegrini, Jim
+ Tittsler, Jimmy Alenius, Jiří Marek, Jo Allum, Joachim Brandon
+ LeBlanc, Joachim Pileborg, Joachim von Goetz, Joakim Bang Larsen,
+ Joan Rieu, Joanna Penn, João Almeida, Jochen Muetsch, Jodi Sandfort,
+ Joe Cardillo, Joe Carpita, Joe Moross, Joerg Fricke, Johan Adda,
+ Johan Meeusen, Johannes Förstner, Johannes Visintini, John Benfield,
+ John Bevan, John C Patterson, John Crumrine, John Dimatos, John
+ Feyler, John Huntsman, John Manoogian III, John Muller, John Ober,
+ John Paul Blodgett, John Pearce, John Shale, John Sharp, John
+ Simpson, John Sumser, John Weeks, John Wilbanks, John Worland,
+ Johnny Mayall, Jollean Matsen, Jon Alberdi, Jon Andersen, Jon Cohrs,
+ Jon Gotlin, Jon Schull, Jon Selmer Friborg, Jon Smith, Jonas Öberg,
+ Jonas Weitzmann, Jonathan Campbell, Jonathan Deamer, Jonathan Holst,
+ Jonathan Lin, Jonathan Schmid, Jonathan Yao, Jordon Kalilich, Jörg
+ Schwarz, Jose Antonio Gallego Vázquez, Joseph Mcarthur, Joseph Noll,
+ Joseph Sullivan, Joseph Tucker, Josh Bernhard, Josh Tong, Joshua
+ Tobkin, JP Rangaswami, Juan Carlos Belair, Juan Irming, Juan Pablo
+ Carbajal, Juan Pablo Marin Diaz, Judith Newman, Judy Tuan, Jukka
+ Hellén, Julia Benson-Slaughter, Julia Devonshire, Julian Fietkau,
+ Julie Harboe, Julien Brossoit, Julien Leroy, Juliet Chen, Julio
+ Terra, Julius Mikkelä, Justin Christian, Justin Grimes, Justin
+ Jones, Justin Szlasa, Justin Walsh, JustinChung.com, K. J.
+ Przybylski, Kaloyan Raev, Kamil Śliwowski, Kaniska Padhi, Kara
+ Malenfant, Kara Monroe, Karen Pe, Karl Jahn, Karl Jonsson, Karl
+ Nelson, Kasia Zygmuntowicz, Kat Lim, Kate Chapman, Kate Stewart,
+ Kathleen Beck, Kathleen Hanrahan, Kathryn Abuzzahab, Kathryn Deiss,
+ Kathryn Rose, Kathy Payne, Katie Lynn Daniels, Katie Meek, Katie
+ Teague, Katrina Hennessy, Katriona Main, Kavan Antani, Keith Adams,
+ Keith Berndtson, MD, Keith Luebke, Kellie Higginbottom, Ken Friis
+ Larsen, Ken Haase, Ken Torbeck, Kendel Ratley, Kendra Byrne, Kerry
+ Hicks, Kevin Brown, Kevin Coates, Kevin Flynn, Kevin Rumon, Kevin
+ Shannon, Kevin Taylor, Kevin Tostado, Kewhyun Kelly-Yuoh, Kiane
+ l’Azin, Kianosh Pourian, Kiran Kadekoppa, Kit Walsh, Klaus Mickus,
+ Konrad Rennert, Kris Kasianovitz, Kristian Lundquist, Kristin
+ Buxton, Kristina Popova, Kristofer Bratt, Kristoffer Steen, Kumar
+ McMillan, Kurt Whittemore, Kyle Pinches, Kyle Simpson, L Eaton, Lalo
+ Martins, Lane Rasberry, Larry Garfield, Larry Singer, Lars
+ Josephsen, Lars Klaeboe, Laura Anne Brown, Laura Billings, Laura
+ Ferejohn, Lauren Pedersen, Laurence Gonsalves, Laurent Muchacho,
+ Laurie Racine, Laurie Reynolds, Lawrence M. Schoen, Leandro
+ Pangilinan, Leigh Verlandson, Lenka Gondolova, Leonardo Bueno
+ Postacchini, leonardo menegola, Lesley Mitchell, Leslie Krumholz,
+ Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, Levi Bostian, Leyla Acaroglu, Liisa
+ Ummelas, Lilly Kashmir Marques, Lior Mazliah, Lisa Bjerke, Lisa
+ Brewster, Lisa Canning, Lisa Cronin, Lisa Di Valentino, Lisandro
