Signs of a third industrial revolution?

Robin Teigland, Associate Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics, writes about using social media and the immersive internet in new value-creating activities. She holds one of the sessions on Monday at the World PR Forum.

“As the use of social media and the immersive internet (virtual worlds) continues to grow, we are beginning to see significant changes in the way value is created in business and society. Traditionally, value has generally been created within the walls of a firm or organization by employees.

However, through social media, organizations may now leverage resources outside their walls for activities such as innovation, branding, and sales and marketing. Some newly founded firms and organizations even base their entire set of “value chain” activities on social media and as such are challenging traditional business and organizational models.

Examples include eZ systems – the world’s number one open source content management software company recently awarded the prestigious Red Herring award, and Twestival, a charity organization organized completely through Twitter that raised 320 000 euro in 130 cities around the world in 2009. However, not all organizations are following suit with some even banning the use of social media by their employees.

At the same time, we are witnessing the rapid growth of virtual worlds and virtual goods. The number of virtual worlds has grown in recent years to more than 150 and the market for virtual goods is predicted to grow from around 2,7 million euro in 2009 to 8,7 million euro in 2012. (In June the record for the most expensive virtual object was set when a virtual space station was sold for 240 000 euro.) More and more organizations are experimenting with virtual worlds with some Fortune 500 firms, such as IBM and Sun Microsystems, seriously integrating avatars and virtual world offices and activities into their everyday activities. In addition, the number of avapreneurs (entrepreneurs in virtual worlds) and avapreneur collectives is rapidly growing with some avapreneurs even becoming millionaires in real life. One virtual economy (Entropia Universe) has become so significant that the Swedish Government has awarded a real life banking license to Mind Ark AB, the holding company. Yet many organizations snuff Second Life and other virtual worlds as overhyped, empty spaces.

Through history we have seen that the mobility of goods and then the mobility of capital have greatly impacted society as we know it. Today we are now moving into an era of the “mobility of labor” as social media and virtual worlds are dissolving numerous traditional boundaries, such as organizational, cultural, and demographic boundaries. These developments raise many questions for leaders throughout society and my session at the World PR Forum will provide an insight into the above as well as attempt at answering some of the many questions arising from these developments.”