Jeremiah Owyang believes the next phase of sharing is upon us.

The first phase was of media and ideas, otherwise known as social media. The second phase is the sharing of the physical world, what we call the collaborative economy.

Today at LeWeb Paris 2013 – the largest internet conference in Europe whose theme this year is ‘The Next 10 Years’- Owyang launches his entry into the second phase with Crowd Companies, his newest endeavour and what he describes as “a catalyst for change at large companies.”

In this exclusive FIR Interview, Owyang tells FIR co-hosts Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz about his vision for Crowd Companies leading the nascent collaborative economy into a more mainstream movement.

Owyang says that the primary focus of Crowd Companies is as a brand council that provides large enterprises with peer to peer knowledge, expert education from third parties and access to an innovation network of startups.

At launch today, Crowd Companies’ brand council comprises 20 large corporations including  GE, The Home Depot, Whole Foods, Intel, Hyatt, Ford, Western Union, Adobe, Nestle and Verizon.

Owyang says the council will focus on the Collaborative Economy Movement, addressing (and answering) questions including a foundational one – what role do companies play in this process?

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About our Conversation Partner

Jeremiah Owyang is the Chief Catalyst and Founder of Crowd Companies, which focuses on how large companies tap the collaborative economy, maker movement, and customer collaboration. Prior, he was an industry analyst and Partner of Customer Strategy at Altimeter Group, an industry analyst firm based in Silicon Valley.

He focuses on how disruptive web technologies – such as social media, the collaborative economy, and interactive marketing – impact the relevance of corporations to customers today and in the future. He is well recognized by both the tech industry and the media for his grounded approach to deriving astute insights through rigorous research.

His blog, Web Strategy, is one of the premier blogs on how corporations connect with their customers using web technologies. Jeremiah is frequently quoted in top-tier publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today.

Previously, Jeremiah worked at Forrester and at Hitachi, where he launched the company’s first social program. He was featured in the 2009 “Who’s Who” in the Silicon Valley Business Journal, and his Twitter feed was named one of the top feeds by Time in 2011.

• Connect with Jeremiah on Twitter: @jowyang.

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This FIR Interview is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

Podsafe music – On A Podcast Instrumental Mix (MP3, 5Mb) by Cruisebox.

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel’s and my podcast blog.)

Related posts:

• FIR Interview: Jeremiah Owyang on The Collaborative Economy – June 8, 2013
• FIR Interview: Jeremiah Owyang, Altimeter, on Social Business Readiness – September 11, 2011
• FIR Interview: Jeremiah Owyang, Partner, Altimeter Group – August 27, 2009
• FIR Interview: Jeremiah Owyang, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research – May 1, 2009