Open source community needs a haircut and to dress for success
Summary: Former Massachusetts Chief Information Officer Peter Quinn, who was deeply involved of the OpenDocument vs. Microsoft format debate, has some advice for the open source community.
Former Massachusetts Chief Information Officer Peter Quinn, who was deeply involved of the OpenDocument vs. Microsoft format debate, has some advice for the open source community. If you want to get traction in commercial environments, lose the sandals and ponytails, Quinn said.
"Open source has an unprofessional appearance, and the community needs to be more business-savvy in order to start to make inroads in areas traditionally dominated by commercial software vendors. (Having) a face on a project or agenda makes it attractive for politicians (to consider open source)," Quinn said speaking at LinuxWorld Australia. The "sandal and ponytail set," Quinn said, contribute to the slow uptake of Linux in government and business, according to the story by ZDNet Australia reporters Matthew Overington and Steven Deare.
Speaking about the OpenDoc situation, Quinn said: "When you think about the lobbying power and the cash that's available for opponents of open source and opponents of OpenDocument, there is a significant amount of money and resource that people can and will bring to bear."
He concluded with a verbal barrage at IT departments: "I blame the IT community, I blame the IT leadership, over and over and over again, about their inability to articulate correctly the business opportunity that we've got here. [I blame them] for not understanding what it is that they do, for spending too much time talking and thinking in technology terms, and not thinking in terms of business."
Speaking of ponytails, does Quinn include Sun President, COO and open source evangelist Jonathan Schwartz as in need of a haircut to be viewed as credible?
Open source, OpenDoc allies: Peter Quinn and Jonathan Schwartz
How about Richard Stallman, founder of the free software movement?
Photo: Wikipedia
It's not about the ponytails and sandals. Open source has already made huge inroads into business and government. It's no longer a fringe movement, but a mainstream activity. Don't confuse programmers working behind the scenes in sandals and T-shirts with the suits selling hybrid open source/closed source software and services into the every corner of the planet. A relentless lobbyist with a ponytail can be just as effective as a programmer with a buzz cut.
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Talkback
Looks
I am not stomping on dress codes, but, looks are VERY misleading and I don't get to hung up on that type of thing anymore--too old to know better!
Looks
It's about respect
You dress for your audience because it shows you respect your audience.
The dress issue among open source advocates is symptomatic of a deeper problem: Arrogance and elitism. A lot of open source advocates are of the same moronic mentality as the hippie generation, thinking it's cool and cutting edge to disrespect "the establishment" when in reality it's just childish and sophomoric and comes across as such to true adults.
I think the both of you overlooked...
<i>It's not about the ponytails and sandals. Open source has already made huge inroads into business and government. It's no longer a fringe movement, but a mainstream activity. <b>Don't confuse programmers working behind the scenes in sandals and T-shirts with the suits selling hybrid open source/closed source software and services into the every corner of the planet</b>. A relentless lobbyist with a ponytail can be just as effective as a programmer with a buzz cut.</i>
perspective
Another problem open source advocates suffer from: myopia.
Agreed
Dressing appropriately does show respect for a specific business interface setting.
But it doesn't hide one's personality or intellectual capacity.
I do find it 'curious' that it warrants even mentioning though.
Does anybody remember what Bill Gates looked like when he got into the business?
Thanks Rafterman and carry on!
It DOES hide capacity, if the audience quits listening
It may show one's personality very well, but that may be a bad thing. A lot of the establishment won't trust someone who looks like he could just get tired of the work and say, "Screw it, it's 4:10, I'm going to go light up now, see you in a week." They look at the pony tail crowd and see the guys in the ski patrol at Aspen, or on the beach at Big Sur, seasonal workers who earn just enough to finance their next fix of heli-skiing, big wave riding, or herb. The establishment won't take that seriously
And it does hide one's intellectual capacity; if a person looks like he has no clue how to dress for business, why should they trust him with a million dollars worth of their business? Especially if, in the sales meeting, he can't really explain to them in words they will understand, exactly what he will do, how he will save them money, or how he will support them?
Ok Then Don't Hire These People!
and we all know there are no business people with pony tails
Especially if, in the sales meeting"
Sales meeting folks NEVER wear sandles and sport pony tails. Only those behind the scenes. And, truth be told, MS, Apple, IBM, Adobe, et. al. Developers! are NOT sales folks and when seen, are viewed based on the intellectual property DONATED to the company doing the sales. This is a red herring article, Nuff Said.
i remember...
he is still a little scruffy at times. but when youre filthy stinking smelly rich, it dont matter.
I think the both of you overlooked...
of course it does
And the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said you look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do
So I took off my hat I said imagine that, huh, me working for you -five man electrical band
or
Translate, please?
resect >:<
The true reality of life is everyone has their own reasons for going with the system or against it. Deal!
long hair is elitist?
Jesus... hippie?
... thank God.
It's about respect
Elitism is a word that represents a word used by those who don't want to learn more. It's a symptom of myopic knowledge. Only those who have chose a single path use this word to characterize those who travel all roads, not just those thrust upon them.
Try expanding your horizons before condeming those who embrace all (and have practical knowledge about subjects before commenting on them)!
Respect... you mean prejudice don't you.
People judge people because they are not alike. They just can?t deal with ?different? people. The can only deal with people they understand; which is limited to their culture and up bringing. This is the real problem. This is why religions fight and hate each other. This is why Europeans see Americans in a certain way and visa versa. This is why terrorists murder innocent people. This is why certain governments ?know what is best? for other countries and push them in that direction. They just don?t see people as fellow human beings. They see people as ?them?.
Don?t get me wrong; it is good manners to dress accordingly at meetings, just as it is important to dress properly at a funeral or wedding. You need to show your best stuff under certain circumstances. But there are problems when someone speaks like all open source people are hippies?it?s call prejudice.