There is little doubt that Open Source has truly changed the face of Online marketing. No longer are we only bound by pop-up ads and banner ads. No, these days we use the ultimate targeting method available to us - word of mouth.

Firefox has shown us how a great Open Source product, spiffy looking banners and the driving force behind a product that people believe in can change the face of the Internet landscape.

It may all sound like a geeky cult but open source is actually a way of working that involves huge, web-based collaborations among far-flung individuals and a shared, or open, approach to intellectual property rights. Instead of maintaining a tight grip on any findings resulting from a project, open sourcers share new knowledge in a central bank of information (often programming code) that anyone else can access and use for free, albeit within a set of usage criteria.

Another unusual characteristic is the way in which people are motivated by open source projects. ‘Open-sourcers’ often volunteer their time as they perceive benefits beyond straight financial gain, such as working in an online group to overcome a social issue. In this way open source projects are like super-powered, grassroots volunteer networks. And that gives them a real buzz.