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Everything I know about Open Source Businesses I learned from Indie Hip Hop

Everything I know about Open Source Businesses I learned from Indie Hip Hop

Silly observations and similarities that I noticed between successful independent rap artists and boutique software development firms.

Corey Donohoe

January 17, 2012
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  1. Aloha Tuesday, January 17, 12 initially submitted something along the

    lines of “how to be a fashionable ruby tester” i didn’t get a response at all, but I really wanted to go to hawaii so i figured i’d send something completely off the wall, seth got back to me within 24 hours.
  2. atmos.org / @atmos / [email protected] http://github.com/atmos Tuesday, January 17, 12

    i learned linux about 10 years ago. i’ve been comitting to open source for the last 8 years or so, sourceforge since 2001... i did not win a high altitude open karate championship, i just found that medal.
  3. webrat rspec sinatra datamapper passenger integrity Tuesday, January 17, 12

    these are the tools i use as a ruby hacker, all of them are open source, on github. testing is evenly split with other libs that contribute to delivering code. thank you @dchelimsky, @brynary, @aslak_hellesoy, @bmizerany, @phusion_nl, @dkubb, @godfoca
  4. open source & independent hip hop http://www.flickr.com/photos/barrielynn/1817195121/ Tuesday, January 17,

    12 they’re both pretty dude saturated. both are underdogs, the business people pat you on the head and tell you to go play in traffic. “selling platinum artists and building global partnerships, that’s where the REAL money is” ...
  5. context rappers & labels hackers & companies http://www.flickr.com/photos/onkel_wart/3514652575/ Tuesday, January

    17, 12 how they did it and why i like it more than what you see on techcrunch.
  6. participation http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelgermain/1256439153/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 how to choose a

    nickname or a persona why traveling is so important to professional development inspiration through collaboration hustling
  7. Returning ... Text http://www.flickr.com/photos/lant_70/3441405150/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 we have

    GREAT jobs, what can we give back? mentoring, free access to your work, a self sustaining ecosystem. what kind of environments can we create for the next wave of open source hackers?
  8. Indie Labels Tuesday, January 17, 12 doom is 12+ years

    now living legends is going on 14 for some members rhymesayers is pushing 15
  9. Not On a Boat Tuesday, January 17, 12 no t-pain,

    no boats. no simple path for distribution. there is no radio air play, DIY marketing.
  10. tell you a story Tuesday, January 17, 12 this was

    me when I was 15, it’s the canadian embassy in washington DC. i got to travel through skating as a teenager. i went to a hip hop/punk rock show, the first time i went to an atmosphere show.
  11. Slug Minneapolis, MN Rhymesayers Tuesday, January 17, 12 slug is

    a leader, he’s more or less the public face of rhymesayers my online persona comes from a group he’s a part of, Atmosphere
  12. Murs Los Angeles, CA Living Legends Definitive Jux Rhymesayers Tuesday,

    January 17, 12 murs is a collaborator he cross pollenates
  13. The Grouch Oakland, CA Living Legends Maui Los Angeles, CA

    Tuesday, January 17, 12 collaborator, positivity 10+ years independent Living Legends, the crew he’s a part of is an amazing collective
  14. Brother Ali Minneapolis, MN Rhymesayers Tuesday, January 17, 12 padawan

    -> jedi -> mentor what’s the first thing you need to be a hacker or a rapper?
  15. Identity http://www.flickr.com/photos/filtran/3656916218/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 who are you when

    you participate in open source? it’s not your myspace or facebook accounts, hackers have github accounts and own domains!
  16. DOOM http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianconnolly/73450927/ •Metal Fingers •Danger Doom ( w/ Danger Mouse

    ) •Madvillain ( w/ Madlib ) •King Geedorah •Viktor Vaughn •MF Doom •Doom Tuesday, January 17, 12 DOOM is a rapper that has continued to publish things under different names over the years. i like that he got creative, metal fingers on beats, metal face on rhymes
  17. _why Tuesday, January 17, 12 why is an awesome example

    of an open source persona. he just disappeared one day, never to be seen again. left countless memories with us. i hope _why comes back as another persona, but we’d probably never know
  18. personas can be superheroes http://www.flickr.com/photos/videoplacebo/2476230102/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 be

    a troll, a savior, a leader, a collaborator. a whole lot of hard work, and it’s growth. in a year or two you can be the kid rockin’ their underwear on the outside.
  19. crew http://www.flickr.com/photos/kansasexplorer3128/137712897/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 a lot of that

    growth can be accelerated by finding a crew of quality people couldn’t help but use something like this growing up in a military family crews excel in teamwork, and teamwork is....
  20. Living Legends • Mystik Journeymen • The Grouch • 3

    Melancholy Gypsies • Bicasso • Asop •50 albums •300,000 units sold Tuesday, January 17, 12 formed slowly over 10 years or so. shipped a ton, mix and match on different projects. not stupid rich but they have more support than ever.
  21. What’s an Open Source Crew? Tuesday, January 17, 12 might

    be your local user group, this is boulder.rb. couple of friends contracting together, this is a good way to start looking for income.
  22. Tender Lighthouse Countless Plugins Tuesday, January 17, 12 entp is

    an interestingly similar collective. active reload launched lighthouse, got consumed into ENTP. if you write ruby web apps i’m pretty sure you’ve used something that came outta that incubator.
  23. gimme the loot http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciaranj/2100790386/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 so I

    know who I am. I got my crew with me. i’ve been practicing! we have some open source stuff on github. I need to survive, how do we make money?
  24. hitting the road http://www.flickr.com/photos/deppi/237977864/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 go meet

    people in real life, people who don’t live anywhere near you. you’re going to need to.
  25. two conferences a year Tuesday, January 17, 12 the personal

    connection you make with people at conferences trumps twitter, irc, message boards. “but railsconf is like 700$ how on earth do you make it happen?” don’t go. attend more intimate conferences, the rubyhoedown was free, mountain west isn’t too expensive.
  26. open arms http://www.flickr.com/photos/eelssej_/413385838/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 I work at

