Giving The Power To The People

Building an online community to create collaborativesocial evolution of the Internet after communication
publications - essentially books written page by pageand networking. These 'Web 2.0' practices have,
by different people from around the world - mayrightly or wrongly, gained much international publicity
sound like an ambitious project but it's happeningand rocketed the value of some social networking
today thanks to the power of the Internet, andsites into the stratosphere.
more importantly, the power of people.But did they lead to the creation of anything tangible
It may sound foolhardy and unlikely to work inor enable previously unconnected individuals to work
practice, but the concept of scores of unconnectedtogether on singular projects? Were they focused on
people, perhaps even hundreds or thousands,providing a voice to the previously unheard and have
working together to create group producedthey worked to harness creativity or instead,
publications is proving incredibly successful.unwittingly, highlighted the fact that true creation has
Some contributors see it as an opportunity tobeen missing from the world-wide-web?
showcase their previously hidden creative talent to aGiving web users the world over the means to
wide audience of supportive and like minded potentialactually create written works of all kinds which they
authors. Others like the chance to influence a book'scan later see in print (be these fictional stories, poem,
storyline as it develops, and perhaps introduce newacademic works, business documents and so much
characters, scenes or even unexpected twists andmore), opens up the true potential of the Internet.
turns. For many, collaborative writing is just aboutSome critics are already saying this e-revolution is
joining in and being part of something special whichWeb 2.5 - the next step the Internet will make - but
could actually result in published books which theyas always it's up to the people to decide. They will
have helped write.choose with their mouse clicks and their referrals,
Whatever the motivation people power is having anwith their chats to friends and emails to colleagues.
impact, and more and more people from every walkBut from small beginnings great transitions have
of life and from every region of the world areoccurred and although it's still in its infancy,
getting involved and 'spreading the word'.collaborative writing is gaining momentum.
The concept will never mean the end of individualFamous authors and high profile celebrities are now
writers penning fantastic individual works (and so itjoining in and starting fictional stories for others to
shouldn't as where would we be without our richadd to. Jeffrey Archer, author of epic tales such as
culture of great literature from around the world),'Kane and Abel', and Joanne Harris, who penned the
but it may make the traditional publishing industry sitbook 'Chocolat' that became a Hollywood film of the
up and think. After all why would the aspiring authorsame name, as well as children's author Dick
go through rejection after rejection only to learn thatKing-Smith who wrote the book that became the
many book publishers are increasingly focused on justfilm 'Babe', are amongst those that like the idea of
finding the next blockbuster, when they can publishgiving the power to the people. For them it's a great
freely on a collaborative writing site and gain instantway to see how works they start end up when
exposure and feedback?many voices contribute to the mix.
More fundamentally the concept of onlineWhatever your view, online collaborative writing is a
collaborative writing could be seen as the next truenovel idea.