Crowdsourcing: Product Improvement Aikido
“There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.” – Cluetrain Manifesto (Thesis 12 )
This may come as a shock to many, but your super-secret idea is not super-secret. In fact, a Google search reveals that there are thousands of people talking about it already.
Now before you grab your Weapon of Choice (I prefer nunchucks) and go looking for the mole who leaked it, take a breath and count to ten. Then look at the first ten search results about your secret. Any good ideas in there? Any nuggets you can use? How much did you pay for that marketing research firm? Ouch.
I know you’re asking yourself, “okay smart guy, if my products and their flaws are no longer a secret, what can I do about it?”
I’m glad you asked. Do what Apple did.
When Apple released the iPhone, the first thing hackers did was buy two: one to use and one to tinker with. Guess what? They cracked it. Not long after its release, iPhone owners could work their way to one of somewhat less respectable corners of the internet (by The Man’s standards, anyway) and learn how to Jailbreak their iPhone. By Jailbreaking the iPhone, owners could now install third-party applications to make your iPhone do stuff that you wished it would do.
Did Apple round up the RIAA lawyers and sick them on the culprits? No. They improved their product. Their engineers began to harden the security on the iPhone so that when Apple pushed out updates to upgrade the phone’s software, the phone became unusable…”bricked.” Okay, so that’s not exactly embracing the crowd, but that’s not the only thing they did. They also began to work on opening up the iPhone to developers, co-opting the hackers in the process.
Now Apple gets $199 for the iPhone SDK and by July 2008, there were 500 third-party apps in the App Store. That’s a decent chunk of change, especially if you consider the halo effect the App Store has had on increasing the penetration of the iPhone. And “oh by the way” you need to use a Mac to develop iPhone applications and Apple’s most affordable computer, the Mac Mini starts at $599.
Ultimately, instead of spending millions on legal fees and divesting itself of good karma, Apple engaged a cat-and-mouse game with its potential adversaries until they could use their energy to improve their own product. How does this relate to your great idea or product that someone is trashing, monkeying with, or complaining about online? Do your own Aikido move.
First, take in that energy until it is part of you. Then, once you’ve internalized that negative energy, a small twist of a few joints will send your opponents flying.
Credits: Cartoon by Hugh McLeod @ www.gapingvoid.com
Aikido Meets Kung Fu
Any discussion of Aikido that excludes Steven Seagal isn’t one that we’re a part of. Enjoy the following MadTV skit that answers the question: What is Steven Segal starred in the Kung Fu the movie?
