Collaborative thinkingon how the web ischanging everything

A “Change This” Initiative from Together

It’s happeningall around usPeople across the globe are increasingly comingtogether to share with one another, work together,or take some kind of positive action. In fact...

Collaborationis becomingsecond nature

The internet has made mass collaboration a social process

Collaboration bydifferent names

We’ve witnessed sharing (Flickr) embraced cooperation(friends reunited) and seen the results of collaboration(Wikipedia). Are we about to witness it’s next phase“collective action”?

Cooperation

CoalitionEnableConverge Empathise In

vite

Colle

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Mutua

lity Union

Alliance

Asse

mble

Fraternise

Association

TogethernessCommunity Reciprocate Synchronise

CombineConvene

Communicate

Gather

Exch

ange

Contribu

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ParticipatePartnership

Collaborationcomes of ageIn fact, the scope of work thatcan be done by non-institutional,collaborative groups is nowa profound challenge to thestatus quo.

The end inmind...

...and Mass collaboration leadsto unprecedented innovationby users for users.

3M study onMass Collaboration

The 3M study found that product ideas from peerproducers generated eight times the sales of ideasgenerated within companies – in part because peerproducers are more likely to come up with ideasfor entire new product lines rather than minorimprovements.

Where it all startedWe heard the same questions being asked time and time again.

Why isn’t the Web delivering against our early expectations

Is our marketing in sync with the organisation’s goals

What does being aligned with the customer actually mean

Who’s really in charge of this relationship, us or our customers

Should we think about starting to reposition ourselves?

Meanwhile,collaboration ischanging everythingSomething’s happened on the Web that’s affecting the whole of everything.An unstoppable Peer Production trend has emerged as the dominate model.Its fundamentals are:

1Openness 2Sharing 3Acting globally

TheWeb 1.0 ModelThis is in stark contrast to how many organisationshave staked their proprietary claims on the Web.This could be best described as:

InsularGuardedContained.

These 3 wordsoften sum-uptheir wholeapproach tomarketing.}

Whenworldscollide

Agile AwkwardOpenness InsularSharing Guarded

Acting Globally Contained

The future isn’t what itused to be

The agile Peer Producer Trend has turbo-chargedthe Web’s pace of change. Without any prior warningthe Web has moved away from it’s early model of‘disparate assembly’ to one of ‘mass collaboration’.

UnprecedentedtechnologicaltinkeringThis change has been largely accomplishedthrough the multiplicity of relatively simplesoftware ‘upgrades’ and the production of usergenerated content introduced by countless peerproducers worldwide.

A group’scomplexitygrows fast5 members of a group make 10 connections10 members of a group make 45 connections15 members of a group make 105 connections

All change

This pace of change is not only affecting how theInternet is rapidly developing but is also upsettingorganisational responsibilities, product developmentand transactional costs

Who are thesePeer Producers?Also dubbed the Net Generation,they were born between 1977 and 1996,and represent the first generation to growup in the digital age. They grew upnaturally interacting, thinking critically,exchanging views.

They think of themselves as peer producers.

Their biggenerationaladvantage

This is the first time in human history when youngpeople are authorities on something really important.They are the authority on the digital revolution that’schanging every institution in society.

For people with a professionaloutlook, it’s hard to understand howsomething that isn’t professionallyproduced could affect them.

Here Comes EverybodyClay Shirkey

Tapping into the talentCompanies find it difficult to tap into the talent andenthusiasm of Net Generation employees. They oftenlive a different, more collaborative life outside of work.

Serendipitousinnovation

A consequence of mass collaboration is emergence.This refers to the way a complex system like the webarises out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions.

Witness open source creation, the blogosphere,Google, Amazon, collaborative filtering and wikis

100yearsofemergence

1927Model T Fordends production

1993Ford Mondeo MK1goes into production

1908Model T Ford goesinto production

Thenewemergentweb

The new Web is therefore fundamentally different inboth its architecture and applications. It’s principallyabout rather than aboutpassively receiving information. This one word bestsums where things are going.

