Anagram Events

I'm currently reading a Web 2.0 book called Wikinomics which is all about how future models of collaborative commerce are changing the world as we know it.

Most of the examples the authors cite are either in the software business, in other content generating businesses (newspapers, encyclopedias) or in R&D functions of major corporations. All of the examples revolve around creating value through letting external parties get hold of your IP and help you create additional value from your intellectual property as a result.

Given events are in theory a very pure form of intellectual property business - after all, event companies have no assets other than their brands, ideas and skills - there should be applications in events. However I'm still struggling to see how any of the open, collaborative models in the book could be brought to bear (and monetized!!) in the events business.

For all the talk of "brands" and "communities" and "networks" at event industry gatherings, at the end of the day it makes you realise that the core event business model is still almost always about an in-house team or individual finding a way to either create (or piggyback an existing) community, and then restricting access to it in order to make money.

Labels: expo 2.0