May 2009 Archives

John Wilbanks on yesterday's NESTA event. Gotta say, I left I was BUZZING. John's talk was real shot in the arm, he describes collaborative markets in biotech where heterogeneous networks are built to buy and sell assets not available from any one supplier. Exciting stuff:-)

Open innovation is a phrase in danger of being misused. It's a catch-all sometimes for "we don't know why our systems aren't working and what we need to do" - you can just say "we need open innovation" and hide behind it. But this meeting gave me hope that the systematic efforts needed to enable Chesbrough's vision of open innovation may be possible.

If we're going to achieve that particular vision of innovation, it's important to remember its tenets. Knowledge must move - "purposively" - in and out of organizations. There must be investment in the external capacity of the market itself to generate useful knowledge. And we need business models that are capable of surviving in an open environment.

The old theory of doing business as a hermetically sealed entity was never really true. Knowledge leaked, at conferences and in bars, in phone calls and in passing. And the pharma industry essentially practices a form of open innovation already, through its constant forming and reforming of alliances and mergers and restructuring. But it's not practicing open innovation at scale, with efficiency, or with purpose.

These words from David Bausola really resonate as I navigate my way around Vodafone internet services...

There is very little value in using digital as a promotional tool compared to using the aesthetics of networks, manufacturing and communications for devising new markets. I'm particularly interested in temporary markets as the frailness of this form of economics creates a stronger network of merchants, which in turn pushes invention, rather than innovation. This is what sustainability demands - frailness.

Even more so as I am currently investigating temporary markets :-)

(the following sent to Zopa helpdesk)

Your system is simply diabolical. I have now been locked out twice and cannot access the 400 pounds in my account.

Your password reset and security questions are designed to FAIL. Quite simply, both my bank accounts (Lloyds and Barclays) have online security systems which are safe (enough) and (largely) usable.

I am desperate to transact with you and your systems but ever since my first unfortunate encounter with your registration process (see donkeyontheedge.com/2007/05/post-1.html for details of the first fiasco) through the support email loop that FAILed to resolve my simple issues right through to your current password reset mechanism I have been thwarted by your hostile, ham-fisted and incompetent user experience design.

Please, please, please. Let me set the security questions or at least choose from a list of options (I have no idea what my first school is, and if I put dummy data in the field it is unlikely I will remember it come the time to reset my password) and reduce the case-sensitivy of non-evident or non-mnemonic security phrases. I mean is my town of birth "sanfrancisco, san Fransisco, Sanfrancisco, San Francisco and why not San francisco or San-Francisco?!?

Your systems need way more flexibility and much, much greater intelligence.

And plllllllease reset my frigging account so I can get my mits on my cash NOW. OK?!?

All the best
Dug