…Then the objects go social…

“Objects now become kind of chatterbox and the world shifts as an huge connected information system”

Yes we must now consider objects as a real part of social movement, even if social genuinely means « interaction between two human beings », they can enter the game of socialization…How far, when, for which uses/features? Future will tell…

2020: 20 Billions of connected objets; which ones, which services behind and for which uses? What might we face in organizations, skills, value chains and industries?

« We don’t GO on the WWW, we are IN the WWW » (J. de Rosnay, 2008). In this case we can’t ignore the new environment in which we’re living, wired, connected, localized, targeted…? What is our trigger of rejection or how far will we go, in including this obsessing world, that is up to us more and more.

That is to say with many questions to push ourselves in another world, framed with robots, domotics, and domestic suppliance, increasing interrogations about the destiny, goals and playing field. While complete digital revolution leads to many disasters in balanced industries, destroying employment in short term, what could bring more automation of flows, relations and process?

For the opportunistic point of view, it’s far from now, several huge enhancements to come, in a larger scale for domestic, economic and social matters. When coming to mass market, leading the wheel can be an astonishing venture in sectors like:

• Tracing products, animals, reducing sanity risks and increasing the visibility on nurturing, growing in real time
• Improvements on supply chains and « just in time », reducing stock wastes and better control
• Equipment for handicapped people or old people, to enhance daily life with smart objects or function, and for health monitoring with things like flesh sensors (EES2) or with connected wifi body scale from Withings
• Production improvement with robots like farming robots
• Monitor, schedule and show the mass of available energies for a town, area or more, increasing the action on it and on the way we consume it: something making possible ups and downs and informing people when and how to use it (see an example with dontflushme)
• Connected cities with huge projects involving simple objects with new roles and useful faces like intelligent pavements in Toulouse, France that supplies energy when you walk on them or ”Simplicity” project from Keiichi Matsuda (Domesti/City) and LivingPanIT, future tools for bright cities. Check also Songdo City in South Korea, aimed to welcome more than 75.000 citizens in 2014
• Lifestyle environment: domestics, visual and personal comfort, intelligent paper with paperzoom, or fridges ordering themselves what’s relevant for the household’s needs, relating to stock or food desires. Taking in count the necessary monitoring of your weight, mood or health state
• Self-domestic with « things » like green plants, furniture, design…), the silent communication (“utility” for house domestics, alone…)

While we see lots of interesting opportunities, we may consider the downsides and potential dangers that come with digital era, and could explode with the complete participation of connected objects, like :

• Hacking: with the economic exploitation for the silent information war: stocks, financial system, gold and raw materials, everything that could trick valuation but also nuclear and military settlements connected in some ways could be hackable…
• What about electronic polls and the ability to cheat and trick democracy?
• Tomorrow, school and exam results may be built by machines, increasing the ability to exploit a fault in the whole chain and leading to discredit of levels and graduations?
• How far build and trust open data: do we fight to show anything we can (see Pachube), a whole community lead site with usermoderation and the degree of trust that is questioned so far?
• Automatic terminals that guide, manage and secure aerial traffic, train regulation and so long: who can we trust, relating to security matters?
• Telco system with parallel ways (social networks) with lots of information publicly available everywhere, because no one can verify the sense, truth capital and relevance?

Very hard times in trying to imagine the different faces and practical aspects of this new behavior, allowing objects to be linked and part of the global conversation. From now, protocols have already shifted to new (with for example ipv6), to welcome and hold the huge growth of connections, increased by the participation of these smart objects…But as any physical people, we can see “reputation” and need of protection of digital identity. Some solutions like myID.is or myid.com will probably grow to guarantee the trustiness and truthfulness of exchanges and conversations. That means the identification must be on the object level and not necessary on the object’s owner level, who can change…

We all already know that mobile devices and mobile behavior will be the dominant platform for datas, communication and entertainment tomorrow, then mobile web and connected objects will stand as  beacons of business in this incredible story.

