Clay Shirky's TED talk was all about cognitive surplus. Cognitive surplus is the ability of the population of the world to volunteer and to contribute and to collaborate on large global project. Therefore Mr. Shirky is saying that when it comes to technology the world as a whole needs to come together on an emotional level and collaborate on global projects. When the world needs to come together economically it does not do so well. This reminded me of probably the most important piece of technology to me: YouTube.
YouTube is a website that enables anybody to upload and watch videos. Not only is YouTube a website, it is a community, one that comes together emotionally. YouTube fits into Shirky's idea of cognitive surplus like a pea in a pod. YouTube is important to me because it allows any person of any age to show and share new perspectives. This is incredibly important because it allows this virtual community to connect emotionally. People create videos because of their passion and because they want to, not because of economic reasons. Although there is such a thing as a YouTube partnership, which provides money, the YouTuber needs to create videos because of a passion and emotion they have before they earn the very difficult to receive partnership. Shirky talks about collaborating and YouTube is a great example of that. YouTube pulls together the world because of the emotion it brings to all different types of people. YouTubers from all over the world can collaborate on videos. The most important thing about YouTube is that it can truly make a difference in the world. Whether the situation involves helping others, protesting against governments, or just making people happy, YouTube can always push and support these situations to really change the world. YouTube really shows the effectiveness of Clay Shirky's idea of cognitive surplus. It is not economically based and thrives on passion and emotion shared by the people of the world in their "free" time. Heres a video that sums up the greatness YouTube has brought to all societies:
Presentation: Shirky mainly just used talking as his entire presentation, but gave some examples of websites or other things he was talking about in a slideshow. I think this was an effective way of presenting his idea because it inspired people and showed them what he was talking about.
Works Cited:
Clay Shirky: How Cognitive Surplus Will Change the World | Video on TED.com. TED: Ideas worth Spreading. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cognitive_surplus_will_change_the_world.html>.
YouTube - YouTube's Channel. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/user/youtube?blend=1>.
YouTube - This Is YouTube. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojqWclLQOxk>.
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