Unbound Spiral

The coming economic era and precepts are emerging as totally different from industrial capitalism. We're learning that e-businesses and their networks destroy many of our basic concepts of production, marketing and distribution. Jeremy Rifkin [1] notes that in this "Age of Access" we are entering an era in which lifelong customer relationships are the ultimate commodities market. This provides a different, more positive, and perhaps more likely view.

FIRST MONDAY is one of the first peer-reviewed journals on the Internet, about the Internet. First Monday expands the frontiers of academic publishing by combining the traditional values of peer review with publication on the World Wide Web. To read the full contents of “The COMsumer Manifesto”

INTRODUCTION

The COMsumer Manifesto:
Empowering Communities of Consumers Through the Internet

The coming economic era and precepts are emerging as totally different from industrial capitalism. We're learning that e-businesses and their networks destroy many of our basic concepts of production, marketing and distribution. Jeremy Rifkin [1] notes that in this "Age of Access" we are entering an era in which lifelong customer relationships are the ultimate commodities market. This provides a different, more positive, and perhaps more likely view.

The Internet is changing business models and empowering consumers to create new communities that combine the power to aggregate rich sources of individually personalized data in real-time activities. Large-scale data aggregators are emerging to navigate and mediate info markets. While information records are proliferating, new standards for content capture and management are appearing. Most companies continue to hope they will control their customers' information assets. However, what if this is not true or becomes impossible? What if consumers decide to band together and control their own personal information? Are you ready to freely give your customers their data records? Are you prepared to live up to the COMsumer Manifesto?

This article offers a disruptive antidote to the hierarchical, closed, supply-system, explicit, knowledge-driven, "We Know What You Want" data mine world where many customers feel powerless. This is a world well beyond 1999's "Net Worth" [2] and 2000's "The Cluetrain Manifesto" [3]. Infomediaries are not just trustworthy agents which sit between the vendor and the customer [2], and markets are not just conversations [3]. In this new world, communities sense needs, desires, and wishes for the future and create new data markets - to which organizations must respond or die! We are closing in on the "tipping point" [4] where COMsumers take complete control of their destiny by collectively owning their personal information assets

We, the people who live in an interconnected, on-line, real-time world, declare that:

* We realize that the most important thing we own is information: data about our purchases, our preferences, and ourselves.

* We call ourselves COMsumers and believe in investing our information for the common good of the planet. We will share what it is important to share and keep private those details that might empower outsiders to interfere in the lives of individuals in our community.

As we grow in number so will the wishes and desires of our community. We commit to capturing our collective wish lists of wants, desires and dreams and monitor how these change from time to time. After all, the willingness to dream reflects our desire to make these things come true. This is the best possible hope for our collective future.

Everywhere I turn organizations have the ‘business model’ on their agendas. ‘What’s a world class business model going to be in ten years time?’ they ask. Naturally, this is associated with high growth, technology, retention of key individuals, and stimulating new wealth creation. But getting from here to there brings more than a little uncertainty.

A new competitive landscape is beginning to emerge with the internet changing relationships between organizations and consumers. World class companies will compete for attention as employees and customers alike form new peer relationships as they reach out and connect in this new medium. In this new world, ruled by the internet, it is clear that learning faster leads to tomorrow’s competitive advantage. But, who is learning faster — organizations or consumers?

The speed with which customers are learning could significantly affect the future landscape in which organizational decisions play out. Some recent examples demonstrate how new models make consumers smarter faster. The most visible is Napster (www.napster.com the music exchange site), which by October 2000 had over 35 million users and was still growing (despite ongoing court proceedings) at 1 million users per week. This is the prime example of customers learning new behavior patterns and experiencing new forms of internet-enabled functionality. Similar parallels can be made with auctions sites where new payment systems were established to enable real time consumer transactions (see www.x.com, PayPal, and www.ebay.com and www.auctionwatch.com).

So, we have an emerging paradox. What strategies will enable you to retain a world class position close to your customers in a world where consumer groups may be empowered to learn faster than their traditional suppliers? Consider for a moment where you will be positioned when your customer information is completely interconnected.

COMsumers
For over a year now I’ve been writing about COMsumers — communities of consumers empowered by the internet. The COMsumer Manifesto (www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_5/henshall/index.html) proposed that consumers would combine the internet’s power to collect information with personalized tools in real time affinity groups — groups that will with time control their information assets and pool them collectively for their advantage.
Many organizations compete to provide information and declare ownership of their information assets. If the information assets were to be returned to the people, on what basis would you compete? Imagine a world in which the customer owns his or her transaction and data records!

The internet is empowering consumers in different ways. Systems like www.paypal.com (e-mail money) can effectively work around traditional money systems and banks. But it is not just organizations that are challenged. The role of government, the evolution of taxation systems, and the growing issues around intellectual property are just a few areas that require new solutions. More importantly, privacy is a real concern. Not because we are worried about sharing information, but rather because unlike our physical assets over which we as individuals hold title, there is no title to our virtual property. If you are hacked, cyber-burgled, or simply raided it’s a hassle. Tomorrow it could mean your life is uninsurable!

Consuming information

We as consumers need to start managing our information. It’s clearly valuable, and will either result in lower prices or improved access. The challenge is to create a data-mine, for everyone on earth owned by everyone on earth. Are you willing to bet that a consumer, who is your customer, will never find this a likely idea? What if the early adopters go this way? How many before we reach the tipping point? Twenty per cent? And, which industry will be the first to tip? Yours?

Farfetched? Well just consider. What if your competitor gave their customer data records back to their customers and offered to manage this information for them for a minuscule percentage? Are you ready to adopt your customer’s data standard when this new community starts pooling this asset? What will this make of your world class customer information asset? Is it likely that the new open source solution will quickly improve on your own in-house approach? Then, will you be able to adapt and respond in time to this emerging standard as it evolves?

At this point the customer’s data has moved outside the organization’s business model. Now this consuming community potentially knows more about their needs and their development desires than your organization. At this point real decisions will need to be made. Will you retain an exploratory R&D approach? How will your advertising and marketing systems now work? Finally that old rule of thumb — the 80/20 rule. How will that respond to a COMsumers approach? Indeed, your business may already be locked into the wrong signals.

By embracing this new world you may begin by partnering with this emerging community to improve your asset alignment, adaptability and responsiveness. Ultimately, this is a world that may not be better or worse. However, it will be different. But to consider it in isolation or reject it outright may be premature. A world class community is more than just your organization. The internet transition is inviting you and your organization to become a member.

Personalization in tomorrow’s world will offer a disruptive antidote to the corporation-controlled information assets of today. Today many customers feel powerless; they have little interest or access to the customer information that companies hold on them, and often engage with organizations that have never given a second thought to how these customers might eventually respond.

Even as personalization systems presume to connect organizations more effectively with their customers, the prevailing eCRM logic has organizations controlling the development of their customer relationship protocols. Customer lock-in remains an objective, and mobility of customer information assets is seldom considered.

But a new competitive landscape is beginning to emerge as the Internet changes the direct relationships between organizations and consumers. Companies will compete for attention as both employees and customers form new peer-to-peer relationships. In the P2P world, it is clear that increased connectivity leads to faster learning.

The increased speed with which customers are learning could significantly affect the future landscape in which organizational decisions are played out. Examples like Napster, which by October 2000 had over 35 million users and was still growing (despite ongoing court proceedings) at 1+ million users per week, show customers learning new behavior patterns and experiencing new forms of Internet enabled functionality.

A paradox is emerging. What strategies will enable companies to retain a world-class position--close to your customers--in a world where consumer groups may be empowered to learn faster than their traditional suppliers? Consider for a moment where your organization will be positioned when your customer information is completely interconnected. Or what happens when the customer reclaims their information and aggregates it for their personal benefit. A new threat emerges to corporate information management systems.

Isn’t it possible that consumers could combine the Internet’s power to collect information with personalized tools in real time affinity groups — groups that control their information assets and pool them collectively for their advantage?

