Philadelphia Future Salon event

As open source emerges from its nascent stages and transforms the IT industry, the possibilities of its applications seem endless—a sure attraction for the next generation of engineers and software developers. Recently, I had the opportunity to address a group of up-and-comers at a Philadelphia Future Salon event and was heartened by the enthusiasm the college-aged audience showed for open source and its myriad possibilities.

The intended focus of the March 8th panel discussion was open source licensing—it’s various models, and how to navigate through them. But, with the audience being fairly new to open source, the attendees steered the conversation toward more general topics, asking insightful questions and gaining a solid understanding of the open source model. This orienting dialogue opened the way for us to talk about the huge opportunities for enterprises large and small to reap the benefits of open source software and its model of collaborative development.

Today's tech-savvy peer group has embraced social networking sites that open up channels of communication, turning this generation into one of enthusiastic collaborators. Who better than these young individuals to help shape the future of open source?

I greatly enjoyed presenting to this group and look forward to further opportunities to present as part of the Philadelphia Future Salon.