Wikinomics: Ch 2 Review

I was very excited to share with my husband that I had created and posted to my very first blog. I offered to let him read it, which he did. I asked what he thought and he said, "It sounds like you are very educated." To the untrained ear, that might sound like a compliment. However, it didn't sound like one. He said from what he knew of blogs, they were from the gut and were usually not even spell-checked. When he said that he didn't know my intended audience, of course I told him that it would be fellow students and my professor. He said I would get an A. I'm still not sure that's a ringing endorsement, so I will try to "keep it real."

Chapter two discusses how a number of forces are aligning themselves to create a business revolution. The real thrust of this chapter is that the internet is no longer about web sites that are created and update their content whenever someone points out that it hasn't changed in several months...or years! The winners in the new environment will be the ones that create "vibrant communities."

This chapter also introduced, at least to me, N-geners. As it happens, I have two children in the N-generation, as well as two in the next unnamed generation. I loved reading about TakingITGlobal and the learning that is taking place there. Our children are connecting to the world in ways we never dreamed at their age. They can have electronic "pen pals" across the world and can communicate so quickly that it seems like they are in the next room. Teachers can share lesson plans with teachers around the globe. The collaboration and exchange of ideas excites me just to read about it. I feel a rush of possibility that is dizzying.

It has long been a frustration of mine that the public school system in general uses the data dump method of instruction so pervasively. The really successful programs are ones that engage children's minds and allows them to be creative and find the fun in learning. As a professional educator, I have learned that when people are having fun and their emotions are engaged, the learning is deeper and longer-lasting.

Coase's law was a little tough to read, as my employer is mandating tremendous budget cuts and people are losing their jobs. I see the point the authors are making, though. In training we talk about not reinventing the wheel, but it seems to be a big leap for businesses to look outside their own walls for processes that have already been developed. Those businesses that can look outside their own walls are finding innovations they may never have come up with on their own.

Sorry, dear, I tried!