Cognitive Surplus

Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age

By: Clay Shirky

Narrated by: Kevin Foley

For decades, technology encouraged people to squander their time and intellect as passive consumers. Today, technology has finally caught up with human potential. In Cognitive Surplus, Internet guru Clay Shirky forecasts the thrilling changes we will all enjoy as new digital technology puts our untapped resources of talent and goodwill to use at last.

Since we Americans were suburbanized and educated by the postwar boom, we've had a surfeit of intellect, energy, and time - what Shirky calls a cognitive surplus. But this abundance had little impact on the common good because television consumed the lion's share of it - and we consume TV passively, in isolation from one another. Now, for the first time, people are embracing new media that allow us to pool our efforts at vanishingly low cost.

The results of this aggregated effort range from mind expanding - reference tools like Wikipedia - to lifesaving, such as Ushahidi.com, which has allowed Kenyans to sidestep government censorship and report on acts of violence in real time. Shirky argues persuasively that this cognitive surplus, ather than being some strange new departure from normal behavior, actually returns our society to forms of collaboration that were natural to us up through the early 20th century. He also charts the vast effects that our cognitive surplus---aided by new technologies---will have on 21-century society, and how we can best exploit those effects. Shirky envisions an era of lower creative quality on average but greater innovation, an increase in transparency in all areas of society, and a dramatic rise in productivity that will transform our civilization.

The potential impact of cognitive surplus is enormous. As Shirky points out, Wikipedia was built out of roughly 1 percent of the man-hours that Americans spend watching TV every year. Wikipedia and other current products of cognitive surplus are only the iceberg's tip. Shirky shows how society and our daily lives will be improved dramatically as we learn to exploit our goodwill and free time like never before.

©2010 Clay Shirky (P)2010 Tantor

True Tales of a Bold New World

By now I'm familiar with the impact of social media on our lives. But not everyone who uses it "gets" it. Too many people tack "social media" onto their marketing plans and every interaction is a sales pitch. Clay Shirkey helps us understand the heartbeat of our growing interconnectedness. His book is most compelling when he reviews the research from behavioral economics -- what are our intrinsic motivators? At our most creative and generous online, we are driven by our love of being both autonomous and competent.

Overall, the book encourages us to get involved, to pitch in -- whether it's relaxing games with friends or a project to unite folks for a great cause. Where do we find the time? By turning off the TV, of course.

The reader was fine -- a real pro.

How the internet is changing the world

I liked this book. I liked it a lot more than I thought I should have, given what it was about.

Yeah, the internet has changed things, blah blah blah. Somehow, though, this book manages to really nail down how and why the internet and social media is changing things, beyond the surface level.

What is it that makes people engage with the internet so much, and just what can people accomplish when they use their "cognitive surplus" to accomplish something using new media tools? This book discusses the answers to this question.

Many Helpful Insights

This is a book about social networking, media, and the internet. Essentially, it sets out to tell us the impact of the web on creativity and productivity in the aggregate - how society is changed by the media and is changing the media.

The book is really an eyeopener when Shirky puts the current electronic media in historical context. His discussions of the pre-internet era and how we interacted breaks the reader out of any illusions that the old days were better.

Well written and fine reading by Kevin Foley make this a worth while book. I am always interested in books that are outside my area of interest and knowledge. This one will inform and excite everyone - with a background or not.

Voice puts me to sleep! Couldn't pay attention to the book!

I'm sure the content is very good, and very interesting, but every time I try to listen to this book, the voice takes me to another place, often one where I fall asleep. I've even tried listening to it while being active- walking or even running! While I don't fall asleep on my feet, I do zone out and start thinking about other things. I've since realized this voice actor is in many other books I want to read (ok, listen to), and I want to cry because I know the same thing will happen. (I know I should probably go old school and just read the book- but my active lifestyle and long commutes make this more challenging). Please casting agents- reserve this book only for books meant to help sleep.

Great book

If you want to understand how media consumption has evolved into participation read this book. Great examples and background.