There’s probably something attractive with everything seeming to be linked and connected. Just like losing our innocence, our ability to “think” and hold a sheer relation. When it’s about progress, one can be ready for anything to rock the boat…But how far? We’re still in the growth for “just” only fighting poverty and analphabetism and increasing digital uses may lead to writing mistakes and in the end, complete lack of knowledge about it! What about grammar, syntax, style effects that create a conversation and build a codified exchange between humans?

We so have to consider all these opportunities, integrating them into a whole ecosystem before they take control of us…Give rules, a place for everyone and everything, including interactive roles in our lives and dream about new “social networks for objects.” And then, pray that objects will invite us in their circle, where they will exchange datas, signals…conversations? A binary world from 0 to 1…

But who will be responsible for these shared contents or actions lead by the connected objects? Which legal matters: The owner? The user? The network?

In fact a subject not really new, that takes some time to land off but whose applications will help in many sectors with strong uses like breaking the digital rupture, domestics compliance and lots of local and practical innovations. Then « objects went social » could have been a HG Wells book. Shall we say « social » talking about objects when described as « media which enable interactivity between two or more humans »?

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The “Connectivity effects”: a tale in three steps…

We live in a connected world, for sure. Even those who don’t want, won’t escape to changes, they feel, live or suffer. When, how, which ways? Where from, why? New generations can explain because they live in and are confronted to old school and traditional rules, they even sometimes, can’t understand. Codes, habits, rules…How imagine the world in such situations and understand the wealthy mix we can draw benefits from and hold the main direction to sustain the daily life?

I was thinking of writing in last centuries: from stones, to paper, wrting styles and ink, and printers…then digital writing and contents…Such situation meant slow shifts (as we stare technology revolutions go faster and faster), but we will be confronted in a future, where nobody will write anymore, one day…because of the huge invasion of digital supports, we won’t be using pens, stencils and so on, anymore…And at school, nobody will learn writing anymore, because “use” would have disappeared? It’s part of something that hurts me in fact…Living without knowing any letter or figure to write, because keypads or vocal systems would replace them…?

Weird, but not really far from reality…

I started a whole reflection with connectivity effects on “business”…with :

1) the ways it does…:

• Competition insights, sourcing innovation, ideas or best practices?
• The Impacts on collaboration and collaborative circles?
• The way the world is connected and then, how to use marketplaces to reduce time, effort and delay on sourcing information?
• Sourcing/buying 2.0?
• Producing with benefits of connected technologies: reducing wastes, errors and returns, thriving simulations
• Delivering: accuracy, reliance and relevance of supply chain
• Launching and buzzing: hot to get the word before start…
• Sales: virtual efficiency, mixed models of distribution (stores and e-business, m-business, social shopping and recommendation…

2) the effects on resources:

• How to manage resources (people, time, schedules and machines) in a connected world?
• HR implementation with social networks (pro and personal platforms, dealing with synergies)?
• New opportunities on live work: always connected, live, home…

3) the outputs/outcomes driven:

• Loyalty, but reactivity and sensibility: CRM, SRM, CEM…concepts that drive customers motivations and feedback
• Communities, branding, e-reputation: how to solve the equation of truth and trust?
• Marketing rules and new ways of improvement: who is the product manager, now?
• Effects on life cycle of products, brands and relation: shortening delay without throwing the essential

I hope some bright ideas will surge and converge to identify a simple plan and path, to drive new business and companies, in this ocean of opportunities. As we accept opportunities more than threats and open our minds to change the cards and adapt enough our perception and abilities to do so…

First step to come, stay tuned for “the way it does”

 

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A matter of change

It is. We’re facing a new world, a world that shapes itself, confronting our abilities, but our failures too. We used to live with “leaders” showing the way, inspiring us and guiding the bulk to success and notoriety. If it’s just like to be more confident, it used to show limits in the efficiency to novelty and renewal. Last article from Nancy Lublin at Fastcompany, described a whole period of charismatic leaders, forgetting teams and organization. Time is now to recover the thrill for working in team project, creation task forces and so long.

Times are changing because we’re changing. Times makes us changing, in the race for competitiveness, strong competition between old established players, and new generation with new ways of thinking, new methods, and new mindset: be considered. Nothing else but being an active part of the company, building the success and the future, with the whole group, being understood and listened, because intelligence and initiative can be shared, with pleasure, motivation and success.

