The Opensource Revolution is in full force.. and there will be no stopping it. For a time, opensource solutions weren’t up to the standard of their cost-based and licensed alternatives and this blogger thought that they wouldn’t catch up.. but with the creation of this blog that realisation has dawned And what a great realisation it is! Let’s have a look at some of the top players: 

• Web Servers – Apache
• Operating Systems – Linux
• CMS’s – WordPress, Joomla and Drupal
• Social Networking – Elgg
• Databases – MySql
• Programming – PHP
• Access to information – Wikipedia

Life is all about problems and solutions and those who provide the best, most cost-effective solutions (for the greater good) will always have the aid of evolution on their side. Opensource = zero cost + (in many cases) better solutions to some of the industry’s most intricate demands. I emphasise “for the greater good” here because people who implement ingenius web application solutions for a corrupt global bank that leads to an economic crisis is not ultimately benefiting the greater good, are they? Not that this particular thing happened but it illustrates how important it is to always try and see the bigger picture.

Opensource has become king because of it’s benefits to mankind.. and mankind has responded in like by supporting opensource’s causes. You really need to give this some thought: I mean, all of the above listed opensource tools are completely free and yet, I guarantee you, hundreds if not thousands of hours went into their development. I don’t know too much about the lives of the originial developers but I guarantee you they are being looked after by the mysterious forces that recognise this contribution to the greater good.

This principle is universal.. it applies to every aspect of life. It’s inherent power is immense and in my opinion often beyond our own understanding. Another name for it could be called servitude. The future of business will be based on this model. Massive corporations like Microsoft (who initially brought about much for the greater good) will have no choice but to bow to evolutionary forces and play the opensource game. As it stands, they are well placed in the global marketplace.. but the proliferation of the web means that new internet operating systems will emerge to take on the big guns.

Make no mistake about it, to be placed well for the future, in any area of business or your life you will have to contribute to the greater good. We cannot overcome some of the greatest challenges facing us without this mindset. In no particular order:

1. Clean water
2. Global warming
3. Massive deforestation
4. Abject poverty
5. Population management
6. Terrorism, Warfare
7. etc..

Ok, although I’m fascinated by thoughts on the nature of the universe I thought I’d make my first post on web matters. And since I absolutely love learning new things I turn to Google a lot to help me find those new things. But I’m growing more and more frustrated by the amount of crap that’s turning up on the first page of searches. There seems to be a nasty trend of spammers deviously plastering Google Ads all over their front pages.

Now I’m not against online advertising.. it has it’s place, and I would like to place my own Google Ad on this blog at some point, but I am starting to entertain thoughts about using another search engine, because I’m simply not getting the search results I want. Two cases in point:

1. Stevepavlina.com – As much as I love learning from his posts and especially his new book, Personal Development for Smart People, it’s plainly obvious that he is deviously making money from adsense ads placed near the headings of his posts.
2. Dictionary.reference.com – I used to use this site all the time but it’s now been plastered with advertising which makes it difficult to see exactly where the search results are.

Ok, ok, to be fair, the latter probably wasn’t sponsored by Google Ads but the point is no less valid: Overadvertising detracts from the user experience.. the very thing that keeps Google in business.

In my humble opinion Google should allow a maximum of 1 ad per page instead of the current 3. Keep in mind of course that Google are not the only advertisers out there anyway. Minimising the number of ads is probably the most viable way of reducing spammers.

The only end spamming serves is a destructive one. At the end of the day if we can’t rely on search engines to give us the results we want then we’ll move on to other mediums of information gathering.. thus destroying the very tools needed by spammers to sustain their selfish goals. Spammers beware!!

Edit: I’ve just noticed that Steve has removed adsense from his site. Definitely a good idea and keeping in line with his recently published book.