I’ve been hiding under a rock for the past 2 years, at least that’s how I felt after reading this incredible compendium of communiteering guidance.

In keeping with its own theme, “We Are Smarter Than Me” is the result of a collective effort of over 1000 community enthusiasts (professional and otherwise).  The group convenes at www.WeAreSmarter.org where members discuss community-related topics in podcasts, blogs, and forums, and work together on the next book.

As soon as I picked it up, I was hooked and ended up reading it straight through cover to cover in a single sitting.  Pouring through these pages, I found mature versions of so many of the tiny little ideas I’ve had about community building over the years.  Reading through this book showed me we’re on the right track with Communiteer.com.  Case in point, the book has a chapter titled, “If We Build It, We Will Come”.  Long-time readers of this blog will recall our own theme,  “If They Build It They Will Come Back”.  It’s like we’re singing the same song in different languages :).

The book offers a mix of non-nonsense advice from “we” blended with case studies showing successful and not-so-successful online communities of all sorts.  It doesn’t come across as all-knowing or arrogant at all, rather just the opposite.  As I turned each page, I felt like I was being welcomed into a collective consciousness of common sense.

All gushing aside, this is a fantastic book and is a must-read for anyone interested in learning more about community building, social networking, viral marketing, crowdsourcing, or is just looking for something new to be excited about.

Get started here at WeAreSmarter.org.