The Open Source Developer Network, the VA Software division that operates Slashdot and several other Web sites, announced overnight that it has a new name: the Open Source Technology Group. The renaming is part of a move to get advertisers to recognize that mainstream information technology personnel read the sites, not just geeks, said Patrick Ferrell, the general manager of OSTG.
"Open source has become a real significant trend in the technology marketplace. It's no longer something just for the developer community," he said on early today. OSTG is profitable, he added.
As part of the revamp, OSTG will work to lure new mainstream readers. "We're going to do some aggressive outreach to build traffic," Valerie Williamson, vice president of marketing for the sites, said.
OSTG's news and information sites, which often come with an open-source flavour, include Slashdot, NewsForge, Linux.com, Freshmeat and IT Manager's Journal. In addition, the company runs SourceForge, a site that hosts many collaborative open-source programming projects. The code that powers SourceForge is the basis for the collaborative programming software at the centre of VA Software's business.
Among the projects at SourceForge are two from Microsoft, a proprietary software stalwart that nevertheless has begun experimenting with open-source software. Each of Microsoft's products have exceeded 100,000 downloads, and both are in the top 10 most popular projects, Williamson said.
I can just imagine the look on the face of the next CTO that hits a link to goats.cx or reads a GNAA (Gay Niggers Association of America) posting on slashdot.
Slashdot is well past it's useby date and is so full of propaganda and rubbish that it's value as an information source is close to zero.
Subscribe to google news and formulate your own opinion based on as many news sources as possible.
ps: take a peek at slashnot.org