Open source media is technology that has given users the freedom to not only view, but to modify software in a way that makes their ideas shine through. In “Common-based Peer Production and Virtue” it talks about how open source code inspires collaboration so that people can share different concepts and marketing ideas. in the article it says that “no one ‘owns’ a free software project, though individuals own-in a formal sense- the software they contribute.” the fact that no one person owns the software makes the idea more liberal and democratic than closed sources because it requires cooperation and commitment to produce a final product, and your idea is only as important as the effort you put into developing it. Open source media isn’t reliable because anyone can edit its content, but this makes it easier to detect erros in the system because things are constantly updating. a good example of this is Wikipedia.
Generally, software developers don’t release their source code to the public, they have licenses that protect the software from getting copied and re-distributed. in “The Political Economy of Open Source Software.” the author uses the example of Coca-Cola and how people are able to purchase it, but the can’t claim the brand as their own because the formula is unique and is protected by intellectual property rights. in my opinion, closed source media is better because it stops people from stealing your ideas, and it actually allows you to make a profit, unlike open- source media