We even can think that in 140 characters, collaborative thoughts, can be more productive than ever. Staring at design, and lots of bright conferences like TED, Lift, SXSW and so much more, seems that bunch of people try to reinvent and innovate, with design, entertainment and technology. Taking some times to draw what changed in someway, found myself in the know: leading is not only sourcing ideas, deciding all and give the bad steps to teams. “followers” as they could be called in the past, are the essence of the creation, in the way, nothing could be done without execution. Let’s see as “things” are done now, in a more complex and collaborative processus than ever:

Then, what HAS to change: the way we can choose our working environment, workmates, lean management and some “freedom way of working and doing the things we are payed for”. And we can see huge and successful companies use to do it, as they are involved in waiting more participation, creation from their employees, because they let them doing so, encourage them and set some moments to do it true.
Social revolution is not an ordinary change. It’s an unusual way of mobilize huge parts of power, mavens and motivation, organized with heart, sensibility and trust. And that’s not usually found in modern companies, while matricial organisation and too much levels of management lead to complicated and centralized process of “making things”. But innovation needs to be close to customers, reactive and accurate listening of “what’s going on” to get all the juice from the efforts. The question now, is “how do we get the best juice, with motivation and without negative stress?

While diversity can be a awesome fuel design to innovation, organization of decision, thinking, ordering and planning is too. Now, tools, platforms, networks exist, are useful and need to be used with professionalism. To do so, HR have to make their own revolution, and allow using them, behalf the company’s welfare. Too many executives mistrust social web (Facebook, Twitter…), because they don’t want to understand it, think it’s wasting time, worst when they think it’s giving secret information to competition. Nevertheless it’s a never ending source of learning, sharing and confronting ideas, projects and know-how. Hr, yes, but management too. Leading doesn’t only mean “deciding” but showing direction more than deciding the whole picture.

Isn’t it more pleasant for a leader, to be chosen to support a main innovation, speak about it and be the respected tycoon who allows everything behalf his teams? Or be the tyrant who struggles innovation with narrow mindset?

Now, it’s time to chose who you want to be, and where you want to work. For all, be the reason to change, be the modern guru of managers social revolution…

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TV: when influenced become influencers, the age of content management

Live from NABShow 2010, facing huge changes in value constructions, among several major actors of the playing field, TV became more social, driven to another kind of content thinking and producing. Because audience becomes now the real influencers, because customer has, like any other sector, power to give voice and opinion, it burst the former theories of building TV. Getting it anytime, anywhere and increasing the effect of broadcasting progress, quality of picture and sound, and finding abillity to build new formats, new opportunities of consuing video, tv and online streamings, we’re facing a strong move in TV industry. Some lateral changes, and siding effects, because actors want to make other’s jobs, to add value, experience and increase their financial assets in their core business. But the essential quote now for TV, is a huge field of influencing: how medias, actors, audiences can live together and bring “social” and interactive concepts, to this industry. Trying to clear the situation, bringing some shifts like:

• Contents, with formats and new abilities to generate audience and keep it
• Quality: 3D, and sound improvements, bringing them to home market for a better experience ; the need for a standard to come (like HDMI 1.4 or middleware and soft enhencement with TV/box manufacturers). Like Sky said “re-defining the rule book”…; already saw large 3D screens for urban uses and ads broadcasting
• Online web tv, video and streaming platforms and the new opportunities for entertainment, and also brand reputation, brand exposure and personal ads ; these fields is particularly impacted with mobility and mobile winning platform for tv/video entertainment (as we already see the next generation for mobile cast, in 4G)
• Screens and equipment: LCD technology, 3D screens and cameras processing, dealing with existing settings
• Connecting: see how IPTV boxes try to build connected platform with services, embed in manufacturers equipment ; see adb (adbglobal.com) for example or sling box with Echostar
• Search: Google in the market for search TV, a function that never really existed, but can find a business model in targeting audience for ads, bringing search and indexation competences to TV with Dish tests-on. No evidence but the fact that everything is to come yet…
• Ubiquity with slingloaded box from Echostar, the TV everywhere strategy for now…
• Unseing middleware competencies, that stand the reactor for piloting datas, broadcast and services in a box/tv
• Voice and sound improvement, despite the fact that no device yet is planned to be piloted with voice recognition, which could be an interesting feature to come. Future will tell…

