Tim O'Reilly facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tim O'Reilly
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O'Reilly in 2017
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| Born |
Timothy O'Reilly
6 June 1954 Cork, Ireland
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| Alma mater | Harvard University (AB) |
| Employer | O'Reilly Media |
| Board member of | Safari Books Online Maker Media PeerJ Macromedia MySQL AB Code for America |
| Spouse(s) |
Christina O'Reilly
(m. 1974)Jennifer Pahlka
(m. 2015) |
| Children | 2 |
Timothy O'Reilly (born on June 6, 1954) is an Irish-American author and publisher. He is famous for starting O'Reilly Media, a company that publishes books and hosts events about technology. He also helped make popular the terms "open source" and "Web 2.0."
Contents
Early Life and School
Tim O'Reilly was born in County Cork, Ireland. When he was a baby, his family moved to San Francisco, California. He grew up with three brothers and three sisters.
As a teenager, Tim was inspired by his older brother, Sean. He became interested in the ideas of George Simon, a writer who followed a way of thinking called general semantics. Through Simon, Tim learned about the work of Alfred Korzybski, which he says was very important to him.
In 1973, O'Reilly started studying at Harvard University. He focused on classics, which means ancient Greek and Roman studies. He graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, earning high honors. Sadly, George Simon passed away during Tim's first year at Harvard.
Tim O'Reilly's Career
After college, Tim O'Reilly helped finish a book by George Simon. He also wrote a popular book about the science fiction writer Frank Herbert. In 1977, Tim began working as a technical writer.
In 1983, he started his own business, publishing computer manuals. His first office was in a converted barn in Newton, Massachusetts. About a dozen people worked there in one big room.
In 1989, O'Reilly moved his company to Sebastopol, California. In 1992, his company published the Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog, which became a huge bestseller. This book helped many people learn how to use the internet.
O'Reilly's company, then called O'Reilly & Associates, grew a lot in the 1990s. They started publishing things on the internet, not just on paper. In 1993, their company catalog became one of the first web portals, called the Global Network Navigator. They sold this part of the business to America Online in 1995.
Challenges and Growth
The company faced a tough time during the "dot-com crash" in 2000. Many internet companies struggled. As book sales went down, O'Reilly had to let go of about 70 employees. But he rebuilt the company by focusing on ebooks and organizing big technology events.
In 2011, Tim O'Reilly gave control of O'Reilly Media to Laura Baldwin, the company's chief financial officer. He still kept his title as CEO.
Investing in Technology
Tim O'Reilly has also invested in many technology companies. Some of these include Fastly, Blogger, Delicious, and Foursquare. He also serves on the board of directors for several organizations. These include Safari Books Online, Maker Media, and the non-profit group Code for America.
Making a Difference
Tim O'Reilly believes that technology should make society better. He encourages young people to work on projects that improve the world. His personal motto is to "create more value than you capture." This means he wants to give more to the world than he takes.
He often talks about public servants who are doing good things in their local communities. He is proud that his company has a "long history of advocacy." This means they often speak up for causes they believe in. He even has a method called "meme engineering" to help change how people talk about and understand new ideas.
Early Efforts for Change
In 1996, O'Reilly spoke out against a rule that limited internet connections on computers. He was worried it would stop the internet from growing.
In 2001, he got involved in a disagreement with Amazon.com. This was about Amazon's "one-click" patent, which let people buy things with just one click. O'Reilly and Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, even went to Washington D.C. together to ask for changes to patent laws.
Supporting Open Source Software
In 1998, O'Reilly helped give a new name to "free software." He called it "open source." He believes open source is very important for the internet's growth. He points to widely used tools like Apache and Linux as examples of successful open source projects. He is concerned about new ways that companies might try to "lock in" users to their products.
Popularizing Web 2.0
After the dot-com crash in 2000, O'Reilly Media wanted to bring excitement back to the computer industry. In 2003, one of O'Reilly's executives, Dale Dougherty, used the phrase "Web 2.0" during a meeting.
Even though the term was first used by Darcy DiNucci in 1999, Tim O'Reilly helped make "Web 2.0" very popular. He used it to describe how the internet came back strong after the crash. It also became a general term for how people started working together online, using "collective intelligence."
O'Reilly organized a conference in 2004, inviting many technology and business leaders. This was followed by public events. These events, called the "Web 2.0 Summit" from 2006, continued until 2011.
O'Reilly and his team have applied the "2.0" idea to other areas, like publishing and government. He sees the internet as a huge "operating system" made of many smaller parts. He compares it to the human body, which has many tiny organisms working together.
Government as a Platform
O'Reilly has also promoted the idea of "government as a platform," or "Gov 2.0." This means using technology and open data to make government services better and more efficient. He is a big supporter of "algorithmic regulation." This involves using data and algorithms to constantly check and improve government policies.
Inner Source Development
In 2001, O'Reilly came up with the term "inner source." This is when companies use open source ideas and practices inside their own organizations. Even if they are making their own special software, they open up the development process internally. This helps teams work together better, just like in open source projects.
Algorithmic Attention Rents
Tim O'Reilly, along with others, has talked about "algorithmic attention rents." This happens when a platform's algorithms (the rules it uses) show users content that makes more money for the platform. This can happen even if that content isn't the best for the user. For example, paid ads might show up higher than helpful "organic" content.
A good example is how Amazon might show many ads in its search results. This can make it harder for users to find what they really need.
Personal Life
After graduating from Harvard, Tim O'Reilly married his first wife, Christina. They moved to the Boston area and had two daughters, Arwen and Meara. Arwen is married to Saul Griffith.
On April 11, 2015, O'Reilly married Jennifer Pahlka. She used to be a Deputy Chief Technology Officer for the U.S. government. She also founded and led the non-profit organization Code for America.
See also
In Spanish: Tim O'Reilly para niños
