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squirrelfish's review
4.0
I enjoyed it. I found it motivational, the indictment of tv to be particularly relevant, and the concepts interesting. The idea of the power of cognitive surplus - the thoughts and time of educated people - is important. The comparison of LOLCats and Wikipedia and Facebook groups, the idea of a continuum of contributions from this cognitive surplus, is powerful as a use of spare time. It broke down as first half aimed at the individual or the society as a whole, with the last bit aimed at developers and individuals more as creators - but a central thesis of the book is that everyone can be a creator now.
ksparks's review
3.0
I found this a fascinating read. He talks about how now, with the combination of surplus time in society (all time that has previously been spent in watching television) plus new opportunities to share and create online (think Wikipedia, Apache, online charities, couchsurfing.org, meet up.com, pickupal etc.) that there are now amazing ways to use our cognitive surplus for public/civic good. Obviously he's talking to readers on the other side of the digital divide, employed people with surplus time and money. He says that people are no longer satisfied to be merely passive consumers of media. Given the opportunity to interact and to create, people prefer that. Gone are the days when only publishers can publish and only organizations can organize. Also, cyberworld, now that so many of us are on it, is no longer separate from the real world. It is part of it. This book crystallized many things I've already been thinking--as I belong to many online/real world communities and I was already in awe of the potentials there. Reading this book made me really excited about the potentials of online sharing/networking and publishing.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
4.0
We live in amazing times. For the majority of those of us who live in America, we have vast reservoirs of free time.
But how do we choose to use that free time? Sadly, for the last fifty years, we have spent most of it passively watching television, watching television to the exclusion of other more social, more fulfilling activities. Last year, in fact, Americans watched about two hundred billion hours of television. And, even more sadly, studies show that those who watch tv are less happy, more overweight, and less social.
Shirky begins his book with this information, but he does have happier news to report: Americans are gradually beginning to turn off the tv in favor of other, more interactive activities. Shirky looks with great hope at the new social media that allows users to accomplish big social projects in easy ways.
A book that is definitely worth reading.
But how do we choose to use that free time? Sadly, for the last fifty years, we have spent most of it passively watching television, watching television to the exclusion of other more social, more fulfilling activities. Last year, in fact, Americans watched about two hundred billion hours of television. And, even more sadly, studies show that those who watch tv are less happy, more overweight, and less social.
Shirky begins his book with this information, but he does have happier news to report: Americans are gradually beginning to turn off the tv in favor of other, more interactive activities. Shirky looks with great hope at the new social media that allows users to accomplish big social projects in easy ways.
A book that is definitely worth reading.
janefriedman's review
4.0
Covers similar territory as HERE COMES EVERYBODY. I'll be using this as a required text in my history of media course.
tdrapeau's review
3.0
Most of the book read as a rehash of the principles of Here Comes Everybody. However, the final chapter (Looking for the Mouse) made the whole read worthwhile. Some great advice on starting a web project designed to harness cognitive surplus in those final pages.
andreasj's review
3.0
There seems to be a pattern with me and books by Clay Shirky. I see the talk, like the basic idea and leave it at that, only to return a few months later to actually read the book and find much of value there. This was true for “Here Comes Everybody” and it’s also true this time around for “Cognitive Surplus”. Let’s see if the pattern holds in the future.
In “Cognitive Surplus” Shirky argues that during the second half of last century the majority of people in the West suddenly found themselves with a lot of spare time on their hands. Shirky calls this the Cognitive Surplus. To Shirky social media would enable users to do better things with that surplus than watch TV. Shirky starts by describing the new media environment and the ermergent possibilities to use social media for social good. Still, he does not argue in favor of a simplistic technological determinism the likes of: “We have the tools now they will be used for good”. Instead, he discusses preconditions for the successful use of social media, the strongest being: intrinsic motivation of the contributors and a supportive culture among groups of users. He closes with some rules of thumb of elements that, in his experience, contribute to the success of social media ventures. Usually I am not a big fan of those list, but his remarks seem sensible enough and might actually help in the development of social media services.
