Words we tend to love:

• User created
• Open source
• Complimentary
• Crowdsource

What do these things have in common? They're all in a category of what I've started to call "open doors policy." To our great pride, Gen Y have discovered that you can benefit from giving things away. We do it all the time, often without realizing it. What I'm learning (with much excitement) is that there are more doors to be opened; we typically just assume they're walls.

That is, the status quo has been here for a long time; we're used to certain things belonging to individuals or companies. Before Wikipedia, we assumed that information was transactional -- that one person speaks while many people listen. Wikipedia proved that the wall of content creation was actually a door (and they proved that by opening it). Through that open door, thousands of generous minds poured in. They added themselves to the free workforce -- and as a result, everyone got something great.

Firefox found the browser door. Long ago, Linux found the OS door. Like Wikipedia, these innovators had a huge hurdle -- proving to the naysayers that the wall was a door. Proving they could open the doors and not be looted for it.

Now that they've proven it can be done, the important question is not, "how can we open the doors?" The answer is out there - maybe you should use the Google door to find it. The real trouble -- the next important obstacle -- is that we seem to assume walls when there are doors.

Here's an example: I'm in the beginning stages of writing an album. When I get the songs recorded and ready for mixing and mastering, I'll have a choice: I can wall them in behind a producer. OR, I can open a door: I can release the tracks as open-source, leaving them in a format that any producer can manipulate. What'll happen when a crowd of independent producers start competing for creativity, each applying their own techniques to the same raw material?

Imagine, weeks later, when dozens of song submissions pour in -- when one of the tracks sounds like a techno remix, and one sounds like punk, but one of them sounds like just my style. What should I do with the winners, the duds, and everything in between? Host them all freely (since they'll be on BitTorrent by then anyway); make them available as promo material. There'd be so much more to enjoy because of the open doors.

Here's the real lesson for me, and the biggest challenge: I had planned to keep this idea a secret, ensuring that I'd be the first person to make it happen. But then, I realized I was building a wall. Instead, I wrote this post and opened the door.

And now I can't wait to see someone steal* the idea and use it. I'll owe them a "thanks," not a lawsuit. See, aren't open doors great?

* Note: there is no such thing as stealing an idea. All of my thoughts are public domain. Quick, go make an open-source album!