Seeing Sony, including some browsing services as Google or Youtube browsing and so long, we just wonder if, filling tv with services is sufficient enough to modify behaviors, to complete convergence in “social” trends for TV. I already wrote on the subject and there’s obvious limits by now. But the increasingly involvement of people in creation (acting, doing something online, chatting, creating videos, music, art design…) is real, and boosts on the “pc-like” screens. Seems that influenced (target), now influences contents and services too: TV media always considered as one way media (one-to-many) gets wings: the ability for modern TV to be plugged on audience’s desires is a bright step toward customer relationship management. As many shows has developped licences, goodies…temptation is straight to adress the audience with added revenues like these sources.

The diagram shows us that a passive audience (influenced) become active through interactive TV and contents “home-made”, that can fill the timeline. Is TV becoming a marketplace with collaborative (in a group idea) ideas and community, I don’t think yet, keeping a private household network and enable only personal communications. But the commoditization of uses on other screens (laptops, PDA, pc) could make an envy to transform our old TV device: game box, that can be considered as individual act on screen, already did invade TV.
So the infernal machine “TV”, grows energy by users now too, by the fact that audience doesn’t want to be passive anymore and wants to give a call. TV actors must now learn to listen other things than audiences monitoring, but start to consider audience as customers who want to express themselves. Nothing special in fact, in a competitive economy trying to get attention and to keep it…

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Social TV: more TV or more social?

TV always used to be a collective pleasure. Remember how families met around the next big thing, the prime-time event that grew up our minds and entertained the bulk. Interest rose with the whole offer: more colors, more channels, more catchup broadcast. Technology supposed to be a strong ally to stream these big events and used to get the best off them, threatened theatre, sports spots and children movies. And brought lots of opportunities in consuming TV: recording, ads shifting, original sounds and voices, quality of sound and high definition for picture.
As I’ve been involved in several business, including TVs matters, for 15 last years, I could follow lots of changes in programs, box, new comers and technology: from satellite to DTT, and live to VOD/catchup, it never stopped really to be a collective show, for a whole group.

But social actions and networking is nothing but individual acts, as we don’t show us, linking others or chatting in a group session. More individual, because one-to-one action, talk and debate. As if whole family could stare at a member that would enter into networking…and being passive for hours. Dumb, no interest of course.
I’m wondering how can be the result to come for the recent moves with manufacturers, that add contents or access to contents, to their TV devices (which already include set top box functions inside), as youtube, google browser and so long…I’ve been a witness for start of what we called interactive TV, which was a lab for “e-working or e-entertainent”, that took place in TV at the time and never been a real success…why? Because any individual act has nothing to see with “TV representation”, facing the family: what could be fun, to see someone making its shopping, boring the audience in the room…You see what I mean?
What I can say, living with these strategics moves is that social networking is definitely an individual pleasure. how can anyone spend time, watching a private conversation, talk or chat without being active? Is that’s because skype is starting to collaborate with LG and Panasonic, on HDTV devices, that it makes the next big picture and makes it “social”. Not at all, it stays like a private conversation with a big screen video conference.
I believe convergence has limits, in the way that technology grows faster than our agreement for. That’s not because tech can, that we want. And in the case of bringing social apps to TV screens, there’s a lot to bet in losing the essence of social: having a fresh private space of freedom and expression. Looking at youtube for my fav video doesn’t mean all the audience is gonna like it. Using Google on my TV screen will uncover my own research, as my own passions. That doesn’t mean it match with my surrounds. Are you ready to have a look at IM or your mails, in front of your whole family? Your bank accounts? At your private dates?

