Sometimes individuals are smarter than crowds

Once again, Steven Johnson has made me re-think my thinking. His post, Digital Maoism, which was originally in the New York Times annual "Year of Ideas" Issue (subs. req'd) and which I found on Edge, reminds us that while the collective is powerful, it is not necessarily original. This speaks to some of my earlier thoughts on crowdsourcing and user-generated content.

The good news: singular ideas and smart crowds are by no means mutually exclusive. Certainly not when it comes to philanthropy.

Tags: philanthropy, knowledge, web2.0, technology, stevenjohnson, crowds, newyorktimes