You might think that seems a bit grandiose. People just do their jobs and go home. Their work isn't personal or particularly purposeful. But another, equally important feature of peer-to-peer technology is that it blurs the distinction between the work space and the personal space. And as that line gets erased, what matters to people in their personal lives matters as much to them in their work lives.
Groove -- and peer-to-peer platforms like it -- gives everybody the tool set to engage in peer communities, at work and at home. It democratizes technology in the same way that Lotus 1-2-3 democratized spreadsheets and the Internet democratized content.
At first, companies that embrace peer-to-peer computing will engender confusion and cross-purpose. But if the leaders of those companies are patient, if they engage the edge and work with it, they will finally harness all the power of the edge. Very few companies do that today. Now they're going to have the chance. Peer-to-peer is technology's next corporate character test.
John Ellis (jellis@fastcompany.com) is a writer and consultant based in New York.
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
