The stereotype of an internet populated by point-and-click consumers continually at the mercy of behavioral advertising is in drastic need of an overhaul, if a recent article in The New York Times has any weight. Do-it-yourselfers building their own book scanners from dumpster-dive finds and forming their own online community, DIYbookscanner, is one example of consumers who spur innovation rather than merely follow it. This is becoming equally true of the legal community, as lawyers and law firms find that out-of-the-box software and manufacturers’ wares are not the be-all and end-all for delivering legal services, but a starting point to building their own tech tools from the ground up.
When they aren’t remaking the digital scanner in their own image, this new breed of “user-innovators,” as a Minnesota Law Review article quoted in the Times calls them, are “jailbreaking” iPhones in search of a more perfectible app, turning existing music and video into “mashups” that are a viable cultural expression in their own right, or reprogramming their GPS devices for better navigation. Times reporter Patricia Cohen notes, “Twitter’s List and Retweet features … were inspired by users.” As anyone in the open source community will tell you, this idea of users and consumers improving on existing models is not exactly new. But it may be taking greater hold, inverting the traditional producer-to-consumer business model, as recent research inside and outside of the tech realm seems to suggest.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
