However, I think many, including me, would argue that social software tools are having and will continue to have a significant and successful impact on idea generation. There are numerous examples of success we can now point to (e.g., IBM idea jam, threadless, Staples, Google, Intel). As with any relatively new approach there will be numerous organizations that make mistakes and fail. I’ve seen many bad practices and have docmented some in this blog and many more in my published research. However, the “age of the community” is upon us and bottom up is gaining momentum. It is always easier to implement grass roots innovation vs. top down because at least a portion of those who will be impacted by the change are already involved in the movement. The more people we can get positively involved early, the better chance change has of sticking. Though idea generation and execution are distinct they certainly are not unrelated.

Just to focus on one area. Innovation is about implementing ideas, not just about generating them. There is a huge distinction between ideation (idea generation) and scale-up and execution. To make this scale-up work, you need to actively and deeply engage management and put in real resources.

These bottom-up approaches – and the bottom-up tools promoted by the simple web 2.0 vendors in this area – by and large lead to a train wreck of ideas hitting the mid-layer in the organization, leading to dissatisfaction of the submitters, and potentially damaging the organization’s innovation climate.

Now, within five to ten years this type of approach will become more normal as people age, and as the tools and methods mature. There is a long time, though, between today and five years time – start-ups tend not to last that long.

Just some thoughts – Mark Turrell, CEO, Imaginatik