Book Review: We Are Smarter Than Me

Collaboration is the hottest buzz word in most industries these days and business is not immune from that reality.  Barry Libert and Jon Spector teamed up to write We are Smarter Than Me to help people recognize that community builds and drives business.  They explored businesses of all kinds, including virtual vacation communities, online photo solutions, and several others.  Check out my notes below to see what I highlighted while reading this book…

  • When communities play a role in manufacturing companies’ products or, as in the case of iStock, content, the advantages over traditional business models are huge. At iStock, for instance, contributors not only create the product being sold, but they also deliver it in a market-ready format and list it in the appropriate keyword category. With little or no product inventory expense or traditional overhead, the company can price the product far below that of old-model competitors.
  • Get emotional.
  • Get the crowd involved.
  • Vary content.
  • Vary venues.
  • Commercial opportunities abound wherever a community exists around an idea or an emotion. The Internet is the most popular medium for marshalling a crowd in your behalf, but it’s not the only one.
  • Maintain quality.
  • Go medium rare.
  • The message here is to look upon every kind of community, on- and offline, as a potential crowdsourcing partner.

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