    Engine Yard, they couldn’t work sending me here into the budget. Cory Shaw graciously offered to take me in for this conf. Mahalo, that meant a lot to me. if you a nice person you’ll be surprised who will take you in.
  27. two tours a year Tuesday, January 17, 12 every spring

    and fall Rhymesayers hits the road, they’ve always got merch even for the loyal fans who’ve been going for years.
  28. EPs of current work Tuesday, January 17, 12 have examples

    of what they’ve been working on. each of those squares is a CD. used to fit on a card table.
  29. releases of current work Tuesday, January 17, 12 when you

    meet other hackers, show them what you’re working on, even if you’re not too proud of it. figure out what other hackers are struggling with, passionate about. if you meet people and you’ve got things to share....
  30. strangers might have work for you http://www.flickr.com/photos/dollymixtures/299311799/ Tuesday, January 17,

    12 charge people a fair amount, be nice, communication is extremely important. open source persona can be disconnected from the people who pay you normally
  31. collaboration Tuesday, January 17, 12 the grouch pairs with a

    dude from the living legends named eligh (LA -> Oakland). i pair program with halorgium (tcs), we kick ass but it took practice (CO -> NZ). while pairing is hot, there’s more to collaboration than just pairing.
  32. MURS Tuesday, January 17, 12 mixing and matching with whoever

    he vibed off of, continued growth. worked with definitive jux, rhymesayers, living legends, who knows else. 173 tracks on my laptop. “i’m all about good music, people and progression.” -- murs
  33. collaborate with strangers http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffhester/165316370/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 defunkt/wycats -

    not only collaborate, they don’t stick to one language. promiscuous programmer, not just who you work with but what you work in. One kid is working on digging a whole, next thing you know 3 more kids you don’t know show up to help
  34. mentoring http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighblackall/76202401/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 where do you draw

    the line between consulting, collaborating and helping someone out? especially when they show natural talent? how about helping people for free?
  35. Slug Rhymesayers Tuesday, January 17, 12 this is a shot

    from 2002 in washington DC. this was a little bigger than the first show, may 150-200 people this time. five years means longer travels and a few more fans.
  36. Doomtree http://www.doomtree.net/about/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 kind of a mixed

    bag, there’s a girl, some white dudes, a pirate in the back left P.O.S was my first introduction to doomtree when he opened for atmosphere
  37. P.O.S Doomtree http://www.flickr.com/photos/stolt45/303728799/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 a little different

    than slug but all he needed was to get on. he’s got a punk rock background that’s transforming to something in between.
  38. Brother Ali Rhymesayers Tuesday, January 17, 12 the opening act

    was killer, a heart felt accappella of ‘bedroom window’, a big albino dude. until he starts rapping... and that was 7 years ago.
  39. Brother Ali Tuesday, January 17, 12 hip hop live with

    ghostface and rakim. he’s a headliner now, and he’s getting HIS friends on. that dj in the back has been there the whole time, his name is bk one.
  40. people who show promise http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighblackall/76202401/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 help

    them understand the solution? help them clean up the mess associated with them trying to implement a feature? help them learn how to test that use feature?
  41. Thoughtbot hoptoad paperclip suspenders clearance shoulda Tuesday, January 17, 12

    they’re independent and maintain a SOLID blog. they give back and do things like poker tournaments when a conf is in vegas. nick quaranto (qrush) was their intern, he does cool shit, have you seen gemcutter?
  42. http://fuckyeah4chan.tumblr.com/post/202709041 Tuesday, January 17, 12 personas, crews, hustling, collaborating, mentoring.

    i’ve done multiple iterations of this successfully. l made a personal connection with ezra at railsconf 2006 and ended up at Engine Yard.
  43. we’re already doing it (ass kicking) Tuesday, January 17, 12

    gregory brown, seth ladd, jeremy macanally. entp, hashrocket, thoughtbot, corey haines. kicking ass is getting over the fear of failure.
  44. Github http://www.flickr.com/photos/31679616@N08/2960047774 Tuesday, January 17, 12 i can’t say enough

    good things about github. i was sad to see them leave EY but i’m so stoked to see them thriving.
  45. http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaderlab/1975179984 Tuesday, January 17, 12 10-15 years from now, and

    ruby is a thing of the past. and we look back on how things changed when we were waist deep in it. open source allowed people to build little empires of their own over time w/o investors.
  46. Be Smart About Investors Tuesday, January 17, 12 roll the

    dice on those stock options, buy a place in hawaii when you cash em out... if it pans out. if you need to take money, do it wisely.
  47. Atmosphere @ Red Rocks Tuesday, January 17, 12 it takes

    years, regardless of whether or not you take funding. choose wisely, your work/company/software reflects on you as a hacker and as a professional. let’s stop being indentured servants to other people and let’s do it ourselves.
  48. Atmosphere @ Red Rocks Tuesday, January 17, 12 8300+ people

    at red rocks amphitheater for an atmosphere show. there were about 40 at the show i saw 11 years ago.
  49. Organic http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelcr/1392656919/ Tuesday, January 17, 12 organic communities, like the

    foods, don’t leave a bad taste in your mouth. they’re filled with passionate people that care about their craft and doing what’s “right”. in the long run, those are the kind of people i want to surround myself with.
  50. Mahalo Tuesday, January 17, 12 Mahalo Seth for such an

    amazing conference. talk to the closest person next to you that you don’t know. ask them why they’re at aloha on rails, i bet you won’t regret it.