"Every year at OSCON, Tim O'Reilly gives a speech about his latest views on technology, publishing, and whatever else is on his mind. At every speech that I've seen, at some point he stops to explain that one thing he wishes everyone at O'Reilly Media would understand is that what the company does, how it creates value, is not primarily by publishing books, but rather by helping communities come together and communicate with each other. Publishing is one way that that happens, so are conferences, so are web sites, creating developer communities, and FOO camps. The point that I have always taken away from Tim's observation is that it is important to look deeper into organizations to understand what really makes them tick. The essential processes may be obscured by the visible evidence..."
