Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

'Wikinomics reveals the next historic step - the art of and science of mass collaboration, where companies open up to the world. It is an important book.' - A. G. Lafley, CEO, Proctor and Gamble

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Tapscott (The Digital Economy), chief executive of New Paradigm, a think tank and strategy consulting company, and Williams, New Paradigm's research director, present a fascinating analysis of the quickly changing world of Internet togetherness, also known as mass or global collaboration, and what those changes mean for business and technology. As most listeners know by now, the word wiki is short for wiki wiki in Hawaiian, which means quick, and the best known of these collaborative web sites is, of course, Wikipedia. While the interesting history and implications of Wikipedia are covered, along with its inevitable spin-offs, such as Scholarpedia, Conservapedia, and Lyricwiki, the authors also discuss the background and impact of other success stories of global collaboration and explain how these tools have been integrated within the business operations of Procter & Gamble, Boeing, and BMW, as well as numerous software and smaller niche companies. Tapscott and Williams nicely weave their solid analysis with the accompanying reasonable calls for concern that reliable sources of business or information may be overtaken by an anonymous mass mediocrity and the equally critical concern that free goods and services created by the masses compete with proprietary marketplace offerings. The authors also provide sound suggestions for business leaders who wish to harness the collective capabilities and genius of mass collaboration to stimulate innovation, growth, and success. Alan Sklar's rich, deep bass narration maintains listener interest in this densely packed work. Highly recommended for business collections in university and larger public libraries.-Dale Farris, Groves, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

The word "wiki" means "quick" in Hawaiian, and here author and think tank CEO Tapscott (The Naked Corporation), along with research director Williams, paint in vibrant colors the quickly changing world of Internet togetherness, also known as mass or global collaboration, and what those changes mean for business and technology. Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia written, compiled, edited and re-edited by "ordinary people" is the most ubiquitous example, and its history makes remarkable reading. But also considered are lesser-known success stories of global collaboration that star Procter & Gamble, BMW, Lego and a host of software and niche companies. Problems arise when the authors indulge an outsized sense of scope-"this may be the birth of a new era, perhaps even a golden one, on par with the Italian renaissance, or the rise of Athenian democracy"-while acknowledging only reluctantly the caveats of weighty sources like Microsoft's Bill Gates. Methods for exploiting the power of collaborative production are outlined throughout, an alluring compendium of ways to throw open previously guarded intellectual property and to invite in previously unavailable ideas that hide within the populace at large. This clear and meticulously researched primer gives business leaders big leg up on mass collaboration possibilities; as such, it makes a fine next-step companion piece to James Surowiecki's 2004 bestseller The Wisdom of Crowds. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

CHOICE Review

Tapscott (founder, New Paradigm strategy consulting company; academic; author, The Naked Corporation, CH, Apr'04, 41-4768, and The Digital Economy, CH, May'96, 42-1645) and Williams (research director, New Paradigm) present an optimistic overview of successful collaborations and business ventures enabled by Web technology, including innovations in organizational problem solving and distribution options. They provide accounts of organizations, research projects, and inventions created by groups, ofttimes voluntarily, citing numerous short case studies. The authors predict the death of traditional silos of knowledge/skills and hierarchical directives (with a nod to James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds, CH, Nov'04, 42-1645). They use unique terms (e.g., idea agoras, productive friction) and words (e.g., marketocracy, prosumption, knowledge commons) to explain concepts and ideas they introduce. They address Coase's law, a reality check for industrial organizations when open-market collaboration is more cost effective than internal transactions. A discussion of this kind warrants more consideration of the darker sides of human motivation as well as groupthink and mass mediocrity. Notes with some sources of information are provided, but the authors primarily draw on their own observations of businesses and trends for the ideas presented. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and practitioners. N. J. Johnson Metropolitan State University

Booklist Review

Anyone who has done even a modest amount of browsing on the Internet has probably run across Wikipedia, the user-edited online encyclopedia that now dwarfs the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica. This is the prime example of what is called the new Web, or Web 2.0, where sites such as MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, and even the Human Genome Project allow mass collaboration from participants in the online community. These open systems can produce faster and more powerful results than the traditional closed proprietary systems that have been the norm for private industry and educational institutions. Detractors claim that authentic voices are being overrun by an anonymous tide of mass mediocrity, and private industry laments that competition from the free goods and services created by the masses compete with proprietary marketplace offerings. The most obvious example of this is Linux, the open-source operating system that has killed Microsoft in the server environment. But is this a bad thing? Tapscott thinks not; and as a proponent of peering, sharing, and open-source thinking, he has presented a clear and exciting preview of how peer innovation will change everything. --David Siegfried Copyright 2007 Booklist