Learning with the Fang

Since Dave (LifeKludger) Wallace and I recorded our last ExtraOrdinary podcast episode I have been thinking a lot about starting movements. Having seen a few come and go, I’m looking for patterns. It seems to me that a ‘common enemy’ or something to fight against can help. This reminds me of an old childhood expression ‘to start a movement, eat a prune’. Perhaps getting a dose of the shits could help move things along. Let me explain.

Living through the birth of the open source movement and the rise of Linux in particular seemed from my perspective to be somewhat galvanised by a common hatred or at least contempt. From the reaction of Stallman to not being given code for a printer, to the Microsoft bashing I endured from the most enthusiastic code cutting geek to the ‘anything but Microsoft’ CIO, there was unity around a common foe.

Looking at the output and analysis of last week’s VRM (Vendor Relationship Management) conference in the States, three people I respect highly have made me think even deeper about the nature / role of the common foe.

Doc Searls (whose very presence indicates the value of a charismatic leader to a movement) has always been about the return of voice/power to the disenfranchised masses. From his brilliant riffing on ‘Public WiFi and Toilets in hotels’ to the subtle undertones of ClueTrain, his interest in VRM seems inexorably linked with a return of power to a market that is sick an tired of being ‘handled’ (by things like CRM).

Christopher Carfi provided early and comprehensive coverage and summaries of what happened at the VRM event. This list absolutely reeks with a sense of uprising from people who have had enough. Almost every statement suggests empowerment of individuals and subservient compliance by vendors.

JP Rangaswami chimes in with his razor sharp insights cleverly disguised as ‘lazy musings’. His musing about open source initiatives being better suited to the generic than the specific or unique resonates with this idea - it is harder to identify a common foe in specific or unique challenges. I would submit that focus on / development of the common foe may well be the kind of laxative catalyst that can really get such projects moving.

So, as I watch the fledgling VRM movement begin to mushroom and think about my own efforts with LearnDog and my ham-fisted attempts to help Dave with LifeKludger, there is much for me to consider and learn. Thanks, once again Doc, JP and Chris for your insights, leadership and willingness to connect with us crazy Aussies on a mission.

Therefore, being driven by a common enemy or complaint can be a key ingredient in starting a movement.

Fang - Mike Seyfang

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