What Does Open Mean For Business Today?
photo credit: O'Reilly - Oscon 2002
The advent of open source software has sparked a big debate in the global economy, an economy that is so used to secrecy for the sake of control. Open is a trend that is not going away. Open source software is created by volunteers from all over the world at no cost to the end users. These volunteers work for free because they need something, not because they see money in it(ie: http://zenfoc.us). They help themselves while helping others in the process.
But what does open mean for business today. Does open reduce the potential for profit(aka making a living)?
Ask and You Shall Receive
This powerful quote has proved very true in my personal endeavors to financially support my wife and I.
For a long while, I’ve been researching how to operate a business correctly. I’ve read books from the local library(one of my most valuable resources) as well as online. I’ve tried to learn from my freelance experiences as well as from working with a group of professionals in the last firm where I was employed. I’ve tried to watch others make choices and see how they react.
The Point
Of all the things I’ve done to learn, to ask others is the most effective method.
Advent: Choosing my path
I never saw this coming.
Here I am, figuratively standing on the edge of a gaping abyss with no where to go but forward. Ever seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? If not, then find a way to see it and you’ll understand that this leap of faith isn’t easy.
There is only one difference. I have to choose between more than just one path, unlike Indiana Jones.
Paperful #1: Index cards for more than indexing
So many people today are trying to go paperless. I commend them for their altruistic attempts to reduce their carbon footprint, but some things are just better done on paper. In this series, I will highlight many beneficial uses for paper that will help you be more organized and less anxious. I call it going paperful. Going paperful is using a minimal amount of paper to gain the maximum amount of efficiency and effectiveness.
How to track your passwords securely
The majority of my daily activity is online. Banking, reading, research, communication, entertainment, work, and so on. At first it was rather easy to manage my online accounts. I only had a handful I used and I would only use one of four passwords. But then I started managing my clients web accounts like database, emails, etc. I continued to research competitors of my own projects; so I added more accounts. These new accounts needed user names and my most common one, my first name, was taken more and more.
The list grew much larger and more complex than I had expected.
The Question
How do I track all of these passwords and accounts?
There was only one solution.