Managing our own information

We as consumers must start managing our information. It’s clearly valuable, and will either result in lower prices to us, or improved access to alternate sources. Farfetched? Maybe, but just consider: What if your competitor gave their customer data records back to their customers and offered to manage this information openly for them for a minuscule percentage? Similarly, what if they offered to capture your data when you shop at a competitor? Are you ready to adopt your customer’s data standard when this new community starts pooling this asset?

At this point the customer’s data has moved outside of the corporate business model. Suddenly, this community by aggregating their personalized network assets knows more about their needs and their development desires than your organization. This asset is now self accelerating, as each customer individually adds to the database, the network multiplier accelerates the benefits. Maybe I’m pushing the boundaries here.

But consider the focus of today’s early discussion around the first wave of P2P (Napster, Scour, Groove Networks etc). This discussion focuses on the logical consequences to business models and intellectual property. What we are missing is a market-orientated view.

Strategy for a consumer market network

First take the high ground by enabling your customers to use their customer records. Your objective is to facilitate the growth of this strange, new-networked information market, perhaps earning a percentage on the information. This strategy reflects a clear shift from info ownership to custodian. New data strategies then include facilitating record mobility, responsiveness, connectivity, and access.

Benefits are realized when your emerging community begins to learn faster than your traditional systems. Like high performing teams, the excitement and energy from this ongoing community release of tacit knowledge will fuel improvements in your asset alignment, adaptability and responsiveness to product / service requests.

To conclude, begin by thinking about your personalization systems with an aim to create is a world-class networked community. Ultimately P2P personalization enhancements will make networked info markets more personalized and responsive. This is much more than just your organization and its customers. The Internet transition is inviting you and your organization to create a new information network.

Participating in online communities is not only growing easier, the results more positive. Kuro5hin is also more than a weblog. It's been around for awhile and yet today I ended up giving it much closer attention as I considered voting on an MLP posting on the Nickel Exchange, was asked for other help with editing, etc.

Various links took me to SCOOP and you learn quickly about the collaborative media application behind Kuro5hin and other communities.

My journey started today looking for methods improve my MT posting and reporting options. I've had in mind the opportunity for a MT based community. Clearly plausible yet not self-organizing. When one compares Smart Mobs with Kuro5hin it becomes clear how obvious this is. I will be looking at Scoop further.

Kuro5hin.org is a community of people who like to think. This is a site for people who want to discuss the world they live in. It's a site for people who are on the ground in the modern world, and who sometimes look around and wonder what they have wrought.

Scoop empowers participants to play a role in the newsmaking. This is not the only application however. My searching located Eric Hanson andShouldExist around ideas;as an idea exchange. Check out their description Eric's list also proved to me how sharing can close and create new links... Some we don't even know. While looking at his "people" section I found myself linked back to Seb's Open Resesearch. who has a great blog going on knowledge sharing, communities and innovation.

Note:"ShouldExist.org is a non-profit website, founded on the belief that individuals are more successful when we work together through open standards, modularity and decentralized control." His project list also includes others. Check it out.

Part of my interest in the first place was driven by the question posed to me. Should the NICKEL EXCHANGE story be posted? I'm going to watch over the next couple of days. We will be revisiting "Nickel Exchange" for I still believe the next frontier is in solving highly decentralised P2P transactions. Frankly... the nickel exchange looks premature, needs consumer friendly content, and a little more to give it legitimacy. I didn't yet try to see if it works.

Then today Movielink launched. This is the site offered by the movie moguls to provide downloadable movies to American broadband connections. Incredibly slow to appear, you would almost think the site is down. Obviously checking out my system for compatibility. I'm waiting for it to be cracked, then Kazaa movies etc might take on a whole new meaning.

Xeni Jardin writes in Wired about Plaxo a new company started by one of the Napster founders. Like Napster, it involves P2P sharing with an index system. But this time it's personal data. See the Plaxo site and how Plaxo works. I'm not convinced.

It apparently works by taking my Outlook address book and sending a request to each addressee asking them for updates. This sounds like a spam solution to me. If I did it, all the addresses that I have automatically added to outlook would be spammed or I would have to spend considerable time editing my address book first. How will companies respond? When their employees start downloading Plaxo? Where does privacy sit and as Xeni notes... where is the business model.

I'd much prefer a real peer to peer system. Something that just automates or calls for an updated record everytime I e-mail. Or should my details change automatically update my addressees using an invisible exchange method. I see no reason why this should sit on a central server Let's hope it doesn't take off. It may be a beta, and you will have to search for the privacy policy. The privacy policy appears leave you at risk.

Today I had a motivating coffee with a close friend. Much of our early conversation was about SMART MOBS the book. Both of us really itching to push boudaries and take product and service concepts concepts well beyond the boundaries outlined in the book; to give SMART MOBS a business building edge.

Then it is not unusual for Tom and I to reflect on stories, the scenarios we write and exploring different concepts as we go. It's an update. We are both passionate about the challenges of the future. Then we discover some fragment or item we have never shared, playing with some new concept and model. Today one emerged as I was hunting for yet another example of how the blogging / publishing community might revolutionize the customer service business.

ANTIPORT traces to 1999. I remember writing it - sort of pounded it out. It was meant to fly in the face of today's customer service practices. Antiport suggests that smart mobs can run customer feedback systems. What's more perhaps today with a more object oriented web the costs and programs maybe ready to enable it!

I beleive it was brash and bold then. From marketing PR to seeding a community for customer feedback. Let me know what you think. I'll be watching to see if anyone registers www.antiport.com this time round.

Imagine: January 21, 2003 (updated) News headlines around the world…...
Antiport Flys New Format for Landing Consumer Feedback
Today the largest mass registration in the history of Internet names took place. The top 10000 companies worldwide have a new conscience. Today, Antiport.com spent $1m and registered 10000 urls including antiibm.com, antitoyota.com, antige.com, anti….anything important…and they plan on making a new business out of customer complaints. What’s more they are giving the business away!

Marketplace for Customer Feedback
So how does it work? Antiport is a new marketplace, the market for customer feedback. Antiport began by giving away 10000 opportunities to take over the customer feedback function for the largest companies on earth. Each antisite will run a similar franchised feedback model capturing and reporting on key customer feedback. The antisite will pay five percent of all revenue received to Antiport. Antisites are all employee owned and gain shares and vest over three years in the Antiport based on the volume of organizational and community feedback they support. As this feedback network grows, so will the value of Antiport shares. Antiport appears to have adopted the successful SAIC ownership model. Potentially anyone can register an unregistered anti-site and working to the open standards gain approval and membership. This may become the ultimate recruit yourself business.

Handling the complaint virus!
But it doesn’t stop there. Antiport is simply anti bad services and products. And the best remedy isn’t just forgetting about it but making problems transparent. When you register a complaint with the relevant antisite, as a consumer you get some additional choices; you can share it with a “pass this one on” list of your friends or contacts, you can also add to that the “activist list” automatically forwarding your complaint / request to a random sample of interested parties. Then there is the follow-up list. Having put in a complaint you can follow similar items, etc. Each one provides metrics, and a call back to the community for discussion and remedies. This is because the founders believe that these “cold viruses” will make poor performance transparent. As consumers we can expect better responses. Companies that fail to respond will probably end up on the anti-port black list. Now would you buy a product from one of those? It’s rumored that deals with bizrate, epinions, revbox and dealtime are also pending.

Lower Costs, Improved value creation
With the announcement 25 fortune 500 companies announced from today that their feedback functions were outsourced to these new antisite consumer communities. In reality their customer service departments just started their own businesses. Long term the new services are expected to provide customer feedback for a lower cost. So now, for the first time those receiving the complaint will have ownership in running it down and reporting on it and getting a remedy. Now that’s a lot better than just $10.00 per hour. More importantly Antiport just redefined their job. They are no longer there to hide company problems (How much sooner could we have learned about explorer tires?) but to benefit each of us. No wonder we will leave them a tip --- and that’s different! What happens when it is a pleasure to make a complaint? Now, just think how their shares of the most valuable information on earth will appreciate as consumers adopt this simple new approach. We expect Antiport to be come the news portal for all major consumer complaints.

