Social Production

Here is the concept of Social Production as Tony and I covered in “Learning in 3D.”

Social production is the means by which a software operating system or a digital encyclopedia can be created without the need for a large centralized hierarchy.

In essence, the web platform itself allows members to participate in a given endeavor as much or as little as they choose. In the past such forms of social production were limited and bounded in nature. Computer hobbyists in a given city might have gathered monthly to discuss the potential of a new operating system. They might even work together to develop some code. However, now that this kind of work activity can be aggregated and coordinated via the world-wide-web it is starting to produce significant economic impact.

Today, these platforms allow for the orchestration of capable and independent entrepreneurs around a given endeavor where they can create and capture value from others who participate on that platform.

Today, social production is being leveraged much less by the traditional enterprise than it is by the entrepreneurial start up. These pioneering entrepreneurs are creating and leveraging social production based platforms for their own benefit as well as for those who participate in their use.

These platforms are built on economic models that incent participation without requiring employment. Facebook works for Facebook members, not the other way around. The deeper we go into go into the evolution of the web into daily business and consumer activities, the more we will witness the development of economic platforms that allow individuals to operate independently of enterprises to generate value propositions that result in income.