Here Comes Everybody & Cognitive Surplus Review

Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations (Clay Shirky, 2008)

&Cognitive Surplus, Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age(Clay Shirky, 2010)

Kristen Stanley & Samantha DeLenardo

CMN5150-Knowledge Management Dr. Pierre Levy Department of Communication The University of Ottawa

About the Author• Studies the effects of the

internet on society.

• Associate Arts Professor at the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at NYU.

Has written of the topic in:

Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations (2008)

andCognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age (2010)

Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations

•Society is changing rapidly, and social media is integral to how it is shifting.

Cost and the Coasean Theory (1937)

• Developed from 1937s paper “ The Nature of the Firm” by Ronald Coase

• The internet is dropping “transaction costs”▫The Coasean Ceiling:

Above transaction costs;▫The Coasean Floor:

Below transaction costs

The Model of Promise, Tools, & Bargain

•Groups are forming where and when they have never been able to in the past:▫Promise:

Why someone should join a group;▫Tools:

Overcoming the challenges of forming a group;

▫Bargain: What to expect from a group;

Main Issues Revisited

•The World Wide Web will:▫Change daily life

▫Change Collective Action;▫Challenge our social institutions;

Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age

“Our cognitive surplus is only potential; it doesn’t mean anything or do anything by itself” – Clay Shirky

Means, Motive & Opportunity

How?

Aggregation of free time

Social media as an enabler

Why?Intrinsic vs.

extrinsic motivation

Social motivation

What?

Creating environments

Surprises and human nature

The Economics of Sharing

•Size of the community•Cost of sharing that knowledge•Clarity of what gets shared•Cultural norms of the recipients

Four Uses of Social Media

Personal Communal

Public Civic

Connection: The Case of the Stolen Sidekick

•Evan Guttman’s quest to find a friend’s lost cellphone resulted in the arrest of a 16 year old girl.

Conclusion

•Transformative uses;

•Symmetrical participation;

•Focus on building public and civic groups.

List of Websites

1. http://www.shirky.com/2. http://www.shirky.com/weblog/3. http://shirky.com/writings/4. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/200

9/feb/15/this-much-i-know-clay-shirky-technology

5. http://www.evanwashere.com/StolenSidekick/

6. www.ushahidi.com7. http://icanhascheezburger.com/8. www.meetup.com 9. http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/re

ad.php?idx=658510.http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/co

ntent/05_25/b3938900.htm