This past week was much about feedback loops and the holes that break them, culminating in an impromptu ignite talk at MapSIN organized by OpenGovHub.
Holes in feedback loops may be put into three general groups: Chico, Harpo, and Groucho. I wish there was room for Gummo and Zeppo, but they left the act, so... Their loss.
Chico holes apply to the 'feed' part of the feedback loop. If there is no feed, there is no back and therefor no loop. The whole thing falls apart right at the start. Chico holes are the oldest ones. They stem from before the open data era. As you may expect, open data initiatives, government accountability and transparency, etc are threatening Chico holes (feedback loopholes are the only species where 'endangered' is a positive thing). Chico holes also occur if the 'feed' doesn't reach the audience.
Harpo holes break the 'back' part of the loop. They are the response part of the feedback loop. How many sites go around without anyone ever clicking the feedback button or contacting the webmaster. How many people have used google's webpage removal request? Most of the website we build now include options for providing feedback, but what if the audience don't have web access?
Groucho holes break the 'loop' part of the loop, representing return on (my) investment (in providing feedback). If nothing changes after I gave my feedback, why would I continue providing feedback. Holes of this type just leave the audience grouchy.
The project that brought me to DC this week was very much focused no feedback loops. The feed, aid to local communities in developing countries is well defined. Most of our discussions were on Harpo, as the audience has limited or no Internet connectivity. We're looking to address this by integrating our Web 2.0 world with SMS and voice capabilities.
Innovation is not always inventing the next new thing, but can also be the use of something old in a new way.
