Howard Rheingold’s speech at the Influx M-Squared conference reminded us to suggest that everyone read his book. We are increasingly noticing brand-consumer collaboration and consumer-consumer collaboration. Rheingold believes that new forms of cooperation create new forms of wealth.
He argues that systems like the eBay Seller & Buyer reputation overcomes a classic economic issue called ‘The Prisoner’s Dilema’ where two prisoners accused of the collaborating in a crime but sat in separate cells are likely to do more harm to each other’s chances before the judge because they don’t know what the other one is thinking. eBay provides information on two parties that allows a sense of trust to build.
What happens next is that we start to see ‘Enlightened Self Interest’.
One question asked at the conference was when do you stop sharing the information? Rheingold answered that collaboration should take place to improve competitive advantage – not give it away. GM and the other car manufacturers could agree on the basic technology platform behind the next generation of cars, and then compete on design, performance, features.
Howard Rheingold’s Smart Mobs Book
Howard Rheingold’s Smart Mobs Blog
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