Wikinomics: How collaboration will change the way we do business

From PLN

Wikinomics: How collaboration will change the way we do business

by Leslie Dillon, from Leader's Digest February 2007

I've been trying to get my hands on a copy of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, but all three copies of this wildly popular book are checked out of our local library system. So, while we wait for our personal copy to arrive from Amazon, I decided to read about it, which may be almost as good as (or better than) trying to read the whole thing! Here's what I've taken away so far:

Wikinomics is based on four principles: openness, peering, sharing, and acting globally.
Based on these principles, wikinomics advocates profound changes in the structure and modus operandi of the corporation and our economy
Rapidly surging online creation and collaboration (e.g., Wikipedia) will revolutionize the way "business is conducted in the 21st century."
These new communications technologies are leveling "the playing field with the world's mightiest enterprises" and "democratizing the creation of value."
Leaders must think differently now; they must "embrace a new art and science of collaboration".
Customers want a two-way relationship with products.

Based on a $9 million research project, Wikinomics shows how the masses of people can participate in the economy in ways that were never possible before. Authors Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams found that 65% of online customers want a "two-way relationship with the brands they select, with the ability to provide feedback and direct input." These "prosumers" are creating commercials, news stories, remixing music, designing software, etc. The book contains some fascinating stories about how companies are working collaboratively with their customers.

The classic example here is Wikipedia, which has 7 billion page views a month, and is translated into over ten languages. Although any Wikipedia use is forbidden in many schools, and Middlebury recently banned citing Wikipedia, some studies have found Wikipedia's accuracy similar to that of Encyclopedia Britannica. Note, by the way, that Wikipedia has about ten times more entries than Britannica.

Tapscott and Williams believe that the rise of Wikipedia was no accident; instead it's been a "perfect storm." That storm consists of "technological advances" that facilitate online collaboration and communication, plus there's this generation of digital natives "that insists on taking a more active role in creating or editing...online content."

Be sure to check out the Wikinomics site--not only is it full of interesting content, but the site itself reinvents the book in ways we librarians need to pay attention to. It has passages from the book, a collaboratively-written chapter, a wiki, a blog, and much more! (Knowledge@Wharton, Feb. 21, 2007, via ContentBlogger, Feb. 22, 2007.)

Wikipedia notes - Is Wikipedia an example of things to come or a unique case? Is mass collaboration a polite term for digital sharecropping, where many contribute the effort and a few reap the financial rewards? These notes don't cover it all, but they offer some pointers.