Some time ago, I reported that Novartis had adopted a wikinomics approach to its diabetes research. After investing millions of dollars trying to unlock the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes, the company released all of its raw data on the Internet, for free. Hardly typical behavior for a pharmaceutical company. After all, pinpointing their precise genetic origins of diabetes could unlock a treasure trove of new medicines and result in a major windfall for [...]

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Following a theme here, I also like the distinction made between crowdsourcing and citizen science by Yale-based astrophysicist and Galaxy Zoo founder Kevin Schawinski: “We prefer to call this [Galaxy Zoo] citizen science because it’s a better description of what you’re doing; you’re a regular citizen but you’re doing science. Crowd sourcing sounds a bit like, well, you’re just a member of the crowd and you’re not; you’re our collaborator. You’re pro-actively involved in the [...]

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No longer to content to lay claim to being the world’s largest scientific collaboration, it seems CERN, which operates the Large Hadron Collider, is now flexing its viral marketing muscles. I had a good laugh at this and can barely wait to share it with my son in the morning.      

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Technologists and science fiction writers have long envisioned a world where a seamless worldwide network of Internet-connected sensors could capture every event, action, and change on earth, giving us unprecedented real-time information about the state of the world. Such remote sensing and surveillance capabilities could easily have Orwellian consequences, but they can also empower citizens in new ways too. Take the Berkeley-based “Common Sense” project, where an innovative group of researchers claims that a few [...]

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Choice is a foreign concept in most health care systems around the world. Sick patients are advised on the appropriate course of treatment by their doctor, referred to a specialist where appropriate and then handed a appointment time — choice rarely enters into the process. Broadly speaking, the assumption is that patients are not sufficiently informed to make reasonable choices about their health care, so there is little point even offering choice. In fact, choice [...]

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For those who have not yet heard, Don and I are working on a sequel to Wikinomics that will lift the lid on a wide range of topics that we did not really get to in wikinomics 1.0. So, for example, we’ll be examining how mass collaboration is changing education, health care, science, government, democracy, international advocacy and national security. Based on our early conversations, I’m already convinced that we’ll surface a whole new set [...]

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Last week I gave a keynote at Case Western Reserve University, as part of the President’s Symposium on Collaborative Technology and the Future of Education. I’ve posted my slides on slideshare.com and I’m working with the event organizers to make the video of my talk available here. | View | Upload your own The event was organized by Lev Gonick, Case Western’s CIO and a trailblazer in educational innovation. Check out Lev’s blog for an [...]

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I received an email this morning that gets the prize for reader comment of the week. In Wikinomics, we referenced Isaac Newton‘s “shoulders of Giants” quote to illustrate the idea that all knowledge and scientific discovery is cumulative . . . one great discovery builds on the foundation of previous discoveries, and so on. Well, Wikinomics reader Frank Smith notes that there is more to Isaac Newton’s “shoulders of Giants” quote than meets the eye. [...]

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One of the most intriguing books I’ve read of late is The Gift of Athena, by economic historian Joel Mokyr. Mokyr traces the rise of the industrial revolution and the important role of the Enlightenment and the scientific revolution in increasing access to knowledge in society at large. Here’s his thesis in a nutshell: The central phenomenon of the modern age is that as an aggregate we know more. New knowledge developed in the past [...]

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The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recently posted its Practitioners Handbook to the web and opened it up for revision by members of the bar. It’s a “no holds barred” approach to harnessing the collective wisdom of legal practitioners. Attorneys are encouraged to make comments, change information, add topics; in short, post whatever they think is important to know about practicing in the 7th Circuit. “Our proposition is that everyone knows more than any one [...]

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