Open Meeting Protocol and the structure of emergent collaboration

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Last week I had an early evening meeting set up with Indy Johar, the inspiring co-founder of Hub Westminster. When I arrived I found that Indy had invoked an ‘Open Meeting Protocol’, offering £10 to Matt Sevenoaks of KPMG to join the meeting, who in turn invited Shelley Kuipers, the CEO of Chaordix, who as it happens I had conversed with on email as reecently as a few days before but had never met in real-life. Another Hub Westminster member Pamela joined us.

To be frank I don’t completely understand the protocol, even after viewing the very interesting Prezi explanation below from David Pinto. In essence it is a structure for inviting people to join a meeting by paying them (nominally) £10, and thus participating in a value-creating structure.

eco^external on Prezi

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8 crowd insights from 8 crowdsourcing workshops

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[This post first appeared on the Getting Results From Crowds book website]

Over the last two weeks I have delivered 8 keynotes or workshops on crowdsourcing across Western Europe. Most of them have been highly interactive sessions, bringing out new ideas or highlighting common issues or concerns. Part of the intent has been to gather input from many participants on what to cover in

There is much to share. For now, I will quickly review the events I’ve run so far and highlight just one insight that was prominent in the questions or discussions from each event. Many of themes mentioned were in fact echoed across several events. I will write soon in more detail about a number of these topics.

– Ketchum Pleon Amsterdam client presentation
Insight 1: Know when to use open calls and managed crowds.
A question that frequently arises when you discuss crowdsourcing is how to manage the sheer quantity of input you can get. Of course the best approach depends on what type of crowdsourcing you are doing, but the first answer is in the filtering mechanisms that you use, which enable the most valuable input to become visible. However another approach is to use a closed crowd, where participants are selected by quality or profile. In this case you can take a ‘managed crowd’ approach in which a more individualized approach optimizes outcomes. While many definitions of crowdsourcing refer to an ‘open call’, in fact in many siutations restricting the pool of contributors will lead to better results.
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Video of TheNextWeb keynote on The Future of Crowds

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TheNextWeb produced a good quality video of my keynote at TheNextWeb Conference 2012, shown below.

It doesn’t show all of my full motion graphics presentation, though it frequently cuts to show segments of the visuals through my keynote. I will create and share a full video of my motion graphics presentation along with the audio of me speaking, however as I’m travelling it may take a little while to complete.

Here is a brief overview of the structure of the presentation:
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Why Andrew Keen is fundamentally wrong about crowds

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Internet dystopian Andrew Keen, author most recently of Digital Vertigo, has just spoken at TheNextWeb Summit and Conference. 

He and his arguments are intensely annoying because his case is blindly and obtusely one-sided, though it is useful to have his voice to provide a counterpoint to digital utopianism. 

Part of his argument is that we are giving away too much of our identity and personal data. That is absolutely valid, and it is good that people are reminded to think carefully about what they share online.

However Andrew conflates oversharing with the shift to crowds, going so far as to suggest that there is no value in crowds. Yesterday in specific response to my prior Summit presentation on The Future of Crowds Andrew said that all innovation, all new ideas of value, come from brilliant individuals. 
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Keynote at TheNextWeb: The future is motion graphic presentations

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I am giving keynotes this Wednesday at TheNextWeb CxO Summit and on Friday at TheNextWeb Conference.

My topic will be the Future of Crowds, a big picture view of how crowds will be the future of everything, including its impact on work, organizations, business models, capitalism, reputation, media, marketing, innovation, opportunity, and government.

However one of the most interesting aspects of my keynote is that my visual presentation will consist entirely of motion graphics, 3D, and video – there will be no still images.

I first started experimenting with using Flash in presentations in the 1990s, and often use a variety of videos and flash embedded into my presentations. For many years I have wanted to create an entirely moving graphic presentation. When I was asked to speak at TheNextWeb, I thought it was a great opportunity to finally do it.

For the last few weeks I have been working with a global team of moving graphic and 3D designers to create my visual presentation.


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Discount for London incubators at Crowdsourcing for Startups and Social Innovation workshop

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On 1 May I am running a half-day Crowdsourcing for Startups and Social Innovation workshop at Hub Westminster.

From 1:30pm to 5:00pm we will run a highly interactive session looking at the practical ways in which crowds and crowdsourcing can be used to drive value in crowds and crowdsourcing.

We will primarily look at the crowdsourcing landscape, how to get outstanding results from using crowds, how to drive successful crowdfunding, and crowd business models for profit and non-profit, exploring many examples of how entrepreneurs and social innovators are using the ideas, energy, and enthusiasm of crowds to create amazing new ventures. Crowdsourcing is at the heart of how value is going to be created.
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European speaking tour: What, where, and what else

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I am currently in transit in Hong Kong on the way to London for a few days with my and my goddaughter’s family at the beginning of a five-week speaking tour. Below is my itinerary in case you’d like to get along to any of the events. My schedule is jam packed in almost all of the locations on the tour. However there are two gaps in my schedule 5-9 and 11-14 May, so do let me know if you are interested in discussing engaging me on any of the days that I am currently free, for example for executive briefings on the future of business or business transformation.
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La valeur du crowdsourcing: Atelier à Paris

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Je viens de faire une courte vidéo à propos du crowdsourcing.

Dans mon livre Getting Results from Crowds, qu’on pourraît traduire par “Obtenir des résultats des masses”, j’explique comment les organisations, petites et grandes, doivent procéder pour bien utiliser le crowdsourcing.

À Paris, le 3 mai, je présente avec le Boostzone Institute un petit-déjeuner à propos du crowdsourcing. Je vais parler en détail des opportunités, des défis et de comment les entreprises doivent s’y prendre.

J’espère vous y voir!

Future of Crowdsourcing workshop at Crowdsourcing Summit in Cologne

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On April 28, immediately after my keynote at TheNextWeb conference in Amsterdam, I will travel to Cologne to run a workshop on the Future of Crowdsourcing. Unfortunately I will miss what looks like an excellent Crowdsourcing Summit on April 27 as I will be speaking in Amsterdam that day.

I’ve made a short video to introduce some of what we’ll be covering in the Future of Crowdsourcing workshop.


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London Future and Design drinks on 23 April – hope to see you there!

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I start a busy five week European speaking tour from this Saturday with a weekend in London with my wife the jewellery designer Victoria Buckley and two lovely little girls before heading on the Tuesday to Amsterdam for my first keynote at TheNextWeb Conference.

Since Victoria and I will both be in London I wanted to organize a catch-up drinks for people we know, and also anyone else who wants to come along. As such I thought we could frame it as a ‘Future and Design’ drinks, with all welcome. Details here:

Date: Monday 23 April
Time: 6:00-8:30pm
Venue: Alphabet Bar, 61-63 Beak Street, Soho, London W1F 9SL (Map)
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