This is an interesting presentation by Clay Shirky on social media use in elections, repressive regimes, and countries you’d think the U.S. was ahead of with regard to social media use when we’re actually not.
Great quote from video:
These tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring. It isn’t when the shining new tools show up that their uses start permeating society. It’s when everybody is able to take them for granted. -Clay Shirky
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Jack …
TED never fails to please, but the idea that everyone is now a media source is only half true in my view.
The ‘crowd’ is tribal and so individuals always want to know what others in the tribe think, and make decisions based on that collective experience. (e.g. The same reason that user reviews of digital cameras are so wide spread as a rough example.) No-one is truly interested in trusting the information or opinion of an completely unknown person or stranger.
This is ‘Herd think’ and is also the power behind successful brands. People trust a brand that has proven to meet a certain standard, versus an unknown.
Similarly, the crowd always still looks for a leader, and that leader can direct the thought of the many. (See Seth Godin’s thesis “Tribes”)
Fortunately the force that runs counter to this ‘mind control’ is that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for ‘repressive regimes’ to hide virtually anything.
Jonathan