Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations

All of these examples are forms of 'social media' – web-based content that's spread about, and sometimes created, through interaction. The Internet has truly become a place for people to gather and discuss issues, whether those issues are important or not. And, these changes are happening almost too fast for many people to keep up with. What Here Comes Everybody does so well is bring us up to speed on what's happening in social media, and what these changes mean for our society. It's not so much a guide to these forms of technology, but to what people are doing with these technologies.

So, who should read Here Comes Everybody? Well, if you're wondering what the big deal is with Twitter and Facebook, or you're interested in finding out how you can use social media to do everything from starting and growing a business to advancing your career, then this is an excellent place to start.

This is the type of book that any Internet user can benefit from. The changes the web is currently experiencing have global implications, and the author has done an excellent job of drawing lines between current trends, and what they mean for society and our future. These are developments that affect all of us, and anyone who wants to stay informed about what's happening in the world would do well to read this book.

Here Comes Everybody is well researched, fascinating, and very easy to read. And at times, it's also downright funny. The author, Clay Shirky, is a professor of new media at New York University. His work has appeared in the Harvard Business Review, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. And he's written six books on technology.

So, keep listening to find out why you shouldn't add a new team member when a project gets behind schedule; why considering yourself a 'professional' might blind you to important changes in your industry; and how social networking tools are helping transform our local communities, one person at a time.

The book is divided into eleven chapters, and the author uses the first chapter to illustrate just how powerful one person can be when they use social media to effect change.

In 2006, a woman named Ivonna left her phone in the backseat of a New York cab. It happens every day, and many of us may have done the same thing. Most of us would write the phone off as lost, and set about getting a new one. But, there was a lot of important information on that phone, and Ivonna really needed it back.

She enlisted the help of her friend Evan, and after some detective work, he discovered that a young woman had picked up the phone. When he contacted her, explaining that the phone had been lost, she refused to give it back. The police wouldn't get involved, saying the phone was lost property.

Well, Evan got mad. He created a website, telling the story of the stolen phone, and how the police would do nothing to help him. He blasted the social networking site MySpace with his troubles, and that content made it to the front page of the social news website Digg. Before he knew what was happening, the story of the stolen phone was attracting global attention. Evan and Ivonna's story ended up in more than 60 newspapers, more than 200 weblogs, and made several national news syndications.

The story of the stolen phone galvanized readers. Everyone has had something taken, but because the young woman refused to give the phone back, even after learning who the rightful owner was, some invisible line was crossed. People got angry.

The point to the story is that without social media, Evan and Ivonna would never have received the attention they did. Because of the pressure put on the New York Police Department by the millions of people following the story, Evan had serious leverage. Instead of treating the phone as lost property, the police were forced to treat it as a theft.

The author uses this story to illustrate how our society is changing, thanks to social media. But, in his view, it's not all good. Yes, Evan got his friend's phone back, using the power of the Internet, and was able to right a wrong.

But what was the true cost of this situation? The young woman who took the phone was an unwed teenage mother. She was publicly shamed and humiliated over the incident. She was even threatened by readers, who found her name and address online.

And, look at the time and resources expended to return one cell phone. Thanks to the leverage he had, Evan was able to change police protocol to satisfy his own sense of justice.

The story may seem minor compared to the much larger issues we're facing in the world, but it has some pretty important implications, when you stop and look at the big picture. It's these larger implications that the author aims to bring to our attention.

From this story of an individual, he goes on to discuss groups, and how social media is changing how they work.

Because of how easy it is now to connect and communicate with others, our abilities to form powerful groups to effect change are growing exponentially. In many ways this is good news: charities can mobilize volunteers, and victims of a natural disaster are more likely to find their missing loved ones. But, in the same vein, terrorists can now easily find and train new recruits. Right-wing militias can spread messages of hate with the click of a mouse. It's these larger social issues that bear thinking about.

The next chapter discusses the complexity of groups, and how social media is helping break down these complexities, so it's easier for us to get involved with people, groups, and causes we care about.

The author states here that groups get more complicated the bigger they grow, which is why it's fairly easy to agree on a movie to see with one friend, but just add two more friends, and the decision becomes much harder.

This is also why it's not a good idea to add an employee to a late project, in an attempt to get it done faster. It takes time and energy to bring that one employee up to speed, and with one more member, coordinating the group is even more difficult.

The author brings up group complexity to point out that social tools are lowering the costs of bringing together and organizing groups. Thanks to these tools, it's now much easier than it used to be to coordinate a group of people. And, these tools are a vital resource for everyone from CEOs, to grassroots organizations, and everyone in between.

Consider Facebook, the social media site that allows you to connect not only with your friends, but with companies and causes you're interested in. Thousands of companies now have Facebook pages that are directly updated by the CEO or upper management team.

What does this mean for customers who are connected to a company's Facebook page? They hear first hand what's happening in the company, and this also gives that company a much more personal face. Plus, social media sites like Facebook give users an easy way to leave feedback, ask questions, and bounce ideas around. The company gets more interaction with the very people they're trying to sell to.

