[rating:2]
(New York: Penguin Press, 2010)
256 pgs
Clay Shirky is a professor in the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University. He previously wrote, Here Comes Everybody. Shirky is an expert in social media and he uses this knowledge to look for social patterns. In a world that is gradually becoming aware of the enormity of possibilities in a connected age, Shirky makes some interesting observations.
He notes that in the 1720s there was a craze of gin drinking among the masses in London (1). He notes that at first people thought this was a sign of increased debauchery among the populace. What it was, in fact, was peoples’ attempt to cope with the depersonalizing effects of the industrial revolution and social pressures related to urbanization. He then notes that since World War Two, society has undergone enormous changes and that has caused increased societal tensions. Shirky asks: “During this transition, what has been our gin, the critical lubricant that eased our transition from one kind of society to another?” (4). He concludes: the sitcom. He notes that since World War Two, the modern world has been granted an enormous amount of discretionary time. The majority of it has been spent watching television. Americans watch over 200 billion hours of television every year (10). Someone born in 1960 has, on average, already watched 50,000 hours of television and will more than likely watch another 30,000 hours before they die (6).
However, with the rise of the Internet, society suddenly gained a new form of entertainment. This one, however, is interactive. Rather than sitting on your couch in your living room by yourself all evening watching sit coms, people now share U-tubes and upload pictures of their vacation with friends around the world. Today’s entertainment is much more interactive. People no longer want to just sit passively and be entertained or informed by professionals.
Shirky notes that each year, educated peoples from around the world have over one trillion hours of free time. He asks, “Imagine treating the free time of the world’s educated citizenry as an aggregate, a kind of cognitive surplus” (9). He suggests that the key is scale. There are now so many people who are connected to one another and who have the time and technology available to them, that even if people only donated 1% of their free time to a particular cause, the magnitude of the effort would be enormous. Throughout the book, Shirky gives examples where people have united together using social media to advance worthy social causes. Such events such as the uprising in Egypt are examples of people uniting together for a cause perceived to be just.
Shirky makes a number of interesting comments. He notes that amateurs are distinguished from professionals by motivation (82). People who care about social issues will make great sacrifices on behalf of a cause. In the past society depended on professionals but technology is allowing amateurs with passion to change the world. He also notes that “globalization” is more about “scope” than “size” (85). He also emphasizes that small contributions may not seem like much, but when added to millions of other small contributions, there is enormous potential for change (174). He notes that at the end of 2009, there were 24 hours of material being added to U-Tube every minute (93). There were over 300 million words being sent on Twitter every day. He notes: “This increase in our ability to create things together, to pool our free time and particular talents into something useful, is one of the great new opportunities of the age, one that changes the behaviors of people who take advantage of it” (119).
He also notes that people have been unfair to categorize generations based on psychology. He notes that the primary difference between generations X, Y and Z have been that of “opportunity” (120). For example, with the advent of Napster, society bemoaned the fact that teenagers were “stealing” music on the Internet. However, Shirky points out that it was only because they were the first generation to have the technology to do so that distinguished that generation, not their loss of morals (123, 126).
Shirky also notes: “In a free culture, you get what you celebrate” (176). He also suggests, “If you want different behavior, you have to provide different opportunities’” (196). He quotes Brewster Kahle who said, “If you want to solve hard problems, have hard problems” (205).
Overall I found this to be a thought-provoking book. It addresses a fascinating concept of how to harness the connectivity of the modern age to accomplish good. I would think that churches, Christian ministries, and spiritual leaders in any setting would want to consider what new opportunities there are to harness peoples’ discretionary time to achieve kingdom purposes. Gone are the days when church volunteers have to drive to the church building in order to contribute their efforts. Now, volunteers sitting in front of their computer screens can provide invaluable service if only their congregations will identify ways to mobilize them through new applications of technology. Technology is enabling volunteers and amateurs what it used to take professionals to do. Will the church take full advantage of these tools?
Because this is a specialized, more technical book, I did not rate it as highly as a “must read” as I would for a more broadly applicable leadership book. However, for those interested in thinking about how to access the free time of their people to accomplish major change, it may be a helpful read.