With its currently more than one billion users (Almanac,
2006), the Internet offers an enormous pool of knowledge,
impossible to encounter elsewhere. According to von
Hippel (2005), users encountered in online communities
present a promising source of innovation. Fig. 2 shows how
customers can add value to all stages of the innovation
process. Potential tasks and roles that can be transferred to
customers are illustrated along a three-stage development
process (Fig. 2).