Chapter three dives into media, and how the media industry has been turned on its head by all the user-generated content on the web. Case in point? All you have to do is look at how the newspaper industry is struggling. The author points out that the industry could have seen this coming, if it had taken the threat seriously from the get-go. He argues that because journalists have always defined themselves as professionals, they assumed that readers would only want to get their news from proven sources.

On the surface, this seems valid. After all, professionals often exist when there's a scarce resource that needs managing or a hard problem that needs solving. Professionals, whether they're racecar drivers, bankers, lawyers, or librarians, tend to be gatekeepers of information. They have skills and special training that not everyone has.

Now, the world's professional journalists often serve us by giving us solid information put out using high standards of excellence. And this is an important service. But the author argues that the industry as a whole underestimated how big a threat amateur writers on the web would be. This is why the media industry is such a great example of how an industry can be blindsided by a completely unexpected threat. In the media's case, it's been the Internet, and the millions of amateur writers who are giving readers constant news and entertainment.

All sides of the media industry, from newspapers to televisions, are reeling from the growth of social media. Ad revenues and viewership are down, because so many people are now watching TV online. Newspaper subscriptions have collapsed because so many readers are getting their news online – for free.

Thanks to the Internet, there is nothing unique about publishing anymore. Users don't have to depend solely on newspapers or cable TV to get good information. And if they want to tell the world their own viewpoint and start a discussion on the issues, they have the power to do it themselves. It's important to point out here that obviously, an amateur blogger isn't going to have near as much credibility as a journalist with the New York Times.

But the author argues that because there are so many amateur writers out there, the sheer weight of a story being on several different websites gives it its own credibility. When the story is amplified, its credibility grows.

The landscape of what is newsworthy has also changed dramatically. A political figure can make an innocuous comment in a speech. And, print publications and television networks might not think it's worth covering.

But the same comment can hit the blogosphere with all the force of a falling piano, and thanks to the viral nature of blogging, that same politician can be in hot water just days later, with his minor faux pas being covered on every major TV network and newspaper.

This shows that all of us now have the power to decide what news is important. The media is losing the ability to weigh in and decide for us. So what does this mean for us? Well, the blow to the newspaper industry is a stark reminder of how dangerous it can be to write off seemingly insignificant threats.

Another interesting chapter was chapter five, which discusses how 'web two point o' tools like Wikipedia have enabled millions of people all over the world to collaborate on one project.

This chapter clearly shows how much a group of strangers can get done when they believe in the same thing. Wikipedia has over three million English-language articles, all of them written and edited by volunteers around the world. It costs virtually nothing for millions of people to assemble information, work together, and create something truly amazing.

You'd expect such an open forum to be filled with junk and drivel, but the vast majority of Wikipedia's articles are well sourced and well written. The author does an excellent job breaking down what, exactly, makes Wikipedia so successful.

And while the Wikipedia's un-management style would never work in a company setting, it's fascinating to see how the site has evolved, thanks to the contributions of millions. This was one of the most interesting sections of the book.

Now, when it comes to the larger issues facing the world and how we can use social media to help solve them, we turn to chapter eight. Here, the author talks about the importance of social capital. Social capital is a community's heart, if you will. It's when a neighbor walks your dog when you're sick, and then you reciprocate by mowing his lawn when he has to go out of town.

The author calls these exchanges the shadow of the future. This idea hinges on the knowledge that if you do someone a favor today, they'll do one for you tomorrow.

So, when we live in a society with more social capital, we thrive much more than when we live in one with less.

Recently, at least in the United States, social capital has been on the decline. The author says this is because life now costs more – in time, money, and hassle. We're working more, watching more TV, running around. We just don't have the time and energy we did fifty years ago.

So what does all this have to do with technology? Well, as you heard earlier, coordinating groups has gotten much, much easier, thanks to social media. And rather than keeping individuals isolated behind their own computers, these social tools are actually inspiring them to get more involved. Online communication is complementing our natural tendency to form groups.

The author says cyberspace isn't viewed as an alternate reality anymore. We chat electronically with our friends, talk through Skype videophone with our family across the world, and send 'tweets' to our colleagues with industry news.

These social tools are also helping us find new groups to get involved with. Not only can we join a cancer awareness campaign, for example, but we can find one in our particular area, which enables us to meet others who are passionate about the same cause.

This is a fascinating chapter, but rest of book is just as good. The author leaves nothing to guess work; he's done an excellent job talking about this new technology, as well as explaining what effects these tools are already having on our society. It's easy to see that things are changing fast, and once you've finished the book, you'll actually understand what it all means – not only for you, but for our society as a whole.

So, what's the final word on Here Comes Everybody? Put simply, we loved it. Every chapter contains fascinating insights that make you take a deeper look at these social tools, and what implications they might have for the opportunities and threats our world is facing.

Here Comes Everybody, by Clay Shirky, is published by Penguin Press.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights.