“Modern business has learned the value of the knowledge asset,” Jerry Ash, publisher, says, “and at the same time those with the smarts are flocking to social networks like Facebook and Linkedin by the millions.” Smart People magazine, he said, would bring these two forces together and expand the scope of “knowledging” from work to life.

The new model at work is about collaboration, not old-fashioned supervision and the digitals are mastering the art of sharing and collaboration outside the workplace.

Don Tapscott, author of the new book Grown Up Digital, says “I believe that companies that work in the Net Gen way will be the winners of the future. The new web – which allows you to not only hunt for information, but also contribute – offers the technology to help us harness human skill, ingenuity, and intelligence more efficiently and effectively than anything we have witnessed previously.

“By mobilizing the collective knowledge, capability, and resources embodied within broad networks of participants, smart firms can accomplish great things.”

Tapscott writes an in-depth article in the first issue of Smart People.

But the content of the new magazine is heavy on the personal value of knowledge work. “In the digital world, the knowledge factor is way bigger than corporate knowledge management,” Ash says.

A case in point is a story titled “Where’s the bus“. One rainy night two students develop an online tracking system so bus riders in Seattle can find out where their bus is by using their PDAs.

The power of “Been there” is about a man who contracted a strange disease but was not diagnosed until a phone call from a friend saved his life by saying “Don’t make the mistake I did. Get checked for Lyme.”

Another, titled “Death of a salesman,” tells about the shift in the power of knowledge from the seller to the buyer and has sales pros taking a new look at the customer.

The magazine itself is a model of the future of modern day management. It was developed collaboratively by fans of the idea and uses social network channels to encourage “prosumers” – what the magazine calls people who want to have a hand in shaping the product – to have a hand in shaping the content and direction of the magazine.

Smart People magazine is free and available online in html and pdf flip reader.