enkel as a platform
Published by Adam Jorlen August 24, 2016
A few weeks ago Manna, Marc, Karun, Andy and I sat down in our Vic Park MiniLab and thought about how enkel could be seen as a platform — one of the management / organisational design buzzwords at the moment.
So what is a platform?
Companies like AirBnB and Uber are mentioned in most articles about platforms. These are so-called sharing platforms. Google and Apple also function as platforms. These are a new globalized take on the old village market; a space where buyers and sellers can gather to exchange products and services. The platform doesn’t provide any of the content itself; it only serves as a meeting place where transactions are made. And much like the old markets, some platforms are also thriving communities, where people meet, socialize and gossip.
But modern platforms are different in scale. With digital technology, buyers and sellers have access way beyond the village square.
I came across a blog post about such new scalable platforms recently. Mark Elliott from Melbourne collaboration platform designers Collabforge shared a few learnings from a recent trip to Boston’s MIT, and a course about platform strategy there.
The first thing is a list of attributes which real platforms have. We use the word for a lot of things these days, but what really defines a platform?
I quote Mark;
1. There must be at least two sides — “functionality depends on third-party participation”, or, intermediation between (at least) two distinct groups of participants
2. Inventory is typically not held by the platform or platform owners
3. The focus is enabling a new high value interaction, as opposed managing delivery of a product, service or management of a value chain
4. Provision of a technology others can build products and services on
5. Participants will value it more, the more others use it (The economist term for this being, “demand-side increasing returns”, geek speak being, “network effects”
6. Generates value by reducing search costs, matching seekers with their needs, or delivering both
Designing enkel as a platform
So if we look at those six characteristics, and apply it on the enkel collective; how might enkel as platform look?
We operate across several platforms at the moment:
- A physical platform — the Vic Park MiniLab — where people from various sectors and backgrounds come together for events, workshops, meetings and general ideation and collaboration.
- A virtual platform, or rather several, for discussions (Yammer + Facebook Group), voting (Loomio) and project management (Trello). We’re working on a project which can combine these into one platform.
1. Exchange between at least two sides (none of these own the platform)
In the case of enkel, we work as a connector, supporter and “learning steward” to create a new generation of changemakers in Perth. We’re aiming to take a meta-role, where we map the changemaker ecosystem, to see where we can assist people and organisations to get more impact. The platform in this case, is a conceptual platform, which no one owns. It can be seen as a layer of people, spaces and organisations, with events, work, living labs, festivals, unconferences, collaborations and so on. enkel is one actor in this ecosystem.
Our spaces (the Vic Park MiniLab now, and our larger, dedicated changemaking hub the The Naval Store later), are platforms curated by us. Here, we create interaction between various actors in Perth.
- Social startups and corporations for mutual benefits, as outlined in this blog post.
- Institutions (state and local governments, universities, schools) and consultants (systems innovation, social impact, strategic foresight, creativity and collaboration)
- Producer and consumer. Food, energy, knowledge and other value which can be exchanged on the platform.
- Student — Teacher. p2p learning across all actors on the platform.
2. Inventory is not held by the platform
As illustrated in the image here, the knowledge, IP, skills and services is not owned and held in enkel. These are owned and traded by the people and organisations frequenting the platform.
Some elements are however needed for the interactions and functionality of the platform:
- Design for trust, interaction and serendipity. Physical and social design (form, function, aesthetics, user experience, community management). Think coincidensity (= key architectural design principle helping to shape serendipity), village creation and we(not me) principles. Always strive towards the highest possible level of trust, transparency and honesty, so reputation, feedback and recommendations / criticism mechanisms is key.
- Sustainable operation and maintenance of the platform ($, long-term view, security)
- Ideas (!) are free (and useless if no one acts on them). Ephemeral entities floating around the space.
- Clear platform mission, vision and values. These are the true leaders of the platform.
3. Focussing on enabling a new high-value interaction (as opposed to managing a delivery of a product)
enkel must focus on finding new high-value connections rather than making existing links stronger. Our systems thinking and mapping approach + large network and ability to make meaningful connections, is our strength.
4. Provision of a technology which others can build products and services on.
Our platforms must be inviting for people to add onto, hack and create their own ventures, inventions or learning programs. Think Minecraft.
5. Participants will value it more, the more others use it.
How do we build a large enough community to populate the platforms in a way, so that participants benefit properly and want to pay for being on it? Well, this is tricky for enkel, as we struggle to attract investors. Mark mentions a couple of strategies to reach “tipping points” and attract players to join the platform:
Strategies for tipping include seeding content, “faking it before you make it”, viral strategies, making a deal with an anchor or highly influential lead tenant, building lead user communities, creating stand-alone functionality for one “side” of the marketplace who once they are attracted, can be used as bait for the other side.
Another one is coring, “the consciously architected outcome of making your platform the core or centre of an existing or new ecosystem”.
A group in enkel is also working on a game, with the purpose to engage people in a fun and meaningful way. Think World of Warcraft, boardgames like Monopoly and treasure hunts.
Pricing and exclusion are some other strategic decisions which need to be made for financial sustainability and successful platform growth. We are currently working to revamp our pricing and exclusion models in enkel. Who is in and who is out and why?
6. Making searching and matching easier and cheaper
enkel is already designed for this. People and organisations that join our platforms find it much easier to look for and find innovative people and teams for collaboration or inspiration.
To summarize, viewing enkel as a platform right now doesn’t really represent our organisation that well. I can however see how this thinking can benefit enkel, once we combine our physical platforms (mainly the home in The Naval Store) with our virtual platforms. Such a hybrid platform would amplify our impact so that we make a real difference in Perth.
Think a Pokemon Go platform with the aim of the game to create a new generation of changemakers.
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For more details about platform strategy check out How Companies Become Platform Leaders by Annabelle Gawer and Michael A. Cusumano.
Mark Elliott and Collabforge are found at:
