People with shared interests are using the Internet to solve problems, accomplish tasks, and create resources that would be well beyond the reach of any one person or organization. The Internet is being used to create virtual libraries, factor large numbers, organize massive volunteer efforts, and filter information in a collaborative fashion. The ability to leverage the efforts of large numbers of networked users has important economic, social, and political consequences. This phenomenon is important to policy makers because it can potentially be used to leverage scarce taxpayer dollars and promote applications of the information infrastructure.