Every decade or so a piece of writing appears that conditions our thinking and helps shape the course of history. Work like Eric S. Raymond’s, “The Cathedral and the Bazaar” for example, help expose truths to us that, until they’re written down, somehow remain outside our grasp. In some cases it can be decades until we appreciate the full impact that they have. “As We May Think,” by Vannevar Bush in 1945 is also such [...]
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In the last couple of weeks, my colleague Alan Majer and I have had some interesting conversations with people like Sean Moss-Pultz (associated with open source mobile effort openmoko), Vincent John Vincent (president of machine vision company GestureTek), and other forward-looking thinkers about the future of mobile technologies. Here’s a nice image of the open source OpenMoko phone (can’t wait to get my hands on one when they’re released): I couldn’t help but contrast some [...]
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My colleague Paul Artiuch just alterted me to a new Wiki initiative that aims to expose the secrets of the world’s oppressive regimes. The Wikileaks initiative is, “developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Our primary interests are oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to those in the west who wish to reveal unethical behavior [...]
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A few weeks ago two U.S. congressional representatives — Rick Boucher and John Doolittle — proposed legislation to ostensibly protect the fair use rights of consumers in the wake of a sustained attack on these rights by various copyright lobbies. Much discussion ensued. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) predictably complained that the “FAIR USE Act” would effectively “legalize hacking.” In other quarters, critics are suggesting that the bill doesn’t go far enough. Tim [...]
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My colleague Denis Hancock has a great post on the curious and circular logic of DRM on our Wikinomics blog. Check it out. Abbreviated version below (yes, Denis can be a little long-winded In February Steve Jobs issued some thoughts on music that were tied mostly to the continued use of DRM. In short, Jobs said Apple would whole heartedly embrace DRM free music, but notes that if they license their current DRM to others, [...]
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Sounds a little lofty to me, but this is not the first time ideas like this have come across our radar. Faithful bloggers around the world have been discussing the ideas explored in Wikinomics and wondering about the implications for their respective institutions. Here’s one from Cynthia Ware: The 2007 book by Don Tapscott & Anthony D. Williams, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, explores collaboration and the theory that mass collaboration from participants in [...]
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The Washington Post is reporting today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will soon begin experimenting with a wikinomics approach to reviewing patent applications. Anyone who’s been keeping tabs on the intellectual property system knows that this idea is long overdue. The number of patent applications has tripled since the 1980s, while the number of patents granted has doubled. Some might argue that the rate of invention has dramatically increased, but the more [...]
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YouTube has struck what looks to be a model deal with the BBC to provide short clips on three new YouTube channels – one for news and two for entertainment. In exchange for providing content, the BBC will get a share of the advertising revenue generated by traffic to the new YouTube channels. Unlike some broadcasters (hello Viacom), the BBC seems to understand that YouTube is a great promotional vehicle that could expand their audience [...]
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In their 2007 bestseller Wikinomics, Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams taught the world how mass collaboration was changing the way businesses communicate, compete, and succeed in the new global marketplace. But much has changed in three years, and the principles of wikinomics are now more powerful than ever. In this new age of networked intelligence, businesses and communities are bypassing crumbling institutions. We are altering the way our financial institutions and governments operate; how we [...]
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