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Technology 'We Are Smarter' Wiki Hits Print What would happen if thousands of busi- ness minds from around the world collaborated online to co-author a business book? That's what the coordinators of the "We Are Smarter Than Me" project wanted to dis- cover in late 2006 when they invited business leaders to contribute their ideas to an online wiki-produced book, which would be written and edited by users. Inspired by the suc- cess of the user-generated online encyclopedia Wikipedia, the project has now produced its first book, We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business. Although it has yet to be fully edited, the eight- chapter book discusses everything from "crowd- sourcing," a trend in which companies assign projects to a large online community, to gener- ating word-of-mouth buzz on Web sites. The book highlights examples of crowd- power like Prosper. com, a site that enables entrepreneurs to access capital from groups of individuals rather than sin- gle investors or financial institutions. As the beneficiary of this "commu- nity as financier," one entrepreneur received a $9,500 loan financed by 77 different people. The "We Are Smarter" wiki project was started by Pearson Pub- lishing in London; MIT's Sloan School of Business in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Jon Spector, a vice dean and director of executive edu- cation at The Wharton School at the 52 BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 University of Pennsylvania in Phila- delphia; and Barry Libert, a former consultant of McKinsey & Co. and CEO of Shared Insights Inc., a com- munity education and management company in Woburn, Massachusetts. Libert and Spector, who are list- ed as co-authors of the book, note that there were quite a few difficul- ties in making it a reality. They had to sort out copyright issues regard- ing who owns the content gener- ated on a wiki. They also had to keep track of contributors, respond to questions, and oversee convert- ing the online wiki into a traditional printed format. Even so, they are pleased with the final result. "The quality of the contri- butions by bloggers, podcasters, members, and event attendees was staggering," says Libert. The second book, on social network- ing, is already under way at the Web site www.wearesmarter. org. Libert hopes that companies that already are implementing social networks to communi- cate with stakeholders will contribute to the project. The "We Are Smarter" project itself is an experiment in social networking, says Libert. "It is our intent to build the largest social network of business readers and contributors," he notes. These contributors, he adds, will create "an ever-growing body of great content about how communities are going to change the way busi- nesses operate in today's highly connected world." Brandeis and IBM Test 'Serious Games' IBM is now working with professors at Brandeis International Business School in Waltham, Massachusetts, to test the use of a new category of video games called "serious games." The term refers to computer and video games used to educate and train students in the classroom. Business schools are turning to serious games to help their students learn business concepts, in the same way that airline pilots learn to fly using flight simulators. In an era where many young college students have grown up playing video games, many corporations and universities see serious games as an effective way to teach this generation new skills. IBM recently introduced a new serious game, Innov8, which in- cludes interactive, three-dimensional simulations designed to help uni- versity students and young profes- sionals hone their business and IT skills. Brandeis International Busi- ness School has been chosen to run a pilot test of Innov8 in its course "Technology Strategy." Professors in the course will use Innov8 simula-