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Download the business page (pdf) from the iSummit '08 Annual
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Some of the world's foremost open business people gathered in one room for three days to define and explore the concept of open business. Existing and potential open business ideas were critiqued and reworked - because in open business even consulting is open.
The first session involved a short introduction of the participants and their businesses or business ideas. A discussion about the CC+ protocol took place, so that this open licensing tool for business could be functionally understood by all and it's advantages and disadvantages could be fed into discussions throughout the lab.
Session 2 featured the Open Business Think Tank where participants put together a draft checklist on what 'open business' means and what characteristics a business needs to have for it to be considered an 'open business'. Session 4 was also set aside where participants could change and challenge this working document in preparation for the report-back session at the end of the summit.
During Session 3 the group split into two - a group joined the DIY Video lab to discuss some of the progressive business models that have cropped up in video. Many of the participants in the Open Business lab run open businesses that are video-based so this session delivered some ground breaking outcomes. The other group stayed in the Open Business venue where a discussion around Collecting Societies took place entitled "Mars Landing - Collecting Societies Opened." Moderated by Paul Keller, this session looked at some of the great leaps that the commons has made in the tussle with collecting societies.
Session 5 provided the opportunity for open business entrepreneurs to throw their business ideas around in a consultation session with some of the leading thinkers of the commons. This was the session where participants could analyse the practical implementation of the characteristics of open business that the group had been defining up to this point.
Session 6 provided the time to finalise the feedback, outcomes and plans for the future from the lab, that were reported back to the iSummit community in the final session.
The future goal of this lab is to 'do' business with the aim of gathering together more case studies and to share the experiences arising out of these case studies. The Open Business group invite members of the iCommons community to share their thoughts, and case studies.
Resources
- Coverage of the Open Business lab by the summit bloggers, available here.
- Wiki notes recorded during each session available here.
- The detailed programme outlining the who, what, where, when and how of the lab, available here.
- Related keynote videos to watch: Jamie King, Paul Keller and Rishab Ghosh
