The UOC launches a new edition of the Open Thoughts blog
Why do we turn to Wikipedia when we want some basic information on a subject, even though we know it doesn't use trusted sources, but rather an army of anonymous volunteers working on a collaboratively edited platform? Why do most smartphones use the open-code Linux operating system, even though anyone can suggest and make changes? On this edition of the Open Thoughts blog, the UOC launches a debate on peer production on digital platforms and explores the possible dangers and benefits of this way of working. This initiative is being carried out through the third edition of the blog, where international experts from the academic, business and sociocultural worlds will try to answer the question How many peers does it take to change a light bulb?
The blog is led by the Research and Transfer Support Office (OSRT, from its acronym in Catalan) at the UOC, and the researchers behind this edition are: Eduard Aibar, lecturer in arts and humanities at the UOC, Josep Lladós, director of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) -one of the research centres at the UOC- and Maxigas, a researcher at the IN3. Most of the experts taking part in this initiative worked previously on the project Wikipedia for Higher Education, -which analysed the perceptions, attitudes and practices of university lecturers with regard to using the open contents available on Wikipedia as an educational tool. The main R&D&i lines for this programme are linked to the contents of the new edition of the Open Thoughts blog.
The first post on the blog is by Maxigas, one of the researchers behind this initiative. In it, this IN3 researcher sets out the pros and cons of peer production to kick off the debate. Full of practical examples of this new form of production, his text also includes references to a classic science fiction film saga.
The initiative
Open Thoughts is an annual initiative run by the OSRT; the first edition, in 2012, looked at gender and ICT. Throughout 2012, a score of international personalities answered the question: What if Steve Jobs had been a woman? The initiative's second blog was set up by a number of Spanish and international experts in response to the question: Ready for a smarter world?
The blogs are written in English.