clay shirky was interviewed in the guardian yesterday. i read it in a physical newspaper. that's mainly because jen loves to get a paper most days. in practice though i have the guardian app on my ipod and tend to download it and read it on the train or in the car on the way to work most days. if it was just me i suspect i'd only get a paper on saturday… clay shirky suggests that in fifteen years newspapers as physical things will seem archaic and won't exist in fifty. the behaviour of under 25s is the biggest indicator as they read on screens. i suspect he's right. i was delighted to see the interview because i hadn't realised that he had a new book out (there never seems to be just an interview in the paper – you always think i wonder what is being promoted!) so i have ordered cognitive surplus: creativity and generosity in a connected age. his last book here comes everybody is brilliant. i can't remember who i loaned that to so have ordered another copy of that as well (how many books have i done that with?!).
i have to say though for someone who is writing on the web and surfing the zeitgeist his web site is completely lame – last post april 1 and hasn't yet got round to mentioning a new book…
I just read the article in bed this morning (on a hard copy) and thought it it was interesting. I particularly like his observations that:
1. Teenagers on line are just behaving like teenagers
2. All progress is hi-jacked by inappropriate content befor appropriate content gets stuck in
3. Rude people have always existed but with social media they come to the attenton of more listeners (and so, ergo, do polite people)
ha ha, I thought exactly the same thing when i went and looked at his website… I thought i was bad at updating
But,in terms of his site, at least he understands the concept of “chunking” when reading/writing and use CAPITALS where appropriate to help in the process. 🙂
His new book, which I’m a third of the way through is very, very good. Watch this TED talk to get a sense of the book: http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cognitive_surplus_will_change_the_world.html