Open Knowledge
Encyclopedia
Open Knowledge is a term used to denote a set of principles and methodologies related to the production and distribution of knowledge works in an open manner. Knowledge is interpreted broadly to include:
As set out in the Open Knowledge Definition, knowledge is open if "one is free to use, reuse, and redistribute it without legal, social or technological restriction."
In this sense Open Knowledge can be seen as being a superset of Open Data
, Open Content
, Open Access with the aim of highlighting the commonalities between these different groups. The concept is also heavily related to Open Source
, with many concepts and processes directly borrowed (or 'ported') from previous work on Open Source
(for example the Open Knowledge Definition is directly derived from the Open Source Definition
).
and Open Content
, though the term is rather new, the concept is old. For example, one of the earliest printed texts of which we have record is a copy of the Buddhist Diamond sutra produced in China around 868AD, and in it can be found the dedication: "for universal free distribution".
- Data -- scientific, historical, geographic or otherwise
- Content such as music, films or books
- General information for example that produced by government and other administrative bodies
As set out in the Open Knowledge Definition, knowledge is open if "one is free to use, reuse, and redistribute it without legal, social or technological restriction."
In this sense Open Knowledge can be seen as being a superset of Open Data
Open Data
Open data is the idea that certain data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control. The goals of the open data movement are similar to those of other "Open" movements such as open source, open...
, Open Content
Open content
Open content or OpenContent is a neologism coined by David Wiley in 1998 which describes a creative work that others can copy or modify. The term evokes open source, which is a related concept in software....
, Open Access with the aim of highlighting the commonalities between these different groups. The concept is also heavily related to Open Source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
, with many concepts and processes directly borrowed (or 'ported') from previous work on Open Source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
(for example the Open Knowledge Definition is directly derived from the Open Source Definition
Open Source Definition
The Open Source Definition is a document published by the Open Source Initiative, to determine whether or not a software license can be labeled with the open-source certification mark....
).
History
Similarly to other 'open' concepts such as Open DataOpen Data
Open data is the idea that certain data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control. The goals of the open data movement are similar to those of other "Open" movements such as open source, open...
and Open Content
Open content
Open content or OpenContent is a neologism coined by David Wiley in 1998 which describes a creative work that others can copy or modify. The term evokes open source, which is a related concept in software....
, though the term is rather new, the concept is old. For example, one of the earliest printed texts of which we have record is a copy of the Buddhist Diamond sutra produced in China around 868AD, and in it can be found the dedication: "for universal free distribution".
Organisations and Activities promoting Open Knowledge
- Alliance for Taxpayer Access (ATA)
- Enabling Open Scholarship (EOS)
- Open Knowledge FoundationOpen Knowledge FoundationThe Open Knowledge Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that promotes open knowledge, including open content and open data. It was founded 24 May 2004 in Cambridge, UK...
(http://www.okfn.org/) - Open Source Geodata
- OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. Two major driving forces behind the establishment and growth of OSM have been restrictions on use or availability of map information across much of the world and the advent of inexpensive portable GPS devices.The...
- Science CommonsScience CommonsScience Commons is a Creative Commons project for designing strategies and tools for faster, more efficient web-enabled scientific research. The organization identifies unnecessary barriers to research, crafts policy guidelines and legal agreements to lower those barriers, and develops technology...
- SPARCSPARCSPARC is a RISC instruction set architecture developed by Sun Microsystems and introduced in mid-1987....
(Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) - Talis
See also
- Definition of Free Cultural WorksDefinition of Free Cultural WorksThe Definition of Free Cultural Works is the definition of free content put forth by Erik Möller and published on the website .The first draft of the Definition of Free Cultural Works was published 3 April 2006 . Richard Stallman, Lawrence Lessig, Angela Beesley and others helped the project...
- Open Access Directory
- Open access (publishing)
- Open ContentOpen contentOpen content or OpenContent is a neologism coined by David Wiley in 1998 which describes a creative work that others can copy or modify. The term evokes open source, which is a related concept in software....
- Open DataOpen DataOpen data is the idea that certain data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control. The goals of the open data movement are similar to those of other "Open" movements such as open source, open...
- Open Knowledge NetworkOpen Knowledge NetworkThe Open Knowledge Network is a project founded by OneWorld International. It is active in parts of Africa and South Asia as a human network, which collects, shares and disseminates local knowledge and is supported by flexible technical solutions....
- Open SourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
- Business Intelligence 2.0Business Intelligence 2.0Business Intelligence 2.0 is a term that refers to new tools and software for business intelligence, beginning in the mid-2000s, that enable, among other things, dynamic querying of real-time corporate data by employees, and a more web- and browser-based approached to such data, as opposed to the...
(BI 2.0)