John Maloney introduced me to a very interesting book, The Support Economy, by Shoshanna Zuboff and James Maxim, and a Fast Company article on it. These ideas align with Charles Handy’s comments reported in a recent post, “Emerging from the Dark Shadow of the Industrial Revolution.” John had earlier given us some excellent ideas for the KM Cluster talk this post was based on, along with a pointer to “Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future” by Peter Senge.
Yesterday, John also sent me links to a related recent event on the future of distributed work, Supernova 2004 and the Kaieteur Institute for Knowledge Management which provides many links to places for digital knowledge exchanges.
Here are some excerpts from The Support Economy web site.
“The Support Economy starts with a compelling premise: People have changed more than the corporations upon which their well-being depends. In the chasm that now separates the new individuals from the old organizations is the opportunity to forge a capitalism suited to our times and so unleash a vast new potential for wealth creation.”
”Managerial capitalism has outlived the society it was once designed to serve. It successfully achieved the efficient production of goods and services, but today's individuals want more. They want to take their lives into their own hands and are ready to pay for the support and advocacy necessary to fulfill that yearning. The next leap forward in wealth creation depends upon developing a new capitalism that speaks to the needs of people today.”
This is just what Charles Handy predicted in the Open University video, “Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Nations.” He said that the world will change when the workers own the means of production, which they do now, but it is in their minds (and not the machines) and management will have to change accordingly. The site continues:
“The last fifty years have seen the rise of a new society of individuals, but corporations continue to operate according to the logic of managerial capitalism, invented a century ago for different people, different markets, and different needs… Today's individuals seek psychological self-determination. They are the origins of their own meanings, not a passive mass audience.”
“Each new episode of capitalism emerges from the complex interplay of three forces: (1) New human yearnings that create a new approach to consumption and new kinds of markets, (2) technologies capable of addressing the demands of the new markets, and (3) a new enterprise logic that can link employees, technologies, and markets in new ways.”
There is much more on their site and I look forward to reading the book. Blogs fit right into this picture of personal empowerment provided by The Support Economy. I think some of what The Support Economy discusses explains the popularity of blogs. Just as eBay created a consumer driven market for stuff, blogs provide a consumer driven market for ideas. John Abbott writes in his Fast Company review of The Support Economy:
“EBay also inverts traditional practice. Twentieth-century-style companies decide what you buy and how you behave. They profit when we follow their rules. EBay took a step through the looking glass…EBay's "managers" cultivate a transparent medium through which buyers and sellers can meet their own aims. EBay (the eighth-fastest-growing U.S. company, worth more than McDonald's) makes money when it listens to and supports the dynamic needs of its users, building bonds of trust and commitment.”
There is a parallel with blogs. The mass media companies attempt to decide what you read/see/hear and by extension influence how you think about events and, perhaps, even how you behave. Blogs allow for a personal voice. This certainly applies to personal journalism, but it also applies in business communication where some companies are willing to trade the freshness of personal communication with customers through individual blogs, uncensored by direct corporate oversight, for the security they felt with centralized control.
For example, the SAP NetWeaver Developer Network web site provides access to a number of individual blogs by SAP developers who share practical tips with third party developers on an informal basis. Microsoft is one of the most well known advocates of blogs as a way to reach customers in a personal way. I am sure that employees still feel some constraints on what they say about their employer in public but blogs are opening the door to their own views. I would also imagine that the ability to provide their personal voice increases job satisfaction for some, in keeping with the premise of The Support Economy.
Post Script - Scoble on Making a Difference
Robert Scoble, famous Microsoft blogger, has a long post today on the benefit cuts at Microsoft. I am sure there are arguments on both sides of this issue, but I was struck by a comment he made that aligns with the theme of The Support Economy and this post. He said, in reaction to adverse press on the benefit cuts:
"So, what got under my skin about that article? Here's a rundown:
"I had heard from a number of people that it was getting harder and harder that a single person could make a positive difference," said the executive, who asked not to be identified. "
Hmm, come over and talk with Channel 9. Five guys. $500 video cameras. Tell us we haven't made a difference."
Blogs are about giving people the opportunity to make a difference on something important to them, and this is what many people want.
Yes, blogs have changed the way we get info now. Newspapers are dinosaurs.
Posted by: dan blom | July 08, 2004 at 11:34 PM