The Enterprise is dead.

The gatekeepers to innovation and creativity are slowly loosing control as the network provides the vehicle for individuals to be heard. Today the uber geeks are establishing their brands and defining at a micro and macro level the tools and rules the more main stream members of the population will eventually adopt.

One of the very clear examples of this funnily enough came about when Apple announced the AppStore for the iPhone. Prior to Apples announcement if I wanted to develop, distribute, market and collect payment for an application I would have to invest more than time and effort. I would possibly need to employ other people to handle the distribution and commercials to collecting payment and providing support for my application.

Some of those functions are not to hard if you follow that sort of thing. Payment gateways and hosting to distribute your application can be a barrier to entry for many developers. Well that all goes away with Apples AppStore model. As a developer all I need to worry about is my application. I need to code the application, think about how I’m going to support it and more than likely set up a blog to provide updates and possibly some simple marketing. The AppStore will take care of the commercials while I sit back and watch the money role in.

Ok so the above example is rather simple and in reality wont be quite as simple as I have defined it, but you get the picture. Take this example and look around and you start to see many examples (publishing of the written word, music and video) of were we as individuals no longer need to seek venture capital or mortgage the house a second time to get started. We are able to develop our own brand and start to build a loyal following as the value we provide become obvious to others.

The network is becoming a platform that things of interest and value can quickly bubble to the surface and get their time in the sun. No longer is the decision of what somethings worth controlled by a few, but now by the masses. The convergence of the network and our daily lives and how we are always on will be irresistible. My oldest child is about to turn 5. She uses a mouse and keyboard more efficiently than my parents and has a natural knack to using a PC. When she finally gets to an age that she can carry a mobile device I’m sure one of the options will be, will you have the device surgically implanted for the life of the contract? Convergence will take on a completely new meaning for generation ON.

Integration of technology and shrinking of the planet we know of as Earth are at break neck speed now, as the next generation starts to finish school the pace is only going to increase and the adoption cycles are only going to get smaller. The time has dawned were our concentric circles of influence are reaching to all corners of the pond in the same day we create the ripples.

Enterprises are not going to go away, however they are going to shrink as we can do more with less and the power of automation slides the mundane into the abyss.

Are you building your brand or looking into the void?