http://futurekaraoke.org/ is an evening of very short and fast fast talks on art organised by Robin Beitra, musitc, philosophy and technology.
Tuesday 1st April, 2008, 7pm - late. Talks between 7pm and 10pm. DJing and demos till late. Drinks available. Entry FREE
Gramaphone Bar, 60-62 Commercial St, Spitalfields, London, E1 6LT. Map
Companies with APIs:
How to build a profitable and open business from scratch + some sketches".
1. Mistake
Two weeks ago I proposed different subjects for this talk to Robin, and by chance, he choosed the one I know the less, and maybe the one I'm the more interested strategically in the future. First of all, I quickly realised that title I gave to this talk, was not describing what I was thinking of, thanks to my poor understanding of english sometimes ... Well A.P.I ... Who knows what is an API? I thought API were Google or Yahoo API, piece of actualised code that anyone can use for free... I was wrong... API stands for "Application Programming Interface", which means a LOT more than expected. So to simplify : An application programming interface (API) is a source code interface that operating system, library or service provides to support requests made by computer programs. [Clearer explanation with relevant metaphores] "Building an application with no APIs is basically like building a house with no doors. The API for all computing purposes is how you open the blinds and the doors and exchange information." Josh Walker at Forrester Research Inc. Cambridge, Mass.APIs offer less flexibility than open source code but more flexibility than completely closed applications.
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left : completely closed, application without API |
| center : completely open, source code + API open | |
| right : source code closed but API documented. | |
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My main misunderstanding was to think the characteristic of API were to be ALL FREELY AVAILABLE ... I was so naive, but somehow quite logic : thinking that the more doors my house have the better, the more people want to come... It is not true at all : some companies are notorious for "hiding their source code" like Microsoft, others are expanding because they are clever at dosing secret above source code and quality APIs like Google and it's Google Map API (requiring an API key, free but still). Out of a set of many different API new programs can be done. Recently the term "Mashup" (web application hybrid) has been very popular. The idea is : 2 web applications are mashed-up into one new powerfull app, example the mashup of the database of the estate agent Nestoria and the maps.google APIs: http://www.nestoria.co.uk.
Enough computing geekery ... |
2. Timing, finance and status of the innovation
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But people say "Why do you want to work very hard, produce something great and instantly give away and the product and the recepe for free to everyone, you fool!?". So, yeah, on one hand I want to make everything free and open, to maximize the quick propagation so everyone's happy... But on the other hand I may be tired to cycle in the rain and eat rice. So I need to be more clever... There are many ways of striking at the right place at the right time on the market, but I would like to focus on is the recent tendency to release "beta"products, as we are now going "perpetual beta". "Beta" means "stupid" in french by the way. The idea is that the product is release aknowledging it's possible failure without engaging the legal responsability of the maker and prevent prosecution from users, considered beta-tester. More and more succesfull softwares have this strategy.
But how to stay ahead? How to keep the monopoly? First of all, it might not be that important anymore + sometimes the ability to "push the "product" guarantees success more than the quality of the product itself (on a short term). Actualy the best way to protect leadership is too always have a few "non-released" steps ahead, always ready to hit with something out of your personal innovation stock, so timing of release is crucial according to internal development : "giving everything but having much more in stock".
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3. Social structure
Legally any social strucuture can release a product or a service under the copyright or patent it want. |
The hierarchy and pyramidal employment structure can be avoided for a company or an informal group of people releasing beta-products : if there is no legal responsible in case of product failure, and if there isn't one clearly determined commercial objective.
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4. Sources of profit
Having an open collaborative business can be durable and profitable. You can make good Halal money:
- providing a free tool to products that are for sell, therefore you become an intermediate and can take a % or a susbscription fee... [example Paypal describes it fee as "small" hehehehe! Up to 3.5% ...]
- because by releasing a product or a service you naturally acquire a status of specialist : you are the person specialised industries will pay $$$ for custom products, in this advantageous position you can still protect your intellectual property from too enclosed mentality.
- providing a pay hotline type service.
- receiving state, charities, NGO subvertion and prizes because of a project of common interest or with revolutionnary humanitarian perspective.
- parallel profit with advertising or sponsored content or mean [banners, adwords].
- for you to invent...
But clearly open entrepreneurship brings massively wealth of another natures...
