5: FEED THE WEB FIRST
The final stage in the life cycle of networks...
...is the embedded phase, where one standard is so widely accepted that it becomes embedded in the fabric of the technology and is thereafter nearly impossible to dislodge--at least as long as the network exists. Regular 110-volt AC power is well embedded at this point (although, as the power grid becomes global, there could be some surprises). ASCII text is likewise deeply embedded--at least for phonetic languages. Some of the conventions of voice dial tone are so ubiquitous worldwide as to be permanent.
In any phase of innovation--prestandard, fluid, or embedded--standards are valuable because they hasten innovation. Agreements are constraints on uncertainty. The constraints of a standard solidify one pathway out of many, allowing further innovation and evolution to accelerate along that stable route. So central is the need to cultivate certainty that organizations must make the common standard their first allegiance. As standards are established, growth takes off.
Thank you for the email updates.
I am doing all I can to get the word out about them to those within my own online communities.
Happy New Year!
Bob Morris
Dallas, Texas
I don't think that standards drive innovation much at all. You said "So central is the need to cultivate certainty that organizations must make the common standard their first allegiance."
I think that is true, but I think that the need to cultivate certainty is a pitfall for many organizations. General Motors has been very certain over the last decade that Americans would always buy large vehicles. Large firms try to force things like to this to happen. I think as soon as you are forcing anything, you are losing.
The better strategy is to live and thrive in uncertainty. This is what gives small firms the ability to do great things while large firms blunder along in the same place forever.