a16z Podcast

Learning from Open Source Communities

Aug 11, 2022

Join Nadia Asparouhova, author of "Working in Public," as she dives into the evolution of open source communities and their lessons for today’s creator economy. She discusses community taxonomies and how engagement has shifted from close-knit groups to broader audiences. Explore the distinction between active contributors and casual users, the significance of digital identities, and the rise of subscription models. Nadia also highlights the importance of managing trust and reputation within online spaces, offering insights for fostering collaboration.

47:53

Creator website

Episode guests

Nadia Asparouhova

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

Evolving Dynamics of Open Source Communities

17min

Navigating Open Source Contributions

5min

The Evolution of Digital Identities and Software

6min

Evolving Dynamics of the Passion Economy

1min

Navigating Online Community Dynamics

16min

The Interplay of Creation and Audience in Open Source

2min

What can we learn from the evolution of open source communities and how might they be applied to online communities and the creator economy today? Author Nadia Asparouhova joins host Sonal Choksi to talk about Asparouhova's book, Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software, from Stripe Press.

They start with a a taxonomy for communities, and then dig into how open source has changed over time, which learnings from open source do and don’t apply to new communities online, how communities intersect with the growing desire for more "high-shared context" groups and spaces (including even podcasts and newsletters), and more.