I tried to resume as short as I could, the main schemas of using “screens”, with the targeted utilities. We see that nothing is obvious, even if we can call it “all screens” or “any device”, focusing on the way we can (must?) use these for. I don’t declare anything as “definite truth”, but put me in front of my experience of TV business development. As years passed, and saw such more and more “clever” ideas, there is limit to convergence, and these limits are social, not technical. For Heaven’s sake we still can control machines and make them  what we really want them to do, for us. Let’s consider them as “tools” (as social apps are…), and use them. So social TV is more a concept than a screen, in fact. And last but not least, a “3D” concept: Deep, Disturbing and Desired. An easy way to bring new shape to old stuff.

Let’s start your uncovered trip, to Social Screens Skip!

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The new game for television: social, mobile and ubiquitous

Old TV set is out. Out of 20th century, he passed through revolutions (black&white, digital, HD, 3D…) and got some changes in uses, life and consideration. Started with information, public managed, it opened to others pleasure: entertainment, sports, discovering…Households then were completely hypnotized and caught in kind of dependance, like one said. And then this old device was hottin’, from ugliness to useless and energy consuming. At that time people was talking about “convergence”, the loneliness idea of a wired future, centralized, and started a competition in electronics manufacturers to invent this new TV device: THE screen. Where? How? but the screen. Then households turned their view to web audience…and naturally TV went to the web. People started to move, changed their social practices, became careless about the place and the moment…Mobile, mobility, then TV went to mobile.

While this was going on, facts were there: TV is not the same anymore. And even if the contents were the same, we don’t want to consume them like we did. All the sector from media and television didn’t see the web wave (like lots of sectors anyway…), thought they had to change something…but what? when and how? for who?
It quickly became the great riddle for TV value chain actors. Which contents to acquire, which rights, for what kind of usings, on which platforms and devices, and how long in terms of duration? Over for black Ford T, entering marketing and segmentation, need to make sense to believe that consumers are customers like other: because TV artifacts and rules have always been settled on fidelity, without any CRM management, and with the sole economic: audience = ads = buying intention. Brain available time for ads is not the same anymore, nor same profile and needs.
Trying to put sense into an industry that started revolution after being involved into, I tried to build a working matrix, resuming how behaves now, reflexes about television consuming.

You could be surprised but it is: it’s no talking or thinking about complexity, but really taking the influence of this new “market” of consuming TV. But where is my old housewive?…How does she can handle with such a purpose? That is, several ways of consuming television. And the real battle is not AGAINST other distribution channels, but WITH. Shaping the new landscape of TV means having imagination, beyond household. Where else, in the family, in mobility…? Fair enough, I can find my way because I can find A way of consuming MY TV.

We do and everytime, watching television, not really much more than survey scores generally speaking, but IN A BETTER WAY. That means, we’re able to choose, learn and decide when and where, and for how much time. Famous framework about triple “A” theory (Anytime, Anywhere, Any device) is more than ever, a fact. and that changes the business. We’re not talking about HD or 3D, because it’s “only” quality enhancement, while others are “ways of life”, ways of consuming. Yes of course, according to CES now, where 3D is a star product, we can see that 3D in a certain point of view, can change vision of family entertainment, globalizing services – games, interactive, learning, art, museum experience…-. But changes are there and it’s not really a small pill for the business sector.

How we receive television leads the way we consume: satellite in living room, 3G/4G in mobility, DSL in hotspots places…But the true is that we have to follow the same soaps and movies, wherever we are. And that’s why the real key for television is not really quality, but the triple A model. And what could be a simplistic draw, is in fact, determining:

• the technology needed (for broadcasters, but for public audience)

• premium rights to buy in the different program teams of these several network actors (live rights, exclusive, VOD, catchup, web window, first pay tv window, catalog…)

• equipment and wiring in household and in mobility, adding compatibility for future devices using

• key competences for media companies: doing broadcasting television has nothing to see or relevant with podcast or web tv streaming or downloading, HDTV made some revolution in several jobs and organizations, like probably 3D will do

It’s the “Rubik’s cube like” for television. Technology is already there, web is stepping like a giant (wiring, services, economy, networks), market is there too, with a huge demand on more and more services and self-learning, convergence and user’s centric functions. Maybe television has an amazing opportunity to catch some added consumers, by convergence and be the central “screen” for all household’s pleasures. My own network, whenever and wherever I want, is my concrete dream now and can be solved…we’re are at the threshold for new experiences. Social TV is taking off, with some events (Social TV Forum Europe), 3D revolution too with recent deals with ESPN, Disney’s, Discovery Channel, TLC, with  CES, à Las Vegas…, and the next big event in London, on May.

