Unless you live in a hole, you are aware that the Internet
has broken the distance barrier and has made our planet a small place.
What you may not be fully aware of, is the ways in which it [The Internet] is
changing the people (markets) who are connected to it. If you have been paying
attention to the youth (most likely to your kids) you will notice that they
belong to websites like friendster.com, myspace.com and other online social
networks. They are always online, they are always connected. How
many of your children carry cell phones?
People are heavily connected, heavily engaged: forming communities
(also called social networks). These
communities are growing and they are changing the way people think, the
way
engage businesses, and the world. Online communities are about
communication, participation and sharing. They are large, and in and of
themselves have
the ability to make decisions and move market trends. Community members
are educated and motivated by other
members. Massively connected social communities are extremely powerful
and they
are coming in to their own as a mainstream construct.
Many CxOs are oblivious to this happenance. Even if they know about
it,
they cannot understand it. The face of the world is much different
then
the world in which we grew up. The level of connectivity and community
is
growing faster then the rate at which we can assimilate it. Most of us
have emotional
resistance to these changes. We are way outside of our experience and
comfort
zones. How many CxOs really understand
why open source is a successful movement? I am not saying we are old. I
am saying the rate of connectivity growth
is no longer arithmetic in nature. Sooner or later we will loose the
ability to see the future by the observation
of the past (trends). The geometry of the trends are about to change.
The future will not relate to the past in the way which we are used to.
Children are growing up connected to the world. They have access to
levels of information you and I could not have dreamt of when we were
their
age, and they are comfortable with it. The reality is that they are a
different breed then we are. With much more information available,
individuals are BETTER INFORMED and expect to PARTICIPATE in ways most
of us do
not. They will expect the companies and organization that they
interact with to respect the fact that
they are better informed. They will expect the companies that
they deal with to participate in a much more personal way.
We are talking about a level of community involvement, honesty and transparency
which most companies today cannot fathom, and are simply not prepared to cope
with. We are talking about companies with a much more real, human face. What
does this mean for companies? No more
sales pitches. Communities know as much
as vendors, likely more. Conducting
business behind corporate walls is looked down on. Informed communities demand honesty and
transparency. They expect a face to face
communication with business leaders. They expect to define the market. They expect to guide the company.
Community is about community; it shuns that which is not community. If business wants to be successful in the future they need to change the way they perceive themselves, the way in which they approach and engage the “market”, and engage with the world. They must become part of community or fade.
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