Strategic Framing
February 09, 2008
The burgeoning "Internet Economy" is redefining operational assumptions and models for all organizations within the public and private sectors. This is particularly evident as free access to information increases and the clash between open source and proprietary development of software intensifies. But the transformation underway does not stop in the realm of bits and bytes; it is spilling into the traditional mainstays of agriculture and all types of industry and threatens to alter our most basic tenets of how to market, value, and receive compensation for our creativity, collaboration, and contribution. This posting explores some of the novel approaches underway in response to these changes and set the stage for viable business models in the near future.
The long tail of the Internet provides opportunities for individuals to post information, knowledge, experience, and insight from one location and reach potential audiences almost anywhere else in the world at any time. Countless millions of individuals, businesses, and organizations of all types use websites, wikis, blogs, etc. to do just that. Collectively, the number of intelligent insights and innovative ideas posted every minute is sufficient to change the world many times over.
Despite the countless, remarkable observations and viable solutions presented, it is difficult for all but a narrow slice of contributors to make a living from doing so via Internet media. Unless there is a subscription fee to the site, the content of postings is free to read. In many instances, incorporating or reproducing that content elsewhere only requires acknowledgement of the original contributor / author to do so.
Under these circumstances it is difficult to receive payment for the work itself. Instead, payment is made based on what else readers do in and around the material they are reading: how many embedded links they check in the posting, how many advertisers around the periphery of the posting do they visit, how many RSS feeds and email notifications to they elect to receive, to name a few.
Continue reading "Giving It Away, Making Money"
posted by Steve Bosserman on Saturday February 9 2008
updated on Monday February 11 2008
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September 22, 2007
Recently, several of us were going over the litany of new terms for communication and collaboration "tools" that were less than 10 years old: blogs, mashups, crowdsourcing, webinars, podcasts, etc. just to name a few. It became obvious as we discussed it further than many of us in the conversation were relatively clueless when it came to defining what each is, what it does, how it works, and what were the benefits. As in most instances where there are too many dots and no clear picture in mind to connect them; a framework would be helpful.
The quadrants and circular arrow in the diagram below illustrate a progressive path of organized social interactions. It starts with the blog: the primary virtual means by which an individual, almost any individual who has access to the Internet, announces to the world—here is who I am, what I think, and what I care about. It is a powerful statement of independent thought, self-awareness, and clarity of purpose that any blogger makes simply by posting a message.
When individuals put themselves out there, they are likely to be "discovered" by others who share common principles, interests, and affinities. One of the most likely places to be "found" is in a social network. In these far-ranging open communities individuals extend their connectivity, learn more about themselves and each other, strengthen their affiliations, and become more intentional about doing certain activities together rather than individually.
Continue reading "Cycles of Communication and Collaboration"
posted by Steve Bosserman on Saturday September 22 2007
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July 15, 2007
A colleague of mine called the other day and wanted to know how I would answer the question, "What is an 'integrated solution'?" It seemed that he was entertaining this concept with others in senior management and he was struggling to find an answer that didn't sound like gobbledygook or pure philosophy and offered nothing pragmatic. In typical management fashion, he needed an answer right away. And, it would be particularly helpful if it could be condensed into a 10-second sound bite that anyone could comprehend. Of course, pressing all that knowledge and insight into a 10-second statement is quite a challenge; one that launched us into a 30-minute animated conversation. Here's the 10-second version:
An integrated solution:
* Targets what a specific customer's organization—business, not-for-profit, government agency, etc.—is providing (portfolio), the manner in which it does that (model), and the context in which it operates
* Appeals to the combination of values considered most important by an individual customer
* Provides a package of products, services, and technologies that function more effectively as a whole than the sum of the individual elements that comprise it
So, what is so difficult about that?
While this definition of an integrated solution makes intuitive sense, it challenges management's conventional wisdom. Here are some reasons:
Continue reading "What Is an "Integrated Solution"?"
posted by Steve Bosserman on Sunday July 15 2007
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July 12, 2007
Value-add dominates our economic scorecard. It is relatively easy to calculate in a manufacturing setting where value is added through material transformation at each step as a product moves from raw material to finished goods. Customers monetize this value by the purchase of products they anticipate will add value to their processes. Value-add also pertains to certain services, like financial and legal, that require a certified, licensed, or bonded provider that possesses or delivers specialized skills or knowledge. The consequence for not utilizing these services is the customer assumes risk.
The concept of value-add also plays a role in information technology and data services. Here, though, the meaning is vague. What value can be assigned to having data or to having data in a usable format? This instance of value is intangible and determined by the receiver of the message. Nowhere is intangible nature of value-add more evident that in marketing strategies and advertising campaigns. Information that induces a user to pay for a product or service has value only to the producer. Value-add for the customer or client occurs at the next step—the point of utilization.
So much for the traditional view of value-add. Here is where the current issues of globalization – localization come into play. A robust business strategy can entertain and exercise both sides!
Continue reading "Thoughts about Value-Add"
posted by Steve Bosserman on Thursday July 12 2007
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Giving It Away, Making Money
February 09, 2008
Cycles of Communication and Collaboration
September 22, 2007
What Is an "Integrated Solution"?
July 15, 2007
Thoughts about Value-Add
July 12, 2007
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A Wedding Framework
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Introduction to Social Agriculture
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The Concept of Human Equivalence
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