The motto of my K-thru-12 school was “Knowledge is Power.” One could easily observe the school kids (at least those insecure top rankers) were so protective of their assignments and exams in an absurdly competitive academic environment in India where grades mean everything. Our world also teaches us about copyright, IP, etc. On the contrary, I’ve always been led to believe that knowledge on its own has only the potential to be powerful. Knowledge when shared becomes instantly powerful. Shouldn’t you teach a man how to fish? The power of collaborative web 2.0 technologies, open sourcing, crowd sourcing, and other pragmatic methodologies have vastly enhanced knowledge and creative pathways. In today’s collaborative social world, if the marketer provides an opportunity for the consumer to participate, the marketer-consumer co-creation can be truly magical. Testimony attached.
