User-driven Powder Maggots

The Powder Maggots over at PM Gear have brought the Bro to life. They've created their holy grail - "the one ski that excels in all conditions." And they did it by collaborating with fellow skiers over the net.

The Bro Model was the first ski ever conceived online by a group of people who met online, run a business online, sell the ski online, and chronicled the entire process online during that six month period, from Mt Hood to Argentina to Tahoe. A hot topic on Internet ski forum messages boards in countries everywhere, the Bro Model exists as a tribute to the worldwide Maggot brotherhood's ability to manifest the greatest of things, without ever meeting face-to-face.

This article in PowderMag.com - part manifesto, part chronical of a band of business neophytes - might just be a description of the familiar phenomenon of garage (literally) operations challenging established players. Or it might be another sign or symptom of the democratizing effect the net is having on business. If established businesses won't listen to users, users will take the means of production into their own hands.

Users of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but uninspired products!

Thanks to Patrick Beagan for a pointer to this story.