Smart Mobs: Designing Business for an Open World

I got inspired by this short essay which oulines in a clear and well-illustrated way, the key drivers behind the emergent, sustainable and successful business models of today's interconnected world.

It starts with a brief historical review of the evolution of business models from the so called "Detroit model" (pyramidal, hierarchial, leveraging vertical functional processes, based on process efficiency), to the "Hollywood model" (networked project, horizontal model, multiple outsourced expertise put together , central leadership strategy and brand). And today's "internet model" which builds on open platform, cooperation and shared resources.

Then it goes on with popular examples of successful "internet models" such as the open-source champions Firefox/Linux/Apache. Or the Telecom challenger Skype, or the growing wisdom built in Wikipedia.

The authors explain how the "internet model" builds upon 3 "key dynamics " :

1. networks
2. bottom-up, emergent systems
3. cooperation

Networks are essential to enable the sourcing , finding, matching of talents, skills , expertise, ideas and passion . The networks are created through the multiple tools and collaboration platform that sprung out of the internet : IM, Social network software, video conferencing, blogging, podcasting, etc.

Emergent systems, prediction markets, smart mobs, the wisdom of crowds, recently formulated concepts based on real life success stories, to show us powerful ways to tap in the seemingly unfathomable intelligence of the collective. Like for example the very tangible value created out of rating system ( Ebay's powerseller rating, Amazon customer voting).

Cooperation in the sense of forming loosely bound team, pulling a bunch of interested parties together, sharing in risks, costs, time, resources and intelligence, to create or improve a common good or push out a big idea.

Cooperation by giving away IP or better say sharing and exposing IP, illustrated with the opening of matured platform such as the Amazon ecommerce API, Google maps API. And so many others: FlickR, Delicious, etc. which result in hundreds of Web 2.0 mash-ups. Open source development or the art of enlisting selfish interests to contribute to a common pool.

At Theandb, we are living the Internet Model, in and out. It is fascinating and quite uplifting to ride this wave. Sometime barely afloat but never out of passion, boosted by the pleasure of discovery. The way we build our partnership, the way we work remotely, the way we construct our own open-source product, weaved upon open libraries, the way we drive offshore development teams, the way we continuously invent our way into the future.

The way we proudly stand true to our motto: "consultant of compassion"