Antisites all agree to provide for the customer information they collect to their originator for free (eg antiibm.com to ibm.com). Additional customized data required by the company will be completed by Antisite customers at current costs. Additional revenue comes from selling the information to competitors, selling advertising for competitive products, a commission on legal remedies, and running new industry community feedback groups.

For the community too
For smaller companies there are even bigger benefits. A number of groups are registering anti-sites for a collection of local community businesses. For example three people expect to handle all consumer complaints for the businesses in the town of Lafayette California. They are just using the same infrastructure the larger companies use, but there are some twists too. They are providing a follow-up sales service to local contractors, so feedback on their performance is captured. It’s rumored that the best community in the US award will be announced starting in 2005. What’s more it is tied in with scorecard.org.

Of course it won’t be easy for them to get off the ground. But if you interested and you’ve got a company you think need reforming you best get acquainted with Antiport. The educational materials, on-line training and control systems are all there for you to get qualified and started. Register and hold your Antisite today!

Antiporters will also participate in an audit system exchange, thus learning from other industries and other problem solving situations. Thus at it’s core it provides a Peer to Peer model of learning and collaboration. Interestingly, it may well be the first business that requires no offices anywhere! The core web system is completely web enabled, reducing communications costs.

The antisite approach is currently available in 13 languages and confirmed operable in 56 countries.

Objective:
Marketplace for Customer Feedback

Benefits:
Centralized feedback market, - one number- guaranteed follow-up
Distributed Structure Distributed scalability
Transparency - Viral – rapid visibility,
Ownership structure owned by knowledge workers directly involved
Marketplace speeds learnings and provides new opportunities for solutions / community
Industry groups possible – shared learning and new standards
New panels possible

As consumers:
Feedback is used not buried, more likely to improve products and services.
Enable the powerful telling of real stories.
Viral structure will take “bad” feedback to a new level!
Creating a consumer conscience!

Today's post reviews SMART MOBS by Howard Rheingold who many have admired for his passion and thinking development around communities. SMART MOBS recognizes and captures a new paradigm. As he says "....a technology that is going to change my life in ways I can scarcely imagine..." Ultimately that is my real bone of contention with this book.

It's unfinished. We must collaborate on dreams to seed tomorrow's solutions.

My attraction to SMART MOBS was the language that enables swarms to emerge from science and appear in our daily lives. The theories aren’t really new and neither are the observations, which never break any new ground. It is a masterful collection of sources capable of leading you on a merry journey. Yet someone not already partially aware may find it tedious, for within a descriptive prose it fails to uncover real dreams for tomorrow. As a result it won’t create many inspiring new options for you. It may stimulate further inquiry. It is timely and yet primarily observational tracing to Howard Rheingold’s 2001 journey of discovery.

If you are new to Napster, SMS and Seti, or books by Kurzwiel or Mann and don’t know what 802.11b is, then this book may provide plenty to think about. Did I mention Lessig, Winer and Searles, or Seattle, participation on eBay, surveillance? The list could go on.

This book is exploratory not prescriptive. Not all the facts and observations are likely to be correct. It fails to address questions that CEO’s marketers and strategists should ask about a SMART MOB world. If you send it to your CEO friend (not HP, Motorola, Sony IBM etc. who better be very familiar with the concepts) for Christmas make sure you make it your job to get them thinking constructively beyond this book. Sell them a Learning Journey; collapse Howard’s travels over two years into two days. Then help them create. Here there is not enough to move the majority of businesses forward. If you see possible impacts on your business the challenge will be to create a dream and road map for action. For CEO’s it fails to conceptualize how smart mobs will affect the business model. Or how will money be made in a world like this? What does marketing mean in a smart mob world?

So let’s give FIVE STARS for those that need SMART MOBS as a wake-up call, and realize that the book is out of date. I believe much is inevitable. Hidden within are market-changing concepts and ideas. Believe and you will ultimately need to rethink everything regardless of market and industry, from Inventory to customer complaints.

Smart Mobs covers a lot of ground. Some like music sharing or texting we take for granted now. Not all of it exists on our doorsteps. The changes are global and local. However the emergence and impact can’t be confined to your business, market or learning environment. The challenge is also personal. I wish HR had spelled it out more boldly. You will need to take a stand. A revolution is in the making. It will tip the whole system, as we know it. Think about your position on intellectual property, digital exchanges. How should wireless spectrum be regulated? What is the future of publishing? Are you managing your reputation? Where do you place your bets and investments? How should learning and education change? Will this affect my government? Etc.

If you have views on these things and need examples, use this book. Don’t wait for a follow-up edition. Share your motivation to learn and swarm on curiosity seeking answers collaboratively in real-time. For the next hit about SMART MOBS won’t be written by an individual. It will emerge collectively perhaps bloggedly with many faces, contributing. Despite today’s uncertainty the web is already a better place to learn, experiment and prototype these things. Resorting to a book is catch-up! There are daily blogs that provide more up to date perspectives. The supportive SMART MOBS blog tries to step into real time. It has a nice focus. It has a theme to clip around. Absorb the postings and you will probably be on your way.

My largest learning’s in the book came from the link made to Steve Mann and CYBORG. Again this is not news. Mann has been a roving CYBORG for twenty years. His experience shows there is a problem in the language. The link that Howard makes bringing Cyborgs into this picture was interesting to me. His quoting of Mann was worth reading the book for: “The smart room is a retrograde concept that empowers the structure over the individual, imbuing our houses, streets and public spaces with the right to constantly observe and monitor us for the purported benefit of ensuring we are never uncomfortable or forced to get up from the armchair to switch on a lamp…” Naturally Mann’s research is working to foster independence using wearable computers. Bring it back to today. Now look at networking your house. Will you wire it? Or simply go wireless? Wireless is already winning on cost!

For those that know how technologies trickle down and where to look, Smart Mobs gives great examples out of DARPA. (Mesh networks and more.) When our kids and soldiers operate this way. Take notice. The book may also help you understand quickly why the regulations around wireless and selling bandwidth have been a mistake. We now have incumbents with enormous investments trying to protect and maintain a system that is no longer effective. Change the way Wireless is regulated or simply watch it overturned by consumers.

I am not raving madly about this book for I’d like a stronger conclusion. I really believe Howard is on the side of decentralization, collaborative communities, protecting the innovation commons and thinking about governing in a world of SMART MOBS. SMART MOBS is simply another name for communities of consumers (COMSUMERS) empowered and collaborating to accelerate the use of their information assets. Are costs for moving to unbound systems rapidly dropping? SMART MONEY will be on invisibly aggregating these new markets while consumers stay in control.

There is a thread. Not one I found blaring out in the book. SMART MOBS accelerate learning. Whether you are part of a music sharing community, fighting on a battlefield, a human cyborg, all are part of collaborative SMART MOBS prototyping real-time solutions. They are more open source by nature. The thread is there. Napster hot lists and the emergent subscription communities around blogging for example.

Despite underscoring SMART MOBS as the next social revolution there is little clarity on when the revolution will tip. What is the tipping point? As examples from Philippines to Seattle show, systems can tip in just a few days. There is an inherent suggestion that systems around wireless may tip and become P2P based. I remember writing such a Scenario a couple of years ago. As we wrote it CYBIKO was announced (another example in the book) which added credibility to our scenario. That stimulated a financial discussion (the book lacks any financial insight about tipping points). How close is it? That will be for you the reader to guesstimate.

This decade will continue to challenge us all. The way we live, collaborate, and connect though communities that swarm, sometimes for seconds and others towards eternity. Smart Mobs goes beyond just applying Moore’s, Reid’s, and Metcalf’s laws and yet never really brings urgency to the challenges that face us. As a business you cannot afford to wait!

The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution is an article by Microsoft employees posted at Stanford University. They describe the darknet as the collection of technologies used to share digital content including hardware (DVD Burners), software (Kazaa, Napster) and the objects that are traded (music, films etc.)

Their conclusion:
"We speculate that there will be short-term impediments to the effectiveness of the darknet as a distribution mechanism, but ultimately the darknet-genie will not be put back into the bottle."

