MIT Technology Review: Interview with Kevin Rose

MIT Technology Review: Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.com, talks about why it's good that the site is out of control. [>>]
Also interesting:

• Journalism.co.uk: "Assignment Zero learns from 'flawed mechanics' of crowdsourcing project" [>>]
• Wired: "Did Assignment Zero Fail? A Look Back, and Lessons Learned" [>>]
  

Worth Reading: "The New Principles of a Swarm Business"

In the spring issue of MIT Sloan Management Review Peter A. Gloor and Scott M. Cooper have published an exciting article on Swarm Business [pdf][>>]:

"As companies like BMW, IBM, Novartis and others are discovering, swarm businesses require a completely new corporate mindset. Specifically, to reap the benefits of swarm innovation, companies must (1) gain power by giving it away, (2) share with the swarm and (3) concentrate on the swarm, not on making money. Although these principles differ from the traditional ways of doing business in a number of fundamental ways, they are crucial for companies to succeed in this emerging era of increased collaboration among innovators both inside and outside the organization."

Wired News republishes 12 of the best Assignment Zero Stories

This week Wired News republishes a selection of Assignment Zero stories on the topic of crowdsourcing. All in all, Assignment Zero produced about 80 stories, essays and interviews about crowdsourcing. Wired News reprints 12 of the best [>>]:

1. Open-Source Journalism: It's a Lot Tougher Than You Think
2. Creative Crowdwriting: The Open Book
3. Stock Waves: Citizen Photo Journalists Are Changing the Rules
4. (Q&A) Your Assignment: Art
5. Design Within Reach: Architecture for Humanity Builds the Future of Housing
6. (Q&A) The Experts at the Periphery
7. News the Users Can Use
8. (Q&A) Tricksters
9. Put 40 Strangers in a Virtual Room to Talk About Religion
10. (Q&A) Crowdsourcing Is a Word, and We'll See What It Means
11. (Q&A) The Law of Large Numbers and That Eureka Moment
12. (Q&A) Maybe the Fans Are Smarter than the Coach

New book: "Coolhunting - Chasing Down the Next Big Thing"

Peter Gloor and Scott Cooper have written an excellent book on swarm creativity and coolhunting:

http://www.amanet.org/books/catalog/0814473865.htm

From the publishers Web site:
"What is cool? It’s one of today’s most pervasive and elusive questions. No matter who we are, we all have an innate desire to be cool, cultivate cool, and find cool. Whether it’s the next hot band, this season’s hip new TV show, or the trendy new club that’s attracting all the right people, everyone wants to tap into the power of the latest trends in fashion, music, politics, and entertainment. The enormous popularity of social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster are further testament to our collective need to stay on the cutting edge of what’s hot. Now, in Coolhunting, you will discover the practical tools you need to find the hottest trends and the people who set them.

The art of Coolhunting involves zeroing in on the fresh idea that will be the genesis of a hot new trend. It also involves finding the people responsible for the idea the trendsetters who will cause others to jump on board. By recognizing who the trendsetters are, you can actually anticipate the next big trend before it takes off–because cool ideas will grow and expand around these people.

Authors Peter Gloor and Scott Cooper have done extensive research into the fascinating world of Coolhunting and its many applications. Now, they explain what Coolhunting is, how it originated, and how to explore the power of cool for yourself. They explore the many varied– and often surprising– ways that companies like Apple, Continental Airlines, Starbucks, Procter & Gamble, and Google have been using Coolhunting to their advantage in areas such as product development, marketing, and customer relations. Filled with real-world practical advice on how to coolhunt, this innovative guide offers the latest techniques, specialized software, and Internet technology to enable you to hone in on your targets with unerring accuracy. Prospective coolhunters will learn how to:

• Emulate the great coolhunters, from venture capitalist
• John Doerr to Ben Franklin
• Discover new trends by tracking message board discussions and blogs
• Find and recruit the latest trendsetters among sources like Wikinews
• Master the five steps to becoming a "cool farmer"— getting involved in the actual creation of new trends by nurturing your own ideas

A new kind of hip guide for the 21st century, Coolhunting is a revolutionary book that redefines the way we think about the power of cool."

Press Review April -- June 2007

New articles in April, May, and June:

• Sydney Morning Herald: "Critical Mass" [>>]
• Wall Street Journal: "Why Bad Things Happen to Good Technology" by Henry Chesbrough [>>]
• InformationWeek: "Sustained Growth and Profitability Through Lean Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) - A Process Industry Perspective Podcast" [>>]
• Boston Globe: "Crowdsourcing: Mining the masses for the next big thing" [>>]
• Business Week: "Linux vs. Wikipedia" [>>]
• Business Week: "NineSigma: Nurturing 'Open Innovation'" [>>]
• Washington Post: "T-Shirt Maker's Style, Drawn From Web Users" [>>]
• Financial Times: "Reach out in the Era of Open Innovation" [>>]
• Miami Herald: "Web users becoming big resource for firms" [>>]
  

Press Review March 2007

A bunch of interesting articles has been published in March:

• Timothy B. Lee (not to be confused with Tim Berners-Lee!): "Capitalists, Entrepreneurs, and Peer Production" [>>]
• Jed Harris: "Capitalists vs. Entrepreneurs" [>>]
• Mike Masnick: "Does Peer Production Turn Capitalists Against Entrepreneurs?" [>>]
• Nick Wilson: "How Spotplex's 'Trafficracy' Could Beat Digg But Probably Won't" [>>]
• Wall Street Journal: "The Path to Growth" [>>]
• CNN (World Business): "The rapid march of technology" [>>]
• The Guardian, UK: "Read me first" [>>]
• International Herald Tribune: "Humanitarian goals, tech-savvy solutions" [>>]
• Wired: "Citizen Journalism Wants You!" [>>]
• The New York Times: "All the World’s a Story" [>>]
• Chicago Sun-Times: "Boeing embraces 'mass collaboration' to develop 787" [>>]
• Business Week: "The Global Plant Floor" [>>]
• NetworkWorld: "NYT and LAT talk up 'crowdsourcing'" [>>]
• New York Times: "Artificial Intelligence, With Help From the Humans" [>>]
  

Press Review Feb 2007

A selection of recently published articles on Peer Production, Crowdsourcing and Wikinomics:

• Knowledge@Wharton: "Make Room, Wikipedia: Internet-based Collaboration Could Change the Way We Do Business" [>>]
  
• Computing Business: "Processes at the Core" [>>]
• Business 2.0: "Why commercial Wikis don't work" [>>]
• AdWeek: "'Wikify' your brand" [>>]
• Toronto Star: "A new manufacturing mindset needed" [>>]
• CIO Magazine: "Why Are CIOs Not Part of the Innovation Discussion?" [>>]
• Canadian Business: "The wisdom of crowdsourcing" [>>]
• TIME: "Getting Rich off Those Who Work for Free" [>>]
• The Independent: "How to earn money online" [>>]
• Industry Week: "Customer Created" [>>]

Peer Innovation and Production

Business Week features a new article on Peer Innovation and Production. Therein the co-authors of Wikinomics explain how old-school companies like IBM can create value by embracing open-source models. >>

What Other Industries Can Teach Carriers

Insurance Networking News:
Special Report: What Other Industries Can Teach Carriers

It isn't stealing, honest. Insurers are learning from innovations currently in play in manufacturing, banking and other markets. >>