Using wikinomics to enliven your neighborhood

Yesterday we took a look at the rising need to capture a community’s collective brilliance, which happens too randomly and ubiquitously to be of any use in today’s rigid business processes. Enter Wikinomics, the wikipedia approach to business.

With collaborative tools like wikis, many progressive organizations will utilize much smaller, decentralized teams, whose primary role will be to monitor creative input rather than directly provide it. Their job will be to identify and solicit feedback from the people associated with exciting ideas and experiences, wherever they happen to be, rather than rely on closed door meetings. They will also establish the incentive systems that reward the collaborators with fair compensation for the value they create. The buzz in the industry is that ‘the ability to use wikis will be a required job skill in five years.’

So what do you need to pioneer a wiki to shape and energize your neighborhood? You’ll need a sponsoring organization, like say, the Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals (YURP) in New Orleans, a group we’re looking to invest in New Orleans with. You’ll need a wiki tool like SocialText, and an accompanying social network like CollectiveX. Ideally, both would be one and the same. The key is to remember that the best tool in the world is useless without the sculptor.

Image source: mdroute5

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