We-think: The Power of Mass Creativity

Review

My Rating: 8 out of 10

How do you explain collaborative projects like Wikipedia and Linux? Why do people give away or contribute to things for free, for no financial reward?

The author, Charles Leadbeater, who also coined the term “Pro-Am“, investigates the phenomenon of mass creativity as exemplified in the examples above, but also on sites like MySpace and YouTube. He discusses how not mass production and consumption, but rather participation and sharing will be the key to innovation in the 21st century. He also touches on ideas and thoughts as to whether and how this can influence society outside the web, in terms of freedom, democracy and equality.

Bottom line

Very worth reading and recommendable to people who want to dive deeper into the social phenomena that we observe in the web world these days and what the reasons behind these successes are.