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Open Enterprise 2009: Andrew McAfee InterviewOpen Enterprise 2009: Andrew McAfee Interview

The BrainYard - Where collaborative minds congregate.

Stowe Boyd

March 20, 2009

1 Min Read

I had the opportunity recently to catch up with Andrew, the person who coined the term "Enterprise 2.0" a few years back. Andrew is a professor at the Harvard Business School, and he has just completed a book on the topic. The takeaways from the talk with Andrew:

  1. The spottiness of adoption is interesting. In some sectors -- software development -- wikis have become a commonplace platform. But elsewhere, it's very uneven.

    • Andrew believes that leadership is very important, and often absent where Web 2.0 technologies aren't being adopted.

      • Andrew believes that Twitter is being more widely adopted where the default is openness.

        • Great anecdote about Tivo, as an example as a better mousetrap that remained a niche tool. Many Web 2.0 tools fall into the 9X Effect, where the proponents overestimate the benefits by a factor of three, and those that haven't adopted them underestimate by a factor of three.

          • He mentions Euan Semple as an exemplar (see his interview, IT Is Not The Source Of Innovation.)

            • Andrew asked me to look into how companies are exploring the "borders" of tools, how companies avoid (or don't) building walled gardens.

            I will certainly be speaking with Andrew many times in the coming months.

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