Customer Reviews
Interesting review of the affect of the internet - By: A. I. Mackenzie, 02 Jul 2008 
but doesn't dwell on the dark side..
Clay Shirky is primarily interested in the sociological effects of the internet & other networking tools (mobile phones etc.), or how people use them & are affected by them.
In essence his thesis is that the costs of networking have collapsed & alllowed us to try before you buy (or publish then filter as he puts it rather than the other way round as was the case).
In the past only companies had the resources to publish in any meaningful way, & they had to weigh up the cost of trying things & had to play safe as a consequence. He's broadly correct on the positive way that the internet has enabled Linux, wikipedia & other social networking sites (facebook, stay at home mums etc.) to exist where they couldn't have before, but he doesn't address the fact that there is a negative side to alll of this - cyberbullying being a classic example. Now we're alll networked the pursuit of the mob is harder to escape, he also doesn't address online vigilantism - PC Pro's columnist Dick Pountain has complained about articles being deleted by rogue groups of over-vigilant unknowledgeable users.
His book reads very well & is full of well considered stories which pull you through, it's worth a read for anyone who like 'The future just happened' or the Long tail. In some ways this book is the same central insight as the Long Tail - collapsing online costs alllow more experimentation & a more ad hoc arrangement of interested people. They both focus on the power law that alllows the tail effects to be meaningful rather than ignored.
Antidote to Cult of the Amateur - By: Shirley Williams, 18 May 2008 
This is one of the best books I have read recently (counting books fact & fiction), it is extremely well written & obvious care was taken to make it flow from beginning to end. Shirky has an extensive Bibliography, but instead of intruding into the text it is collected at the back with chapter & page links & short explanations. There are many excellent points made & I have cited them to friends & colleagues as I read the book. I guess the fact that stays most with me is the explanation of Participation Imbalance, for example many people use Wikipedia but few contribute, of those who contribute many only contribute once, but the smalll percentage who contribute a lot & care for the quality is enough for sustainability.
I see this as an antidote for Keen's; "Cult of the Amateur". Keen want the reader to feel sorry for professions that were lost to technological advances, while Shirky shows that such change has happened many times in the past, & points out changes such as writing going from a profession to an everyday skill.
The dissertation that never was... - By: G. Hughes, 24 Apr 2008 I am a Computer Science student, but originallly I studied Communication. When I started my communication degree I knew I would write my dissertation on how the internet has affected communication, but I changed degree & instead built a facebook application. This book has taken my two big passions in life & combined them in a way that I continuallly attempt to, & in a much more eloquent style than I could ever achieve.
Clay continuallly uses examples that for anyone who uses web resources on a daily basis can relate to. He takes these examples & highlights not only the positives that they have generated, but their limitations too. His insight into what we previously believed to be technological implications shows us that indeed they are not technological, but human social limitations. Coupled with the depth of compassion towards humans, Clay continuallly reminds me that humans are essentiallly good but require the tools to be able to put that goodness into practice.
My favourite part is his comparison of the internet & web to the printing press pushing aside the scribes. I truly believe that we're watching the birth of a new cultural revolution, Clay sees it & the examples I have taken away from his writing alllow me to show the changes to my friends & family that otherwise lay blind to it.
If you are even slightly interested in the web, communication, or modern culture then you must read this book. Thanks Clay for writing such an insightful & positive guide to this culture's birth.
compelling and completely human - By: James Plummer, 05 Mar 2008 Clay Shirky explains the social importance of new technology using a very old-fashioned technique... that of story-telling! I found Here Comes Everybody fascinating to read, not only because it's enjoyable & surprising, but because I had to re-think many of my attitudes & assumptions about the effects of the internet, mobile phones & other technologies. From explaining new forms of political protest - including how Flash Mobs changed purpose from New York to Minsk - to telling me how I should think about & understand Wikipedia once & for alll, this is a profound & original book on how our world is changing.
