Heroes' Tim Kring Sees His Property as Open Source

(MoneyWatch)  If you've noticed the exploding world of iPhone apps and Twitter clients, then you know that in technology circles, open source is huge. But what's interesting about the above clip, featuring "Heroes" executive producer Tim Kring, isn't just how media properties are using technology to expand across platforms, but how technology is even changing the language and spirit of what they do. Talking about a new "Heroes" app that will be available at the yet-to-open Nokia app store, called Ovi, Kring talks about including fans of the show in the narrative, saying: "I think anybody who isn't thinking about open source ways of allowing people to create their own narrative... I think you're really missing the boat."

That's a pretty powerful statement, as it broadens the definition of what we think of as open source, expanding it from being strictly the province of geeks to consumers. Slowly, the idea is creeping in that consumers may have ideas that are just as viable and meaningful to a media property, or for that matter, to a product or service, as the professionals who have been charged with doing the creating.

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