Marketing Executives Network Group (MENG) Crowdsourcing Speech - Part 3

Charting the “Wiki-mobile’s” Progress
Phenomenon did not happen by accident: Our increased connectedness, Availability of free, quality knowledge and a mature market made it happen

Connectivity (Internet) creates environment for:

• Rapid diffusion of best practice: PMP, 6 Sigma, ISO, SOX, CMM
• Mash ups (mix & match technology): LAMP, Google maps, Open Source, Linux in Cars, Linux & (Oracle, Dell, IBM, HP)
• Opening of Quality Knowledge Bases: Human genome, (P&G, IBM Patents), Wikipedia, B 2 B Partnerships, Social / Business networking
• Outsourcing to the Customer / Prosumers:
• Plummeting cost of getting on the web (LAMP)

Paradigm Shift - Give More Get More: many companies realize (by accident) they can profit by letting go of what they once held most dear.

• Boeing & aircraft assembly
• IBM Domino & Linux
• BMW & Assembly (computers & software now 50% of car value
• Kimberly-Clark got out of the paper mill business.
• All of these companies discovered that delivering customer experience was key, not their traditional roles. Treating customers / vendors as partners makes these sorts of relationships possible.

Mature Market (Presenteeism):

• Average age of FORTUNE 1000 company = 65 years. 29,139,291 employees.
• Top 10 employers = 5,437,526 and average age of 91 years. Source “One Source”
• Combined with elimination of defined benefits (pensions), outsourcing and looming universal care.
• Many experienced people are exploring “other opportunities” in consulting &self employment.

All forces working in concert make companies like Innocentive possible

The fact that we (Baby Boomers & Gen Xers) need to apply terms to advanced collaboration like “Crowdsourcing” is a measure of how uncomfortable we are with the process.

• Value shift from independent heroic effort to collaborative effort
• Gen “Y” will not need ask permission to crowdsource

Gen Y is not burdened by this:

• They use online collaboration to do their homework
• Constant communication has always been free
• The building blocks of socialization were largely electronically facilitated (online games)
• Instant gratification
• They view electronics, cell phones & the Web as extensions of themselves we see them as tools