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Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything | 
 enlarge | Authors: Don Tapscott, Anthony . Williams
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Category: Book
List Price: £16.99
Buy New: £4.34
You Save: £12.65 (74%)
New (21) Used (7) from £2.66
Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 62019
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 408
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.3
ISBN: 1843546361
EAN: 9781843546368
ASIN: 1843546361
Publication Date: July 12, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 An inspiring and well researched book with interesting case studies December 4, 2008
C. FITZMAURICE (Ireland)
The authors believe that wikinomics is based on four ideas namely openness, peering, sharing and acting globally. They examine how the technology of today has enabled collaboration to occur on a far greater scale than in the past and has been driving innovation and growth at a rapid pace. The book cites examples of how old economy industries have been able to create values in new and unconventional ways and shows how traditional hierarchical structures are being challenged. In summary, the book implies that to succeed in today's world a business has to embrace collaboration and openness in order to compete and to keep up with the consumers (the theory of prosumers outlined in the book).
The authors maintain that in the collaboration economy, the real advantage of global sourcing is not necessarily cost savings but the endless possibilities for growth, innovation and diversity. The reader will recognize many of the companies in the case studies such as Wikipedia, Linux, Amazon, BMW and Boeing. The extent to which these companies have embraced this new economy is fascinating.
A compelling book and a great read for those who are interested in the impact of the internet on today's business world.
You snooze you lose... October 12, 2008
desiamond (London, UK)
Quick catch-up for those who haven't got a clue and for those who only operate on the fringes of all things web. Written in plain and simple English and no hectic jargon. A brilliant read, and a must if you want to make money in the 21st century!
A Pleasurable Read October 4, 2008
Mr. S. Jeffery (London, England)
I for one found this book to be very informative, and it provided me with many interesting, and some surprising examples of which I will use for presentations and the like for my work.
I've developed an updated and refreshed outlook on the web and its developments, and this is largely due to this book.
Well written, thoroughly researched, and I highly recommend this to anybody.
 Doesn't do what it says on the cover September 11, 2008
C. Bodsworth (London)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book has plenty of flaws, many pointed out by other reviewers here, but it's central problem is it fails to explain how mass collaboration changes EVERYTHING. Sure it comes up with some compelling evidence that certain sorts of activity and business involving information have changed and will change more.
But when it alleges that this will extend into the physical world, of car design for instance, its examples are woefully thin. Furthermore the authors simply don't acknowledge that design is only one part of the production of cars and that other physical processes are likely to remain unchanged.
I'm sure if you are a magazine editor and your friends all work in publishing or software everything is changing, but where is the evidence that nursing, bus driving, window cleaning or garden design to pluck a few random examples ever will be revolutionised by mass collaboration?
The authors simply make an extravagant claim they cannot back up.
Furthermore as a web editor looking for practical pointers, the news that the staff at Geek Squad are encouraged to spend all day on online games simply isn't helpful to me. They live in a specialised world and nothing the authors write has convinced me that my own workplace would benefit from me and my colleagues playing online games. Again, the authors' examples don't represent EVERYTHING, they represent life in parts of California, London, Bangalore and a handful of other places.
 Time will tell if it really is a new model for business September 3, 2008
Andrew Dalby (oxford)
This book was recommended by a business partner at IBM who thinks big things of the new open source collaborative world. So I was expecting a lot, but I remain unconvinced.
Some of the examples are great such as the gold mining and the role of IBM in open source development but some cases are less clear cut. The reverse engineering of Japanese motorcycles by the newly rising Chinese industry perhaps should give us a warning about how the knowledge economy is ultimately at the mercy of the manufacturing economy that for now are collaborators. Collaboration is fine so long as altruism flourishes and everyone benefits but eventually someone wants more then their fare share of the pie.
The test will be to see how many of the businesses described in the book outlive the current economic downturn. Those that do will have proved the point but I do not think it is a one fit solution for all.
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