More importantly they had a few words for business and marketing strategy.

".... probably make more money by selling unprotected objects than protected objects. In short, if you are competing with the darknet, you must compete on the darknet’s own terms: that is convenience and low cost rather than additional security."

So in other words... in the minds of Microsoft's thinkers it is a foregone conclusion that the trading of digital product (music, cd's etc.) will be enabled by darknet technologies. Nothing really new here. So what is the recording industry to do? First follow the advise of many. Provide me with an experience!

Now using the music industry as an example and simply trying to be provactive, with thoughts of Smart Mobs, COMsumers etc in the back of my mind.

Economics limited the size of personal music collections. I could never before afford every piece of music on earth. Now I can. It's almost free! However, I have no idea what to look for. I also bet there are many more "stars" out there who are not managed because they didn't package into a record store. So expand the number of artists you market, and then market them to me, locally as well! I'm sure music is played in public venues in the Bay Area! I suspect the challenge for RIAA members is to become a lot more efficient at becoming a ubiquitous agent.

Technology has enabled me to play progams in many locales. I'm no longer confined to a plug or affected by environmental conditions. My music consumption by time is increasing. So how fast can you grow my music interest and music conversation? Make it even more attactive to live my life with music. Can you make my music profile go anywhere? Can it swarm with people in a street fair? I think you better take my darknet sharing wireless!

As an industry you segment me rather than link me. You seek to profile me rather than find my peers. I'm guessing there is real utility value in linking hotlists. I believe that and some slick metrics / indicators would subtly accelerate my learning and your learning about me. Hey you can have the information if I get some better utility for it. Afterall on Kazaa I already give it away. What might that be? Try changing the experiece of a dinner party - invisibly without effort?

Of course the music industry thinks they are limited to music. In fact this industry is the benefactors of a completely new channel. This is like waking up and realising you could be the next WalMart. A channel where consumers are comfortable sharing their music lists. Can you not ask yourself what else we consumers might be willing to share. Here you are an industry that knows how to write contracts! Negotiate good prices and secure a profit for yourselves and your artists. Hey can you link me, my interests and make some slick purchase recomendations on my part? Perhaps (given the number of us playing the music) you could do some buying for us. Might just be a margin in it.

Easier? We play more data records with more connection points per day than we will every play music. Perhaps you might like to think about books rather than my groceries or insurance at first. Amazon is nice and yet they will never understand what I read or the reviews I should be seeing. (like blogs I'd like sent to me.) Why don't you put your minds to it. Afterall I know what I play. Just not prepared to put the effort into list sharing. Can't you use the same principles with my peers to create and enhance my reading experience?

Of course dear RIAA you thought I was done. I'm not. To build your reputation you must build the reputation of our community, our data sharing community. You need to work on trust and building in the right levels of privacy. I really doubt you can do it. Afterall it requires leadership by example. With your threats I've learned to despise and distrust you. Clearly you can't control it. HOWEVER YOU CAN FACILITATE IT! Your goal is to set in play a market for digital information sharing. Call it eBaycubed for the prototype. Get the idea?

It would seem the elements for a recipe are obvious. All that is left to do is cook up a migration path. Weathly magnates, show me the customer that you really have our music interests at heart! Build a community for all of us around our digital rights!

Clay Shirky "DNA, P2P, and Privacy" proposes that:

"In the same way Kazaa has obviated the need for central storage or coordination for the world's music, the use of DNA as an ID technology makes radically decentralized data integration possible. With the primary key problem solved, interoperability will arise as a side effect, neither mandated nor coordinated centrally"

Earlier in the piece:

"In this model, the single universal database never gets created, not because privacy advocates prevent it, but because it is no longer needed. If primary keys are issued by nature, rather than by each database acting alone, then there is no more need for central databases or advance coordination, because the contents of any two DNA-holding databases can be merged on demand in something close to real time."

Thank you Clay very insightful.

How can one consumer reject jean stores and auto offerings in less than 30 seconds? Should jeans be an easy purchase? What’s the relationship between carmakers and jeans? Are they both using the same sizing charts, and am I apparently off the charts? Do these industries need to rethink big and tall? See “more” below for gory details.

For me just a recent reinforcement of why I enjoy, custom clothing from shirts and pants, to suits, and shoes. Unfortunately, it’s expensive and indulgent though I wish it were everyday. At times it involves a very personal service experience --- great tailors make you feel wonderful. Unfortunately, mass customization is still just round the corner. However, after my latest shopping experience I came home, and logged on… searching Google for custom jeans. I knew they were there; next time one of them will get my business.

Some retail experiments (e.g. Land’s End) have made progress with full body scans. There are myriad of issues surrounding them. Starting with customers (your measures) and including, standards, ownership, portability, privacy, etc. There are clear incentives for clothing retailers and consumers to get to into mass customization. In clothing, it makes sense to enable consumers to become part of the production process. I suggested this in COMsumers too.

Still I must assume it will take longer for me to customize the sizing of my latest car --- add 4 inches to the front foot well and raise the roofline at a price I can afford. Yet clearly not every store or auto manufacturer needs a scanning system. For ultimately a scan is a scan. Can someone send my scan though every car? What's the most comfortable car ever built for me? Real-time access and matching is the key.

The combination of scans with smart labels appearing RFID tags make the convergence even more attractive. For my 30 seconds, will be judged by a complete list of inventory on hand. Secret shopper can then also work for me… letting me know where there are clothes and inventories that work. Hmmm could be an attractive world. …. A world for smart mobbing clothing.

Is there a moral here? Not sure. Is there a message? Partly! Is there a need to change? Definitely! Auto manufacturers aren't building in enough flexibility and thus failing on comfort (By the way is there an auto brand that owns comfort anymore?). While Mass Retailers / clothing suppliers, are simply failing to help me dress! Is the business of dressing a lost art? I know my son is not being sold on "dressing". This may hurt the industry in the future.

Notes:

Last week the SF Auto Show I found I don't fit in more new cars than I can ever remember. I frequent auto shows every few years (even made Geneva once) when a new generation of cars emerge. Now the thing is… I am a car nut, run many classics, played with many an engine, raced a few laps and read the mags. Yet shopping for cars is one of the things I hate. Most may immediately think “salesmen” but it is not that. My approach to shopping for a car involves 10 seconds with the car. It’s simply decided. DO I FIT OR NOT? So for me an Auto Show provides a real bonus. It can also dash dreams and be really depressing. I can look at cars for years and know I will never desire ownership.

This time my list of must sit-in’s included Jaguar’s S, new Infiniti G35, Nissan 350Z, Audi A6, Porsche Boxster, Range Rover, etc. There were many more. Other than the Range Rover (I’m hooked), none of these cars fit! Two enormous problem areas trace to room between the steering wheel and center console and the headroom front windshield roofline. If you can’t steer or see out, then the car simply won’t work. This fit issue is not limited to just these cars and I am not a freak… While height at 6’5” is pushing boundaries, weight certainly isn’t. Plus for the record I drive an old ’90 911C2, and have even owned an original Mini Cooper S. So I’m pretty flexible when it comes to flexing my frame. The Boxster was particularly disappointing. A Porsche NUT excluded from a future upgrade by engineering and design! At least size 12 boots don't auto exclude you anymore (remember old Lotus's).

Leaving the auto show I continued in search of jeans. My son 13 is starting to get the picture about shopping. He’s fearful too now for the future. A few weeks ago he needed new pants. He growing fast and at 5”9” he’s still an easy fit. I know he is starting to wonder --- for how much longer. I won’t try and explore his aversion to jeans. However he learnt a couple of weeks ago that Macy’s and Nordstrom’s don’t stock 36” inseams. So I had reconciled myself to going into SF. Diesel was my target. My last three sets of jeans came from there. So I was shocked when they said 34” inseam is now the longest we make! I was in the store for less than 30 seconds. Another time wasting stop. While walking up to the Levi’s store we stopped in Banana Republic. “Do you stock any pants (note the ANY) with a 36” inseam?” “No!” Ok. Thanks I’m out of here.

