Technological Determinism debunked: Professional Amateurs Stimulating Innovation!!!
It's not the INTERNET- it's us after all...
http://www.charlesleadbeater.net/
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Technological Determinism and New Media
In '93, I completed the requirements for my MA at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) in Communication Studies and wrote a thesis on Aesthetic Innovation. It was a little controversial as I freely referred to any school of thought I wanted to in order to prove my point. The main theme of my argument is that no one can really predict anything in regards to culture and innovation. Sure we can identify groups and dynamics but saying this or that is the next big thing is almost impossible.
As for dynamics, cultural appropriation of a technology or aesthetic movement is difficult at best to define but many sociologists have identified processes that have effectively been used by marketers for some time now.
I think one of the guys who best sums up this view is Charles Leadbeater- http://www.charlesleadbeater.net/- however research into this has been going on for at least 40 years.
So basically the idea is this: contrary to what a lot of Web Gurus and Companies might like to believe and certainly evangelize, it's not the technology that determines the socially accepted consensus on it's use...
Rather, it's social groups consciously or unconsciously working together in creating a fashion/trend/fad/cultural norm.
No one can pinpoint how a certain trend will begin, no company can say we will design this and this is how it will be used. Obviously, I'm talking about technology that's meant to be used by the "general public"- I'm not talking specifically about electron microscopes although you never know...
Who would have predicted Mountain Bikes (large clunky bikes), MP3 over CDs, Rap Music, Punk Music, EMO (I mean really?), social networking, social participation (Wikipedia is something humanity as a whole should be proud of...) P2P, SMS - Really I have a cell phone but feel compelled to type a message why???
No major corporation as we know it would have said - guys we're going to build a bike much heavier than anything you've ever seen- not very attractive- and it's going to be for riding through the woods at top speed...
Skateboards another great example... Kite boarding...
A small group of users define a concept work together to create something and eventually this trickles into society as a larger whole and can become a social norm.
This how most of all technology has been developped including flight! The Wright Bros we can recall we're working out of they're bike store as "amateurs"...
So as I sit here and wish that we'll all be streaming TV and Film in future from the web, it's anybody's bet...
Customer adoption processes work the same way, the truth is we can define social groups as consumers groups, all social groups consume hence to be a punk- buy the T-shirt, buy the ticket to the show.
Clever marketers have always looked to these small groups of "consumers" who share aesthetic affinities to provide the mass with innovation...
Companies are always very quickly prepared to exploit the next big thing as long as there's all ready a market for it... AND THEN claim exclusive ownership of this NEW intellectual propriety!!!!!!!!
l8r,
Phil
As for dynamics, cultural appropriation of a technology or aesthetic movement is difficult at best to define but many sociologists have identified processes that have effectively been used by marketers for some time now.
I think one of the guys who best sums up this view is Charles Leadbeater- http://www.charlesleadbeater.net/- however research into this has been going on for at least 40 years.
So basically the idea is this: contrary to what a lot of Web Gurus and Companies might like to believe and certainly evangelize, it's not the technology that determines the socially accepted consensus on it's use...
Rather, it's social groups consciously or unconsciously working together in creating a fashion/trend/fad/cultural norm.
No one can pinpoint how a certain trend will begin, no company can say we will design this and this is how it will be used. Obviously, I'm talking about technology that's meant to be used by the "general public"- I'm not talking specifically about electron microscopes although you never know...
Who would have predicted Mountain Bikes (large clunky bikes), MP3 over CDs, Rap Music, Punk Music, EMO (I mean really?), social networking, social participation (Wikipedia is something humanity as a whole should be proud of...) P2P, SMS - Really I have a cell phone but feel compelled to type a message why???
No major corporation as we know it would have said - guys we're going to build a bike much heavier than anything you've ever seen- not very attractive- and it's going to be for riding through the woods at top speed...
Skateboards another great example... Kite boarding...
A small group of users define a concept work together to create something and eventually this trickles into society as a larger whole and can become a social norm.
This how most of all technology has been developped including flight! The Wright Bros we can recall we're working out of they're bike store as "amateurs"...
So as I sit here and wish that we'll all be streaming TV and Film in future from the web, it's anybody's bet...
Customer adoption processes work the same way, the truth is we can define social groups as consumers groups, all social groups consume hence to be a punk- buy the T-shirt, buy the ticket to the show.
Clever marketers have always looked to these small groups of "consumers" who share aesthetic affinities to provide the mass with innovation...
Companies are always very quickly prepared to exploit the next big thing as long as there's all ready a market for it... AND THEN claim exclusive ownership of this NEW intellectual propriety!!!!!!!!
l8r,
Phil
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