+ Gaertner, Livia Leskovec, Liynn Worldlaw, Liz Berg, Liz White, Logan
+ Cox, Loki Carbis, Lora Lynn, Lorna Prescott, Lou Yufan, Louie
+ Amphlett, Louis-David Benyayer, Louise Denman, Luca Corsato, Luca
+ Lesinigo, Luca Palli, Luca Pianigiani, Luca S.G. de Marinis, Lucas
+ Lopez, Lukas Mathis, Luke Chamberlin, Luke Chesser, Luke Woodbury,
+ Lulu Tang, Lydia Pintscher, M Alexander Jurkat, Maarten Sander,
+ Macie J Klosowski, Magnus Adamsson, Magnus Killingberg, Mahmoud
+ Abu-Wardeh, Maik Schmalstich, Maiken Håvarstein, Maira Sutton, Mairi
+ Thomson, Mandy Wultsch, Manickkavasakam Rajasekar, Marc Bogonovich,
+ Marc Harpster, Marc Martí, Marc Olivier Bastien, Marc Stober,
+ Marc-André Martin, Marcel de Leeuwe, Marcel Hill, Marcia Hofmann,
+ Marcin Olender, Marco Massarotto, Marco Montanari, Marco Morales,
+ Marcos Medionegro, Marcus Bitzl, Marcus Norrgren, Margaret Gary,
+ Mari Moreshead, Maria Liberman, Marielle Hsu, Marino Hernandez,
+ Mario Lurig, Mario R. Hemsley, MD, Marissa Demers, Mark Chandler,
+ Mark Cohen, Mark De Solla Price, Mark Gabby, Mark Gray, Mark
+ Koudritsky, Mark Kupfer, Mark Lednor, Mark McGuire, Mark Moleda,
+ Mark Mullen, Mark Murphy, Mark Perot, Mark Reeder, Mark Spickett,
+ Mark Vincent Adams, Mark Waks, Mark Zuccarell II, Markus Deimann,
+ Markus Jaritz, Markus Luethi, Marshal Miller, Marshall Warner,
+ Martijn Arets, Martin Beaudoin, Martin Decky, Martin DeMello, Martin
+ Humpolec, Martin Mayr, Martin Peck, Martin Sanchez, Martino Loco,
+ Martti Remmelgas, Martyn Eggleton, Martyn Lewis, Mary Ellen Davis,
+ Mary Heacock, Mary Hess, Mary Mi, Masahiro Takagi, Mason Du, Massimo
+ V.A. Manzari, Mathias Bavay, Mathias Nicolajsen Kjærgaard, Matias
+ Kruk, Matija Nalis, Matt Alcock, Matt Black, Matt Broach, Matt Hall,
+ Matt Haughey, Matt Lee, Matt Plec, Matt Skoss, Matt Thompson, Matt
+ Vance, Matt Wagstaff, Matteo Cocco, Matthew Bendert, Matthew
+ Bergholt, Matthew Darlison, Matthew Epler, Matthew Hawken, Matthew
+ Heimbecker, Matthew Orstad, Matthew Peterworth, Matthew Sheehy,
+ Matthew Tucker, Adaptive Handy Apps, LLC, Mattias Axell, Max Green,
+ Max Kossatz, Max lupo, Max Temkin, Max van Balgooy, Médéric
+ Droz-dit-Busset, Megan Ingle, Megan Wacha, Meghan Finlayson, Melissa
+ Aho, Melissa Sterry, Melle Funambuline, Menachem Goldstein, Micah
+ Bridges, Michael Ailberto, Michael Anderson, Michael Andersson
+ Skane, Michael C. Stewart, Michael Carroll, Michael Cavette, Michael
+ Crees, Michael David Johas Teener, Michael Dennis Moore, Michael
+ Freundt Karlsen, Michael Harries, Michael Hawel, Michael Lewis,
+ Michael May, Michael Murphy, Michael Murvine, Michael Perkins,
+ Michael Sauers, Michael St.Onge, Michael Stanford, Michael Stanley,
+ Michael Underwood, Michael Weiss, Michael Wright, Michael-Andreas
+ Kuttner, Michaela Voigt, Michal Rosenn, Michał Szymański, Michel
+ Gallez, Michell Zappa, Michelle Heeyeon You, Miha Batic, Mik
+ Ishmael, Mikael Andersson, Mike Chelen, Mike Habicher, Mike Maloney,
