Shirky 3

For groups to have good interaction three main things are needed: reason, tools, and bargain. These are not just about groups of a person’s closets friends, but also about online social groups such as a blog for stay-at-home moms, groups for single people to meet others, etc. Groups can’t come together just for the sole-purpose of being together, but because of the complexity of the interaction of the group. Everything today, in terms of technology, is customizable which makes it slightly easier to use in group settings. For better group interactions, these technologies are customizable to the interest of the group as a whole. The interaction of the group is very important because it is, essentially, what keeps the group together. Of course every group has their fair share of issues. In some cases a stay-at-home mom may no longer be considered part of that group because she began working, so would she no longer be a part of this group? Dilemmas such as this arise constantly in all groups, but just because one out of many end up leaving the group does not mean failure for the entire group as a whole.

Technology of all kinds bring a wide array of people together through a common interest of the people. Everyone tends to desire to be a part of something, especially if a common interest is shared. A “healthy” group tends to be able to stick together, and thus forming more social groups through the use of or current technology.

Shirky 2

We have now, according to Shirky, become a world of “amateur” works for entertainment. Because of all the technology that we are now in possession of gives us all access to the wide array of social media that’s been created: Xanga, Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, etc. Due to these social media forms caused us to “gorge on junk [rather than] starve”. It also created a generation that is more interested in being a part of the bigger group rather than alone or in a smaller group. For example, on YouTube, certain amateur videos can have as many views as a few million but on others there are as little as twelve views. The chances are that the video with the millions of viewers all probably do not know each other but instead a random gathering of people all sharing interest in a particular topic. As for the video with the small number of viewers are most likely friends of the person who posted that particular video. It seems that the population share a greater interest in what the majority of people are interested in rather than being a part from the “greater” group.

Today’s generation, due to social media and technology, have a greater need to be part of society rather than out of it. Due to this need, the greater population has become a lot more comfortable with sharing certain personal information such as their daily routines or items they own to the world. It seems that the need to be “in-with-the-crowd” has decreased the need that people have for privacy.

Shirky 1

As an individual standing up for what one believes in tends to not get heard. But when it comes to a vast group of people standing up for an idea will most likely get heard which leads to action. This is exactly what happened with a man named Evan when trying to get his friend’s phone back. Alone, he got nothing except for a few threats from the person who had it. Due to this person’s refusal, he went public with his story which gained a large group of viewers who stood beside him to right this “wrong”.  It wasn’t because of the phone, per say, that got the audience so heated. Instead it was the response of the person who found the phone and refused to return it. As a result, due to the great public outcry, the “wrong” was corrected.

As we can learn through this experience, a group that stands together receives more of a response. Not only did these results come from a group standing together, but also from the use of technology. If it the social media didn’t exist, a group with a common feeling would not have occurred. Technology created a way for people to stand together-no matter if the reasons and methhods are justifiable. Technology has made our world become a group oriented society and standing alone (solidarity) is not favored.