Book Title: Commonspace: Beyond virtual community

Book Description

Commonspace is the collective mind of the Internet, a synergy built from the space between the bits and fueled entirely by people power. As the Internet grows, commonspace is changing the way we live, think, play and do business. Surman and Wershler-Henry provide a detailed cognitive map of the emerging virtual landscape, and a set of tools that will help readers draw on the power of the collective.

On the Internet, traditional business logic has turned upside down…with spectacular results:

• New economy companies are building multi-billion-dollar market caps not by consolidating power, but by giving it away.
• The open source movement is changing the way we create software and formulate new ideas. As Microsoft shakes in its boots, our beliefs about economic value and work are turning inside out.
• Online communities are becoming essential components in the creation of political movements, the organization of ideas and the overall success of businesses.
• Smart, ethical dot-coms are collaborating with their customers-and even their competitors-to create services that could never have been imagined 10 years ago.

When personal need and passion mix with the benefits of community and cooperation, unparalleled momentum, new kinds of information, and mind-blowing new social worlds are the result. This is commonspace.

NOTE: This text is taken from a pre-publication draft and does not incorporate final graphics, formatting, and edits.