The experiment of writing the book was more interesting than the book itself. Here, dozens (hundreds?) of writers collaborated in the writing of the book.

The book was very short and even shorter whether the often irrelevant pictures are ignored. I was surprised at the repetition of stories and summaries in the book.

The collaborative writing means that the style is very bland and has no consistent voice. ( )

business,web 2.0,reading

Drawing on their social networking ideas and research, authors Barry Libert and Jon Spector drew upon more than 4,000 people to help write a book on how to make money from the wisdom of crowds.

Writing a book is hard enough, but coordinating the contributions of thousands must be a massive effort. Surprisingly the resulting effort is readable and insightful. The primary and secondary authors argue adapting social network to your business will drive decision-making and greater profitability.

The book shares case studies on product development, manufacturing, marketing, customer service, finance and management. After completing it, I had greater insights into business functions that can best be supported by social networks and communities; moderating the process, balancing structure with independence. I particularly enjoyed the authors’ thoughts on managing risk and effective metrics.

I loved James Surowiecki’s The Wisdom of Crowds and still highly recommend it. This book takes the next logical step. If social collaboration is going to infiltrate our personal and professional lives, there will have to be profit in it.

Penned by the Pointed Pundit
October 27, 2007
6:48:29 PM ( )

How does one capture the wisdom of many in shaping a business or organization? This book, written by thousands is an example of how one takes into account, through social networking, the reaction of customers to our library services as we try to move into the center of teaching and learning. How many organizations really listen to their customers? Recently, a student in Dallas published a critical letter in the press about how out of touch the teacher librarian was. The interesting thing was the teacher librarian’s perception was exactly the opposite of the customer.Spector’s book is a great reminder that we all must set in motion the appreciation or complaints of those we serve and use the ideas of the crowd to shape excellence. ( )