We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business (Hardcover)

by Barry Libert (Author), Jon Spector (Author), Don Tapscott (Foreword)
Key Phrases: Cambrian House, Second Life, Virgin Mobile (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Best Books of 2007, Top 10 Editors Pick: Business" - Amazon.com, 2007

  

#1 on 800-CEO-READ's "Top 25 Monthly" Bestseller List, August 2008

 

"10 Books to Inspire Your Business for 2008", The Street.com, November 15, 2007

 

 

Product Description
Many leading-edge books are now stating that emerging social networks are rewriting and impacting the rules of business. Now you can discover exactly how to use social networking in your business to drive better decision-making and greater profitability. We Are Snarter Than Me is a collaboration of Wharton, MIT and thousands of business innovators, worldwide. Drawing on their collective "in the trenches" experience, the wearesmarter.org community reveals what does and does not work when you bring social netowrks and communities into your decision-making and business processes. This book shares powerful insights and new case studies from product development, manufacturing, marketing, customer service, finance and management along with rules for effective community building. You'll learn which business functions can best be accomplished or supported by communities; how to provide effective moderation, balance structure with independence, manage risk, define success, implement effective metrics, and much more. From tools and processes to culture and leadership, We Are Smarter than Me will help you transform the promise of social networking into a profitable reality.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Wharton School Publishing; 1 edition (October 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132244799
• ISBN-13: 978-0132244794
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #207,318 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Easy earnings, for the author, January 6, 2008

By	Dr. L. A. Plugge (Maastricht, Limburg Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book turns out to be more like a pamphlet: superficial, one/few liners.
It would be nice as a presentation, but as a book it is too pretentious.
However, it does provide a convenient list of ideas to "unleash the power of crowdsourcing"

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Most People Are Smarter Than Me..., November 3, 2007

By	Wayne Turmel "The Cranky Middle Manager" (Chicago area, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

.. so it's good to know that there are many ways to capture the wisdom of audiences, co-workers and strangers who share a passion for whatever it is I'm doing. I'll take all the help I can get. In "We Are Smarter Than Me", Barry Libert and Jon Spector have put together a book that is both a primer in using social networks for businesses and individuals, and a prime example of what can be created by using them effectively.

While true "Web 2.0" geeks might find some of the examples a bit basic, most business people and civilians will be fascinated at how many examples fit their needs, and might even find the competition is ahead of them.

You can hear an interview with Barry Libert on The Cranky Middle Manager Show at http://cmm.thepodcastnetwork.com/audio/tpn_cmm_20071103_118.mp3

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mighty Undertaking, October 27, 2007

By	Craig L. Howe "The Pointed Pundit" (Darien, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Drawing on their social networking ideas and research, authors Barry Libert and Jon Spector drew upon more than 4,000 people to help write a book on how to make money from the wisdom of crowds.

Writing a book is hard enough, but coordinating the contributions of thousands must be a massive effort. Surprisingly the resulting effort is readable and insightful. The primary and secondary authors argue adapting social network to your business will drive decision-making and greater profitability.

The book shares case studies on product development, manufacturing, marketing, customer service, finance and management. After completing it, I had greater insights into business functions that can best be supported by social networks and communities; moderating the process, balancing structure with independence. I particularly enjoyed the authors' thoughts on managing risk and effective metrics.

I loved James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds and still highly recommend it. This book takes the next logical step. If social collaboration is going to infiltrate our personal and professional lives, there will have to be profit in it.