+ Mike Masnick, Mike McDaniel, Mike Pouraryan, Mike Sheldon, Mike Stop
+ Continues, Mike Stringer, Mike Wittenstein, Mikkel Ovesen, Mikołaj
+ Podlaszewski, Millie Gonzalez, Mindi Lovell, Mindy Lin, Mirko
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Macro</span>”</span> Fichtner, Mitch Featherston, Mitchell Adams,
+ Molika Oum, Molly Shaffer Van Houweling, Monica Mora, Morgan Loomis,
+ Moritz Schubert, Mrs. Paganini, Mushin Schilling, Mustafa K Calik,
+ MD, Myk Pilgrim, Myra Harmer, Nadine Forget-Dubois, Nagle
+ Industries, LLC, Nah Wee Yang, Natalie Brown, Natalie Freed, Nathan
+ D Howell, Nathan Massey, Nathan Miller, Neal Gorenflo, Neal
+ McBurnett, Neal Stimler, Neil Wilson, Nele Wollert, Neuchee Chang,
+ Niall McDonagh, Niall Twohig, Nic McPhee, Nicholas Bentley, Nicholas
+ Koran, Nicholas Norfolk, Nicholas Potter, Nick Bell, Nick Coghlan,
+ Nick Isaacs, Nick M. Daly, Nick Vance, Nickolay Vedernikov, Nicky
+ Weaver-Weinberg, Nico Prin, Nicolas Weidinger, Nicole Hickman, Niek
+ Theunissen, Nigel Robertson, Nikki Thompson, Nikko Marie, Nikola
+ Chernev, Nils Lavesson, Noah Blumenson-Cook, Noah Fang, Noah
+ Kardos-Fein, Noah Meyerhans, Noel Hanigan, Noel Hart, Norrie Mailer,
+ O.P. Gobée, Ohad Mayblum, Olivia Wilson, Olivier De Doncker, Olivier
+ Schulbaum, Olle Ahnve, Omar Kaminski, Omar Willey, OpenBuilds, Ove
+ Ødegård, Øystein Kjærnet, Pablo López Soriano, Pablo Vasquez,
+ Pacific Design, Paige Mackay, Papp István Péter, Paris Marx, Parker
+ Higgins, Pasquale Borriello, Pat Allan, Pat Hawks, Pat Ludwig, Pat
+ Sticks, Patricia Brennan, Patricia Rosnel, Patricia Wolf, Patrick
+ Berry, Patrick Beseda, Patrick Hurley, Patrick M. Lozeau, Patrick
+ McCabe, Patrick Nafarrete, Patrick Tanguay, Patrick von Hauff,
+ Patrik Kernstock, Patti J Ryan, Paul A Golder, Paul and Iris Brest,
+ Paul Bailey, Paul Bryan, Paul Bunkham, Paul Elosegui, Paul Hibbitts,
+ Paul Jacobson, Paul Keller, Paul Rowe, Paul Timpson, Paul Walker,
+ Pavel Dostál, Peeter Sällström Randsalu, Peggy Frith, Pen-Yuan
+ Hsing, Penny Pearson, Per Åström, Perry Jetter, Péter Fankhauser,
+ Peter Hirtle, Peter Humphries, Peter Jenkins, Peter Langmar, Peter
+ le Roux, Peter Marinari, Peter Mengelers, Peter O’Brien, Peter
+ Pinch, Peter S. Crosby, Peter Wells, Petr Fristedt, Petr Viktorin,
+ Petronella Jeurissen, Phil Flickinger, Philip Chung, Philip Pangrac,
+ Philip R. Skaggs Jr., Philip Young, Philippa Lorne Channer, Philippe
+ Vandenbroeck, Pierluigi Luisi, Pierre Suter, Pieter-Jan Pauwels,
+ Playground Inc., Pomax, Popenoe, Pouhiou Noenaute, Prilutskiy
+ Kirill, Print3Dreams Ltd., Quentin Coispeau, R. Smith, Race
+ DiLoreto, Rachel Mercer, Rafael Scapin, Rafaela Kunz, Rain Doggerel,
+ Raine Lourie, Rajiv Jhangiani, Ralph Chapoteau, Randall Kirby, Randy
+ Brians, Raphaël Alexandre, Raphaël Schröder, Rasmus Jensen, Rayn
+ Drahps, Rayna Stamboliyska, Rebecca Godar, Rebecca Lendl, Rebecca
+ Weir, Regina Tschud, Remi Dino, Ric Herrero, Rich McCue, Richard
