Social computing and user-created innovation

Contributed by Ester Torres and Jorge Assis from Eris@, the European Regional Information Society Association

Description

“ICTs are playing an increasingly significant role in the creation and appropriation of social capital. In terms of civic engagement, they are transforming and supplementing social capital. In terms of social contact, further developments in ICTs can overcome the challenge of transferring tacit knowledge across communities of practice. As interactive and mobile ICT infrastructures become widely available, they transform the ways social capital is generated and appropriated. This has profound impacts on society and the economy. (…)A prospective glimpse suggests that this influence of ICTs will only increase.(…) In order to emphasize the fact that certain aspects of social capital are specifically shaped by ICTs, networked social capital emerges as a useful term.”
ICT – Enabled Changes in Social Capital

“Over the last few years, we have witnessed the impressive growth of several user-driven applications such as blogs, podcasts, wikis, social networking Web sites, search engines, auction Web sites, games, and VoIP and peer-to-peer services. Together, they are referred to as Internet 2.0 based technologies or social computing, as they exploit the Internet’s connectivity dimension to support the networking of relevant people and content. (…) Most Internet 2.0 applications have embraced the power of the Web to harness collective intelligence. Users are becoming much more deeply involved in the process of production and service innovation.(…) Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter — and getting smarter faster than most companies. (…) While innovation is now recognized as a key dimension of a country’s competitiveness, over the last few years the important role of users in the innovation process has emerged. (…) Within the context of ICT, (…) innovation is inherently a social process grounded in social practices, largely driven by communities of users, and provides insight into how the very recombination of existing resources is a key dimension of innovation. This is clearly visible in social computing applications, largely using content syndication. (…) The social relevance of these trends appears clear. They affect the way people find information, learn, share, communicate and consume and the way businesses do business. Throughout, an emphasis can be detected on interpersonal communication and on the role of the user as a supplier or co-producer of the service (content, taste, contacts, reputation, relevance, physical goods, but also software, connectivity and storage). In economic terms, these trends are already having a visible impact: new players and markets provide significant threats and opportunities for the ICT and media industries, and the new applications are increasingly used for professional purposes.”
The potential disruptive impact of Internet 2 based technologies

"Pro-Ams play an increasingly critical economic role, particularly as a source of innovation. (…) Disruptive innovation often starts in marginal, experimental markets rather than mainstream mass markets. Embryonic markets are often too small to sustain traditional approaches to R & D. (…) This challenges the traditional assumptions of public policy that innovation starts in R & D labs (…). Traditional innovation policies subsidise R & D and accelerate the transmission of ideas down the pipeline and into the market. Pro-Ams are helping to turn this closed model on its head. In mobile phones, media, computer games and software, ideas are flowing back up the pipeline from avid users to the technology producers. Pro-Ams should play a much larger role in innovation policy. Lead users should play a larger role in foresight exercises to chart the future course of innovation, and policies to deregulate markets should also open up spaces for Pro-Am innovations. Pro-Am communities are the new R & D labs of the digital economy."
The Pro-Am revolution

"Together Social Networking, Open Source and p2p will disrupt more areas of social life as users self-organise to form “communities of practice” with other like-minded individuals. These highly adaptive swarms will force media and entertainment monopolies to re-evaluate value creation, change politics through blogs (…), impact business through boycotts, and develop new modes of innovation through what Benkler describes as ‘commons-based peer production’ (…) users ought to be central to strategic thinking about what kind of an Internet might emerge (…) and how related innovation is best fashioned. This viewpoint is made in the multiple contexts of commercial, economic, social and cultural perspectives."
Smart Internet 2010 Report

Enablers

1. Broadband availability (at low costs) and digital literacy
2. Data processing and storage improved capacities at low costs
3. Open Source Software and increased capabilities for end-users customization and re-development
4. Collaborative and participative culture in web-based environments by younger generations
5. Increased connectivity of Pro-Ams and Communities of practice on global scale
6. Facilitating regulatory initiatives on Intelectual property – eg Creative Commons
7. Ageing (with health and wealth) society – life beyond employment

Inhibitors

1. Persistent digital divides (both in terms of infrastructure access and digital literacy)
2. Intellectual property regulatory environment
3. Innovation-killer initiatives from Industry monopolies (eg. DRM)
4. Institutional inertia to change (both private and public)
5. Unequal involvement of all societal groups (eg – women, low income/education classes, people with special needs, older people)

