Over the last few days I’ve watched the much reported presentation that Chris Anderson gave at TED this year on ‘Crowd Accelerated Innovation’ http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation.html

We are entering an age of ‘Radical Openess’, and we can evidence this the world over, as we see the results of people who are ‘learning’ something new from others, via videos posted on Youtube. Actually, that should learning, improving upon (innovating) and then, in turn, posting their incremental changes back on to Youtube.

One of the examples the eloquent Mr Anderson uses to support this video-based, didatic phenomenon is that of a six-year old boy filmed doing extraordinary break-dancing moves seemingly way beyond his infant years.

Our ability to view, copy and then innovate relies upon the crowd’s willingness to participate (because of its importance to them), then illuminate whatever it is, by putting their endeavours under the spotlight for all to see; all of which has been motivated by the desire to improve and move their chosen past-time up the next rung of the ladder.

The cycle of show, copy, innovate and share is greatly accelerated as scores of people carry out this process with phenomenal speed. It’s as if they are literally trying to beat the clock by having a new move, a slight variation or upgrade out there, to gain their 5 minutes of reputational glory before the next person out-trumps their triumphs.

Given the attributes of Crowd Accelerated Innovation, and its easy to access ‘show and share’ basis, what are the chances of it being adopted quickly by more conservative minds? Improving upon your break-dance moves may be one thing, but can it find a home in such key areas as new product development and prototyping?

Now the cat is out of the bag, and a growing body of understanding and insight starts to form, the chances are Crowd Accelerated Innovation will start to feature as part of an organisation’s overall innovation strategy. So please take note, and let me know when you come across other examples of its use.