I’m reading “Wikinomics ” by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams. My sister-in-law recommended it to me when I first started contributing to the ReadyTalk blog, because I admitted to my family that I didn’t really have a clue about all this Web 2.0 stuff. I think she wants to make sure I don’t get left behind.

“Wikinomics” is the type of book that’s hard for me to get though because it’s crammed full of things to think about. I find myself constantly having to go back and reread a paragraph because some sentence sent me off on a thought tangent. At this rate, I’ll still be reading “Wikinomics” when Web 3.0 comes along.

The thesis of wikinomics is that mass collaboration “is changing how companies and societies harness knowledge and capability to innovate and create value.” (That’s one of those sentences I’m talking about.) The four principles of wikinomics are:

1. Openness (access, transparency, engagement),
2. Peering (egalitarianism - not staring intently at something),
3. Sharing (knowledge and resources), and
4. Acting globally (to maximize productivity and opportunity).

The idea is that these four principles are reshaping the business world, and companies that embrace them will succeed; those that don’t will be left behind. How the principles translate to a particular business or organization will vary greatly. Have you applied any of these principles? If so, how have you applied them and what results have you seen?

I’m going to work my way through “Wikinomics” over the next few weeks/months/years. I’ll let you know if I come up with anything interesting.

On to Chapter 2.

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