Having attended several conferences throughout the fall, I seemed to get hit with the same two product development points over and over:
- The product is the platform (and sometimes the process)
- The platform allows consumption, production, and sharing
The platform caters to the idea, brilliantly covered by Clay Shirky, that people don’t just want to consume. They want to produce and share as well.
The content business is no longer a one-way street.
In fact, one-directional products were never in line with how people really act. They existed because of physical limitations.
Bi-directional traffic is increasing because the factors that have historically constrained it are being removed.
Now if you don’t embrace interactivity you’re in trouble.
Hi Mike!
You make a great point about corporate cultures. Even though the physical constraints are removed or being reduced every day the organizational and emotional ones are alive and kicking.
We’re in this phase of trying to balance legitimate concerns (about sharing information, running a business, etc.) with the reality that the way people work and interact online is changing.
When ever a massive change like this occurs one of the first things that seems to happen is we realize that the rules that govern our environment are outdated. Some we can let go. Some we can revise. And still others, are new – they’re issues we never had to think about before. Corporations (and individuals) haven’t really sorted that all out yet.
It’s going to be fun participating in that process (and painful at times).
Nice to see you again. I may still be here, but 2008 was a bad blogging year for me (too inconsistent) but it’s one of my New Year’s resolutions to fix that in 2009.
Ann
Thanks for sharing what you’ve been observing and learning.
Clay Shirky is a favorite of mine. Every time I listen to a presentation of his (thanks YouTube!)my mind is racing.
The “embrace of interactivity” remains the challenge from my perspective. The historic constraints may be removed but the historic corporate cultures are alive and kicking.
It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to visit “Manage To Change”. Good to see you are still stirring the pot!
Keep creating…a brand worth raving about,
Mike