Michel Bauwens in his presentation on the relational dynamics in distributed networks, used the metaphor of the jazzband logic to express the fact that leadership in projects should depend on the phase the project is in. At one moment the trompettist should be dominant, at another the bassplayer. This temporary leader is appointed in a very natural way, depending on the activities at hand and the qualities the person has.

Distributed or P2P networks are hub-and-spokes networks in which every spoke is free. For example: when you’re flying from one place to the other, the airline decides via which location you can reach your destination, where the stopover will be. Compare this to driving somewhere with your own car: you decide for yourself which road to take. You’re the spoke, free to do whatever you want. This is how the distributed network works.

When there is less centralized power and control, because everyone participates and is equipotent in a distributed network, things like trust and reputation become more important. In fact, according to Bauwens, there seems to be a psychological shift in society. Trust in “people just like you, or peers” is much higher than before. Compare this to all the numbers that show that trust in various authorities is at an all-time low. At the same time Bauwens speaks of anti-credentialism as a characteristic of P2P networks. Anti-credentialism means that degrees and diplomas (issued by authorities) are not as important anymore (also: how can you prove online that you have a degree?). Your contributions and participation speak for themselves and determine your reputation. Reputation nowadays is your passport to affinity groups, affinity being the point of reference for people’s identity online.

Leaders emerging in a natural way, peers participating and contributing freely based on their own specific and personal qualities, trust and reputation being highly important, are all aspects of relationships that cannot be managed in the traditional way. This in fact is an issue that all speakers noted: these developments call for a rethinking of businessmodels, a rethinking of what your core business is. Your most likely future competitor is now your customer, who does not accept the push logic anymore. Customers, or as Igor Milder and David Vink of Lost Boys called them: ‘Gods’, are willing to help, but you will have to ask them for help. Alan Moore spoke of alpha-users, who are present in every community, and whose help you can use to make sense of what you should and shouldn’t do.

But is the only way to deal with this P2P reality letting everything and everyone run free? No. It’s just a different type of logic. A story Alan Moore told can be exemplary for how this logic works. How do you get people to start sending text messages? Not by explaining them how it works, not by showing them ads of people doing it, not by pushing them to do so. People in the US just started when this was the way to vote for Amercan Idols 2, something that apparently was important to them. By pushing the right human drivers people wanted to learn how to send text messages. Saint-Exupéry wrote: “If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood, and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea”. Who knows what kind of ideas people who long for the sea come up with, perhaps better ideas than your initial idea of building a ship.