If you think that this is a strange parallel to draw, well, I was thinking of the same a few months ago. lately, I am starting to see quite a bit of striking similarities and very little of differences.

May I request you to step back two paces and hear this out? I am sure you’ll see some sense in what I am talking about. I promise.

lately, I see more and more of the Proto.in alumni start getting involved in what goes on behind the stage and I am wondering if there is any difference at all between the way open source projects are managed and how we as a community are growing.

Let me quote you something from Eric Raymond’s Book (Source Wikipedia), the Cathedral and the Bazaar.

Raymond makes the distinction between two kinds of software development. The first is the conventional closed source development. These kind of development methods are, according to Raymond, like the building of a cathedral; central planning, tight organization and one process from start to finish. The second is the progressive open source development, which is more like a “a great babbling bazaar of differing agendas and approaches out of which a coherent and stable system could seemingly emerge only by a succession of miracles.”

What we are building is a community of startups, entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs and everyone who supports them – venture capitalists, analysts, mentors, entrepreneurial organizations and the media (That would be the product). If this community is the product, then every edition of Proto.in is a release that we make. And with every release we simply have to improve on what we are building, constantly listening to the customers, and those we work with – shoulder to shoulder, which would be you and I, the entrepreneurs ourselves. To me that sounds more of a bazaar, than a cathedral that we are building.

Who are “we”?. I’d be comfortable with the definition of “We the entrepreneurs”. Just like any open source project, while there are a few key doorkeepers, it is essentially open for everyone to contribute. Which is why we started a group for all the volunteers who want to get involved to sign up right away.

It is my and our strong belief that it is “our” community that we are building. It is through this community that we will find the strength, the knowledge, the how-to, the means and the guiding star to building India as a leader in technology and product. It will be this community which will have nurturing startups, and coming up with solutions for each of their problems as their mandate.

If you agree with me, I urge you to join hands with us. May the startups win!