WIKINOMICS, written by Don Tapscott (Toronto, Canada)) and Anthony D.Williams (London, England). [The portions in quotation marks are excerpted from this book] On the back cover it is highly praised by USA Today, The Wall Street JournaL, Business Week, Financial Times, etc.

I would like to recommend this book to read, it teaches the power of mass collaboration. It explains “how mass collaboration is happening not just at web sites like Wikipedia and You Tube, but also traditional companies like IBM, Sony , Philips, Boeing, BMW, Proctor & Gamble, Lego, Goldcorp” and many more.

“Jimmy Wales from Wikipedia: ‘Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of al human knowledge”. Wikipedia is “built on software called “wiki” (Hawaiian for quick)., Wikipedia allows multiple users to create and edit the same Web page”.

“Wikinomics is based on four principles: openness, peering, sharing and acting globally. This is very different from the hierarchical, closed, secretive, and insular multinational that is still dominating in a lot of companies.” “Openness” is based on the invitation from Linus Thorvald to assist him to improve “his creation of a simple version of the UNIX operating system even before the World Wide Web was invented.”

In this book from Don Tapscott and Anthony D.Williams there are several excellent examples describing how the four basic principles has been used. One of which is in our own Ontario backyard, Goldcorp. As we know “mining is an intensively secretive industry, and apart from the minerals themselves, geological data is the most precious and carefully guarded resource. Rob McEwen, CEO of Goldcorp Inc., launched in March 2000 . . . the controversial and risky “Goldcorp challenge” with prize money available to participants with the best methods and estimates” to find gold in Goldcorp’s area. “Within no time the submissions from around the world came flooding in to Goldcorp headquarters. The entries came from surprising sources, including students, professional consultants,” all seeking a piece of the pie. “The contestants identified new targets yielded substantial quantities of gold. Looking back today Goldcorp and its shareholders are reaping the benefits. One hundred dollars invested in the company in 1993 is worth over $3000 today.”

We are lucky to have Agoracom which in my opinion is based on the four principles of Wikinomics. Here we have a forum in which we can participate, learn about Noront (and/or other companies) and mining in general, ask questions of participants or the company, share information, and to be open for positive discussions.

My hope is that you will read the book, understand it and use it to apply these principles to the opportunities in “the new world of enterprise.”