Tarik Krim has proved to every European that fighting against Google and Yahoo is possible if you do it the smart way, and his last move as a CEO is just brilliant. Open-sourcing Netvibes is definitely a signal of Netvibes entering it’s adult phase (with a LGPL licence, the best possible to create a massive crowdsourcing ecosystem).
Netvibes has already proven it was able to create a vibrant and dynamic ecosystem, but open-sourcing it could transform this ecosystem into something much, much bigger, something neither Google nor Yahoo can compete with. Not only their standard adoption is the best you can find in the widget world, but their ecosystem is definitely ready for this, and they are taking user/dev community very seriously (kudos to Xibe).
But just like kids grow up and leave home, it’s probably the right time for Netvibes to have a more business oriented CEO, since Tarik’s original vision is now clearly established, thanks God, they already have the right guy inhouse, and transition will be smooth. Freddy Mini, Netvibes’ new CEO (and former COO), is a sure bet to make Netvibes a profitable company while keeping it’s unique approach to the widget revolution.
