Evan Carroll Experience Designer

This fall I’ve been taking a class with Fred Stutzman, a PhD student at UNC, founder of ClaimID and a name to know in the online social networking community. Yesterday I gave a class presentation on businesses and the social networks that are built around their products. Looking at the IT industry and the evolution of these networks, you can see the users get closer and closer to the business itself. Starting from Usenet groups, to company hosted forums to advanced social spaces, such at HP’s Blade Connect community. I pose the question: what’s next?” If the technology market is a leading indicator, the open source software movement tells us all that we need to know: Users are the new producers. Procter and Gamble recognizes this and has a program called “Connect + Develop” which is an online forum to support group ideation. They say, “times have changed, and the world is more connected. In the areas in which we do business, there are millions of scientists, engineers and other companies globally. Why not collaborate with them? We now embrace open innovation, and we call our approach “Connect + Develop.” So the future is seamless collaboration between manufacturers and consumers. Having the best ideas may no longer fuel success; communicating effectively and implementing flawlessly will be the key