An Instruction Manual for Community EcoSystems?
Tonight I will deliver the third in a series of nine discussions about Estonia in transition over at Domus Dorpatensis. In the first two sessions we talked about the benefits of liberty (giving us the right to form our own future) and the value of community. Tonight we will take the next step — addressing where do we go from here? Can we build an Estonian success model?
It is a difficult question for several reasons. Most important, we are in a bit of a trap. We thought that we had completed the transition, and that it was easy. Wrong. Sure, we found out that good PR can attract foreign capital, and that we can build up infrastructure pretty quickly with that money. But sooner of later, we have to show that we can do something with the infrastructure. What’s that?
We are a tiny country, so it has to be outward looking. We have to sell to larger markets if we are going to get rich. What do we sell? We have some resources, but not enough to rely upon. So the Russian model is out. We will have to create the things that we sell. So, what do we create?
To get a handle on this question, we need to understand how to build a system that generates new ideas. Like Silicon Valley. We need to build a creative ecosystem. Twenty years ago this would sound like gibberish. But in the tech/net world there is a lot of knowledge building on how these ecosystems work. And other locations are copying Silicon Valley in the US and in Europe.
My best thinking is that we need to copy this model, introducing the key elements here into our community. Take a look at what Fred Wilson is writing today if you want a better idea of this. Fred lived through the development of the New York ecosystem. He knows what he is talking about. The main message — this happens in phases over time. Not overnight.
FOLLOW - Step One to this way of thinking is to understand the difference between mastering tasks and building up processes. Richard St. John talks about success as a process in this TED Talk. It is short, and very much worth watching.
2d FOLLOW - So we need to focus on building processes over time. This is hard to do alone. We can do it much easier if our local environment encourages us, supports us, and mentors us. This is what Fred Wilson et al are talking about when they refer to a “start up ecosystem”. This is a place where (1) as people do things, they are thinking about how those things could be done better, (2) there is a place to share those ideas for how to do things better to form teams, (3) where teams can find expertise and financing, and develop into projects, and (4) cycles of project building create an institutional memory. Jeff Bezos talks about the starting point for this — identifying “kluge”.
3rd FOLLOW - Yochai Benkler let’s us in on a secret. We already own the key resources needed to build out the above ecosystem. It is the capacity to share information on the web. We just don’t use it very well — yet. Kluge?
4rth FOLLOW - Randy Pausch gives the tool to harness this informaton flow — by creating gaming environments. Here is a link to his great video gift to all of us. So, how much community gaming are you into these days? the ultimate anti-kluge device?