The commons refers to the entirety of the resources that we share as a society. The commons includes such natural resources as land and water, and man made resources as highways and buildings. Many of the rules established to govern property and access are contrived in accordance with standards deemed to best serve the public good. Historically, they have developed over countless centuries, primarily in order to manage distribution and ownership of often limited physical resources.

The digital commons is different. Resources in the digital realm include software, the world wide web, and data files. However, unlike the physical commons, the digital commons does not suffer from a limit of resources—it enjoys flourishing abundance. In many senses, it abides by rules that conflict with our inherited ideas about property. One person’s access to a program or a file does not prevent someone else from owning the same thing, but rather encourages it. Individual ownership does not take away from the existing pool of resources, it adds to it. Copying digital data is effortless and inexpensive, and sharing is as simple as copying and pasting, uploading and downloading files, or publishing to a web site.

The truly revolutionary capacity of the internet is how it changes the way we create, distribute, and share culture, and if the internet loses that character, it loses its innovative potential. The web is built on user contributions and the power to make nearly unlimited copies at little to no cost. Already, this potential has transformed industries, pioneered new methods of encyclopedic knowledge, and made countless changes in the way we live, think, and act. The common sense that guides our laws of resources and property took centuries to develop, but the Internet has challenged them in recent years. This is a complex and open-ended challenge.

One answer is licensing schemes like Creative Commons that enable creators to cede certain rights under copyright. Another answer is developing content that is meant to be shared, adjusting business models to the natural strengths of the internet. Overall, we need to unite public opinion, industry development, technological innovation, and regulatory structure around policies and practices that move fluidly with the digital commons.

Image by qthomasbower

More info:
Creative Commons
The Workbook Project
The Cluetrain Manifesto
Rip: A Remix Manifesto
Sita Sings The Blues

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