Push and Pull Social Networks

“When Push Comes to Pull: The New Economy and Culture of Networking Technology” from the Apen Institute

This report looks at how the traditional “push” sales method, in which companies forecast demand for mass-manufactured products, is increasingly being supplemented by a "pull” economy, in which enlightened consumers make specialised requests and contribute their own ideas (Ideascape).

The idea stems from a seminar hosted by the Aspen Institute, a Colorado think-tank, in 2005. Since it draws from the comments of participants—a group ranging from Madeleine Albright, a former secretary of state, to a series of tech-firm chief executives—the report is more a clearinghouse for possibilities than a coherent argument. But it puts forth some interesting examples of “pull”, such as an online game that gets revived by users after the developer company goes bankrupt. And some weird ones: consider Google’s volunteer force translating texts into Klingon (an alien language from “Star Trek”). Even the American army has caught on to pull: it learns about which materials its troops need partly by monitoring care packages from soldiers’ parents.

This is actually old stuff if you have been reading my blog or participating in the blogosphere or the open source community.