Self-organization in Open Source Communication Networks

Abstract

Throughout 1980 two main processes started. The first process was the creation of an area of free information exchange at a low cost and with a diversity of collaborators. The first revolution in the Internet based on the newsgroups, the ftp, the electronic mail and the emergence of the free software were the paradigm of the new world in information. Today, we can think about the existence of are new elements to be linked to this paradigm, such as free encyclopedias, the open source scientific publication, the genomic information, etc. The second process witnessed how huge industries (pharmaceutical, food and agriculture, means of transport, software packing companies) were being built. These industries are now trying to reach the property or the control of the use of information and knowledge and there is a strong pressure to increase the control upon the spreading of knowledge and information by using a mixture of technical and legal tools. These two tendencies are opposed in various cases and these clashes are shaping up the future. In Argentina and in Latin America, these two trends are growing due to the emergence of projects that put special emphasis on the appropriation of the Internet technology in order to create communication networks, using open source technologies, such as the case of the RAEC. Red Académica Electrónica de CLACSO (CLACSO’s Electronic Academic Network -EANC-) with regard to the generation, creation, utilization, storage and transfer of information on one hand, and the benefits and the sources of innovation in the evolution of this Network at concentrating on open technologies, on the other hand. The fact is to show and cast some light on the deep debate about how knowledge shall be dealt in Argentina in the next years, taking into account values and typical styles of our country and how this is related to the use of digital technology.