Thus, I have returned to the site in an attempt to revitalize it with a new, cleaner, less bug prone design and to begin posting once every couple of weeks again. The content may evolve a bit as well… we’ll see. My next post will be Part 4 of my on-going series covering the overarching topics of this site.

Be sure to subscribe and enjoy.

Wow! A new post and design at co>innovative! is a post from: co>innovative

Eric von Hippel speaks at MIT about Lead Users (Video: Part 1 and Part 2):
Lead users in certain segments are working together to drive the manufacturers out of the innovation process.  Companies are freely revealing to others so that others can improve on it. An example of lead users in action: Kitesurfing, which was developed by users.  First, manufacturers stepped in, then Saul Griffith posted his designs online and others did too. Each manufacturer had 1 or 2 engineers, but then aerodynamicists from NASA started joining in and brought their tools with them.  These lead users drove manufacturers back out of the design busines.  Users collaboratively built tools and designs.

Linus’ law: the reason you want a lot of people looking at a problem is that they all look at it in different ways.  Given enough eyeballs all bugs are shallow.

Users innovated historically but collaborative user design is becoming so efficient it will drive manufacturers out of design.

Johnny Chung Lee: A perfect example of lead user innovation: 
Not only has he dones these wicked things with nothing more than cheap parts and a Wii, he is the creator of the poor man’s steadycam, and wowed the audience at TED.

Freakin awesome Future of Making Map from the Institute for the Future:
Check this out for an incredible overview of many of the topics and companies covered on this blog.  Categories covered are: Networked artisans (Threadless); Citizen R&D (Lego Mindstorms, Innocentive); Lightweight manufacturing (Ponoko); Personal design and fabrication (reprap); From closed IP to open innovation (theoscarproject.org).

Roundup: Random goings on in the world of crowdsourcing and outside innovation is a post from: co>innovative

Just got back from South America… is a post from: co>innovative

Ronen Kadushin offers up some Open Designs. Why not download a CAD of a design you like, upload it to Ponoko, and get the parts shipped to you — at a now-reduced price?

To follow on to my last post: A great list of Open Innovation projects and another list of Ideagoras — marketplaces for ideas.

In further comment about whether this is all worth it, whether open innovation and crowdsourcing will work: shouldn’t people be empowered to create what they want more easily? Whether that be through collaborative/crowdsourcing projects that facilitate graphic design, device design, feature improvements, etc.?  I mean, easier creation and distribution of content, designs, and products is what the Internet is made for. The real question: is it a viable business and can it be commercialized?  Of course, everyone asked the same question of free open source software in the early days, but the creation of open source by companies large and small, not to mention the companies who have created quite a business out of servicing and distributing open source, have put those questions to rest.

Odds and ends: Laser Cut Cake and more is a post from: co>innovative

A couple of months ago, they posted the winners of Forrester Groundswell awards: company initiatives that successfully highlight key aspects of social computing — listening, talking, energizing, supporting, embracing, managing, and social impact.

Charlene and Josh: best of luck on the book, I’m looking forward to it.

Which large companies are successfully participating in social computing? is a post from: co>innovative

In less than four hours MacWorld attendees doodled over 100 concepts. Over the next three days the community and [chose] three that became actual prototypes at the show.

As I have said before involving users in the design process is not the answer to everything and when done incorrectly can have the potential to churn out total crap that no one wants. But when you take in all of the successful developments over the last year, the possibilities and power of something like this emerge:

• The maturation of online social tools
• Improving online collaboration technology
• Do it yourself product design, build, and/or sell companies such as Ponoko, Big Blue Saw, eMachineShop, Instructables, Crowdspirit, and Mophie.
• Successful crowdsourcing efforts such as A Swarm Of Angels, Crowdspirit, Dell IdeaStorm, Sell A Band, and Threadless.

My prediction: we will see more of this. And someone is going to figure out an awesome way to do it and bring all of these pieces together. .

How Mophie got help from users in designing new iPod accessories is a post from: co>innovative

On a few week hiatus… is a post from: co>innovative