The notion that innovation proceeds through the recombination of existing ideas to form something new is not unique to the Web, or even the last century. In fact, it was Isaac Newton who famously said in a letter dated February 5, 1675, "If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants," His modest explanation for how he achieved such incredible insight into natural phenomena has come to represent the idea that all innovations are ultimately cumulative, with each generation of advances resting on the previous.

Today, with open platforms for innovation inviting unprecedented participation in value creation, cumulative innovation is going into ores drive. Growing numbers of professional and amateur developers are crest ing their own content and applications by combining various fragments the find freely scattered across the Web. As described in Chapter 2, this fluids combinatorial approach to innovation is making the Web look inc easing1 like a traditional librarian's nightmare-a noisy library full of chatty compo vents that interact and communicate with one another. "Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything"

While criticising the books lack of walking the talk, it still is the best business book on the changes that are being wrought by the success of small pieces, loosely joined by cheap high-performance communication, on open platforms, supported by cheap high-performance computing.

There's nothing that compromises an argument quicker than hypocrisy. When you talk the talk but stumble on the walk, who can believe you? Admiring "How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything," and doing nothing in your own work to change anything is the conundrum for me over "Wikinomics," the book that describes "How," but doesn't "Do."

Which is irksome as I admire Don Tapscott's talk, shame the walk is crippled. The book says what I believe, but doesn't believe in it sufficiently to do.

Reluctant to read this new take on the old idea that groups, correctly structured and sampled, despite ignorance, bias and uncertainty, can come up with insightful answers.

Given the way our brains are structured, that this macrocosmic view of the emergence of intelligence from a diverse cluster of entities is correct shouldn't be a surprise.

Well researched and written with a fund of interesting research examples, and a strict definition of when crowds do and don't (mobs) work.

Its in the WCC Library system, but I can't link any closer than the search, check it out

ObURL: Independent Individuals and Wise Crowds
James Surowieki