I found this interesting graphic as I was browsing through the HBR website and reading through an article on new vs old power. It's called the Participation Scale and I thought it was a really interesting way to show the different levels of participation.
There is a very common marketing tool we call the path to purchase that marketers use to learn more about how consumers purchase their products. This participation scale actually takes a deeper dive into the part of the path wherein one has already converted and consumed a product or service and expounds on the different ways people now participate in a product's consumption. Gone are the days when consumption starts and ends with actual physical consumption.
The further along the participation scale, the deeper one's level of engagement is, to the point that it is actually quite possible for the consumer to be "part-owner" of what they are consuming. This is very powerful and encapsulates how traditional business models will now have to start changing and adapting to the way consumers now think, feel and act.
Changing consumer behaviors are opening up lots of opportunities for start-ups to exploit gaps in the market being deliberately (or not) ignored or overlooked by traditional big business who continue to focus on just traditional consumption. Where will you position your company or brand?