We Are Smarter Than Me

Looking for a solid, short read on crowdsourcing? The best book to date to satisfy that would have to be We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business (at least until Crowdsourcing: ‘Why the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business’ comes out July 2008). For the concise-minded, not only is We Are Smarter a mere 147 pages, but it’s full of pictures as well.

A look at the chapters, all of which provide lots of real world examples.

1. Look What ‘We’ Can Do. An introduction.
2. Go From R&D to R&WE. Using crowds to source innovation.
3. How May We Help We? Using crowds to source customer service.
4. Customer, Sell Thyself. Using crowds to source new sales.
5. If We Build It, We Will Come. Using crowds to source new products and services.
6. Welcome to the World Bank of We. Using crowds to source funding capital.
7. Make Everyone a C-We-O. Using crowds to source company management.
8. Crowdsourcing principles.
– Lead from the rear
– Know when to step in/moderate
– Form a club, a real community of like-minded people
– You can’t hide (from your mistakes), so don’t even try
– Forget about perfection, being too polished, canned
– Stir things up, ignite passion
– Say thank you, reward participation
– This is not a one-night stand – “For a new group, a year or 18 months is soon enough to make a determination of whether the game has been worth the candle.”

Be sure to check out the We Are Smarter website, where they’re crowdsourcing the book’s sequel.

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neilkt