Open Business

The Guardian created an open platform, which is a suite of services that makes it possible to build applications with the Guardian. They have opened up their platform to give access to our journalism, their brand, and the technologies that power guardian.co.uk. The first two services they’ve released as part of the platform are the Content API and the Data Store. The Content API is a service that allows partners to select…

Not ony do they give away their content for free, but they also let users use the content to build appliations around to e.g. analyse/research their data. They openned up their content for others to use. The Guardian is not involved in selecting or checking any application, which makes it a more open service than some other crowdsourcing platforms.

Harkopen.com is an internet open source community with the main goal help the world interconnect. By offering web tools to post electronics projects and find parts and by the other side to offer services, tools and help the community can grow faster together and make awesome open tech. The website offers a news section, projects hosting, suppliers list, hacker spaces locations and tutorials, while promoting open source hardware on…

Every type of content available on the website is user submitted and anyone can register for a free account and submit news, projects, suppliers, hacker spaces or tutorials. Also harkopen.com has a strong open presence on social networks empowering everyone interested in open hardware to learn more and join the movement.

The Hexayurt Project is an open source disaster and refugee housing initiative. It’s not a charity, what it does is design and teach building techniques which allow for the construction of large quantities of very cheap housing in emergencies. Right now several groups are considering using the Hexayurt in Haiti, from US Southern Command through to small religious groups. The openness of the approach allows for incredibly diverse collaboration.

The Hexayurt Project has no copyright or patent on its materials – everything is 100% public domain. It has collaborators from a diverse range of entities, from various branches of the Red Cross, design schools in Sweden and the Netherlands, to the US DOD which has been a long-time promoter of the Hexayurt Project and its tools, like the SCIM infrastructure mapping system.

Hubbub is a proprietary Internet application that allows businesses and organisations to attract and publish all kinds of ideas and feedback from a much wider community.

Once published on Hubbub, ideas can be universally collaborated on, voted or demoted, and eventually, in the case of the most influential, be adopted by the organisation in whole or in part.

IBM really focusses on opening up, they not only use Linux, but are a great supporter of what they call – collaborative innovation. They have for example opened up their global innovation outlook – open now for everyone to participate. Another example is the IBM’s Jam programs in which IBM creates global online brainstorm sessions (on different topics they can differ from business related to social issues) were everyone can…

You can really see that IBM has adopted openness as a business model. They try to open up different parts/product and services of their business. Also they have taken it further then just their business, by organising these Jams they enable others to collaborate/debate on different topics. Using Linux is another example of supporting others in their openness.

Since their inception 10 years ago Nikonians have used open business principles to prosper in a crowded and competitive online market. They were founded in April 2000 by two online friends with a passion for photography and a desire for a cooperative, mutually supportive online community and top-tier reference site focusing on Nikon equipment. Their mission is to provide a friendly, creative and inspiring atmosphere for ambitious photographers…

As a not for profit community all revenue is invested back into the business. In response to suggestions and requests from the community, content and software is developed and added regularly. It is then provided free to community members and a process of creative evolution occurs where further improvements are suggested and acted upon. An example of this is “Nikonians Annotate. Three reasons a photographer may…