Contours of next generation consumption, production and distribution

I will be on the road for the next few days so blogging will be non existent. While traveling, I will be thinking about how a next generation business will approach consumption, production and distribution. Specifically, these few areas will be on mind:

Demand based pricing: This is the most difficult for me. While open pricing reveals true demand, I have yet to understand the value proposition this creates. Back to the economic literature.

Viral Distribution: Taylor Davidson's post reminded me of just how important viral distribution is. It is not about making your product more viral. It is about how to create suitable products based on viral loops. One of the important ways to create new viral loops is to understand the context of of sharing: when does sharing occur, under what circumstances and for what type of products?


Sharing vs Owning: Kevin Kelly had a great post on how sharing is better than owning. I think this will be a major shift in years to come. As products become more digital in nature, the benefits of sharing will outweigh the benefits of ownership. This is where I think interesting models will emerge.

One last point to consider is whether there is the possibility of creating new products and services based on the above, beyond just implementing them in current industries. In order words, will we see new markets created based on different models of consumption, production and distribution?

Posted in: idea generation