From Breakfast Tables to Global Introductions – The Power of OSS Communities

I would have heard the phrase “your network is your net worth” early in my career and probably nodded along without really believing it (or even comprehending it if I’m being honest). It sounded like one of those catchy lines that people repeat because it sounds wise. At the time, I was much more focused on the “tangible” parts of a young Engineer’s career – learning, delivering, solving problems, building cool stuff. Those things still matter enormously of course, but over time I’ve come to appreciate just how much relationships matter too. And how important it is to invest time into relationships, not just hopping from one delivery project to the next.

Today’s article shares a few recent stories that have reinforced this thinking in my mind.

In fact, I’m certain that the importance of true human connections will be even more true in the world of AI than it was before.

Technology is moving quickly, information is everywhere, and tools are becoming more powerful by the month. There’s certainly a lot more content out there in search of eyeballs. When so much is changing, it helps to have a trusted crew of people you can learn from, compare notes with, challenge ideas with and share opportunities with.

There are plenty of opportunities out there in the world, but they only come to you if you’re front of mind when those opportunities pop up. Technical capability still matters, but personal connection matters more than ever. If you’re not front of mind, the opportunity will be passed on to someone else. I can share plenty of first-hand examples. Another day!

Anyway, back to the story. Before COVID came along, I ran a monthly OSS networker breakfast for around a decade here in Melbourne. COVID brought that to a screaming halt. But since coming back out of lockdowns, I’ve been running an OSS networker lunch for the last few years (held on the second Friday of each month – details here for anyone interested in joining).

When I started these, it was simply intended to be a vehicle to share stories with many friends and colleagues from the OSS/BSS/telco industry. But as it’s turned out, they’ve been far more important than that.

They’re not big events, but what I’ve loved most is the calibre of people these meetups attract. Curious people. Builders. Avid learners. People willing to openly share what they are seeing in the market, the technologies they are working on, the projects they are wrestling with, and the ideas they are exploring. It’s a bit like reading someone’s autobiography. You get to learn from their best, most important, experiences.

In a space like OSS, where so much of the real insight sits in lived experience, those conversations are incredibly valuable (to me at least – hopefully for the other people who attend too).

Over time, the breakfasts and lunches became more than a recurring event. People got to know each other. They learned who was working on what. They discovered common interests. And, as tends to happen when passionate and capable people keep crossing paths, opportunities started to pop up as well.

Those people represent all facets of the OSS industry – carriers, vendors, utilities, system integrators, consultants, etc. But the great thing is that every one of them has been respectful and been there to network, not spruik their wares.

That’s part of what’s been on my mind over the last week. One of the free services we provide through PAOSS is our OSS/BSS vendor directory. It takes a lot of time and effort to maintain, but it’s useful in a range of scenarios – short-listing for vendor selections, identifying potential M&A candidates, helping create connections between vendors that could make strong partners and more.

Just last week, someone from a very large vendor reached out to ask whether I could provide a list of companies they could potentially partner with to cover a small gap in their product suite for an upcoming bid. My response was that it was something we could provide for a small fee because of the effort involved. That was not an unreasonable answer on paper. There would’ve been work involved on my part. There is value in all the curation we do to the vendor directory. But in hindsight, I’ve been feeling really guilty about it.

The reason is simple. I should’ve just helped. Or at least I probably should have been more focused on the matchmaking than getting a return on effort. Because when I look back at what’s made these OSS communities valuable over the years, it’s often not the formal offerings that matter most. It’s the simple act of connecting the right people with each other.

That’s one of the reasons our meetups have been so useful. They keep people closer to the edge of OSS. Formal channels are useful, but they rarely capture the full picture. Peer conversations often surface the nuance, the pragmatic realities / challenges, and the emerging patterns long before they become widely visible elsewhere.

Also last week, I was speaking with a very talented gentleman in Toronto who mentioned starting up a similar thing there. After checking on LinkedIn, I realised I knew 20+ other OSS people in Toronto. So I introduced a few to each other.

That small moment brought a lot into focus for me. It reminded me that communities don’t just create good conversations. They create momentum and evangelism for the OSS industry. A local meetup can become a learning forum, a support network, an opportunity engine and, sometimes, the seed of something much bigger.

So if you are someone who’s passionate about OSS and is thinking about the merits of starting a local chapter wherever you live, I would encourage you to not keep that passion to yourself. Start small. Start simply. Bring together a few people who care. Bring together a few people who care on a recurring basis. Open the discussions for others to join.

And if it helps, feel free to reach out. I’ll gladly see who else I can connect you with, so you can share your passion for OSS with others around the world.