As usual with Shirky, “Cognitive Surplus” is a very readable book. Shirky uses well chosen stories to illustrate the possibilities of social media use. He combines these stories with accounts of research relevant to his argument. For me “Cognitive Surplus” works as a very useful addition to his prior book “Here Comes Everybody”. While in his prior book he argued very convincingly in favor of the transformative potential of widespread social media use, in “Cognitive Surplus” he adds some useful conjectures on the reasons why people might be motivated to invest significant time and effort into producing content through social media.
In “Cognitive Surplus” Shirky argues that during the second half of last century the majority of people in the West suddenly found themselves with a lot of spare time on their hands. Shirky calls this the Cognitive Surplus. To Shirky social media would enable users to do better things with that surplus than watch TV. Shirky starts by describing the new media environment and the ermergent possibilities to use social media for social good. Still, he does not argue in favor of a simplistic technological determinism the likes of: “We have the tools now they will be used for good”. Instead, he discusses preconditions for the successful use of social media, the strongest being: intrinsic motivation of the contributors and a supportive culture among groups of users. He closes with some rules of thumb of elements that, in his experience, contribute to the success of social media ventures. Usually I am not a big fan of those list, but his remarks seem sensible enough and might actually help in the development of social media services.
As usual with Shirky, “Cognitive Surplus” is a very readable book. Shirky uses well chosen stories to illustrate the possibilities of social media use. He combines these stories with accounts of research relevant to his argument. For me “Cognitive Surplus” works as a very useful addition to his prior book “Here Comes Everybody”. While in his prior book he argued very convincingly in favor of the transformative potential of widespread social media use, in “Cognitive Surplus” he adds some useful conjectures on the reasons why people might be motivated to invest significant time and effort into producing content through social media.
jenne's review
4.0
Really enjoyed this. It's mostly about why people do things (especially on the internet) to amuse or help people for reasons other than money.
It's also kind of about what people have been doing with their free time since they suddenly got a lot more of it in the 20th century, and how just watching TV isn't really enough anymore.
It's also kind of about what people have been doing with their free time since they suddenly got a lot more of it in the 20th century, and how just watching TV isn't really enough anymore.
taraswiger's review
5.0
Loved this look at how we are (and how we CAN) use the cognitive surplus.
For years we've been spending it passively consuming (because that's all technology would allow), but now we have options - how are we going to spend it?
(on a personal note: LOVE that he mentions the "How do you have the time?" question that crafters/hobbyists always get. Uh, I have the time because I choose to create instead of consume!)
For years we've been spending it passively consuming (because that's all technology would allow), but now we have options - how are we going to spend it?
(on a personal note: LOVE that he mentions the "How do you have the time?" question that crafters/hobbyists always get. Uh, I have the time because I choose to create instead of consume!)
caramm's review
2.0
I was right there with Shirky at the beginning, but as this book progressed, I got more and more turned off by some of the latent assumptions buried in his thought process. Obviously, he's a very smart guy. And obviously, he really believes that social software and the current creator-culture are good things that can be very beneficial for society. But Shirky also has some pretty rigid values of his own that he clings to while attempting to dismantle other "traditional" values. He is a firm creative-content elitist, and has a hierarchy of creative endeavors that he cannot seem to imagine subverting. He's also a data-publicity evangelist, which I am suspicious of on principle.
His treatment of fandom in particular sits poorly with me. There is an extremely dismissive tone toward what he perceives as a lesser effort, and it's clear that he only has the most cursory familiarity with what fandom is and what it can do. Shirky mistakenly asserts that fandom is solely or primarily about self-pleasure, or at best, in-group entertainment. He is, of course, wrong. But this ignorance of the topic is not the most problematic aspect of his treatment of it.
His primary contrast with fandom's creative collaboration is the collaboration of the programming community. While he does not overtly gender these two groups, he fails to understand that they are culturally gendered. His hierarchy of creative collaboration, then, is a celebration of a stereotypically male kind of participation at the expense of a stereotypically female kind of engagement. He fails to account for the fact that the programming community seems to draw a certain kind of participant not only because of participant choice, but also because women and certain minorities are active encouraged NOT to participate. There are barriers to entry in the programming community that are a key part of what makes it the way it is today. (This is not to say that the programming space lacks women and minorities, but there are serious barriers to entry into the in-group.) On the other hand, fandom is seen, rightly or wrongly, as being a heavily female space, and Shirky's dismissal of the extraordinary effort and artistry and social criticism involved in fandom may be a product of his feeling of being out-group (though I doubt he made much effort to engage).