Don’t takeon The ForceA small team of in-housedevelopers and marketersare unlikely to out-collaborate,out-smart and out-pace the peerproducer community.

Emergent phenomena tend towin in the marketplace.

Becoming aParticipation JediPeer Producer In-house RulesSpeed PonderFreedom ReferInnovation TinkerMobile InertAuthentic SyntheticPlayfulness EarnestnessOpenness Guarded

Not inventedhere

The peer productiontrend unwittinglybypassed agency-land,software houses, designstudios and businessconsultancies.

Are we really needed?

There appears to be no collective need on behalf ofpeer producers to forge collaborative links with thegatekeepers of traditional media. If anything it’shappening the other way round.

What’s the secretingredient?

How are these new brands going from zero to hero so quickly?

0

It’s about trust,not control

For today’s brands, building trust is the alternative tocontrolling customers. Something really interestinghappens when you trust your customers. They trust you.

New paradigmversus old school

New Paradigm Old SchoolVibrant Communities Web sitePublic Squares Walled GardensCollective Intelligence Tunnel ThinkingOpen domain Guarded Property

Surviving audiencesof 100million +The most successful online brands owe their successto mass collaboration:

Amazon – my reviews and your resellersEBay – my stuff and your bidYouTube – my videos and your eyeballsFacebook – me and my friendsMySpace – my band and your fans

Themostannoying thing

When was the last timeyou saw an ad, any sort ofad, for Amazon, YouTube,Facebook, and MySpace?

Think

WHAT CANCORPORATIONS

LEARNFROM THIS?

You no longer have allthe answers

The pace of change and the evolving demands ofcustomers are such that organisations can no longerdepend-on using only internal capabilities to meetexternal needs.

The answerBy adopting The CorporateModel for Mass Collaborationorganisations must learn toengage and co-create in adynamic fashion with everyone –partners, competitors, educators,governments, and, most of all,peer producers.

Benefits to corporation•Organises work appropriate to the changing landscape.

•Encourages free sharing of ideas from multiple sources.

•Turns consumers into participants in creating solutions.

•Mobilises consumers’ commitment.

•Turns just a few into many.

Themost fertile space

Organisations should be trying to find the mostproductive way to share ideas whilst making moneyfrom them, mixing commerce and community.

Brands alreadyplugged inP&G - Connect and DevelopJohnson & Johnson - Pharmaceutical AllianceNestlé - Forum

Amazoncommunity building

Bebo OpenMedia

Virgin V-Flyer

Doritos’ crashthe Superbowl• In 2007 Doritos offered an opportunity to get an ad aired in the primetimeSuperbowl slot – watched by an audience of 93 million.• The slots are highly contested – in 2007 cost $2.4m for a 30 second slot.• People were invited to submit their own commercial for Doritos designed to show“the passion Doritos eaters feel about the flavors.”• 1065 videos were submitted in total – Doritos selected the top 16 for the “play-offs”.• The general public were able to vote on the final winner – the top two werescreened in slots at the Superbowl.• Entry was not limited to the strictly amateur – entrants included small productionagencies and semi-professionals as well as people picking up a video camera forthe first time in their lives.

The results• The winning commercial cost $12 to make –USAToday ranked it 4th out of the 62 adsthat were aired.• Frito-Lay has never before been in the top 5ranking in the history of their Super Bowl adcampaigns.• In 2008 Doritos came back with anotherinvitation to crash the Superbowl – this timeoffering a slot to an amateur musician toshowcase themselves.• Following the Superbowl it held its own inshare of voice across blogs against brandgiants such as Coca-Cola and Disney indiscussion of Superbowl ads.

Share of voice on blogs following 2008 broadcast

Crash the Superbowlthe ads

Collaboration portals

innocentive.comyet2.comtakingitglobal.orgwww.

Changing corporativebehaviours

Self Organising HierarchicalTransparency SecrecyCollaboration Loose allianceUrgency SluggishInnovation NoveltyDidactic Tunnel vision

Yesterday,today,tomorrow

The real winners will always be those organisationsthat tap into human knowledge and translate it intonew and useful applications.Useful being the operative word.

CollaborativeThinking

Thank you