After only a few days, I’m convinced that everyone in the communications business must read Yochai Benkler’s “The Wealth of Networks.” Which is not to say I’ve actually read it…but I just ordered my copy and will dig in as soon as it arrives. (There’s a wiki for the book and it’s available for download at no charge under a creative commons license.)
So many people I respect, however, have commented on the book (see here and here and here.) The latest is Dave Weinberger, who offers a summary of a talk that Benkler gave about the book. Although it’s a serious tome with somewhat complex discourse, I wouldn’t let that discourage anyone from delving into what sounds like analysis that pulls it all together.
One point made by Benkler: the social production of content and information made available by the Internet is not a “fad” but a long-term trend. From Weinberger’s notes on Benkler’s talk:
There are new opportunities, he says, most importantly shifting from finished information and cultural goods to platforms for self-expression and collaboration. Social production is a fact, not a fad. It is “the critical long term shift caused by the Internet.” But it is a threat to, and threatened by, incumbent business models. Why should we care about the outcome of this political debate, he asks? Because of our core commitments to autonomy, democracy, and justice & development.
Peer production of content changes everything — the justice system, collective intelligence, and so much more. Our political system is even undergoing a radical overhaul because of the mass dispersion of information creation. Again from Weinberger’s notes:
Our democracy is a mass mediated public sphere. What do you get when you have peer production in such a democracy? You used to get The Pentagon Papers, which required several newspapers and the Supreme Court to get published. Now you get Bev Harris at BlackBoxVoting.org exposing Diebold. The Diebold code is opened up to public inspection. By the time Diebold sues the various places it’s been posted, it’s been distributed widely via email and Freenet and Overnet…
Cynthia Brumfield at 8:15 AM|Comments(0)
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