Viral Replicability Criteria

Viral Replicability

This is a map of all the criteria required for viral replicability to happen.

What is a comprehensive list of requirements, all of which facilitate replication of the machine?

To do this, start a spreadsheet and begin listing the ecology of requirements and support services, ancillary activity and businesses that will help the replication of a given machine.

In order to make this a collaborative document, use a Form to gather responses. For example, if there is a group work session, different people can gain access to structured editing by filling out a form.

Feedback Form

Results:

Infographic and Cultural Mindshift

Based on the information we gather, we will compose an infographic on Viral Replicability Criteria. The infographic is intended to get people thinking about the potential of open source (hardware) development.

Why is this important?

An implicit premise of the endpoint of any successful open source hardware project is that the quality of the hardware becomes superior to any proprietary counterpart. This is a strong statement, but it is also a simple natural result of an effort of an open, collaborative process attracting more development effort than any proprietary, closed-system effort. In other words, a better product means natural dissemination of that product worldwide. But it does not mean homogenization of options as in the standard mass production model, because the affordances of open technology make open hardware flexible and adaptable to any local setting. The market domination of open source product does assume a rational marketplace, however, which is not generally available - as special interests and agents of centrization tend to monopolize options.