The distinction between digital and real is breaking down
I’ve just read two great posts about “OFF=ON” from o’reilly radar and trendwatching.
To quote trendwatching:
“More and more, the offline world (a.k.a. the real world, meatspace or atom-arena) is adjusting to and mirroring the increasingly dominant online world, from tone of voice to product development to business processes to customer relationships.”
O’reilly have taken this insight slightly further arguing that this process will continue until there is no difference between the online and offline world – using a classic William Gibson quote to emphasise the idea:
“One of the things our grandchildren will find quaintest about us is that we distinguish the digital from the real, the virtual from the real“
To me, the most interesting case study from OFF=ON is TCHO, a San Francisco-based chocolate manufacturer using web 2.0 ideas in it’s offline business:
“Its founders started Wired magazine, so it’s no surprise they’re taking a high-tech approach to the production of an age-old delight. In its factory, TCHO combines recycled and refurbished legacy chocolate equipment with the latest process control, information and communications systems.
The company’s “obsessively good” dark chocolate is created in limited-run “beta editions” that are only available online and at its factory store. Continuous flavor development and customer feedback mean that varieties are constantly evolving, with new versions emerging as frequently as every 36 hours.
TCHO also aims to change the way people describe chocolate and has created a new taxonomy based on common-sense terms like “nutty”, “fruity” and “chocolatey” to help people find the types they like best.
Products are named accordingly, such as the recent Beta C Ghana 0.2x release, for example, in which the “C” stands for chocolatey. Finally, TCHO embraces a social mission that goes beyond Fair Trade to help farmers by transferring knowledge of how to grow and ferment better beans, allowing them to escape commodity production and become premium producers. “
There is obvioulsy a lesson for agencies here……
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