Old TV is alone, while everything has changed: but contents and pictures, needs and desires are really there, for a new entertainment world.

Found an interesting source about new tv ideas…get here on agoramedia.

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Modern life is a zapping: how social web participates to such a revolution?

Zapping was yesterday a concrete behavior, linked to our tv use. Jumping from channel to channel, an eye on remote control, the other on printed tv magazine, phenomena that exploded with arrival of satellite and cable tv, with several and diversified channels. With profusion, we had no choice to pay less attention to “carpe diem” instant, in the benefit of being champions of “more”. Last development fury and for VOD programs, prove that there is another level we just passed: holding time. The way we manage our relations is becoming a accurate exercise between, real friends, “interest” friends, randomized friends and others we could live without.
And I must admit, profusion of social web, lead to some equal behavior with so called “friends” encountered on social networks. There are even tools (machines!) to make work for you, in adding contacts you’ll never know…A kind of action, to feel someone important and being secured? not sure. Before social web, who, while reading this paper, had 2.000 real  friends? who could manage with such? Yet, I didn’t find anyone, even if it was his job, with these characteristics…;-)

If social web brought ability for anyone of us to write, talk or read anything in various topics, it exists because of some who invest lots of time, to share best of the web. And if free model blew ever else model yet, it doesn’t mean that there is no value, and attention to be stared in such situation. Keeping attention and sustaining speach and sharing, doesn’t match with zapping mates, who collect friends and contacts as stickers. Some said, we can’t handle with more than 150 contacts, in a interesting and regular relationship. I know it’s really easy to have a huge audience, that can hear what you say, but is “hear” sufficient to hold a relation, that could be wealthy for everyone?

We, in fact are caught in a “hub” of information, encounterings, meetings, accelerated by technology, and in this context, high is the power of media to confuse ourself in an ocean of true/false conversations. We just have now to learn again to sort, make our mind of real kind of life, real values, real sense. Storm for the twirling RSS, won’t make us blind or deaf, if we make the effort of reflection, to value information, content and where it comes from: even if trust is an essential enlightening skill to cope with too much information, we usually and formerly now, don’t try to evaluate. 2.0 is the best way to viral any information (rumour or hoax), for free and for…fake too. Confronted with this, even if tools have risen so much, more than we can sometimes handle, man must control machine and channels: obligation is done to stare and watch what kind of receiver we want to be. Zapping is so light, too light for attention anyone must have, to warm sender, and to be a accurate receiver.

My parents did have a job for their life, I’ve myself had 5 until now, and my children are on the way to do several ones at a time…Time is running out and emergency to make the point and use the compass again to reborn and take time to think at where we go and what we do: give value, sense and aim to who we meet, and social places like blogs are great examples to give a new direction to argumentation. That’s what I try to do, for passion and attention to others, others we often can’t see for hedonism, egoism or unattention. And that’s not why there is too much networks, that we must waste relationship by zapping too fast, while there is relevant information to listen. Machine and techs not for what they ARE, but for what they DO. And fortunately we have brain and emotion, yet…

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Social networks: trying to get head out of confusion…

It happened to be our daily life now, living with “social” behaviors and encounters. Last time I was for my MBA program, at HEC session for “social networks” in companies, I understood two things (at least!), starting the session:
- seems to move in companies, while social networks could be a solution for change (tip: my session was on “transform your business”, and I was supposed to get keys to do it)
- nothing was really new: a stone in the window…while discovering, “social networks” had nothing to see with social web in fact, considering they were  1) there since a long time  2) in fact in DNA for any organization   3) drawing the informal patterns, representing not authority (anything to see with organization charts), but “how companies do things…”

I had the idea to write something that could exorcise me (!), and making another building tool in the forest of social web.