+ <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">TalkToMeGuy</span>”</span> Olson, Richard Best, Richard Blumberg,
+ Richard Fannon, Richard Heying, Richard Karnesky, Richard Kelly,
+ Richard Littauer, Richard Sobey, Richard White, Richard Winchell,
+ Rik ToeWater, Rita Lewis, Rita Wood, Riyadh Al Balushi, Rob Balder,
+ Rob Berkley, Rob Bertholf, Rob Emanuele, Rob McAuliffe, Rob
+ McKaughan, Rob Tillie, Rob Utter, Rob Vincent, Robert Gaffney,
+ Robert Jones, Robert Kelly, Robert Lawlis, Robert McDonald, Robert
+ Orzanna, Robert Paterson Hunter, Robert R. Daniel Jr., Robert
+ Ryan-Silva, Robert Thompson, Robert Wagoner, Roberto Selvaggio,
+ Robin DeRosa, Robin Rist Kildal, Rodrigo Castilhos, Roger Bacon,
+ Roger Saner, Roger So, Roger Solé, Roger Tregear, Roland Tanglao,
+ Rolf and Mari von Walthausen, Rolf Egstad, Rolf Schaller, Ron
+ Zuijlen, Ronald Bissell, Ronald van den Hoff, Ronda Snow, Rory
+ Landon Aronson, Ross Findlay, Ross Pruden, Ross Williams, Rowan
+ Skewes, Roy Ivy III, Ruben Flores, Rupert Hitzenberger, Rusi Popov,
+ Russ Antonucci, Russ Spollin, Russell Brand, Rute Correia, Ruth Ann
+ Carpenter, Ruth White, Ryan Mentock, Ryan Merkley, Ryan Price, Ryan
+ Sasaki, Ryan Singer, Ryan Voisin, Ryan Weir, S Searle, Salem Bin
+ Kenaid, Salomon Riedo, Sam Hokin, Sam Twidale, Samantha Levin,
+ Samantha-Jayne Chapman, Samarth Agarwal, Sami Al-AbdRabbuh, Samuel
+ A. Rebelsky, Samuel Goëta, Samuel Hauser, Samuel Landete, Samuel
+ Oliveira Cersosimo, Samuel Tait, Sandra Fauconnier, Sandra Markus,
+ Sandy Bjar, Sandy ONeil, Sang-Phil Ju, Sanjay Basu, Santiago Garcia,
+ Sara Armstrong, Sara Lucca, Sara Rodriguez Marin, Sarah Brand, Sarah
+ Cove, Sarah Curran, Sarah Gold, Sarah McGovern, Sarah Smith, Sarinee
+ Achavanuntakul, Sasha Moss, Sasha VanHoven, Saul Gasca, Scott
+ Abbott, Scott Akerman, Scott Beattie, Scott Bruinooge, Scott Conroy,
+ Scott Gillespie, Scott Williams, Sean Anderson, Sean Johnson, Sean
+ Lim, Sean Wickett, Seb Schmoller, Sebastiaan Bekker, Sebastiaan ter
+ Burg, Sebastian Makowiecki, Sebastian Meyer, Sebastian Schweizer,
+ Sebastian Sigloch, Sebastien Huchet, Seokwon Yang, Sergey
+ Chernyshev, Sergey Storchay, Sergio Cardoso, Seth Drebitko, Seth
+ Gover, Seth Lepore, Shannon Turner, Sharon Clapp, Shauna Redmond,
+ Shawn Gaston, Shawn Martin, Shay Knohl, Shelby Hatfield, Sheldon
+ (Vila) Widuch, Sheona Thomson, Si Jie, Sicco van Sas, Siena
+ Oristaglio, Simon Glover, Simon John King, Simon Klose, Simon Law,
+ Simon Linder, Simon Moffitt, Solomon Kahn, Solomon Simon, Soujanna
+ Sarkar, Stanislav Trifonov, Stefan Dumont, Stefan Jansson, Stefan
+ Langer, Stefan Lindblad, Stefano Guidotti, Stefano Luzardi, Stephan
+ Meißl, Stéphane Wojewoda, Stephanie Pereira, Stephen Gates, Stephen
+ Murphey, Stephen Pearce, Stephen Rose, Stephen Suen, Stephen Walli,
+ Stevan Matheson, Steve Battle, Steve Fisches, Steve Fitzhugh, Steve
+ Guen-gerich, Steve Ingram, Steve Kroy, Steve Midgley, Steve Rhine,
+ Steven Kasprzyk, Steven Knudsen, Steven Melvin, Stig-Jørund B. Ö.