Made it to Levis --- horrible thumping music, they had a few jeans, e.g. 501’s 550’s, 505’s in my size. Limited colors, limited selection. I did get new jeans! They do have a custom order opportunity in the store. However it was confusing, and the line meant I wasn’t waiting. Will check it out online. Upstairs at no time did the salesperson try to up sell me to custom product. In fact the jeans were discounted – on sale. After the experience I’m afraid Levi’s remains a last resort shop. For the record... I didn't see any other 13 year old boys purchasing there either.

What do you do with a blog and work in progress? What do you do when stuck? Even when it's unfinished. Possibly the smartest thing to do is just share, maybe the diagrams need no explanation.

How is a great brand built? How do you encourage and nurture both dynamic and stable elements? With heaps of IMAGINATION we build great brands. This could be an emotional branding pitch, or a program to enable organizations to live the brand. I was simply reflecting on how one might build a jammin brand for accelerating innovation and providing some creative friction.

Running a program to develop a great brand requires methods and process. It tends to become iterative, a continuous process. The brand imagination feeding a hunger for new experiences. This quite traditional model builds the brand links who we are by what we do and how. Facilitated imaginatively, adding ingenuity to our offering and individuality to our personality (how we are described) strengthens and leverages the brand promise. Use it well and often wonderful feature and benefit discussions emerge as you and your team climb the "experience" ladder.

Still as a model, it remains provider centric, rather than network centric. In todays customer centric world our strategies must define co-creative brand experiences. Our model must aid companies in prospecting and discovery, creating opportunities to out run the competition? A slight change in the terminology and the way we look the brand/community experience enables us to be more perceptive reframing around connectivity, experience, and community. Rather than Imagination it may just be Sparks. For individuality it may be friction and for ingenuity it may just become collaborative expermentation. For an organization laddering provider and network centric views may accelerate the creation of new options.

My perspective represents the need to create connective experience strategies that infect the brand community Perhaps this will help to frame the intersection for a new type of research company.

So how's it fit?
In the Experience Organization. These organizations (eBay is a good example) know: 1) The CUSTOMER IS IN CHARGE, 2) networks and communities accelerate learning, 3) adaptive capability comes from weak signals………… people, partners, employees, customers, investors, and 4) trust & reputation is integral (Readiness to Improve, Grow, Change)

Kevin Werbach is one of the organizers of Supernova to be held December 9-10, 2002 in Palo Alto, CA. Their description.

Supernova is a new conference exploring the distributed future. With the bursting of the Internet bubble, businesses, end-users, investors, and technology vendors face a bewildering array of challenges. Yet a common theme runs through the fundamental questions facing software, communications, and media. That theme is decentralization.

Intelligence is moving to the edges, through networked computers, empowered users, shifting partnerships, fluid digital content, distributed work teams, and powerful communications devices. Each industry sees only a small piece of the picture. Supernova is the first event to bring these threads together. Those who understand the business opportunities, technical underpinnings, and policy implications of decentralization will have a competitive advantage in any economy.

Some real interesting thinkers. Wish I was going. May provide an interesting update to the P2P conferences I've attended in the last few years. Be a shame if it runs short on attendees. It is still hard to mainstream this message, particularly to marketers. For ultimately this turns the marketing world upside down. A decentralized infrastructure will change consumer interests in information. Perhaps Supernova will help uncover the stories that accelerate change.

If you are looking for more examples of "decentralization" read Kevin's short October paper

Beyond "Couch Potatoes" by Gerhard Fischer seems very relevant to my earlier post today.

"The fundamental challenge for computational media is to contribute to the invention and design of cultures in which humans can express themselves and engage in personally meaningful activities. Cultures are substantially defined by their media and tools for thinking, working, learning, and collaborating. New media change (1) the structure and contents of our interests; (2) the nature of our cognitive and collaborative tools; and, (3) the social environment in which thoughts originate and evolve, and mindsets develop"

"Computational media can have the same fundamental impact on our individual lives and our societies as reading and writing had to move us from oral to literal societies. The true contribution of computational media might be to allow all of us to take on, or incrementally grow into a designer role in areas that we consider personally meaningful and important so we do not mind additional" efforts.

Technology Review - December 4, 2002

As Gerd Kortuem, an assistant professor at Lancaster University in England, sees it, the crowds who surround us every day constitute a huge waste of social capital. If you live in a city for instance, there are many who pass within a few yards of you each day who could give you a ride home, buy an item you're trying to sell, or consider you as dating material. Dynamic networking makes it possible to tap those resources through a momentary alliance among transient interest groups. But in a world of wireless wearables, computers embedded in clothing could form networks on the fly, prompting software agents to carry out mutually beneficial transactions

2003 requires a paradigm change in the discussion around Digital Identity. There is a good DI discussion going on at the moment with Eric Norlin, Mitch Radcliffe and others. I've not been quite ready to wade in. Yet to stay out longer and I'll miss the party. So below are thoughts from a few days ago.

Eric helped with editing a paper I wrote on P2P Personalization quite a while ago. While thoughts of COMsumers I think mimic Mitch's position.

Is the discussion around digital identity using the wrong terminology? What metaphors do the words Digital Identity frame? How do consumer think and respond to digital identity discussions. Do they just think things like drivers licences, customer records, and control systems rather than talking about it as digital personas? Digital persona’s are closer, perhaps digital personalities closer still. Yet these terms don’t provide a clear ownership proposition. They suggest exchanges, fragments and multiples… They don’t think about it as “Digital Me”. Each and everyone of us should have rights to "me". IOWNME! A site I registered with a friend in 1999, currently lapsed.

The words that people use to describe the digital me are important. Digital identity, digitial personas, digital personality, digital me. The more synergy between the physical me and digital me the more powerful the concept and the value of the exchanges. Further the collaborative capability increases exponentially. To date, there has been little interest in the digital me, or even thinking about how the digital me and my ownership thereof transcribes digi – virtual space. Perhaps 2003 will see a sea-change.

The other school of thought is where we need many – more than one digital personality. Eg business , health, personal, family? To make matters more complex --- and where would each of these reside?

I've been listening to Tom's search for heritics recently and was reminded about the stamp story and the origins of the postage invented in Britain in 1840. Postage created new industries, including advertising and rapidly accelerated literacy rates. The parallels are important today, for e-mail, spam, and digital identity.

The printing and publishing industry of the time was caught up in the 'Industrial Revolution', benefiting from changes in manufacturing and exploiting developments in other network technologies - railways and telegraph.

Stamps were a reformers idea. Rowland Hill wrote"Postal Reform; its Importance and Practibilitiy" in 1837. The plan introduced stamps and uniform low rates, which made it universally affordable. It also dramatically cut the accounting costs of the Royal Mail who up and till then logged each individual letter. Let's be clear. Up until 1840 the "receiver" paid. After 1840 the "sender" paid. Until 1840 the system was high cost, with frauds on it common.

Within a few years the stamp revolution spread around the world. For additional statistics see The Economic and Social Background to Victorian Print Culture

Today 163 years (May 2003) later the postal revolution has peaked. The efficiencies driven to a point where AOL can create metal non-recyclable CD sign-up trash and still make a business case for putting it in my mailbox. An with e-mail yep we have improved the immediacy of the delivery and reduced the costs. And behold.... just like pre 1840 the receiver pays, the system is increasingly spamed and fraud is more rampant.

What was the platform they launched the penny post on? "Mothers and fathers who wish to have news of your absent children; Friends who are separated and wish to write to each other; Emigrants who do not want to forget your motherland; Farmers who want to know the best place to sell your produce; Workers and labourers who want to find the best work and the highest wages" to support their postal reform measure."

It went beyond their wildest dreams. The rapid rise in literacy; an unexpected consequence. The passion to learn played a great role. With the internet we have the greatest learning and productivity tool so far.

The case and outcomes for a digital COMsumer Post will go way beyond our thinking today. The final comments here introduce an idea, that creates markets for digital identity by moving the postal system from an industrial paradigm to today's knowledge paradigm.

