tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049126281770043680.post8440346568048417277..comments2023-11-03T04:07:40.609-07:00Comments on About Ideas, Innovation, TED Talks, Books, Documentaries, and Travel: TED Book Club SelectionsLib Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773365001042258827noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049126281770043680.post-44090897432612810152009-01-29T08:12:00.000-08:002009-01-29T08:12:00.000-08:00Even though I've been to lots of TEDs, and watched...Even though I've been to lots of TEDs, and watched lots of TED talks, I'd missed the Shirky talk. It was most interesting. Thanks for the pointer, Rohan.Lib Gibsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05773365001042258827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049126281770043680.post-67740178381098878362009-01-18T00:02:00.000-08:002009-01-18T00:02:00.000-08:00Rahaf is currently expanding her presentation into...Rahaf is currently expanding her presentation into a whole book, "Yes We Did", to be published in a few months as I recall.<BR/><BR/>The TED speaker who's currently having the most influence on how I see things evolving is Clay Shirky, author of <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Here-Comes-Everybody-Organizing-Organizations/dp/1594201536/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232262077&sr=8-2" REL="nofollow">Here Comes Everybody</A>. His 2005 TED talk <A HREF="http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/clay_shirky_on_institutions_versus_collaboration.html" REL="nofollow">Institutions vs. collaboration</A> (20 minutes) discussed a shift that I see very much in evidence today: the inability of traditional organizations to keep up with groups that are made up of individuals who have varying degrees of commitment but who can all contribute thanks to the Internet. His examples include Wikipedia and Linux. How democracies are governed will be affected too: we can expect traditional hierarchies to give way to more open and accountable government. Political parties as we currently know them may even cease to exist. On Saturday I'll be participating in the <A HREF="http://changecamp.ca/" REL="nofollow">ChangeCamp unconference in Toronto</A>, where we'll be discussing using the Internet to take back the government. (Politicians will be welcome to participate, but only as individual citizens, not as representatives of institutions.) And that's just government; all the institutions in our lives stand to be transformed or disappear. Through <A HREF="http://www.kiva.org/" REL="nofollow">Kiva</A> I'm an international bank!<BR/><BR/>The economic crunch is accelerating many of the forces of change. <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology" REL="nofollow">Disruptive innovations</A>, for instance, usually target price-sensitive customers — whose numbers are now increasing dramatically. Shirky's talk resonates most strongly with me in the current economic climate because of the deflationary impact of collaborative projects. Much about the Internet is deflationary (e.g. eBay has depressed the going prices for many things), but collaborative projects tend to create things that aren't just cheap, but free. And an increasingly unemployed population has more time on its hands to contribute to such projects, a vicious cycle or virtuous cycle depending on one's point of view. I'm recently laid off myself and here I am looking to replace the government!Rohan Jayasekerahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02860878275544900390noreply@blogger.com