Clay Shirky (Author): The World Is Drunk, On TV
Have you ever wished …
- For more time?
- To have a greater purpose than just the 9 to 5 job?
- To not have to pay your cable company?
I have, so when I tripped across Clay Shirky (author of “Here Comes Everybody: Organizing Without Organizations”) speaking I caught a snippet of these themes in his opening remarks. His style and flow seemed solid … so I hit play and started running.
| Details | Notable Points |
| Title/Link:
Duration:
Speakers:
Recommend to Watch? Yes
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1. The World Is Drunk, On TV
2. But All Benders Have to Come To An End
3. Don’t Get Snotty, Playing With Your PC is FAR BETTER Than TV
3. Your Kids Next Question — “Daddy, Where Is The Mouse”?
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So, 10 points to Clay for framing an interesting view on what is going on today to enable the community movement behind so many initiatives. It provides definite context on why this isn’t a fad but rather the re-awakening of people … and how they use their time.
Would be curious on your thoughts … as always.
* START OF RAW SCRIBBLE TAKEN WHILE RUNNING **
• 5/7/2008, 6:24 AM
• http://blip.tv/file/855937
• Clay Shirky
…………….○ GIN key was transformation during industrial revolution in London
…………………………..§ Meaning people freaked out, didn’t innovate till they recovered from hangover
…………………………..§ Then the new stuff came — elected officials, libraries, etc
…………….○ Social lubricant for today
…………………………..§ Sit Com
…………………………..§ In our time … 1st time we had ‘free time’
…………………………..§ Went to TV … initially
…………………………..§ TV was our GIN … now we are realizing free time shouldn’t be TV
…………….○ 5/7/2008, 6:27 AM
…………….○ New Book - Here Comes Everybody
…………………………..§ What is interesting - Wikipedia article on Pluto
…………………………………………□ How community evolved the definition
…………………………..§ The counter was “where do people find the time” from interviewer
…………………………………………□ The time comes from TV (which mass media doesn’t want you to give up)
…………………………..§ 200 BILLION hours a year on TV
…………………………………………□ 2000 Wikipedia projects could be done w/ that
…………………………..§ 100 MILLION HOURS a weekend … watching just the ads
…………….○ 5/7/2008, 6:30 AM
…………….○ What to do w/ the surplus (like Gin)
…………………………..§ People experiment on how to use
…………………………..§ Explore complex ecosystems … try lots of things
…………………………..§ Failures leave the trail of where not to go
…………….○ Wikimap for crime in Brazil
…………………………..§ Pushpin on Google
…………………………..§ Start see map of where crimes are
…………………………..§ Something society knows but can’t get a accurate easy hold on
…………………………..§ Cops aren’t incented to provide it in a model for consumers to use / slice
…………….○ So the TV generation … finds time … by shutting off TV (like Gin Generation w/ prior)
…………….○ 5/7/2008, 6:33 AM
…………….○ WOW Guilds
…………………………..§ Doing something w/ people (better than TV)
…………………………..§ Example to Gilligan Island … how they almost ALWAYS got off the island … but never did
…………………………..§ Worse to sit in basement and argue about reality TV
…………………………..§ Better to something than nothing
…………………………..§ Even ‘wall cats’ … hold out invitation for participation … anyone can mark up walls
…………………………..§ Media doesn’t understand
…………………………………………□ Run prior to now as consumption model
…………….○ 5/7/2008, 6:35 AM
…………….○ Triathlon
…………………………..§ Consumer (sure), Produce, Share
…………………………..§ They will take up offer to produce and share
…………….○ Small change
…………………………..§ 1% … 1 TRILLION HRS of TV a year watched by internet site people
…………………………..§ That’s 1000 Wikipedia sites … which are community models
…………….○ 5/7/2008, 6:37 AM
…………….○ Isn’t this a Fad (still with his recall of an interview over his book)
…………………………..§ Big one time shift ala industrial revolution
…………….○ Sitting w/ 4 year old daughter — story
…………………………..§ Girl goes behind TV … tryin g Shutting off TV … looking for mouse
…………………………..§ Kids think media w/o mouse are not interactive enough … want that or will go elsewhere
…………….○ 5/7/2008, 6:39 AM
…………….○ Repeat consume, produce, share
…………………………..§ Work hammer, tong … figure out next idea … look for mouse (where it isn’t today) .. Reference to TV story above
** END RAW SCRIBBLE TAKEN WHILE RUNNING **
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FYI, Shirky did a more exhaustive type up of what he said here:
http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html
Very nice!
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Hello Tim,
Comments:
Clay is an American. Generally Americans suffer from the followint delusions and disadvantages:
Illusion created by myopia: That they are the only inhabitants of the planet earth. What they think and do is what the inhabitants of planet earth think and do. The fact is they are only 3% of the population and the rest are not like the Americans. Americans are also monolingual which adds significantly to their problem.
This delusion makes Americans arrogant.
The American education system is one of the worst in Western civilised world. Well over 50% of Amnericans are completely ignorant of history,geography, chemistry, physics, maths and the rest which others consider important.
Hence the signs in Austria: “There are no kangaroos in Austria,” 28% of Americans are illiterate. US stats.
Therefore Clay gets facts wrong. English Gin binge started and ended before the Industrial revolution. Industrial revolution did not start only in England.
99.9% of American television is stultifying offal. Hence Americans are further dumbed down.
The human need to communicate and interact is as old as the homo saps themselves. Hence religeon and all that.
At last the Americans are realising that they have allowed themselves to be dumbed down to a degree where they may need to revise their view of the rest of the people on this planet. What is so great about that? They are just slow learners.
Good luck to you guys anyway, time you got wiser and more with it anyway.
Note: This is now the post American era. Read the Economist.
George, excellent points. I would agree that a far too large % of Americans are asleep at the wheel not realizing that we are no longer ’special’. Perhaps we never were (as a majority).
Regardless, I can not change the many … only myself and those around me. I will focus there.