5. Psychology, trust
Doing open entrepreneurship or being an "openeur" brings a whole bundle of wealth. It is possible to quantify such wealth with alternatives units to GDP (Gross domestic product) by using HDI (Human Development Index) or even GNH (Gross National Happiness) but we need to add to money :
- knowledge and experience, as the value has moved from the value of the object to the know-how.
- the psychological benefit of being active in the process, creative, satisafction and honnor of opening the path.
- owning an unquantifiable part of a collective intellectual property.
- contacts.
- friendship and trust from pairs and users
6. Sucess story, profiles
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Looking at just 2 recent success stories we can verify this direction : sucess is going to be more open, and more collective. This success won't probably be readable on the stock exchange curve though...
[source] "Corporate developers should consider including APIs in applications they develop, especially if they expect the applications to last and interact with other applications" (Adam Braunstein, an analyst at Robert Frances Group Inc. in Westport, Conn). "Interact or die" is the motto. |
7. Architecture
You may think I have a traditional approach of these particular new problems, but I observe that these new social structures are paradoxally sometimes producing the opposite of their ambitions : more communication tools make the "communication impaired" more isolated, the generation (technology) gap is widening, globalisation have strengthened communitarism and the fear of the other with misleaded propangada, in some case the time spent on social-networking websites has replaced the good-old friendship, remember we used to poke each other _ not on facebook.
At some point it is more than ever relevant to think of a constructed physical architecture to facilitate social contact, incorporating these new ideas, values of flexibility, reconfigurability and open-sourceness in the process.
8. Structure of the Open Sailing Platform
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I want to build this floating-space-object trying to implement the flexibilityy of a network. Like the company secular structure has a "captain", The OSP structure may be like the internet, decentralised and distributed in its services.
The OSP should be able to grow or decrease in size and population.
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9. Context and environment
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The OSP is motivated by global urges, but will definitely be produced as local beta version, not global strandard, using local materials, with a robustness adapted to local climate and culture.
The urges OSP wants to deal with are : - Adapted architecture for living and invention. And my personal desires : - To travel (not be a part of a nation). |
10. Reproduction
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It is very important the OSP is able to "reproduce" : grow, divide, merge, mutate like an Amoeba, known for their binary fission reproductional mode.
From a single mother structure should easily emanate a child structure with an inherited organisational structure and autonomy. |
11. Mobility
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The most tempting for the OSP is the skysails as it is a very stable traction system, versatile and powerfull.
The first Pacific crossing with solar energy only has been recently achived by Transatlantic 21. The traditional paddling remains valid for very small units. |
12. Economies, protocols, API
Just like with APIs, the main issue for a technological structure, as much as for a vehicle or a complex network is how the different parts communicate : how to synchronise the actions (direction, speed, stability, stock managment...). So the main work will probably be to design the internal protocol of communication and internal economies.
13. Safety, navigability
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"Le roseau plie mais il ne rompe pas": Flexibility is strengh. After seeing so many broken boats my perspective is to make a very flexible boat. Imagine the big waves, a flexible structure can follow the wave, same as an-open source is "in contact" with its users and programmers. The boat as it is modular : some parts can be "sacrificed in case of emmergency. |
14. Collective process
So, you got it, this is the kick-off of the Open Sailing Platform research, PLEASE CONTRIBUTE, FEEDBACK !
MORE TO COME: HANDS-ON EXPERIMENTS, TRIPS, INTERVIEWS, TESTS, REPORTAGE... Subscribe to the newsletter.
Open entrepreneurship "openereur" and social innovation.
Beginning of the research : http://www.openeur.com
Howard Rheingold at TED on Cooperation : http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/216
http://www.instructables.com
http://www.worldchanging.com
http://www.appropedia.org
http://designbreak.org
http://fab.cba.mit.edu
http://www.tinkeringschool.com/blog/
http://www.schoolofeverything.com/
Boats
My first £10 raft : http://cesarharada.com/2003/rado/RADO1.HTM
My first trimaran : http://cesarharada.com/2005/diplome/A-BATEAU/-bateau.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_island
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uros
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asexual_reproduction
http://www.ecoboot.nl
Solar transatlantic boat : http://www.transatlantic21.org
N55 modular boat : http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/BOAT/BOAT.html
Natalie Jeremienko raft : http://itp.nyu.edu/~rcc273/blog/?p=97
Skysails, German kyte traction system : http://www.skysails.info
http://www.seasailsurf.com/seasailsurf/actu/spip.php?article4312
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_island
This project has been featured in
http://www.mefeedia.com > capture
