The creative revolution: 'challenge' and 'chaos' for corporations

“Institutions will come under increasing degree of pressure and the more rigid they are, the more pressures they will come under.”

Clay Shirky talking at the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Oxford, as reported on BBC News. The International Herald Tribune gives background to the conference - including the launch of the Apple Mac and the compact disc.

“I’m predicting 50 years of chaos,” he adds, “Loosely organised groups with be increasingly given leverage.”

A lot of what is being talked about is in the arena of creative collaboration – people working through the channels and tools of the net to develop new products and services. And the development is being driven by consumers. The example of the mountain bike is quoted – developed by frustrated Californians who were unhappy with ordinary bikes. 65% of bike sales are now mountain bikes. The internet is aiding this kind of collaboration.
“It’s when the net combines with these passionate consumers that you get the explosion of creative collaboration,” according to Charles Leadbeater – Tony Blair’s favourite political analyst.
Addressing the conference, U2 front man Bono said:

“… if you wanted to make a record of a song, you needed a studio and a producer. Now you need a laptop. If you wanted to make a film, you needed a mass of massive equipment and a Hollywood budget. Now, you need a camera that fits in your palm and a couple of bucks for a blank DVD. Imagination has been decoupled from the old constraints, and that really, really excites me. I'm excited when I glimpse that kind of thinking writ large.”

But it’s not just technology and making consumer goods that’s aided by the net, Bono sees greater potential:

“What I would like to see is idealism decoupled, idealism decoupled from all constraints: political, economic, technological, whatever. The geopolitical world has got a lot to learn from the digital world, from the ease with which you swept away obstacles that no one knew could even be budged, and that's actually what I'd like to talk about today.”

And, of course, when you combine the net with passionate consumers or campaigners, you get communication challenges for corporations.

Matt

Comments

[Shari Aaron]

I agree. Citizen consumers (that is caring, aware and empowered individuals) are already making great changes to our society -- much is just not reported in the mainstream news. I am watching a great new citizen consumer company to launch - www.alonovo.com will ensure that all consumers know more about the environmental and social performance of companies --before they buy. Shopping from companies that support our social and environmental values will help to move economic leverage to companies working for the greater social good. www.alonovo.com is the first socially responsible online shopping site -- the data comes from KLD (a trusted source of socially responsible investment data). alonovo.com was created by caring citizen consumers -- another example that bright, caring folks can move mountains. I think since we see our governments and institutions not meeting our needs -- we must do what we can to restore ethics, protect our society, our planet and find peaceful solutions to the world's problems. Some of the brightest, most caring folks are working real hard to move us to a more sustainable world. Blogs, socially responsible shopping sites and consumer citizens are all good stuff!

[David Phillips]

“Loosely organised groups with be increasingly given leverage.” Is fun to look at. My research into Relationship Value suggests that this is really the reality of life and organisations. The idea of monolithic structures is a bit old hat. Most organisations are a coalition of 'loosely organised' groups anyway. We now need to understand the nature of people, their tangible and intangible assets and the values they find attractive.