If you’re like most people out there, then you don’t really care about your software. All you need to know is that it works.

This may be a bit of an overstatement, but the general attitude rings true: When it comes to peeking under the hood of the devices we can’t seem to live without, the topic of (open source) software is quickly dismissed as too complicated for your average consumer.

Fact is though, that every time you visit websites, check your inbox, stream music online or chat with your friends, your smartphone or computer connects to a global network of computers — using? You guessed it: open-source software to route and transmit data to the device in front of you. So anyone using the internet today is benefiting from open-source.

It goes beyond software

The entire world is full of “source code” in all forms — rules, recipes, blueprints — that have a huge impact on the way we interact with it. In that sense, “open-source” is a state of mind that encourages playing an active role in improving the world, which is possible only when everyone has access to the way that world is designed.

Breaking this back down to software, “opening up the source” really just means making it publicly accessible for people to modify and share. And celebrating values like open exchange, collaboration, transparency, and community is worth opening up this topic to a broader audience, don’t you think?

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic

Have you heard of open source software? Do you actively use it? If so, what made you decide to try? Or why did you opt against it?

Let us know in the comment section below.