The Crowd Is Wise (When It’s Focused)

New York Times, July 19, 2009 — FEW concepts in business have been as popular and appealing in recent years as the emerging discipline of “open innovation.” It is variously described as crowdsourcing, the wisdom of crowds, collective intelligence and peer production — and these terms apply to a range of practices.

The overarching notion is that the Internet opens the door to a new world of democratic idea generation and collaborative production. Early triumphs like the Linux operating system and the Wikipedia Web encyclopedia are seen as harbingers.

Netflix Boss Plots Life After the DVD†

Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2009 — Netflix Inc. is a standout in the recession. The DVD-rental company added more subscribers than ever during the first three months of the year. Its stock has more than doubled since October.

But Netflix's chief executive officer, Reed Hastings, thinks his core business is doomed. As soon as four years from now, he predicts, the business that generates most of Netflix's revenue today will begin to decline, as DVDs delivered by mail steadily lose ground to movies sent straight over the Internet. So Mr. Hastings, who co-founded the company, is quickly trying to shift Netflix's business — seeking to make more videos available online and cutting deals with electronics makers so consumers can play those movies on television sets.

Out of Office: Job Loss in the Age of Blogs and Twitter†

Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2009 — It's been decades since Americans had this much time on their hands and — thanks to the Web — never have there been so many opportunities to burn it.

In November, Julia Otto was headed to her first day on a new job, car keys in hand, as an administrative assistant with a New Orleans construction company when her phone rang. Her position was eliminated before she even started.

Now, when she's not sending out resumes or doing household chores, the 43-year-old spends several hours a day playing games. Her favorite is an adventure-puzzle game called "Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst," where she hunts for clues inside a spooky mansion to unlock a mystery. She spends about $7 a month playing games on the Big Fish Games site.

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Netflix vs. Naysayers†

CEO Hastings Keeps Growth Strong; Plans for Future After Death of DVDs

Wall Street Journal, March 27, 2007 — In the decade since Netflix Inc. began renting DVDs online, CEO Reed Hastings has faced down a murderers' row of rivals. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Blockbuster Inc. have all piled into the market with services that mail DVDs to consumers who've ordered them over the Web. But Wal-Mart threw in the towel in 2005 after two years, while Amazon has so far limited its service to the United Kingdom and Germany.

How Consumers Help Build A Brand's DNA†

Adweek, January 29, 2007 — When your marketing asks consumers to share what they think about your brand, you better be ready to change it in ways you hadn't counted on. Tweaking products to make them more usable isn't only for the clever folks in R&D anymore. I