Society is no longer based on mass consumption but on mass participation. New forms of collaboration - such as Wikipedia and YouTube - are paving the way for an age in which people want to be players, rather than mere spectators, in the production process. In the 1980s, Charles Leadbeater's prescient book, In Search of Work, anticipated the growth of flexible employment. Now We-think explains how the rise of mass collaboration will affect us and the world in which we live.
We-Think: Mass Innovation Not Mass Production
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"* 'a riveting guide to a new world in which a whole series of core assumptions are being overturned by innovations on the web' Mathew D'Ancona, The Spectator 'Leadbeater - with the help of his hundreds of online collaborators - has written an excellent, intelligent and comprehensive guide to the labyrinth of bewildering ways in which a truly revolutionary era is unfolding.' Sunday Telegraph 'I was gripped. The book's theme is as big and bold as it gets... Leadbeater's book should be compulsory reading for all who seek to understand the driving force of this century.' Management Today 'Likely to be the most controversial book about the internet to be published this year... I urge you to read it' The Independent"
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The man The Spectator calls 'the new wizard of the web' explores the ways in which mass collaboration is dramatically reshaping our approach to work, play and communication.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Charlie Leadbeater has written a very well researched and approachable introduction to collaboration and creativity. His illustrations of how successful enterprises can be built by harnessing the "Pro-Am" (the amateur who is as skilled as a professional) are sources of hope. He is undoubtedly right but he has also missed a couple of good points. The first is that in science and engineering like Moore's Law (in respect of computer power) and Sod's law ( in respect of things in general) there is Stigler's Law of Inventions: "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." No modern scientific or engineering discovery can be laid at the door of one person - the reality is that multiple entirely independent individuals come up with the same thing at the same time. From the lightbulb to the telephone this has always been shown to be true. This is where "We-Think" can gain its power since, thanks to the Internet entirely independent individuals can collaborate to innovate and invent at warp speed
The second point which Charlie misses (or, to be fair, probably choose not to mention since I believe he is is fully aware of the issue) is the inability of the legal system to protect inventions and technologies developed through collaboration. Brainstorming solutions to problems is overrated - it is easy to brainstorm but it is hard to execute the ideas that have come from the brainstorm. "We-Think" collaboration suggests a mechanism to do just that - but the business models to protect the collaborative effort do not yet exist. (I have some possible solutions but a review of this book is not the place to discuss them.)
All in all a fascinating and thought provoking read - hence the five stars.
The second point which Charlie misses (or, to be fair, probably choose not to mention since I believe he is is fully aware of the issue) is the inability of the legal system to protect inventions and technologies developed through collaboration. Brainstorming solutions to problems is overrated - it is easy to brainstorm but it is hard to execute the ideas that have come from the brainstorm. "We-Think" collaboration suggests a mechanism to do just that - but the business models to protect the collaborative effort do not yet exist. (I have some possible solutions but a review of this book is not the place to discuss them.)
All in all a fascinating and thought provoking read - hence the five stars.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Tim Harrap
Format:Paperback
A lot of factual books acknowledge the input of others but then let it be known that the work is in the end totally the author's responsibility. Here the author admits to strong input from outsiders having let it be edited under a wiki format on the web. In the end I don't think you hear Charles Leadbeater's heart or soul in this book but a lot of pussy footing around the subject having tried to accomodate multiple viewpoints.
Contrast Benkler's Wealth of Network's which although available as a wiki the hard copy delivers Benkler's authorship.
Interesting book in the nonetheless in a Cluetrain sort of way!
Contrast Benkler's Wealth of Network's which although available as a wiki the hard copy delivers Benkler's authorship.
Interesting book in the nonetheless in a Cluetrain sort of way!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed this book - it's far less bombastic than WikiNomics and raises a number of important 'calming factors' surrounding the areas of collaborative technology. In essence he says it's important, and will be dramatically important for a small number of fields and industries, and less important but still influential in more. However, the book makes a number of fairly bizarre points based on what I feel is a misunderstanding of some of the concepts covered. The biggest example of this is the three-four page treatment he does on World of Wacraft in which he talks about in terms of mass collaboration on content development - in this respect, he may be getting it confused with Second Life, but the argument he makes in favour of this interpretation is entirely in the context of WoW. I feel this is a poorly considered argument for one reason - there is nothing new in Warcraft that hasn't been in all social gaming. They're all about collaborating to have fun, but they do not involve content generation. Warcraft is a large scale content-consumption platform, but it's not a content generator.
On the other hand, there is a thriving 'cottage industry' of add-on development which does involve considerable collaboration, but that's not the argument he makes.
On the whole though, a strong book that would make a good introduction to anyone wondering what all this wiki/collaboration stuff was about and why it mattered.
On the other hand, there is a thriving 'cottage industry' of add-on development which does involve considerable collaboration, but that's not the argument he makes.
On the whole though, a strong book that would make a good introduction to anyone wondering what all this wiki/collaboration stuff was about and why it mattered.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ordered the false book
Unfortunately I got a complete different book as I wanted to buy, which was just my fault. So I cannot really give a review of it.
Published 24 months ago by Martinist
2.0 out of 5 stars
One idea wonder
Along with a slew of other catchy titled books looking into the future of the web and society, Charles Leadbeater beats you over head with the same idea, the same story, over and... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2010 by Drew
3.0 out of 5 stars
Short of actually saying something meaningful
I can see where the author is going, but he seems afraid to really drill into the issues and state his case with conviction. Either that or he has the attention span of a...... Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2010 by R. Spencer
5.0 out of 5 stars
I thought
I thought We-think is great. If you want to get your head round the benefits of Web 2.0 this is the book to do it. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2009 by C. Mitchell
3.0 out of 5 stars
Been said before
From the very start, re-labelling 'Collaboration' with 'WeThink' is actually annoying. After 200 odd pages of hearing 'We Think' can do this and that, becomes downright offensive. Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2008 by Mr. S. Jeffery
1.0 out of 5 stars
We-Ramble
This book is not a good example of 'collaboration' as it never really gets the reader engaged. The authors ramblings tend to bore and towards the end I just skipped sections when I... Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2008 by G. W. Francis
5.0 out of 5 stars
balanaced
A very well balanced book that looks at both the pros and cons of growing communities on the web. A book that will make you think.
Published on 3 April 2008 by CB
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a fantastic book...
This is a fantastic book. Let me say I'm a sceptic when it comes to the web: okay, I buy from amazon but I think second life is really dull and I only signed up 3 friends on... Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2008 by Helen Manners
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