The work of professor Eric von Hippel, in his management of innovation, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been mentioned many times in the Living Labs context, particularly his view on the lead-user process, and his book Democratizing Innovation. (Available from Amazon , but also I like the way the book has been released under a Creative Commons License and is downloadable immediately).
Okay straight off I’m a believer but I still need to see this concept in “the flesh” so to speak and as I was reading a blog entry by Patty Seybold on Lead Users vs. Lead Customers and the Role of Toolkits I came across an interesting comment posting about the BBCs’ new media backstage initiative, and there it is Prof. von Hippel’s process in full effect, with prototypes and idea genreation engaging the lead users.
Which has me a little worried given this futurist video from Davide Casaleggio, and the rise of the Prosumer, as it appears that the BBC are on track to fulfill their part in the future media scene as shown in this video.