Open companies

A while back Mike blogged about “open companies” in regards to the start a wiki war. I tend to agree that companies that embrace “openness” (which is a bit tough to define) tend to be the ones that can turn on a dime and confront new challenges more quickly. I tend to think that one could even offer the source for free (a la Resin) and merely construct the license agreement such that companies must pay for the product if they intend to use it commercially. I am one of those people that doesn’t believe that money is lost just because someone pirates software or music — only if they pirate it in lieu of buying it. Since corporations never risk getting in legal hot water, I don’t tend to be concerned with releasing the source provided the license protects me.