Should we look at POST another way? At issue is the value of access to our personal mailbox. We think about e-mail without thinking about the history and purpose of the postal system. Today the post box in front of my house is public and I receive 98% ineffective direct mail offers. Some put up no solicitation signs etc. The telephone directory is public and I suffer more abuse from telemarketers. However e-mail is completely free. Get my address get spam! Put an e-mail on a website, get more spam.

Is it possible that what we have is the postal system before the stamp revolution? Stamps put a price on sending. However they also drove efficiencies that enabled lower tarriffs, and accelerated more profitable exchages, be they personal or business. (Can anyone tell me where bills and checks fit into this story and early timeline?) Have you looked recently at the value spent dumping trash in your mailbox? Postage plus printing costs?

Our digital mail system is currently free, and increasingly suffering from receiver based inefficiencies. Could the price of free acceptance be too high? It seems the few are spoiling it for the many. It's also costing senders. It's harder than ever to look up an e-mail address. Why can't I just look it up and link it with a phone number? We give our phone numbers away almost without thinking. With e-mail there are reservations. Many have multiple addresses, separating public, business and private, with different levels of profiling information (and honesty) attached to each.

Perhaps it's time to re-think mail. How can we keep it free for the public, our preferred business suppliers etc. while putting a price on spam, that turns it back into information we want to eat.

At the same time we can return the stamp value of "post" to the people. It's no longer efficient to get your power bill via the post or pay it using the postal system. Done correctly, it's USPS that will have a problem. Perhaps literally we only need one physical delivery per week.

Let's start thinking out a solution. I'll call it COMsumer Post - after The COMsumer Manifesto. This is a world in which we all are paid to receive mail. It's a world where different levels of transparency surround our profiles. COMsumer Post is the system that enables the market for consumer information to arise.

Let me say this is not choice mail! Both Kevin Werbach and Jon Udell made recent posts on that subject. This piece on the impact of choice mail Jon's Radiois a great illustration. Choice mail assumes all incoming mail is spam unless it's mails from a buddy - approved source.

More to come.... Tying Smart Mobs to Post and Digital Identity.

<a title="Eric Norlin's Blog" href="http://www.unchartedshores.com/blogger/blogger3.html"><b>Eric Norlin's Blog</b></a> <i>"Mitch brings up the idea of individuals being able to manage access to their Digital ID (in exchange for money) as the killer app. I agree -- it is. However, I think we're 8to10 years from that happening, and there are a lot of intermediate steps in between." </i>

My comment.<b>We (CONSUMERS) can't wait 10 years! </b>We need a better solution.

<a title="RatcliffeBlog: Business, Technology & Investing" href="http://www.ratcliffe.com/bizblog/2003/01/02.html"><b>RatcliffeBlog</b>: Business, Technology & Investing</a> Not marketing, legalese (for lack of a better word)

<a title="Escapable Logic" href="http://www.blaserco.com/blogs/2003/01/02.html#a72"><b>Escapable Logic</b></a> Brett Blazer on "When Meatspace isn't Marketspace" .... digesting... identities... reputations...

Also reading the <b><a href="http://www.pingid.com/misc/Whitepaper_Identity_Federation.pdf">PingID</a></b> whitepaper.

Do we want spammers to think before sending? Would there be value in incorporating a postage system for e-mail? What opportunities for commerce may arise? What are the benefits for the people?

Suspend your disbelief! Let's imagine a simple scenario where all electronic mail carries a postage stamp equivalent. We would have a rate card... A personal, home, business and government package would be provided. And then levels. Let's just introduce it first for it can begin simply.

Like Paypal provided a verification system for linking e-mails with physical names and addresses, the same can be done for our digital mail box. A PayPal POST type system would enable "franked" mail only to go though. Franking can be determined by the rate card and other features, like contact list updates.

By setting a fee for a "registered" mailbox.... direct mailers, billers etc can quickly move expensive inefficient mailing to more effective online formats. It works virally. Imagine I open an e-mail box for everyone in the whitepages and enable direct marketers to send mail to these accounts. They will pay me a portion of the fee for mail handling (just like Visa) and the balance of the fee will be handled like an unclaimed PayPal account. When the unclaimed digital post value reaches $10.00 then a traditional physical postcard is electronically printed and sent to the physical address. It says... you have digital post, sign your account and collect $10.00. The recipient then opens the account and receives payment for each "letter" opened. This is now an active account. Legal obligations can be contracted, eg collection daily or levels of frequency.

This would be made rapidly smarter with different levels of profile access. In the beginning 25 cents may almost represent a drop box. However, additional levels will use mail profiles to create additional value. Eg accept mail from Sears, Wallmart, Target.... rejects from Nordstroms, Macy's etc. may enable another retailer to more appropriately search paying a higher value to obtain a more targeted distribution. This might pay the consumer a dollar for looking! I can see agents emerging manipulating this info trying to find markets. Now consumers may also be prepared to sell additional profile information. Eg age, favorite brands, plenty of possibilities, these could be bundled as well. A few simply research questions would create a system vastly more sophisticated than the current one quickly. The more partiticipation the greater the definitions and the larger the market for segmenting data. I might even tie it to my TIVO account!

In a world like this.... a few consumers may enable / invent new directional mailbox tags. Each tag can be approved just like each new Visa Bank.... Each tag will get a percentage of the revenue. Tag holders will also work to bundle their assets. By bundling they will make certain "info nodes" more valuable. These might become super agencies.

Senders will know where and to whom mail was delivered. They will with each drop improve targeting and performance. For example when mail is opened... if it recieves a click though additional postage may be due (a return receipt posted).

COMsumer Post participants can speed their participation by collecting money for changing their bills over to electronic systems. AT&T would love me to give up my paper bill -- but I refuse, an electronic or e-mail bill does not result in a discount. Imagine.... the screen option to select all your bill providers... and collect the postage from the invoicing companies. PG&E doesn't bill another company does it. Imagine millions of customers saying.... redirect my bills electronically.... the reduction in paper waste, the legal transfer simplified, and then being paid for putting efficiencies into the system. I'm green and better off!

This will create new efficiencies and are the first steps to creating market aggregators. Super agents for consuming communities. There was much written on meta-markets over the last few years. In this scenario they can become reality. Using your post box to register guarantees etc can link you to other consumers. Only one consumer needs to code a guarantee for each product for everyone to participate. See the CD song id. Similarly consumer complaints can be handled by this mail system. I wrote anti-port some time ago.

What are the core concepts here.

The majority of postage is payed to consumers. There is an incentive to enable certain levels of public information. It is built off of current mail and profiling systems. We work first to eliminate waste paper of direct mail.

It will create a more efficient postal system, which no longer penalizes the receiver with spam, for the sender will now pay for access, just like our current postal system. By definition corporate mail boxes will be different to personal mail boxes. Rates and exchanges for business post may also be different. Licensing opportunities are also available. Eg post approved for children.

By moving all post into digital space, we have made post mobile, so new options will become available. Eg paying for gps link and timed delivery to a consumer. If the consumer doesn't collect it within an allotted time then it is simply void and disappears. Under the right set of circumstances... informercials might take on a different pricing structure. Ah...new learning on the run.

There is also an important social issue here. By enabling the payment for post, we are endeavoring to make Internet access free for everyone. Not everyone may move over. Still if we are smart enough to create a social - community - postal system that incents business and pays enough to cover the costs of access and equipment then we have done good. It may be easier than we think. WiFi PDAs may just collect your mail as you walk around.

Lastly this is not a posting that suggests we should raise the rates between friends. In fact there are many ways round that. Though even at the simplest level if I mail you 25 cents and you mail me back... except for the "VISA" percentage we are even. So to make it better... You can join... become a COMsumer for $35 per year we will enable you to exchange mail freely with your friends and close contacts.

Who could set this up? It's a mighty attactive proposition for some banks. PayPal may have a head start. Then again hotmail, or yahoo, AOL (help us!) or Earthlink? Quicken maybe? Banks are closet to providing the trust and security over data. They are important to the linking aspects and perhaps more so when we begin aggregating this info to enhance consumer purchasing power.

