Sentences with “it is the reality of the future…” , “completely new”, “real innovation” and “most companies ignore” always get my attention. The authors claim that developments in openness, peer production, sharing, acting globally have conspired to cause the biggest change in the short life of the firm. They eventually mention open innovation, but do not explain the term (and do no mention Chesbrough either).
In my opinion, smart firms are and should be very selective in the use of the ideas offered in this book. I thought the authors agree, mentioning core values somewhere, but I misplaced the bookmark. At times this book gives me ‘a flat earth feeling’ (nice to reread, but with a lot of statements that cannot be verified and are in need of reflection). I do wonder what would happen if all companies would act as ‘smart’ companies do in this book? Would we all just get smarter or is there a next wave to ride on?
I somehow expected a free download version of the book on the wikinomics website, as this book was also created with the cooperation of a crowd. As an alternative I downloaded “The brand new TED Book: Radical Openness” on my iPad, but I was rather disappointed with its content. In only 19 pages of text (for some 2.45 euro) the ideas from the book and video are repeated, but do seem to bring a few new cases. Will read that later while on the commute.
On a different, but related topic: the –less open than others- iPad and the Apple ecosystem clearly are the preferred platform of choice during “open” events. This might point to a case of selective openness, or selective revealing if you prefer that. Either way, openness becomes me.
What is open or closed may just depend on your perspective
Just a few unfinished, but interconnected thoughts –for the good of the blogosphere – on topics related to the recent National Congres Open Data, Open Geodata Workshops and other open events. Although open innovation has my special interest, I appreciate multiple perspectives on openness, especially during these kind of events. My generic warning is about the positive social connotation ‘openness’ possesses. It may lead to just want to appear open, without actually being very open at all.
Open Access
There is this moment of awkwardness when you regain interest in scientific papers, but once you try to get access, you’re presented with a huge $ (or €) sign. In case of ‘a possible future value’ for you or your organisation, this does somehow make sense. But what if it is just that scientific interest, which science should be all about? This is where Open Access comes into play and it is on the rise. Good reading on the topic can be found at the Royal Society and the blog of Neelie Kroes, European Commission.
Free culture and the public domain
Discussions about ‘who owns the public domain’ are food-for-thought. Frequently I hear the position that the public domain is owned by the ‘the government’. I claim that, if it is owned at all, it is claimed by society at large, in which government is only one –albeit an important- player. There is (still) so much of government that it is not public domain.
Never thought I would be discussing about Aaron Schwartz during an open data workshop, but we did. To me, Aaron’s tragedy is a clear case of Copy-not-right © and I do hope it will impact our/US thinking and acting on free culture and the public domain beyond Aaron’s law.
Open Courseware
If a professor writes a book while working at the university, who owns the rights to this book? If you are a student, are you allowed to publish the tutorials you had in class, 25 years after that interesting time? (I hope so, since I did that). Somehow Closed Courseware is a anatopism at universities. Should knowledge not spread as easy as possible?
Open Source
Discussed free source versus open source during our workshop; free source as a political movement and open source as a way for communities to jointly create value. If the focus is on free source, there is hardly interest in a business case. Not working with open source at all is becoming rather unique these days. Social coding clearly has its limits, especially when there are no interested communities to be found. It is on these limits where value creation occurs.
Open data
Definitions are important, especially when we talk about open data. I prefer the one from the Open Knowledge Foundation, since it is very clearly defined. Open data initiatives usually involves data (…), events, a metadata portal, a hackathon and hopefully a community as well. As data in ecosystems always had a major say in their success, I expect this topic to not go away (in contrast to some other open topics).
The 100% open world
Whoever talks about an open revolution clearly has never been in a real one. Then again, words like disruptive, (open) innovation and paradigm (shift) are used for the most unexpected phenomena (to me), so I understand the mix-up. I do keep wondering about the 100% open world some of us are striving for. In my opinion, we all choose our level of openness.
Ending, not on a personal note at all, with Robert Hinde’s* comments on directness in communications and social relationship: “It may not be wise to say everything that one thinks about one’s mother-in-law”. The same can be applied to any organizational, community and inter-personal context. Openness is very selective and clearly has its limits.
*Bending the rules, Robert Hinde, p. 94
Just some of the unexpected faces of modern China
Not sure when I did run into Trover, but it somehow crossed my Path. It may just be Twitter for -great- images if you will, but a great image ought to be more effort that the –average- tweet. Trover made it through the trial period I apply to any new (social) tool. What is it about Trover that made it stick?
Share discoveries
The idea of sharing a photo discovery with the world is somehow appealing. Whereas Flickr is rather humongous and 500px more for the pro, Trover excels at simplicity. My photos are taken while waiting at a train station or at a holiday destination. Although I aim for aphorisms, I usually just add a one-liner. Some photos are from the inside of a building. Finding those gems is a bit harder than the ones that are publicly accessible.
The visible hand
Collect discoveries
With the list option, I have started to collect Troves in the categories “Maps and Globes”, “Best of Holland”, “Books and Libraries”. These are mostly images I just run into, I have not scanned the images database (too much) yet. So far a list is just a handy option for my personal use. There are some really great lists out there on Trover like This Ghost Town, My Street (by Julia), Dream Destinations and The Best of Trover 2012.
Find gems
I guess Trover is all about finding gems of places you might want to go to. Take Beijing, New York or Utrecht as examples. I have been using this option a few times now, it really gives you a nice impression of a place you have not yet been to. Your search my result in a staggering mosaic of photos and sometimes even high levels of awesomeness. But really finding well hidden gems might be well worth the search effort.
Serendipity
The option “The latest from around the world” gives you a free ride across our globe. It just took me to New York, Moscow, San Fran, Holland (NY) and Tbilisi. Abundant Troves of many untold stories are there to be found. Serendipity found its place at Trover. In this age of the thank-you economy, it is effortless to ‘like’ the pictures, so I just hit that heart symbol as a ‘token of my appreciation’.
Just one of the things one discovers while trying to unthink geography..
Not sure where Trover is heading (I still am interested in that API), but so far the trip has been a pleasant one. It’s business model beyond “share remarkable places and things in a fun, visual way” is not clear to me, but that usually is a good sign.
I have grown to appreciate Trover, so this blogpost is just a tribute to the makers of: thanks & keep on Troving.