Digigen & The TinMan

So Chris Anderson is a top writer, superb ideas man, and really thought-provoking. However, I feel there is a certain sense of irony in his new book “Free”. Although, I really like the book and love the concepts within. I can’t get past the fact that I am being charged £18.99 for the book.

(Probably my fault for purchasing at Waterstone’s really.) I am aware that as a digital guy I probably should be downloading this for a Kindle or other e-book which I believe Chris did release for free for a limited time.

Quick fixes for Chris:

1) Each book that is purchased gives you free access to a recorded online webinar/interview with Chris Anderson

2) Each book has additional content that can be downloaded at www.longtail.com

3) The £18.99 is merely a donation to charity through the book, therefore rendering the book as “Free” or even freeing.

Great book though.

So I work with some really smart people, who come packed with information that I really like hearing about. One of the great stories I have had recently is about the Michelin Guides. You probably know the story, but I didn’t so I would repeat it here. I know you have heard of a Michelin Star even if you haven’t heard of the guide.

The story starts back in the 1900s with Andre Michelin, the inventor of the tyre. Back then tyres did not last very long, but usage of cars was so infrequent that they were not replaced that often. The Michelin Guide was created to encourage users to drive to restaurants, so much so that the guides were given to all Michelin customers purchasing tyres. The smart thing about the guide was that the star system within the guide was created to encourage drivers to drive further for good food, thus creating more wear on their tyres.

Although the guides originally encompassed blue and red guides, they have since been replaced by one red one which all restaurateurs strive to get into on a yearly basis. You can buy the latest 2010 guide here.

Just a thought from me, but isn’t that Wisdom of Crowds simply… if you get enough people to discuss something at some point it will average out at the right answer? Wisdom of Crowds should have been a one pager called: “The Wisdom of Crowds – take the mean of a large group and its more likely to be right than the mean of a small group”

Alot has been made of the Wisdom of Crowds. From Derren Brown to James Surowiecki, we cling on to the hope that the “many are more powerful” than the few. I’m no scientist but to me the fact that you can get 1,000 people into a room, and they are more likely to get an answer than 10 people of similar quality doesn’t astound me.

Blink is another book which I feel could have also been resolved in one page… which would have said “Blink. You should go with your first instinct”.