My other major beef with the book was the focus on the "2 billion" new participants in this cognitive surplus-using culture. Access to the internet, and to the other social software platforms that Shirky fangirls over throughout his book, is limited currently to the wealthiest members of the global community. It is trickling down and becoming more widely disseminated, but as it stands, this kind of participatory opportunity is far from universal. It is heavily concentrated in the West. The emphasis on engaging the "2 billion" leaves me wondering what the other 5 billion people on the planet are supposed to do, how they are supposed to engage with the global community. Or are they? Shirky is quiet on the subject of there being merit to truly broadening and universalizing participation.
Overall, I felt the book lacked the strong call to action I was anticipating. Instead, it closes with some tips on how to make a successful social media site, I guess with the hope that the reader wants to make one that matches up with Shirky's hierarchy of values. I felt like I got a good bit of the what and the how, and the who (including the who not), but I never really gathered the why - why is cognitive surplus good? Why is social software good? Ultimately, I did not feel that the book gives a good sense of why connection is good for humanity in the abstract.
Seeing as this is by far the longest review I've ever written, though, I think it's safe to say that there is a lot of value in this book as fodder for deep thought and discussion about the aspects of modern creative collaboration. So cheers to Shirky for that!
For a much better book that addresses some of the same content as Cognitive Surplus, try Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal.
His treatment of fandom in particular sits poorly with me. There is an extremely dismissive tone toward what he perceives as a lesser effort, and it's clear that he only has the most cursory familiarity with what fandom is and what it can do. Shirky mistakenly asserts that fandom is solely or primarily about self-pleasure, or at best, in-group entertainment. He is, of course, wrong. But this ignorance of the topic is not the most problematic aspect of his treatment of it.
His primary contrast with fandom's creative collaboration is the collaboration of the programming community. While he does not overtly gender these two groups, he fails to understand that they are culturally gendered. His hierarchy of creative collaboration, then, is a celebration of a stereotypically male kind of participation at the expense of a stereotypically female kind of engagement. He fails to account for the fact that the programming community seems to draw a certain kind of participant not only because of participant choice, but also because women and certain minorities are active encouraged NOT to participate. There are barriers to entry in the programming community that are a key part of what makes it the way it is today. (This is not to say that the programming space lacks women and minorities, but there are serious barriers to entry into the in-group.) On the other hand, fandom is seen, rightly or wrongly, as being a heavily female space, and Shirky's dismissal of the extraordinary effort and artistry and social criticism involved in fandom may be a product of his feeling of being out-group (though I doubt he made much effort to engage).
My other major beef with the book was the focus on the "2 billion" new participants in this cognitive surplus-using culture. Access to the internet, and to the other social software platforms that Shirky fangirls over throughout his book, is limited currently to the wealthiest members of the global community. It is trickling down and becoming more widely disseminated, but as it stands, this kind of participatory opportunity is far from universal. It is heavily concentrated in the West. The emphasis on engaging the "2 billion" leaves me wondering what the other 5 billion people on the planet are supposed to do, how they are supposed to engage with the global community. Or are they? Shirky is quiet on the subject of there being merit to truly broadening and universalizing participation.
Overall, I felt the book lacked the strong call to action I was anticipating. Instead, it closes with some tips on how to make a successful social media site, I guess with the hope that the reader wants to make one that matches up with Shirky's hierarchy of values. I felt like I got a good bit of the what and the how, and the who (including the who not), but I never really gathered the why - why is cognitive surplus good? Why is social software good? Ultimately, I did not feel that the book gives a good sense of why connection is good for humanity in the abstract.
Seeing as this is by far the longest review I've ever written, though, I think it's safe to say that there is a lot of value in this book as fodder for deep thought and discussion about the aspects of modern creative collaboration. So cheers to Shirky for that!
For a much better book that addresses some of the same content as Cognitive Surplus, try Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal.