Here Comes Everyone

"Revolution doesn't happen when society adopts new technology, it happens when society adopts new behaviors"

(from the cover of Here Comes Everyone)

How could I resist a subtitle like that, especially with all the new technologies I have been experimenting with in the past 6 weeks.

This book by Clay Shirky, places technology in a larger societal context, the tools are essential for the changes that are occurring, but it is human behaviours and actions that are driving the changes. No matter how technologically illiterate or literate you are, this "revolution" will affect you, regardless of whether you have a Facebook account or not.

Use of real world stories and clear explanations of more complicated topics make this a fairly easy read, even for those unfamiliar with cutting edge social technology tools.

I haven't though of the effects that social media tools will have (and are currently having) on society as a whole. My personal use of Facebook, Delicious, and other tools seem fairly minor and innocuous, but the bigger picture is.....exactly that, larger with many unknowns. If the future is in the hands of the masses with their cell phones and laptops, what will that future look like? And what will my contribution be?