Disruption of Traditional Communication Models
When we think of disruptive technologies, we think of products like the digital camera, the iPod, and file-sharing services like Napster—which, legal issues aside, paved the way for a broader embrace of peer-to-peer architecture. But nodes and node communities are more than just disruptive technology—they are disruptive organizational structures. Unlike their technological counterparts, they disrupt the artificial structure and boundaries within organizations, resulting in the rise of organic and natural structural innovation.
ON THE P2P PATH
Giant Hydra
Named after a fictional multi-headed beast, Giant Hydra is a new company that provides a vehicle for ad agencies and advertisers to access a pool of talent from around the world. Rather than send out RFPs and require individuals to compete with one another, they bring talent together in a network community. Giant Hydra uses a mass collaboration model to bring talented individuals together to work on projects. They meet in virtual spaces and form a team to work toward a common outcome and purpose. They work together to bring their ideas and creativity to a problem. Their skills are mixed and matched depending upon the need. They work from anywhere, anytime.
Similar to what unfolded as the Medici Effect,
an original peer-to-peer community, the basic form of communication from one person to another can now be replicated within a node community anytime, from any place, and in many ways—it is a disruptive structure that is shaping a new and more natural organization design. While the traditional hierarchical organization design and structures were thought to bring order to chaos, what is appearing with nodes and node communities is the shift from an artificially drawn organization design and structure of boxes and lines to a more natural order of design consistent with natural chaos. Again, this is reminiscent of what occurred with the Medici Effect, which lasted two hundred years from the disruptive structural influence of one family.