Crowdsourcing... or will be just crowd surfing in one generation?

So, I read and watched the required video and readings and the first 3 readings under optional and the social marketing playbook.  I have emailed my team to talk about our approach to the team project, and watched most of the videos under the General information, video links tabs.  There were some great videos there.  More on that later. 

The crowdsourcing reading was very interesting.  I really enjoyed reading about threadless.com.  I love the fact that they didn't start out to create a business, but just did something they thought would be cool.  They didn't like the T-shirts they could get, so they decided to figure out a way to get cooler ones.  The thing that was even more interesting was that they really understood how to create a business though once it was going.  By understanding human nature they created demand, developed a process to pay designers, and developed a relatively low risk business model from the beginning.  In many ways, this is what the Internet is about.  Allowing someone with nothing to lose (cause they have nothing but an idea) develop something that has the potential to create real value.  The iStockphoto.com company was almost even more exciting.  When you think about threadless.com, they were just selling T-shirts, iStockphoto.com was taking on a giant.  However, this business model created so much disruption, it forced the incumbent Getty to buy it.  This is the disruption that is so compelling and valuable.  I was also struck with the authors discussion on community.  This is in short supply these days as we become more mobile.  We keep in touch, with family, we communicate on the Internet, but community...  That seems to be missing.  That desire for connection is something innate in humans.  We need it.  If you can great a model that generates that it can be very powerful. 

P&G's model was probably the most interesting to me as I work in and analyze old line companies.  I follow the technology industry but most companies I follow are not internet based but sell products into the technology supply chain.  There are some Internet names, but not many that fit our requirements.  So to see the use of the Internet and Crowdsourcing to develop product was intriguing.  It got me thinking about other ways my companies and others could develop ways to improve their uses of crowdsourcing.  I wrote my previous blog this week on an idea that I think is somewhat scary.  In addition, I liked Surowieki's comments and Keen's comments as well regarding the risk associated with social media, networks, and to some degree crowdsourcing.  I loved Surowieki's view of the only way social networks can be more correct than an expert is when each individual is independent and by operating in a network, it compromises your independence. 

I am thinking more and more about ways to use the Internet to drive our business, but it concerns me longer term what will happen to independent thought over time if we don't manage exposure to networks for our children.