There is a popular joseki here that's often one of the first ones people learn, though there are plenty of subtleties that can make it interesting up to much higher levels. Here it is:
...after which black plays x, but I don't know how to make a 10 stone. (Edit: 10 added, thanks Bill!)
So...why this sequence?
: If white plays on the other side, black plays here and the corner is under attack. If that happens then white is too weak to cut black so he has to play submissively to live/connect small, and black easily makes a strong shape that may be useful thickness.
: Black chooses this one because it presses white in a way he cannot usually resist strongly. His goal is to make his stones strong, so he wants to find the most powerful way to lean on white and do so.
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: White can't push and cut as black will get a powerful turn and attack white before white can attack black, so white plays the best moves available to become alive. Black is happy to be pushed from behind, so he lets white do it.
: White is no longer pushing from behind so black settles his shape and stops white pushing out and making him potentially weak.So the basic result is that black gets thickness, white gets territory. The position is still quite active and both players have moves to aim at. For instance, black can play the 3-3 in the top right, or play forcing moves against white's group on the side which may die if he isn't careful. Meanwhile, white can aim to cut black by wedging in as below:
So those are the basic ideas, but I'm sure you've already thought of many questions or confusions about all of them along the way. As you say, the board is quite open and it would seem that along the way there are many choices both players might prefer to make differently. Nevertheless, for good reasons this sequence is by far the most popular.
As discussed in the other joseki thread, I suggest looking through and wherever a move is confusing or not obvious try to find those reasons - and feel free to ask! The exact sequence is not important to know or to learn, but if you get a handle on the good reasons for playing each move you'll understand more about this joseki and many others.
Edit: And of course, there are other joseki both players could try, but this one is by far the most common once black has jumped out - essentially, the jump by black is a declaration that he wants thickness. If he didn't want thickness, he might have played differently, such as playing a double approach or the 3-3 point instead of the jump.
is now?
attacks your pincer stone ( 
) and extends from the lower right corner stone at the same time. This is a very good dual-purpose-move for Black and is one possible and natural continuation. Now the question is: How do you handle 
) look at the board after 4 stones have been played and think 'I want thickness'. He simply can't decide he wants that result, there is no single move he can play that forces white to give it to him. He can identify moves that don't seem likely to help in many variations (e.g. 1-1), as well as many moves such as your suggestion of the side star point that are powerful and don't seem to lead to a disadvantage.
can make miai of capturing 
or the original pincer. Without the ladder, white can respond to the threat to the 2 stones and keep 
would be reasonable for white, after which black has a decision to make. Keep going at 'a', or invade at 'b'?
- keeping the opponent seperated.
and