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Somebody has posted an article about GNU Herds
From: |
GNU Herds work team |
Subject: |
Somebody has posted an article about GNU Herds |
Date: |
Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:11:26 +0200 |
User-agent: |
KMail/1.9.5 |
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GNU Herds: The Job Site with a Free Software focus
http://blue-gnu.biz/content/gnu_herds_job_site_free_software_focus
- -- Copy & Paste:
People interested in offering and seeking jobs specifically related to Free
Software might find the GNU Herds project interesting...
Suppose your business is focused on Free Software solutions. Or maybe you want
a job developing Free Software. Sure, you could try one of the thousands of
recruiting businesses. The problem is, you might wind up in a position that
has little or nothing to do with Free Software. The people you want to hire
may not share your commitment to Free Software. You might try networking
within the GNU Herds Free Software Association, a project aimed at bringing
together individuals and businesses for whom Free Software is more than just
a development model.
GNU Herds lists a handful of business models on their home page, one of which
is one I have mentioned frequently in discussions about business models. The
Flexible Business Network is closely in line with what I have suggested as a
possible business model for a libre-oriented Microsoft (should work for any
company). Rather than have a gargantuan monopolist enterprise, the libre
business model quite literally drives business into a less structured, more
flexible entity - a network.
In a conversation with my sister-in-law (some time ago now), she asked how
Microsoft would survive as a libre software company, if it chose that route.
I quickly pointed out that it would not - and should not survive as it exists
now. It must change. I pointed out that most businesses should focus on
developing partnerships in order to be able to handle the 'big' orders. The
smaller entities could survive much better independently, and simultaneously
collaborate and compete with each other on business opportunities. I referred
to "alliances", rather than "networks", but the latter is probably more
suitable.
Back many moons ago - o.k., would you believe centuries, Chief? - villages had
people who used their talents to help each other out. Think of the village
blacksmith, for example. The farmer and builder relied on the blacksmith for
horseshoes and tools, while he relied on them for his house and food. Right.
That's just good sound economics in play. But people began combining
resources to accomplish bigger and better things. Now fast forward back to
the present.
Suppose you run a small development shop. Maybe it's just you, or you and one
or two other people. A 500-employee company wants you to develop a project
for them - and stipulates you must also provide support. But you don't have
the manpower for that. So you call up someone in your network who can.
They're familiar with your software anyway, as they've worked with you
before. Now you're "big enough" to handle the larger company's needs. Still,
once the project is over, each organization is still able to seek out new
opportunities without the inevitable layoffs, etc.
Of course, Microsoft not only works with development and support partners,
they offer their own services as well. In my model, they would spin off this
group into smaller entities, who could then continue to work as they always
have, albeit with a bit of management overhead. That actually might reduce
the management overhead, since their is no longer a need to run something
through multiple levels of management for approval.
Now, GNU Herds is an interesting concept, since the association could
essentially act as a clearinghouse for projects to be organized and staffed -
a sort of network incubator, if you will. Rather than simply expect people to
submit resumes and apply for jobs, GNU Herds could help businesses and
individuals connect to collaborate on available projects. All the usual
jobhunting goes on as normal, but also the exchange of offers and bids.
The aim of GNU Herds is "to assist and encourage people in their paid work as
Free Software authors, getting the highest levels of competence and
efficiency." The association is global in scope, seeks to make it easy for
businesses and individuals interested in Free Software as a business model to
communicate and seeks to support a variety of business models, as a matter of
flexibility.
And GNU Herds is, indeed, a rare bird. Namely, it is controlled, not by a
particular entity, but by its members. To become a member, you must
demonstrate some contribution to the Free Software community, though I did
not see the specifics of that on the website. The bottom line is, it appears
to be organized for, and aiming to offer, jobhunting, professional networking
and business development - all in one fell swoop. If they offer tools akin to
Hiitch, I suspect they will draw quite a crowd.
The site appears to be in need of some additional English participants, namely
to assist with the English language translation of the site. That said, the
site is available in six languages. And the site could use a bit of marketing
work as well - something to entice people into joining. The only job offers
appear to be demonstrations, but I did not register - at least not yet. So I
don't know what might be hidden to the un-registered. To be fair, the site
displays a notice of being at the beta stage, so it is not very far along in
its progress.
All in all, it appears to be an interesting project, and one I want to keep an
eye on. I think Free Software is vitally important to sustaining our
progress. I also think we need a set of tools to help develop and sustain the
development of a Free Software economy. The Free Software Foundation promotes
Free Software. Now, here's a site that seeks to help people get paid to write
Free Software. It's just one more tool in the Free Software community's box.
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