Kevin Koym

Insight from Chile: Web 2.0 is not about technology

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As you might know- I spent a good portion of 2003 in Chile, collaborating and learning with some of the best design experts in the world. When I speak of “design” I specifically am meaning “ontological design“- in a few words, that is to say what are the fundamental building blocks, or perhaps even dispositions of how we might look at an issue.

A simple demonstration of this insight can be found in my friend Felipe Contreras Haye’s statement:

Hemos venido a hacer una invitación a varios establecimientos educacionales a sumarse junto a nosotros a un proyecto de Innovación Educativa basada en los principios (NO EN LAS HERRAMIENTAS) de la Web 2.0. (emphasis added by Kevin)

For my friends that don’t read Spanish, I will translate, adding my understanding and interpretation to his statement- “We are sending invitations to various educational establishments around a innovative education based on the principles of Web 2.0, not the tools of Web 2.0. ”

This is a profound insight… why ? Many times the focus of entrepreneurs that I work with in the US, especially because of our technological prowess- we sometimes are drawn to think that technology is driving the dynamic growth of the Internet. Hardly. The social disposition of Internet users drives the net… and education should be directed at the social underpinnings and changing users perceptions of the net- not just training individuals on tools. Tools will change, within 6 months. The ability to “see” opportunities and how to respond to them in the world will stand, no matter what changes in the domain of technology. This need to “see” opportunities and not be blinded by shinny-object technology is essential for all entrepreneurs.

Building business in Austin despite a possible recession

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At the Bootstrap Austin blog I have just posted an article about how businesses in Austin are organizing, helping each other build their businesses together- despite whether or not the government steps in to help out startup and small business in the present looming financial downturn.  The secret, which you have heard here before at this blog- is that research shows businesses that organize themselves together- have the  best chance of innovating and growing, despite having limited financial resources.  It is my hope that as article is sent out to a few thousand Austinites through the Business District Daily that we take this conversation beyond Austin’s tech elite startup companies, and further engage other businesses in building an even more rich, innovative business ecosystem.

Knowledge Ecologies in Action at Nintendo

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Several friends have asked me “What do I mean by a shift between a Knowledge Economy to a Knowledge Ecology?”  In the Knowledge Economy the Internet was being used to just make labor more efficient.  In an Knowledge Ecology the best ideas come from many different places… and when they are implemented, they can dominate their industries.  Prove it you say?  Here is an exceptional interview from the product team behind the Nintendo Wii.  The Wii has come to dominate the game console market place, which is especially evident when I speak with friends that have kids.  From the interview:

Why do you think we were able to engage in that kind of argument?

Shiota: Above all, I think it must have been because Nintendo is always trying to do something new and different. This message has been spread not only within Nintendo, but to other companies as well. As a result, our development partners have naturally tended to present us with new technologies and ideas. It was this background of going against the norm that gave birth to Wii.

This is my emphasis- business partners presenting Nintendo with new technologies and ideas… not just the fairly predictable 10% improvement that most companies rely on.  Knowledge Ecologies are going to dominate successful products and services into the future as we can see happening with Nintendo!



Thanks goes to Jeff Sexton for sharing this link with me.  I greatly appreciate how the readership of this blog contributes to the Knowledge Ecology forming around this set of topics!


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A Preview of Exponential Entrepreneurship

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Here is a quick preview of the conceptual shifts that I am wring about in my forthcoming book Exponential Entrepreneurship: Building Business Ecologies for the 21st Century.  Marla my editor has been kicking butt (mainly mine 🙂 and taking names  as we refine the trends that I see shifting the way work is being done.  Please share your feedback with me as well- whether through this blog as a comment or a private email to me- let me know how you see these shifts driving the way work is happening.  Jumping right in- there are four trends that I am trending as well as predicting:

  1. The Superempowerment of the Individual: we’re entering a time that not only is it cheaper to build a business because the cost of doing so has gone way down, but also, a true shift to knowledge work is empowering entrepreneurs at a level that has never been seen before on this planet
  2. Shifting from a Knowledge Economy to a Knowledge Ecology:  Talking about the Knowledge Economy is oh-so-1999.  Knowledge Economy companies used their old industrial mindsets to drive knowledge work.  Yet work changed, and now many of these old world companies are getting their lunch eaten by swift forward thinking competitors that know how to leverage human minds.  What is emerging is a Knowledge Ecology of providers of open knowledge flows.  Most interestingly, this shows us how even one individual, if he or she is prepared, can create their place in the ecology and thrive.
  3. An Attitudinal Shift:  The Millennials (sometimes called Generation Y- individuals that are in their early twenties) are driving a new relationship with work… where work serves living (not the other way around).  Although many companies try to placate these new workers “helping them fit in” what entrepreneurs and companies need to see is that the Millennials are driving a new paradigm of work- that will dominate the way that all work gets done within this decade.
  4. Superconductivity:  Social networking technology and word of mouth combined with these new attitudes are drastically shifting how ideas, technology, and life are perceived and adopted.  The world is in motion, and it is moving faster.  Some will see these changes as chaotic;  If you understand the underlying dynamics that are lowering the barriers between people, superconductivity can be leveraged for benefit.

How are you adapting to these trends? what do you see happening?  Let me know.

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Thousands of bloggers unite

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Today is Blog Action Day– where thousands of bloggers unite in blitzing green tips across the Internet. What is happening is a small group of bloggers have started a veritable movement of social action asking the question What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day? Today’s issue:

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind – the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

The issue I would like to raise in terms of the environment is to show further evidence how a group of people are becoming “super-empowered” to put important issues into the minds of the world- Issues that have previously languished. No matter where you stand on the environment- one thing is for certain- the issue will cross your desk today one way or another…. and for the purposes of what I am pointing out- recognize that this is happening outside the sphere of the “traditional media” of TV, radio, and newspapers. Some group of concerned citizens put together a website, promoted the event, and now have tens of thousands of bloggers writing about it, and even more reading about it.

So what is the environmental issue that I am promoting on this blog? I say that it is the most fundamental one- that you, the reader, are empowered to change the world… See something that does not make sense- wasted energy, pollution, an innovative product, or something that just is not right? You can take action on it in a way that never was possible before, for the dynamics of social software are shifting the tides that one person can engage a few thousand others, and make a difference.
But that is not all… Given that this blog is about entrepreneurship, not just community organizing, recognize the sheer amount of awareness that is being built today around green issues… Opportunities abound for starting up companies, whether they are large or small, bootstrapped or venture capital financed. the amount of press and awareness driven by this day of “doing good” is also creating a great customer appetite… whether your business and your passion be about alternative fuels, green roofs, buying a efficient car (like the Prius that we have that gets 54 miles to the gallon!), or saving energy with LED lights, opportunities abound in nascent green markets – opportunities that entrepreneurs are uniquely suited to target- for entrepreneurs create the new businesses that reshape the existing marketplace with their disruptive innovations.  So… do something for the environment- and have your voice heard on this Blog Action Day- build a green business! Don’t just make a difference, make a profit while making a difference!

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