Just recently I attended a workshop that dealt with the topic of including customer knowledge in the internal innovation or product development process within an organization. This topic is not completely new and several well-established concepts already implemented in various companies. The most famous concept is probably the so called “Lead User Method” develop Eric van Hippel at the MIT which has been implemented in companies like 3M, Hilti and BMW.

However in the age of Web 2.0 and interest-specific global communities, companies are missing out one huge opportunity to tap into the collective knowledge of “the internet” and identify user requirements and needs that might lead to new service and product ideas.

One approach to identify these requirements is by screening relevant online communities and to identify trends, needs and solutions in a structured and organized approach. The German innovation company Hyve is specialicing in this area and has presented case studies and results of these “online community screening projects” at our workshop.

The results of these screening projects that have been presented are astonishing and the knowledge gained is sometimes to good to be true. Who would have thought that there are huge online communities on the topic of self-tanning lotion where user exchange ideas how to best apply the lotion (Ever had the idea to apply sun tanning lotion with an airbrush-like spraygun? Some bodybuilders do!) or how to mix your own self-tanning lotion. And this kind of knowledge can be found in every online community about aquarium, office decoration or model railways - all a company needs to do is start looking for it.

So in case you are reading this and you are looking for new ideas or expert knowledge in certain domains, maybe you should use Google to find a online community around this topic.

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