The SQUEEZE: The Internet has had both positive and negative effects upon modern groups that have enjoyed traditional face-to-face conversation. Social media tools such as MySpace, Twitter, Word Press, and Facebook encourage group conversation and group action. But these different dynamics also encourage mass amateurization, which will later make it difficult for organizations to develop new credentials for individuals sharing and commenting on content and photos. This is precisely the sentiment expressed within Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. In the book, Shirky compares modern communication activities of file sharing (Flickr) and blogging to the initial effects of the printing press and the telephone, giving attention to the idea that they too increased communication. However, Shirky cautions that the use of online social tools will subsequently threaten the spreading of news throughout multiple media outlets and call into question the credibility and validity of the information.

Notable Endorsement: “How do trends emerge and opinions form? The answer used to be something vague about word of mouth, but now it's a highly measurable science, and nobody understands it better than Clay Shirky. In this delightfully readable book, practically every page has an insight that will change the way you think about the new era of social media. Highly recommended." –Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail

Common Q’s Answered by this Book:

• What is MySpace?
• What is Wikipedia?
• What are examples of group dynamics?
• What is blogging software?
• What are file sharing platforms?
• What is “institutional dilemma”?

About the Author: Clay Shirky is an American writer. Shirky is also a consultant and teacher on the subjects of social and economic effects of Internet technology. Shirky is a Distinguished Writer in Resident at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and is an arts professor with the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at NYU. Shirky’s research interests include topology of social networks and technology networks and the effect of both on culture. Since 1996, Shirky has written about the internet for Business 2.0, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, and for Harvard Business Review. Shirky graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Yale University (1986); developed the MFA in Integrated Media Arts Program at Hunter College; and was a Morrow Lecturer at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. For more information, visit: http://journalism.nyu.edu/faculty/clay-shirky/.

Book Vitals:

Publisher: Penguin Books (February 2009)