Wikinomics Chapter Three

Now this is really where the rubber hits the road. Sure it’s interesting that Linus Torvalds brought peer-sharing and collaboration to life, but that was an operating system. Can this idea of peer-sharing really have an impact on the way business is done? Yeah I guess so. When I learned that the BMW I used to drive operated on a Linux system it brought to life the idea that non-monetary based peer collaboration could in fact create its own economy of systems designed to work together with inter-related parts and technical specifications that could result in billions of dollars in industry.


But still, we are talking about something I don’t much understand—the inner workings of my automobile being primary on that list. But then I look at Wikipedia and I see how not only it has changed, but the perception held by most individuals and a growing number of academics have also shifted. Once considered a poor choice for an academic reference—as indicated in Wikinomics, in more recent years Wikipedia has become increasingly accepted as a reputable source of information. Despite its obvious weaknesses, I am a big believer in Wikipedia. I in fact expect to be a contributor one day soon. I am working on my own article on Followership. Wikipedia currently has no entry for this subject and I expect to be the first.

Wow, with peer-sharing I can do what I have always wanted with a minimum of fuss. I don’t need a magazine publisher to be interested in my story; I don’t have to sell it to a newspaper. But it is a subject I believe should be included in the world’s on-line encyclopedia. My opinion is that it is a very important avenue of study as sub-set of leadership studies. You can be sure that Wikipedia has many entries under the subject of Leadership! So I have self-selected to work on a project that has merit and should be studied by more people. I will not likely earn any money, or even recognition. But I will gain value (and find meaning) in the knowledge that a coherent reference for this subject will then exist on Wikipedia! Imagine, little ol’ me, a member of the peer-collaboration world. I can imagine few things that are more exciting for me.