+ Arnesen, Stuart Drewer, Stuart Maxwell, Stuart Reich, Subhendu
+ Ghosh, Sujal Shah, Sune Bøegh, Susan Chun, Susan R Grossman, Suzie
+ Wiley, Sven Fielitz, Swan/Starts, Sylvain Carle, Sylvain Chery,
+ Sylvia Green, Sylvia van Bruggen, Szabolcs Berecz, T. L. Mason,
+ Tanbir Baeg, Tanya Hart, Tara Tiger Brown, Tara Westover, Tarmo
+ Toikkanen, Tasha Turner Lennhoff, Tathagat Varma, Ted Timmons, Tej
+ Dhawan, Teresa Gonczy, Terry Hook, Theis Madsen, Theo M. Scholl,
+ Theresa Bernardo, Thibault Badenas, Thomas Bacig, Thomas Boehnlein,
+ Thomas Bøvith, Thomas Chang, Thomas Hartman, Thomas Kent, Thomas
+ Morgan, Thomas Philipp-Edmonds, Thomas Thrush, Thomas Werkmeister,
+ Tieg Zaharia, Tieu Thuy Nguyen, Tim Chambers, Tim Cook, Tim Evers,
+ Tim Nichols, Tim Stahmer, Timothée Planté, Timothy Arfsten, Timothy
+ Hinchliff, Timothy Vollmer, Tina Coffman, Tisza Gergő, Tobias
+ Schonwetter, Todd Brown, Todd Pousley, Todd Sattersten, Tom Bamford,
+ Tom Caswell, Tom Goren, Tom Kent, Tom MacWright, Tom Maillioux, Tom
+ Merkli, Tom Merritt, Tom Myers, Tom Olijhoek, Tom Rubin, Tommaso De
+ Benetti, Tommy Dahlen, Tony Ciak, Tony Nwachukwu, Torsten Skomp,
+ Tracey Depellegrin, Tracey Henton, Tracey James, Traci Long DeForge,
+ Trent Yarwood, Trevor Hogue, Trey Blalock, Trey Hunner, Tryggvi
+ Björgvinsson, Tumuult, Tushar Roy, Tyler Occhiogrosso, Udo
+ Blenkhorn, Uri Sivan, Vanja Bobas, Vantharith Oum, Vaughan jenkins,
+ Veethika Mishra, Vic King, Vickie Goode, Victor DePina, Victor
+ Grigas, Victoria Klassen, Victorien Elvinger, VIGA Manufacture,
+ Vikas Shah, Vinayak S.Kaujalgi, Vincent O’Leary, Violette Paquet,
+ Virginia Gentilini, Virginia Kopelman, Vitor Menezes, Vivian
+ Marthell, Wayne Mackintosh, Wendy Keenan, Werner Wiethege, Wesley
+ Derbyshire, Widar Hellwig, Willa Köerner, William Bettridge-Radford,
+ William Jefferson, William Marshall, William Peter Nash, William
+ Ray, William Robins, Willow Rosenberg, Winie Evers, Wolfgang
+ Renninger, Xavier Antoviaque, Xavier Hugonet, Xavier Moisant, Xueqi
+ Li, Yancey Strickler, Yann Heurtaux, Yasmine Hajjar, Yu-Hsian Sun,
+ Yves Deruisseau, Zach Chandler, Zak Zebrowski, Zane Amiralis and
+ Joshua de Haan, ZeMarmot Open Movie
+ </p></div></body></html>
projects / text-madewithcc.git / commitdiff