The one-sentence summary
You are what you share, so start with a core idea and get others to contribute, collaborate and create.
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WHAT THE BOOK SAYS
- The future is us, via mass collaboration, not mass production.
- The rallying call of the web is for shared power that makes society more open and egalitarian.
- There has been an unparalleled wave of democratic, productive and creative participation online.
- This book is itself an example.
- The generation growing up with the web will not be content to remain spectators. They want to be players and their slogan is “we think therefore we are.”
- Self-determination is a powerful thing. In 1998, BT had failed to get its field engineers to work harder so set up a Freedom to Choose scheme whereby they scheduled their own work. After three years they were working two hours a week less and earning more. Productivity was up 5% and quality 8%.
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT
- You are what you share is the new mantra, and the author works through numerous examples of how this works in the modern world, all facilitated by the web.
The roots of we-think reside in a strange mixture of online contributors:- The academic brings a belief that knowledge develops through sharing ideas and testing them through peer review
- The hippie brings a deep scepticism about all sources of authority
- The peasant favours shared use of communal facilities and resources
- The geek offers to realise their dreams by networking them together
- When you put all this together, you have a powerful blend.
- The way it works is to start with the core, then other people contribute to it, they connect over it, they collaborate, and they create. These are the 5 Cs.
WHAT YOU HAVE TO WATCH
- It is not set out in any particular sections. It is more like a very long essay. As such it is not easy to dip in and out, or to refer back to something in particular. So it is best to treat it as a thought-provoking whole, rather than anything specific you can take action on.