Paradigms

1. In the context of the information and knowledge based economy, innovation generation is a major activity across all industries and is no longer restricted to R&D laboratories.
2. The ways in which software developers and end users use the web as a platform is rapidly changing
3. “ ‘social software’ has brought about three dramatic changes - one in the way that technologies are designed, one in the way that participation spreads, and one in the way that people behave.” (The Significance of Social Software)
4. “We have come from an era since the mid 1990s of an Internet developers’ playground and have now moved into a communications environment that has become increasing driven by the complexities of users preferences, both commercially and socially.” (Smart Internet 2010 Report)
5. “The widespread take-up of broadband, increased media literacy and user sophistication in advanced economies is enabling the development of Internet-based services that feature user-led innovation, group-formation, many-to-many communications and peer collaboration.” (Digital Lifestyles Monitor)
6. “User-created content (UCC) is already an important economic phenomenon despite its originally noncommercial context. The spread of UCC and the amount of attention devoted to it by users appears to be a significant disruptive force for how content is created and consumed and for traditional content suppliers.” (Participative Web: User-created content)
7. "Early adopters have begun a move away from traditional media sources to rely on trusted sources in their network of friends, family and fellow travellers for reviews, feedback, and advice about the latest product or service. By 2010 these empowered consumers will form ad-hoc lobbies with formidable power to influence the fate of brands, companies, and products that fail to deliver value, quality, and maintain ethical standards." (Smart Internet 2010 Report)

Experts

David Osimo, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, European Commission Joint Research Centre

Graham Vickery and Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, OECD’s Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry

Timing

1983: Richard Stallman launches the concept of GNU operating system

1986: Eric von Hippel introduces the lead user method that can be used to systematically learn about user innovation in order to apply it in new product development.

1991: Linus Torvalds posted the source code for his new operating system on the internet – LINUX - and asked all enthusiasts for improvements and self-developments 1997: The first social network site is launched – SixDegrees.com (closed in 2000)

2001: Wikipedia service is launched

2003: MySpace is launched; Del.icio.us is launched; Second Life is launched; Skype p2p telephony service is launched

2004: Flickr is launched

2005: YouTube is launched

Web resources

The Significance of Social Software http://www.danah.org/papers/BlogTalksReloaded.pdf

The potential disruptive impact of internet 2 based technologies http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue12_3/pascu/index.html

ICT-Enabled Changes in Social Capital http://www.jrc.es/home/report/english/articles/vol85/ICT4E856.htm

Democratizing Innovation http://web.mit.edu/evhippel/www/democ1.htm

Smart Internet 2010 Report http://smartinternet.com.au/ArticleDocuments/121/Smart-Internet-2010.pdf.aspx

Participative Web: User-Created Content http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/57/14/38393115.pdf

We Think:why mass creativity is the next big thing (Full Draft) http://www.wethinkthebook.net/cms/site/docs/charles%20full%20draft.pdf

The Pro-Am Revolution: How enthusiasts are changing our economy and society http://www.demos.co.uk/files/proamrevolutionfinal.pdf

Digital Lifestyles Monitor http://smartinternet.com.au/ArticleDocuments/121/P07_038_paper.pdf.aspx

Open Innovation & Crowdsourcing: Edition I http://www.openinnovators.net/open-innovation-crowdsourcing-edition-i/

Kiss 5000 Frogs http://www.crowdsourcingdirectory.com/?p=14

Web 2.0: The Power Behind the Hype http://www.uie.com/articles/web_2_power/

Beyond the Hype: How Content and Technology are Redefining Media http://www.accenture.com/Global/Research_and_Insights/Accenture_Blogs/Accenture_High_Performance_Business_Blog/Beyond+the+Hype+How+Content+and+Technology+are+Redefining+Media.htm

Change Agents With The Balls: The Rise Of The Amateur Professionals, Prosumers, Pro-Ams http://www.masternewmedia.org/2005/06/16/change_agents_with_the_balls.htm

References

Barr, T., Burns A., Sharp, D.(2005) “Smart Internet 2010 Report”

Boyd, D. (2007) “The Significance of Social Software”

Leadbeater, C., Miller, P., (2004) “The Pro-Am Revolution”

Pascu, C., Osimo, D., Ulbrich, M., Turlea, G., Burgelman, J.C. (2007) “The potential disruptive impact of Internet 2 based technologies”

Sharp, D. (2007) “Digital Lifestyles Monitor”

Wunsch-Vincent, S., Graham, V. (2007) “Participative Web: User-created content”, OECD

Van Bavel, R., Punie, Y., Tuomi, I.(2005) “ICT – Enabled Changes in Social Capital”, IPTS