Ultimately, this is more like Visa. It is chaordic in nature. It must also be consumer owned. Afterall it is our consumer info we are talking about. The majority of the assets our personal info at the edge of the Network. Just like in David Isenbergs's Stupid Networks. We are close to the point where consumer can have a STUPID POST OFFICE. I'd like to think it was more open source... a postal bazaar, than a new cathedral.

Idea? Thoughts?

Suggestion. Use TDMA an open source protocol along with a postal charging mechanism to control and incent the development of inbound digital mail and eliminate SPAM. Putting a cost on digital mail will make marketers more efficient and selective. It will also create a market when you pay consumers for more detailed information.

After my COMsumer POST blog on Tuesday; Mitch Radcliffe blogged a segment of my post (ah for an editor!) and the discussion that followed was very helpful to me. His objections my para-phrasing was one I have heard before. People won't give up their current e-mail addresses to do this. There are a great many problems with ISP's and you can't fiddle with how it currently works.

The discussion led to looking at TDMA. TDMA works on the basis of whitelists.

" The way TMDA thwarts incoming junk-mail is simple yet extremely effective. You maintain a "whitelist" of trusted contacts which are allowed directly into your mailbox. Messages from unknown senders are held in a pending queue until they respond to a confirmation request sent by TMDA. Once they respond to the confirmation, their original message is deemed legitimate and is delivered to you. Updating your whitelist insures they won't have to confirm future messages. TMDA can even be configured to automatically whitelist confirmed senders. To see what the confirmation process looks like, send me a test message, and then reply to the confirmation request.

This methodology has the advantage of being very selective about what it allows in, while at the same time permitting legitimate, but previously unknown senders to reach you......"

TDMA is not alone in developing a whitelist approach. See Bruce Simpson's September thougths. Kevin Werbach also wrote "Death by Spam" in November. TDMA may be the only open source choice however.

So consider. Is it possible to use TDMA as part of a spam-killing postal system? You know add a postal metering / franking system link it to my paypal account, which means I'm verified to get my digital post. Then if you can also insure that everything is encrypted as it goes each way? I'm assuming it is P2P, and that I will adopt a standardised or recommended rate card.

Then I'm not only getting money for receiving post and making the planet a better place, I also know the commission I pay to the service (like VISA) is adding to the security and integrity of the overall system.

This solution alone doesn't answer the pressing business issue. How can I improve my returns on direct mail beyond just going digital? For marketers require profiles -- data. TDMA with a payment system can improve inbound effiencies with verified accounts - addresses. The same system can work in the reverse, when consumers create profiles of real value.

The very same consumers can enable whitelist profile sharing in exchange for postal access.

I've been looking at Genio and again PINGID. I've read the Genio Protocol mission statement, an element I repeat here.

"Reputation >> shall mean any collection of information about your Digital Identity, whether positive or negative, which shall serve to inform others of their opinions about your Digital Identities. Reputation shall serve as a foundation for trusted interactions between Digital Identities.

Then under a section called rights:

"RIGHT TO AN ACCURATE REPUTATION >> You have the right to have an accurate Reputation. You agree that your Reputation is a result of your actions and communications and of others vouching for those actions and communications. As a consequence of the right to an accurate Reputation, You agree that our Reputation may become either positive or negative. You have the right to carry aspects of your Reputation with your Digital Identity or to refuse to carry aspects of your Reputation with your Digital Identity. However, as a consequence of refusing to carry all or part of your Reputation with your Digital Identity, others have the right to not interact with You or your Digital Identities, or to do so in a limited or restricted manner without being considered discriminatory."

This approach to "Reputation" and the words used personally make my skin crawl. I have a sense that this conversation --- is not one taking place in human voices. This is closer to an accounting discussion. These types of reputation measures may well destroy creativity and the ability to speak out.

If you don't believe me a quick example from eBay learnings. My observation is most sellers wait until the buyer has left positive feedback. The words above that relate to positive or negative reputations... Are we implying it is no longer safe to have an opinion? No longer safe to be on the edge of conformity? Because +ve -ve is too black and white. The very words illustrate that there is only one ranking. As humans... we have to believe there is some good in everyone somewhere. This statement above fails to protects us.

At the same time feedback dimensions enable us to learn and that's important. Really, think about it. If I hold a transaction with a company and they want to add reputation / servicing statictics to it. I have no problem with that. What I want is the record. If the record is extended to me then it goes in my file. If I want to share that with another I can. Afterall It's my record too. To one company it may represent danger, to another opportunity. The companies and Genio suggest that if something is missing it is incomplete or the info provider (the customer) in this case is intending to deceive. It isn't black or white.

There will be both our data profiles... added to what we know about ourselves (human profiles) and their knowledge profiles... what they think they know about me. Just like the credit report... their profile might not be correct. Somehow I doubt a lawyer wrote this. Neither did a PR mavrick. Both would use different words.

It's in words like these that concepts are stuck. Frankly the Genio Protocol, sounds like a Ludlum or Clancy thriller. I just hope the bad guys don't win. I am also sure some smart guys wrestled with this.

I think the problem is they favor structured - data driven profiles. My challenge is for them to think similarly about creating environment for emergent, chaotic, complex profiles to emerge. Profiles that accelerate the learning of both parties. The transaction accumulator model for profiles is dead, unworkable, and unlikely to scale

The emergence of RZYE is more important than it may seem at first glance. It is not just another networking - community.

It's much more... it is the early emergence of an outpouring of human profiles. Ryze is a demonstration of social capital building in action. These distinctly human identities are emergent, chaotic, and uncontrolled. And there are good sound business and personal reasons for being there.

This is a sharp contrast to "structured" standards based profiling in the crm - digital id discussion. At RYZE we see the beginnings of a human outpouring --- people increasingly willing to share. Here individuals are building their profiles, searching, learning, revamping and adding to their profiles. It is another SMART MOB, and still just a baby.

RYZE is a step beyon Match - HotorNot etc.. the dating sites are relatively structured, however key words are effectively open. RYZE demonstrates this to me even more clearly. Search on "Digital Identity", search on "Identity". Then try "donuts". I added both of these to my interests this morning. If you are a gold member you can search that way too. I suggest you join even if it is only to have the experience. Thus a new interest provides new touch points new avenues for contact, both inbound and outbound.

It feels right thinking about these as "human profiles" not "digital machine profiles". They have a voice, emotions, and their owners interpretation. Just writing this... I know I have more to do on mine! Over time our RYZE profiles may be augmented by "knowledge profiles" (explicit capture of transactions) they may also have "time profiles" effectively element are "lifestream profiles" (borrowing from Gelerntner). It is the "tacit piece" that makes them so attractive to us as individuals. What we don't know about ourselves we can hope to learn though others. Crashing profiles together releases tacit knowledge, leads to creativity.

RYZE is breaking data boundaries. Members are currently giving away information freely about themselves and yet retain ownership. You can't reach me without my contact details. Problems, report to the community, simply block the sender. I don't know the total number on RYZE, did try to estimate and factor it. Search on USA, see the number returned... etc. What I know is the community can use that info to become smarter. better at using categories... eg most popular etc... The metrics on RYZE need to be more transparent.

As RYZE grows the capabilty to provide useful community information will grow exponentially. Events may come to include research, results are posted by the research leader, Network-tribes form.Monitoring RYZE even seeding interests (like donuts) if you are a member may result in learnings. At a minimum one person had that interest at a moment in time. Similarly social Action groups are possible. Or Buying groups. Some may want to buy a new Honda Element by recording it as an interest which becomes seachable.... As a car dealer you still can't market to them as a group. Yet we know there may be value in creating offers against such research. This becomes the subject of another post.

At the moment these human profiles are given away free and broad access is denied. A marketer can't spam on RZYE. Individual approaches only. Just like the postal service before the advent of stamps and marketing.

In a RYZE world, we can e-mail, chat, make new connections, personalize our businees connections more transparently and comfortably than we do today. That's attractive and it needs nurturing.

That's where RYZE is breaking new boundaries. Introducing business networking in an environment and context that appears safer and protected. Not only does it enable the linking to friends of friends it provides the opportunity to constantly play with your profile. That gaming is clearly interesting in the Personals, I bet it is addictive in business networking too. It will also highlight new areas of demand!

