Wired For Thought

How the Brain Is Shaping the Future of the Internet

Jeffrey M. Stibel

Harvard Business Review Press, September 2009

In this age of hypercompetition, the Internet constitutes a powerful tool for inventing radical new business models that will leave your rivals scrambling. But as brain scientist and entrepreneur Jeffrey Stibel explains in Wired for Thought, you have to understand its true nature. The Internet is more than just a series of interconnected computer networks: it’s the first real replication of the human brain outside the human body.

To leverage its power, you first need to understand how the Internet has evolved to take on similarities to the brain. This engaging and provocative book provides the answer. Stibel lays out:

  • How networks have changed and what that implies for how people connect and form communities
  • What the Internet-and online business opportunities-will look like in the future
  • What the next stage of artificial intelligence will be and what opportunities it will present for businesses

Stibel shows how exceptional companies are using their understanding of the Internet’s brainlike powers to create competitive advantage such as building more effective Web sites, predicting consumer behavior, leveraging social media and creating a collective consciousness.

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About the Author

Jeffrey M. Stibel is a brain scientist and entrepreneur who has helped build numerous public and private companies. He is currently Chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp and former President of Web.com, a public company that helps entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses on the Web. He is also Chairman of BrainGate, a brain implant company that allows people to use their thoughts to control electrical devices. He serves on the boards of a number of private and public companies, as well as academic boards for Brown and Tufts University. Stibel studied for his Ph.D. at Brown University, where he was the recipient of the Brain and Behavior Fellowship, and studied business at MIT’s Sloan School of Business.