Today, October 14, is World Standards Day, an event reminding us both of the importance of standards in our day-to-day lives, and recognizing the efforts of the countless individuals and organizations around the globe who are working to create and promote these standards.

Whether in the world of software, where without standards we would have been unable to connect the world through the Internet and the World Wide Web, or the physical world, where standards make nearly everything you buy easier, more useful, and safer, the world would be a difficult place to navigate without standards. And critical to the useful of standards is making them available to all in an accessible, free format, unencumbered by legal or other hurdles.

To help readers better understand open standards, today we are launching a new resource to explain open standards and how they affect the world around us, both physical and virtual. In this resource, you will learn:

• What are standards?
• How are standards developed?
• What makes a standard open?
• And more.

So head on over, check out our resource, “Whare are open standards?“, and let us know what you think. We hope that, along with all of our resources, Opensource.com can help you out next time you need to explain a complex topic to a friend, colleague, or family member.