RYZE illustrates that human profiles are built on learning, with chaotic connections, that are constantly changing.

When you become a Ryze member the profiles are free to search. Just like many other matching sites. The profiles provide many ways to improve your message, obtain feedback and simply learn by watching others. It a site for business networking.

Imagine now RYZE as a community in the hundred of millions, with a postal system --- franked e-mail for all those not in my contact list. Like COMsumer POST you pay me to send me e-mail. At the individual level the cost is negligible -- just like a few postage stamps. What's more if those members get a return message they are reimbursed for their interest... even if it is just courtesy to say thanks.

Now you are a business who may want to reach millions. You search on RYZE, find great profile matches, but you will not know their e-mails. So you experiment with different levels of postage (how granular the profile for success?) paying for access to the mailboxes. The mailer is also identified by the TDMA protocol and qualified that it has the postage to go though.

That would be the traditional marketers view. The meta-mediariary would make it their business to seed / search out interests, then based on search - research results know how to aggregate demand. Demand aggregation within this cooperative community could be both consumer led, perhaps even with digital agents. My guess is consumers will express an interest... buying a specific type of car and then an aggregation agent system will emerge.

I'd note this may not happen on RYZE. It appears commercial, it's not open source - yet and the founder / directors may have ideas about what is appropriate? Making them the post office innovators is probably not yet on their agenda.

I’m finding myself identifying with the “human”and “social” networking aspects as I've tracked recent discussions. I feel a cause that is worthwhile. emergent and world changing. It's becoming clear that the web isn’t just evolving because of economics, it’s beginning to accelerate again as the “intangible human web” is discovered or perhaps redefined. That's why I'm excited and thinking through context-framing questions… “How will the human web evolve?” What sort of scenarios should we consider? I’m working on some.

Jan Hauser posed this context questioning an interview:

"The big question is: will whatever tips in for individual identity primarily serve commercial interests or will it also serve public and community interests?"

The following two articles via Cynthia Typaldos on THERE also caught my attention today.
From CNET and in the New York Times socializing online is becoming a more engaging experience.

Trepia is a new networking application that lets you instantly discover other Wi-Fi users in your vicinity. It apparently analyses base-station access patterns and then creates a contact list of who's near you.

Thus in an airport I can identify other similarly enhanced Trepia users and send them IM's and potentially meet them. Will there be a barrier to begin... unless yahoo, messenger or aim buys them... how will Trepia reach critical mass? Plus it's not entirely clear to me what their business model is.

What are the implications? First, in principle I think it is a great idea. Brings networking with strangers one step closer. I've forgotten the Japaneese story about the beeping gigapet type gadget looking for matches in a crowd, possible this may provide something similar. Many other applications may emerge... people in the same area week by week. It also raises a number of issues.

First in their profile example see how it works. It's too simple for me to make contact to create comfort. I'm not prepared to expose my picture - face, link to statistics and data in a close crowd for anyone that I haven't put though some form of vetting - exchange process. I'd be happier with a RYZE profile where my photo - images are not put though in the initial listing. There may be other criteria - qualifiers that I may want prior to broadcasting. Currently I believe that what looks like a plausible IM enhancement will fail because the real details that create the interest or broach the introduction simply aren't there. To work Trepia has to make people interesting. If Ryze contained millions of profiles and WiFi was everywhere it may fuel high utilization in examples similar to Trepia proposes. Short-term with modifications perhaps on campus?

There is no data on proximity (to me) and yet as I understand their example as I move from node to node... their system tracks me and tells me who is nearby even if linked to a different WiFi node. I presume this application could also act to sniff out new nodes as Trepia carriers move about..

This also raises a further set of personal security issues. For example I have Trepia on my laptop and it is on my home wireless network. Does this give driveby snoopers access to pictures and profiles of who is active in the house? Or worse... a poor celebrity decides to use the system providing a new game for stalkers.

Trepia illustrates, the emerging power of WiFi everywhere and how it may help us connect. It also creates another system, logging individuals, with yet more profiles and possibly selling the information about where they coalesce. Each of us needs to retain this information. It should not be in central servers. If a P2P application can provide this functionality in Ryze then perhaps the real-time networks… or RYZERS in proximity to x can collectively sell their info to marketers. Marketers, pay an access fee to the collective data. Using the franked digital post system you may get paid for even just sharing your profile even if only one person in that proximity accepts the message and decides to read. As a marketer you are then making an offer to a potential Swarm leader. Eg come to X and have dinner. Y others in your vicinity may be interested. Now the people retain the info and can potentially increase the value.

Why did I select Chaordic Networks for the title? What could be more chaotic than looking for common interests in a moving crowd? Plus this requires real organization with profiles, the application etc. It too must be decentralized and yet there must be a return for all participants. Adding an economic one may fuel a social revolution.

The objective of this posting is to stimulate a conversation around Digital Identity some 5-10 years into the future exploring the following questions.

“Will whatever tips in for individual identity primarily serve commercial interests or will it also serve public and community interests?"

This scenario matrix is intended to stimulate a discussions of plausible alternate environments in which “digital identity” evolves. Individually or as a group we sometimes use a matrix to stimulate slice of life stories five to ten years into the future. This document is a sketch. It provides a starting point for creating the stories.

Note: I'm breaking my usual rules for scenarios, for sharing without context and providing a draft document unfinished. However, without group action and context; it's really not worth doing in more detail. I did it because my sense is the "technologists" tend to think about single point futures. I did it because papers like Andre Durand's (is current and illustrative to the structured world view) are authoritative, and yet I never see in them the type of adaptive profile exchanges that I see on Ryze or as a result of allconsuming.net. To really think though digital identity the net should be cast wide. Anyone one of these futures could be right. Similarly all of them could be wrong.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Please check out the detail and explanation of logic and send me comments.

Picked this link up via Doc Searls. See David's one line bio.

In his latest posting Doc is using Radar as a metaphor.

"What we DON'T want from Digital Identity is a system where vendors can constantly but silently follow us with passive sonar, or where they ping us when we don't want to be pinged."

The issue here is how to change the game. The game currently is premised on CRM, relationship management, companies holding files, etc. Thus so is everyone's perspective. The one prize companies want more than anything is my e-mail, tied to my address, and phone number. That seems pretty simple and we accept for most business transactions it would make it easier. No more paper receipts... just an eceipt... etc.

Rather than trying to mine my e-mail, nab it etc.... they can have it. They will just have to pay me a small fee. This eliminates business without "economics" in the exchange. It creates power for consumer to set markets for access. It also means that passing information between companies becomes less attractive, because it may not make it cheaper to get to potential customers and customers may have more valuable profiles available.

Consider receiver based communication. In a highly federated world... all the mega companies become agents in a system that is trying to co-ordinate behavior, let other agents know what is happening to them. The receivers of this information use it to decide what they are going to do. The receivers base their decisions on some overall specification of "team goals" (borrowed from Kauffman)

In sports teams we see this as constant chatter. Xerox used always on headsets for repairmen... good practices spread faster.

As consumers we have to increase the cost of commercial access to our information. I cannot afford to walk into the store and have the prices go up! Franked Digital Post still feels like a pretty good first step. (Mobile post boxes -- my phone-- can receive if on... timed postings for a franked fee payable to me. This cost would be higher.) More importantly it will change the perspective of every business and send a message. If nothing else that is a reason to try it. I'm beginning to think there may also be an unintended consequence. Like the original postal revolution fueled literacy.... this time it could fuel digital connectivity.

Last night I was trying to catch up on a threaded discussion on Smart Mobs at www.groupjazz.com chataqua just before dinner. Some interesting threads are starting to emerge. I'll note for fun part of a Howard quote:

"And I think we're seeing the beginning of the demise of email as we know it. I am just about ready to go to a system that charges people to send me email, unless they are on my whitelist. Spam is a scourge." HR (my bold)

I'm thinking again about the scenario matrix Iyesterday. How would smart mobs evolve though each? How would the technology be applied? For example