First idea: I was not fool and out of the subject, while sharing ideas with excellent speaker, Marco Tortoriello, at the end of the session. What we always call “social networks”, is in fact  “informal networks” into companies. We obviously see that social web can improve a lot these understandings of such apps, but quicky I realize that web (already said several times, seems to be true), is just a tool. It gave us kind of “power” to save time (and time is important we’ll see further) in social graphs, and simplified a lot, sharing, finding information, find experts…and answers (an old post of last year reminds me about “instant search” that now burst…threat for search majors…)

Second idea: more your company is large and full of complicated graphs and organization, the more you’ll have to listen and be careful of informal situations. Anything you can consider as futile or useless can be your best weapon to understand others and pass through several steps more easily tomorrow. That is to say, spend time for “nothing” is really important if you want to get the “codes”, no one will ever give you. Public companies complicate the game with some political ladders too…

Third idea: as you could be disappointed, nothing to see with web in fact, in the fact that web is only a way (tool) to achieve your goals and maybe save times for networking more, fast and better. But nothing more. I always see people staring at web as the next thing that will resolve all their problems. Some in the history already did this this with totems and others idols…

Last idea: nothing is more important than listening and spending time (no waste at all!), to look, understand, and then act. Lots of unfortunate situation, seems driven to death, by urgency. There’s no much time than take time.

Maybe you’ll find gems in unknown territories: has anybody ask for reputation, those who do, don’t have any in fact. But those who live in silence and whispering minds, are the wisdom cell. Reputation and power are rewards, and reality show us that true ones, are long to get, are not “self-told to the world”!
Practically, don’t avoid anything: take care of every moment, from lift trips to small talks at coffee breaks, from sport sessions, to transportation random meetings. Any opportunity is real to empower yourself, reinforce your track record and perception, learning all small things to save time (and tears!).

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How 2.0 may help “crossing the chasm”?

Considering that famous book by G. Moore, that en-lighted the real chasm threat in launching new products or services, and achieve them to the next step for huge mass markets, I’m wondering, how could 2.0 could help, improve, support the chasm tomorrow and changes driven by interactivity. According to need of a launch session for new products and services, while these products or services can be sometimes not really ready to be launched, boosted by urgent, economics, and competitive goals (!), we saw it can exist a chasm that even good ideas don’t cross…Targeting a mass market requires talent, good product, and innovation advance to make the difference. But if innovation is a lifestyle for geeks and early adopters, shifting the trial to a mass success needs. Fortunately, geeks and EA are awesome levers to get empowerment for news things to be hugely used. And where can one find geeks and EA, most of the time? Yes, on social web.

We all have the opportunity to see how social sharing and participation can have changed relation mindsets, providing warming contacts, experts advising, communities rising and breakthrough boundaries and time. See how a novel, buzz or information can be built or denied in few seconds, or participate now to empower politics polls and decisions (mentioned that with last Obama’s victory with bulk social web virality). Necessary, but not the only thing to be done. New products/services have to be launched in an accurate, scheduled and secret plan. Too quick sometimes, making the idea real, but keeping bugs for the end users…Look at how cars models, can be back at fixing stations, few moments after their beginning of life…Microsoft products? Found lots of reasons to launch them, and thousands of users not really happy with new releases. I think business cycles now gear up. Innovation cycle, in some sectors can be so short, we mix several phases in one, already thinking to the next step. That’s probably why now, time is a strategic value, and all that can keep us from wasting it, is key. 2.0 and social web can help a lot to “cross” and have quick feedbacks on launch, polls, ideas, improvements, tests and corrections. And usually, addicted people to social web are particularly clever about new things and like to give you, for free, new ways of thinking. Meaning that, if you built a community, to worry about your launches, they will know how to handle it, and will cope with competitors that won’t miss to be cruel. But if you don’t, your products will go on an invisible of ocean, with potential users, who wait like sharks for new food, question is how they will “digest” the straight venue and what they are going to say about success or lead to die?

