Those of you that know me from way back, know that I have been an open source proponent since I started The Satori Group.  At the time it came down to what I knew and simple economics.   I’ll quickly break down how it came about as it explains where we are now.

• Was a web master for many years and had vendors bid on work.  This was mid-nineties and there wasn’t open source versus proprietary yet.  There was code which was, let’s be honest pretty basic and there weren’t many tools yet.
• As the internet and more specifically the visual part, the world wide web, developed little animated gifs weren’t cutting it.  We as consumers of information, wanted more.  Tools started being developed both in creating code (Front Page, Cold Fusion, etc…), hosting the code through PC servers or Unix servers and how to serve that information out via browsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape and eventually Firefox etc…).  *this is vastly over-simplified*
• As these things developed you had roughly two communities break out.  The proprietary or closed code (Microsoft, Cold Fusion) and Open Source which was lead primarily by the Unix/Linux community.  Each community proceeded to move forward in separate (seeming) directions.
• About this time, I went out on my own in 2000 and started The Satori Group.  When I worked in-house I used vendors that tended toward open source.   It was my opinion, just my opinion, that the Microsoft-based tools and other tools we saw looked templated and each one was based on a system.  You could make changes but you had to dig in and know the system and what strings you pulled would make the marionette/web site dance.
• It might not the best answer but it is what it is, we preferred open source because it tended to be cheaper and we could customize it.  When we were given the clunky Microsoft tools we had to buy licenses’ and learn their systems.  Which worked well when you were an IT manager and already had the licenses and knew their systems and it was a simple add-on and *shazam* you had a web site.   Less so, when you are a start-up and need to have product to sell that you can create without major cash outlay before you ever see a result.
• Thus two communities were born.  Open Source and Closed or Proprietary systems.   I have simplified this to the point it’s missing lots of information but you get the idea.

As my company evolved, open-source evolved.  There are huge communities of code and servers and browsers and while closed-source tools like browser Internet Explorer still exist, open source is not the “crazy” idea people thought it once was.  Especially as people that “came” up in this era evolve into managers, owners of companies, security gets better, tools easier to use, functionality grows and the cost still stays reasonable to people who need the services.

And I promise you this is not a dis on Microsoft or any of the closed-source systems out there.  I am explaining this because as the company has changed over the years from primarily a provider of  design and development for web sites to interactive marketing firm, I think the web site is just the beginning.  It doesn’t stop with the site, it begins with the site.

Because once you have a web site no matter what it was built with or hosted on or what browser you use, people need to find your web site.  And just as code was evolving over the years, the way you found out about web sites was evolving.  Suddenly search engines became the tail that wagged the dog because who cares if you have a great site if no-one can find you.  So finding out how to make your site easier to find, what made it come up in search for what terms and being able to understand this system was and is crucial.

Now the cycle has turned again.  It’s not just about finding the site, it’s about hearing what people are saying, connecting with your users, creating and maintaining a presence online.  And while there are tools, there is no way to fake a connection.  You either are in or you are out.   We call it Social Media Marketing or I use the term Community-Based Marketing because it has less of a cutesy sound and is more realistic to the benefit.

I am going to have a few posts coming out to further this discussion:

• What is Community-Based Marketing in relation to Social Media Marketing
• Step-by -Step Instructions on Bootstrapping a Interactive Campaign for Small Businesses
  • Definitions and details on starting
  • Tools open and closed-source
  • Instructions on how to do everything
  • Q/A and Case study
• Guest Bloggers.  I know lots of incredibly talented programmers, front-end developers, social media gurus, sales people, designers, interactive producers and I want them to get exposure for their abilities.

So I appreciate you reading and let me know what your thoughts are.  I’m still getting used to writing things I normally put in a proposal or I discuss with clients.  Bear with me while we get organized and if you have comments leave them !