Wikinomics is something of a phenomena – it has a website as well as being a book. The book is about the concept of ‘peer production’ – think of the way in which Open Source sofwtare and Wikipedia is put together. Lots of people collaboratingfor the greater good to produce something that is valuable to all – and then making it free.
The phenomena reminded me of two similar ‘paradigm busting’ management theories of recent decades; ‘Excellence‘ and ‘Re-engineering’. Both of these approaches were sold to the world like the second coming of the Messiah, and both ultimately had what can best, in my opinion, be described as less than paradigm-breaking impact. I have a little admission to make here; in my youth I was a fan of the Excellence management theories of Tom Peters. Two things kicked me off the wagon; the first was that TP was getting WAY too far out there, even for me, and the second was that it was just oversold.
Now, before I embark in what will sound like heresy to some, I’ll say it clearly:
“I’m a great believer in Wikipedia, Open Source, Creative Commons and any other collaborative project you care to mention. Heck, when it starts to move my own CommunityNet project will be using wikis, forums and other Web 2.0 tools. This is an excellent way for things to happen, and long may it survive and flourish.”
But I found parts of this book a nightmare. Why?