Linus Torvalds advises open-source developers to pursue meaningful projects, not hype

“While kernel development is very active, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can get a new feature, file system, or anything into the kernel very quickly,” Torvalds explained. “There’s often a long development period that people seldom even see.”

Torvalds remains optimistic about the state of open source  

Contrary to concerns about recent tech industry layoffs and reduced corporate involvement in open source, Torvalds painted an optimistic picture. 

“I feel like open source is doing very well,” he said. “People take open source for granted now in a way that they absolutely did not just two decades ago.”

Torvalds highlighted the democratizing effect of open source, particularly for newcomers to the tech industry. He noted that any new programmer can use open source as a way to enter the industry and make connections without necessarily having gone to the right schools or having the personal connections that are often needed in many other industries.

For those looking to start new open-source projects, Torvalds advised finding a niche that is both personally interesting and meaningful to others. 

“In the tech industry, so much is about the hype, everybody is following everybody else like lemmings off a cliff, trying to chase the next big thing, and I don’t think that’s a successful strategy,” Torvalds said. “I think you need to find something that isn’t what everybody else does and excel at that and be the first to do something slightly different.”