On being able to be the best
What are your chances of becoming the world's foremost expert on a proprietary content management system (CMS) or on proprietary software in general? Unless you're working for the company owning the software and you get access to proprietary documents or high-level meetings within corporate walls, your chances are slim -— you simply won't get access to all the internal information.
Contrast this scenario with Drupal development, or Open Source development in general. As a developer, you have access to Drupal's complete source code. You can read up on all the discussion that led to any design decisions, and you can tap right into the brains of the best Drupal developers in the world.
Why would you want to provide consulting around proprietary software when you know that you will never be able to truly master what you claim to be an expert in? For people with raw ambition, the thought that they can't become the best must be frustrating.
Not so with Open Source software. There is nothing that stops you from becoming the best Drupal developer in the world. The only limitation is your willingness to learn ...
For me that simple and liberating idea makes all the difference.
So true, Dries. Thanks for sharing.
June 11, 2007 - 19:57Hey Dries, I think I read these ideas on your prologue to Matt and John's Drupal book. I couldn't agree more. Becoming an expert in an open source application/platform like Drupal is quite possible for anyone who has the time and patience to do it.
Thanks to you and all the Drupal community for sharing this nice piece of software.
Cheers!
June 11, 2007 - 19:57I just wish time was more abundantly available.
June 11, 2007 - 21:14Interesting point of view.
June 12, 2007 - 07:15Not just "Interesting point of view", but reality.
With proprietary and closed source software, you can know (almost) only information what their provider is willing to share with you (they certainly don't want to share their "dirty laundry" with you).
June 12, 2007 - 09:01To choose wisely.
Time marks the difference.
This is what I always have in my head when thinking the next step on learning a new system/language.
The more we are the bigger Drupal will be and more open source aware bussiness will adopt it.
June 12, 2007 - 08:57Good point Dries. Oregon State University is moving to Drupal this year. Look forward to our podcast!
Chester
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Chester Bateman
Assistant to the Dean for Technology
College of Education
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon 97331-3502
Office: 541.737.8836
Fax: 541-737-8971
chester.bateman@oregonstate.edu
http://oregonstate.edu/education/
Grassroots Learning Project ~ Community Innovation and Learning in the Internet Age!
About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land grant, sea grant, space grant and sun grant institution. Its more than 19,000 students come from all 50 states and more than 80
June 13, 2007 - 18:47countries. OSU programs touch every county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research on issues of national and global importance.
Sometimes one learns more from reading a piece of code than from reading API documentation.
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