Great conversation - with valid concerns regarding how to preserve the integrity of the emergent profession known as "social media". As some have pointed out, the development of professional licensing and/or certification is one way that other professions have sought to ensure the trustworthiness of practitioners. What strikes me about this conversation is the remarkable similarity to issues that plagued an earlier "movement" - organizational learning. Peter Senge was perhaps the most visible leader of this enormous wave in the 1990's, and more can be learned about the concepts at: http://www.solonline.org/ How many of "us" were enthusiastic supporters of this way of thinking? And how many of us observed the rapid rise (and subsequent collapse) of the wave of "organizational learning" practitioners and Chief Learning Officers within many global organizations (e.g., Shell, Coca-Cola). There are lessons to be learned from that experience - perhaps most eloquently defined by Peter Senge himself when describing how a social movement can easily become perceived as a "cult" by non-believers.

Interesting concept - Social Business Design. Long before Facebook, Twitter and other "social technologies" made it much easier to participate in "scalable" conversation, successful businesses understood the importance of sensing and responding to their customers and their environment. 3M is well known as an innovative company that seeks to find the signal within the noise of day-to-day experiences. Buckman Labs http://www.buckman.com/ is lesser known, but may be a better example of how an entire organization can be attuned to their customers so well that they can anticipate their customer needs. Zara is (for me) another excellent illustration of how a company can "listen" to their customers and make decisions using derived insights that truly accelerate their business - leading to competitive advantage. One article describing their approach appeared in late 2005, while their success has been well chronicled. Fashion forward Zara by Julia Fein Azoulay (issue no. 22/2005 / December 15, 2005) http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=945 With today's technologies, and with improved tracking capabilities, every company should be better able to sense and respond to customer interactions - whether these interactions are with the company or with other prospective customers. Social Business Design...I like it.

In his "Labor Day Manifesto for a New World", John Hagel does a nice job of articulating why five-tool employees might struggle within their more traditional organizations - as described by Lisa Jenkins and Sam Ladner. NOTE: The posting is on his Edge Perspectives Blog at: http://tiny.cc/MjDsc For example: "(passionate creatives) experience deep frustration today with the institutional barriers that have been put in their way as they seek to more effectively achieve their full potential." and... "We are profoundly frustrated by the daily obstacles that we encounter at every turn. We see all the possibilities, but experience firsthand the barriers that keep these possibilities far out on the horizon rather than within our grasp. {snip} We quickly learn that our passions are viewed as deeply subversive, rather than as treasured assets. As a consequence, many of us have fled these institutions and learned to build independent platforms that are more suitable for pursuing the work that we love." Will the Dachis Group support Passionate Creatives with the transformation of their institutions? It's pretty clear that they have already begun to attract a community of US...

21st Century Guilds Who will lead their creation? It is my sincere belief that the guild system will return to prominence in the 21st century - as the most appropriate organizational "form" to harness the potential of we passionate creatives. After all, wouldn't it be incredibly rewarding to commit to a genuine apprenticeship under the leadership of a master like John Hagel? Seth Godin has more recently defined the "Tribe" as a new social form (http://tiny.cc/cIcwc) - and he could very well be onto something. Rock on! _ James