The first video on Institutions vs. Collaboration was directly from his book. He wrote about some of the same sites (Meetup and Flickr) and used some of these same examples. It was interesting to me to see the chart that he used to show the distribution of contributors to Flickr. He did talk about it and there may have been a chart in the book but seeing it on screen and hearing him talk about it drove the point home. Don't we sometimes see the same thing in our classes? Usually there is a small group of people that answer most of the questions while others only answer one or two, even though they know the answer.
If you noticed, at the beginning of the video it was date stamped 2005. 2005! That was 5 years ago. Many of us are just now coming around to understanding and using the technology that he was talking about 5 years ago. Much of this seems new to us but in terms of technology, it is actually quite old.
The other video is more recent, from summer 2009. There was one comment that really stands out to me and it was mentioned briefly in his book. He basically said that people who are good conversation are not good at creating groups and those good at creating groups are not good at conversation. How true. When I talk to younger people (18-24) many of them are great at social media and groups but have a hard time with a conversation. They don't like to look you in the eye and talk to you. On the other hand, I can sit with people and talk to them but do not understand or necessarily like the whole social media movement. It takes away the personal connection you get when you talk to someone in person.
The other key point that he brought up was that everyone is a consumer and a producer. This has never been more true than now. If you look at technology items on the market now, they are all multi-functional. They allow you to not only watch a video but also record, edit, and publish one from a single device.
Clay Shirky talks about some very interesting topics. I look forward to hearing more from him.
I am the person you, and Clay, describe from the second video. I can organize a group and lay out its function but I would give my right hand to not have to participate in the conversation within the group. I am more comfortable with resources and technology than I am with human interaction. I like the anonymity of web interaction - I can participate should I feel like it or I can quietly observe.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed Clay's videos and likewise was surprised with the 2005 date for the first video. With as fast as technology changes itself and us, it is nice to see some of the changes are still pertinent since we ourselves are such slow movers.
I was also surprised by the 2005 date on the video. So many of us are just now embracing social media. I would be interested to read his book and learn more about what he has to say now about where technology is moving.
ReplyDeleteBoth of the videos got me thinking about the power of social media and group participation. Mike, you point-out that some people are better at organization and others at being active participants. I think everyone here has a role that helps bring about group collaboration - you need both types to pull it off!
ReplyDeleteThe first video from 2005 made me wonder what I had missed since it was created. Yes, 5 years is an eternity when talking about technology. I must admit that I am slowly, slowly coming around to seeing value in social media. FaceBook and Twitter seem like Internet narcissism when people post items about what they are doing right now. However, Shirky notes the role of social media in the African election and later on the citizen reporting within China during a major earthquake. Perhaps social media has greater power when people want to express opinions and important information in countries where free speech is often met with oppression?
Mike, your observation about younger people being uncomfortable in real group discussions resonates with me. I think many of them grew-up being 'busy' with lots of activities that required them to 'do' (e.g. soccer) vs. hanging-out and reflecting on life with their friends. I could be wrong, but many of them grew-up with access to computer games and The Internet and the amount of face-to-face time with their peers diminished.
One of the important strategies stressed throughout our MEIT program is the use of small groups for collaboration. The small groups work best when everyone participates and has a voice. Students need to be more comfortable exploring and sharing ideas with one another. All of this is facilitated when students show courtesy and respect for one another.