Chasm might be deep, chasm might be short, but chasm is a strong reality. Imagine you’re subjected to a judgement step, and more you prepare before, more product or service has a chance to succeed. If you want to give chances to survive, well organize first launch as if you were driven in front of the bulk scene: products/services prepared to be understood by many of the target, will get more chances to mass market, than fashion ones, excluding if you’re dealing on a niche market. We saw that maybe target of 2.0 is a new valuable field to get audience, advises and early tests for new services or products. But how can 2.0 helps this to increase the chances to cross the bridge (build one)? On the chasm.

I think it’s in listening and working with early users that you can do it, and social boards, like betas, experts panels and communities gear up the way information turns. The more you listen, the quicker you work with it, the greater chances you’ll have to correct, evaluate misfits, features, quality problems for bulk success. And social web for sure makes you saving time for that, if you can spend some time to build a network and give it news regularly. Each part of the market has its own behaviors: innovators are pure tech lovers, early adopters next, may feel there’s a real use for the innovation in field, and early majority, that’s the main problem, has to be guided by other early majority members, which wait for a main change in their life, because of the innovation. And if this brand new thing doesn’t ensure them, with entourage for done a good tip and be sure they will have all kinds of support, customer care and so long, there’s no chance for tech to be adopted, by mass early majority. And then may enter web 2.0 power: linking people, advises and take the role of customer care…While we saw that innovators/geeks prowl on social networks, no need to be clever to think that they will give all their advises and share their experience to ensure and make a better sale than you…they know the product, they know bugs (!), they can guide you to adopt it by several “old good rules”…And while trust is an essential rule for communities leaders, looking at the most influencers can be really relevant, giving them samples to test and keeping eyes on back timeline. That’s how it goes, that’s now how advertising stands place, while buzz is exploding. Ignoring power of social leaders is like ignoring power of www community As I already said, “customers are the best sellers for a brand”, and to go further, “social leaders are strong guides to burst your brand and your products”, crossing the chasm, convincing early (sleeping?) majority to come and buy.

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Social & Business: growing reality

Interesting conference about social exploring all projects for both social and growth development in companies. Accurate and appropriate initiative for HEC business school, that has scheduled and organized the conference on its campus, with several main players from MNC’s.
Obviously a daily mindset I hope for huge companies, that want to “empower” their pyramide of business, and involve themselves by sending back wealth from richest markets to poorest targets, to give up with breakdown between rich and poor…in our final dream of “one world”. Giant building site, isn’t it?
Talking about project, resources saving, medecine equity, media involvement in taking care of desert zones, balancing between students, scientists, experts and executives, two days to make a kick-off for energies, social, resources threats in our planet.

For example, water…
Taking care for rain to come (if we stare at power of only nature in bringing water!), there’s lots of wasted water that stand to be used in an endless cycle. “Water is a local problem”, yes, but rain is everywhere…The main problem is how can we bring them from zones that are near water sources to ones that don’t have any or not really much?
Water can be a source of medical troubles too, not because of quality but underlining that it’s sometimes a rare resource, and too few is a real danger, for some populations.
Seas? well what do we stand to use water from seas, to generate human resources? WaterPyramide, good initiative for bottom of the pyramide people to provide water and energy with a huge plastic pyramide, that transform hot sun effects into  droplets by steam effect…. and then into water…Cute? The main problem from BOP markets, comes from price adaptation…Some say that “it’s not a problem of money, nor of public aids too”. But from production to end user consumer, it seems to be an ongoing value chain, adding costs…to consumer affordability. Freeness? look at the freeness model all around the world (web?), free creates value…Shoul water be free? it is, but no balanced supplied on each spot of the planet…Who has to pay for the pipes, the transportation? Should everybody has to move to “water supplied zones” only…?

…A sample in these amazing two days, for next steps, see further sessions and web site: http://www.socialbusinessconference.org

Good initiative of business school, corps and NGO Corporate Social Responsabilities mindsetting to work much better together, and formerly starting to cope with this serious threat, that could be the next economic war. Long life to such involvements and innovations.

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