James Cross

Doing nothing vs doing something

At the moment, I'm reading Clay Shirky's new book

'Cognitive Surplus'. The main idea of the book is that the internet is enabling people to use their free time in ever more creative and valuable ways, by allowing them to connect, share and participate more easily. He gives two examples at different ends of the 'value' scale - LOLCATS and Ushahidi.

LOLCATS allows people to make, share and view funny pictures of cats with captions. Ushahidi is a platform which allows for citizens to pool information during crises. Two platforms, completely different aims and values, but one thing in common - they allow anybody to quickly and easily participate. This allows people to jump the chasm of 'doing nothing' vs 'doing something', which opens the floodgates to the massive amounts collaboration and participation we're starting to see across the web.

I came across an iPhone app the other night which made me think about Shirky's ideas. It's the 'Glee' app (based upon the TV show), and it allows users to record songs, sing duets, and share their creations with the world. It's slick, quick, and easy - there are no barriers. All you need to participate is a mobile phone. Sure, the quality of much of the stuff uploaded isn't great, but that doesn't matter at all. Through this app, there are millions of people making music, and sharing it. I'd bet that this isn't something many of these people have done before. And that's amazing.