User-driven content. The notion of the web being a tool instead of a destination is what is driving the applications compiling Web 2.0. This idea is catching on in other areas of our lives to include our personal area network (PAN). Specifically, our PAN is the way we surround ourselves with devices to interact with various forms of media and information (phone, iPod, PDA, GPS, etc). For a while now companies have searched for ways to create a market out of this -- most recently there has been success in riding the iPod's coat-tails (via bags, jackets, etc.) This is incredibly hard to do because they've been thinking about the products as just that -- final products. What Eleksen is doing is providing a platform and a set of tools to configure your own PAN. For a good example, think of a high-end iPod jacket (~$500) vs. the Eleksen DIY kit (~$60 with all pieces).
This distributes the integration cost out to the consumer while allowing the consumer to customize his/her own product. This creates a user-pull that wasn't available to companies in the past -- much the way open-architecture did for software companies.I am going to jump on the bandwagon and design my own iPod clothing -- and I encourage you too as well. Please send in pics of your creations using the DIY kits and let's see who can create the most innovative system. I'll post mine as I begin developing. Step 1 is for me to buy the kit...
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