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is broken。 That system said； 'I develop something and then I throw it over the wall
to you。 You find the bugs and then throw it back。 I patch it and then sell a new
version。' There is constant frustration with getting software that is buggy…maybe
it will get fixed or maybe not。 So we said； 'Wouldn't it be interesting if we could
take the open…source benefits of speed of innovation and higher…quality software；
and that feel…
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ing of partnership with all these stakeholders； and turn that into a business model
for corporations to be more collaborative both within and without？'〃
I like the way Irving Wladawsky…Berger； IBM's Cuban…born vice president for technical
strategy andinnovation； summed open…sourcing up： 〃This emerging era is characterized
by the collaborative innovation of many people working in gifted communities； just
as innovation in the industrial era was characterized by individual genius。〃
The strikingthing about the intellectual commons form of open…sourcing is how quickly
it has morphed into other spheres and spawned other self…organizing collaborative
communities； which are flattening hierarchies in their areas。 I see this most vividly
in the news profession； where bloggers； one…person online commentators； who often
link to one another depending on their ideology； have created a kind of open…source
newsroom。 I now read bloggers （the term comes from the word 〃Weblog〃） as part of my
daily information…gathering routine。 In an article about how a tiny group of
relatively obscure news bloggers were able to blow the whistle that exposed the bogus
documents used by CBS News's Dan Rather in his infamous report about President George
W。 Bush's Air National Guard service； Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post wrote
（September 20； 2004）； 〃It was like throwing a match on kerosene…soaked wood。 The
ensuing blaze ripped through the media establishment as previously obscure bloggers
managed to put the network of Murrow and Cronkite firmly on the defensive。 The secret；
says Charles Johnson； is 'open…source intelligence gathering。' Meaning： 'We've got
a huge pool of highly motivated people who go out there and use tools to find stuff。
We've got an army of citizen journalists out there。'〃 That army is often armed with
nothing more than a tape recorder； a camera…enabled cell phone； and a Web site； but
in a flat world it can collectively get its voice heard as far and wide as CBS or
The New York Times。 These bloggers have created their own online commons； with no
barriers to entry。 That open commons often has many rumors and wild
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allegations swirling in it。 Because no one is in charge； standards of practice vary
wildly； and some of it is downright irresponsible。 But because no one is in charge；
information flows with total freedom。 And when this community is on to something real；
like the Rather episode； it can create as much energy； buzz； and hard news as any
network or major newspaper。
Another intellectual commons collaboration that I used regularly in writing this book
is Wikipedia； the user…contributed online encyclopedia； also known as 〃the people's
encyclopedia。〃 The word 〃wikis〃 is taken from the Hawaiian word for 〃quick。〃 Wikis
are Web sites that allow users to directly edit any Web page on their own from their
home computer。 In a May 5； 2004； essay on YaleGlobal online； Andrew Lih； an assistant
professor at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong；
explained how Wikipedia works and why it is such a breakthrough。
〃The Wikipedia project was started by JimmyWales； head of Internet startup Bomis。com；
after his original project for a volunteer； but strictly controlled； free
encyclopedia ran out of money and resources after two years；〃 wrote Lih。 〃Editors
with PhD degrees were at the helm of the project then； but it produced only a few
hundred articles。 Not wanting the content to languish； Wales placed the pages on a
wiki Website in January 2001 and invited any Internet visitors to edit or add to the
collection。 The site became a runaway success in the first year and gained a loyal
following； generating over 20；000 articles and spawning over a dozen language
translations。 After two years； it had 100；000 articles； and in April 2004； it exceeded
250；000 articles in English and 600；000 articles in 50 other languages。And according
to Website rankings at Alexa。com； it has become more popular than traditional online
encyclopedias such as Britannica。com。〃
How； you might ask； does one produce a credible； balanced encyclopedia by way of an
ad hoc open…source； open…editing movement？ After all； every article in the Wikipedia
has an 〃Edit this page〃 button； allowing anyone who surfs along to add or delete
content on that page。
It starts with the fact； Lih explained； that 〃because wikis provide the
ability to track the status of articles； review individual changes； and discuss issues；
they function as social software。 Wiki Websites also track and store every
modification made to an article； so no operation is ever permanently destructive。
Wikipedia works by consensus； with users adding and modifying content while trying
to reach common ground along the way。
〃However； the technology is not enough on its own；〃 wrote Lih。 〃Wales created an
editorial policy of maintaining a neutral point of view （NPOV） as the guiding
principle 。 。 。 According to Wikipedia's guidelines； The neutral point of view
attempts to present ideas and facts in such a fashion that both supporters and
opponents can agree 。 。 。' As a result； articles on contentious issues such as
globalization have benefited from the cooperative and global nature of Wikipedia。
Over the last two years； the entry has had more than 90 edits by contributors from
the Netherlands； Belgium； Sweden； United Kingdom； Australia； Brazil； United States；
Malaysia； Japan and China。 It provides a manifold view of issues from the World Trade
Organization and multinational corporations to the anti…globalization movement and
threats to cultural diversity。 At the same time malicious contributors are kept in
check because vandalism is easily undone。 Users dedicated to fixing vandalism watch
the list of recent changes； fixing problems within minutes； if not seconds。 A defaced
article can quickly be returned to an acceptable version with just one click of a
button。 This crucial asymmetry tipsthe balance in favor of productive and cooperative
members of the wiki community； allowing quality content to prevail。〃 A Newsweek piece
on Wikipedia （November 1； 2004） quoted Angela Beesley； a volunteer contributor from
Essex； England； and self…confessed Wikipedia addict who monitors the accuracy of more
than one thousand entries： 〃A collaborative encyclopedia sounds like a crazy idea；
but it naturally controls itself。〃
Meanwhile； Jimmy Wales is just getting started。 He told Newsweek that he is expanding
into Wiktionary； a dictionary and thesaurus； Wikibooks； textbooks and manuals； and
Wikiquote； a book of quotations。 He said he has one simple goal： to give 〃every single
person free access to the sum of al